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Asnorban posted:I didn't particularly like going to friend's with dog's houses. I would do it, but I would definitely be a bit more reserved lest I rouse the dog too much. I never was in a situation with a mom and multiple puppies, so I can't really say there. But it probably would have been a bit daunting, unless I knew I wouldn't be subjected to more than one or two at a time. Thanks for the insight. Mike's friends with dogs let them do what the f they please at home, because they don't know he is scared. They think he is just "stuck up" about the dog, as he stands there being bounced at. I know he should just say something, but guy-pride I guess. Sometimes when we're out I take the fall and say I'm the one scared of dogs, because it's easier for people to accept. When I say puppies, I mean the smaller, under 3 month size of puppies. Would it still be a bit  ?
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Jun 29, 2012 03:35
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Bogwoppit posted:When I say puppies, I mean the smaller, under 3 month size of puppies. Would it still be a bit I think you may get better results with exposure to a well-mannered or indifferent (read: cat-like) small dog than to puppies. One that's not known for jumping on people or barking at them. Not everyone thinks puppies are cute, and seeing them when they have comparatively few social skills is not terribly likely to increase his fondness or allay his fears.
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Jun 29, 2012 06:14
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Engineer Lenk posted:Not everyone thinks puppies are cute, and seeing them when they have comparatively few social skills is not terribly likely to increase his fondness or allay his fears. Still, one of my ex-phobic friend's fears was getting bitten and meeting a biting, growling, zero-human-social-skills idiot puppy helped her get over that part. You quickly realize with puppies that they don't mean harm when they grab you with teeth and even though it might hurt a bit, it doesn't hurt hurt. But this will absolutely vary person to person and I knew my friend thought puppies are adorable but felt she couldn't go near one. But yeah, a litter of puppies at once is a bit much to take in for most anyone, fear of dogs or no. Age 3-5 weeks they aren't scary or overwhelming yet though (too clumsy and slow).
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Jun 29, 2012 06:38
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We got Helo, our 9-week-old Aussie, about a week ago. He's awesome, and incredibly smart. He already has sit, down, roll over, and come pretty much down, and he loves his crate, but we're having a few issues with house-training. Basically, when we were taking him out every hour, he'd take 20-30 minutes to eliminate once we got to the designated bathroom spot. Then we stretched it to 2 hours before taking him out, and that worked better; he pees and poops fairly quickly. But sometimes, once inside, he'll do a little pee again, on the floor. We've tried keeping him out longer after he's peed so hopefully he'll empty again, but that doesn't really seem to work. He never peed outside at the breeder's, so I don't know if its just such an ingrained habit that he's having trouble understanding. Could it have to do with him being an intact male? Should I try using higher value treats for his housetraining (I'm using liver treats right now, which he likes, but he goes crazy for little bits of cheese)? Any suggestions? Here's the rascal in question: 
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Jun 30, 2012 00:08
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He's 9 weeks old. His bladder isn't connected to his brain yet. Just keep scooping him up and taking him out when he does it. Could take weeks or months until he's developed enough to control himself. He's an infant, "intact male" does not factor in at 9 weeks.
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Jun 30, 2012 00:32
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Pretty sure you can begin house-training this young, so I doubt it's that "his bladder isn't connected to his brain." I was just including the intact male thing as a potential cause--he certainly humps, so I thought there might be some correlation. I just want to know if there is something I can do to make it more clear to him. I definitely do scoop him up and take him out, that isn't a problem. Like I said, all I want to be sure I'm doing everything I can to make it easy for him. soap. fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Jun 30, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2012 00:39
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Yes, you can begin house training at that age, but he still does not have full bladder control or much awareness of whats going on with it until THE VERY SECOND pee happens. It's something that generally develops over the course of several months. All puppies hump. He's not piddling because he's a boy, he's piddling because he's a puppy.
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Jun 30, 2012 01:05
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Engineer Lenk posted:I think you may get better results with exposure to a well-mannered or indifferent (read: cat-like) small dog than to puppies. One that's not known for jumping on people or barking at them. My idea was puppies or puppy so he has more control of the situation (he could pick up an over friendly puppy and remove it from him). A small dog like a terrier already has an idea of who's boss, if that makes sense. He doesn't think dogs are stupid, and would be wary about touching any adult dog (he was bitten by a small white terrier a few times as a kid which is where the fear comes from).
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Jun 30, 2012 02:02
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Bogwoppit posted:My idea was puppies or puppy so he has more control of the situation (he could pick up an over friendly puppy and remove it from him). A small dog like a terrier already has an idea of who's boss, if that makes sense. Terriers are dog people dogs - by and large they wouldn't come under the umbrella of well-behaved and people-neutral, though there are outliers. I was thinking of the softer-temperament toy breeds, something like a Maltese, Havanese, Papillon, or Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I still don't think puppies are a magic bullet. The people I know who are afraid of or hate dogs and have gotten over it started by having single dog exceptions. All of the model dogs have rock solid temperaments and are not very people-centered.
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Jun 30, 2012 02:54
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soap. posted:Pretty sure you can begin house-training this young, so I doubt it's that "his bladder isn't connected to his brain." I was just including the intact male thing as a potential cause--he certainly humps, so I thought there might be some correlation. I just want to know if there is something I can do to make it more clear to him. I definitely do scoop him up and take him out, that isn't a problem. It's probably an age thing, but there are a few things to check off the list. #1 - Make sure you're cleaning his piddle spots inside with an enzymatic cleaner. #2 - Make sure he's not going in the same spot every time. If he is, and it's, for example, a rug, take away the rug. #3 - Make sure your entrance back inside is relatively boring. Over-stimulation can be an issue here with some dogs. These are just the items off the top of my head. If something consistent is occurring, try and find the pattern and break it or understand it.
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Jun 30, 2012 03:13
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MrFurious posted:It's probably an age thing, but there are a few things to check off the list. 1) Yep, Nature's Miracle. 2) Not really. 3) This could be it; he loves going back inside and grabbing a toy and running around. I'll try to keep it more mellow. Thanks!
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Jun 30, 2012 04:42
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soap. posted:He never peed outside at the breeder's, so I don't know if its just such an ingrained habit that he's having trouble understanding. Could it have to do with him being an intact male? Should I try using higher value treats for his housetraining (I'm using liver treats right now, which he likes, but he goes crazy for little bits of cheese)? Any suggestions? Also how come he never peed outside at the breeder's? That seems odd to me.
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Jun 30, 2012 09:14
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Riiseli posted:No it couldn't. Maybe you could use higher value play time as a reward? Or put him in the crate to settle down for a while after you come in. I don't housetrain on a clock, but on sleep, play and eat. So I take a puppy out, when he/she wakes up, after they eat and after they've played for a while. A combination of these practices might well work best. I've used a timer when I helped my friend get her to put finishing touches on her tollers housetraining. My concern with making play the reward was that the outside would get too exciting, and he'd be distracted wanting to play whenever I took him out. I have been putting him back in his crate afterwards to make returns more mellow since MrFurious suggested that might be an issue. He still did have an accident one time when I took him out to play about 15 minutes later. It could just be what Superconsndar said, that he is just too young to realize he needs to pee until its happening. He was bred in Madera, California, and it's consistently about 100 degrees there, so I imagine that's why he was kept almost exclusively inside. They had a litter tray with horse bedding pellets that he peed in. I took a sample of those and put them in his new pee spot outside, but I'm not sure that's made any difference! Thanks for all the suggestions, everybody. He's such a great dog, I just want to do everything right.
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Jun 30, 2012 18:22
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Madera, CA huh?  Do you mind posting the breeder site? I'm not passing judgement or anything but I want to give you a head's up. I used to live in the Bay Area and work in rescue with the SF SPCA, and the Central Valley area, particularly Madera, was a notorious puppy mill/BYB heavy area. All of our puppy pulls (transporting dogs about to be euthanized in local shelters so they could be adopted in the wealthy bay) were from Madera, specifically. Telling someone your dog was from Madera would make most people assume you bought from a puppy mill, and 99% of the time they'd be right. It's kind of the same as the Amish farm puppy mill problem on the East Coast, where someone would say 'oh I got him from a nice Amish farm' and everyone in the know would automatically realize that was a nice Amish puppy mill, because it's an area where local laws, zoning restrictions and law enforcement have allowed it to become rampant. That's what I think of when I hear Madera; basically puppy mill capitol of the West. I'm in no way saying 'oh poo poo you bought a puppy mill dog you monster' but the fact that he's from Madera and is having housebreaking issues similar to those of puppy mill dogs, makes a red flag stand up for me, so I hope I'm wrong and we can all go about our business because there are a fair few working farms out there and CA is a big state filled with mostly non-puppy mills. If I'm right though, you may be in for more issues than you thought.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:09
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Captain Foxy posted:Madera, CA huh? Not at all: Skedaddle Aussies. She seems very reputable. One litter a year, genetic testing, etc. Here's the father of the litter: Eaglecrest Titan.
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Jul 1, 2012 04:55
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soap. posted:Not at all: Skedaddle Aussies. She seems very reputable. One litter a year, genetic testing, etc. Here's the father of the litter: Eaglecrest Titan. Whew. Nicely done. Never mind, and carry on. A good breeder in the central valley is a rare sight and a good thing to see.
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Jul 1, 2012 06:14
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My partner and I are thinking about getting a Chow! Is this a good idea? It'd be the first dog we own, though we have two cats, and I grew up with dogs.
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Jul 1, 2012 07:23
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gowb posted:Chow! It's not impossible, but they aren't just fluffy versions of labs and have different requirements for training and socialization.
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Jul 1, 2012 08:47
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gowb posted:My partner and I are thinking about getting a Chow! Is this a good idea? It'd be the first dog we own, though we have two cats, and I grew up with dogs. Why do you want a chow in particular?
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Jul 1, 2012 08:57
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Anyone know anything good or bad about K9 Ballistics dog beds? I've got a 7 month old hound that likes to shred things when she gets bored.
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Jul 1, 2012 10:06
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Incredulous Red posted:Anyone know anything good or bad about K9 Ballistics dog beds? I've got a 7 month old hound that likes to shred things when she gets bored. Our 6 month lab/shepherd mutt shredded her bed after her first week and a half with us and we're holding off on replacing it for a month or so. Right now her temporary "soft spot" is a bath mat we drag out to the office for her to chill on. If she already tore one up I'd strongly recommend holding out on a getting a good replacement until the phase rides itself out.
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Jul 1, 2012 22:04
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Fraction posted:Why do you want a chow in particular? They are super cute, good protection (we live in a bad part of town), and I just like the whole "ancient dog breed" thing. We also live in an apartment, but regularly exercise, so from what I have read a Chow would be a good companion. I helped my dad train a dog and I'm very diligent when it comes to animals, so I think I could handle a somewhat difficult dog (nothing like a collie or a crazy working dog, but from what I've read Chows aren't THAT bad).
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Jul 1, 2012 22:40
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Chows are challenging dogs, and definitely top my list of "never in a 1000 years would I own one" dogs. However, plenty of people own them quite happily. The big issues, as I see them, are: - that they are not people pleasers and will require a great deal of R+ training to show the dog what you want is what they want to do too. - they are prone to aggression (human and dogs), and many have little to no bite inhibition. If you have read plenty about Chows and have met some in person, and feel like you can handle their issues (rather than simply hope that they don't pop up in your pup) then godspeed!
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Jul 1, 2012 22:59
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a life less posted:Chows are challenging dogs, and definitely top my list of "never in a 1000 years would I own one" dogs. However, plenty of people own them quite happily. The big issues, as I see them, are: I agree with this entirely but I would like to add that wanting a dog for "protection because we live in a bad area" is never a reason to choose a breed. A dog (as a pet) should never be looked at as protection. A dog who guards people, things, places, etc. without proper training to control this behavior is a scary thing. Chows can be wonderful dogs but they need a firm and experienced owner. edit: grammar Primpin and Pimpin fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jul 2, 2012 |
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Jul 1, 2012 23:07
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If you live in a bad area, pretty much any dog is protection because of the barking. A little dog would work just as well as a big dog for that; my Pom protected my house from a potential burglary while we lived in East Oakland just by making an unholy racket while dudes were trying to sneak around outside. A Chow is a seriously dangerous and powerful animal if made to be a protective force, and not a good choice for a first dog. A Chow mix from the shelter, with a known temperament and tested with cats, is probably a better match.
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Jul 2, 2012 01:15
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Took my 9mo old to the vet today to get neutered.  Staying on top of his chewing lately has been a challenge. His favorite thing is a fuzzy blanket. If you leave him alone he will also bite a blanket and sit there with it in his mouth indefinitely.
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Jul 2, 2012 13:46
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 Pug in a Bug! Waffles is 10 weeks old and mid way through week 8 went from sweet little pug puppy to a chompy little thing! I've tried a firm NO followed by redirecting to an acceptable toy. Have a lot of toys to choose from, all with diff textures and such, and hard beef stick for chewing once a day now to help with the teeth. She laughed at the bitter spray on my shoes for when we're outside walking for potty breaks. Doesn't care if I try to mimic her litter mates' yelp when bit. Tried the loud noise thing with a paper towel tube that startles her and a firm NO, but only lasts for a second... I'm wondering if I should start clicker training now and somehow associate some clicked command with stopping or if there's something else I can do? I've been meaning to start but she is a lot of work, getting up 3 times a night to potty, going outside every hour, stubborn to poop, thinks everyone going past is to see her, etc. leaving me completely drained each night. I mean pugs are known to be stubborn but this is a bit much. Just re-read the OP part about biting and haven't tried the remove myself for 60 seconds part, but I'm worried she would just whine and cry, then think I came back in because she was whining and crying. Any advice/tips/etc. greatly appreciated! My family loves her when they come around or I take her to visit, but not the biting.
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Jul 3, 2012 02:01
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Engineer Lenk posted:Terriers are dog people dogs - by and large they wouldn't come under the umbrella of well-behaved and people-neutral, though there are outliers. I'm not expecting a puppy to be a "magic bullet". I'm expecting it to be smaller, weaker and less self-assured than a full grown dog. You're also relying on a small adult dog's owner to have trained them properly. If a puppy bites or gets too rough, most of the time you are not looking at a serious injury, and it can be easily removed. Also I don't know if it's UK/Northern England breeding but I have never met a calm King Charles. Obedient, yeah, but so excited about getting that right, that they're like little bouncing children. Seeing the pack of them on the street is adorable but noisy. I've known several "calm" Maltese that suddenly crack and start snapping because you're in their house. I don't know if it's bad breeding or ownership, but it's a pattern I've seen here. I don't know their original purpose but they seem to be good at protecting territory.
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Jul 3, 2012 15:49
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zamiel posted:
Your pup needs to learn that yelping = end of fun. No puppy is going to stop because it's hurt you (puppies aren't known for being so considerate). The puppy will stop because he's learned that when he hears you yelp it means that you're going to withdraw and stop the fun. Ie, he's going to learn through negative punishment that he better watch where he puts his mouth because if he doesn't something he wants gets taken away. He's young yet, and puppies can be pretty dumb, so keep up the yelping and make sure to follow it up with time outs. Maybe try time outs for 10 seconds, or 20. Just long enough for the fun to stop and for him to calm down a bit. When you reapproach, restart play with a toy or something that is appropriate for him to mouth. I don't think clicker training is necessary for what you want to do, but you can try it. Here's a good video on how to approach it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77--cCHPyU I feel that a clicker is a precision tool, and you need not bother with it in this precise situation. A simple marker word should suffice (and it gives you one less thing to juggling while training). I would use a two pronged attack for inappropriate biting: removing yourself when teeth hit skin, and teaching appropriate interaction via the method shown in that video.
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Jul 3, 2012 16:38
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I brought home a shelter dog yesterday! Lola is a two years old husky/lab mix, super chill and amazingly sweet. She and I are bonding well (she's pretty velcro so far). She walks on a leash well (though she will pull some), sits and stays, and she SEEMS to be house trained but... she hasn't pooped since I brought her home. I've been taking her out hourly. Except overnight but even then I woke her up every few hours to go outside. Sometimes she pees, sometimes she doesn't. When she pees I do the obligatory YAY POTTY dance and give her a treat. When we're out I don't let her wander around for potty time. She'll sniff around a little, stop and scratch and then she gets bored and sits down. She's eating and drinking water. She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort (though she's kind of a lump on the floor right now) but she still isn't pooping. When does this become something I should be concerned about?  Here she is last night giving me the stink eye for taking pictures with flash.
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Jul 6, 2012 22:09
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mascaria posted:I brought home a shelter dog yesterday! Lola is a two years old husky/lab mix, That there is a pit mix. Cute pup, you should post tons of pictures  I wouldn't worry about the other stuff, it's pretty new for a dog in a new home. If you think she has to go and she just won't then take her for a walk and don't stop moving until she squats, it helps.
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Jul 6, 2012 23:59
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rivals posted:That there is a pit mix. Cute pup, you should post tons of pictures I hope she's not a pit mix, they're not allowed in this town. Her papers say husky/lab so that's what I'm going with! I'll take her for a walk tonight. I tried to take her out after we had dinner but she turned right back around and sat at the door to come back inside. Apparently 100 degrees is too hot for walks!   Look at that face. I'm so crazy about her. 
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Jul 7, 2012 01:27
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She really looks like a pit mix to me, but to most people she probably won't be able to tell so you're fine on that front. As far as I've seen most people are pretty much okay with whatever you tell them as I've been in that situation as well, not with BSL particularly but I've rented from people who don't allow pits with my pit mix.
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Jul 7, 2012 01:32
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rivals posted:She really looks like a pit mix to me, but to most people she probably won't be able to tell so you're fine on that front. As far as I've seen most people are pretty much okay with whatever you tell them as I've been in that situation as well, not with BSL particularly but I've rented from people who don't allow pits with my pit mix. Heterochromia may argue for a husky or Australian shepherd. Never do a gene test on her.
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Jul 7, 2012 02:56
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Incredulous Red posted:Heterochromia may argue for a husky or Australian shepherd. I won't! We went for a nice brisk walk after the sun went down and it was a cool 97 degrees outside (  this heat wave!). She pooped like a champ! She also had no interest in my praise or a treat or anything. She barely gave me time to get it into a baggie, she was ready to keep moving. gowb posted:(nothing like a collie or a crazy working dog, but from what I've read Chows aren't THAT bad). My parents had a Chow who decided that for what ever reason she didn't like my mother. Any time my mom was around she started to snarl and get mean and nip at her. She also refused to have any kind of interaction with people who weren't immediately related to us. IDK how she knew this but family was fine around her (meaning she tolerated them - except for my mom obviously). She really really disliked strangers. My parents had her in obedience classes and she was socialized as a puppy but she was much stronger willed than my parents ever were and she ended up an outside dog because my parents couldn't handle dealing with her. Anecdotal evidence to be sure but Chows can indeed be THAT bad.
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Jul 7, 2012 04:25
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mascaria posted:I won't! I'm serious though. Right now you can only disclose what you know: that she's some kind of mix, and the pound said she was a husky/lab mix. But if you do a test, and it comes back pit mix, you could have a problem (though since pits aren't a "recognized" breed it's likely that a test wouldn't come back with that, assuming they're at all accurate under any circumstances- still, don't risk it).
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Jul 7, 2012 06:05
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Just brought home a american pit bull terrier from the Irvine Animal Care Center- Zeus, a ~two-year old american pit bull terrier (shelter's name, not my choice.. haven't decided whether to keep the name or try a new one) First dog- and some interesting observations about him: When I saw him at the shelter, he immediately rolled over on his belly in a submissive position. I noticed that also if I accidentally make a hitting motion, he "flinches". Also, he won't go through the hallway in our house towards the bedrooms- even if I put him on a leash and try to DRAG him (not very hard mind you) he'll kind of lay down in a Sphinx position and whimper. All of these signs, in my opinion, point towards evidence of an abusive owner, my heart just melted when I saw the way he acted and I had to take him in :3 On to the meat: Bringing him home, he was excited at first then seemed lethargic. He'll only drink water, but he won't eat. I noticed, walking him at the shelter, he was eating a lot of grass which the shelter volunteer explained as him trying to "calm his stomach". Well, five seconds later, he vomited out the grass, which the volunteer said was normal. When I took him home though, in the span of the last 12 hours he's vomited about three times: going progressively "grayer" in color, the last time he did it I didn't have a chance to fully see because he was eating his vomit :V (but not his food). He's also had explosive diarrhea once- all black liquid, except for a clump of black grass, which is NOT good I'm assuming? It was incredibly smelly, even after I scrubbed and cleaned with antibacterial spray the smell is lingering in the air. To try to coax him to eat, I even tried mixing in some hot water in with his dog food to make "mush" I guess.. but it didn't work. Upon doing some research- it sounds like he may have Parovirus? My question is this- Upon discharge from the shelter, they stated that his medical record was spotless except for a minor ear infection, which they gave me drops for. Now that this has come up, do I take him to the vet right away, or contact the animal shelter first and see if they would treat him there? I know it is my responsibility to take care of him since I adopted him- but my concern is cost, and the fact that they didn't properly screen for disease in him before letting us adopt. I am going to call the vet as soon as they open regardless, but I wanted your opinions on what I should do. Apologies if this post is convoluted or confusing, it's 5AM here.. edit- Forgot to mention a symptom- his eyes are bloodshot red, like if he smoked a joint. Didn't notice this at the shelter, can't tell if this is recent or not butt implants fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Jul 9, 2012 |
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Jul 9, 2012 13:28
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I would call the vet and also call the shelter and let them know what's going on with him.
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Jul 9, 2012 17:18
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While it's not super common for a 2 year old dog to get really sick from parvo, you need to go see a vet. Black, tarry diarrhea is a sign of hemorrhage in the GI tract and they can crash from that pretty quick, especially with the "bloodshot" eyes you describe - that can be a sign of severe dehydration and/or hypovolemic shock. If the dog wasn't having these signs at the shelter, it's not their fault necessarily and you need to get the dog to a vet and then worry about letting the shelter know what's going on for their own purposes (if it's something contagious, other dogs there may have been exposed). Also he was probably not abused, just poorly socialized.
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Jul 9, 2012 17:21
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Update on Zeus- called shelter right when they opened, explained the situation, symptoms etc. They told me to come in right away. After bringing him in, the vet explained that they did a test for Parvo, but it came out negative, though there was a chance that the disease screening was not accurate and that he still may have had it. They were nice enough to offer to treat the dog for free at one of the vet clinics they work with, but unfortunately that means I won't be able to see him again for at least seven days. I'm so worried. I have the worst luck.
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Jul 9, 2012 23:46
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