slim86

Sounds like you need to limit his space. Do you let him run free in the house? He should only be allowed out of his space when he's being closely supervised. Are you using the crate method? If he's peeing in his crate you have bigger problems. Also, if he's peeing a lot at night you should not let him drink quite so much after say 6 or 7 pm. Just let him have a few slurps every now and then until he gets better control of his bladder. Also a lot of playing, running, fetching, training or pull toys during the day will help him to sleep more soundly at night. It's really hard to leave the dog in a small space but it kind of forces the dog to hold his bladder as to not pee in the small space. This, in turn, will help the dog develope bladder control more rapidly. If he's confined to a small bed to sleep in at night he shouldn't be peeing in this space. He will wake up and cry to be let out. This is when you get up and take him outside to pee. He should get used to this routine. Usually a puppy is either playing or sleeping and both of them don't leave much time for peeing so, a puppy will play hard and then usually fall asleep for a while. When the puppy wakes up this is the time they usually pee. It is very important that you take the puppy out immediately after he wakes up from these naps. You'll find that he'll usually pee when you put him down on the grass. The times when you do catch him peeing in the house give him a firm "NO BAD PUPPY" let him know you're displeased with him and then put him outside. A puppy's brain is like a sponge so you need to incorporate peeing with outside as many ways as you can with your dog. You'd be amazed at how fast the puppy learns that peeing and pooping needs to be done outside. I would keep the puppy in a really small area and he shouldn't eliminate in this area. Usually when you take him out of the area he'll eliminate immidiately. This is when you take him outside after he's done put him back in his small space. Only leave him out of his area when you are training, playing or walking him. Keep up the work, don't get too frustrated and hopefully you dog will be scratching at the back door in no time. Slim

Congrats lisa and a great looking dog, too. Hope everything goes well for you and your new dog. Slim

Can you come do my dog? Every morning when he wakes up he has this big wad in the corner of each eye. There is a ton and it's still wet mucus. He hates when I do it and it's a struggle every morning in the bathroom. Some mornings there is so much in there I cant believe it. He's fine the rest of the day though. I never clean it out with my fingers just toilet paper or a clenex or something. Slim

My dog loves his bed we bought him. He's a little too big for it now but he still sleeps on it. We got it when he was a little puppy and he sleeps on it all night and never moves until we get up in the morning. It says, "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie", on the side of it. He also will lay on anything soft that is on the floor. Slim

My GSD follows me around everywhere except when he's found something to chew on or if he's eating. I love to hide from him and see how long it takes him to find me. When I get home he cries and whines like he's getting beat because he so excited to see me. If he's not with me he's usually getting into some kind of trouble. Slim

Aussielover, I had an Aussie that was all blue merle, too. He didn't have any red or copper coloring in him. He was really cool looking. I lost him in an accident a while ago. I sure miss him and his antics. He was the best running partner and he did so many funny things. He sure kept me entertained. He could also catch the hell out of a frisbee. I really miss him. Slim

A while ago my dad was looking for a dog to rescue but my mother wasn't to happy about the whole idea. He went down to the shelter and saw this big red hairy guy who was on his last day at the shelter. My dad really liked the dog and didn't want him to be pts so he went ahead and adopted him without my mothers approval. My mother was very upset at my father for a while, until..... The dogs name is Alvin and he is the sweetest dog. My mom just loves him to death now. He's really mellow but he still acts like a clown to entertain them sometimes. They think he's an Aussie. He looks just like an Aussie but he's about 95lbs so he may have a little bit of a mix. My mom loves to play in the yard with him and she loves it when he gets up in the bed and plays around. She's so happy my dad rescued this guy. I really like the dog, too. I take my dog over there all the time to play with him and he comes over to my house. I can't believe that his owners would leave a dog like this at the shelter and never come looking for him. Oh well. My parents are really happy that they did though. Alvin loves his new home. It's a really neat story and he's a really neat dog. Slim

What a cute puppy. I like the tilted head picture. I love it when dogs give the tilted head look.

My dog will go for hours with a plain garden hose. He loves to grab an end and run around the yard and gather stuff in the hose. Once he has some lawn chairs sticks rocks and the rest of his toys in there he'll drag them all around with one end of the hose and grawl. It's really entertaining to watch a dog play with odd stuff and to see how much fun they can have when they're alone. Slim

I do have a costco close by. I think I'll check there. Thank you Slim

A good way to break the play biting with the pants is to get a squirt bottle and shoot a little stream at the dogs face while she's trying to get your pants. Most dogs hate the water in the face. By using the squirt bottle the dog wont be able to tell that it's you that is causing the discomfort so it's not going to hurt the bond that you're trying to form. Play biting can be very annoying with the sharp teeth and I found that this was an easy way to break my puppy of the habbit. I needed to add a little vinegar to the water because the plain water was not doing the trick. He really didn't like the vinegar. The squirt bottle worked for my puppy not to sure it will work for yours. It's worth a shot, though. Slim

It is very important that you get your puppy used to the appropriate surface you want it pooping on. If you want it pooping on grass, it needs to be pooping on grass as many times as possible when it is so young. If your puppy gets used to pooping on carpet you'll have a much harder time breaking it of pooping on carpet. This could be the case already. It is very important that you take it to the appropriate place when it is showing signs. Sniffing or circling nervously. If all goes well the puppy will only feel comfortable pooping on the grass and will usually hold her bowels until she can get to the grass. It is also important that you use the same door when house training so the dog understantds how it is supposed to get to the grass. Slim

He's grown out of the bed we bought for him and I can't seem to find any that are much bigger. He can't get his rear end and his head on it at the same time. One or the other is hanging off the sides. He's 70lbs and he'll probably end up between 100 and 110lbs. He loves his bed and he'll go get on it when ever we tell him too. It's one of the beds that you can pick up and put in a closet or shove under the bed real easy. I really want to find another one like it because it's so easy to clean and hide when I don't want it out on the floor. I just cant find one big enough. I saw a bed that said extra large dog bed but then it said "For animals up to 75lbs". I'm afraid he'll grow out of that one in another month. Anyone have any ideas? Please let me know. Thanks Slim

Drama Queen, huh I'm not even female and I don't make things up in my head. Honestly, I think it's funny when another dog is showing dominance on my 6 mo. old GSD and the're roughing him up a bit. I.E. shoving him to the ground over and over again, trying to mount him and just plain being rough (no teeth/biting involved). He'll just get up and try to play some more and get shoved to the ground again. I let my dog get bullyed by other dogs because I think it's good for him. It showes him "where the bear s--t's", to put it bluntly. I also find it a little entertaining. All at my puppys expense. This is what the boxer was doing to my dog so I wasn't worried about him. I'm always right there with my dog, mind you. I don't baby my dog so don't give the the drama queen nonsense. What happened, happened. Most people here seem to agree with me to an extent. Even pit bull owners. Some say most pit bulls should not be at dog parks off leash. Some say the shoud be there on leash. Some say the should not be there at all. Some say they should not be there. Everyone seemes to think I have a legit gripe. You, on the other hand seem to think I'm totaly off base and ignorant. That's the reason for my last post. "this ain't about you anymore. my post about you was to someone else EXPLAINING why I felt the way I felt. You just contradicted yourself. Didn't you? Ain't about you.... my post about you... Also, calling me a "drama queen", isn't supposed to be about me, either. Is it? Slim

Okay bullygirl, I was lying about the whole thing. I hate all Pit Bulls, I think they should be banned everywhere. I'm totaly ignorant. There has never been any incident with a pit bull at the dog park I go to and I'm just trying to upset all pit bull owners. Happy now, bullygirl? Slim

Okay, I must apologize. I should have said, "My dog park is being overrun by APBT's and there ignorant owners that only have them as a status symbol". The people in question are the ones who let there dog off leash and go sit down on a bench and start chating or get on there cell phones. The owner of these two particular Pit Bulls was a 110lb girl who was on her cell phone most of the time. Even if she wanted to do something about her dogs I seriously doubt that she could have. Now in contrast to these other owners, there was a guy who never let his APBT out of his sight and if it was wrestling with another dog he stood over his dog and kept a hand on each hip just in case anything happened. The Pit Bull played so cute with this Jack Russel that I found myself giggling as I was watching. I thought to myself, it's sad that a dog who could play so well with another small dog had to be supervised so closely. I thought, this owner knows exactly what his dog is capable of, he knows axactly what comes with the breed and he has accepted the responsibility. Before I bought my GSD, I read about how to properly socialize them and found out all about the breed. I think the owner that followed his dog around and never let it out of his sight did the same thing. On the other hand, the majority of the pit bull owners that come to my dog park and could care less what there dog is doing did not know much about the breed and had their Pit Bull only as a status symbol. I think this is a very dangerous situation. It's the ignorant owners that are creating the situation and not the dogs. I should have thought about that more before I wrote my original post. Verry sorry. Slim

Thank you for your comments as well Rott-N-Pitt. I feel much better now.

Thank you for your post gooydog. I like you already. That was exactly the info I was looking for. I was not trying to upset anyone. I was just looking for info. I'm pretty sure the dogs were not playing. My dog was running as the pit bulls were trying to bite him. After the 90lb boxer jumped directly on top of my dog the pit bulls really had a hard time getting a good grip on my dog. I was not far behind the boxer and the pit bulls let up quite easily (I was very surprised) when I jumped in and grabbed my dog and the Boxer. They never really got a good hold on my dog though what little grip they did get was enough to draw blood. I'm sure it would have been much worse if the Boxer didn't jump on and cover my dog and if I hadn't jumped in so quickly. My dog was bleeding in the places whre the pit bulls were biting at him so I really don't think the Pit Bulls were playing. The Pit Bulls could have been young they were 35-45lbs each. Maybe that had something to do with it. Not to sure Thanks again for the info. Slim

Thank you very much Mary's Momma! There are no restrictions on who can come to the dog park and who can't. Thank you for the advice and I think I'll make a few phone calls. This sounds like a wonderful system you described. Slim

I conceed. Sorry I took my GSD puppy to the dog park and he put himself in the Pit Bulls mouths. All pit bulls at my dog park never, ever started a fight in there lives theyare the ones that are picked on. I won't be taking my dog back to this particular dog park again. I'll drive to the other dog park 45 min away. Again I conceed. I was mistaken. Pit Bulls and there owners are angels and they wouldn't hurt a flea. Sorry I even wrote in about this. I have absolutely no call to be upset at all. Pit Bulls are tough my dog is weak so I guess I should have my dog on a leash so there would have been no problems. I understand now. Thanks Slim P.S. The reason he wasn't hurt badly is because the 90lb boxer jumped on top of my dog and really impeeded the Pit Bulls progress. The boxer really didn't know how to fight all that well he was just big. My dog was bleeding and was covered in dog slobber so ther is no doubt in my mind that the pit bulls were in fact bitting him. If your read my other post, on this thread, with the Rottwieler story, you'd know that I'm perfectly aware of what a pit bull is capable of doing.

Come to the dog park I go to and see for yourself! Are you calling me a liar? I'm sorry if I offended you but it's a reality. I did mention the one APBT owner that did watch his dog. I'm not looking for poor me responses I can take care of myself. I certainly wouldn't take my GSD to the dog park if he was going to cause trouble. Would it have made you happy if I had told you that my GSD had huge gashes and I had to take him to the Vet and spend $1,000 to get him sewed up? I'm sure it would have happened if I didn't jump in and pull my dog out from underneath them so quickly. Are you saying it's okay for dog aggressive dogs to run free (off leash) with other dogs? Does it suprise you that a dog that was made for fighting gets in fights when it runs free with other dogs? This is what I was getting at with my post. Am I crazy for thinking that it's not okay for Pit Bulls to run free at the dog park? Like I said before, there are at least 3-4 APBT's and sometimes as many as 8 on a Saturday and they are all off leash. If you don't believe me come and see for yourself. Slim

Okay, I'm sorry I mentioned Viggo Mortensen. Just wanted to tell you how my dog got his name. :D Slim

I need to be honest here. My puppy isn't little. He's about 70 uncoordinated lbs. but he's only 6 months old in the head. Size doesn't matter much when ther is a APBT involved, though. Slim On a side not I watched your boy from Ausi Chad Reed win his fourth straight American Supercross Race. Do you know who I'm talking about?

Actually last week there was some egotistical guy with his pit bull who was actually trying to get his APBT to fight other dogs. Again, I had to leave the dog park because of some idiot dog owner. This dog ended up going after a 8-10 year old boy and the owner just said, "you must have some jerky in your pocket or something". I don't have problems with people owning pit bulls but I don't think it's appropirate to bring them to the dog park. They were bred to fight other dogs and they usually do. I've seen a 60lb APBT almost tear a 140lb Rottwielers head off. It makes me a little nervous when there are 8 of them running around with my puppy. Slim

By APBT's I can't take my dog to the dog park anymore. :cry: Last night my 6 mo. old GSD got in a fight with 2 APBT's and a boxer at the same time. All 3 were against my dog. The boxer had been showing dominance on my GSD for a while. I can understand things like that. The Pit Bull, on the other hand, was playing with my GSD real nice but his mood tuned really fast and he started attacking my puppy then his buddy the other APBT jumped on him and then the boxer ran over and jumped on him. All three dogs were chewing on my dog. The owners of the boxer just stood there and called his name. The girl with the 2 APBT's did nothing to stop it. As a matter of fact she was on her cell phone most of the time, not paying any attention to what her dogs were doing. Not sure if she was on her cell phone at the time of the fight. Anyway, I ran over and pulled the boxer off my dog and screamed at the top of my lungs at the APBT's. It was all I needed to do to get them off. I grabed my dog and as I was trying to put his leash on one of the APBT's and the boxer came back at my dog. Very angry now, I screamed at the top of my lungs at the dogs and they left. Then I screamed at the top of my lungs at the owners to at least try and control there dogs. Finaly I got my dog on his leash and was able to leave the dog park. It seems like these types of people/dogs are at the dog park every time I go there. My dog knows nothing about dominance or fighting. He just wants to run and play. He's only 6 mo. old. All he knows is that he's supposed to chase things. That's it. He's not trying to start fights. As I left the dog park, I screamed at the girl with the APBT's (foul language included). I made quite a scene but I'm sure any other dog owner would do the same if they saw there puppy being attacked by 2 Pit Bulls and a 90lb Boxer while the owners just stood there and let it happen. Something funny happened after I screamed at the girl with the Pit Bulls. The guy getting ready to enter the park with his pit bull put him back in his car and left. My dog only got a few little cuts where the Pit Bulls latched on to his sides and leg and didn't get anything from the Boxer. I love the dog park when I can take my puppy there and let him play without the threat of him getting attacked. Am I wrong in thinking that the APBT's should not be at the dog park? I know the boxer was involved too but I don't think I would have had a problem with the boxer had the Pit Bulls not started the fight in the first place. My dog needs to be socialized with other dogs but I just can't take him there anymore. I've seen too many Pit Bulls get into fights there and I'm not making a generalization either. Every time I've seen a serious fight a Pit Bull has been in the middle of it. The last few times I've been there there have been anywhere from 4 to 8 Pit Bulls running around and I've only seen one owner intently watching what it was doing. I'm really upset that I can't take my dog to the dog park anymore. Regards, Slim