My Dogs

[Deleted]

Oct 4, 2022 19:34:25 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Oct 4, 2022 18:52:30 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

What with 2 horses, 1 dog and countless cats over the years, DH learned early on not to open refrigerated containers lightly. I'm so glad Boy's poop is back to normal. A surprising amount of animal ownership is about observing input and output. Are they eating the normal amount at the normal times? Are they peeing/pooping the normal amount of the right color and consistency? Often input/output issues are the very first clue to health problems from worms to blockages to really bad things.

this. things I never though I would do in my lifetime - last winter (I think? it was definitely in this house) I held a salad dressing-sized ziploc container under Punk's cooter to catch her urine so it could be screened for a UTI. I'd noticed snow holes having some red, not just yellow. shocker, she had a UTI.

I think there was a song year back, "The Things We Do For Love".   And we do them 

[raeoflyte]

Or we marry vet techs and make them do them.

The dogs play tug between their play pens- pushing toys back and forth so they can each grab a piece. It's super cute.

[Annie7]

Oct 4, 2022 9:06:33 GMT -5 Opti said:

Then there happened "the incident". I was talking with another dog parent at an intersection - the other dog was a small dog T. Our dogs were nicely playing and just sniffing each other. Then along comes this lady who had two small dogs - one in her arm and another one on a leash. Nala barked and lunged. I had control of Nala and she was nowhere near the other dogs. T's mom unfortunately let go of his leash since it was crossed with Nala's and he ran into the road. So we both were frantically trying to catch his leash. I had control of Nala on the leash and was trying to get to T too. Lucking the cars stopped and we were able to get T safely. This lady with 2 dogs crossed the street to where we were and then started yelling at me telling me to control my dog and to muzzle her. She said "There are laws in this country". (Just a FYI - neither T's mom nor I are Caucasian but we are both from different countries, not the same either. I've been in this country longer than I've been in my birth country and am a legal US citizen) I calmly told her that my dog was fine with T who is smaller than her dogs and that she was on the leash in my control all the time. That was not enough for her. She told me to move out of her way or she was going to call the police. I did not want any more conflict and just stepped away and moved away. I later heard from 2 separate sources that she's been telling other dog parents to beware of Nala. Luckily for me, both those sources knew Nala and they told her that Nala is not at all aggressive and she's very good with dogs.

Annie sounds like one of those bad pet owners that is a bad person as well. Dogs can take on the personalities of their owners. They take in the projected assholery and model it much like kids would. I generally get along with almost all dogs. However, I have encountered little dogs like this, with and without their owners. I do not blame your dog at all from reacting to her and what she made these dogs into. I flat out told my realtor after encountering a snarly snippy aggressive little dog fenced in, inside the house I would not consider buying it as the owner would be an asshole to negotiate with. These types do throw shade on others hoping they don't notice she doesn't have control of her dogs and they are terrors.

You might want to consider getting a cheap body cam too to CYA in these situations. Until you do, you can just say, TY I have a recording of the incident and will forward to the police if I need to. She should avoid you like the plague. Or you can conversationally say 'you know, that woman in NYC never did get her job back, Silly woman for making stuff up and thinking she'd get away with it.

Thanks Opti, I think I'm ok for now. I can get enough character witness for Nala if needed. I dont want to add one more thing to the things I carry when walking Nala

[Annie7]

Oct 4, 2022 19:14:23 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Oct 4, 2022 18:52:30 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

What with 2 horses, 1 dog and countless cats over the years, DH learned early on not to open refrigerated containers lightly. I'm so glad Boy's poop is back to normal. A surprising amount of animal ownership is about observing input and output. Are they eating the normal amount at the normal times? Are they peeing/pooping the normal amount of the right color and consistency? Often input/output issues are the very first clue to health problems from worms to blockages to really bad things.

When I had my Bullmastiff, I worked evenings. One evening my children called me at work and told me she kept pooping black stuff in the house. She was housetrained, and never pooped in the house, and I was alarmed enough that I left work early to go home and see what was going on.

I took her to the vet early the next morning, and not realizing how serious what was going on might be, I had my children with me. Well, her kidneys were failing, and it was so far gone that the vet told me I could spend several thousands of dollars trying to treat it, but he honestly thought it wouldn’t help.

I appreciated his honesty, and I had a very hard decision to make, while she was leaning against my legs, trusting me to take care of her like I always had. Then I also had 2 little people (my children) looking at me expecting me to get our dog fixed and healthy again. That was during the worst years of my whole life, and I was broke, broke, because I’d been dealing with serious medical issues with my children. If the vet had given me any kind of hope, I would’ve begged, stole and/or borrowed money to save my dog and get her healthy. 

My kids and I took the dog to the vet that morning thinking they would tell me what was wrong and how to fix it, and instead I had to tell my babies we had to let her go. DD still very clearly remembers that day. When I told her Boy’s stools were black, she was sad because she remembered that was why we took our Bullmastiff to the vet and ended up losing her.

She obviously had been sick for a while, but there were no signs until the evening my children called me at work. That’s one of the difficult things about dogs, they can’t tell you when they don’t feel well, and they often don’t show it until it’s too late.

Anyway, just a trip down memory lane. 

That's such a sad story I can't imagine your state when you had to deal with making the decision and have your kids with you. 

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 5, 2022 15:10:09 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

Oct 4, 2022 19:14:23 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

When I had my Bullmastiff, I worked evenings. One evening my children called me at work and told me she kept pooping black stuff in the house. She was housetrained, and never pooped in the house, and I was alarmed enough that I left work early to go home and see what was going on.

I took her to the vet early the next morning, and not realizing how serious what was going on might be, I had my children with me. Well, her kidneys were failing, and it was so far gone that the vet told me I could spend several thousands of dollars trying to treat it, but he honestly thought it wouldn’t help.

I appreciated his honesty, and I had a very hard decision to make, while she was leaning against my legs, trusting me to take care of her like I always had. Then I also had 2 little people (my children) looking at me expecting me to get our dog fixed and healthy again. That was during the worst years of my whole life, and I was broke, broke, because I’d been dealing with serious medical issues with my children. If the vet had given me any kind of hope, I would’ve begged, stole and/or borrowed money to save my dog and get her healthy. 

My kids and I took the dog to the vet that morning thinking they would tell me what was wrong and how to fix it, and instead I had to tell my babies we had to let her go. DD still very clearly remembers that day. When I told her Boy’s stools were black, she was sad because she remembered that was why we took our Bullmastiff to the vet and ended up losing her.

She obviously had been sick for a while, but there were no signs until the evening my children called me at work. That’s one of the difficult things about dogs, they can’t tell you when they don’t feel well, and they often don’t show it until it’s too late.

Anyway, just a trip down memory lane. 

That's such a sad story I can't imagine your state when you had to deal with making the decision and have your kids with you. 

Yes, it was pretty darn painful. She still lives in our hearts though, she was such an awesome dog.

[raeoflyte]

Devil dog passed his advanced obedience test!

Which is a lot of luck. I told her going in that I knew he could do all of the behaviors but couldn't tell you when he would or wouldn't. So lots more work to do. We'll sign up for the off leash class when they do the next one.

Puppy is officially enrolled and has homework to keep us busy.

[Pink Cashmere]

This was my good morning text this morning. 

I think my baby grew while I was gone lol

[Pink Cashmere]

Newbie can’t even sleep in peace lol

[Opti]

I found out today that dogs can get freckles or the equivalent thereof. Never knew, so I did some research. (Had asked someone why the dog had black spots underneath the white coat. Her explanation was the vet told her it was like freckles.)


petdogshub.com/can-dogs-have-freckles/#:~:text=Do%20All%20Breeds%20Of%20Dogs%20Get%20Freckles%3F%201,Beagles%202%20Bulldogs%203%20German%20Shepherds%204%20Poodles


However, it appears that individuals with white coats or light-colored coats are at greater risk of developing freckles.



This is because these individuals tend to get exposed to more sunlight than individuals with dark coats, who tend to stay in the shade when the sun is brightest.

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 11, 2022 18:38:31 GMT -5 Opti said:

I found out today that dogs can get freckles or the equivalent thereof. Never knew, so I did some research. (Had asked someone why the dog had black spots underneath the white coat. Her explanation was the vet told her it was like freckles.)


petdogshub.com/can-dogs-have-freckles/#:~:text=Do%20All%20Breeds%20Of%20Dogs%20Get%20Freckles%3F%201,Beagles%202%20Bulldogs%203%20German%20Shepherds%204%20Poodles


However, it appears that individuals with white coats or light-colored coats are at greater risk of developing freckles.



This is because these individuals tend to get exposed to more sunlight than individuals with dark coats, who tend to stay in the shade when the sun is brightest.

I saw something about that on a pitbull message board I’ve been lurking on. I thought it was interesting too.

[Pink Cashmere]

Boy is driving me crazy! 

On one hand, he is clearly learning and getting more consistent with doing what I ask him to do. On the other hand, he is still somewhat of a terror.

He has finally learned that jumping around in a frenzy when I’m fixing their food doesn’t get it to him any faster. He automatically sits now when I’m preparing his food, but he still wants to run to his bowl the second I put it down. Now I’ve added that he has to sit and stay until I say he can eat. So far, he’s doing well with that, since he’s figured out he doesn’t get to eat until he does what I ask him to lol. He’s SO greedy.

He still doesn’t really get the part that if he wants the freedom to run around in the yard, he has to stay on whatever side of the house I’m on. His latest obsession is eating mulch from the flowerbeds on the front of the house. That obsession often ends up having him on a short leash, stuck close to me….. no freedom.

He keeps trying to go around the corner of the house to the flowerbeds right now, but so far he’s come running back to me when I call him. If he stops doing that, I’m going to break out the leash.

He just ran up on the deck with that stupid blue ball. I wonder how long it will take for Newbie to realize it’s missing and come up here and take it back. She always takes it back lol. 

Boy is worse than a 2yo child!

[weltschmerz]

He has finally learned that jumping around in a frenzy when I’m fixing their food doesn’t get it to him any faster. He automatically sits now when I’m preparing his food, but he still wants to run to his bowl the second I put it down. Now I’ve added that he has to sit and stay until I say he can eat. So far, he’s doing well with that, since he’s figured out he doesn’t get to eat until he does what I ask him to lol. He’s SO greedy

Sushi literally pushes my fingers away while I'm preparing his food.
Cats don't sit and stay. Well, I suppose they can, but they don't want to.

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 14, 2022 16:16:18 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

He has finally learned that jumping around in a frenzy when I’m fixing their food doesn’t get it to him any faster. He automatically sits now when I’m preparing his food, but he still wants to run to his bowl the second I put it down. Now I’ve added that he has to sit and stay until I say he can eat. So far, he’s doing well with that, since he’s figured out he doesn’t get to eat until he does what I ask him to lol. He’s SO greedy

Sushi literally pushes my fingers away while I'm preparing his food.
Cats don't sit and stay. Well, I suppose they can, but they don't want to.

I am pretty sure most of the dogs I’ve had were bigger than Sushi. They need to have good manners.

And the way dogs’ minds work, a lot of potential problems are avoided, it’s easier to live with them, and safer for them and their humans if there is a clear leader and clear rules, and a dog should never be the leader when they live with humans. But they will try to be just that, if their humans don’t establish themselves as the leader. 

The sit and stay before he can eat is just part of teaching him manners and that he can’t just do and behave whatever and however he wants, because I’m the leader, not him. He won’t always be so small, and having a big dog jumping around like a maniac in anticipation of eating or anything really, can cause problems if someone nearby has balance issues, or there’s a small child that could get knocked over. 

I’ve considered getting a cat off and on over the years. The first problem was I don’t really want to deal with a litter box and second, I would not be happy if I ended up with a cat that liked to get up on my kitchen table and counters. That would be a major problem for me. I train my dogs to stay out of the kitchen, period. The layout of this house is such that they can’t avoid walking through the space between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but the kitchen itself, is off limits for dogs. 

I started a thread somewhere on here years ago, asking about cats one of the times I was considering getting one. The posters told me in no uncertain terms, that based on my posts, I should absolutely NOT get a cat lol.

When I had a chow chow, her long fur kind of floated on hard floors if it was disturbed, even as I would try to sweep it up. It grossed me out to find dog hair in the bottom of my refrigerator. So that’s when I started the no dogs in the kitchen rule and I also started vacuuming hard floors instead of sweeping them. Plus I have issues with germs, and I do not want doggie or cat germs where I prepare and eat my food. 

raeoflyte, if I ever post anything you disagree with concerning my thoughts and beliefs about living with dogs, please speak up. That goes for anyone else too. I named Rae because I believe she is one poster that is very knowledgeable about living with and training dogs. I’ve gotten good information from some other posters too. soupandstew comes to mind, for one. I don’t think I know everything, and I am willing to learn.

[Pink Cashmere]

So Mister and Kiddo came home and I was sitting in the garage with Boy, with the door up. We couldn’t sit on the deck because it’s been raining off and on and the chairs are wet. 

Anyway, Mister asked why I had Boy on a leash and I told him because I get tired of battling with Boy to stay out of the flowerbed, trying to eat mulch. 

Mister didn’t seem too happy about the leash, but I didn’t care. I told him take Boy with him then lol.

So he got the leash and took Boy with him to walk up the driveway to the mailbox. When they got back, he decided to have his first ever training session with a dog. Whaaaaat?! It was pretty amusing to me, because Boy was not cooperating at all. Mister went and got some of Boy’s food to use as treats. Boy clearly wanted the treats, but he still was not cooperating. I’m not sure why, because he does much better with me during our training sessions.

I tried my best to let Mister do it on his own, but I couldn’t help coaching him by telling him that right now, he should only take a few steps from Boy after telling him to stay, and as time goes on, he can move farther and farther away and eventually even go around a corner or something, out of Boy’s sight and expect Boy to still stay until he is released. I also couldn’t help reminding him to only give a command once. I feel like that part of training is important enough that I had to speak on it. That is why Boy gets the leash when he insists on getting in the flower bed to eat mulch. I’m lazy, and I don’t like having to keep getting up to go get him and make him come to where I told him to come to when he ignores me telling him to come to me and I’m not going to repeat myself.

Anyway, Mister was clearly a little frustrated with his training session. I couldn’t resist telling him “welcome to my world of training dogs”. But I am pleased that he even did it. It’s something he’s never done before, even with his dogs, including OG, and him doing it was stuff he’s learned from me. It would be great if he keeps it up and starts doing it consistently, but I’m not holding my breath.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 15, 2022 14:49:20 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Oct 14, 2022 16:16:18 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

He has finally learned that jumping around in a frenzy when I’m fixing their food doesn’t get it to him any faster. He automatically sits now when I’m preparing his food, but he still wants to run to his bowl the second I put it down. Now I’ve added that he has to sit and stay until I say he can eat. So far, he’s doing well with that, since he’s figured out he doesn’t get to eat until he does what I ask him to lol. He’s SO greedy

Sushi literally pushes my fingers away while I'm preparing his food.
Cats don't sit and stay. Well, I suppose they can, but they don't want to.

I am pretty sure most of the dogs I’ve had were bigger than Sushi. They need to have good manners.

And the way dogs’ minds work, a lot of potential problems are avoided, it’s easier to live with them, and safer for them and their humans if there is a clear leader and clear rules, and a dog should never be the leader when they live with humans. But they will try to be just that, if their humans don’t establish themselves as the leader. 

The sit and stay before he can eat is just part of teaching him manners and that he can’t just do and behave whatever and however he wants, because I’m the leader, not him. He won’t always be so small, and having a big dog jumping around like a maniac in anticipation of eating or anything really, can cause problems if someone nearby has balance issues, or there’s a small child that could get knocked over. 

I’ve considered getting a cat off and on over the years. The first problem was I don’t really want to deal with a litter box and second, I would not be happy if I ended up with a cat that liked to get up on my kitchen table and counters. That would be a major problem for me. I train my dogs to stay out of the kitchen, period. The layout of this house is such that they can’t avoid walking through the space between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but the kitchen itself, is off limits for dogs. 

I started a thread somewhere on here years ago, asking about cats one of the times I was considering getting one. The posters told me in no uncertain terms, that based on my posts, I should absolutely NOT get a cat lol.

When I had a chow chow, her long fur kind of floated on hard floors if it was disturbed, even as I would try to sweep it up. It grossed me out to find dog hair in the bottom of my refrigerator. So that’s when I started the no dogs in the kitchen rule and I also started vacuuming hard floors instead of sweeping them. Plus I have issues with germs, and I do not want doggie or cat germs where I prepare and eat my food. 

raeoflyte, if I ever post anything you disagree with concerning my thoughts and beliefs about living with dogs, please speak up. That goes for anyone else too. I named Rae because I believe she is one poster that is very knowledgeable about living with and training dogs. I’ve gotten good information from some other posters too. soupandstew comes to mind, for one. I don’t think I know everything, and I am willing to learn.

One of my biggest faults is not being able to keep my mouth shut about dog training/behavior. I'm certain you'd hear about it if I disagreed with something.

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 15, 2022 17:48:45 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Oct 15, 2022 14:49:20 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I am pretty sure most of the dogs I’ve had were bigger than Sushi. They need to have good manners.

And the way dogs’ minds work, a lot of potential problems are avoided, it’s easier to live with them, and safer for them and their humans if there is a clear leader and clear rules, and a dog should never be the leader when they live with humans. But they will try to be just that, if their humans don’t establish themselves as the leader. 

The sit and stay before he can eat is just part of teaching him manners and that he can’t just do and behave whatever and however he wants, because I’m the leader, not him. He won’t always be so small, and having a big dog jumping around like a maniac in anticipation of eating or anything really, can cause problems if someone nearby has balance issues, or there’s a small child that could get knocked over. 

I’ve considered getting a cat off and on over the years. The first problem was I don’t really want to deal with a litter box and second, I would not be happy if I ended up with a cat that liked to get up on my kitchen table and counters. That would be a major problem for me. I train my dogs to stay out of the kitchen, period. The layout of this house is such that they can’t avoid walking through the space between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but the kitchen itself, is off limits for dogs. 

I started a thread somewhere on here years ago, asking about cats one of the times I was considering getting one. The posters told me in no uncertain terms, that based on my posts, I should absolutely NOT get a cat lol.

When I had a chow chow, her long fur kind of floated on hard floors if it was disturbed, even as I would try to sweep it up. It grossed me out to find dog hair in the bottom of my refrigerator. So that’s when I started the no dogs in the kitchen rule and I also started vacuuming hard floors instead of sweeping them. Plus I have issues with germs, and I do not want doggie or cat germs where I prepare and eat my food. 

raeoflyte , if I ever post anything you disagree with concerning my thoughts and beliefs about living with dogs, please speak up. That goes for anyone else too. I named Rae because I believe she is one poster that is very knowledgeable about living with and training dogs. I’ve gotten good information from some other posters too. soupandstew comes to mind, for one. I don’t think I know everything, and I am willing to learn.

One of my biggest faults is not being able to keep my mouth shut about dog training/behavior. I'm certain you'd hear about it if I disagreed with something. [img src="https://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/JiminiChristmas/ymamsmiles/smile.gif" alt="" class="smile" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png"]

LOL! 

I imagine it’s difficult for you to keep your mouth shut because you genuinely care about dogs and pets. I don’t think that is a fault. 

Just know that if you ever do feel the need to speak up on something I’m doing or thinking, that you disagree with, it will be received in a respectful way. Even if we ultimately agree to disagree (which I really don’t see happening), I will still be grateful for you sharing your advice, knowledge, thoughts and opinions.

[weltschmerz]

I’ve considered getting a cat off and on over the years. The first problem was I don’t really want to deal with a litter box and second, I would not be happy if I ended up with a cat that liked to get up on my kitchen table and counters. That would be a major problem for me. I train my dogs to stay out of the kitchen, period. The layout of this house is such that they can’t avoid walking through the space between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but the kitchen itself, is off limits for dogs.

I've considered getting a dog, but I'd rather deal with cat litter than walking a dog at the ass-crack of dawn when it's 40 below zero.

[Opti]

Oct 15, 2022 18:14:56 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I’ve considered getting a cat off and on over the years. The first problem was I don’t really want to deal with a litter box and second, I would not be happy if I ended up with a cat that liked to get up on my kitchen table and counters. That would be a major problem for me. I train my dogs to stay out of the kitchen, period. The layout of this house is such that they can’t avoid walking through the space between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but the kitchen itself, is off limits for dogs.

I've considered getting a dog, but I'd rather deal with cat litter than walking a dog at the ass-crack of dawn when it's 40 below zero.

My XH and I were devising a way to give a small dog a fenced in area and a house and perhaps allow them to go into the unheated garage if needed. We planned to build a small obstacle course for the dog to play on so it wouldn't be too upset that we both worked FT. 

[Opti]

Oct 15, 2022 15:18:11 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

So Mister and Kiddo came home and I was sitting in the garage with Boy, with the door up. We couldn’t sit on the deck because it’s been raining off and on and the chairs are wet. 

Anyway, Mister asked why I had Boy on a leash and I told him because I get tired of battling with Boy to stay out of the flowerbed, trying to eat mulch. 

Mister didn’t seem too happy about the leash, but I didn’t care. I told him take Boy with him then lol.

So he got the leash and took Boy with him to walk up the driveway to the mailbox. When they got back, he decided to have his first ever training session with a dog. Whaaaaat?! It was pretty amusing to me, because Boy was not cooperating at all. Mister went and got some of Boy’s food to use as treats. Boy clearly wanted the treats, but he still was not cooperating. I’m not sure why, because he does much better with me during our training sessions.

I tried my best to let Mister do it on his own, but I couldn’t help coaching him by telling him that right now, he should only take a few steps from Boy after telling him to stay, and as time goes on, he can move farther and farther away and eventually even go around a corner or something, out of Boy’s sight and expect Boy to still stay until he is released. I also couldn’t help reminding him to only give a command once. I feel like that part of training is important enough that I had to speak on it. That is why Boy gets the leash when he insists on getting in the flower bed to eat mulch. I’m lazy, and I don’t like having to keep getting up to go get him and make him come to where I told him to come to when he ignores me telling him to come to me and I’m not going to repeat myself.

Anyway, Mister was clearly a little frustrated with his training session. I couldn’t resist telling him “welcome to my world of training dogs”. But I am pleased that he even did it. It’s something he’s never done before, even with his dogs, including OG, and him doing it was stuff he’s learned from me. It would be great if he keeps it up and starts doing it consistently, but I’m not holding my breath.

Perhaps Mister is not used to training dogs under a year old? Its a very different thing to deal with puppies than full-grown dogs.

I am dog friendly put I never interfere with anyone with a puppy because they are usually more unpredictable and fuller of zest than an older dog. Thin, about 6 mo. old male German Sheperd was being walked around the complex. I could tell the owner was having a hard time getting him to heel and behave. I told them he didn't have to avoid me that much if he did not want to because I am dog friendly. Male puppy wasn't having it though. He decided he needed to bark at me even when I crouched down more than 10 feet away. So I said, maybe in a few months to a year he'll be up to strangers and preceded to my destination. 

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 15, 2022 18:14:56 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I’ve considered getting a cat off and on over the years. The first problem was I don’t really want to deal with a litter box and second, I would not be happy if I ended up with a cat that liked to get up on my kitchen table and counters. That would be a major problem for me. I train my dogs to stay out of the kitchen, period. The layout of this house is such that they can’t avoid walking through the space between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but the kitchen itself, is off limits for dogs.

I've considered getting a dog, but I'd rather deal with cat litter than walking a dog at the ass-crack of dawn when it's 40 below zero.

When I had my 2 big dogs (Standard Poodle and Bullmastiff) I had a fenced in backyard. I or my children just opened the sliding door and they went outside into the back yard and did their business. That was even if the weather was terrible in any extreme. 

We did clean up their poop in the backyard, but we had the luxury of cleaning it up when the weather wasn’t horrible. 

Imo, it is much easier to just open the door for a trained dog and let them out in a yard when they show they need to go do their business, than have to take them on a walk. And once my dogs were trained, I NEVER had to do anything at the ass crack of dawn, period.
 
We walked the dogs for exercise and to bond with them. They had a large backyard at my house to pee and poop in and to play in. I took them out and about, to other places, just because I could.

I don’t knock people for having dogs when they live in apartments, I just feel like it is much easier once they are trained, to do what I did with my 2 and just let them out to play and do their business in a fenced in yard.

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 15, 2022 18:35:35 GMT -5 Opti said:

Oct 15, 2022 15:18:11 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

So Mister and Kiddo came home and I was sitting in the garage with Boy, with the door up. We couldn’t sit on the deck because it’s been raining off and on and the chairs are wet. 

Anyway, Mister asked why I had Boy on a leash and I told him because I get tired of battling with Boy to stay out of the flowerbed, trying to eat mulch. 

Mister didn’t seem too happy about the leash, but I didn’t care. I told him take Boy with him then lol.

So he got the leash and took Boy with him to walk up the driveway to the mailbox. When they got back, he decided to have his first ever training session with a dog. Whaaaaat?! It was pretty amusing to me, because Boy was not cooperating at all. Mister went and got some of Boy’s food to use as treats. Boy clearly wanted the treats, but he still was not cooperating. I’m not sure why, because he does much better with me during our training sessions.

I tried my best to let Mister do it on his own, but I couldn’t help coaching him by telling him that right now, he should only take a few steps from Boy after telling him to stay, and as time goes on, he can move farther and farther away and eventually even go around a corner or something, out of Boy’s sight and expect Boy to still stay until he is released. I also couldn’t help reminding him to only give a command once. I feel like that part of training is important enough that I had to speak on it. That is why Boy gets the leash when he insists on getting in the flower bed to eat mulch. I’m lazy, and I don’t like having to keep getting up to go get him and make him come to where I told him to come to when he ignores me telling him to come to me and I’m not going to repeat myself.

Anyway, Mister was clearly a little frustrated with his training session. I couldn’t resist telling him “welcome to my world of training dogs”. But I am pleased that he even did it. It’s something he’s never done before, even with his dogs, including OG, and him doing it was stuff he’s learned from me. It would be great if he keeps it up and starts doing it consistently, but I’m not holding my breath.

Perhaps Mister is not used to training dogs under a year old? Its a very different thing to deal with puppies than full-grown dogs.

I am dog friendly put I never interfere with anyone with a puppy because they are usually more unpredictable and fuller of zest than an older dog. Thin, about 6 mo. old male German Sheperd was being walked around the complex. I could tell the owner was having a hard time getting him to heel and behave. I told them he didn't have to avoid me that much if he did not want to because I am dog friendly. Male puppy wasn't having it though. He decided he needed to bark at me even when I crouched down more than 10 feet away. So I said, maybe in a few months to a year he'll be up to strangers and preceded to my destination. 

Mister has not ever trained a dog, period. OG did not pee or poop in the house, but that was the only “training” she had. I posted several times about how unruly she was.

If she managed to escape out of a door, she would run off and not even come to Mister when he called her. After we moved here, he’s had to literally get in the car to go get her because she kept wandering away even when he tried to get her to come back. 

I offered to help him train her because I believe even old dogs can learn new tricks, but he never took me up on that offer. I insisted he needed to be a part of training her vs me trying to do it by myself, because he was very clearly her person. 

I did still work with her on some things, but not on recall because she didn’t even listen to Mister on that, and correcting it would’ve required Mister working on it too and being consistent, which he wasn’t ready to do imo. 

But I think he has paid attention to some of the things I’ve done to train our dogs and has followed my example in some ways because he sees that what I teach Newbie and Boy can make living with them easier, less problematic. He’s seen the value of having Newbie come running when I call her to me, and how it can actually protect her from potential harm, vs how OG would run off, off our property and wherever she wanted to go, and ignore him when he told her to come to him. Newbie understands that coming to me immediately doesn’t necessarily stop her from having fun. Sometimes I praise and love on her for running to me when I ask her to come, then send her out to go play like she was doing before I called her. 

I think it’s important for her (and all our dogs) to know that me calling her to me doesn’t necessarily mean the end of her fun. That helps to ensure that she will always come to me when I tell her to. And that’s important to me because one day I might be calling her to me when it’s literally a matter of life or death, for her to run to me.

[TheOtherMe]

Pink, I would tell you to definitely not get a cat!   

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 15, 2022 19:48:49 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Pink, I would tell you to definitely not get a cat!   

I respect that, and I will not get one lol.

Your fellow cat lovers very quickly set me straight  when I posted about considering getting one lol. I wasn’t offended back then, and I’m not offended by you telling me now not to get one. 

[Pink Cashmere]

Mister texted me while I was at work today to tell me Boy went and sat in front of the “go potty” door and stayed there until Mister noticed him and let him out. He ran down the steps on the deck by himself, and pooped in the grass.

I put some bells at the door, hoping to teach them to use the bells to make noise when they need to go outside. So far that’s not working. But sitting in front of the door hoping someone notices is better than nothing lol.

I don’t remember how my dogs use to let me know they needed to go outside. OG would literally come get us and lead us to the door. I’d never had a dog do that, but I appreciated it lol. She would get in my face and be persistent about not going away, to get my attention. That meant she really needed or wanted something and when I got up to see what she wanted and followed her, she would take me where she wanted me to go, looking back constantly to make sure I was still following her. And it was always because she either wanted to go outside, or she was tired of being outside and wanted to go inside lol.

I loved that about her, that she’d learned how to show us what she needed and wanted and take us to it.

[Pink Cashmere]

Also, when Boy does listen when I call him back to me, he runs as fast as he can to get to me, like Newbie does. Idk why that warms my heart so much but it does, and I LOVE it. 

Unless I’m calling Boy to me because he’s trying to eat mulch in the flowerbeds, I do the same thing I often do with Newbie….. love on him and pet him up, then send him back out to play.

Having them come running when I call them to me does something for me, vs just walking to me even though the end result is the same if they follow the command.

When I took off running when I saw the snake on the deck and Newbie came running when I yelled her name (without the command to come to me), it was a huge relief that I didn’t have to coax her to come with me, away from the snake. She was in the side yard when the garage door opened enough for me to run inside the garage and when I yelled her name again, she came flying across the driveway to me again. 

Thank Goodness, because my nerves were already severely wrecked, and I didn’t have time or the mental space to deal with her being unruly in those moments.

[Opti]

Saw one of these in person today at the fair. I believe it is an Alaskan Klee Kai. Five months old and seems to prefer men. Skittish, but super cute and small. Similar coloring to the pic. I also saw a beautiful blue Porsche GT4 in the wild but promise not to post a pic of it here 

[Annie7]

Since you folks seem to be good trainers here - what is your opinion on prong collars?

I went to a trainer when Nala was about 6 months old. She told me to put a prong collar on her. It did help with the pulling. Then, this year, in June when Nala was 17 months old, she got kennel cough. So, to avoid any pressure on her throat, I stopped using it. Also, I left her at the boarding place because I was going on vacation to my birth country for 3 weeks and that trainer didn't want prong collars. 

Nala did ok on the no-pull front harness when she came back from the boarding. However, her dog reactivity had increased a lot. She barks and lunges at other dogs during our walk. 

Yesterday we were on a trail and a gentleman with two goldens told me that I should put her on a prong collar. He was very nice and his dogs were off-leash but he had full control of them. He allowed Nala to say hello to them and said that she was a good dog. His reason for suggesting the prong collar was because if she pulls on a harness, she could pull me to the ground and I could get hurt. 

Another friend who has a german shepherd too has her dog on a prong collar.

I am not too worried about Nala pulling me to the ground. I think I can control her well enough unless it is something extremely unexpected. I am hyper vigilant of her triggers (dogs, squirrels and deer) and brace myself if I think she'll pull towards them. I am wondering if it will help reduce her lunging at other dogs. I am trying distracting her and providing distance when I notice other dogs. And it's helping some.

What are your thoughts? I don't take offense easily, so please be frank and if you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them too. 

Thank you

[Pink Cashmere]

Oct 17, 2022 12:12:58 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

Since you folks seem to be good trainers here - what is your opinion on prong collars?

I went to a trainer when Nala was about 6 months old. She told me to put a prong collar on her. It did help with the pulling. Then, this year, in June when Nala was 17 months old, she got kennel cough. So, to avoid any pressure on her throat, I stopped using it. Also, I left her at the boarding place because I was going on vacation to my birth country for 3 weeks and that trainer didn't want prong collars. 

Nala did ok on the no-pull front harness when she came back from the boarding. However, her dog reactivity had increased a lot. She barks and lunges at other dogs during our walk. 

Yesterday we were on a trail and a gentleman with two goldens told me that I should put her on a prong collar. He was very nice and his dogs were off-leash but he had full control of them. He allowed Nala to say hello to them and said that she was a good dog. His reason for suggesting the prong collar was because if she pulls on a harness, she could pull me to the ground and I could get hurt. 

Another friend who has a german shepherd too has her dog on a prong collar.

I am not too worried about Nala pulling me to the ground. I think I can control her well enough unless it is something extremely unexpected. I am hyper vigilant of her triggers (dogs, squirrels and deer) and brace myself if I think she'll pull towards them. I am wondering if it will help reduce her lunging at other dogs. I am trying distracting her and providing distance when I notice other dogs. And it's helping some.

What are your thoughts? I don't take offense easily, so please be frank and if you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them too. 

Thank you

I’ve been reading on message forums related to my kind of dogs, and I’ve seen a lot of advice about a certain kind of harness that helps with dogs that pull on leashes. The recommended kind doesn’t have the leash attached on the dogs’ chest, it’s attached on the side, so when the dogs pulls, it pulls them sideways, closer to you, instead of allowing them to go forward toward whatever they are trying to get to. If you can’t find what I’m referring to on Google, I will try to find the posts to give you better info, just let me know. I’ve never used a harness, so I might not be explaining what I’ve read correctly lol.

I’ve used choke collars on my dogs before, but not on Newbie. In my experience with choke collars, my dogs tended to eventually react to, I guess, the sound of the chain sliding and straighten up before it got too tight.

I’m not sure how I feel about choke collars these days, but I do know that I prefer to train and teach my dogs without using one.

I’ve never used a prong collar, that seemed like too much to me for the dogs I’ve had before. From what I’ve read on the forums I mentioned above, they aren’t the most favorite tool. I think in part because pit bull mixes tend to have a high tolerance for pain, so a prong collar might not get the point across. But the common wisdom seems to be that if you do use one, you need to learn how to use it correctly. Apparently, most people don’t use them correctly. From what I recall, it needs be situated a certain way and sit “high” on the dog’s neck, just behind their ears.

I am not judging you for asking about prong collars, if that’s what you feel you might need for your dog, do what you need to do. I am just encouraging you to research how to use one properly if you decide to go that route.

[Pink Cashmere]

Boy has not been having a good day. This morning I sat outside with them for over an hour. I took Boy out in the grass several times for him to do his business.

When we went inside the house, we weren’t in there 2 minutes before he peed a river in the den while my back was turned. So for the rest of the day he has either been in his crate or forced to stay close to me because he’s on a short leash.

He doesn’t like it, but oh well

[daisylu]

Just wanted to say that I love seeing these posts!