DogPaddle

It probably safer for Coal to be a wuss - if someone does come to rob your house they might think twice about murder but probably won't even think once about killing a dog that seems threatening. Does he bark before or as he runs for cover? If so that should be enough to keep most criminals away.

It took 10 months to housetrain Kavik using a crate - at the end of which he could be trusted in the house alone for 6 hours (we gradually started working up to this after 8 months.) The concept is this the dog is not able to indulge in bad behaviours so he/she doesn't devolop (or maintain) the habit so when he/she is allowed out it just does not occur to him/her. You start with just 15 min loose and if the dog is good he gets more time out, if he is bad - back in the crate while your out. This is usually very effective. Of course, you have to limit temptation with most dogs even when they are house trained - no steak on the floor etc, some suggestions for much later: 1. Garbage cans with lids, and take out often - especially if something in their might smell good to fido 2. No food stored anywhere but in cupboards. 3. No paper products in dog accesable locations with exception of tp on roll, close bathroom door. 4. House very tidy, remotes for tv etc out of reach, no kids toys close or bags lying around. 5. Cables and wires tucked out of the way. 6. Laundry in covered baskets - I am not kidding on this one, unless you like underwear with holes chewed in them. 7. All cleaners or other harmful products in cupboards with babylatches. 8. You get the idea, its just like babyproofing your house, you can also get babygates to block off some sections of the house, for instance we block off the stairs so the dogs can't go upstairs and the cats can. No burglers are going to break in upstairs . . . I think :o I know it seems annoying now but a few months of crating now and you should hopefully have your protection dog loose in your house for years later. Good luck, and I'll wish me good luck too . . . Zaphod is still [color=green][size=6][b][i]Eat Dog[/i][/b][/size][/color] , I'm wondering if I'll have to look into a muzzle just so he won't eat something that will kill him one day . . . :lol: . . . :oops:

[quote]The reason the breeder wants him crated when he's with the other dogs unsupervised is because Papillons have very fragile bones and it isn't unheard of for them to get injured while playing with a well meaning bigger dog. I know with Lily for example, she has this style of playing where she trys to squash the other dog with her chest (its actually quite funny to see!)[/quote] :lol: Tyr did the chestplow thing, his favourite was outside in the winter, he (weighing 2 - 3 times as much as the others) would plow them along the ground in the snow with his chest or head sometimes. It was funny in the winter but not so funny in the warmer weather when I had not got to the dog spots on the patio yet - that dog had very good aim :roll: I think the crate is great. No sqashy Monty for you! Best of luck, post pics!

When you say "attack" what do you meen? When the boys were settling things here there was snapping, growling, posturing, pinning and roughness but basically it was all settled without anything more than that. The only time I interferred was if someone was getting hurt, or seemed scared. I also made sure they all got their allotted food, and some treats each, although for a while one might get more than the other. I would make time to spend with each of them in a day and if nec. crate the one not scheduled but otherwise I played with or patted whoever was there and if Kavik walked up and wormed in past Zaphod I wasn't to worried, same with toys, if he made a larger fuss I would sternly tell him "that's enough" and continue with Zaphod for a bit and if he didn't fuss more and only wriggled or pushed I'd pet him. Otherwise they settled it on their own - without bloodshed. They get along very well now, occasionally they test one another but its all posturing.

Any update RnP? :(

Anyone know the history of the American Bulldog, I know its not AKC or CKC regd, and that the goal was to produce a more atheletic dog presumably closer to the very old version of the breed but how did they do that, what other breeds did they incorporate etc?

Take care everyone.

Hey that was me, it said I was logged in, now I'm Guest . . . hmmph!

I don't know if pet scent remover works on dirt. You could remove the top layer of dirt to remove the smell (you may not be able to smell it but they can and will go there again because of it.) and Lay down some sort of psudo-flooring to diferentiate between outside and inside - plywood maybe. or Get a crate, usually one only big enough for the dog or dogs to lie down, stand or turn around in. Put the dogs in it while your out, no more than 8 hours preferably or someone will have to come home to let them out. Move the crate variouse places throughout the mudroom, so the whole mudroom is reinforced as part of the den, spend time with the dogs in the mud room so it is reinforced as part of the den. Eventually you may be able to let them out of the crate again and let them have the run of the mudroom, if there is backslidding - back to the crate. Even once they are trustworthy in the mudroom again, leave the crate in the mudroom (with the door blocked open) to reinforce it as part of the den and the dog may also enjoy napping in his/her crate - my dogs do.

I have seen dogs do shutzhund training, I wouldn't so much classify it as a sport but rather a discipline (by discipline I mean this meaning - Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement. Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control. A systematic method to obtain obedience: a military discipline. ) I might also consider it a job or similar to obedience. It is very useful for police dogs. My question is this - I have never seen a dog do shutzhund while tethered, has anyone else heard of this? Also, forgive my ignorance, but is this a bulldog or an APBT or an Am Staff Terrier or some other mix?

Kavik - BC Zaphod - Lab/Chow - mostly lab Scottish Terrier: 2 Rottweilers : 3 Doberman Pinscher : 2 Shetland Sheepdog : 1 German Shepherd : 4 Keeshonden :3 Shiloh Shepherd : 1 Boxer : 2 Kelpie : 1 Labrador : 8 Mini Poodle : 3 Papillon : 1 Foxhound : 1 Standard Poodle : 2 Toy Poodle : 1 Lhasa Apso : 2 Mini Schnauzer : 1 Chihuahua : 1 Pit Bull : 2 1/2 Malamute : 2 Border Collie: 6 Maltese : 1 "Heeler"(Blue and Red) : 4 Samoyed : 1 Saint Bernard : 2 Staffordshire Bull Terrier : 2 British Bulldog : 2 American Eskimo : 1 Jack Russell Terrier : 5 Golden Retriever : 1 Springer Spaniel : 1 Collie : 1 Black & Tan coonhound : 1

If worse comes to [size=6][b]worse[/b][/size] get a good tent or three, a 5 gallon water bottle, a camp stove, some sleeping bags and air mats, a cooler and ice, your crates and some solid tie outs, lots of poopy bags, and head WELL out of the path of the storm and camp somewhere. Most provincial parks here allow dogs, I assume state parks would be the same. Most parks here are not too busy in this season and also have a line to Environment Canada for severe weather warnings and have evacuation locations, again I assume its the same there, if you go far enough out of the storm path it should not be an issue but you'll probably still get wind and rain so as I said get a good tent or three and maybe a deck of cards. I would see if you can find a hotel though.

I'm sorry you lost such a great companion Debbie. A rotti/akita . . . I would have liked to have seen that, what did she look like?

For housetraining it is, generally, but not always, easier to start as small as possible and then increase extra space as the pup prooves himself reliable. I have known others who have success otherwise and my mother has a well trained shitzhu that uses a litter box. It started out crated with litter box but is now left out with litter box available, it also goes outside when on walks. It is possible but my mother found it more effort than strictly outdoor training but the litterbox is a useful alternative especially when the weather is bad. I have to admit that Kavik was in a huge crate as a puppy, large enough in fact that Zaphod and Kavik can spend 4-5 hours in it quite comfortably. We had 0 problems with crate and house training Kavik this way but the breeder had already started him off with crate training (another thing to lover her for.) Zaphod was crate trained in a crate that was not as large but still left him extra space until he started peeing in the crate, we quickly cut down his space and saw improvement. Of course Zaphod was harder to house train than Kavik overall and in fact we had to use the full crate and schedule routine for him. As for how long you can leave the pup crated the ideal is 1 hour/month of age up to 8-10 hours, depending on who you talk to, when they are adultish. Zaphod and Kavik are around 11 months and 21 months and I leave them crated preferrable no longer than 5 hours at a time, someone comes to let them out. However, they have, due to unforseen circumstance, been left for 10 hours once and did not mess in the crate and were only a bit more crazed than when I come home and they have been loose in the house. Still, I don't like it. If you go for a massive crate or an xpen with a litter box inside you could probably leave Monty for longer than 1 hour/month of age, maybe double or 2 1/2 times as long. Either way leave a very safe chew toy available. One other thought the 1 hour/month of age thing is for standerd dogs, its possible as Monty is smaller he might have a more limited tolerance (smaller blader) ???

I'm looking at Zaphod's bed, the one we used when he first came home, it fits in a milk crate. He used to be able to lie out in it. Now he couldn't get much more than his head in the old bed. :o I can't believe he was that small. He must have weighed around 3kgs, now he weighs around 26 kgs. :o The shelter must have picked him up (wanderind alone in some residential area) at 36 to 40 days old. Way to young to be wandering anywhere, I still wonder how that happened. I wonder if the effect is even more extreme with larger breed dogs. What weight was you dog when you brought him/her home as a pup and what is its' weight now.

What breed of dog is Pepsi?

If I see a pit or other dog popular with the "I'm making up for my own inadequacies even though I know nothing about this breed" group I generally look at the owner. I freely confess if the owner looks a certain way I watch them and the dog very closely and feel sorry for the dog. You can call it discrimination but I call it learning from experience.

The are way to many factors involved in paticular dogs needs and attributes and the living circumstances, personality and care a prospective owner can provide to say there is one best or one worst dog. The best dog for a 70 year old in an aparmtment is not the best dog for a family with active kids between 8-12 on an acerage. So I guess I agree with most everyone else so far, the best dog is a healthy, well trained, well socialized dog that suites the owner and their lifestyle.

Crate training is wonderful. An older puppy may work but as a general rule the puppy should not be left alone for more than 1 hour per month of age, preferably not exceeding 8 hours - ex 4 month old puppy should not be left alone for more than 4 hours. As for how long someone need to come home for during the day: My boys are 11 months and 20 months (I think) and I am out of the house for 10 hours due to work, my brother is here more but I never know if he'll have an early day so either I come home on my lunch or I pay someone to come in and let them out, when I do it I am only home for 10 min but I would prefer longer, when I pay someone to come by they are usually here for 20-30min (and I pay them to clean the yard too :wink: ) Some dogs suffer from seperation anxiety so you may need to work with this. Some breeds are more comfortable being left alone for a period of time than others. As for an older puppy offering the advantages of puppyhood - yes. IMHO most healthy, well adjusted, fixed, house dogs behave very puppyish well past 10 months, sometimes well past 2 years, depends on the breed. Granted they will not be tiny and fuzzy but even if you got a 2 month old pup they wouldn't be like that for long anyway. As for bonding - age is rarely a barrier even for senior dogs. And I can't think of any other benefits to puppyhood - they mess in the house, the chew on things they aren't supposed to the are not as capable when it comes to fetch and obedience and tricks and games, they can't go for all day hikes etc. I am in the minority I think but I like dogs closer to maturity better than young pups. Differences raising a dog now rather than 40 years ago? I'm too young to know directly but from what my mom tells me of their Collie from when she was young - not much. Different leash, scoop, stray etc laws. Different food and care options such as holistic approaches. A tendency to avoid physical correction or harsh correction after bad behaviour in favour of training and positive reinforcement. Good luck. :D

Congats! Let us know how the introductions go with the rest of your family especially the furry ones.

[quote]After all, I'm sure you'd agree that I'd be an idiot if I wasnt' willing to learn from the experiences of other's right?[/quote] I certainly think we should learn from others. The reason I opted to include only bites that the poster witnessed or experienced themselves is so that the "unprovoked" issue can be clearly and accurately evaluated. I think I posted this elsewhere but we had a personal experence where my mother's cockapoo snapped at a 9 year old. The child said she did nothing. Fortunately the neighbour was able to tell us otherswise as she happened to see the event. Also dog bite storeis have a way of growing over the tellings, a bite that was unpleasant will turn into a mauling over enough tellings. [quote]Were these dogs provoked or chained? WHO CARES [/quote] I care. I think it is reprehensible to put a dog down for defending itself. I do think that pit bulls can do more damage than other breeds and therefor require handlers to be extra dilligent. I don't think that unprovoked biting is anymore acceptable in a small breed than a large breed as far as behaviour goes but I know that I expect more from the handlers of larger dogs due to the damage they are capable of. Please note I did indicate that: [quote]yes, pit bull type dogs (which is a very genralized term and may or may not artificially raise stats) are responsible for more fatal attacks. However, Akitas do not rank very high at all in this study.[/quote] So my major point was that Akitas are not responsible for as many fatal attacks as this thread would lead some people to believe.

These dog breed choosers/selectors are a pretty good [i]starting[/i] point: [url]http://selectsmart.com/beta_dog/[/url] [url]http://sy.adiho.com/ASA/Controller?sysid=4&appid=9901[/url] [url]http://www.ivillage.com/pets/tools/breedselector/?arrivalSA=1&arrival_freqCap=2[/url] [url]http://www.showdog.com/Breeds/breedselector.asp[/url] [url]http://www.about-dogs.com/dog_breed_selector.htm[/url] [url]http://www.petnet.com.au/selectapet/dogselectapet.html[/url] [url]http://animal.discovery.com/guides/dogs/selector/selector.jsp[/url] [url]http://www.ckc.ca/default-refresh.asp[/url] Most of them take living space into account.

Hypothetically :wink: yes. The best option would be to research breeds and find one suited for apartment life and then possibly go to a breed rescue or search shelters for the right breed or breedX or if nec. go to a good breeder. An adult dog would be ideal really unless someone can come home part way through the day to let the pup out till it gets older, also it may already be housetrained.

For our walks in the neighbourhood - Both dogs leashed - always. At the beach - Kavik offlead, Zaphod onlead unless the place is deserted (even when he swims - he has a 20ft boatline on a collar I can slip over his head if a have to) I have put Kavik on lead at the beach if its very busy - just too much chaos. On our way to the park or school - Both dogs leashed - always. At the park - Usually both dogs leashed, Kavik sometimes offlead - usually in winter when I have the park to myself or during offpeak hours. At the dog spot in the park - Kavik offlead, Zaphod on his long lead. WHY: [b]Kavik[/b] is very reliable on recall (lately he has been stopping and giving me the "I'm thinking about it" look on recall, so we will have to work on this a bit more) and Zaphod will follow him. Zaphod is almost as good on recall and Kavik will follow him. Kavik is a sweety and a fairly stable dog but will spook at loud noises and usually run to me. He is great with babies, quite gentle and loves to go nose to nose with them and is quite tolerant of the fur pulling. His fault lies in exhuberance and he may jump up on strangers or bark at other dogs. He can behave dominantly but when challenged he backs off (except for Wilson who he despises.) [b]Zaphod[/b] is a skittish boy. He has never attacked or bitten any person or animal and in play with other dogs he is very good if properly introduced first but he is not confident in new situations. His hackles raise and new/distressing events. I keep him onlead because a frightened dog behaves unpredictable and because he may frighten people - a 60lb black dog with his hackles raised, possibly barking is scarey even if he is backing up.

Purina One: Chicken, brewers rice, [color=darkblue]whole grain corn[/color], [color=blue]corn gluten meal[/color], [color=red]poultry by-product meal[/color], [color=darkblue]whole grain wheat[/color], beef [color=indigo]tallow[/color] preserved with mixedtocopherols (source of Vitamin E), natural [color=blue]flavors[/color], dicalcium phosphate, [color=red]salt[/color], potassium chloride, choline chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite. Some ingredient splitting, by-products, salt, corn gluten meal, unidentified poultry, "flavor". You'd probably find at least some improvement in breath and health if you switched to a dog food without by-products, salt, gluten, "flavour", and with good quality recognizable protien sources high on the ingredient list.