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My go-to starter book for all dog owners is and will likely always be Pat Miller's The Power of Positive Dog Training. It is the only book I've found that goes through theory as well as mechanics with a very easy to follow how-to for a number of very useful behaviors. In terms of your plans, I will never recommend anyone to get a dog as a "guard dog." The traits that make a good "guard dog" are anti-social behavior, wariness of strangers and a willingness to bite. These are not good traits for a domesticated companion animal. Read the OP in detail, and there are links to Ian Dunbar's free books there as well, which are also recommended.
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Oct 12, 2012 00:05
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Maksimus54 posted:Thank you all for the encouragement! It means a lot. I will continue to do research while I get my house put together. It is a bit under construction at the moment so I can't rush in to anything just yet. Yeah as MrFurious said, bad idea to get a dog with guarding in mind. Most dogs will feel some sort of protective instinct, and simply having one there is a deterrent. Dogs with strong guarding behavior are generally not good for novice owners, as it is difficult and requires a lot of skill to channel that only into appropriate situations. From everything I have heard, you probably do not want a Cane Corso as a first dog. They are very prone to excessive guarding behaviors and human aggression if not handled perfectly. How much time can you spend with the dog daily and how much exercise will you give it? That would really influence my opinion on whether a GSD would be okay. My GSD is really trainable and easy to handle, but I spend about 2 hours a day doing pretty intense exercise with him. If he doesn't get enough exercise for a couple of days he gets to be a bit nuts. Also, do you rent or own? I've had a hell of a time finding rentals with my GSD while no one bats an eye at my heelers. It's something to consider.
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Oct 12, 2012 01:19
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2tomorrow posted:How much time can you spend with the dog daily and how much exercise will you give it? That would really influence my opinion on whether a GSD would be okay. My GSD is really trainable and easy to handle, but I spend about 2 hours a day doing pretty intense exercise with him. If he doesn't get enough exercise for a couple of days he gets to be a bit nuts. I have no experience with Cane Corso, but I own two GSDs and I second 2tomorrow's post. Mine get at least 2 hours of exercise, usually hard running. They learn extremely quickly and are clever, they are so awesome  But if I wanted a dog to stick in the yard (like Average Joe in my neighborhood) I think they would go crazy and take themselves for adventures. I don't think you would stick a dog in a yard from what you've posted, but if you are set on a GSD can you get one through a rescue? A mature dog that has been fostered would probably work. Puppies are intimidating for most people, and GSD puppies are very time-intensive.I currently rent, I dread the day we move. We don't plan to buy a house anytime soon but if we move, we might have to.
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Oct 12, 2012 01:43
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Thanks for the good advice. I own my home. 1550 sq ft house on a 10000sq ft lot. I have a decent size back yard. I am away 9 hours a day and have a stable but not quite living with me yet girlfriend. We would try to make as much time for the dog as we could. I do work for my family and could have the dog with in the back at least a day or two a week, probably more. The reason the cane corso appealed was based on some shallow reading they appeared to be family/female friendly, protective, bark little,and not be absurdly hyper. I also just learned they have been primarily working dogs and thats why I thought it best to ask. I also admit I am looking at a large dog as I had a rather violent break in attempt several months ago that has made me rather paranoid. I would like a buddy first, but also a dog that could hopefully deter something like that again and put my mind at ease. I just hope I'm not being selfish and dumb in this line of thinking. I don't need a dog to protect me, but it would be nice if it could help me relax when I hear things go bump in the night.
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Oct 12, 2012 04:12
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For what it's worth, there have been a number of news articles over the past few years in which convicts have been interviewed. They have universally agreed that the best deterrent for thieves is a small, yappy dog because they are so noisy and attract so much attention. Bear in mind that no dog you get is likely to remain calm when you aren't. Those dogs are called service dogs and they are, personality wise, zombies.
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Oct 12, 2012 04:20
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Yeah, if Cane Corsos don't bark much, they're not going to be a great deterrent except against casual break-ins. You want a dog that's not afraid to vocalize. It's like a living alarm system. My understanding is that they're not super hyper dogs as you say, but they're very intense. Hyper is easier to deal with than intense. For the type of situation you have, where you're a novice owner looking for a companion who will also serve as a deterrent, you don't necessarily want a protective breed. Protective dogs can develop inappropriate guarding behaviors and can be difficult to manage. Almost any dog is going to be protective of you and your home when it feels threatened. I mean, have you ever met a dog who doesn't go nuts barking when the doorbell rings (unless they've been specifically trained not to)? It's basically the same thing. It's good that you have a big yard, but how much time will you actually spend exercising the dog? Most dogs don't really self-exercise, not enough to meet their needs anyway. It gets boring running around the yard by themselves. Honestly even my pack of 5 rowdy dogs don't play enough to tire themselves out unless I'm doing things with them. You're not being selfish, just get away from the idea that you need a breed that is specifically bred for protection. You just need a dog who isn't totally timid and fearful. When I was a kid my family had an elderly Lab who was the gentlest dog on the planet and even he would bark and get protective if we were threatened. Almost any dog will, so get that out of your mind when it comes to choosing a dog. adventure in the sandbox posted:I currently rent, I dread the day we move. We don't plan to buy a house anytime soon but if we move, we might have to. I was floored at how difficult it was to find a place. With mine I can even cheat a bit and tell them he's a service dog, but when it came out that he's a search dog rather than an assistance dog, it didn't matter even though we have documentation from the DPS and everything.
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Oct 12, 2012 05:35
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Thank you everyone. You have made it clear that the dog I "want" isn't really a dog that exists. I'm not going to go gently caress it up like so many that ask for advice and willingly ignore it. I'll still be looking for a big goofy lug of a dog that can't be named anything but buddy, not some guard/protective breed.
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Oct 12, 2012 15:11
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2tomorrow posted:
Man, maybe I've just lucked out. I just lie about Moses' breed and I've always been fine. Pits are so ubiquitous here though that it's just kind of "wink wink, nudge nudge, this is not a pit bull"
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Oct 12, 2012 15:24
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In my area I think it's actually easier to get away with a pit than a GSD. They're both banned from a lot of rentals but with pit mixes you can just call them a Lab cross or whatever, and otherwise you can say they're some other bully breed mix (a lot of pits turn into boxer crosses on rental applications). I don't think most landlords really care as long as the dogs don't cause any trouble, it's just an insurance/liability thing. Unfortunately there just aren't that many believable other shepherd-looking dogs. I tried to pass George off as a Malinois a couple of times but apparently a lot of places ban them too. I found the key is to avoid the big property management companies. I'm renting from a very nice lady right now who owns a few rentals but manages this one herself, and she loves George. She even runs a few training exercises with us whenever she's up doing something with the property. But I'll quit derailing this thread. I do think it's a good idea for anyone who rents and is considering a "dangerous" breed like pits, rottweilers, dobermans, or GSDs to take into consideration. It was really eye-opening to discover that a lot of property managers were less concerned about the fact that I have 5 dogs than that one of them is a GSD.edit: vvv I agree with the post below this too. I hope I wasn't ranting too much at you Maksimus, I just couldn't get to sleep last night and so was writing way too much.  You'll be a great dog owner.
2tomorrow fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Oct 12, 2012 |
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Oct 12, 2012 17:24
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Maksimus54 posted:Thank you everyone. You have made it clear that the dog I "want" isn't really a dog that exists. I'm not going to go gently caress it up like so many that ask for advice and willingly ignore it. I'll still be looking for a big goofy lug of a dog that can't be named anything but buddy, not some guard/protective breed.  You are great. I'm sure you'll find a great dog.
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Oct 12, 2012 17:30
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Maksimus54 posted:Thank you everyone. You have made it clear that the dog I "want" isn't really a dog that exists. I'm not going to go gently caress it up like so many that ask for advice and willingly ignore it. I'll still be looking for a big goofy lug of a dog that can't be named anything but buddy, not some guard/protective breed.
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Oct 12, 2012 21:55
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A few-years old Golden or Lab would be awesome for you, I think. Or (and this is just my bias as an owner) get a Newfoundland or other Mastiff-type dog. My Newfie is the sweetest drat guy in the world, but if he thinks I'm in danger, he puts on his big boy voice and barks his little head off. He's a big 'ol doof who runs at me when I call him and gives me tons of sloppy kisses Goldens are also pretty great. My parents have one, and he's a sweetheart to everyone, but when some weirdos tried to hit on me from their car, he flipped his poo poo like I have never seen before and scared them off before my horrendous personality could do just that.
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Oct 12, 2012 22:29
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I wouldn't lightly recommend anyone getting any giant breed just from the cost aspect alone. Big dogs are great but have a unique set of big dog problems that have to be considered.
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Oct 12, 2012 22:31
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uptown posted:Goldens are also pretty great. My parents have one, and he's a sweetheart to everyone, but when some weirdos tried to hit on me from their car, he flipped his poo poo like I have never seen before and scared them off before my horrendous personality could do just that. This is a bad post that perpetuates the idea that dogs can tell who the "bad guys" are. They can't. Ever.
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Oct 12, 2012 23:19
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MrFurious posted:This is a bad post that perpetuates the idea that dogs can tell who the "bad guys" are. They can't. Ever. Ayuppp a dog that has a meltdown over, presumably, the handler's feelings of slight uncertainty/awkwardness is not a dog that is completely unreactive and stable.
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Oct 12, 2012 23:24
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I never said he could tell who were "bad guys" - I definitely meant to imply that he picked up on my feelings of being uncomfortable, which, honestly, I saw as a plus. I don't want my dog (not that he's mine) drooling over and loving someone who is making me feel intimidated. v v
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Oct 13, 2012 00:08
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help Note: In light of my ranting in the cattledog thread, this might come off as a troll or a joke. It's not. It's just very bad timing. Background Info: My cousins have a large rural property well out of town, but no stock. There are three boys in the family, ranging in age from 12 to 17. They have an elderly Labrador, but no other pets, and they don't have much experience in dog ownership. A few months ago, they adopted an eight-week-old puppy from a shelter with no idea as to what her background or breed were. I saw the pictures and she looked like an English mastiff cross to me. When I mentioned this to the mother, she freaked out and ran back to the shelter, where they told her that the puppy was believed to be a mastiff / bull terrier mix. I tried to reassure her that mastiffs and bully breeds are great dogs if you train them right, especially for active teenage boys, but she said that as she often has friends over, with small children and small dogs, she didn't want to take the risk of RAISING A BABY-EATER OMG. So the pup went back to the shelter. The kids were devastated. I have now lost my cousins one [1] puppy. She mentioned she was thinking of getting a purebred puppy from a breeder, something that would suit their situation and be gentler and friendlier than a mastiff. (I loving love mastiffs, this broke my heart. I really tried hard to get her to keep the pup, but it didn't work.) She said they'd probably get another labrador. And Now...: They've got a loving Maremma. Keep in mind, they abandoned the last dog and got a new one so that they could choose a breed that's good with strangers, kids and other dogs. Both parents work full-time and the kids are at private school, so the dog is going to be left alone outside for ten hours out of the day. They have no stock (although she said she's getting some chickens, and the dog will be expected to guard them, so... good?) They're not experienced dog owners. They've never had anything more difficult than a Labrador; they've definitely never had anything as challenging as a livestock guard before, especially not a huge, aggressive livestock guard like a Maremma. What the hell do I do? There is no way they're going to be able to raise this dog. It's going to end up biting some friend's child or eating one of those small dogs they love to bring around there, and then it'll get put down or end up in the pound. But I'm already personally responsible for them losing one puppy. Do I say anything? Do I just cross my fingers and hope for the best? Sorry to turn this into an E/N thread, but Jesus Christ I am agonising here. Am I overreacting? Are Maremmas not as hard to handle as I've heard? I've never had one either. Arrrgh Avshalom fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Oct 13, 2012 |
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Oct 13, 2012 02:16
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^^Lmao oh my god. I am so sorry.
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Oct 13, 2012 02:19
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Avshalom posted:
Yeah, no, that's not overreacting, that's a very valid reason for concern. You're pretty much on standby while your cousins light the fuse on a big 'ol pile of dynamite. This is a very very sucky situation and you need to do all that you can and pool all the resources you can find to convince them to reconsider.
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Oct 13, 2012 02:49
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uptown posted:I never said he could tell who were "bad guys" - I definitely meant to imply that he picked up on my feelings of being uncomfortable, which, honestly, I saw as a plus. I don't want my dog (not that he's mine) drooling over and loving someone who is making me feel intimidated. v I think the problem is the "losing his poo poo" part. There's quite a gulf between that and a dog loving on someone who is threatening you. Dogs can pick up on your discomfort and not be friendly to someone who may be a threat without being reactive, which can potentially escalate into inappropriate biting.
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Oct 13, 2012 04:24
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I know I've seen the answer to this somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it. We're looking for some small (1-2 feet by 1-2 feet), light, cheap indoor wire panels for puppy proofing the house. For example, to put around the bottom of the couch to discourage casual chewing. They're not expected to actually hold back a determined assault as the puppy isn't left unsupervised, but the ones that we had sitting around have been effective at making it so that chewing the bottom of the couch isn't the first thing she does when she gets bored. We'd like to get more but we don't remember where we got the ones we have. Someone in these forums mentioned that panels like this could be bought from a common store like Walmart or Target or something. But I don't remember where I saw that mentioned. Does anyone remember where this sort of panels can be bought?
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Oct 15, 2012 18:45
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Scrubber posted:Does anyone remember where this sort of panels can be bought? I'm not entirely clear about what you're asking about but maybe something like this?
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Oct 15, 2012 18:50
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Like this: But smaller, lighter and with bigger holes in the wire mesh, so each panel is very cheap. The ones I find while googling seem to be heavy duty, designed to actually contain a dog, and consequently somewhat expensive. The kind we have here are very light, almost decorative, and they would only discourage a dog, but they're very cheap, so you could easily block off an entire couch in an area where the puppy would always be supervised.
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Oct 15, 2012 19:18
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Scrubber posted:Like this: So like these things? They're pretty popular as rabbit and guinea pig alternatives so they come up a lot.
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Oct 15, 2012 19:25
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Instant Jellyfish posted:So like these things? They're pretty popular as rabbit and guinea pig alternatives so they come up a lot. Yes. That's what I was looking for. Thanks a lot.
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Oct 15, 2012 19:33
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We just adopted a shelter dog and wanted some advice. We lost our last dog to lymphoma almost 2 years ago and wanted to wait until our daughter turned 5 before getting a new companion. We went to a shelter in "just looking" mode and came home with this cutie: We fell in love with her because she is the sweetest and gentlest puppy I've ever seen. According to the shelter she is 8 months old. Now that we have her home, I'm concerned that she's almost too docile. I've yet to see her lift her tail more than a few inches, whenever she walks it's constantly tucked between her legs. She's also eating and drinking very little. She pretty much just lies down on her bed next to me while I'm working all day. My question is how long does it normally take for a dog to get acclimated to a new home? The shelter said not to worry if she doesn't eat or drink for a little while. What is a little while and when should I start to be concerned? Any other advice for making her feel at ease? I've pretty much been speaking nicely to her and petting her whenever I pass by. While not confirmed by the shelter, I suspect she was abused and just want her to know that she's safe and won't be hurt again  .
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Oct 16, 2012 18:33
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Victory Yodel posted:While not confirmed by the shelter, I suspect she was abused and just want her to know that she's safe and won't be hurt again I doubt it. Some dogs are just nervous by nature and take a long time to recover from stressful events. She may never be an outgoing, love-everyone type of dog, but this definitely does not indicate any sort of abuse. I'd give her a good 2 weeks or so of a set schedule and low-stress interactions. Drop food on the floor as you pass her by - petting or talking to a dog who is feeling stressed and has no bond with you won't help much, and could actually slow progress. Dogs often need to learn to enjoy those kinds of interactions, and right now you're starting from scratch. The best way to a dog's heart is through their belly.
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Oct 16, 2012 18:41
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Victory Yodel posted:We just adopted a shelter dog and wanted some advice. We lost our last dog to lymphoma almost 2 years ago and wanted to wait until our daughter turned 5 before getting a new companion. We went to a shelter in "just looking" mode and came home with this cutie: I definitely wouldn't worry yet. Dogs can take a week to a full month to settle into a new home and 'show their true colors'. My dog, who has huge anxiety problems, took about a week but didn't wag her tail for almost a year (I didn't think she would ever wag it!). Obviously, that's extreme, but all dogs are different in their body language and habits. For how to treat her, I would, if you think she's been abused, watch for things that stress her out and try to avoid them for a while and counter-condition them when you can't (edit: like a life less said, even simple interactions can be stressing her out and it doesn't necessarily indicate abuse). Stress lingers in the system, so the stress of a new place means that you should try to hold off for a while before confronting things that stress her out further. If she's not stressed by simple interactions, I would also start training really easy things, make it totally fun, lots of treats. Some dogs feel better when they are working and really get into it. Otherwise, just give her some time. I imagine that she will start testing boundaries in a week or so (don't feel sorry for her and let her get away with hell now because you will regret it later!) and then you'll have a total hellion on your hands. 
Kiri koli fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Oct 16, 2012 |
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Oct 16, 2012 18:47
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a life less posted:The best way to a dog's heart is through their belly. Kiri koli posted:I definitely wouldn't worry yet. Thanks for the advice. I started dropping some food next to her--she at it all and wanted more so I brought her the bowl and she ate it all! (I don't like the idea of providing breakfast in bed, but I wanted her to eat). I'm happy to hear she may not have been abused. She is such a sweet dog I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt her. She likes to be around me and seemed to enjoy (or at least tolerate) my 5 year old reading her a book. She's also starting to play with her toys a little, I think everything is going to be fine, yay!
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Oct 16, 2012 19:09
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So this morning I found a 2 inch piece of a bully stick in our 15month old staffy's poo. I thought they were digestable  , does this mean we'll have to start buying bigger ones and taking them away before she swallows the end piece or was it just a fluke?
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Oct 17, 2012 11:07
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Andohz posted:So this morning I found a 2 inch piece of a bully stick in our 15month old staffy's poo. I thought they were digestable How quickly is your dog going through them? Edible toys should really be a once in blue moon kind of thing...same deal with stuff like pig ears and raw hide.
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Oct 17, 2012 14:19
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Andohz posted:So this morning I found a 2 inch piece of a bully stick in our 15month old staffy's poo. I thought they were digestable I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on the stick once it gets down to a swallowable size, then throw it out.
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Oct 17, 2012 15:31
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I'm going to be babysitting a German Shepherd puppy over Thanksgiving. He's currently 3 months old and is almost entirely housetrained (a few pee accidents here and there). He'll have started puppy obedience by the time I'm watching him. Is there anything I should do to prep for his stay? I know we thought our house was cat-proofed until we got kittens and they discovered all new ways to get into trouble. Likewise our house is Husker-proofed, but he isn't a puppy. Unfortunately I'm kind of clutter-blind, so when I try to look around and see potential hazards or things that can be gotten into they just don't materialize for me. I'm sure a lot of things will be specific to this puppy, and I'm sure my friend will fill me in on all his particulars. I've never watched a puppy this young before, so I'm a little nervous.
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Oct 19, 2012 15:30
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I am back with more questions! This week we noticed Amelia's crate smelled a little bit like pee, but we don't see stains anywhere and never noticed it being especially wet, which is weird. Is it possible that she tracked the pee smell back from going potty on a potty patch(the fake grass tray) outside repeatedly? She's always had to pee a bunch on the rare occasions she's crated for a longer duration, so it's not like she's emptying out while we're gone. Also, because I'm not clear on this: Is mouthing during playtime something that just happens? She's pretty good at not doing it when we're not playing, but if we start playing/wrestling she starts to mouth sometimes and I don't know if that's something I should be actively working against or if it's normal dog behavior that's okay if she's not using any force. Thanks again for all the help in the past, thread! Especially MrFurious. Bonus pic of her deciding to sleep under her bed:
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Oct 19, 2012 19:05
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Splat posted:Also, because I'm not clear on this: Is mouthing during playtime something that just happens? She's pretty good at not doing it when we're not playing, but if we start playing/wrestling she starts to mouth sometimes and I don't know if that's something I should be actively working against or if it's normal dog behavior that's okay if she's not using any force.
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Oct 19, 2012 19:11
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Splat posted:I am back with more questions! Check her out next time she's laying down with you and see if she's just getting pee on her undersection or legs - you should be able to smell it. If she's actually peeing in her crate, you should be able to see it stain on any lining that's in there. quote:Also, because I'm not clear on this: Is mouthing during playtime something that just happens? She's pretty good at not doing it when we're not playing, but if we start playing/wrestling she starts to mouth sometimes and I don't know if that's something I should be actively working against or if it's normal dog behavior that's okay if she's not using any force. In addition to Rixatrix's post, just make sure you're consistent about what is and isn't okay. If mouthing is not okay with you, stop the game immediately and disengage.
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Oct 19, 2012 19:18
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So how much do you guys worry about over-exercising your puppies? I saw this blog post from a vet: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/purelypuppy/2011/june/how_much_exercise_is_too_much_for_my_puppy quote:However, there is evidence to support that there is an increase in the severity and incidence of elbow dysplasia and OCD in dogs who experienced "forced exercise" before their growth plates closed. Note that OCD is not obsessive compulsive disorder! Clients usually look shocked and laugh uncomfortably when joint OCD, which stands for Osteochondritis Dessicans, comes up. OCD is basically growth abnormalities in the cartilage that can cause lameness. My family has a 13 week old Shiba Inu puppy and we've been allowing her supervised off leash play in the fenced back yard, along with a 10 year old Sheltie. This includes Frisbee, ball chasing, flirt pole chasing and a little bit of play with the older dog. She does sprint around a lot, but only when she feels like it. Should we really be avoiding this? How much voluntary running around is excessive? We also take her for walks, but seems to have much more of a risk of "forced exercise", so we've tried to be careful about overdoing those. It could be hard to tire out a puppy if we can't let her play.
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Oct 20, 2012 15:36
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I'm having trouble finding a harness I like. The one I got at the Humane Society was too loose in the neck and then Beartato got his leg caught in the harness and I had to cut the harness off. I like the step in harness I got, but he seems confused as to how to put it on. I got a Kong harness and I like the idea of the chest plate, but I don't like the way it sits on him. Does anyone have recommendations?
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Oct 21, 2012 07:06
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Dogdoo 8 posted:I'm having trouble finding a harness I like. The one I got at the Humane Society was too loose in the neck and then Beartato got his leg caught in the harness and I had to cut the harness off. I like the step in harness I got, but he seems confused as to how to put it on. I got a Kong harness and I like the idea of the chest plate, but I don't like the way it sits on him. Does anyone have recommendations? I bought this as Cooper's first harness:  The handle is incredibly useful to control a puppy. The back clips are super easy but the neck strap does need to be adjusted to take on and off. Three Olives fucked around with this message at 09:00 on Oct 21, 2012 |
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Oct 21, 2012 08:57
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Scrubber posted:My family has a 13 week old Shiba Inu puppy and we've been allowing her supervised off leash play in the fenced back yard, along with a 10 year old Sheltie. This includes Frisbee, ball chasing, flirt pole chasing and a little bit of play with the older dog. She does sprint around a lot, but only when she feels like it. IANAV, but in my opinion... Walking is fine, light flirt pole is fine, playing with other dogs is fine, fetch/frisbee is fine... in moderation. Unless you have an intense, drivey pup like a herding breed or something that will literally run itself into the ground, you can generally let the puppy decide when it's had enough. Just use your head, give the dog plenty of breaks, and don't do high impact repetitive movements (like jogging or biking on pavement or road) until the dog is at least a year or more old, depending on its size. If you weren't able to do anything at all with a puppy, everyone would kill theirs. There's always a risk with any exercise with a dog, especially anything involving fast movement or high impact, but if you're sensible you should be fine (IANAV). Dogdoo 8 posted:I'm having trouble finding a harness I like. The one I got at the Humane Society was too loose in the neck and then Beartato got his leg caught in the harness and I had to cut the harness off. I like the step in harness I got, but he seems confused as to how to put it on. I got a Kong harness and I like the idea of the chest plate, but I don't like the way it sits on him. Does anyone have recommendations? I have a trixie fleece padded harness for my JRT. The padding means she can pull as much as she wants on a bike, when jogging, etc, without it rubbing against her. I'm pretty sure you can get them in America (under a different name maybe?) and I love my one. It does depend on what kind of harness you like/whether Beartato is a puller or not, too, as to what kind of harnesses would be best!
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Oct 21, 2012 09:41
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