DogPaddle

:hmmmm: Am I missing something?

[quote]Well more to the point She's been here for 6 days and only has barked about 4 times when strangers come inside. . . She lays on her back as soon as I try to leash her and is very submissive, is that a sign of abuse? [color=red]These two things could just indicate a dog with a submissive temperment. Nothing to worry about unless you see other problem behaviours in combination with it.[/color] If she was previously abused is she more likely to act out? [color=blue]Sometimes yes, sometimes no, the important thing is to play, snuggle and set down clear rules and boundaries the dog can understand. If your worried make sure you are correcting not punishing any incorrect behaviours and more importantly praise/use positive reinforcement whenever she does something good.[/color] She seems relatively comfortable and very calm (not complaining) will this change in time? [color=red]Probably not unless something occurs in paticular to cause it to change.[/color] Should she be sleeping inside? [color=blue]All dogs should sleep inside with their family if at all possible, small dogs doubly so (this doesn't mean she needs to sleep on your bed or even your room if you object.)[/color] She follows us everywhere and sleeps on the exact middle step of the staircase. [color=red]Following - good, she is bonding with you and sees you as the alpha wich will help with training and behaviour management. Sleeping on the exact middle step of the staricase - bad, just imagine coming down the stairs with you hands full and not seeing her. She may want a secure place to nap - in this case I would suggest a crate, put it some place out of traffic with a few of what is going on so the dog can keep an eye on things if she thinks she needs to. If you find her on the step - say no calmly, pick her up and put her in the crate (door open) and tell her she is a good girl. If that doesn't work different training methods may be needed but for your safety and hers, break her of this habit as best you can.[/color] [/quote] As for not actually reaching a point, no worries - rambling is moderately common here and I think you asked some good questions. Now can we have some pictures please. :D

Nuetering could help some, as could taking away his water 2 1/2 hrs before its time for bed, if this still does not correct the issue a schedule could help - if this becomes nec. and you not familiar with the method pm me, and I would suggest crate training prior to putting the dog in a crate overnight - this will reduce the barking and whinning and alllow you to crate him when nec.

I like the wire cause the dog can see what's going on, makes mine bark less.

Oh about the blue stuff: some barbers etc have gotten cited for not changing that stuff often enough so the same would hold true for groomers - should be changed often.

It would depend on what type of food you were feeding. Generally the highter the quality and density of food the less the dog needs to eat, also there are many feeding options - kibble, canned, kibble/canned combo, BARF or Raw food diets etc.

Cheetah said: [quote]I guess the no pull collar just doesn't work for every dog... [/quote] You are absolutely right, no training method works for every dog or every handler, you have to find what works for both of you. If the prong collar works for both of you and you know how to use it correctly then . . . :kciuki: Courtnek - I'm not sure if I missed it but have you tried the long line method? Daisymom - :niewiem: Sometimes I think people make up these labels just to be difficult. For instance why on a ship are their ladders and line yet if these things were on land they'd be stairs and rope? Marble - Be carful with the head collar if Dresden does a lot of lunging (although that may stop on the GL.) Try a GL out - I would suggest (amaturely of course) that if you use the GL to close the dogs mouth you make sure Dresden is not in very close proximity to other dogs when you do so as it may cause feelings of vulnerability. Gently pull up on the lead while facing the dog and say Watch or something to refocus your dog on you and praise the second he quiets and watches you.

For those of you who have been to obedience: Did all of your trainers also show their dogs at one point or another? For those of you considering obedience: How much would it matter to you if the trainer had shown their dogs? Our trainer has/does show their dogs, they offer training for shows etc, they are very picky in the show class and give us (obedience only class) a lot more leeway.

:klacz: :Dog_run: :klacz:

That's a real tough one. How week are the Golden's hips, have you had them checked?

I would do extensive research into laws on pets/home, liability, rehoming, current operating rescues. I would wait till you are done post secondary and have a career started and therefore have some financial stability. I would in the mean time volunteer with a similar rescue group to learn the ropes and see the pitfalls. It's not a dumb idea but you should plan carefully.

?Maybe the same blue stuff barbers and hair dressers and stylists use?

I looked at your photo site and yes I could see there being some BC in the mix there but :niewiem: its so hard to tell sometimes isn't it.

Look or Watch is the most useful command we do in training class, I love it, it comes in handy almost every day. :iloveyou: My life would be very different without this command and definately for the worse.

Congrats, I'm glad it was a good time for you both, keep up the obviously great work your doing with training.

Our shelter has no city funding and is run by donation. The dog section has no windows, the cages are usually 3 ft by 6 ft, half of them have raised hard plastic beds, some of the others have blankets, there are almost no toys, there is a trough and drain in each kennel, the place smells, there is rarely any excrement in the cages, there is outdoor runs that volunteers can take the dogs too - they are gravel and some dogs won't walk on it, there is a small cluster of trees the dogs can be walked in, the shelter is on a busy, noisy road, the dogs are out for 4 - 15 min walks a day, there is a small core of volunteers who work on some limited training. :cry: They need a major overhaul $$$$$$

My dogs never had green runny poos with greenies but everyone is different. I know there is a people floo that does very little except make you feel a bit off and give you greenish or bluish poos, hehe blue poo floo. :lol: Oh dear, I'm a simpleton. Anyway I would give it a couple days, not give him any greenies and see how he does, if no better, off to the vet.

There are concerns with every type of correction device and you should research them all thouroughly before deciding to use one. Kavik does not lunge or bolt so I don't worry about his neck. Currently we switch the halti on and off during walks depending on how he is doing. In training we can do most without the halti, for excercises with destraction, I put the halti on (sometimes without even the snout loop on) but leave the lead attatched to his regular collar. As we have been using the halti as a training tool not a crutch, he needs it less and less, now it seems it is mostly a reminder. Tyr cannot use a GL or Halti as he has nearly no rise (from his snout to the top of his skull ther is very little difference and it is slanted to boot) so neither device wears right, slides up to his eyes and irritates him quite a bit. We are going to look into a harness/loopi/something next training class at the trainers advice. We just started trying a correction chain at home yesterday, works some, he coughs a bit but no more than on a flat buckle and he pulls less than on a flat buckle. I have not used a correction chain before but this is what it seems like to me - you must really watch the dog carefully so you can apply the correction early and then have the chain lossen again, if you apply to late the dog has already slowly pulled the chain tight and it has no real effect. This leads me to think that a correction chain is a people training device - it teaches you when to correct the dog and to watch closely. On the correction chain Tyr's head is right by my near, usually only his snout goes past my knee. Still we will try the harness/loopi thing and see how that works. Zaphod may need a GL - we have had him around other dogs (last time less than a month ago) and he was a little barky, enthusiastic, wanted to play, yesterday he escaped the yard while I was out in the green space. He laid eyes on another dog (Rott/Lab?) - he's hackles instantly went up and he charged snapping. :oops: :roll: :-? Hello possible dog aggression problem, we'll have to see, and socialize, socialize, socialize.

Daisymom, I thought that must of been the case if you weren't joking, just a wording thing.

Oh crud, I just looked at our hearworm med - ivermectin/pyrantel. Ironically it has a picture of a BC on the packaging.

Daisymom - Are you not familiar with the term recall training or are you making fun?

Elderflower also works but much slower but can be used on broken skin, you make it like a weak tea/an infusion and apply it luke warm. You can also see if you can get him to drink some that sometimes helps as well but you have to start with 1/4 cup or less for smaller dogs because it doesn't agree with some dogs. Doesn't help with mites etc just regular buildup and infection

Again, please don't bother to feed the troll.

Maybe dropped [i]off bridge [/i]on head and then sent to live with goats???? Now spending time trolling for reactions.

[quote]My dogs only real training problem is recall (labs...whatchya gonna do?) [/quote] Labs? Oh that's simple - FOOD, call 'em with food in your hand and they'll come runnin'. Then move to holding the food behind your back when you call, then only have treat there every other time and reduce from there but always praise, praise, praise, Labs are also love hounds.