Ripley's Girl

WHOA.. :o I've spent the past TWO HOURS reading this thread and the other two posted.. I guess that's one more reason to add to my list of "Why I never trust people I talk to online". And for the record I'm normally about 6'1-6'2 since I'm never seen without my super tall shoes. (I'm actually 5'9 or 5'10'. haven't measured in awhile.) You guys are ALL short. :lol:

:( :cry: Thanks for sharing.

Oh so you have one of the little demons in your neighborhood too??? Sounds like this girl is just uneducated and young. Which means, she has NO purpose putting an ecollar on that puppy! And she REALLY needs to learn how to use the prong effectively, or, more desirably, have someone a little older and more knowledgeable train the dog. I agree with whoever said to offer training advice. Show her how to fit the prong collar (I have a feeling it's not fitted well) and demonstrate what the zap from the e-collar feels like on her arm. (I, personally put ANY training collar on MY OWN neck and yank/zap myself with it before I try it out on my dog, that way I know exactly what the levels feel like and I can tell if I'm misusing a prong or giving too mild/stern a correction) She must have incredibly irresponsible parents, so try to be her parent for awhile and teach her how to handle the dog humanely. She IS very young and probably has taken that 'method' of training from her parents. IMO, the dog is being mistreated and should be confiscated, but if your AC is anything like ours is around here, that's not gonna happen. Good luck and keep us posted.

Oh no, poor Perry. I hope its nothing too serious.. Best wishes from me and licks from Dakota and Ripley, get well soon Perry. :)

AWWWWW! :D :D Cutie pies!

Hi Kendalyn. I have a friend who is a bit like your coworker.. She's stubborn and determined that what she's doing is the best way to do things. [quote]She says it's what puppies do and you just have to let them grow out of it. Will this really work?[/quote] Not if he's taught that it's OK to chew on furniture, cords, etc. She's gonna have problems forever if he never loses that chewing urge. She really should be teaching him to chew on safer toys and she should NEVER EVER EVER leave a 4 month old puppy unattended for TEN MINUTES much less 2 hours. I seriously hope the area the pup is left in is puppy-proofed to the extreme, because he could hurt himself being left with wires around the house, he could chew up wood and eat it, etc. etc. etc. [quote]Here's my second question. She really wants this dog to be well behaved and polite and to her credit she is trying to train him. But she really has no idea what she's doing. When I've seen her try to work on a command with him, she basically drags him around by the collar and uses no praise at all. It's not mean or anything, but I can pretty much guarantee the dog isn't learning anything[/quote] She doesn't know what she's doing, and I'd guess that some indirect advice would help her, without seeming pushy. Recommend some good training books. Print out training articles that you find on the internet. Give her some information, since she obviously doesn't know what she's doing, because dragging a 4 month old pup around by the collar really isn't teaching him anything. BUT, don't shove it down her throat. if she's smart, she'll read up on what you recommend and she'll realize what she's doing wrong. What breed is this pup? Personally I wouldn't start formal training until the puppy is about 5 months old, or until he's out of his puppyish stage. If she wants him to just learn the commands, she should use POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, no collar dragging. Puppies learn so much better that way, and after the pup know what to do, she can start fine-tuning his training, as he'll be about 6-7 months by then and ready to start an obedience class, where she can learn how to properly correct him if he blows off a command, instead of doing it 'her way'. What kind of puppy are we talking about? large breed or smaller?

Here's my .02... (Keep in mind that this is all in my area. it might be different in yours) Most of the pet overpopulation problem here is due to irresponsible owners and 'accidental' litters, that could have been prevented had the bitch been spayed or contained in her yard. I volunteered at a large Arizona animal shelter last winter, and 75% of the puppies coming into the shelter were mixed breed litters that NEVER should have happened. BYB, puppy mills and reputable breeders (all who intend to breed) COMBINED don't contribute to the pet overpopulation problem nearly as much as irresponsible pet owners do. JMO. (This isn't a fact, just an observation) I say, don't ban breeding. Instead, why not enforce stricter spay/neuter laws? Why not have a SEVERE fine & penalty for people who allow unaltered dogs to run at large? (Because that is almost 90% of the reason for unwanted litters, is an unaltered animal getting together with another unaltered animal) **************************************************** Also, as an answer to someone's question regarding the difference in behavioral problems with pups from a breeder vs. rescue dogs.. Let's face it.. A lot of the dogs in rescue have bad habits. Not that they're not amazing dogs, but some are chewers, some have SA, some have dog or cat aggression, some have nervous tendencies, some are fear biters, and some are just generally difficult dogs. Now. It's VERY simple to find a rescue dog that will make a good house pet. But in the cases where someone is looking for a well-rounded working dog,(Just as an example, let's say to work in herding) it can be tough to find a good working quality dog in a shelter. That is where reputable breeders come in. In my case, I wanted an all-purpose working dog (SAR, Herding and agility) ready for anything I would give him. So far, with a 10 week old puppy, that's what I have. He's a blank canvas. ANY non-genetic behavioral problems that I have with him will be MY fault, because of the environment he was raised in or because of a mistake of mine. This includes dog aggression, cat aggression, nipping, biting, barking and chewing. (The most common reasons dogs are turned into shelters) With a well-bred purebred puppy, I can be sure that I'm going to be able to raise this dog the way I WANT TO. This is important to me because, should any behavior problems occur later in his life, I will take it better because it was MY training mistake, not some stranger's who previously owned him. With a well-bred pup, and careful training, you can make sure that he will be free of those behavioral problems, thus being the best candidate for a serous working home. It's late and I'm probably not making much sense, so I'll stop rambling on now.. But there's my opinion on it all.

I love Aussies, they actually were the breed I wanted for agility for a couple of years before I decided on a Border Collie.

Um.. Yeah.. I'm one of those ones with "Gripes with the practice". Those breeds are completely unreliable. You never see a constant, stable breed type in their offspring because they're so new. They don't have a STANDARD because there is no standard in existance wide enough to fit all those mutts. By the way, I adore mutts, but I will NOT BUY A MUTT. If you want a golden retriever mix, go to a pound. There's tons of them there, even puppies. IN FACT, I saw a litter of AKC registered golden puppies AND their dam in a shelter a few months back, given up because an irresponsible person was not getting money for their pups. So, my take on all this is: if you want a dog of a certian type, temperament and one that is bred for a certain purpose, and of predictable type, get a purebred. (Rescue, even) If you want a mixed breed, without the exaggerated traits of purebreds, then don't get a 'designer dog', go to a shelter.

Um.. :confused1:

OK, personally I find poodle crossbreeds to be very unattractive. Why would someone intentionally create unattractive mixed breeds? Second, a Poodle and a GSD have very different bone structure. You're going to get an imbalanced looking dog with possible joint/bone problems. ALSO they have very different temperaments. Ugh.

:eek3: yikes...

Half of those "pit bulls" are boxer or hound or even LAB mixes. I don't care about the reputation it puts on the breed, quite honestly. If people are so ignorant to believe that, let them. I care that they just euthanize a dog because it LOOKS like a pit bull, even though it's licking their hand and looking at them with love in its eyes. I don't like their assumption that all pit bulls will turn on them, either.

Several Fila Brasileiros, an Ibizan Hound, a Dogo Argentino and a Kooikerhondje (sp?) are among the rarest that I've seen outside of a dog show. Edit- To the person who saw the Sarplanninac, there is a magnificent one closeby, sweetest dog you'll ever meet.. More drool and hair than I've ever seen mixed together. :lol:

Several Fila Brasileiros, an Ibizan Hound, a Dogo Argentino and a Kooikerhondje (sp?) are among the rarest that I've seen outside of a dog show.

Several Fila Brasileiros, an Ibizan Hound, a Dogo Argentino and a Kooikerhondje (sp?) are among the rarest that I've seen outside of a dog show.

All temperament aside, I have to say that the Alaskan Malamute is one of the most stunning dogs. Really, all the snow dogs just make me drool.. A well-built GSD runs a close second to those snow dogs, though.

Double post. :oops:

GSD's, Sibes, Akitas and last but not least, Aussies and Border Collies. I love almost all breeds, though.. There's something good about all of them, no matter how you look at it. PS - I love Papillons, but I've already checked that off my list of dogs I want to be owned by before I die. :D

I carry pepper spray even when I go to walk on my street with Ripley. I've had to use it twice, because there are so many off-leash dogs there that try to jump all over my dog. I would never mace a dog that was on a leash or confined it its yard, but when a big dog comes running up to my dog, growling, I don't give them a chance to do anything else. It might sound mean, but it's all I can do to defend myself and it's certainly kinder than kicking or hitting the other dog. And if my neighbors don't like it, they can keep their dogs in their yard. What a novel idea that is.. :roll: When I get a larger breed dog, I will probably stop carrying the mace.. But call me overprotective, NOTHING bad is going to happen to my dog during a walk as long as I'm around and holding the leash.

Ah yes. I have the animals that think that humans were meant to step over or walk around them.... and don't even think about trying to push te cats off the chairs... :lol: