Bubblezzz

[quote]Once she was coming back every time, I started only producing the toy on especially fast or tough recalls, and only praising the "ok" ones. Eventually, the "ok" ones didn't even get any praise, but the "good" (fast, but not especially difficult for her to choose to do) ones still still did, and the "great" ones got a ton of praise and a toy reward. Now, she rarely has "ok" recalls, and I've even been able to call her out of chasing cats and other small furries (those were "great" recalls ). [/quote] WOW! That's great! :angel: [quote]They have no idea a treat may be coming, I've concealed it in my pocket ahead of time. (Sometimes many hours ahead of time!)[/quote] Cosmic has a REALLY good nose and usually won't stop sniffing & sticking his nose in my pockets when he knows there're treats in there! I've just bought us a proper treat pouch (the drawstring kind) and it seems to work better. :) We brought Floppy and Cosmic for long walks on the weekend and I practiced recalls (Cosmic on leash) sometimes with praise and with treats when they came immediately. They did pretty well! :P We can't afford training sessions right now so I'm planning to clicker-train them on my own. :o :lol: Hope I don't make irreversible mistakes and screw them up!! I haven't started yet as I'm still reading up (currently "Culture Clash" and "The Everything Dog training and tricks book"). Nancy B, I can't find clickers for sale ANYWHERE :o , so I'll be using a cheap party noise maker that makes a loud click. That should do right? Plus they're really cheap, so getting lots to leave around the house won't cost us much at all. :D Haven't found "Clicker training for obedience" yet! [/quote]

Thank you for all the replies and advice. We've seen the BC and we are not taking him. :( His name is Buzz and he is SO unlike a 'normal' BC!!! :o Firstly, he is quite a bit overweight and is a real mellow, laid-back (ie. LAZZZYYY!!! :oops: :oops: :oops: ) kinda fellow. :D He's missing teeth and he needs a MAJOR dentistry job - check-up, teeth cleaning etc. I asked if anyone's ever brushed his teeth... and the fosterers look at me like I was mad. :( His coat is kinda lacklustre, even though they said that he'd just been given a bath... I'm guessing that it could be due to diet. Buzz is incredibly sweet, he's really s...l...o...w... and moves like a little bear!!! He took to us quite well and seemed to enjoy neck scratches. :P :D :roll: He didn't respond to ANY commands. :o Not even SIT. And he gets spooked when anyone moves too fast. The situation is like this. His ex-owner adopted him from a rescue organization when he was about 2. They suspect that he'd been badly abused because he was in really bad shape and would always cringe whenever people got too near him... :cry: :cry: :( :( After a while, he warmed up and that owner took care of him for about 3 years. He had to leave the country pretty abruptly, so he left Buzz with a neighbour/friend, either to keep or to rehome. :( Ok, I have nothing against these people, they seem pretty decent, but they are the "Our dog is just that, a DOG, a pet" type, if you know what I mean. They pet him sometimes, provide all the basics, but that's that. :( He is an outdoors (all the time) dog. But they have a huge space with a sheltered side-porch that looks quite comfortable. I don't know if his lethargy is due to his size, or the fact that no one has really paid him any real attention or tried to engage his mind or exercise him or that maybe it's to do with his abusive past. He is a very sweet dog and we think that he could probably get along great with Cosmic, being so mellow and all. Actually, after reading up on BCs last night, we had already more or less decided that we weren't going to take him. He would be MINE mostly and honestly, I don't think I am ready or experienced enough to take on a BC. Our lifestyle and lack of space wouldn't be fair to such an active, intelligent breed. :-? But... we decided to visit him anyway, just in case nobody comes for him, we thought we could maybe foster him for a while and get aquainted with a BC. Of course when we met Buzz, all the supposed BC traits are missing!!! :o :lol: His personality is really sweet, he's like a little sleepy panda bear... he keeps lying down, even when we took him for a walk. :) But we learnt that his rehoming isn't that urgent after all. His fosterer has 2 goldens who apparently don't get along with Buzz, so he lent/gave/fostered (??? :o) Buzz with HIS next door neighbour. They seem to share the same attitude towards dogs. They say that if Buzz isn't adopted, they'd be happy to keep him. Buzz has been with them for a couple of weeks. Buzz needs ALOT of work. I tried touching his nails and he wasn't comfortable with that at all. I don't think anyone cleans his ears either, because they are quite dirty. But the absolutely saddest thing to see is the state of his teeth. :( We like Buzz, but I also know that we can't take him on. I feel like I'm completely chickening out. :( :oops: :( :( He needs too much that we can't give. Part of me is thinking, SO IT'S OKAY TO TAKE ON A DOG WHEN HE'S PERFECT, BUT WHEN WHEN HE HAS PROBLEMS... WHOO-HOO... :( ... and it doesn't feel good at all. :oops: They say that they've received quite a number of calls for Buzz, but in the worst case scenario, where they keep him, Buzz will probably be subjected to his current life. After I mentioned the bad state of his teeth, they said that they'd take him to the vet if nobody takes him. He also has his vaccinations yearly, so it's not SO terrible. :( I'm a chicken. :( :( :( :(

Heehee... :P Cosmic is an English Cocker Spaniel turning 6 months (so quickly!) on the 13th of this month! :D Details... He LOVES food and treats and LOVES to play just as much!! :roll: His best friend at home is Snuffy, a really cute blue elephant stuffed toy we gave him when he first came. :) Snuffy has a really 'duh' expression and Cosmic HATES it when Snuffy wiggles his ears at him!! :lol: :D :D He HAS TO bite Snuffy then. But otherwise, they are together most of the time, and are best friends. In the mornings, he loves cuddles and will come sit in my lap, yawning and licking and giving me THAT look. :angel: He smells best right at the top of his head - like warm, fuzzy puppy. :) He can't COME to save his life and loves playing the 'you can't catch me' game. :roll: But we're working on this. :) He usually pees right on the EDGE of the paper, so thst there's pee everywhere... :o We've caught him eating poop... :oops: He's eaten CDs and ruined about 5 pairs of MY shoes... :evilbat: But he's still my sweetie-pie! :D :D :D

Thanks Rowie! :) I've posted my question there...

Yes, mouseat the busstop is great!! :angel: I didn't even ASK, but she pm'ed me I guess because she noticed my link wasn't working - THANK YOU mouseatthebusstop!!! I am so thrilled with my pix! :D This is my baby Cosmic!! :D :D :D He's grown a lot - this picture was taken by my friend on his digi-cam, we have about 10 albums of our babies at home, but my home pc is down, so I can't scan any!! :( But as soon as I get the chance, you'll see lots more pixs!!

:angel: What a sweetie!! :D

I am facing a big decision and would appreciate any help!!! :o There is a 5 yr old Border Collie up for adoption that needs to be rehoused ASAP as his owners are leaving the country. We are seriously considering maybe fostering him (with view to adopt) if his owners are ok with it. We have been thinking of adopting an older dog. (for those of you who may not know, bf & I have 2 babies - a 3+ yr old am cocker, Floppy and a 5+ mth old eng cocker, Cosmic). Cosmic lives with me and Floppy lives at my bf's. Everyone in my household works full-time, except my brother, who was a student. We timed Cosmic's arrival into our family such that someone would always be around most of the day for the first 2-3 months he is with us. Now my brother is entering the army and would soon be away from home for extended periods. As such, Cosmic will have to get used to spending up to 8 hours alone most weekdays. He is still a little destructive when left alone at home, but is getting better. I can't bear the thought of penning Cosmic up for extended periods, so he has the run of the house, except the kitchen. We use a combination of grates and bitter spray to keep him away from things that are not his. We think that his destructive behaviour stems from a combination of plain boredom and seperation anxiety. We have stuff to keep him occupied (buster cubes, filled Kongs) but he is extremely sociable and playful. We have toyed with the idea of getting him an older, 'rescued' companion. No, he won't just be USED as Cosmic's playtoy, although our hope and intention is that they'd get along like a house on fire and entertain themselves while we're gone. We would love many more dogs. :) BUT, will they BOTH start destroying the house? :o I understand that BCs are incredibly intelligent and need to be kept busy. We live in a flat. Floppy and Cosmic are taken for walks (separately, of course) daily and we take them on doggie social outings to the parks, beach or dog run every weekend. Is this enough for a BC? If we adopt this BC, what is the 'adaptation' period we should look at? He is currently an outside-only dog, so we are not sure how much he will pine for his family. If we took leave from work for 2 weeks between us, is this enough? Or paltry?? We don't even know much about BCs, I know that they are smart herding dogs, need human companionship, shed twice a year, need to be kept busy and can be barky. The owners don't seem to know much about the breed and can't tell us much. Is even considering fostering a BC a stupid idea??? :o I've never even fostered a dog before, but I am willing to learn. I keep telling myself that I never knew cockers were so wonderful before Floppy, it was ALWAYS goldens before her, why not a BC? Am I being stupid?? Is this feasible? HELP!! :o :o

:angel: :angel: :angel: :D :D :D Hi mouseatthebusstop, [b][color=red][size=7]THANK YOU!!!! [/b] [/colour] [/size] thank you for helping me with my image!!! :laola: :laola: :laola: :laola: :laola: :laola: [/b]

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[quote]We'll call the first method "be a tree". When you go out for a walk, the minute your dog starts pulling just stop and be a tree. Don't tug on the leash, don't call your dog, just stand there and hold still. Eventually, your dog will turn back and, consequently, cause the leash to be loose...not pulled tight. When that happens you can start walking again. Of couse, with a dog that pulls a lot, it may take you an hour to get out of your driveway with this method! with this method you usually wind up with a dog that will walk on a loose lead but out in front of you. [/quote] This was how we taught Cosmic to walk nicely. :) I'm also now training him to 'WATCH ME' and pay attention to me from time to time on walks. I call his name and when he turns to watch me instantly, I give him a treat. (I'm trying to replce treats slowly with praise, but it's not been working too well... :roll: ) Cosmic is very food oriented, so treats really work. We also taught 'WAIT' kinda accidentally... :P whenever he walked too fast, I would say WAIT! (and be a tree) after a while, we realised that he understands WAIT to mean 'stand still and wait for mummy'. :P

Hi Nea, I am so sorry that things aren't working out well with Bir. :( But I think Courtnek is right. I can't imagine having to watch out for signs of aggression each time I interacted with a dog. That would so seriously and awfully compromise any relationship!! :( :( Can his previous owner tell you anything more about him? I wish I could suggest things to help, but I don't know what!! :( :( When will you be seeing your trainer? If you are seeing your trainer soon, hang in there and give Bir a chance, there has to be something that can be worked out so that he gets over this. :( :( :( What does he like doing? Maybe if you up the 'happy' activities it would help you both build your relationship?? I've never had experience dealing with an agressive dog before, (except once in my childhood when a big guard dog chased me :o ) and have no idea how to go about establishing an alpha position while afraid!! :( I'll be meeting a whole bunch of cocker owners this weekend (we take our dogs to the parks weekly), I'll ask and see if any of them can possibly help. Floppy our American cocker (adopted too) growls at us sometimes when we do stuff she hates like cleaning her ears & clipping her paw fur or nails. Sometimes, she goes a little beyond that and 'mouths' us. But she's never bitten before. (I'm not suggesting that Bir won't bite, because I don't know that!!!) Initially I didn't like it at all, but now we've worked out a compromise. When she starts growling (I think of it as her warning/complaint), I stop what I'm doing (just for a little while) and pet her while making shushing/soothing noises OR I take out the treat bag, give her a small treat and leave the treat bag in view. Then I carry on. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 such interuptions before I can finish my task, but she now understands that while it HAS to be done, (and I will insist slowly, but surely this way,) it really isn't that bad. I also praise her and treat her after each session, (I am very much influenced by "Bones would rain from the sky" the book I talked to you about by Suzanne Clothier - where she talks about a developing a 'partnership' with our dogs :P) But because we KNOW that Floppy would never really bite, it's a lot easier for us. It took me a few months to really get to know her and trust her that way. (I was always apprehensive about her growling before that). But Floppy displays NO other aggressive tendancies. I hope you, your family and your trainer will be able to work this out (I'm sure you can!!) I know how much you wanted Bir and how much you were prepared to give him and love him... :( He's being difficult now, but hang in there!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you and Bir. :)

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Thanks Nancy B! ... but I have one more question... :oops: :oops: Does this mean we will still be dependent on treats anyway? I've tried reinforcing using praise, or play, but I can tell Cosmic still expects a treat and isn't happy when he doesn't get one!! This means that he sometimes won't perform tricks, unless he sees me holding the treat, or standing near food. :P I will look up the book you recommended and browse around the dog training section at our bookstores. :)

Great story stacer! :D It's great to know that ppl like those in your local pub exist! :) Henry must be healing so fast because of all the people rooting for him. :)

:x :x :x Darn ticks!! Don't know about Bahrain, but where I am the weather is ALWAYS hot (25-35 degrees celcius) and humid!! :-? But Frontline Spot-on works for us. Good luck Rowie!

thanks! this is so cool. :D

I've been thinking about clicker-training my dogs too, but clicker-trainers are hard to come by where I am! Could anybody recommend some good books on this subject? Nancy-B?? Also, if we are supposed to always treat with a click, what happens when the dogs learn the command? Won't they stop performing it (let's say it's SIT) when they don't hear the clicker, because they know that means no treat?? :o In case I'm not making myself clear, here's an example: "Click" - "SIT boy" Dog sits. "Good boy!" Give a Treat After a while... (No need for clicker anymore since dog understands "SIT") "SIT boy" Dog thinking: "Where's that click? What! No click??!! That means no treat, what does she think I am, a sucker?" "SIT boy" Dog walks off. :oops: :roll: :roll: :roll: BTW, that's what Cosmic does when he knows that I don't have a treat for him. :P :roll: I trained him using treats (simple commands like SIT, DOWN, STAY, OFF, PAW, HIGH-FIVE) and it's really frustrating when he won't do stuff unless he knows a treat is coming!!! :evil: I don't want to be dependent on a clicker in place of treats - can someone please explain how this works??? :o

[quote]one time one of my dogs had poop on its teeth and when the dog licked me it got in my mouth...I will never forget that bad experience [/quote] :o :o :o BTW, Rowie-the-pooch, I really like the golden picture that appears below your posts! Is that a soft toy??

:oops: :oops: :oops: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Sorry, can't help laughing... :P Rowie is a real funny dog!! :wink:

Maybe Duck can give Cosmic some tips?? :P He does it just on THE EDGE of the newspaper too often!! :P :lol: Congrats!! YES, IT IS A BIG BIG DEAL!!! (I know cos I'm still cleaning up Cosmic's 'mistakes'!!! ) :lol: :lol: :lol: BTW, Duck (GR right?) is really cute!! :)

[quote]I can't bear to think they're having a bad dream I go over and stroke their cheek and talk to them quietly until they stop crying. [/quote] I wake them up too, usually by stroking them and talking softly. :) I think I would appreciate being awakened from a nightmare too! I wonder what they dream about though... sometimes their paws move, as if they're running... :angel: it's too cute!! :D

:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :D I'm glad you all think it's nice. :) I've tried telling baby about it, but you know, he'd rather have a treat... :icecream: Apparently, that's about the ONLY way I can prove my love according to him... :roll: About the SARS and culling of cats issue... There has been NO PROOF to date that animals can contract or spread SARS. Just lots of speculation and paranoia. SARS is pretty much contained in Singapore - our government acts fast. All of the animal lovers associations here, together with many individuals have banded together to submit petitions and raise awareness. Their efforts HAVE helped to sway public opinion. In the latest public poll held by a TV station, 80% of people who took part in the poll OPPOSED the culling. :) That's great, but not nearly enough. The AVA (Agriculture & Veterinary Authority of Singapore) who are responsible for the culling are claiming that their recent activity has nothing to do with SARS, but is part of a government campaign to "clean up" Singapore. They claim that the sterilisation programme hasn't been working, and that complaints have gone up about the strays. It's very difficult to get a government authority to change their mind... :( The worst thing is, although most of the population (about 80-90%) live in 'government susbsidised' housing (HDB Flats)(a small flat about 1250 sq feet still costs between $200,000 - $400,000 - amazing right??!!) cats are BANNED in such flats. :( The various societies have been trying to reverse this ban for ages, but are always turned down... :cry: Frankly speaking, Singapore is not a great place to be if you're an animal lover. Although we do have one of the best zoos in the world. But that's different, because it was set up to bring in tourism dollars. :-? I've set up another post ("PLEASE HELP ME") asking for anyone to write in to the forum of our national papers. We need to highlight to the authorities that the world is aware and watching too - and that most people would oppose such inhumane acts. If enough foreigners write in, maybe they would consider the loss of tourism dollars from animal lovers unwilling to support such actions. It's a small, small shred of hope, but we can't do much else. :cry: Please let your opinions be heard if you think you can help!!!

I love your poem crested!! :D :D

Have to say, I know nothing about shows, but 3,4,5 points sound impressive... :P Congratulations!! :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: You have a beautiful dog! :)

I'm sorry for your loss. :( I hope you find your poem, here are 2 more that are lovely: Walk With An Old Dog by Gayl Jokiel Because you will not be forever Hope against time though I may I paint your picture in my memory Eyes blue with age, muzzle gone gray Because you walked with me in Springtime Puppy-clumsy, running free As you grew, we grew together You became a part of me Because you shared with me my sorrows Not understanding-simply there Often spurring me to laughter My friend, you know how much I care Because the years have slowed your fleetness Though your spirit still is strong I promise I will take more time now So that you can go along Because you do not fear the future Living only in the now I draw strength from your example Yet time keeps slipping by somehow Because the day will soon be coming When I will no longer see You rise to greet me-but in memory You will always walk with me Someday Your chocolate button eyes, Your joyful tailwags, Your loud barks, Your big yawns, The early mornings with you by my side, In my memory they will never die. The tiny light of your life has been blown away, Oh, what wouldn