Puppy Story

christinequilts wrote: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.

There is actually a farm near here where you can take your dog to learn to herd sheep and we are planning to do that, but not until we have the aggression under control. And BCs are supposed to be good with things like frisbee and flyball, where they have to get behind something and bring it back to the person (but ours isn't interested in frisbee). I mean, I keep saying to her (and I know she doesn't understand!) "If you'll just settle down and stop biting, you will have the best life a dog could ever have, and you will have lots of fun and interesting things to do and learn." But until she settles down, we can't do any of those things.

Sleepy Dog Lover wrote: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.

It's a solid two-part crate with wire "windows" in the top part, like you'd use for an airplane. My mom actually suggested a wire crate, but we haven't gotten one yet. Honestly we're reluctant to spend money on much else since we've already spent so much money on her, having had no dog supplies plus needing to buy increasingly more complicated toys (she's now bored by Hide-a-Squirrel, we're going to have to move her up to the Cagey Cube and I don't know what to do if she figures out that one, because they don't make anything more complicated!) plus vet visits [we ruled out any medical problems first, obviously] plus behaviorist visits.

The frustrating thing is, she's either perfect or insane. And much of the time, she really is perfect. I've never had a dog that was so good in the car or so good at tolerating barking dogs outside without barking back, for example. And she's very good at learning commands and obviously very intelligent. And she adores us, especially my husband.

tillymarigold, I feel your pain. I also have a dog that no matter what advice is tried, it doesn't work. My service dog, as mentioned above, is retiring now because of her neck and the fact that she is 8 years old. However, she's so used to being with me she gets HORRIBLE separation anxiety. I've worked with some of the top behaviorists (Nice thing about living in Davis, CA) and nothing has worked. She's also developed an obsession with laser pointers. Sometimes dogs just have their quirks and nothing you can do to fix it. And anyone who's had a dog like that knows it's no reflection of the owner.

When I was in high school, my mom brought home an australian Sheppard puppy. He was really cute, but he was obsessed with herding me. Everywhere I went he was behind me biting me in the butt. After one fateful day where he caused me to trip and smack my head on the marble dining room table, my mom decided he needed a new home. She had a friend who had several acres of land and she agreed to take him. Lo and behold he was the perfect dog for them. Never misbehaved, etc. Sometimes it just takes the perfect fit.

In another story, I'll tell everyone why I crate trained my dog. Nellie (the service dog) was taught to open the fridge and bring me bottles of water to take my meds. Well, one day I left for a bit and came home to find the fridge door open and my dog and cat lying on the kitchen floor with ALL of the fridge's contents surrounding them. Boy did she have an upset stomach, but thankfully I don't cook so the worst she ate was tofu and broccoli. That night I went and got a crate.

Gotta love dogs.

Sarah

Tilly why don't you call the dog whisperer and see if he can come? That way even if he doesn't help the dog you can tell us if he is as cute as he looks on TV!
Personally my 5 chi's are all adorable chihuahua's and I love them very much but a couple of them are barkers. I have tried everything to shut them up and NOTHING works except for a bark collar. I only resort to using those when we check into a hotel because I don't want to get thrown out.
It is very hard to break a dog from barking and even harder wihen there are 5 that feed off each others racket.
I would get old Cesar here to see if he could find a way to help me with them except for TV puts weight on a person and I am already to porky.

my old boss used to be pretty generous when it came to pets, you could bring them to work every day if you wanted, they could sit in your office or roam the halls whatever. It was a training ground for assisted dogs

http://www.philanthropy.com/stats/donor ... D_Gift=633

of course that all changed after the new boss and hostile takeover, he'd soon slaughter them.

tillymarigold wrote: plus needing to buy increasingly more complicated toys (she's now bored by Hide-a-Squirrel, we're going to have to move her up to the Cagey Cube and I don't know what to do if she figures out that one, because they don't make anything more complicated!)

tilly-

I have box of toys here a friend passed on to me when her BC went to doggie heaven & she ended up with Italian Greyhound. My dog had no interest in any of them- she'd be a certified couch potato if her first owners hadn't trained her so well not to get on the furniture I even tried using some of them with my cats-lol...I'm headed out of town this week for a wedding, but I'll see if I can find the box when I get a chance.

lawdognellie wrote:She's also developed an obsession with laser pointers. Very Happy Sometimes dogs just have their quirks and nothing you can do to fix it.

At least its not a phobia of laser pointers! My other kitty, HoneyDew, which my vet describes as a 'special needs' kitty developed a phobia to zucchini-lol! My office manager had given me zucchini & spaghetti squash from her garden & I left them sitting just inside my door. I picked up HD to do something with her & went to set her down because she doesn't like to jump (or rather she can't land gracefully)- next thing I know she shoots straight back up in the air 3 feet and takes off. It took me a while to figure out what it was that scared her, but a little later I'd moved the zucchini to the kitchen and she started making a wide path around them and at one point she got a little too close to them and did the jump straight up & take off bit again. The spaghetti squash were perfectly fine, didn't bother her a bit- just the zucchini, which soon extended to anything green for awhile- soda bottle, small bags, shoes, etc. Another time she started acting that way about the middle of family room floor all of sudden- and nothing had changed & no one had been over to visit or anything.

Tilly, please don't think any of us are criticizing you.We have pets and know how much you love your puppy.She is very lucky to have a mommy who cares so much about her.We just want to help you and your baby so you can both be happy together. I know you are doing everything you can for her and we all want to support you.She must be very smart if she has figuered out the toys. whatever your decision is i know how much you tried. Good luck and if I can do anything to help feel free to ask. pat

We just brought home an 8-week old Shih-Tzu/Bichon puppy to add to our pack (two dogs and a cat). Thankfully he doesn't mind his crate, sleeps though the night and seems to sleep a lot still during the day.

When my schnauzer (now 7) was a pup, the only thing he destroyed was one of my $80 Teva sandals. My westie (now 5) only chewed on the handle of my new recliner. I don't recall her destroying anything.

Kimberly