courtnek

I have posted about intelligent disobedience before...Freebee has always exercised it, not coming back when I called her from the yard because she wasnt done "going" yet...and knows that houstraining is top of the list. Laurel has always come back right away, and then had accidents...I suspect Freebee has ben "training" her...I called them both tonight, NEITHER came back. Not unusual for Freebee, but very unusal for Laurel, at least in the yard (they get out, they come back when THEY want to) I went out and found Freebee "finishing up". and Laurel casting the yard... She had an upset tummy, and wanted to finish up before coming back in... Kind of a gross subject, but Good Girls!! :D

the rottie may actually have meant no harm at all. the differences between the two is more than 100 lbs....he could have just stepped on the poor little thing and hurt it badly...The owner should have had his dog in the small dog park. I wouldnt get a Beagle because I was afraid Freebee would trounce on it, and IG's are MUCH smaller than Beagles...I hope the poor little guy is ok.... My CAT is bigger than most IG's....

I forgot to add that when you pull him away from the bone/food/whatever, issue a loud and firm OFF or DROP IT...and then let him see you take it away. With the obedience training afterwards you are reinforcing your role as alpha, and teaching him the drop it command as well. I use drop it in this instance because I use OFF when they jump up. Dont want to confuse them too badly... :)

I agree with Cassies NILIF training...but I would definitely add this... I agree that it could be counterproductive to reward the dog for taking something he shouldnt have...it would be different if he knew "off" or "drop it", but he doesnt at this point. My suggestion is to keep a two feet lead on him whenever you are in the house. If he takes something he shouldnt, or guards his bones from you, you pull HIM away from the bone, not put yourself in danger trying to get it from him. Once pulled away, lop the leash end under a strong chair, or put him behind a baby gate where he can see you, and pick up the bone and put it away. Where he can see you do it. If you feel safer with a longer lead, then use that. Make him go through 5 minutes of obedience training, then reward him with the bone when you are done. 10 minutes later, try to take it away again. Keep this up until he understands he DOES NOT get the bone at all unless he complies with obedience training, and if he tries to keep it from you, he loses it. I have used this method successfully with "guarding" problem dogs...it takes a bit of work and repetition, but it does eventually work out. Use this in conjunction with Cassies NILIF... He's gotten a bit above himself T&J... :)

here;s another thing I found...while this article mentions sweat, there are other people who believe its a pheomone, and not sweat..it's never been proven concretely hower... I do believ it though... How dogs sense fear Question February 20, 2003 I heard that dogs can hear the heartbeat of someone when they are in fear. Iis this true? If not, how is it that dogs can sense fear? Hugo Answer Although a person's heartbeat is somewhat louder when in fear, it is also louder when exercising. I have never seen anything about dogs being able to hear the heartbeat. That is not to say they can't, but I would think other noises would drown out that sound. When people are in a state of fear, they give off odors in their sweat. Dogs have extremely sensitive smelling ability and can probably pick up that odor. Also, dogs can see the body language of a person in fear. Fooling a dog by moving like you are afraid can cause some dogs to attack you.

well, I dont have anything concrete. What I said was from things I have read and seen on TV..there is a website that makes a slight mention of dogs being able to "smell" fear, but either I'm seatching under the wrong category, or I'm not wording it right... [url]http://www.wcsscience.com/nose/page.html[/url]

I would also contact the humane society - they can run counter posts and gel up a lot of support with their contacts. They might also agree to help with the care at a reduced cost...good luck to you and the poor puppies... I would like to see the person who caused this brought to justice.... maybe contact the Animal Cops too.... :o

[quote name='Cassie']I just want to add...this is not a rule that just because some people show fear of a dog...it does not mean the dog is going to turn on humans... :lol: but, it does make sense that it can help push a dog into becoming a bit of a bully...heck, if I was walking down a street with chains and leather and every one avoided walking past me...I'd get a little bit full of myself as well and think I was pretty darn tough...its the nature of the beast...survival of the fittest. With my Rottie, she LOVES people...but, with fearful people she can be a little bit of a dominant creature...they pick on fear...but, if a person is confident and walks boldy up to my Rottie, she will get very excited and almost wiggle out of her skin with excitement.[/quote] actually, it is very true...and has been medically researched for a long time. People, like all animals, give off pheremones. Most people think of sex and mating when they hear that word, but actually the "smell of fear" is also a pheremone...and dogs react instinctively to pheremones. Smelling fear may well make them aggressive...it has been said that;s why a normally docile dog will become protective around a burglar or attacker...the attacker will always have a certain amount of fear in that situation. So yea, I beleive it's possible.

I have NO idea....I have never heard of the dog, not by that name at least..Here's a URL you can go to with dog clubs and breed specs and stuff, in both finnish and english, whichever is easier for you... [url]http://www.google.com/search?q=kooikerhondje[/url]

I agree...this is a very thin line, and no one wants to cross it....however, IF the dog was growling, and IF the adults heard it and did nothing to stop it, (and WHY were they letting a toddler play unsupervised with a large dog? I dont care what breed it was...)and IF he has been responding well to training and they can evaluate him properly there (and it sounds like they can) then I would give him another chance. Not a household with small children....people with a firm hand and knowledge of training and handling an animal like this, and as mentioned, room to run, then yes, I would adopt him out. IF the Humane Society is telling the truth about his behavior now, he has shown no hostility to anyone sonce he's been there. It may very well just have been an unfortunate accident. The dog did, after all, warn the child off. I dont agree with ever letting a small child near a dog unsupervised, for any reason...and in my opinion, any child under 10 is a small child...you can never tell what a toddler will do. He may have pulled his ears, or poked him. Neither the dog nor the child understand each other's behavior...and the poor kid was lterally in the dogs face...It's not like the dog ran out to him and attacked him... BUT....if the dog fails ANY of the temperament testing, ANY of it, then no, he needs to be put down. He now has a bad record, and they cant take the chance of it happening again. It's a two-edged sword...I'd be interested to hear what happens.

one other thought...if he is doing this consistently when you are tending the kids, he may feel a little jealous or outplaced. Dogs dont have the same emotions that people do, so it's not a revenge factor, but they do find ways, both negative and positive, to attract attention. This may be a gambit for negative attention; it takes you away from the kids and makes you pay attention to him. In that case, crating is your best bet. Crate him with a treat, and then tend to your kids. Let him out and take him outside when your done, providing he's done nothing bad in the meantime. Have the kids pet and praise him too, so he feels accepted by everyone.

for housebreaking purposes, a doggy litterbox is probably not much different than paper or pad training...you take the dog to it, show him what it's for, (by putting a small dropping in it af first, until he learns) but do you want to do this forever? If you want him to go outside, he needs to be trained for outside....Cleaning a litterbox is no fun, believe me, coming from someone who has owned multiple cats....You might be better off crating him when you are tending to the kids, as a general rule, if the crate is small enough, they dont normally soil their own den. There are always exceptions, of course, but that's the usual take.

I think the "domestication events" they are talking about was the very first domesticatoin of the wolf, which has been traced back to East Asia...the first "dog" was uncovered in Israel, like you said. But the wolves that eventually were used to breed today's dogs have been shown to be from East Asia... :D :D

A burglar breaks into a house one night intending robbery. He cases out the house, deciding what to steal...all of a sudden he hears a voice that says "Jesus is watching you..." He freezes in place, looks to find the source of the voice. When he hears nothing else, he thinks he imagined it and starts to unplug the TV and stereo. Once again he hears "Jesus is warching you..." he turns on his flashlight and searches the room. In the far corner he finds a parrot, on a stand....the burglar walks up to him and says "Did you say that?" The parrot says "yes"...the burglar starts laughing and says "And just who are you?" The parrot says "I am Moses..." The burglar looks amazed and says "What kind of people would name a parrot Moses????" Looking almost smug, the parrot says "The same people who named the 140 lb. Rottweiler 'Jesus'....."

I have to believe, with all the stupid/moronic/idiotic things that PETA has done, they must have friends in high places....anyone else who had done that to the lobsters would have been arrested for animal cruelty. But they donate money to political campaigns and lobbyist groups, so they are "protected" from the laws other people have to obey...it's all politics....

I dont think the garbage men really care...all garbage smells bad generally. If you're really concerned, you can get a bucket and some port-a-potty products like they use for septic tanks, (mostly yeast and other natural compounds) and put the waste in there. Cover it. The yeast will break it down and then you can do whatever you want with it. It works the same as a septic system, but it's much less expensive. I cant think of the name right now, but they sell it at most hardware stores for septic systems...water and the septic stuff is all you need.

oddly enough, I saw the comercial just after reading this... It's definitely part JRT, but most definitely mixed with something else. :D

You did all the work, Annie should be YOUR dog....Now this is uncivilzed, politically incorrect, and mostly untrue, but since she is apparently dog illiterate you may get away with it. Tell her that it is a very bad idea to have a known aggressive adult dog in a house with a baby. Dont mention DOG aggression, just say aggressive. Tell her the dog might have moments of jealousy, and that she would never be able to leave the baby alone with the dog for fear something might happen. (true enough, but I doubt she would follow that advice if she does take Annie). Tell her that since Annie is not good with other dogs, you have no way of knowing how she would react to a baby. You need to keep your voice calm, like you're explaining how to do something very simple to someone who doesnt understand. Then if you see any kind of agreement from her, suggest "I will keep Annie for you, and you can visit her, but I think it's best to not have her in a house with a new baby." I am evil, I know...but it's for Annies and the baby's own good... :evilbat:

I HATE snow.... [img]http://thumb5.webshots.com/s/thumb2/8/18/35/116781835vQLmUi_th.jpg[/img] WHAT?????You want me to PLAY out here???? It's FREEZING!!!! [img]http://thumb4.webshots.com/s/thumb1/8/17/54/116781754gvnGTW_th.jpg[/img] Can I go IN now???? [img]http://thumb6.webshots.com/s/thumb1/8/16/16/116781616dMiDdB_th.jpg[/img] She's SUCH a WIMP!!! [img]http://thumb4.webshots.com/s/thumb1/6/83/14/116768314KWzQOT_th.jpg[/img]

[quote name='K']Thanks for the help there Malamum...my mistake :oops: ..I was trying for a while (well all night really) to work out how a hedge cut into the shape of a chicken could hold a dog in :lol: ..... :oops: :oops:[/quote] ???? you have hedges shaped like chickens??? :o

I have given all of my dogs rawhide, to chew on while I am in attendance, and the vets have always said that will help to keep their teeth clean and healthy. I dont leave them alone with it, just in case, so it's a night time and weekend thing...all of my dogs have had excellent teeth because of it..strong, white, healthy, even in old age...but they all chewed hard rawhide, not softened...

:oops: :oops: :oops: what are Greenies?

My Foxhound, Laurel, has bad teeth and gums....a resuce, not really well cared for in the teeth department (or ears for that matter...) I have been giving her rawhide to chew on, and also brushing her teeth, but I noticed something funny about all of them. Freebee has never liked "hard bones"..she would choose to chew on the rawhide after it;s been softened by another dog, which at the time was Alex (who could have chewed thru cement, I swear it)...Both of them now prefer "soft bones", previously chewed, softened by something else...I can understand it with the condition of Laurels teeth and gums, but Freebees are in execellent shape. White, pink, no issues...yet she wont chew unless it is soft....I have been soaking their rawhide in water to soften if up, and they love it that way, but is it still providing the cleaning properties? Do some dogs just not like hard bones? do they have teeth that need soft things to chew on? They only chew while I'm here, I put the bones up while I'm gone...

FYI Cassie.... demoting is used in a situatin where the dog was not properly controlled, from the beginning, like yours have been. Once out of control, The "I eat first" and "NO sleeping on MY bed" is used to get them back into control... It is not necessary with all dogs, and with yours, obviously, they wre cracked down on from day one....the proper way to train them. You have already established the pack rules, from the beginning. Some people are not that headstrong...and they let the dogs get the upper hand. Thats where demotion comes in. The "I eat first" and "no sleeping on my bed" are not necessary when someone with a strong hand has control from the beginning. You're a good Alpha...If everyone was, there would be a whole lot less problems with their dogs. your dogs know they need to earn what they get...excellent training technique...unfortunately, some people just dont get it... :lol: :lol: :lol:

[img]feed your pets before you eat and keep them in another room during meals so that they aren't able to beg for food [/img] this is an issue with a dominant dog that needs demoting. Aonir was right on that count, but with a dog that has accepted his position and lets you be boss it really doesnt matter. Lots of people let their dogs sleep on their bed too (my Foxhound does, but I would never let the Lab, she wants to be King and needs demoting all the time) but in a dominance situation that is not allowed either. It depends on the dog. Like people, each dog is an individual. Not every dog needs to be demoted, some of them accept being non-alpha with no trouble. Some dont. I have had both, and with the "alpha wannabe's" they NEVER ate first. They were required to lay down and watch me eat, without begging...