courtnek

ok you have all FORCED me to explain Halloween.... :lol: Halloween actually means "All Hallows Eve"...it's a pagan ceremony (from before the time of Christ) based on the belief that ONE night a year, all of the dead souls from that year could come back ONE MORE TIME and visit earth before departing to wherever they would end up in the afterlife. The people at the time were afraid of these spirits, and thought they would harm them, so they dressed up like dead people so that the spirits would be fooled into thinking they were one of them, and leave them alone. To placate the spirits they would have special "treats" for them, bowls of food, spices, etc, so that they would go away. If they came calling, they would have to do something to prove they were really a "spirit" of the dead, and then they would be given the "treat" to placate them. therefore the "trick"... The next day, Nov. 1st, which Christians designated "all saints day" was supposed to be the day that the dead souls would be dispatched to their afterlife... :D :D :D :D

[quote]What does he think these dogs are.. Some kind of toys that he can exchange anytime he wants?[/quote] that's exactly what he thinks.... he;s a moron. Can I talk to him???? :evilbat:

excuse my ignorance; but what Holiday are you having that allows fireworks? We only have them on the 4th, and at the baseball games when the home team wins....do you celebrate Halloween with fireworks, or is it some other holiday?

If the dog suffered "food pickiness" from the beginning I would say let her go until she wants to eat....but Sassy has suffered a trauma experience, and it took people food to get her to eat at all. Under these circumstances, I would prep her with rice or cheese, and then wean her. Shar, how's she doing?

dogs like cat food for some reason, but you need to be careful. It wont hurt the dogs, but dog food does not have a necessary enzyme that cat food does to preserve their vision. Without it, they will go blind. So save enough cat food for your cat!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[quote]too many people mistake them for couch potato dogs, and they easily turn into just that if they don't get accustomed to regular exercise[/quote] I agree 100% with this. Like most dogs, this is a breed that was bred for a purpose...not to be a lap dog, but to hunt, in small enclosed places, like holes and tunnels...people NOW realize that BC's dont do well without stimulation, but no dog is happy as a couch potato unless that is what they were bred to be... Dachsunds are hunting dogs....they need exercise, and it's even good for them to have "practice holes" that they can slither into and out of.... My foxhound enjoys herself chasing squirrels around the yard...I doubt I would trust her with any cat but mine (he is king of the castle and the dogs answer to him, and they KNOW it...lol) but I would not make her stop chasing squirrels...she is a hunting dog. she needs to run, to play with other dogs (raised in a pack of 20) and to hunt...you have to give them a little lattitude to be what WE designed them for... :lol:

This is a terrible accident. She should not have been allowed to try to seperate the dogs, anyone with dog knowledge knows you neeed a control stick or a hose to do that. But she was just a child, saw dogs fighting, and tried to stop the fight. They may not actually have even been fighting - they may have had a dominance issuie between them and were sorting it out the way dogs do..it always looks alot more vicious then it usually is... poor girl...I feel for her. If they are going to kennel dogs they need to make sure the kennesl are not accesable to people who dont belong there, like little girls...

well, I have to agree that mixes tend to live longer, having had a bunch of them, but my purebred Golden's LE was 9-11 years, and he lived till 13. My malamute mix at 110 lbs. lived to 12.... The odd thing is that ENGLISH foxhounds (Laurel) have a LE of 10 years, but AMERICAN foxhounds have a LE of 11-12? wazzup with that???

excellent shannon! exactly correct to the letter!

no need to get upset TPP...sometimes my advice is not the greatest.... I'm going from experience, not professional training, and I COULD BE WRONG!!! so if there is better advice, then do that!! I am NOT easily offended In fact, it's been years since anyone has offended me...I lost my personal "offensive" touchiness a LONG TIME AGO... right about the time I realized that advice from OTHER people was sometimes better than what I thought I knew... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: for instance, I have never had a timid dog before...I can break any dominant dog and make it a good household pet, but never had to deal with a scared dog before. I have received a LOT of good advice here about Laurel...that has helped me alot. so we are all in it together. we all need to remember that...

a little bit of cooked rice, or a SMALL topping of cottage cheese will probably bring her around. You have to keep reducing it and replacing it with canned food as you go along. She is using her situation to get herself spoiled on people food, put the dry, the canned, and the TINY bit of cheese or rice all together, then slowly wean her off the chees and rice. She wont ler herself starve Shar, dont worry.

dachsunds were bred that way for a specific reason....they chased vermin down holes into places that larger dogs with longer legs, and the shorter backs, couldnt slither into. Dachsunds can turn corners in a hole in a heartbeat. I also agree that the quality of life is better than the quantity. Play with her, let her be a dog.....Do you want her to live to be 20 and never have any fun, or maybe 15 and have a full, happy life? I think what you are doing is better. That's just my opinion, but I would never protect my dogs to the point that they couldnt be dogs and have fun....

thanks Cassie - That explains alot because that was just what I was thinking happened. These dogs are field trialed, not show, and actually hunted. But the only human contact they ever had was with the kennel staff, and the hunt club...I was told there were 2- dogs in her pack, and that's a lot of animals to try to pay individual attention to. I think she may also have been the runt of a litter, because she's about 10- lbs smaller than your average female foxhound. I also think that because she has teeth marks (not deep bites, but scars from having been grazed) which tells me she was low down in the pack order and corrected more than once. Oh, and as far as the lead...I dont use it to pull her TO me, but rather to make her lie down without reaching for her collar. I am not afraid of her by any means, but she shies from being grabbed by the collar. She seems more comfortable on the lead. Part of the "chill" command is a short light tug on the lead (I have always used a lead to teach this) and a stern command to "LIE DOWN". The tug is just a reminder, not hard or dragging, just a little "umph" that I mean lie down right now. Once she has lied down, she gets petted and fussed over (same as I did with Freebee) and paid attention to. She is very smart, I was able to teach her "chill" in four attempts. It's a two handed command: one hand gives the short downward tug ont he collar, and the other does the hand motion for "lie down"...part of the chill command also means silence. Basically, lay down and shut up....lol....I have used it for years to get my dogs to stop barking when someone rings the door bell. I was surprised at how quickly she picked it up. By the end of last night she would let people walk by the door, only reacting by raising her head. and staring. If she started to make noise I would say "chill" and she would lay down and be quiet, still staring, but quiet... I know it's going to take time, and I am really impressed with how hard she is trying to please me. With all of her issues, she is a really good and loving dog. It's kinda cool having a velcro dog, cause Freebee is too independent and not a real lovey-dovey....

@#$%^&^%$#@#$%^^&^%$#@$#%^&**&&^%$$#%^*&(()(**&^%$$$# I'd be thrown out of the forum for saying any of that out loud..... bastard....boy would I like to meet HIM in a dark alley..... :evilbat: :evilbat: didnt you say he got a forever home after the trial Kat?

thanks everyone. she is a velcro dog, but she seems more comfortable on the lead then off of it. She doesnt like for anyone to reach for her collar, while she doesnt threaten she does shy away....I wish I knew what life in the kennel had been like..... thanks for all the tips.

OK I'm happy.."chill" and a hand on her muzzle to make her obey (she lays down when I yell CHILL and take her muzzle in my hand) seems to be controlling her... she is less aggressive (for a TIMID dog?) when I keep her in line.... things seem to be working out... I still think she is trying to manipulate me... :lol: :lol: :lol:

adolescence and the testing phase - they all go through it...is he fixed? If not I would consider it. If neutered he will probably grow out of it, but remember, you were a teenager once...lol

I also do not agree with BSL....it's NOT the dogs, it's the owner. I was around when the GSD, the Rottie and the Dobie were the "bad" dogs....and it wasnt the dogs fault bad breeding, bad owners, and lack of understanding about the breed in general causes these problems... the macho morons buy Pits and Pit mixes, cause they're "tough"..they have no clue how to raise, treat and train these dogs...bites happen. the dog gets punished...not the stupid ignorant owner... I believe there should be laws enacted wher NO ONE can buy a "dangerous" dog, without being forced to take training classes on how to train, treat and control that dog. These dog's need special licensing, which may put the "macho morons" off their purchase, since the cost is extra. It may seem like I'm punishing the dog, but I'm not. These dogs int the correct hands are wonderful family pets. In the wrong hands, they are the nightmare the media portrays them to be...

thanks DAL... and I apologize if I came off a little harsh...it comes from years of demoting friends/families dogs because they have goteen too "full of themselves"..if it goes too far the dog becomes a threat to the family, and feels he can have his way no matter what. Then they bite. So if it seemed like I was yelling, please forgive me. I dont want you injured in a dominance battle with this pup.... all of the suggestions have been excellent. I would go one step further. If your pup wont come out to eat, and guards his den like he owns it, then simply leave his food there for 30 minutes. If he doesnt eat, take it away and dont give it back until the next feeding time. 3 feedings later he will discover he is REALLY hungry and will back down. Please trust me, they wont starve themselves, ever.... Food is a wonderful incentive for most dogs, so leash training with treats should work too. You just have to make the dog understand that you WONT take his attitude. Once he understands that, he will chill and fall in line with what you want.

Laurel and Freebee can hear you opening the fridge from outside, I swear it. I let them out in the morning and then get their breakfast ready. When they hear the spoon mixing the canned and the dry, they both start leaping at the door. Selective hearing.....when I call them they ignore me like they're deaf... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sharpei my friend.... Becky needs to understand that Sassy is aggressive, and bringing in another dog is not only dangerous for the other dog, but for her and you as well. People get bitten all the time for trying to break up a dog fight, whcih I am SURE she would try to do if it came to blows between the two. I can understand her wanting her own dog, since Sassy is really yours, but it's not the best thing right now for Sassy, you or Becky. I am sure she would be completely heartbroken if Sassy hurt her pup. Can she try to understand that? Maybe if you explain it that way, without getting angry, she will understand better. Go softly...that makes it easier to take. :angel:

thanks alot everybody. The trigger here appears to be the kennel life... and the fact that she is submissive. She has taking to baying at people that walk past the door now....*sigh* I am not telling her softly to stop, at least I know better than that. I am not hitting her either (I dont believe in that anyway) but I am keeping her on a short lead and MAKING her lie down with a stern tone when she starts up....then she gets petted for laying down properly when she does. I guess we'll just see how it goes. I think Kyle is feeling a little resentful that "she doesnt like him" and has taken an attitude of "so what?" its sooo hard sometimes to be a teenager.... I am teaching her the term "chill" which Freebee already knows; it basically means SHUT UP and slowly she;ll get it.... :D

Good Grief!!! No I didnt notice - how long have I been one? :lol: :lol: :oops: :oops: well thanks everybody Maybe mental is correct...I appear to be pretty oblivious, dont I? :lol:

PLEASE!! LISTEN TO ME!! You have a simple dominance problem..nothing unsurmountable..where she lives in NOT important right now, altho I agree dogs should live inside, that''s not the issue.... SHE needs to accept you as having higher rank then her...once she does, you will not have biting issues, or eating issues.... YOU need to be more alpha over her....Kat said it best. Let her not eat, if she wont come out. She wont starve herself...put her on a leadsandt her thru obedience trials...MAKE HER BEHAVE!!! She is taking advantage of you because you are letting her do so...STOP THAT RIGHT NOW... MAKE HER SEE YOU AS ALPHA OVER HER...once you do that, she will fall into what you want her to do...

I've never had a timid dog before....I can break the most dominant, but this has been a real challenge...she is apparently men-submissive/afraid... My son always has guy friends here, which she is having a hard time dealing with...but her comfort in my room (instead of escaping upstairs and hiding) I am thinking is a good sign....it took over a month to get her to this point, so her comfort here is important to me... Am I doing ok? If not, PLEASE let me know... I'm not used to this behavior, obviously...