kendalyn

Very Cool! :-)

[quote]YES it is bad for dogs. We aren't allowed to let small children SWALLOW the toothpaste. And since dogs can't spit, they must swallow it.[/quote] Yes, but people brush their teeth two or three times a day. I doubt anyone brushes their dog's teeth that often. So the little bit of toothpaste swallowed once a week or so will not do any harm.

[quote]Another good spot for training is the vets office........Its always full of dogs and ppl....and evry1 has to be on a leash....[/quote] I probably won't take Buck to the vet for training reasons. Sick dogs are usually more apt to not want to be friendly and I wouldn't want Buck to stress a sick dog out anymore than he/she already is. I always got really annoyed with people who thought going to the Vet was playtime when I was there with my dying Standard Poodle. He just wanted to rest and I got sick of telling people to have their dogs leave him alone. Plus, I'd be afraid that Buck could get sick also if one of the dogs has something communicable. [quote]In our ob/agility class there are 10 dogs/handlers with one instructor and 1 or 2 assistants.[/quote] This is what I'm looking for! I found a few places to call and I'll do that on Thursday. I'll be sure to ask about class sizes!

Sorry about the weather! I was thinking about you the whole time and I was really sad that the weather sucked! It was really nice right before you came too :-( I'm glad you got to see Lake Michigan though. I should have given you my number. I have tons of coats! Your mom could have borrowed one! [quote]she starts with a fairly relaxed demeanor and wagging tail but within seconds they are snarling at each other. [/quote] This is Buck to a T. He seems friendly at first most of the time, and then all of a sudden both dogs are snarling. And I know what you mean about sometimes not knowing what happened. Sometimes it happens so fast I cannot tell what or who was the impetus. There are also times though when he is nasty from the get go. All he has to do is see the other dog and he's suddenly all worked up about it. [quote]Perhaps SHE has a communications problem, perhaps she misreads other dogs signals and thinks she must attack or she is giving off mixed signals and THEY feel they must jump her.[/quote] I wonder this myself about Buck.

[quote]90% of on-lead aggression I see is actually owner induced, and most handlers don't even realize it.[/quote] :placz: It's all my fault!!

I'm glad I wasn't crazy about the class size. As soon as I heard how large it was I just couldn't see myself really getting to work with Buck in such a crazy environment. There would be dogs coming from all sides and it would be very hard to get and keep his attention. Especially with a puppy class 20 feet away! The park seems to be a good place to work with Buck because the dogs can be varying distances away instead of on the usual walking trail we visit where they are all coming directly towards him. I will use Cassie's and Lokipup's advice and see if that helps. I'll continue to look for another class but now I know to ask lots of questions before wasting my time going to it. :-)

Well, that particular obedience class is a no go. It didn't go very well. I got there early and asked the registration people about getting admitted into the class even though it was full because one of the other people had already thought it would be possible. They really weren't very nice. First this guy got really houghy and suggested I not do things at the last minute. I explained that I hadn't needed an obedience class until about 2 weeks ago when these problems started cropping up. Then another lady asked if I had just gotten the dog or something. So I made the mistake of telling them that I had trained him on my own. The conversation went downhill from there. Apparently they don't think it's possible to train a dog without an obedience class. :roll: I even admitted that I should have taken him earlier purely for the socialization aspect but he hasn't had problems with other dogs until now so I didn't see the need. They still were hell bent on telling me just how stupid it was to try and do it on my own. That really pissed me off so I made a point of telling Buck to sit and lie down while I was talking to them (which he did just fine) Anyway, that's actually not the main reason Buck won't be taking that class. It's because I found out there are 47 dogs in the class with 1 instructor and 2 assistants. Is that a normal ratio? 3:47? Plus they run a puppy class right next to the beginner class in the same room. :-? Is that normal? I decided I would look around at different classes at that point. I did take Buck to the park afterwards to see if maybe we could find some other people with their dogs that Buck could see from a distance. The only problem is that Buck didn't care about the other dogs in that particular setting. Two large dogs were barking their heads off at him and he didn't even look up. :roll: I mean, it's a good thing I guess, but I know his aggression isn't gone or anything. He was just having more fun sniffing the bushes than paying attention to the other dogs. I did praise him though. I don't think he knew why he was being praised but I figured it couldn't hurt. :lol: I'll keep looking for a class though.

[quote]The sit and treat on the spot works for some dogs but not for others and it is sometimes a matter of trial and error to find out what works best with an individual dog.[/quote] It does seem to work for Buck, but it is not my end goal. I need for him to be able to walk past another dog be it coming head on, passing us from behind or crossing our path without him acting like a jerk. I will try the treat thing. He really doesn't get excited about treats when we are on a walk though. He responds better to praise for some reason. But the treat may help to get his attention. I'll do both :-)

[quote]I'm glad you took her in, but you could have also brought her somewhere where they'd place her in a home where someone had learned about the breed first, you shouldn't really get ANY breed of dog without doing your homework FIRST, ESPECIALLY with a breed like the pit bull. [/quote] :o This would make me feel pretty crappy if I were PBL. I took my dog in from a bad situation (the woods of Kentucky) and I didn't try and dissect his breeds and learn everything about them before I decided to keep him. I think PBL did a great thing and [i]is[/i] doing a great thing by coming here and asking advice and following it. What more do you want? And if I were a rescue group I would prefer that PBL keep the dog herself. It's not easy to find homes for pit bulls. Why give the dog up when she already has a good home?[/i]

Don't worry about the e-collar. I hate those things most of the time. And Buck is way to sensitive for one anyway. He would totally shut down. Thanks for the advice Cassie. I will start trying it. I have to admit that I did yell at him yesterday, but that was mostly because I was scared and surprised. Buck and I were facing away from a Husky who walked up behind us and must have sniffed Buck's butt or something because he didn't see the dog until it was right on him. He lunged around with a really loud growl/bark combination that scared the heck out of me and basically made me realize that something needed to be done for sure. I didn't even see it coming since the dog came up from behind us. I grabbed Buck and said "STOP IT!" at him. I probably shouldn't have but it did calm him down. I'm nervous about the class tomorrow though! Mostly because there will obviously be a lot of other dogs there and I'm afraid that if the class isn't controlled properly than it'll be a disaster. Plus I need to calm myself down about it because I don't want Buck to know that I'm nervous. :oops:

I think I'm going to take Buck to an obedience class this summer. Not because he needs work on obedience really (although there is always room for improvement), but because within the last 2 weeks he has started getting really aggressive with other dogs on leashes. :( If I ask Buck to sit while he is starting to freak out when he sees another dog, he will sit and pay attention to me and calm down. But otherwise he is a very unhappy camper. I'm guessing maybe it is because he is just over 2 and he's exiting any kind of puppy teenagery stage? That's the only thing I can think of. So I called the Kalamazoo Kennel Club and talked to them about what might be a good class for Buck to get into. They suggested the beginner class because even though he does know all the commands they teach, they don't do any work on socialization in the more advanced classes. Sounds good to me. :-) but it started last week and it was full. The guy said to come to the class on Monday though and maybe they would let me in since they are thinking about splitting the class into 2 classes anyway. He said all I missed was orientation so I wouldn't really be behind if they do let me in. So tomorrow we'll head over and see what happens. I really hope we can get in because the next class isn't until August. If we can't, I think a few of the local pet stores offer classes but I don't trust those as much as the Kalamazoo Kennel Club. Does anyone have any other ideas about what I can do? When he starts to freak out, I stand between him and the other dog, make him sit and praise him when he calms down. That's the only thing I can really think to do. But of course that only works if the other dog walks past and out of our area.

[quote name='LuckyChaos']I think in some of those cases the dog had every reason to bite, like displining a dog with a rolling pin or sticking their hand down its throat![/quote] While I agree that the article was dumb, I would say it is hardly ever ok for a dog to bite a child or anybody else. It should be the last line of defense and being hit by a 2 year old or having a hand stuck down it's throat is not serious enough to warrent biting. [quote name='DogLover']Are you saying that a dog DOES NOT have the right to defend itself?[/quote] Against a small child? I find it hard to believe that any dog with a stable temperment would find it necessary to defend itself against a small child when running away would do the trick. And my dog does not have the right to defend himself. I will do that for him because I don't want him biting anyone ever. Of course we all know the blame is on the parents whenever a child is bitten because they are the only ones that can be held responsible. But I would not describe a dog biting because a kid stuck her hand down his throat as an excusable action. Neither is the child sticking her hand down there in the first place. But still, the dog shouldn't bite. And you should be able to take your dogs bone without being bitten. Your child should be able to do the same.

While I don't think I could be [i]glad[/i] that my dog bit someone, I guess if it were going to happen, there are certain people I wouldn't mind being bitten. Has he reported it to animal control?

It depends on where you're going camping. If it's an actual campground with rules and stuff you might want to find out what their campground rules for dogs are. Sometimes they are so restrictive I think it's better to leave the dog home. I hate going to those places though... If it's not in an official campground than your options are greater. But unless his recall is very good I would keep him on leash most of the time. You're probably safe to let him off in the evening while you're hanging around the campfire. Most dogs will stick around in that type of situation, but only you know your dog.

[size=6][color=blue][b]Yay Laurel!![/b][/color][/size] :D

I didn't vote because both works best. The voice command gets his attention but I think he watches the hand sign more. It would be really hard to do recall with a hand sign if he weren't looking at me.

[quote]My dog is not mean, and she has never started a fight....I guess you didn't read my point about how OTHER dogs have tried starting fights with her[/quote] It sounds like she is starting fights, but you just don't see it. I can easily see how your dog body slamming another (which you blissfully see as being playful) pisses off the other dog who then retaliates. So who really started the fight? Anyway, it doesn't matter in the long run who started it because your dog will be blamed.

Take them to the SPCA. They have the knowledge and resources to take care of them properly and later on to find them good homes. And if they can't then the puppies can be put to sleep humanely. How about taking the mother in also? She can be spayed and maybe rehomed as well.

[quote]I myself go to dog parks with my pit bull, and although she doesn't attack other dogs and try to rip them apart... she is dominant and likes to slam em' to the ground.... alot of people have told me that one day she is going to rip some other dog to shreds, blah blah blah.. [/quote] You shouldn't allow her to slam other dogs to the ground. If taking her to the park is part of her training, you should be teaching her the right way to act around other dogs instead of dominating all of them. One part of socialization is exposing dogs to lots of situations, but the other part is teaching them the right way to behave in those situations. I believe you are missing the other part. Your dog sounds very rude and I believe sooner or later your dog will be involved in a serious fight for which you and your dog will be blamed.

[quote]Better you know what you're getting into [/quote] The problem is that with a mutt of unknown origin it's impossible to know what you're getting into. I'd hate for someone to adopt a "lab/mix" expecting it to have traits like a lab but they get it home and it behaves like a Shepherd. I think shelters and rescues should push the point that this dog could literally have a multitude of characteristics. Labs and Goldens are so popular I would say it's a good guess that there is [i]some[/i] Lab or Golden in many mutts.

It's nearly futile to guess the breeds in a mutt. The only reason it is done is to give people an idea of what the dog [i]looks[/i] like or may look like. Although that isn't even very accurate. A local rescue I know of had puppies that looked very similar to huskies come out of a dog that look like a lab mix. :o No one would have been able to guess that this dog was their mother unless they KNEW she gave birth to them. There is really no predicting how a mutt will behave. How do you know that a pit bull/collie cross will behave more like a Pit than a Collie? And in most mutts, chances are really slim that there are only 2 breeds in there. It's a better guess that there are 4 or more. It's a total jackpot. I think it might be better if rescues stopped guessing. It's totally inaccurate and can give people a wrong idea of how their mutt may act.

[quote name='pLaurent']Primmy, I"m sure you know that wombats are not dogs, but marsupials. They are not a breed, but a species. Please try and make sense. [/quote] I'm guessing this comes from something you have discussed with Primrose on another forum? Because it doesn't make any sense. :-?

Are you sure he likes camping? If he's barking a lot (and usually doesn't) and you know he hates being tied out anyway, maybe he would prefer to be left home?

A lot of primrose's arguments have been cogent and well stated. She's also said some things that we would all agree with. Here's one: [quote]Do you disagree that most knowledgable pit bull people say "never trust a pit bull not to fight?" [/quote] I agree with her when she says that responsible breeders should be breeding dog-dog aggression out of pit bulls. What's wrong with that? Wouldn't getting rid of that particular trait only serve to help the pit bull image? [quote]dog aggression is the least of the pit bull's problems.[/quote] I disagree with this. Not many people, including the media, understand the difference between dog-dog and dog-people aggression. Someone sees a pit bull snarling at another dog and they think it's a mean dog. Period. They don't understand the difference and they're NOT going to go to any lengths to find out either. I think if it's possible to start breeding pits that do not tend to be dog aggressive, it would be a great thing. And I also agree that the picture is bad and does negatively portray the breed.

I'm really sad that I'll miss it! I've never seen an agility match. :( I should have found out when it was earlier and asked for it off. :x I'm kicking myself. Anyway, have a great time and I hope you and Candy win! Let me know if you end up going to South Haven :D