DogPaddle

I guess the issue is that the dog isn't reall, its photoshopped/cg'd/drawn with computer aid/something and it looks a little creepy, something about the eyes. I don't think its that bad in this photo, I have definately seen worse, usually when its a tv comercial with a cg'd animal moving. I think the problem is when the animal is [b]very[/b] close to the real thing but slightly off. Because the image is so close to something real it is believable but that makes the discrepencies much more disturbing, maybe some kind of unconciouse brain thing:question: :niewiem:

That's a nice site Goo, Kavik went through a period where he would look away from the source of any noise made or always go to the person in the room who wasn't calling him over, like he couldn't determine the source of the noise but it seemed to pass. Weird. Excellent points about vibration when testing too.

In our training class the instructors indicated that some dogs just respond far better to hand signals than voice commands. They're not deaf just find the words too difficult to decode but hand signals being more like body language (which is something dogs rely on heavily between themselves) are easier for them. Wouldn't hurt to have her tested though. The easy layman test I have heard of is to start behind the dog and start quiet, snap fingers - do ears twitch etc, then move up to louder and louder precussion, clapping, stamping foot, even if the dog is ignoring you its ears should twitch for every different new noise. For more reliable results see if your vet has a test.

HF - I understand, I have a tatler too. Kavik is my enforcer, growls at Zaphod when he is doing wrong then looks at me like - "You see what I put up with, he's doing it again :roll: "

Oh darn, now I want another one . . . must use willpower. VERY CUTE!

NP, keep us posted.

Signed.

HF, I know I've posted this sort of thing before but I'll post it again, hope it cheers you up and gives you a bit of hopefulness. Tyr, the Mal/GSD we were fostering, has 4rth grade hip displaysia, one hip not really in socket at all, and resulting ostea-arthritus. He was diagnosed at 8 months. The vet advocated glucosamine and chondroitine for his hips and aspirin for his pain as needed - up to 3 uncoated, plain aspirin for a dog his size. He was very comfortable and moderately active like this. The vet also said that from his experience, symptoms lessen by 18 months (this is for large breed dogs.) If Tyr's symptoms had not lessened by then we could look at some surgical options - his suggested being the removal of some muscle on the inner thigh wich relieves some pressure on the hip and relieves pain - no reparation of joint but less recover time and it costs only $500 Canadian for one hip (and less than double for two hips if both done at once.) Anyway after 18 months Tyr appears to be almost completely symptom free, he gets a bit of glucosamine and chondraitin in his food - I think Nutro has it in their large breed formulae. He almost never needs aspririn. Good luck to you and Devin and the whole crew there.

[quote]That is the beauty of the XBOX, the quick release wires. instead of either the TV or the Game hitting the floor the wire would have disconnected pausing the game and freeing your dog.[/quote] Quick release wires are the bomb, they have saved our tv, controlers, xbox and floor* numerouse times. *The reason I mention floor is because the xbox console weighs [i]around 300 lbs[/i] and I'm sure if it landed on [i]our[/i] floors it would go right through.

[quote]Aren't they called the "Grey Ghost"( or something like that?)[/quote] BlackGSD I do beleive that's it, sounds so cool.

Thanks. Next step . . . training Zaphod not to shed or training Kavik to vacume. :lol:

OK, so I was on another board and they had this thread locked because they were discussing millers etc and the Mod locked it because she thought discussion MIGHT get heated. But someone claimed that they just don't have puppymillers in Australia and the rest of the participants seemed to then decide that millers and bybers are a North American problem. Can anyone help me out here, is this true at all?

So most of you know I crate trained the boys and that Kavik was making excellent progress and probably could have been left loose on the main floor a while ago but then Zaphod came along. (The boys fuss alot when they are seperated so I have been first crating Kavik with Zaphod and then gating them in the kitchen together when Zaphod became a bit more reliable.) Well I just left them BOTH loose on the main floor for an hour while I drove brother to work - sans garbage can and with bathroom door closed - and . . . no damage. I am so pleased. Now they can have access to their full toy box and nap on the couch while I'm out and really have room to chase each other around, presuming they don't backslide. :D

An empty cookie box . . . how could it be! :o

Actually if you read breed descriptions and standerds it matches many of the points for American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier and Staffordshrie Bull Terrier fairly well. I have not seen the original but some of the wording appears to be taken word for word from [url]www.akc.org[/url]

Gizmo, see the new house training sticky on the training forum (this forum.) [url]http://forum.dogomania.com/viewtopic.php?t=10960[/url] Does that help?

[color=blue][b][size=6]Housebreaking, New Pup or New Dog to Home or Even Old Dog with Bad Habits.[/size][/b][/color] [color=orange][b]A few things about the eliminatory practices of dogs.[/b][/color] 1. Unfixed animals will want to mark their territory through elimination. If at all possible fix your dog, it will make your job easier. 2. Puppies and to a lesser extent adult dogs will want to eliminate after sleeping, eating, playing, or drinking. If you are aware of these patterns you will know when to keep an extra close eye on them. 3. With people it usually takes 10 positive experiences to "erase" the effects of 1 negative experience. With dogs and housetraining it is probably more like 25 to 1. Don't let you dog [b]fail[/b] if at all possible, it contributes to untraining. 4. Always let dog out before going out or going to bed. [color=orange][b]The full method[/b] - some methods may not be nec. for all dogs and not all methods work with all dogs.[/color] 1. Obtain a crate for your dog that is either just big enough for the dog to sit, stand, lie down or turn around in OR get one that will be big enough for you dog when he is full grown and section it off so it is small enough. The reason for this is - if there is extra space your dog may decide it can eliminate in part of the crate and sit in another part. Your dog should if you crate train with care think of its crate as its "den" and dogs rarely soil their own den. 2. Take your dog out after sleeping, eating, drinking or playing. Allow 5 min. for elimination. If the dog goes, praise and play for another 5 min outside. If the dog does not go, bring back in and crate for 15-25 min depending on eliminatory capacity of dog. Do not punish the crating is just to ensure they eliminate no where else - crating should not be a punishment ever if possible. After the 15-25 min wait take bake out, allow 5 min . . . repeat as nec. 3. If your dog is sneaking off to eliminate elsewhere in the house - leash him/her to you. Usually you only have to do this for two weeks. This ensures that the dog can only have successes because you are right there to watch them. Even if unleashed, unless your dog is very reliably housetrained he/she should be in your sight at all times so they are not able to fail. Keep in mind a puppy of two weeks is the equivilant of an infact, even a 1 year old dog is still in its childhood. You wouldn't leave a small child unnattended they would make [b]mistakes[/b]. 4. If your dog is paticularly difficult to housetrain make use of a schedule. Modify times to suit your schedule and your dogs capacities. This is the schedule I used for Zaphod who was a 8 week old mutt that we got from the shelter (used to eliminating inside only.) i. ) Up and Outside for 5 min ii.a) If he eliminated praise and play for 5 min. iii.a) Then loose in the house but always in sight for 20 min. In this time towards the end I might play with or feed him. iv.a) Crate for 5 min - this ensures that he is ready to eliminate when he goes out, expands eliminatory control and ensures no mistakes are made in the house. v.a) Back to step i. ii.b) If the dog had not eliminated in this step we do not praise or play and no punishment. However we do not have the extra 5 min outside play session. iii.b) Back inside and into the crate for 25 min. No fuss or punishment, in fact I use this time to crate train by putting toys in there and saying "Crate" putting him in there, giving him a treat and telling him how good he is. I may feed him in crate after 10 min. in the crate but not after 20 min. iv.b) Back to step i. Gradually you can increase the time loose in the house and the buildup time in the crate before being let outside and the overall time in the crate. Make sure crate time is positive time and remember to consider how much time your dog is spending in the crate throughout the entire 24 hour period. Note there is no scolding for accidents inside unless caught in the act. Even when I caught my boys in the act I simply said no sternly and transferred them outside right away. [color=orange]Chewing and Transitioning from Crate[/color] Keeping your pup always insight and using the above methods will also help in keeping them from chewing the wrong things and otherwise doing things you would prefer they not do. If your dog is chewing something they aught not, take it from them abruptly while saying no or dropit if you prefer - seem very stern and annoyed. Replace the inappropriate item with a dog safe chew toy and if the dog chews or mouths it or picks it up - praise. For some dogs bitter apple spray can be used for items they just have a hard time leaving alone. You can also make shaker can "pit traps." Get a pop can, fill with nuts, screws, beads etc, anything that will make a lot of noise. Tape opening closed, attatch thread to this and the item - such as slice of pizza. Leave trapped slice of pizza "unattended" somewhere high enough that the can can fall a good distance and make some good noise when the theft occurs. Not good for hunting dogs who are not sound sensitive or whom you do not want to sensitize to sound. In transitioning form crate to loose in the house you just start small. Maybe 5 min while your upstairs, then 5 min while your out and just keep expanding time slowly if you experience success, if not - back to the crate. It took me a year to be able to have Kavik loose in the house but by then I had Zaphod and they seem to prefer to be together so they were both crated together till Zaphod caught up. We are currently using the kitchen as a half way step to being fully loose. We ensured the kitchen was pretty free of damagables and temptation and gate them in there while we are out, we will move on from here. Some things are just to tempting for some dogs - garbage cans, toilet paper, your underwear, tv remotes etc. Keep them out of reach or close doors to bathrooms and bedrooms while you are out. [color=orange]ON CRATES[/color] Wire vs Plastic Wire crates are more durable but Plastic might look better in your living room and crates should be in an area where people most often are that way it is not seen as punishment to crate the dog. (Dogs are highly pack oriented.) Wire crates allow the dog to see around but plastic crates being more enclosed may feel more secure to yoru dog. In this case you can just try to guess what would be more important to your dog. Wire crates may allow dog to pull items through bars to chew on, plastic crates resrict ease of you dropping things through the bars for your dog. Wire crates - easily sanitized but so many little parts. Plastic crates will be harder to get certain scents out of but are easy to clean in that they are mostly flat surfaces. Crates should never be punishment. Crates can be time out places. Puppies eat crate cushions. As a general rule maximim time in crate is 1 hour per 1 month of age but all dogs are different. So a 4 month old pup should spend a max of 4 hours in a crate and then will need out to eat, drink, play etc. Max time in crate should be 8 hours for most dogs, some will tolerate 10 but this is an extrordinary amount of time locked up without food or water or room to play. Food and sometimes water are often left out of crate if dog will be confined for long periods so dog doesn't eat or drink all right away and then suffer needing to eliminate for hours. A crate is not where your dog should spend most of its life. Some dogs can be trained more easily using a crate and xpen. Start crate training early and make games of it, make it fun. Crate the dog for short periods while you are present, work your way up. Praise and treat in crate. For extra effect feed and water your dog in crate it increases the positive association with the crate. How's that, any additions or disagreements.

Get him fixed. Use the crate as part of a scheduled potty plan, never let him out of your sight, until he is reliable house trained?

[quote] (I know I'm anthromofartisizing... assessing human emotions and reasoning on a dog, but just go with it). [/quote] :lol: You always have a way of poking fun at stuff that puts it in perspective, :thumbs: [quote]I have to smack him in the middle and get him walking to know which end is which... he hates it when I poke treats at the wrong end of him... and here I just thought he had a surprised look on his face when it really wasn't his face at all ). [/quote] :o :lol:

Darn, I usually catch that.

So I was thinking that we should pile all of our combined knowledge and experience into one thread and then compile, finalize and edit it down to one post. I will compile it when the thread is done or someone else can but lets get something good going so when new folks come they can look there first for generalized house breaking stuff and then if they still have specific questions we can help more. Watcha think?

Scan these for now. I'm going to see if we can start a comprehensive house training thread and then compile, edit and finalize it and make a stickey of it.

[quote]A year ago Magic broke two teeth on a Nylabone dental chew toy (she bit the hard toy in half) a $1000 later[/quote] :o :o :o Poor Magic. :( Poor Pocketbook. I have found that brushing and dental kongs are awsome [b]preventative[/b] but truley scaled on plaque often has to be removed like MajiesMom suggested.

Well, Kavik learned by playing Kong - Kavik desperately wants to chase the kong. When he had it in his mouth and was near me, I would say DropIt and if he dropped it, I threw the kong - he learned. With Zaphod being a Lab he constantly tried to eat things so there were plenty of opportunities to say DropIt. If he didn't drop it I would abruptly walk over to him, quick as I could so he had no time to consume whatever was in his mouth, remove the item from his mouth while saying DropIt sternly. Once the item was removed, I'd wait 20 seconds and give him something he was allowed to have in his mouth like a kong and pat him on the head - he learned what toys to chew on. If the item was way back at the slimey back of his throat I would reach my whole hand in there and grab the slimey horribleness anyway. If he had already swallowed it, I would still stick my hand in his horrible slimey mouth and root about as if I was looking for it - this way he learns that swallowing it is no help. Zaphod learned DropIt very fast as well, now down, down tooks months.

Aside from brushing daily you can get dental toys, things like Dental Kongs, Kongs, Cotton Knotted Ropes - for chewing or playing tug with them, Dental Bones, some people advocate real bones and I have heard somewhere that if you go to the right place you can get untreated rabbit etc skins - dogs will chew and play with them and they buff up their teeth nicely apparently - I haven't checked into this further yet. There are also products like Suzie's Tarter Liquid Tarter Remover that you add to their drinking water in small amounts.