Simply Grand

U turns and other sudden direction changes are such great tools to have because they do so many things at once - takes the pressure of decision making away from the dog (and gives a worried owner a plan of action), moves the dog away from the stimulus, the sudden change interrupts the dog's thinking, unpredictable behaviour from you focuses the dog's attention back to you, following you gives an easy opportunity for you to highly reward a good behaviour. Great thing to use ETA I use sudden direction changes with lots of enthusiastic praise during play time at dog parks with Quinn to keep her engaged with me so that I remain the most exciting thing to her, as soon as I start doing unpredictable movements you can see her switch into excited, focus mode so it's worth practicing in those more relaxed times as well so it's not associated only with stressful situations.

It's like that with my three, they drag each other around, hang off each other, pull fur out, growl, snap and wrestle but they've never once caused an injury, even Sax and Quinn who have some quite heated "discussions" sometimes. I'm sure when people see me just walk off when they do it in public they think I'm totally irresponsible, but they know what they're doing :laugh:

Awesome!! Love the Clowns of War :laugh: :laugh: I wish mine would keep playing as hard as those two do for that long, they'll have short bursts then stop and look at me like what's next?

Hahaha, thanks D_B :D And thanks everyone, it's such a relief. I will definitely post some pics when I get my Internet set up (on the phone at the moment).

BL, it sounds like you're doing fantastically with Bonnie, good on you BAT type stuff was/is really helpful for Riley, teaching him that he has the option to move away when he's uncomfortable has really boosted his confidence and he is much more relaxed around other dogs. I find now the key is making sure he doesn't get overwhelmed so if he ends up in amongst a group of dogs (obviously Bonnie won't be at the stage to be in that position yet) I still step in and go and guide him out. As far as holding onto them on lead, are you guys using harnesses of some sort? (hd, I know you do). I have Quinn on an EasyWalk front attach harness and it makes a really big difference to her strength on lead. I've also done quite a bit with head collars on shelter dogs in training but I'd be careful with those if the dog throws itself around a lot. Ideally I'd use a double ended lead and have one end attached to the harness and one to the collar, holding it closer to the harness so that's what I have control over, with the collar as a backup in case they slip the harness.

VM, you are right, practically things would have been so much easier without dogs (ie. 400 rental properties total in my price range vs literally 10 pet friendly) but emotionally not even worth it :)

I thought I'd update this thread after catching up on the comments in the Dear thread in OT (which brought tearies, thank you all ). After lots of tension, a few more bouts of tears for me, some bonding with mum, an unexpected almost $2k in dog boarding fees and some determination, I am now happily settled into my new place and have my three happy doggies lying around next to me :D I had to talk my way into this place after the owner said yes then began to have doubts about the 3 dogs, I was back and forth with the council to get them registered and start the process for the permit to have more than 2, dates got changed and on the final day, after going to pick up the trailer and having to convince them I wasn't taking it out of Qld just because I still have a NSW licence, I arrived to collect the keys at the confirmed time and the property manager said "oh the previous tenants only returned the keys today (Friday), you can't move in until Tuesday". There was no way I could deal with that by that stage and more talking eventually convinced them to find a way! So we did, and after the usual exhaustion of moving I collected all three dogs from boarding and spent our lovely first night together in our new home, with dogs free to go where they want and sleep on the bed with me. The little house is great, a good set up for the dogs, perfect size yard, access to the yard from the garage so they can be out there when I'm not home to avoid Quinn style destruction and Riley style pee accidents in the house. There is a small fenced dog park 5 mins walk up the road and a fantastic giant fenced off lead area that the dogs are loving 5 mins drive away. It's almost too good to be true but I think maybe it's good karma after some very difficult years, topped off by the past stressful month. Thank Dog for DoL, having you guys to talk to, get ideas from and receive such lovely offers of help has absolutely gotten me though! I'm also so proud of my dogs, all of them got lovely comments about their temperaments and behavior, even after going through such upheaval. And I know you'll all understand that although things would have been so much easier without three dogs, or two dogs or any dogs (as hinted at by certain mum and step dads), it was so worth sticking it out to still have my three gorgeous, happy, lovely monkeys with me :D

The YouTube comments Love the video :D

Absolutely dog should be PTS! A year (2013 - sep 2014) at the Centre presumably being worked with and still attacked like this? And think another 18 months will make it fine? I don't think so. Someone needs to make the call that this is not a dog that should be saved. I'm not sure I blame the woman for suing Cesar, worth trying, particularly if the owner doesn't have the money to cover her costs, rehab and lost future income, which seeing as they could no longer afford to pay the dog's Centre fees they probably didn't.

They don't bring me joy, they make me horribly jealous coz I can't have one yet Just kidding, I loooove looking at them!

Absolutely, puppies are EXCELLENT people trainers. Like Perse says, you don't want it to seem like a punishment to put her in the space you want to leave her, as in away from all the fun and things she's familiar with. Set it up as a lovely place to be. Definitely get her some food activity toys, Kongs are great, stuff them with her normal food, some wet food or cream cheese in the end and freeze, that will keep her entertained for a while. I also really the Kong Wobbler for feeding kibble although even the small might be a bit big for her at the moment. Don't give in to that puppy crying! 20 mins isn't actually that long I'm afraid, and now that you've gone to her once she'll try even harder. Stay strong, it will be a distant memory pretty soon :) BTW she is adorable!

Oh so cuuuuute! I know lots of people don't really enjoy the puppy stage but I LOVE bringing home a new baby and watching them grow into part of the family. I miss it From the sounds of it you are all doing fantastically! As she grows they will sort out their standing with each other but as you've acknowledged it's really important that you remain ultimately in charge of everything for both of them. It doesn't sound from what you've said like Jager is bullying her, just figuring out to play with this little mini dog. Being a black female Pug I suspect once she's big enough she'll be giving more than as good as she gets. With mine I generally let them go for it but I do practice interrupting them with a firm "Enough" cue when they are getting really rowdy so I can stop them if they are really getting OTT or being too noisy and annoying while I'm trying to watch tv :laugh: (so it's basically make some noise to interrupt them, get their attention on me and reward with something else like praise, cuddles or even treats, then practice something incompatible like sitting calmly for eat rubs). As far as resource guarding goes, it's hard to stop a dog guarding from another dog if they are inclined too and mine will all protect their treasures in their own ways but again I stay in control of it, practicing physically standing between them and moving them away if one finishes their treat and goes towards another one to investigate their, practicing individual "give" so that I can take things off them if I need to etc etc

I don't judge her negatively for her feelings, if for whatever reason she can't or doesn't want to properly look after the dog any more then she absolutely owes it to him to find someone who will. That's what makes me angry. This wasn't just a momentary overwhelmed vent, this is years of resenting and neglecting this dog and still keeping him in that situation. it isn't fair, the dog cannot change his situation himself

Heaps of vets do, and shelters. Mostly it doesn't cause a problem but sometimes it does, it's one of those things. Good on you for being on top of it :) dog weights, particularly puppies can go up and down so quickly, it's scary, but as long as she's bright, happy, hydrated and eating she should recover well. There are just so many things to think about with these little furry creatures, isn't there!

Yes, regular hydrobaths and force drying will get lots of the loose coat out too. Bear in mind that if you do clip her she'll still shed her hair (unless she's crossed with sonething non-shedding) and you'll have little hair splinters everywhere.

To clip a really thick coat like that I'm afraid you're going to need good quality clippers, which will cost upwards of $200 at least. The cheaper ones you can get for $100 or under don't have the power, the blade quality or the endurance to get through a thick coat properly and will burn out pretty quickly trying to. It's worth investing in quality clippers though, clipping is tough enough to learn for both the human and the dog and having good clippers makes it easier for both :) Alternatively you could take her to a professional groomer, but it is cheaper in the long run to do it yourself. ETA - oh and welcome to the forums! :D

Nooooo, we're not bored, keep them coming! at Tigger

Poor Jakey He's a lucky boy to have such a dedicated hooman hd. Yay Bonnie, well done Better Late :)

When I say you want them to have a positive association with other dogs I don't mean the other dog is the positive thing, I mean that when they see another dog they have a positive reaction rather than a negative or fear based one, as in 'oh there's a dog, that means I get something rewarding to me". It's not about trying to make them love other dogs, or even interacting with them at all if you/they don't want to. Montana, I thought probably correct as in fix the problem, not actually "correcting" the dog :) have a read of the Exercising Reactive Dogs thread in the training sub-forum, it's got lots of useful information from people who are dealing with reactive dogs. Hopefully your trainer can give you some good advice, timing is really important with this kind of thing and it's really hard to explain without being there in person. Do let us know how the training session goes! ETA - here's a quote of myself from that thread briefly explaining how I worked on my Sheltie's reactivity. It's a simplified version and I'm certainly not saying you should follow this as a plan or anything, it's just to give you an idea. (BAT is behavioural adjustment training, it's kind of a similar concept to Look At That but can be more difficult to use in every day real life): "So, once I figured that out I switched to building a positive association with other dogs, so starting off whenever another dog came anywhere nearby I would just start talking to him to keep his attention on me and shoving treats in his mouth. Then I gradually increased the criteria so that the other dog had to be closer and closer before he started getting the treats and eventually we could have a trigger dog right there sniffing around him while he remained focused on me and getting the treats. Then I started asking him to hold his attention on me while the other dogs were around but waiting til there had been some interaction (him glancing at the other dog then back to me, him staying focused on me while the other dog sniffed him) then I would give praise and run backwards calling him away THEN give him the treats. So that was the start of the sort of BAT angle, where he was learning that moving away from the other dog rather than reacting was rewarding, both in relieving the stress of the other dog and getting a food reward. Then it became a matter of watching him closely and catching him in those moments where he has some little interaction with another dog then heaping on the excited praise from wherever I was standing and encouraging him over to me. I also started variable rewarding with the treats then so sometimes he gets a treat and sometimes just pats and praise. "

I don't believe that chucking 8 week old puppies into a public park area for anyone to interact freely with is a good method of socializing them. Not to mention the health risks. And whether or not he was stupid in general, he clearly had limited knowledge about the very dogs he's breeding and selling to other people

Here's another really nice comment from the same place: "Here's probably the worst (and saddest) thing about this situation-- it's totally avoidable. A big reason people have pets these days is for emotional support and a unique kind of unconditional love. They are called support animals for a reason. If you provide this dog with the care it deserves, it will care for you in return. It not only CAN be a source of comfort on the most stressful days, it WANTS to be. As plenty of parents have said here, dogs are a HELP with children in good homes. I totally get all the people who say 'human relationships are more important!' Of course that's true-- but you will never have a human being as singularly devoted to you as a dog is to its owner. You are literally that creature's entire world. Carve out a modest amount of time and attention for the dog. More than that, tell and show the dog no matter how busy you are that you care for it. That takes seconds-- dogs are amazingly perceptive, and just a look and a smile, or your tone of voice, can communicate so much. The relationship might seem trivial to you now that you have children, but remember, to the animal, this is the most important relationship it will ever know. And if you can come to appreciate the enormity of that, you might feel some of your love for it come back. "

Hahaha, check out this reply to the author's original publication of this opinion piece in the website she is some sort of editor for: " What an idiot! Where to start?! Fortunately, others have had all day to respond to this moronic screed, so most of the points have undoubtedly been covered. Still, I can't resist piling on. First, they get a border collie mix--a notoriously busy, intelligent, high-energy animal. Then they act like a couple of 10-year-olds playing house: spoiling the dog, trying to turn it into their child, smugly gossiping (!) about the lesser mutt children in the neighborhood, freaking out over a dog-food recall by spending enough money and time on home-cooked dog meals that they could have fed a couple of 3rd-world countries for a month...and giving the poor dog every reason to believe he is the center of the universe. And then they manically push out three kids within four years (did I mention that they're idiots?) and shove the former center of the universe to a cold remote outpost beyond Pluto. Of course, the poor once-beloved animal (with the idiotic name--thank god she spared us by not mentioning the stupid names she picked for the kids) has no clue what he has done to elicit this precipitous drop in affection and status in the household. And why? She says nothing about the dog being aggressive toward the children (so I assume he is kind and loving, or at least indifferent to the brats), nothing about him taking up any bad habits, such as chewing or territory marking (for which he could hardly be blamed, but, no--he's apparently not doing this)... She mentions that he barks. I'm guessing he has done this all along and they thought it was cute. Bet the neighbors have hated them for years if this is the case. But now it's a huge issue because - OMG - how terrible would it be if the precious little snowflakes learned to sleep through common noises and did not require the silence of the tomb? She mentions that he pukes--oh, darn, right when her ill-managed infant/toddler/toddler all need her undivided attention at the same time (this is why you space your kids intelligently, giving each one a little space before popping out the next--of course, some people do beautifully with numerous closely spaced kids; clearly this a$$clown and her a$$clown partner do not). So blame the poor animal for puking (he's THIRTEEN, for zog's sake, what do you expect?) while she's trying to juggle an also-puking infant and leaving the 4-year-old stranded on the toilet. And, oh, disaster!! Legos spilled all over the floor. And Desitin smeared on the kid's face--because she left it where he could get into it. Never expected 2-year-old to do THAT! Somehow, this all is the dog's fault. At least she's honest enough to say that her poll of people who regret getting dogs before breeding was "very unscientific," but she still extrapolates from the data compiled about herself and her idiot friends and tries to convince the rest of us that it's a terrible idea. Keep it to yourself, sister. You're a miserable, self-absorbed incompetent whose kids will have the same shallow values and lack of loyalty you and their idiot father exhibit. It's obvious that you will be hugely relieved when your former child-substitute, who is now so sadly superfluous to your life, passes on. For his sake, I hope it's soon, so he doesn't have to endure much more of his diminished, confused half-life. " Here's the link to the other comments on the site: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2013/07/kids_and_dogs_if_you_re_having_a_baby_do_not_get_a_puppy.html?wpisrc=burger_bar

Yes!

It is really sad and she is being so unfair to the poor dog I get that people can't necessarily help how they feel but she has an obligation to her dog to make sure he is looked after properly and given what he needs and if she couldn't or wasn't willing to that after she had kids she should have found home who would look after him and love him She also tells everyone else that they shouldn't get a dog if they ever want kids, or if they must have a dog they shouldn't have kids (seriously, how stupid) but she stopped caring about the dog after the first baby and went on to have 2 more, proceeding to give herself even less time for the dog so she's pretty hypocritical saying that. AND it's not even like she's just ignorant and doesn't realise that the dog is suffering, she knows it and still does nothing to change it. That's horrible.

Yes, if this is fear based, and it sounds like it is, the last thing you want to do is force him into situations and/or punish his reaction - not saying you are doing this but if you have been or if a trainer advises you to you will make the issue worse as he will not only feel fearful around other dogs but also associate them with you punishing him. As TSD says you want to change his mind set so that being around other dogs becomes a positive experience rather than a scary one. My Sheltie's behaviour changed at around the same age, he became reactive towards other dogs as his hormones kicked in but desexing didn't fix things and neither did trying to tell him off or using a leash correction, it wasn't until I realised I needed to create a positive association for him that we started making progress and he has improved greatly :)