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Ulio
Feb 17, 2011


Not a dog owner, I was wondering are adoption centers giving pitbulls away for free? I've seen a large increase in pitbulls in my province, of course I live in a place they aren't banned...

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WhiteHowler
Apr 3, 2001

I'M HUGE!

Ulio posted:

Not a dog owner, I was wondering are adoption centers giving pitbulls away for free? I've seen a large increase in pitbulls in my province, of course I live in a place they aren't banned...

In many cities the COVID-era adoption boom is finally reversing, and shelters are seeing a flood of 3-5 year old dogs. One of my friends volunteers at a no-kill shelter in Atlanta, and they've had to stop accepting dogs for the first time in several years. She said it's the same story all over the city.

Pit bulls are more difficult to adopt out than other breeds because of a mostly* undeserved reputation of being dangerous or aggressive. They tend to make up the majority of dogs for adoption in a lot of shelters, so it wouldn't surprise me if they waived fees to try to get some of them into good homes.


* It would be completely undeserved, except that too many people see pit bulls as status dogs (ie. "I have this badass dangerous dog") and turn out to be lovely owners.

Dango Bango
Jul 26, 2007

WhiteHowler posted:

* It would be completely undeserved, except that too many people see pit bulls as status dogs (ie. "I have this badass dangerous dog") and turn out to be lovely owners.

Pitbulls are the lifted truck of dogs

Ragnar Gunvald
May 13, 2015

Cool and good.
Those kind of owners are the reason we have recently had a dumb ban on XL bullies in the UK. Nothing at all wrong with the breed, they're not inherently bad dogs or dog breed. It's the dumb cunts who own them and think they look cool without training their dogs to do anything but be aggressive..

Harvey Mantaco
Mar 6, 2007

Someone please help me find my keys =(
Yeah our little half-pittie is beyond sweet, but it's true that the kind of person buying a dog as a masculine accessory that mistreats it is going to default to certain breeds because of the surrounding culture.

Why couldn't it be chihuahuas.

the holy poopacy
May 16, 2009

hey! check this out
Fun Shoe
When we first rescued our dog she had a hard time making it 8 hours without peeing so we'd take her outside frequently and made a point of taking her out right before bed. Now she's in a happier and healthier place and only actually wants to pee 3 or 4 times tops and her last pee is 9:00 but she's still internalized that before we get ready for bed I'm supposed to take her outside so she can immediately beeline for the door and stare at me until I take her back inside.

AtomikKrab
Jul 17, 2010

Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

WhiteHowler posted:

In many cities the COVID-era adoption boom is finally reversing, and shelters are seeing a flood of 3-5 year old dogs. One of my friends volunteers at a no-kill shelter in Atlanta, and they've had to stop accepting dogs for the first time in several years. She said it's the same story all over the city.

Pit bulls are more difficult to adopt out than other breeds because of a mostly* undeserved reputation of being dangerous or aggressive. They tend to make up the majority of dogs for adoption in a lot of shelters, so it wouldn't surprise me if they waived fees to try to get some of them into good homes.


* It would be completely undeserved, except that too many people see pit bulls as status dogs (ie. "I have this badass dangerous dog") and turn out to be lovely owners.

My neighbor has two and the biggest danger to me is them headbutting me in the crotch by accident while trying to lick me to death.

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye
More Newton updates and questions.

I got Newton a bed that I put in the spot where his crate was and put is crate in a slightly different part of the room. He can now choose between the security of the crate or the bed and he actually had been spending some time on the bed.



My mom stopped by to see Newton and give him a bit more socialization. He definitely likes her, and once we got in the back yard he ran around a bit and actually played with us.

That evening my friend came over with her chiweenie. He’s a calm, confident dog who I have cared for in the past so he knows me and my house well. After a cautious, leashed introduction in the back yard (neutral ground), Newton’s tail immediately went up and into full wag mode. We took the leashes off and they had a great time running around and playing for about 20 minutes.

We got them back inside and Newton’s apprehensions were significantly diminished having a confident playmate. He was more enthusiastic about treats, explored a lot more of the house, and was super interested in the other dog. Only stumbling blocks were Newton catching the chiweenie with a right hook when they were playing with a toy, causing a yelp, and I saw Newton’s lip start to lift a tiny bit when I gave the chiweenie a treat. I guess that’s not too surprising given his past but something to keep in mind.

I took Newton out for another walk in the backyard later and when he got to his favorite spot he had a lot more energy again. His tail didn’t go up like it did earlier but it was not as far down, but he’ll run around and do some zooms.

However I got a little concerned and confused at his behavior when he is in his favorite spot. When I took a step he’d stomp and woof at me, then run/pace around the area he feels safest. Any more sudden movements I made would result in more stomping and woofing. Thinking it was a play bow and he wanted to play I would stomp a bit myself which would encourage him. His barks would be a little bit growly and deep. It would occasionally turn into full-on zoomie circles, but in general, it doesn’t look like the play he would do with my mom or my friend or the chiweenie, which involved no barking or stomping, just play-bows and running and chasing.

I stood right in the middle of this area, still and calm, and eventually he settled down. When he was totally calm I pet him and gave him a treat.

Newton doesn’t totally trust me yet and that’s totally fine and normal. And he likes my mom and my friend a lot because they are short, non-threatening women who don’t do terrible mean things to him like make him leave my room to go outside or then come back inside. Just wondering if I should be concerned about this behavior and if it sounds like territoriality or something since he only does it in his safe space.

There is a well-reviewed dog training place near me I’ll take him to soon for an evaluation and some lessons in any case since I’m not totally sure what I’m doing yet obvs

Flesh Forge
Jan 31, 2011

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY DOG
just a guess here but very high drive dogs (as huskies tend to be) can sometimes get into a Work Mode that is very different from Play Mode, and maybe that's manifesting that way with the behavior at the tree. If you are bringing the Really Good Treats in that situation maybe consider some less excitable treats, like plain kibble, and hand them out a little less predictably. Darla would get super focused when she thought it was Work Time and it could be hard to get her to come down from that. Here's a couple of videos that I thought were pretty helpful teaching her to just be chill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wesm2OpE_2c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1olzgidMw

HootTheOwl
May 13, 2012

Hootin and shootin
There's no bad dogs, only bad owners, but some dogs are easier to have bad owners.
But also we already have plenty of dogs so maybe we should stop making certain dogs.
Yes I'm a doggy eugenicist,I wasn't, until I saw what a pug skull looked like and it's clear we just can't be trusted any more

Ragnar Gunvald
May 13, 2015

Cool and good.

HootTheOwl posted:

There's no bad dogs, only bad owners, but some dogs are easier to have bad owners.
But also we already have plenty of dogs so maybe we should stop making certain dogs.
Yes I'm a doggy eugenicist,I wasn't, until I saw what a pug skull looked like and it's clear we just can't be trusted any more

You're absolutely right. It's why, even though I wanted an English Bulldog, as I feel it's something all of us English should have some experience with at some point as it's a bit of a national icon in some ways and I hardly ever see them here, I just couldn't get one because of how they're bred. I didn't want to contribute to any of that, it's awful how English Bulldogs can't give birth naturally etc so we opted for Old English, which is odd as it's technically an American breed. But they're so much healthier and have a much better quality of life, esp with summer heat and just you know, breathing in general.

Don't get me wrong, the breed still has health issues, but it's far less than the old school type.

Shugojin
Sep 6, 2007

THE TAIL THAT BURNS TWICE AS BRIGHT...


HootTheOwl posted:

There's no bad dogs, only bad owners, but some dogs are easier to have bad owners.
But also we already have plenty of dogs so maybe we should stop making certain dogs.
Yes I'm a doggy eugenicist,I wasn't, until I saw what a pug skull looked like and it's clear we just can't be trusted any more

For sure, pit bulls, rottweilers, etc have bad raps because one of the things about dogs is they get restless if you don't engage with them and be properly The Leader (which does not need to involve any major dominance things, simply being quietly and calmly indomitable is better than trying to engage in so-called Alpha poo poo), and larger dogs are more dangerous if they aren't controlled.

Akitas are also in here, and finding one at a shelter was more or less life changing for me and I'm apprehensively looking forward to my puppy in ~5ish weeks.

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye
Newton updates:

He actually came out of his crate to see me when I got home last night after being out for a few hours. He lays on his bed for pets and attention and really got into some head scratches (he pushes his head into my fingers like a cat if I get him right between his ear and his eyebrow). As he has gotten more comfortable with me, the angry scary stompies have gone away and he’s playing with me like a normal happy dog would and not a feral coyote. I think it was a combination of energy and still being apprehensive about me earlier. Or maybe I successfully discouraged it by not playing with him when he did it.

I also started putting his food bowl away if he didn’t finish the food. I used to feed him at regular hours but would leave the food out if he didn’t finish the food and he’d pick at it through the day. Now he gets 1/2 hour to eat and when he’s done the bowl gets put away if he doesn’t finish all of it. He’s not eating any more or less but it seems to have increased his desire for food and treats which has made tempting him out of the crate easier. Becoming more relaxed has probably also increased his food drive.

Getting him out for bathroom breaks has still been challenging. He has a great time once he is outside, and he’s relaxed beforehand. But something about getting him out of the room and to the kitchen makes him very nervous still, and as soon as he gets nervous all desire for food is gone. Once we get back in from running around and doing business, he doesn’t immediately go into his crate. He’ll hang out on the bed or sometimes in the living room; he actually spent a half hour with me the other night in the living room getting pets.

I can only hope to someday achieve similar levels of comfiness



Edit: also did some more research about the training place I mentioned earlier and decided against it. Most of their courses involve you leaving the dog there and picking up later as well as doing some one on one with the trainer. They also offer boarding. They have hundreds of positive google reviews but quite a few negative yelp reviews, most of which are about their boarding services (and a couple about their training). It’s very expensive, they have a super slick website, and it and seems to cater towards people who want to have somebody else do all the work; I want to pay somebody else to show me what to do based on Newton’s specific needs.

i own every Bionicle fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Dec 18, 2023

COOKIE DELIGHT
Jun 24, 2006
I guess you could say..I was born naturally influent.
Sounds like it's going really well!

The trainers near me require you to leave the dog for two weeks and it was way, way out of budget for us. There's a couple great YouTube trainers but it quickly becomes a full time hobby researching and putting it all into practice.

Still, I think it's worth it to work on communication and engagement as soon as you are able. We did that by hand feeding the dinner portion of her daily kibble intake by playing games like hide and seek or tossing handfuls of kibble for her to chase. Turning engagement into a game and then working towards the more boring behavior stuff really helps to grow your bond.

The video posted up thread about rewarding calm behaviors from Kikopup is also really, really great. I also like Will Atherton's engagement/leash videos , but fair warning, he's an advocate of 'balanced training' with slip leads and prong collars where absolutely necessary (like large aggressive breeds that need behavior correction). Jamie the Dog Trainer on Facebook has a bunch of great short videos also.

That might be all really basic and obvious stuff but hopefully it helps out some. Our ~15 month old husky didn't know anything and seemed like no one had ever bonded or paid her much attention but became very coachable and she's doing wonderfully after 3 months.

Instant Jellyfish
Jul 3, 2007

Actually not a fish.



For an anxious dog you really don’t want to do anything but positive reinforcement training (I feel the same way for any dog but doubly so for anxious ones!). There are very, very few board and train programs that I would ever trust a dog with. If you want to post your general area I’d be happy to help find a good trainer to work with Newton :) I always think it’s a good idea to go through a basics class with a new dog, if only for the personal support.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
"Board and train" always struck me as a weird idea, because at least half of the point of training is to teach you how to behave to get the dog to do what you want.

alg
Mar 14, 2007

A wolf was no less a wolf because a whim of chance caused him to run with the watch-dogs.

i own every Bionicle posted:

Edit: also did some more research about the training place I mentioned earlier and decided against it. Most of their courses involve you leaving the dog there and picking up later as well as doing some one on one with the trainer. They also offer boarding. They have hundreds of positive google reviews but quite a few negative yelp reviews, most of which are about their boarding services (and a couple about their training). It’s very expensive, they have a super slick website, and it and seems to cater towards people who want to have somebody else do all the work; I want to pay somebody else to show me what to do based on Newton’s specific needs.

I would trust your gut; but I will say for us day training has worked really well. it isn't board and train, I drop Pochi off at 7:30 and pick her up at 5. She works with a behavior expert all morning and then a regular trainer in the afternoon. It has made a huge difference for us, she is like a different dog. The trainers provide us videos of each exercise and answer any questions, they will go over anything with us.

We also take Pochi to training classes once a week ourselves, and that has helped us, but we are just not as good at dog behavior as the experts.

Overall it is probably considered expensive, but it has been really really worth it for us. Her training facility is 100% positive reinforcement and they have taught us so much, but a lot of it has been exposing Pochi to new situations and getting her comfortable.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


i own every Bionicle posted:


Edit: also did some more research about the training place I mentioned earlier and decided against it. Most of their courses involve you leaving the dog there and picking up later as well as doing some one on one with the trainer. They also offer boarding. They have hundreds of positive google reviews but quite a few negative yelp reviews, most of which are about their boarding services (and a couple about their training). It’s very expensive, they have a super slick website, and it and seems to cater towards people who want to have somebody else do all the work; I want to pay somebody else to show me what to do based on Newton’s specific needs.

Look for someone certified through one of these places: https://www.ccpdt.org/ https://iaabc.org/ https://avsab.org/directory/. Or google 'Dog trainers (Your location)' and look for websites that mention a commitment to only positive reinforcement training, anyone who works with therapy dogs, or any kind of commitment to the principles of the above organizations. At least in my area they all seemed to know each other and finding one of them online (because dog trainers are not super online IME) cracked open a larger network. When the first one I found was too busy to help me with Pickwick, she instantly gave me 3 other names and one of those was able to help.

Given what I've read about Newton, I think one-on-one training might be best for him to start. Petsmart etc. have fine trainers (and for real, any good dog training is about training you to train your dog) IME but I found the group environment kind of stressful because Pickwick looooooves other dogs so I was spending much more of my mental energy on trying to keep him from being crazy than I was on paying attention to the trainer. It would be a bit more expensive, but having someone who could come to your house and see Newton in his natural environment would probably be very helpful to helping resolve some of his issues. I was really amazed when I took Pickwick to a really good IAABC trainer how she could read his body language. Her pointing out all those tiny cues in his behavior and body language really helped me 'read' him better and helped me work with him on my own.

devmd01
Mar 7, 2006

Elektronik
Supersonik
At the vet right now for routine shots, etc and Pongo is being an extremely good boy. The tech took him over to the scale in the lobby while I sat down way across the room. She could get him to sit, but he was still too wiggly wanting to give her kisses.

One “Pongo, stay” from me and he remained sitting and still so the measurement could happen.

I’m glad he is happy to show up at the vet, he pulled me to the door this time. The tech said he got lots of attention from everyone in the back because he is so sweet. Good boys get bacon.

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye
Thanks so much everybody. Newton and I are in southern New Hampshire. The first place I found was this place:

https://www.wolfpackcanine.com

They have a pretty slick website and they were helpful on the phone. Google reviews were good but not on Yelp. And the more I look at the sight the less I find regarding anything useful.

Then I found these people:

https://www.fortunatek9.com

Who clearly spend a lot less on their website and fake google reviews. The class structure and owner involvement seem closer to what I wanted. Still, no commitment to positive reinforcement only, and no accreditation from the organizations Kaiser mentioned, but the trainers do seem to have some info/accreditation.

I was able to find a handful of trainers within an hour of me with those organizations, I think I’ll give one of them a call.

I’m totally on board for day training as well if it fits. It’s just that now I don’t know what I’m doing and I really want to learn. And I’d love to have an in-home visit since Newton is so much different now versus 12 days ago when I got him, and I’d love the trainer to show me what I’m doing wrong in my own home vs just Newton somewhere else.

Pongo sounds amazing, congrats on such a well-behaved dog!

Edit: also, thanks Flesh Forge for those videos, they are helpful. I’ve been trying to reward him whenever he is doing what I want (when he will take the reward), not just when I try to give him a command.

i own every Bionicle fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Dec 18, 2023

Crooked Booty
Apr 2, 2009
arrr

i own every Bionicle posted:

Thanks so much everybody. Newton and I are in southern New Hampshire. The first place I found was this place:

https://www.wolfpackcanine.com

They have a pretty slick website and they were helpful on the phone. Google reviews were good but not on Yelp. And the more I look at the sight the less I find regarding anything useful.

Then I found these people:

https://www.fortunatek9.com

Who clearly spend a lot less on their website and fake google reviews. The class structure and owner involvement seem closer to what I wanted. Still, no commitment to positive reinforcement only, and no accreditation from the organizations Kaiser mentioned, but the trainers do seem to have some info/accreditation.
Yeah I would avoid both of these. The first one is a self-described "balanced" trainer meaning they use a lot of aversives like e-collars. The second place refers to positive reinforcement training as a fad. That's a nope from me, particularly for a dog like Newton.

Flesh Forge
Jan 31, 2011

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY DOG
Jumping on the bandwagon about being extremely leery of anybody using aversive methods on your dog without your involvement or supervision, in general and specifically for Newton. Not a big fan of "board and train" trainers either, you have the right idea about wanting to be involved in training your dog.

Shugojin
Sep 6, 2007

THE TAIL THAT BURNS TWICE AS BRIGHT...


Yeah, "board and train" is weird to me and I question its value. When I had to get training for Snowbell re her dog aggression because she was much more dog than I had ever had before (both physically and mentally), the value was in learning how I had to behave differently in order to have her behave differently. Board and train couldn't have done anything to help there.

The training helped and I did my part and got a very calm and confident dog for the rest of her life. Never got fully non-reactive toward other dogs - always kept an eye on them when we passed on walks - but was very easy to keep in control and moving forward instead of wanting to lunge.

Snowbell being an akita was definitely on the willful side of dog, but learning how to just be the chill and in charge person she expected is the kind of thing I think is fine for less willful breeds as well. It really was just learning to be what she would look at for guidance and then realize "oh you don't really care about that dog, it must be not that big of a deal after all".

Shugojin fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Dec 19, 2023

Ragnar Gunvald
May 13, 2015

Cool and good.
I actually want to start getting into some classes with Freja once we move house in a few months..

We made the mistake of over socialising her as a tiny puppy and she's very reactive because of it. Luckily we have worked on it the whole time and she's nowhere near as bad as she was 2/3 months ago but I'm sure we can still do more with the right help.


What I don't understand is how anxious she's starting to get. She's very jumpy and nervous and I've no idea why. She's been bitten twice, but both was her being over friendly and others dogs putting her in her place. Neither time seemed to bother her at the time let alone after but it's all I can think of. Again, something else for us to work with next year when we've moved house... Current concern is how bloody little she's eating all of a sudden though.

I've not given her, her 2nd meal this evening and she only had a little of last night's and had even less of this morning's food. She's her normal self so I'm not too worried at this stage, but it's certainly unusual. I'm hoping she's gonna have all her breakfast in the morning as she's had so little for the last 24 hours..

Instant Jellyfish
Jul 3, 2007

Actually not a fish.



i own every Bionicle posted:

Thanks so much everybody. Newton and I are in southern New Hampshire. The first place I found was this place:

https://www.wolfpackcanine.com

They have a pretty slick website and they were helpful on the phone. Google reviews were good but not on Yelp. And the more I look at the sight the less I find regarding anything useful.

Then I found these people:

https://www.fortunatek9.com

Who clearly spend a lot less on their website and fake google reviews. The class structure and owner involvement seem closer to what I wanted. Still, no commitment to positive reinforcement only, and no accreditation from the organizations Kaiser mentioned, but the trainers do seem to have some info/accreditation.

I was able to find a handful of trainers within an hour of me with those organizations, I think I’ll give one of them a call.

I’m totally on board for day training as well if it fits. It’s just that now I don’t know what I’m doing and I really want to learn. And I’d love to have an in-home visit since Newton is so much different now versus 12 days ago when I got him, and I’d love the trainer to show me what I’m doing wrong in my own home vs just Newton somewhere else.

Pongo sounds amazing, congrats on such a well-behaved dog!

Edit: also, thanks Flesh Forge for those videos, they are helpful. I’ve been trying to reward him whenever he is doing what I want (when he will take the reward), not just when I try to give him a command.

Not sure if any of these is actually near you but I dug up some options.

These folks look good: wonderpupdogtraining.com

And this one:
talentedcanineconnections.com

With dog things pretty much all the best folks have the absolute worst websites so don’t let that turn you off.

Instant Jellyfish
Jul 3, 2007

Actually not a fish.



Ragnar Gunvald posted:

I actually want to start getting into some classes with Freja once we move house in a few months..

We made the mistake of over socialising her as a tiny puppy and she's very reactive because of it. Luckily we have worked on it the whole time and she's nowhere near as bad as she was 2/3 months ago but I'm sure we can still do more with the right help.


What I don't understand is how anxious she's starting to get. She's very jumpy and nervous and I've no idea why. She's been bitten twice, but both was her being over friendly and others dogs putting her in her place. Neither time seemed to bother her at the time let alone after but it's all I can think of. Again, something else for us to work with next year when we've moved house... Current concern is how bloody little she's eating all of a sudden though.

I've not given her, her 2nd meal this evening and she only had a little of last night's and had even less of this morning's food. She's her normal self so I'm not too worried at this stage, but it's certainly unusual. I'm hoping she's gonna have all her breakfast in the morning as she's had so little for the last 24 hours..

She was recently in heat, wasn’t she? In the time after their heat cycle female dogs’ bodies don’t know they aren’t pregnant so their hormones still act like they might be. In some dogs phantom pregnancies can cause them to be lethargic or anxious or otherwise just kind of weird. Be on the lookout for any sign of discharge or excessive thirst because they’re most at risk for pyometra after their heat. If the lack of appetite keeps up I’d definitely at least have a chat with my vet about it.

She’s also just a teen and they go through phases of weird anxiety and sometimes reactivity as they start to figure out their place in the world. Their brains are still developing and usually you need to just be patient and work through it. Getting in touch with a good, positive reinforcement based trainer is always a good idea to help you navigate these phases though.

Ragnar Gunvald
May 13, 2015

Cool and good.

Instant Jellyfish posted:

She was recently in heat, wasn’t she? In the time after their heat cycle female dogs’ bodies don’t know they aren’t pregnant so their hormones still act like they might be. In some dogs phantom pregnancies can cause them to be lethargic or anxious or otherwise just kind of weird. Be on the lookout for any sign of discharge or excessive thirst because they’re most at risk for pyometra after their heat. If the lack of appetite keeps up I’d definitely at least have a chat with my vet about it.

She’s also just a teen and they go through phases of weird anxiety and sometimes reactivity as they start to figure out their place in the world. Their brains are still developing and usually you need to just be patient and work through it. Getting in touch with a good, positive reinforcement based trainer is always a good idea to help you navigate these phases though.

Yes, she recently finished being in heat. Phantom pregnancy did cross my mind, as did actual pregnancy after that other non leashed dog tried to mount her. It was only a few seconds so I doubt it's that, but the thought was there too.

She's being watched very closely right now and she's got a couple of days till I take her to the vets if she doesn't improve. Just to be cautious I guess.

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye

Instant Jellyfish posted:

Not sure if any of these is actually near you but I dug up some options.

These folks look good: wonderpupdogtraining.com

And this one:
talentedcanineconnections.com

With dog things pretty much all the best folks have the absolute worst websites so don’t let that turn you off.

Thank you, those are both within easy driving distance for me. And yeah good small businesses and bad websites often go together, they get so much business from word of mouth that the extra expense on a website doesn’t make sense.

MechaSeinfeld
Jan 2, 2008


whats peoples experiences with introducing their dog to cats? we just got a 10 month old rescue Lab, he had been adandoned by his first family and we just got him from a foster home recently. in the ad for him it mentioned that he showed no aggression toward other animals and didn't chase cats and he lived with two at the foster home. turns out he's pretty into chasing them whenever one of them breeches the introduction room. our house isnt small, but there aren't a lot of discreet rooms, so its tough to have a designated 'dog zone'. like, its been under a week of having him so Im not expecting it to be perfect and chill instantly obviously, but I think seeing the cats in distress is wearing my partner out. ive never had a dog until now so idk if its just naive to expect these critters to get along just by virtue of them being in proximity to each other.

HootTheOwl
May 13, 2012

Hootin and shootin
Does he want to play or eat them?

History Comes Inside!
Nov 20, 2004




Keep hold of him so he can’t chase them when they come into the room and let the cats do their thing, get him used to them just coming and going.

We also had cats before having dogs, they’ll now happily just sit and let the cats do whatever although sometimes the youngest will get up and chase after them when they’re leaving the room anyway because he’s a dummy, but they have plenty of places to go up out of his way and all he does if he does catch up to them is lick their faces until they get fed up enough to jump on something.

AlexDeGruven
Jun 29, 2007

Watch me pull my dongle out of this tiny box


I'm having to resist the temptation to add another dog after spending an evening with Mitch, a classic scruffy dog that just melted my heart the moment I saw him.

I love Jarvis's doodle bearded face, but something about that scruffy look is just :3:

MarcusSA
Sep 23, 2007

MechaSeinfeld posted:

whats peoples experiences with introducing their dog to cats? we just got a 10 month old rescue Lab, he had been adandoned by his first family and we just got him from a foster home recently. in the ad for him it mentioned that he showed no aggression toward other animals and didn't chase cats and he lived with two at the foster home. turns out he's pretty into chasing them whenever one of them breeches the introduction room. our house isnt small, but there aren't a lot of discreet rooms, so its tough to have a designated 'dog zone'. like, its been under a week of having him so Im not expecting it to be perfect and chill instantly obviously, but I think seeing the cats in distress is wearing my partner out. ive never had a dog until now so idk if its just naive to expect these critters to get along just by virtue of them being in proximity to each other.

When we did it we always made sure the cats had a safe space to get to but we really worked with the dog on leave it if she showed any interest in the cats. It took some work but now she doesn’t really even look at them.

It can be a lot of work but it will work in the end.

MechaSeinfeld
Jan 2, 2008


HootTheOwl posted:

Does he want to play or eat them?

Play, he’s just a giant stinky baby. He wants to eat the chickens tho.

History Comes Inside! posted:

Keep hold of him so he can’t chase them when they come into the room and let the cats do their thing, get him used to them just coming and going.

MarcusSA posted:

It can be a lot of work but it will work in the end.

Good stuff ty. Good to know that it will at some stage work out. My partner is worried we wouldn’t be able to train out his prey drive.

this whole thing is worthless without photos. Here’s how shiny he is

HootTheOwl
May 13, 2012

Hootin and shootin
If it's play then I would say keep working with him, and maybe the cats will stand up for themselves and take care of it.
Cats are known assholes

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye
That is a glossy dog

I had a great conversation yesterday with the second trainer that Instant Jellyfish found (talented canine). He does mostly at-home training which is perfect for me. We are doing a virtual session tomorrow to get started.

Also made a little more progress with Newton today. I had a rug down in the hallway that lead to the kitchen since he likes rugs more than hardwood. But he’d never get off the edge of the rug and make it out the door. Today I got rid of the rug and got him to come out of his crate and all the way outside by just moving his crate a bit in my room and being more patient. I’m hoping this gets easier.

He’s getting more comfortable on a leash, he used to lock up when I put it on him, now he will play a bit, just with less enthusiasm than when he is free. Still not following me and I can’t guide him with it. I’ve tried holding treats in front of him and gently tugging him towards it but if he doesn’t want to go he doesn’t want to go.

Alucard
Mar 11, 2002
Pillbug

MechaSeinfeld posted:

whats peoples experiences with introducing their dog to cats? we just got a 10 month old rescue Lab, he had been adandoned by his first family and we just got him from a foster home recently. in the ad for him it mentioned that he showed no aggression toward other animals and didn't chase cats and he lived with two at the foster home. turns out he's pretty into chasing them whenever one of them breeches the introduction room. our house isnt small, but there aren't a lot of discreet rooms, so its tough to have a designated 'dog zone'. like, its been under a week of having him so Im not expecting it to be perfect and chill instantly obviously, but I think seeing the cats in distress is wearing my partner out. ive never had a dog until now so idk if its just naive to expect these critters to get along just by virtue of them being in proximity to each other.

Don't mean to be a downer but it took us about 2 years to get our cat and dog (old cat, new puppy) to fully cohabitate unsupervised. We tried all the normal stuff but it took a while for our pup to calm down and not get super excited to harass her sister and chase her around (playful not aggressive) when the cat wanted nothing to do with it. She still gets a bit overexcited here and there but it's few and far between.

Good luck! And I agree that the leave it command training is extremely helpful as is any boundary training.

HootTheOwl
May 13, 2012

Hootin and shootin
I'm loving the Newton saga because it's post after post of this cute dog and IOEB showing so much worry he's broken the dog and the rest of us telling them they're doing fine be patient and then the next day we get a progress update of Newton doing better and better :3:

HootTheOwl
May 13, 2012

Hootin and shootin
It's like Goon Baby Race

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i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye

HootTheOwl posted:

I'm loving the Newton saga because it's post after post of this cute dog and IOEB showing so much worry he's broken the dog and the rest of us telling them they're doing fine be patient and then the next day we get a progress update of Newton doing better and better :3:

Thank you, unfortunately he broke himself, got his legs all tangled up, imprisoned for leg crimes

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