Puppy Story

Just hijaking the thread to show off my favorite grandcat.
Shari

my chihuahua is the cutest thing in the world. but she will and HAS bitten anyone that tries to pet her. I always tell people -please don't come close to her because she will snap-but you wouldn't believe the number of people who still ignore us. We nicknamed her "mini Cujo" she's almost 2 years old and she's full grown at a whooping 4.5 lbs!!!! I tell her anything as gorgeous as she is can't be mean and evil but she is!! She even growled at 120lb dogs in her obedience class if they looked in her direction. She hasn't chewed anything in the house though...because she has about 30 chew/squeaky toys-including a "chewy Vuitton" purse.

I really enjoyed the stories in this thread and empathize with those who have recently lost pets. I had my oldest kitty, Agnes, euthanized on Mother's Day after spending several weeks doing all I could to make her comfortable. She had an inoperable cancerous tumor in her mouth that grew quickly. She was a feral cat I caught in 1995. I was going to have her spayed and then return her to the streets. At the time I could not imagine keeping a feral cat. As it turned out, I had to hang on to her for two weeks because the vet needed to treat her for a bad case of ear mites.

It really only took me about two days to fall in love with her and to determine to tame her. It was amazing to watch over the years as she made continuous progress in transforming from feral to domestic. She and I bonded quickly and she became a lap cat who loved to be petted. She brought great joy to my life over the past 12 years.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot this thread was about dogs - lol. I have a couple of those too. I agree with the good advice about crating young dogs and getting a good trainer or behaviorist to help with problems. Another big key is that dogs must have exercise. A huge amount of "bad" dog behavior is because they are jumping out of their skin with pent up energy and boredom. At the least, dogs need a 45 minute walk daily. If they are a working, herding, hunting breed, they likely need more. I always say I am allergic to exercise. If I did not have dogs, I would be even more of a couch potato. They are good for my health.

Janna

lvwildcat wrote:my chihuahua is the cutest thing in the world. but she will and HAS bitten anyone that tries to pet her. I always tell people -please don't come close to her because she will snap-but you wouldn't believe the number of people who still ignore us.

Got to love stupid people. When I had gotten my above mention pound puppy, Maggie, she was an adult dog. I took her straight from the pound to the pet store- I needed dogie supplies This couple and their 4 year kid come up, so I pull Maggie around behind me, trying to keep the cart between her & the kid, all well explaining I just got her from the pound across the street, so I don't know how she'll react around kids. Did they do anything? Nope, let their kid walk right up to her. Thankfully Maggie couldn't hurt a housefly, but I didn't know that then.

There is NOTHING worse than parents that let their kids pet strange animals without clearing it with the owner first. I have a service dog and one day I was at a restaurant with a friend eating lunch, dog was clearly marked as a service animal. I see a little two year old start walking towards my dog. I start being watchful and notice the mom standing a few feet back. It was CLEAR what this child was about to do, but the parent did nothing. Before I had a chance to react, the child belly-flopped onto my dog's back, causing her to yelp in pain (but not get up). The kid then starts pulling her ears as I yell at the parents to get their kid off my dog.

Unfortunately, I was in a grumpy mood that day and told the parents that they were completely negligent in allowing their child to harass a strange animal and not even stand close to their kid. They gave me some lame excuse that they figured the dog was friendly because she was laying so nicely in a restaurant. I then told them that it is a crime to interfere with a working service animal and if they didn't get their kid away from her immediately I'd press charges. The event cause my dog to herniate a disc in her neck, causing $4000 in vet bills and preventing her from working for 6 months.

I'm lucky because I know my dog won't attack or even respond, but the parents didn't know that. Not to mention any dog might bite when provoked. I have yet to see her breaking point, but I know she must have one.

BTW, for the person who said cat's aren't as good as dogs, my cat can alert to seizures and is trained to give back massages.

Sarah

P.S. To the person having trouble crate training their dog, feed them in their crate, but don't shut the door. Also, throw a treat into the crate and give them a "go to bed" command. They key is not to shut the door at first so that they don't think it means they're trapped. If I start to fill my dog's dish, she goes running into her crate to wait for dinner. If I'm eating she goes in her crate as her way of begging.

dieselgal wrote:Along with the new mask I would buy a good crate for the dog. Once in a while that crate comes in handy and it is not cruel. Better to put him in a safe place to nap than to chase him around the room threatening him with a chewed up mask!

Not only is it not cruel, but many dogs like having a place that's all their own. We leave our dog's crate under a counter in the kitchen, open for him to come and go unless we specifically want to close him in for some reason, and that is often his first choice place to sleep. What's really funny, though, is that he punishes himself by going in there when he's done something wrong. Sometimes I'll walk in the door, and see him slink into the cage. I know by now that I should look around to see what's amiss.

Sarah is right in fact my dogs want to get in their crates to eat because they feel like it is their own spot and that no one else will bother their food. If we are going to be gone for several hours we just say ok everyone lets CRATE and 3 of the 5 go straight to the crates, the other 2 just like to be coddled a little and then they go in.

I am the parent of a 2 year old. She likes animals....but has been told from a very early age that she is NOT to approach ANY animal unless I am right there and I have told her it is ok.

One of my best friends has a therapy dog. He would never hurt a fly, or even growl at one. Great dog. But even with him she is not allowed to go near him without express permission and she knows that a soft petting is enough, and then she backs away.
I can not imagine what kind of idiot would let their child run up to a strange animal.....likely the same ones that look at a full canal and say "sure johny, jump right in.....whats the worst than could happen?" Yeah, I saw a woman on the news shocked that her 8 year old had drowned in a canal....she had told him it was ok to swim in.
Sure....play with matches. Only one of every 10 kids actually starts thier home on fire that way, no biggy. The candy that stranger gave you LOOKS ok....go ahead and eat it. The doggy LOOKS nice, why dont you go pet it while I maintain a safe distance.

OK, done ranting now. Irresponsible parenting, gotta love it.

I had a lab for 10 years. She was a stray on deaths doorstep when we found her. We couldnt let her go after we saved her. She used to flinch whenever someone would get loud or run if someone picked up a water hose, as if someone had hurt her. She eventually came to love us as much as we loved her, she was part of the family. Her name was Sabath (she was black and we found her on a sunday. lol). It has been years, but I still miss her sometimes. She was never a biter, or growler. But I remember getting into an argument with a man in my front yard, and she ran to stand in front of me. I could tell she was scared (he raised his hand as if to hit her)....but she stood her ground to protect me. He left and was never heard from again. She was a good dog.
Now I am petless. I am enjoying the years until my child comes in with a smile and asks me "can we keep him mom, pleeeeaaaasssse? I promise I'll take care of him". lol we all know how that one ends up.

I have 2 stories to tell here, one about a cat and one about a dog.

It happened long ago when I still allowed cats to go outdoors. My cat loved to catch mice and other small rodents. Every day during the 4 years we lived next to an overgrown field and a barn he would leave 3 mice for me on the back steps. He would line up the little corpses side by side. I know he caught more, because I would see the ghastly remains nearby, but I assume he ate those as his share. I don’t know why I received 3, but it was always 3. I am guessing he felt I was unable to catch my own or perhaps 3 were all I deserved. Maybe he could only count to 3. In other ways, this was a delightful cat with many redeeming characteristics.

My dog story concerns an Australian Shepherd. He, like all Aussies (the dogs, I mean), watched me intently all the time, apparently waiting for signals. When I would go to the garden to pick green beans, I would always carry a flat cardboard box to catch the beans as I picked. This dog would watch me and then pick beans and put them in the box. He also learned to pull weeds. It was amazing to me that he never pulled the plants I wanted to save, just the weeds. When he tried to pick blackberries with me, he had trouble with the briars, so he declined to help with that task. He decided on his own that dogs should not go in the kitchen, bark while in the house, eat cat food, or eat from the other dog’s bowl. I know you will have trouble believing this, but you can ask my kids, also members here, for verification. He learned his commands in English, French, German and hand signals. He understood nouns, like the names of his toys, family members, and the other pets, and quite a few verbs.
I still miss these pets, although I don’t miss the mice.

I foster labs for a lab rescue (going to pick up an 8 month old this morning ) and I agree with those for crating. I always feed my fosters in the crate, and it usually only take a few days before they are running for the crate when the food bowl comes out. They may complain for a while, but it is much safer for them. There is just too much "stuff" for them to get into when alone, and they find things that you don't even consider. Its also safer because when I get home, I'm not going to kill them. just kidding. A kong with some peanut butter in it (fresh from the freezer) will keep them occupied when you leave.

I had a Canaan Dog for 14 years. My husband worked 3rd shift most of those 14 years which means that the telephone ringing was NOT the most welcome sound in the house. It took her no time to figure out that those of us awake broke our neck getting to the phone to answer by the second ring. Lo and behold! If no one was home SHE would answer the phone - on the second ring. Actually, she'd pick it up so it would quit ringing and then drop it on the table.

She was one of a litter of 9, 7 of which were black w/white chest or toe tips. Yet she stood out from birth for some reason. When she was about 3- 3 1/2 months old a young rabbi in NY contacted me for a Canaan Dog puppy. We told him about "Didi" and in no time she was on her way via jet to NYC. This young rabbi serviced 2 temples. He would walk her each morning, go to temple, return about noon, walk her thru the park, go to the second temple, return home, walk her thru the park, spend the evening w/her, walk her, and go to bed to start the next day the same way.

He had her six months. In that six months the routine never varied. Guaranteed, whilst he was at the first temple she would deposit a poop on his bed. Guaranteed, whilst he was at the second temple she would deposit a poop on his bed. If he went out for an hour or so in the evening between walks guaranteed she would deposit a poop in his bed. I have to give him credit he tried, and tried hard for six solid months, before he asked if he could return her. Of course we said yes.

When we walked into the air freight terminal she started SCREAMING and tearing at her shipping crate door tho she had ignored the airline personnel. When we opened the door and let her out she nearly bowled us over sobbing and crying and kissing and wagging and just turning herself inside out to let us know how glad she was to see us. Now, by this time she was 9 months old, she hadn't seen us since she was 3 months old. How the devil did she remember us???

Needless to say, she never left our house again unless she was with us. She had made it quite clear she was OUR dog. We were HER people. (And, no, she never left a "deposit" on our bed or in our house.

We had one other unique Canaan Dog personality. Tutankhamen, Tut for short. He was a solid brown. We sold him at about 9 months to a family in New England. He ruled the roost for some 13 years or so. He was definitely THEIR dog, thwarted a break-in at their home, but - he had HIS routine and this eloquent "stare" that voiced his desires. He WOULD be taken for his walk but wouldn't deign to get his own leash and collar. He WOULD be fed at the same time as his family, in the same room. Just a lot of humerous idiosyncracies that made his stand-offish, undemonstrative, strong-willed personality a joy and fun to live with. Of course, it helped that his family had a tremendous sense of humor. I often encouraged Steve to write a book about Tut's exploits with the family. Sadly, to my knowledge he never did. I wish I had taped our phone conversations about Tut's exploits. Always w/dignity and poise and that strong-will at the fore.

Julie wrote:Tillymarigold - have you considered finding another trainer? Seems to me if things are going backward your present one is either having a good life on you, or else may not be the best teacher for your dog. There are ways of dealing with aggressive dogs, and while some (hard-core pits, etc.) that have been trained by all the wrong people with the wrong methods, yours doesn't sound like she belongs with them. Don't just give up on her, try someone new.

Our behaviorist specializes in border collies. There is only one behaviorist in the state of New Mexico. I actually think he's really great, she's just far more work and more energy than even a border collie should normally have.

Border collies are notoriously aggressive, in an entirely different way than any other aggressive dogs. Aggressive border collies basically are having a malfunction of their herding instinct, where they think that the proper response to anyone and anything is to lunge in and bite until it goes away. An aggressive pit fights like a wrestler. An aggressive BC fights like a boxer.

lawdognellie wrote:P.S. To the person having trouble crate training their dog, feed them in their crate, but don't shut the door. Also, throw a treat into the crate and give them a "go to bed" command. They key is not to shut the door at first so that they don't think it means they're trapped. If I start to fill my dog's dish, she goes running into her crate to wait for dinner. If I'm eating she goes in her crate as her way of begging.

She would rather not eat than eat in the crate with the top on, even with the door open. We started out that way and she didn't eat for three days. We took the top off it and are feeding her in the crate with no top. Hoping to work up to feeding her in it with the top on it.

Not aimed specifically at you, but I feel like having a bad dog is a license for people to think I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to train a dog. Believe me, I've had four dogs before her. The things that work on most other dogs simply don't work on this one. People keep giving me pitying looks and saying "Have you tried X?" Yes, I've already tried X and everything else that you've thought of and probably a few things you haven't. Even our behaviorist was like "You need to start with earned privileges." We were like "Well, she already sits on command to earn food, go outside, or get a toy." So he was like "You need to ignore her when she jumps on you." And we were like "We do. She just starts biting us instead." And he was like "You need to be calm and assertive and act like the boss, then she'll listen to you on walks." And we were like "We are and we do, but she doesn't." He's given us a few good ideas (puppy time out has been a huge success, now she only jumps on us when we're outside and we can't put her in time out), but nearly the entire first lesson was him suggesting things we're already doing.

tillymarigold wrote:
Border collies are notoriously aggressive, in an entirely different way than any other aggressive dogs. Aggressive border collies basically are having a malfunction of their herding instinct, where they think that the proper response to anyone and anything is to lunge in and bite until it goes away. An aggressive pit fights like a wrestler. An aggressive BC fights like a boxer.

I saw an interesting show on Animal Planet about problem BC. This guy took their extremely strong desire to herd, which was causing behavior like you mention, and put them to work at an airport in Florida, chasing away flocks of birds from the runway. The dogs were so much happier, as was the airport & passengers. I thought it was such a unique way to take an otherwise liability and turn it into positive.

I know when I worked in the disability community, service dogs who didn't made the grade were never referred to as 'failed dogs', but 'second career dogs' when they were sent on to other families. And I think that is true with almost all dogs, sometimes they need to find the right career to succeed in life, just like us humans. Unfortunately there are a lot more people who want a 'second career service dog' then a BC who needs a career change.

I'm amazed by people like you & your trainer who have the patients to do what you are doing, because I don't think I could personally do it. I know I've been lucky that I've never been in your situation with any of the dogs I've owned and can only hope I could rise to the challenge, if need be.

Tillygold, I've been in rescue long enough to know that some dogs just can't be helped, not matter how hard people try. Sometimes I think that it is just bad breeding, or a really bad experience. Unfortunately, those dogs usually end up being put down. Its happened to a few of my fosters and former fosters, one of them I actually recommended. I had her when she was 4 1/2 months old until she was about 6 months. I don't know much about her past, except she was kept in a pen with her brothers and sisters, and the "breeder" would come by and throw food in every once in a while. When she turned a year old, she got really agressive. The adopter brought her to me to see what I thought, and I thought she was a bite waiting to happen. An interesting side note to that is that her brother had to be put down the same week for the same reason. My 8 month old foster is here, he is a bit shy, but is a very sweet guy. He also had a rough start to life, but I think he is going to be OK.

I wanted to add, is your crate a solid crate or a wire crate? Some dogs do better in a wire crate because they don't feel quite as shut in since they can see on all sides. A wire crate might make a difference. Good luck hon.