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Sucrose, your dog loved you and you did your absolute best. Cry as long as you need to. What's a good dog harness? I'm seeing cheap/well-reviewed options on amazon, but want to hear goon input before I buy anything.
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Apr 30, 2018 11:24
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Update: I went for this rabbitgoo harness. It's got good reviews, looks like it'll fit my pooch, and has the right kind of clip design. Fingers crossed it helps with the squirrels!
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Apr 30, 2018 13:25
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Gentle leader > harness all day err’day.
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Apr 30, 2018 13:46
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boop the snoot posted:Gentle leader > harness all day err’day. Hmm, I might pick that up. Relieved to see that the prices for these things are pretty good!
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Apr 30, 2018 13:53
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StrixNebulosa posted:Hmm, I might pick that up. Relieved to see that the prices for these things are pretty good! Its not as comfortable for your pup since it goes over their snout, but it’s a lot more effective at making walks pleasant. I could let a toddler walk Monty* after using the gentle leader for the last several years. *i could but I won’t don’t @ me
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Apr 30, 2018 13:58
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boop the snoot posted:Its not as comfortable for your pup since it goes over their snout, but it’s a lot more effective at making walks pleasant. I could let a toddler walk Monty* after using the gentle leader for the last several years. I went ahead and bought one! I'm thinking I'll use the harness for the walks on the long lead in my back fields - he can range freely and do what he wants, and if he pulls it won't hit his neck. I can use the gentle leader for walks on the normal leash, and get good behavior. Thanks!
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Apr 30, 2018 14:03
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I'm sold on the gentle leader. My mom had knee surgery not too long ago and she finished her physical therapy. Now she just needs to get walking more. She already thinks walking with the dogs is more fun than just walking by herself since they're fun to watch and she gets to take breaks when they've found something particularly interesting to sniff. I worked at walking nicely on the leash with my first dog when I first got her and she was really good for awhile. But then I got lazy with reinforcement after I got the second dog last August. I wanted Dog2 to get adjusted, then I moved and she was on reduced activity due to heartworm treatments for a while. Dog2 is a little poo poo and takes walks like a drunk bumblebee. They've been getting their exercise playing with each other in a fenced in yard. I watched the videos on the gentle leader website and I'm pretty confident I can easily get them used to it. I've got them harnesses that go on over their heads and then snap around behind their their front legs. They're used to me grabbing their snoots and putting something on them before walk time. It shouldn't be hard to put the gentle leader on then twice a day for mealtime to get them used to it. My only concern is I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to rush it. My gentle leaders should be here Thursday afternoon and I'm going to want to walk the dogs with my mom this weekend. I'm just going to have to try to let them be buttholes on the leash this weekend and resign myself to deal with them dragging me around the neighborhood at my mom's pace. The harnesses are still aces though for camping. I think they're still the best for putting them on a long lead in a stationary place.
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May 1, 2018 01:57
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My dog still pulls with the Gentle Leader but it’s definitely reduced. The best advice I found was to reverse when they pull. Turning the other direction wasn’t as effective with my dog.
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May 1, 2018 02:17
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Like turn completely around and go home?
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May 1, 2018 02:43
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Just walk backwards until the dog turns to face you then go forward again. Repeat roughly a quadrillion times. I still do the turn maneuver (in a large circle usually) but Barley is hip to that and knows we always end up going the way we were initially... I should do more training with no destination in mind.
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May 1, 2018 04:02
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I figured. Do you think I should try walking the assholes separately? They've both got they're special ways of being terrible. I could fight one in the morning and one in the evening until they both get with the program.
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May 1, 2018 04:15
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Yes, I would train them separately. Especially if you do any treating to reinforce the heel position. That turns into chaos with 2 dogs. (And I don’t even bother with positioning, not dragging me into traffic is enough of a challenge for my dog.)
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May 1, 2018 04:20
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I'd like to report in that the harness and gentle leader arrived yesterday, and while I haven't tried the gentle leader yet, the harness is working perfectly. It fits, he's comfortable in it. Mind you, I have to have someone hold his collar so I can put it over his head, because he hates that part, but once it's on he's totally comfortable. Here's the cool part: this morning I took him for a mile walk along the road, like normal, and not once did I have to drag him away from anything. Some gentle tugs, and once a firm pull while I kept walking, and he respected that! There was no arguing over what he wanted to do, and I love it. Now, we'll have to see if this sticks, once he's fully used to walking with this thing, but for now - promising! Very promising! And mind you, I'm not averse to letting him stick his head in the giant drainage pipes or inspecting roadkill, but I also like a brisk walk, so no, we won't spend ten minutes inspecting guts. e: Oh, and a note about the harness: it's sturdy and cute and has a mini-handle on the back, which I can use to move him. I really, really like it!
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May 5, 2018 14:10
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Any tips for getting dogs to share kongs? E- I'll probably take then out if circulation for a few months while they learn to love each other
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May 6, 2018 02:53
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I only spent a couple of days getting my dogs used to the gentle leader before taking them on a walk. They were being really tolerant of me putting it on them in the house when feeding them or giving them a bunch of treats. They were really easy to fit, probably because they've both got long pointy snoots and really short fur. We tried fitting one on my friend's shorter nosed floof monster and he just wasn't having any of it. And I walked them both together. My bigger dog immediately got with the program. She's always been better on the leash. The little dog is way more of a turd but even she was being cool by the end of the walk.
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May 9, 2018 02:24
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Hey all, My wife and I recently adopted a lab mix rescue. He is healthy and happy and things are going pretty well so far! However he is only two months old and I’ve never raised a lab, or had a dog this young. I have some concerns and wanted to get some advice: First off, my wife works from home and I am able to work from home twice a week or more. We’re able to stay with the puppy pretty much constantly. This is awesome, but might(?) feed into issues with him being a little furry alligator. Being a Labrador, of course he’s going to be obsessed with getting stuff in his mouth. But because he’s a rescue we don’t know how much time he’s spent with mom or his littermates, and doesn’t have great bite strength control. He’s been biting pretty hard, especially if he’s excited. We’ve been trying to react and “lose interest” (“OUCH!” and walk away). We’ll also try to redirect his interest into a number of toys he likes, but once he starts going for flesh or clothing he seems to lose interest in the toy he was just playing with or anything but the highest value treats. If we just turn away from him and stop playing he’ll go nuts and grab at clothes, arms, legs, etc. If we step over the puppy gate and out of the room he gets EXTREMELY anxious. He’ll whine and howl, or pee, etc. When we go back to him, he’ll go back to chomping. He doesn’t have problems being alone otherwise - he sleeps and naps in his crate like a champ, even if we're asleep upstairs. I’m thinking because we’re around him so much, we’re giving him a “if I’m awake it's playtime” mindset. He also has a lot of difficulty calming down and napping on his own. We've had to do an enforced, crated naptime (which he doesn't seem to mind at all. He whined a bit the first few times and now he almost immediately goes to sleep) My gut says this is just how labs do, and if we stay the course he’ll mellow out in a while (although I’m not looking forward to teething). I wonder, though, if anyone has advice with labradors/very nippy puppies, are there guidelines I should follow? My fear is that I’m going to either inadvertently encourage or not otherwise redirect this behavior and wind up with a 60 pound land shark.  pictured: a good boy whomst do a chomp
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May 10, 2018 17:22
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I don't have any time-tested advice for you, I'm afraid, but what I'd try first would be some obedience training. My dog was older when I adopted him (about a year), but had similar neediness issues, and I found what really helped was teaching him to Down->Stay and leaving him like that for a period of time. Like, I'd be sitting at my computer, he'd be next to me, I'd tell him down, then stay, then turn to the computer and ignore him. At the start I couldn't go five seconds without him grumbling and breaking the down, but we gradually improved his patience and eventually got to where he'd stay more or less indefinitely, like 1-2 minutes. Eventually he'd forget that he was on command and wander off. But the training did wonders for his patience in general. I don't know how effective obedience training will be on a two-month-old, but I dimly recall hearing that there's no real harm in starting it early so long as you don't expect too much from the dog.
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May 10, 2018 17:35
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I've also only adopted young adult dogs so I've never lived with a puppy. I've had a couple of friends get puppies and holy hell do they have a lot of energy.
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May 10, 2018 19:39
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deep web creep posted:Hey all, A lot of dogs do this, my pitbull mix did it as well, we got him a little older (7 months) but he was mouthy (still is when he gets excited), just keep doing what you're doing and he'll learn. He's young so it will take time for him to learn, as he gets older he'll pick things up quicker especially once you learn how to communicate better with each other.
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May 10, 2018 20:16
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The new dude I got does that. Thankfully I can just walk away and the old dog has to deal with it.
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May 10, 2018 21:26
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Thanks everyone, I'll stay the course and work on sit/down/stay. And keep the bactine on hand, I guess.
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May 11, 2018 00:01
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The Fenzi Dog Sport Academy online (which I plug a lot because I really like it) has a free ebook geared towards sports puppies but it has good info for any puppy. Including an article on biting! Biting is just part of the awful puppy package though. You would strangle them if they weren't so darn cute.
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May 11, 2018 02:54
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Just an observation: I've read the last ~20 pages of this ancient megathread and there's this odd thing happening where you guys push crate training but at the same time there's this pervading implication from many of you that confinement and punishment are the same thing, and that you shouldn't crate or otherwise physically isolate a puppy or dog that's play biting. Given how many puppies lose their homes because they bite, it worried me to read over and over new owners come in here frazzled about biting and get told to just walk away (lol, k) or make a high-pitched yelp and to NOT crate the dog. They shouldn't crate a dog that is overexcited and biting because that teaches him to fear or hate the crate. Hmm. Enough people come in here saying the redirection method, the "OUCH" method and the walk away method aren't working that it needs to be acknowledged. And it is acknowledged here but only like, halfway. People are told puppies bite you'll live get over it; but at the same time they're being told not to utilize the crate for the effective tool that it is, something that can make it easier to get through tough developmental or transitional stages when it comes to new dogs. Being in a highly excited state isn't very conducive to training/learning to behave nicely or play gently. That is stuff that is gonna take a lot of time. And the whole point of the crate is that the dog has a safe place to go--or be put--when they need to calm themselves down. It's to preserve everyone's sanity. They don't know it's punishment for biting unless you have a punitive attitude that they pick up on, so why should it "ruin" the crate for your dog? You're not scolding or punishing. Give them a toy/treat and let them out after a few minutes to try again--this time paying more attention to the dog's behavior and when you see signs they're getting too excited, stop interactive play before things get rough. Would it be considered punishment to crate an adult dog that goes nuts at the door when company comes over? I wouldn't even consider that a "time out" I'd think of it as not setting up the dog to fail. Confinement when they need to calm themselves is a legit part of crate training a puppy or new dog. Like, it's the main part. A crate is literally confinement. It just bothers me because so many dogs lose their homes because of the biting phase or unrealistic expectations in general that I hate to see a tool being taken away from people that could help their puppy/rescue situation be a success
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May 11, 2018 08:47
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Dumb seasonal question: it's hot outside! What are signs of dehydration/overheating should I look for? Does every dog need to spend time in a tub of cold water? etc etc
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May 14, 2018 21:39
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shits.ridic posted:Just an observation: I've read the last ~20 pages of this ancient megathread and there's this odd thing happening where you guys push crate training but at the same time there's this pervading implication from many of you that confinement and punishment are the same thing, and that you shouldn't crate or otherwise physically isolate a puppy or dog that's play biting.
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May 14, 2018 21:46
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StrixNebulosa posted:Dumb seasonal question: it's hot outside! What are signs of dehydration/overheating should I look for? Does every dog need to spend time in a tub of cold water? etc etc Heavy panting, lethargy, excessive drooling. When I’m outside with my mutts in the yard there’s always a full bowl of ice water in a shady spot. They also have cots next to the house where it stays shady if they want to rest. If we’re out for a walk there are a lot of dog water bottles available that are easy for them to drink from.
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May 15, 2018 00:30
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Super Grocery Kart posted:Heavy panting, lethargy, excessive drooling. When I’m outside with my mutts in the yard there’s always a full bowl of ice water in a shady spot. They also have cots next to the house where it stays shady if they want to rest. If we’re out for a walk there are a lot of dog water bottles available that are easy for them to drink from. Perfect, thanks!
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May 15, 2018 00:36
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StrixNebulosa posted:Dumb seasonal question: it's hot outside! What are signs of dehydration/overheating should I look for? Does every dog need to spend time in a tub of cold water? etc etc The dog spontaneously combusting should be taken as a sign that they need water.
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May 16, 2018 16:43
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I got a kiddie pool for my dogs. My new favorite dumb thing is to toss frozen blueberries in the water so they can go bobbing for blueberries.
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May 16, 2018 16:53
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For those of you who have to crate one dog do you find it helpful to have two crates? The old dog who doesn't need it keeps hopping in the puppy's crate for a treat when I'm trying to train him. Not sure if this is a net + or -
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May 16, 2018 19:40
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I have 2 dogs, one who gets crated every day and one who doesn't. I do have two crates. Occasionally It'll be convenient to crate the other dog too and I like to have the extra crate just in case. I have the space but both crates collapse if I want to store them.
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May 16, 2018 20:00
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Warbird posted:The dog spontaneously combusting should be taken as a sign that they need water. Excuse me this is discrimination against the hellhound breed, which does not need water if they are on fire  GoodBee posted:I got a kiddie pool for my dogs. My new favorite dumb thing is to toss frozen blueberries in the water so they can go bobbing for blueberries. ...I wanna do this....
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May 16, 2018 20:27
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Hey! My puppo (greyhound/pit) has some pretty bad may allergies and I had been reading that cetrizine is safe for him; can someone recommend a dose for a 45 pounder? I have the 10mg pills ((for my highly sniffly cat and myself)), generic, with no decongestant.  Bonus: after sneezing in his sleep. It's his first actual summer ((pound assumed he was born in May last year)) and he is so itchy. I had no idea pitties had such sensitive skin.  sorry little guy! PS- I saw harness talk a bit back; we use the easy walk harness. It leads from the front of his chest so if the little rear end in a top hat tugs too hard it turns him around. It's really useful considering how small I am and how strong he is. I don't know if it's just his pit or if it's the mixture but his legs are powerful as hell. Freakbox fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Jun 1, 2018 |
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Jun 1, 2018 22:09
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Freakbox posted:Hey! My puppo (greyhound/pit) has some pretty bad may allergies and I had been reading that cetrizine is safe for him; can someone recommend a dose for a 45 pounder? I have the 10mg pills ((for my highly sniffly cat and myself)), generic, with no decongestant. That is a super cute dog! Every pit/pitmix I've had has had allergies of some kind, one was actually allergic to grass, the poor dog. I'd probably start with either half a pill once a day or a whole pill, what kind of Cetrizine do you have? If it's in Zyrtec form it appears Zyrtec-D can actually be toxic to dogs. *edit* Does your dog take any other meds/supplements? It wouldn't hurt to call your vet and ask them about this, I'm sure they'd be willing to give you a heads up about it as well without making you come in for a visit. MF_James fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Jun 1, 2018 |
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Jun 1, 2018 23:00
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MF_James posted:That is a super cute dog! Every pit/pitmix I've had has had allergies of some kind, one was actually allergic to grass, the poor dog. He takes comboguard, and there's no decongestant in it! One of my cats takes half a pill (5mg) a day because her allergies are severe and her once-broken nose can get stuffed up to the point that she gets genuinely distressed, so no decongestants.  They happen to be best friends  . I guess they're allergy buddies. More pictures because I'm weak:  He has the longest drat legs  
Freakbox fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Jun 1, 2018 |
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Jun 1, 2018 23:17
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Gentle leader trip report: it's working great for my hound dog who already had decent leash manners, just a tendency to try to drag people around the neighborhood with her harness. Part of that was probably because I would walk faster when it was just the two of us but now my parents can walk comfortably with her. My little turd of a terrier mix isn't doing as well with it though. She's always had lovely leash manners and it's been slow working with her and walking my hound dog too. I'm hoping we can make better progress now that I can get someone else to walk the hound dog with us. My mom thinks she zig zags like a spaz because she's got a bad eye and she wants to look at everything with her good eye. I think she's just a little poo poo who never had any training. The terrier mix does do better off leash than the hound. The little dog will go between the house, yard and car no problem and stay put if I ask her to. The hound wants to run down the street, take herself for a walk and generally want to be a nuisance. Freakbox posted:Hey! My puppo (greyhound/pit) has some pretty bad may allergies and I had been reading that cetrizine is safe for him; can someone recommend a dose for a 45 pounder? I have the 10mg pills ((for my highly sniffly cat and myself)), generic, with no decongestant. Since you mentioned it, I don't have a sniffle pup but I do have a sniffle kitty. We tried chlorpheniramine maleate but that hasn't had any noticeable effect. I'm going to ask my vet about cetrizine. How big is your cat, what's your dosage and how often? How much does it help?
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Jun 1, 2018 23:38
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GoodBee posted:Since you mentioned it, I don't have a sniffle pup but I do have a sniffle kitty. We tried chlorpheniramine maleate but that hasn't had any noticeable effect. I'm going to ask my vet about cetrizine. How big is your cat, what's your dosage and how often? How much does it help? She is about 17-18 pounds (a bit chubby, we know. She's a food hoarder after being abandoned, we think) and takes one half pill (5 mg) a day, which I think is the maximum safe dose for cats. It helps her a lot! She was so bad snot just ran down her face and she wheezed when she slept*. She breathes easier on it. ((*- TL;DR rant: she WAS a neighbor's cat. Her nose was "accidentally" broken by a shovel when she was younger, and she was declawed for scratching the curtains  . When she continued to show stress behavior they threw her outside. In Oklahoma. In a neighborhood with an active coyote population. I found her literally freezing to death in my garage during a blizzard and stole her. The neighbors are aware. I told them they're poo poo cat owners and were free to take her back if they paid me for her hefty emergency vet bill and vaccinations...which she apparently didn't have. They declined and whined about her biting- she is now my cat. Maybe she bit you because you're douchebags, guys.  She's the sweetest cat ever.))
Freakbox fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Jun 1, 2018 |
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Jun 1, 2018 23:50
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Awww. Poor sweetie. My orange cat has always been snotty. He just wants love and to sneeze disgusting snot rockets all over everyone. My little dog cleans his face. It's super cute. Especially since the dog isn't licking my face and the cat isn't sneezing on me. I want them to be better friends. I'm going to ask my vet about cetrizine for the cat. Thanks!
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Jun 1, 2018 23:59
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Please PYF recommendations for a leather collar for a 14" neck (beagle)? Found a nice one but some reviews complain that the strap after the buckle leaves a super long tail if you buy the medium size for smaller-end dogs.
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Jun 7, 2018 19:44
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Nothing stops you from cutting the extra length off the collar. I guess the collar might degrade faster than usual since the newly-cut end won't have any stitching, but it'd probably still last a few years at least. I usually go for nylon collars, which can be cut with a hot knife.
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Jun 7, 2018 19:56
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