Rosebud

:-? I agree with courtnek & cassie, he should have a physical to find out what the cause of the separation anxiety is. Since it's the weekend you could try some positive reinforcement by having everybody leave the house for about 5 minutes (take a drive around the block and leave Luka crated), give lots of praise and treats when you get back if he hasn't done anything ignore him if he has. Do this several times Saturday and on Sunday, lengthen the times you are gone, if he does something wrong, look at him like I am so dissappointed and ignore him for about 5-10 minutes, then love on him. I know that this is a long-shot and an inconvenience but it might work and it will let Luka know that you are going to come back and he will learn appropriate behavior/reward from it. I would love any other comments or experiences on using this technique. It worked with my RR Sally to get her from jumping on me and from tearing up paper and plastic while I was gone. :angel:

:-? Call the humane society for animal cruelty, obviously the cops want to bust them for the drugs and don't care about the dog, had it been a regular joe the cops would have already had the humane society out there. Let the animal cruelty people do what the cops didn't do. Good luck, :angel:

:D That is too cute. Rocket brushes his teeth with his knucle bone everynight. :klacz: He is so ritual, he eats his dinner, goes outside and does his business, then he comes in has some playtime with his toys and his sister, he gets his knuckle bone lays down on the couch, brushes his teeth and then goes to sleep. Sally and Sandy are starting to do brush their teeth before bed as well. :angel:

:wink: I think narrowing you topic to what pei suggested would be a great idea. Another point about pups sold in stores is that the buyer picks their pup regardless of what that pups temperment is. There is never a breeder there to test these pups and question lifestyles to help pick the best personality for the family. How devastating would it be for a little boy who wants a golden that will rough-house with him and the one they bought is insecure and shy. This part of picking a pup from a litter is very important if the family is to be a forever home and it is not an option that is available at pet shops. You could use this point as your basis as why most pups from pet shops end up being abandoned. Good luck. :angel:

:wink: Poofy: I got the impression from your "miss mash" (to quote doc) that you were just pointing out in a scientific way that there were things that you were still learning. I didn't think you were trying to be literal. Doc: thanks for your mouse clarifacation. Now I have another question for you. If outcrossing makes it harder for certain alleles to not make and inbreeding helps them to match, then how does genetics play into my breed. When you outcross Ridgebacks you get larger Ridgebacks, but when you inbreed or linebreed they stay the appropriate size. :angel:

:-? Sandy my IG has had the same problem with her teeth. I get the RR's those knuckle bones, Sandy will just chew away and it cleans her teeth, I have noticed that her teeth are finally starting to be a nice clean white. Also whenever I give Sandy her yogurt her breath is alot better, I think it has something to do with the enzymes killing the bad bacteria. I think I might start giving them their yogurt every day. :angel:

:cry: Boy, that's gets right to the point, so sad. [size=1]K are you masquerading as snowballs[/size]

:D Yeah! new puppy. I am so envious, I am starting to get puppy fever and that's not good. :angel:

:D Sally-Rose will run to the car door and just wait till I open it, she will then jump up give me my kiss and off she goes. It is so funny she has to be the first one to give me a kiss when I get home. Then she's like o.k. Momma's home time for cookie. Sandy just sits on the couch barking and whining till I come over to her and give her her love. Rocket barks at everybody like he's saying no! it's my turn. They get so excited when I get home. :angel:

:wink: :D I have 5 children! a 13 year old cat, a 5 1/2 year old IG, a 4 1/2 year old cat and 2 15 month old RR's I'm momma, my roommate is momma deb, everybody else has their own certain name, we have aunts, brothers, sisters, grandma's/pa's. They know who everybody is. They sign their own paw-paws to their cards to everybody. We like to refer to them as four-legged furry people. They have feelings, can think on their own, and know how to communicate what they want to us. :angel:

:D I did a little research for a fungicide, it appears that Blastomyces dermatidis (the fungus that causes Blastomycosis) is pretty hard to get rid of. I found this site and talked to one of the chemist. This product is safe to use on human comsumable plants/vegetables, is approved for use on organic grown fruits/vegetables and will be effective against the fungus in question. I have included the manufactures web link and a number for a company in your area. I didn't ask about price, it might be pretty expensive but it's at least worth looking at. Hope this helps you. [url]http://www.biosafesystems.com/[/url] Bio-Select 1-888-205-3137 P.S. I talked to a gardening friend of mine and she said that Round-up will not kill fungus'. A bleach wash like you would do for Parvo might work. I would make sure it really penatrates the soil. :angel:

:-? I don't really understand the point of the Round-up. I didn't think it was a fungicide. I know it will kill anything, but what if Freebee digs somewhere else. I thought that Alex got a fungus in his eyes. They sell a fungicide that is for putting in the holes where you plant bulbs, I would look into how safe it is to use around dogs and sprinkle the whole yard with it. You could also buy a fungicide made to use on dogs and spray the yard with it. I only bring this up because Round-up is some pretty strong stuff and I would hate for Freebee to sick from it and grass is hard enough to get to grow in a dogs yard without any other help. :angel:

:D There seems to be some interest in giving your dog this treat. Here's some information on yogurt's health benefits and a link to some home-made recipes. I starting giving my dogs yogurt when they were about 6 months old. They love it and I feel good about letting them have it. Hope this helps anyone who is considering supplementing their furbabies diet with yogurt. [url]http://www.uwashapet.com/yogurt.html[/url] [url]http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T045700.asp[/url] [url]http://www.doggieconnection.com/recipe/frozen_peanut_butter_yogurt.html[/url] :angel:

:-? I know you are pretty knowledgable with dog behavior, but how much attention are you giving the babies right now? Is Freebee getting more attention than PussyCat? Who was there first; Freebee or PussyCat? This might be a simple case of jealousy if you are giving Freebee more attention to calm him because Alex is gone. Sandy (my IG) [u]always[/u] lays next to me on the couch under her blanket, if Pumpkin feels neglected he will sit down right on top of her and not move till I let him in my lap. They don't ever fight but they definately let me know when I've been favoring one over the other. :angel:

:D I only buy vanilla. :angel:

:wink: [quote name='Michele']Rosebud: yogurt? I might try that with my dog. How much should I give him? He only weighs 8 pounds....[/quote] I guess I probably give the RR's around a 1/4 cup each twice a week. I give my IG approx. a tablespoon. My friend gives her RR's a heaping tablespoon everynight with their dinner. I really don't know exactly how much to give but I have never had any problems since putting them on it and they have very regular healthy systems. They love it, I can't open yogurt without them jumping up and down. I can't say the word yogurt without them running to the frig. Yogurt helps to replenish the natural enzymes in the digestive tract, it's acidophulus (sp?) same as what they coat good quality kibble with only human grade quality. I buy the good stuff that is all-natural, nothing added, I do not buy the low-fat. :angel:

:wink: I think I found a loop-hole around the Alpha always eats first rule. My babies pout while I am eating if I feed them first, they know that they are not going to get any leftovers. If I eat first they are plastered to the ground about 2 to 3 feet from the table and the very second I stand up they are swarming around me. Yogurt twice a week for their digestive tract. :angel:

:-? He's looking at 13 months in jail. :angel:

:-? Does anybody have any ideas of what kind of job Hazel could do. I was thinking maybe Flyball but don't really know alot about it or if it's something that can be done at home. :angel:

:D First we need pictures! Just because we want them. What was successful for me and my RR's was to give them a very authoritive NO! whenever they were chewing on something they were not supposed to be chewing on regardless of what it was, next I would take it from them and replace it with something that was approved to chew on when they would take it I would praise them. If they nipped at me I would do the same thing. The puppy is going to chew on something pretty much for the rest of his life; you need to teach him what is approved to chew on. I agree with bullygirl on pretty much every point. A spray bottle is pretty much the best deterrent for nipping and mouthing at a child, and never let a child that young play with a dog unsupervised. I crate trained my RR's. If they were getting out of hand I would tell them to go to their crate, they would sleep in it at night and whenever I was out of the house. They accepted it as their den and a place for them to have quiet time, my RR's will head straight to the crate if I'm upset with them or if they just want to be left alone. :angel:

:-? [quote]I've heard of people practicing "offlead" recalls with fishing line tied to the dogs collar. I guess the theory is they can't see it because it is so fine. They just think that you have THAT MUCH POWER. Anyone ever tried that?[/quote] I have been cut with fishing line, that stuff is dangerous, it will slice through you as if you were butter and that was just tieing a hook on, think about what it could do if you put 30 to 100lbs of pressure behind it. You would have to use 50lb. test or greater or it would snap if the dog took off and if the dog got his paw wrapped around it before they took off then you got one serious cut, and fishing line cuts are like paper cuts, they are deep, easily infected and take a long time to heal. I would not recommend this method to anyone, a long lead rope is much safer. Make sure you have his favorite treat with you, act like you're going to eat it if he don't come back then run away from him. If he doesn't come to you because he thinks you're going to eat his cookie he should come to you because he thinks you're going to leave him. The first time off lead in public is always scary. Is there anyway you could take something to mark off an area he can't easily get out of. :angel:

How far would you go for your dog? I thought everyone would like to see how much one can love their pet. The man had repeatedly asked the firemen to rescue his dog and they said that they would have to wait until the fire was under control. He didn't want to wait so he smashed the glass door with equipment of the firemen's. He was arrested for reckless endangerment. [url]http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1241551[/url] [b][color=red][size=6]All charges have been dropped![/size][/color][/b] :angel:

:-? I am so sorry that you are in a such a difficult situation, I am sure that Hazel can sense your stress and frustration. I really believe that you should listen to Courtnek, she seems to know what she is talking about and could really help you with developing consistancy in Hazel recognizing you as Alpha. It seems as if whenever you have more on your plate than you can handle Hazel takes the role of Alpha; You need to make sure that especially during those times you remain Alpha. Talk to your parents and let them know that it is especially important that you and them agree with and stand behind each other with Hazel's discipline, she needs to have consistancy or she will continue to figure out the loop holes and swindle her way into the role of Alpha. You will also greatly benefit with learning about behavior problems of Herding breeds. I am sure that there are tons of books on this subject, and I am sure that you would be able to e-mail breeders with questions or check out their web-sites. But in order for this to be successful you have to be ALPHA all the time. :angel:

:D Well Jen, even if she doesn't get along with your boys at least you have the opportunity to make sure she gets placed in a forever home. Think about it, why return her with an 8 hour drive and risk her going where she don't belong, if she don't work out then you can use that to find the perfect home for her. Anyways Go get her!!!! :angel:

:-? I don't know the history you and Hazel have but I will trust the others that she has come a long way. One of the things I learned with Sally-Rose was that when I thought she was not going to chew anything up she would. So I would take away the privledge and start over. What I mean by this is that Hazel needs to earn her freedom, start off by crating her during the times you are away, use the companion lease idea when your home, get her used to having to do what you want her to. Give her just a little bit of freedom and when she doesn't listen to you take it back and start over, keep doing this until she doesn't make the mistakes anymore. I know it will be hard and as head-strong as she sounds like it may take a long time, but she will learn to respect what you want her to do. Do all the things that will reinforce yourself as Alpha. Don't let her eat before you, don't let her go through doorways before you, make her sit or wait till you tell her to come in, tell her to sit before you pet her. I even had to lay over Sally's back kinda in a mounting position to get it across to her who was in charge. She don't leave my side while in the house and all I have to say to her when she's off-lead is "Sally that's Too Far" if I think she is in danger then I can just say "Come here, NOW!". I think you and Hazel can overcome this you just have to make sure that she is never allowed to get away with anything, if she gets into the cat's food take away house wandering privledges and re-crate her. Be persistent and consistant. Good luck :angel: