rotten_two

my gaia has a bark to be reckoned with -- very deep and from the chest. everyone thinks she is a he because she has such an intimidating bark. she is very vocal all the time -- growly when she plays, grunty when you scratch her ears. we taught aspen to speak so when he speaks he has a normal woofy bark. he also "sings" when he gets excited and you don't pet him quickly enough and it is like bahroooooo! he does "chewy" wuh wuh wuh too which is hysterical. the funniest thing by far is when he gets scared (like if he sees the moon thru the skylight) he barks his fool head off but the pitch goes up like an octave so it is a real high pitched screech almost. i almost pee myself when he does this it is so funny!

you have mentioned tug of war a couple times. here is my take on tug of war. playing tug is an excellent way to utilize natural instincts and tire out a dog if you follow some very structured rules. rule1: humans initiate play. puppies do not. if pup is harassing you by shoving a toy at you or bringing a toy to you simply ignore him until you can initiate the game. rule2: puppies may not put teeth on the toy until i say so. i use the cue "tug it" to indicate that it is ok for you to play now. i also make pups sit and wait before they may tug it. rule3: if at any point during the game puppy teeth make contact (any contact at all) with human skin the game ends immediately and the toy is put away. rule4: puppies will relinquish the toy promptly when asked. you can use the word "give" or "drop" or "out" or whatever you choose but pup must surrender toy when told. you have to work on give outside of tug games so that pup learns what give means. otherwise your pup might think give means tug harder. rule5: if pup gets overly stimulated or obnoxious the games ends promptly and we play again another time. playing tug with a dog that complies with these rules is great fun. it does a heck of a lot to tire them not to mention you too. other good games that utilize their natural instincts include "find it" you hide treats or toys or yourself (in obvious places at first) and let them "hunt." remember both mental and physical exercise will benefit your pup. fetch is another good one (i know your dog is not a retriever but other dogs can fetch). keep us posted on how preschool goes.

wait a minute here! jweissg i thought you were a joseph? i guess i am confused because you said "new mother" syndrome and in other posts you signed as joseph? ok anyway i wouldn't worry too much about the bunny hops right now, pup is still quite young. try to note when they occur -- after a long rest? after a long romp? if they persist and you can't really associate it with anything maybe you want to mention it to your vet -- i can almost guarantee the pup won't do it at the vet so they could see it themselves hahah. most likely they will tell you to keep an eye on it. pup is still growing right now so an xray (unless something is broken) won't be very definitive in terms of hd. since you are planning schutzhund i would expect you will ofa the hips before that starts. since this is a large breed dog you might talk to your vet about proper nutrition because you don't want a food that makes pup grow too fast. ps does pup have a name? have any pictures? we love pictures around here!

pardon me. i didn't misread tho i did mistype and for that i apologize. however i tend to frown upon scruffing as well. for some reason i just got alpha roll stuck in my head. as for separating the pups so not to get used to their pack -- well i can't say i agree and i think some of your problem with biting may be a direct result. puppies learn bite inhibition from littermates first and foremost. also there will be status issues within a litter and i don't think that is a good enough reason for premature separation -- even if weaned there is still much to be learned. truth is we can't come close to emulating what mom would do -- she would be much faster on the draw and her punishment would be severe and accurate enough that she would only need say it once maybe twice. what types of professionals have you spoken with about when to separate? vets? breeders? trainers? just curious. what professional trainer will you have evaluate your dog? schutzhund? french ring sport? police dog training? other? here is my suggestion for nipping -- do as you have done before with yiping and then walk away only when you walk away tether him to something where he cannot self reward (destructive chewing) while you are ignoring him. put his leash around the door knob on the other side of a door -- so that it feeds between the door jam and the door (don't want him to get away) close the door and then leave. come back try again. or you could try to give him a time out area (confined area with baby gate -- no toys no people no nothing fun) give him a minute in there. then try again. also remember that you can focus on the positive -- reward him for good behavior -- nice play no teeth or for chewing on his own toys. we often forget to reward when they are quietly chewing but we scream and yell (attention) when they do something displeasing. good luck! puppy manners class is a step in a very good direction specifically if it employs positive reinforcement.

can i ask what circumstances occurred so that you have a pup away from mom at 5 weeks? maybe this is a litter you bred and you still have mom or maybe you rescued? i am trying to give the benefit of the doubt here. what type of dog do you have that you are so eager to do bite work? i think right now you would be better served making sure he is socialized properly with people and dogs (after he is vaccinated properly). you need to enroll in a puppy kindergarten a positive methods puppy kindergarten (no alpha rolls, no choke or pinch collars, etc). the mere fact that your pup keeps biting even after the dreadful alpha rolling you have tried is an indication that the method just plain sucks and you are not properly communicating your message! honestly tho and i don't mean to be rude but if you pursue bite work with this dog you will likely see much more aversive techniques and that is sad!

my dogs mind it! aspen snaps his little nub down so tight if he even thinks he might get the rectal thermo. gaia tries to sit down. luckily our vet has some weird shaped ear thermo (so that it can get in the right angle ear canal better) that she uses and they don't mind that as much. i realize that it is probably less accurate but if the ear temp is high i am sure she would double check with the rectal thermo.

good luck at the vet! do keep us posted mouse.

normal range is about 100.5 to 102.5 for dogs. you should measure scout on a few different occasions to see what is her normal. i am not a 98.6er i am more a 97.2ish person it is always nice to know your pet's baseline so you know when to worry :)

honestly i much prefer this collar -- if you have to use one. [img]http://www.vetamerica.com/ProductImages/2896.jpg[/img] it's called a bite not collar and you can get them at [url]vetamerica.com[/url]. they even come in sizes for dogs under 10lbs. here is what the website says about them . . . . Bite Not Dog Collars (Under 10 lbs) A comfortable & easy to-use alternative to the Elizabethan collar. Allows pet to eat drink, sleep, play, run up stairs & around corners & even sit on laps. With these collars, your pet's peripheral vision is unimpeded making them calmer & happier. Collars are made of flexible plastic & are secured by Velcro, elastic wrap-around strap & harness strap, which wraps around your pet's chest.

we only have nubs at our house. we call them wiggle butts because they do wag their booties side to side. when aspen gets really jazzed his whole butt wags in a circle -- it is just to cute!

whoa nelly! *big pinch* just wanted to make sure it wasn't all some hel*ish nightmare! guess not! i will admit i had quite a chuckle about the tea pitcher because that happened to me not too long ago -- literally shattered my favorite pitcher! i was on the phone at the time and it scared the beejezus outta me so i screamed bloody murder, dropped the phone and my mom on the other end was ready to call 911! and oh my lord the mess it did make -- glass shards everywhere and sticky tea (cause being a southern girl i only drink sweet tea) all over my kitchen. we too used the overturned milk crates but we don't bungee them down (now i am thinking it is a good thing). sorry about peaches. maybe the best thing to do is give her time and i am betting she's not gonna want to eat off the milk crate for a while. i too think it is better you stayed home today -- start fresh tomorrow :)

targeted walking is where you try to keep her by your side with treats (she targets(touches) your left hand as you walk 1 step, then 2-3, then 5, etc) basically you make it very lucrative for her to be near you. i will say if you choose abrupt position changes that works best when she is a maniac all over the place and the changes must be done very sharply. you want her to think you are more of a maniac than she is -- let her learn that hey i don't know where she might go next so i better pay attention to her. the stopping when she pulls method is best suited when she is focused and pulling toward one particular thing -- like a squirrel or another dog. here you want her to learn that as long as you walk nicely we can go toward the "reward" but you can make us stop if you pull. pulling in and of itself is a very rewarding behavior. the only real way to teach a dog not to pull is to not allow them to pull. in other words you have to be quicker than abby. don't let her get to the point of pulling. change direction or get her attention right before she pulls the leash tight. sometimes if you goose them on the butt and back up and call them (right before full throttle) they will come to see what you are doing. the other thing is that any time she is walking nicely (and i don't mean formal heel position -- i mean leash has slack) praise and treat her, a lot! big fuss! try to practice in low distraction areas at first and yes walks will take 10 times as long for a while if you use these methods. try to keep practice sessions short so she doesn't get so overly stimulated. we always want to set them up for success -- so they learn how to win the game :) good luck let us know how you do!

uh-oh flurry is now in second place! i wish i could vote more than once a day :lol:

the snout collars are very effective for some dogs and not so much for others. i know when people are having problems with control that is one of the things i recommend. pairing the snout collar with the proper training is imperative for the collar to work. however you really shouldn't let the dog hit the end of the leash with the snout loop and sometimes you can't react that fast. the other thing is called a front clip harness (like sense-ible or premier has a good one too). it works on the same premise which is where the shoulders go so shall the rest of the dog. if you have tried other methods (targeted walking, stopping when they pull, and abrupt direction changes) then maybe it is time to try a harness. why does abby pull? are there too many other distractions?

first let me say that you can get younger dogs from rescue -- you might have to wait but i got my male rottie from rescue when he was 12 weeks. anyhoo here are some of my suggestions . . . speaking in generalities of course -- within any breed you have variants. standard poodle (good with kids, loves loves loves water, needs good bit of exercise, very clever, believe it or not quite a good guard dog) bernese mtn dog (great with kids, good with cold weather, active, adequate guard dog) portuguese water dog (excellent with kids, loves water, very smart, easily trained) newfoundland (might be a tad big for a canoe -- would likely rather swim anyway, good with kids, loves water, protective of family) there are others i can think of but this will give you something to research :)

yes and both my guys hate er um make that detest water! JDEcho: i have a couple more questions . . . would you consider adoption from a shelter or breed specific rescue? what size dog or does it matter? preferrences for shedding/grooming/allergies? do you have other animals? birds, cats, hamsters? how much time are you willing to put in to his/her training? also just a note that you will have to train a dog to sit in a canoe, the swimming well sometimes you have to remind dogs they know how to swim too haha. with any dog you really should do at least some basic training.

still in 2nd place -- c'mon guys get clickin!

cast my daily vote for jake :)

ah yes pat mcconnell i like her very much!

i voted -- go jake!

gentle or not this is still alpha rolling and i don't think it is necessary.

good i am glad to hear that he is good with not guarding his food. i think that the first thing you will need to do if you get mine! and follow the guidelines is make a list of the things he guards (or doesn't necessarily want to relinquish). you will start behavior mods with very low value items and progress to the high value items. it's basically a structured trading game. you give me the sock willingly and i give you chicken, yum. use this next portion how you choose -- it is my opinion/experience: i would caution you about physically closing his mouth -- in general this tends to make them more mouthy. hands and/or toys touching or playing in and around the mouth tend to increase mouthy play. i think a better alternative is to ignore him anytime you think his play is inappropriate. try play again in a few minutes. also if you must take something from him always try to trade up. if he then nips you or growls you take all toys and treats and walk away -- all attention ceases until you play by my rules. again only my suggestions, keep us updated. do post some pictures of the little booger!

i would suggest the book "Mine!" by jean donaldson. it talks about resource guarding and gives some good suggestions for changing behavior. how is he with his food? can you take it away from him with no problems? the book is not very expensive and it really does have a lot of good information. you can purchase it here [url]www.dogwise.com[/url]

well seems to me you nailed the name when you said she is pure "bliss" -- why not name her bliss?

carson was not bad -- he was just more interested in the bunny than training. had we been able to get better attention you would see he is quite clever. did you get the bunny scent? we laugh now thinking we should never have shown carson eggbert! we still keep the shades and shower curtain up so as to block the view! cairn6: i have seen several cairns in our classes. i would say half male half female (all altered mind you). just in my limited experience i would say the males have been more reactive (woofy lungy at anything that moves). the female i have now barks a few times when she sees another dog but settles quickly. her dad is quite impressed that when i demo with her she does what i ask. she doesn't seem the lovey dovey type to want to sit in their laps tho. she wants to be on the floor and not held -- in class at least. i think you can make generalizations about a breed but even within a breed you will find different personalities and characteristics. so just because toto is a lap dog doesn't necessarily mean another male would act the same or that another female wouldn't.