Carolk9s

Foster said "Kenzie could be biting you out of fear but I have to say that you should not have put your hand in the crate after the dogs were fighting. " I have to agree with this, even though there had been a ruckus, her crate should be her haven. She might have already felt cornered even though she went in there herself. Is Bruiser going to be neutered? That MIGHT help.

Thanks for all the yuk yuks gigi!

I think I understand your point, because so many are lawsuit happy? I can certainly agree, tho I have signs posted on my fence does not mean some idiot could not sue me for, as you said, invading my yard and harassing my dog. I do have a dog that would most likely bite a stranger who merely stuck an arm over the fence, partly why I have a double fence but it's far from perfect. I still feel that if would behoove Nationwide to consider taking other factors into consideration, such as training, CGC (or similar) certification etc. Their policy does not seem to have ANY flex in it, so if I had a 18 year old toothless paralyzed former therapy dog who happens to be a rottie, they would not insure me. Yes that example is extreme, I realize that. And yes I could shop around for another insurer. Who might insure me but insist I pay a couple hundred dollars more a year because of my rottie than the person who has another breed or mix that is not on their list but roams at will and snarls at everyone. I think Gooey had/has such an issue in her area with a lab mix. Not trying to be arguementative (REALLY!) but there are just too many inequalities in such a restrictive policy.

found this article, the watch me or look command can help lay a solid foundation to your training program. [url]http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/deb_wood/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/living/1041944688178850.xml[/url]

Boy there's just too much out there to p*ss me off today. How shortsighted and mean spirited. Just like a breed ban. [url]http://www.dailypress.com/news/columnists/dp-jimj10jan10,0,7319338.column?coll=dp-news-columnists[/url]

This story made me mad and sick as well. PUL-LEEZE! She did not realize the animal was being hurt? Here's the link, it's a sad and stupid story. Be warned. I do NOT excuse her because of her age either. Dog knows she should have more sense than this. [url]http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/1730967[/url]

[quote name='gigishiba']And she speaks to the dead as well. :roll:[/quote] Don't you? :lol:

[quote]Anna screams, stomps, shouts, throws things at Hazel,[/quote] POOR HAZEL! :roll:

Byrd, I too wish I had some pearls of wisdom to offer, I think Egg is not as aware as some of us how much you do care, you are not a 'fly by night' dog owner. There have been lots of trolls and just plain idiots on the board fairly recently so perhaps some of their posts were fresh in her mind. I hope that is the case. It is tricky not knowing your dogs total past, but even if you did there might not be an easy answer. I would hope that a medical checkup is in the offing for her, there are numerous conditions that can throw a dogs body and mental state out of whack. Just a basic blood panel might reveal some info, she could have a diabetic type condition, thyroid is another possibility, so is the rare but still possible tumor situation. If her body chemistry is out of balance, so will be her mental state. I do hope some solution can be found to enable you to keep her, if not, and the aggression escalates AND cannot be turned around, the ultimate solution may be needed. Hoping not, but the stark truth is that not ALL dogs can be saved, if she is the product of poor breeding, poor temperament, it is sometimes a blessing to the dog to be put out of its torment. I don't wish to offend and I'm certainly not jumping to this or any conclusion. I absolutely agree that a childs safety comes first, of course yours and your wifes does too as well as Bruiser.

You could have strung the molar on a necklace! And gotten REALLY shocked looks from family and friends.

I 'think' Candy is now of the mindset to strike first before they can jump her. She's been jumped by a couple of dogs, once in agility class, once at a trial and was even lunged at in petsmart. I also have to remember that shes got some sort of terrier in her too, she can be right fiesty! She [b]generally[/b] will not start a fight but will IMMEDIATELY take another dog up on the offer. Once she even got between Jesse and a young male lab who were just posturing, she flew into the lab with teeth flashing and drove him back. I hope Jesse was not embarrassed.

Shara, Glad to hear of the progress Hazel has made. You are right, keep working on her LOOK command and her obedience. Does she beg food from the table? In my opinion, that should NOT be allowed, particularly with this dog. She needs much gentle consistant reinforcement that YOU are the boss, not her. I would suggest she be put into a down stay ANYTIME you eat if she is inclined to beg. She should mind her manners, no leaping about, no whining, no barking, no sneaking to the table to beg. I do feel that at least a small part of Hazel's problem is that she is not sure who is supposed to be the leader and who the follower. She needs to understand that you make the decisions, you are the source of all good things but also that your word is law. This is not at all meant to sound heavy handed, all this can be accomplished without laying a hand in anger on her. Good luck and keep up the good work

Uh oh, whats the quote? "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Get that evil grin off yer face now K! And WELCOME Great Dane Lover! Got yer seatbelt on? 8)

[quote]they all said if you neuter them at 5 or 6 months, they don't mark or develop other annoying male habits[/quote] Just a note on this, they are incorrect. Jesse was neutered right at 6 months, he started lifting his leg and marking when he was about a year old. When I was doing the final walkthough prior to buying my house I had him with me. He hiked his leg on a wall upstairs. So glad the then owners didn't see that! I have to keep one eye on him every minute I am in Petsmart, he once peed on an employees ankle, he was aiming for the display she was leaning against. He has tried to hump other dogs since he was about 8 months old. Perhaps SOME males will not present these behaviours, certainly not all.

Took the pack to the dogpark today. Candy hooked up with a small pitbull female and at first they were just running and bumping each other with a little yakkng at each other too. I told Candy to mind her manners. My little 'princess' can be a bit of a pill at times. Both girls were the same size and both seemed undecided, should we play? Should we fight? One of the two decided to push the run and bump up a notch, then Brittany decided to be 3rd dog in. No serious fight thank goodness but Brittany was very hardheaded about coming to me so she went back on leash for a bit and we did some obedience heeling, staying and recalling. All was well after that, Candy and the other girl did a bit more run and bump but were fine. Meanwhile, Jesse is trying to act like a younger dog, running amongst the group, trying to hump whichever dog would stand still a moment. I may need to take them 1 at a time if this keeps up. Kinda hard to keep an eye on all 3, making sure no one is picking a fight and the old dog is not getting himself in over his head. Ok, ramble over.

Please don't make her an outside only dog. She would not understand and with her youth, energy and desire to chew, might just eat the back of your house off. I too think a crate is a VERY GOOD idea. When she cannot be supervised, she needs to either be in a crate or in a secure area that has been dogproofed. This is absolutely NOT to say stick her in the crate for hours on end but you sound like a person who cares about your dog and would not do that anyway! I have a VERY aggressive chewer, with time and a boatload of patience, not to mention banging MY head on the wall, she learned what was hers to chew and what was not. This dog literally chewed the corner of the wall. Teeth marks still there. Also, suggestion, next time you hear her rummaging around and you cannot see her, get up! :lol: STOP the behaviour before she ruins a prized possession and redirect her to her toys. Big ole kongs are good, they are pretty darned indestructible, you can stuff them with some cheese, peanut butter, dog cookies, etc. Some people I know stuff them with a meat mixture and freeze them, then give them to the dog. They say it provides hours of chewing enjoyment. Please do supervise her just to make sure she is not one of the rare dogs who can chew hunks off of a kong toy. The compressed rawhide is good for a long chew session, my chewer will settle down and methodically work from one end to the other. I do not let her eat an entire bone at one sitting much to her dismay. Not regular rawhide or that silly crunchy stuff. Even a mildy aggressive chewer can chew a hunk off the regular bones and get it stuck trying to be a piggy and swallow it. I also like the 'mine...yours' game. Offer her or show her one of her toys and say YOURS in an upbeat voice. If she touches it or picks it up, praise and be silly about it. Show her something of yous-don't offer it to her, and say MINE in a stern voice. If she touches it or grabs for it, NO...MINE! Then offer her one of her toys and say YOURS. Proofing her on this will involve keeping one eye on her AT ALL TIMES 8) and saying a stern MINE should she touch or pick up something that should not be in her mouth. Lastly, or perhaps it should have been first, PUPPY PROOF the house! Get down on your hands and knees so that you will see things from her level. Try to think, what kinda sticks out or looks interesting to me as a dog would see it? If you can stick it out and continue building on the relationship that includes training her to be an excellent canine good citizen, she will repay you a thousand times over with her love and devotion. And she won't fuss at you for not putting down the toilet seat.

[quote name='Jacsmom']Yep we are going to be calling you HOPPIT!! :lol:[/quote] :D

Oh and one more thought, if this has already been addressed I'm sorry if I missed. Is it possible for even a moderate area of your yard to be securely fenced? That way Hazel would have a bit more freedom to move about plus she won't be vulnerable should another dog chance by and decide to attack her. Even if it's only say 20x20 for the times she HAS to be outside and unsupervised.

Shara, I'm glad to hear that Hazel is ok and was apparently a 'good girl' while you were away. Keep working with her, remember this is a LIFETIME committment, you should NEVER assume Hazel has gotten past being aggressive. Heck my Jesse has NEVER been aggressive but I still keep him close to me and remind him of his manners etc etc. Speaking from my own experience, if you do not CONSISTANTLY reinforce what behaviours you want to see, it is all to easy for a backslide to occur in your training. Good dog Hazel.

You MUST feed the photo frenzy! 8) We would all love to see photos of Rita and welcome!

Hey Sasha, what do you think of adding another variation to the original Whatchamacallit name? How about WhatchamacallPits!

[quote name='K']OOOOOHHHHHH Goody another new registery :lol:[/quote] Because there is an OBVIOUS need for more registeries who will certify that our lovely mutts are indeed mutts!

Or a shelter doggie! Like my two mixed up girls!

Jesse BSD was neutered right at 6 months. At that time, he was still stretching his body to pee, not lifting his leg. Right about 12 months old, he started lifting his leg to pee. He will flirt VERY HARD with the bitches and drool if one is in season and try to mount her. He will also mount bitches NOT in season, he cozied up to a GSD at an agility trial, she told him to leave her alone, he chose not to heed her warning, tried to mount her and she flattened him. Lightening fast he was on his back and screaming. (Some belgians like to scream bloody murder) He was ok but steered clear of her for the rest of the day! Thought I'd better add, I was not simply 'allowing' him to annoy her, I foolishly agreed to hold the GSD's leash while her owner ran back to her car. Jesse decided to exploit this chance and got his feelings hurt for his efforts. He was monorchid so his neuter INCLUDED the vet going into his abdomen to remove the retained testicle.

[url]http://petpharmacopia.com/default.html[/url] is right in line with healthypets for frontline but I saw that their price on glyco-flex III is $13 higher per 120 tablet bottle than KV Vet. I just bought two bottles of that and it will last me less than 3 months.