rotten_two

honestly i was thinking more you keep hold of the lead (at least at first) and his behavior predicts how much or how little freedom he gets. the proactive approach is a good one. call him if you see him think about humping another dog -- set him up for success :)

ok just as you have taught him to mind his manners on land you have to respectfully teach him how to behave in water with other dogs. here is my plan . . 1) get him neutered asap -- a very positive thing to do for your dog 2) newfie hit it -- on leash in the water (preferably you should be in with him) until he learns acceptable play. they make leashes that are called long lines (15-30ft) these are cotton or nylon so they are fine in water. if you aren't going to go in with him you need a way to keep him under control besides shock therapy. 3) practice. if he is in the water and behaving nicely just romping around reward him (letting him stay in the water should do -- we call that a life reward). you could take a ball or toy and throw it for him too. he is a retriever afterall. remember to praise tho -- thell him he is a good boy when he plays fair. 4) when he gets out of line and humps call his name and give him the anti-hump command whatever you choose (off is a good one). if he obeys he stays in the water and if not you reel him in and he gets 1 minute time out of the water. try again. please also work on the anti-hump command you choose out of the water too. *in general this is a good dogpark rule anyway. while at the dogpark frequently ask your pup to come to you and take a break -- if they don't come go get them. just like with kids they can play and play and play and get super aroused and next thing you know someone is crying or biting or well you get it. good idea to call them to you get a treat and a drink of water then back to playing* 5) always end on a postive note. if everytime you call him you pack it up and go home he will associate coming when called with going home. so call him several times and let him go back to play. when it is time to go home call him and give treats for coming. play a bit with a ball or toy or practice obedience. then leave non-chalantly. make it a good thing. the key here is that it is going to take some time and effort. you will get out what you put in. you could maybe practice with a baby pool and a doggie friend. same drill if play is nice it continues if not -- time out. i often find dogparks to be counter-productive in terms of puppies and manners they can pick up some really bad habits. if you need alternative suggestions for exercise . . . he is a retriever -- play ball or frisbee. fetch is an awesome game to tire puppy. find it another good game to work mind and body. we use it for rainy/ snowy days. teach him to find you or food. be progressive in how difficult the hiding places become (ie at first hide food in plain view in middle of floor and go from there) set up some playdates with classmates or other friendly dogs you know. walk your dog! you don't have to run. he could probably do a fair distance right now. enough to tire him at least. etc etc there are plenty of non-dog park non hip stressing activities that will tire his puppy butt out. remember that working his mind is just as important as the physical stuff!

intact until 11 months? :o what is his breed? i can only guess he is a larger breed if the breeder wants you to leave him intact for growth purposes! my feeling is he is way overdue for neutering. i think it will definitely curb his humping -- may not "cure" it. has he been to puppy class? unless and until he learns good manners (what is acceptable water play) i would keep him out of the water with other dogs. and for pity's sake don't use a shock collar. if you need a step by step process using postive methods pm me and i will help.

i pmed you but let me just say this . . . since you are only 13 and i don't recommend you try to physically take anything out of carson's mouth. hello 42 teeth and trust me he knows how to use them! i do suggest he not get greenies or anything he might guard until you guys can work on a solid "give" or out command. until he gives things of value reliably he doesn't get the really great stuff. even then you will hold the greenie while he chews it so that he realizes that humans by default own all good things. we simply choose to let him lick the greenie. if you suspect he has something in his mouth that might cause him harm and there are no adults around to help -- you can ring the doorbell as a distraction - he will likely drop what he has and run to the door, calmly take his collar put him away and pick up whatever he had. only in emergency tho cause he will catch on real quick. you can also fall down and wiggle around. most times that senough to peak interest and dogs will come over to see 'what is wrong with my stupid human.' first and foremost we need to retrain your dad! your dad is actually encouraging some of carson's bad behavior.

hullo did you ever order the rabbit scent? it's only gonna take a small bit on a toy for carson to go gaga! tell your dad i said to order it (or else)! he doesn't want me to come over there! play bite with carson is not appropriate play right now btw!

good luck peanut and HF! i hope everything comes out ok (haha couldn't resist the butt humor -- did it make you chuckle?) seriously tho you would be surprised what they can pass. aspen is the king of eating any and everything (including a whole sport sock when he was a pup). he has kind of grown out of it but every once in a while he will get a hankerin for a tasty quilt and then for a few days you get patchwork turds! our vet says she has seen ziploc bags pass :o sending peanut lotsa well wishes!

i like this collar better -- it is probably more expnesive but i don't think pooh bear could chew it. it's made by bite not . . . [img]http://www.vetamerica.com/ProductImages/2899.jpg[/img] you can find them at [url]www.vetamerica.com[/url]

what's his name? i think radar would be appropriate! he is a cutie! maybe he can tune in bbc?

poo and fart humor -- count me in! i feel for you hf! we have an easier time finding the culprit in our house (course there are only 2 of them). since they have only nubs you can actually watch the butt pucker -- yes i do interesting research huh? the other way we tell is by using the old addage "the smeller's the feller" we just look for the dog sniffing near their own butt! my dogs fart like machine guns when they go up or down steps too! it's hysterical!

whew! glad it all turned out ok :D

within a breed each dog is different. did you see the sire or the dam? that might be the best way to gauge his adult size. in general i think they can be as much as 11" at the withers and anywhere from about 10-16 pounds.

i don't think i have told you congrats or how cute is little ms kes (i have had a lot of dogo reading to catch up on :oops: ) i love puppies! you are not the only lucky one tho -- kes is quite lucky to have someone like you to care for her :) nicely done kat i know how happy you must be!

why do i read these when i know i will end up sobbing? people at work must think i have serious issues! truly beautiful ickle!

if i might just chime in with a little different spin on things . . . i will start by saying that i am not discounting the "say please" or nilif regiment. it is quite effective in teaching your pup manners and just what is his place within a pack. however in order for nilif to work you must have some basic cues in place (sit,down, etc) -- we'll get to this point later. i think i am gonna play devil's advocate here in order to highlight a few things that could be done differently. first of all here are some of my major questions/comments 1) have you taken your pup to any type of training class? if so was is geared toward positive methods? i recommend puppy kindergarten for continued socialization and early manners. 2) that said, does your pup respond reliably to a sit or down cue? if not you should practice sit and down at the very least. 3) if he is not coming when called i don't think he is "stubborn" rather i think he needs more recall training. work on the "come" command, alot. remember come means stop everything and run to me as fast as you can! start in low distraction environments (inside) and work your way up to outside (on-leash) and then eventually outside (off leash). at 7 months i don't expect he is coming when called. i also want to point out that when you give your dog a command you better be willing and able to enforce it. for practice outside (especially) i suggest a long line so that he can have 20-30 feet of freedom but if you call him "pup come" and he doesn't come you can go get him. when you go get him you have to be happy and upbeat. take him to the place from whence you called him (praising all the way because he is coming afterall) ask for a sit and then release him. here's the point -- if you call "come" and don't enforce it you only degrade the value of the command. he will learn that the word come doesn't have any relevance to him. so practice with lots of treats and exuberance so he learns how to win the game of come! be careful not to practice come only when you need to take him inside -- lest he learns that come = go inside. 4) how did he get in the dirty laundry? 7 months is a bit early for unsupervised run of the house. tether him to your belt or crate him if you can't watch him at times. until you've had time to train him about what is on/off limits in the house and until he abides by those rules he needs constant supervision and reminders of what is acceptable! next time he gets into something he shouldn't i want you to roll up a newspaper, go to a mirror and smack yourself silly for allowing it to happen. also it would be helpful to have a command for him to "give" something from his mouth (out, drop it). work on things of low value first and make your way up to socks. always trade up! if he gets a tissue offer a treat for the trade. treats may have to be very high value (like chicken or liver) for certain items. praise him always for deciding to trade. hopefully this will help you with the guarding issues. he learns that when he gives something up he gets something way better so it is ok for him to forfeit a sock. 5) punishment is only effective if a) it occurs almost simultaneously with the action being punished and b) it is severe enuff to prevent the behavior in the future but not so severe as to destroy the dog's psyche. basically humans are not very effective punishers in this aspect. what have you really taught pup when you smack him? have you taught him an appropriate behavior? nope, just that you are sometimes dangerous! another thing to consider is that in some dogs violence begets violence. so say you try to take the sock, he growls, you still try, so now he snaps, you still try so now he bites, you smack him, he gets even more aroused bites again this time maybe multiple times, see the cycle? don't get me wrong i in no way condone puppy teeth on human flesh. i think you need to work on some basic commands and help him realize the correct choices. i think alot of people are quick to say establish dominance but i prefer to think of it as showing good leadership skills. a good leader does not often need to resort to aggression. i tend to think of my dogs as children and this respect i don't do anything to them that i would not do to a child. if you require further assistance pm me and i can give you some reading material that will help :) sorry this was so long and i hope it helps.

oy vei! send your dad back for a remedial lesson! you know we do have behavior question and answer sessions (free to clients). you don't bring the dogs -- you could bring pops -- we'll straighten him out! unfortunately i find this habit is seen more in the human males. maybe that part of their brain that controls consistency is small or under-exercised?

oh that is too funny!

yay! i love happy endings! kudos to you again izzy!

nice! she's gorgeous!

yay pictures! ares is quite handsome! "i pee therefore i am" hahah i love that one with his leg lifted. yes whenever you are training your pup you should use very salient treats (chicken, hot dog, liver, cheese, moist things work better in my experience) and things they don't get all the time -- special treats for training. as for your girlfriend yes you guys need to both respond the same way to ares when he is being a froot loop and biting. otherwise dogs will learn who they can push and how far. they are just like kids in that aspect. it's never to early to work sit or recall so good for you. for now if you have to help him sit or come with treats that is fine you can fade the lure later. it takes hundreds and by hundreds i mean thousands haha of iterations before he will really come to know what sit means. once you think he is getting it test him by asking him to sit in another room or another place. ask him to sit while you bounce a ball. lie down on the floor and ask him to sit. sounds funny but he needs to generalize that sit is not just a position directly in front of you in the kitchen -- sit means butt on the ground no matter the environmental situation. it's fun and it lets you know how you are doing too. i have 2 rottie babes. gaia f 3 years old diva princess and aspen m 2 years old big momma's boy. big ole clowns they are. aspen is training for therapy work hopefully with kids in some capacity since he loves kids. gaia is more a sports kind of girl. loves agility and can run and jump like nobody's business. they are night and day personality-wise.

ah ares greek god of war! i have gaia mother of earth! cool! can't see the pics tho! ok so here's your next step. when you say eh eh and he releases your hand from his mouth reward him quickly with something very good like chicken. just trying to take a different approach. he needs to learn what is the game (take your mouth off me) and how to win (spit out my hand or foot or whatever). practice just a few minutes at a time with rewards for taking his teeth off you. then maybe you can convince him it is more lucrative for him to mind his teeth. you can still give timeouts when he is particularly snappy or obnoxious. be consistent don't let him get away with some biting but not other. keep rewarding when he makes the right choice. set him up to win -- when he is not in a snappy playful mood try to put your hand in his mouth and praise/treat like crazy if he wants no part of it. does ares nip and bite when you try to give treats?

oh i just found my new mailbox! hopefully the delinquents in our neighborhood will leave it alone -- if they don't maybe aspen and gaia will introduce themselves :evilbat: check it out -- they have like 45 breeds [url]http://www.mailboxesandstuff.com/Rottweiler_Mailbox_by_Mailboxes_and_Stuff.htm[/url]

hats off to you izzy for taking her in! i am sure she will be very happy with you <wink wink>

good to hear paddy will be his old self shortly. so are these mucon lumps likely to occur again did the vet say?

my two have these and they love them! they do last altho i think aspen just separated tail from body a few days ago -- have to do surgery soon!

travis got my vote too!