moosmum

Hi, Just more encouragement from me. I had similar problems with one of my girls,now 3 yo. Was a terrific dog in so many ways,but very reactive and like an A.D.H.D child...She learned very quckly,but holding her attention for any period of time was impossible. She was so good so far as general rules of the house went,few problems there,but very reactive and very quick about it too.Getting her attention at those times was very hard. Understanding her drives better thru' posts here on DOL was a great help,along with other little tips that were simple but had never occured to me. I found 2 things that helped me most was a)being more consistent and expecting more rather than less. Ie. She must sit quietly before her food and wait till I say its o.k to eat.If the rule is no sitting in front of the fire,that means always! getting better discipline in other areas that were not considered a problem gave her more discipline in all areas.and b) when I reward her behaviour its only after she focuses on ME,not the reward. She still jumps up on visitors and is not perfect,but gets better and better all the time.She now loves her training sessions and the speed she used to use for distractions is now used for good rather than evil! I like watching how she POPS up from a down to a sit like a jack in the box.

The author of the book was not the author of the letter to the paper. He did tell the story of how it came to be written,re print it in its entirety, and name the writer. It could be one of Koestlers books but if so i'm at a loss as to which one.

My oldest dobe does. She has a look we call her crooked smile and she gives herself away every time,tho' its very rare for her to slip in any way. When she was 1st speyed she was a bit incontenent for a while and the poor girl always looked so "humiliated?" The other time that sticks in my mind is before she was speyed she would have false pregnancies. One day I came inside to see her on her bed with this silly "crooked smile". I turned to see the other dogs all giving me their" I wish I had some of that" looks. I checked to see what she had gotten into but there was nothing I could see untill I looked in her bed. She had stolen an egg from the goose and had it under her "armpit". Our younger boy will do the same,but not as obviously. He only gives himself away when we notice something wrong,but we do give him the benefit of the doubt with other dogs just as able to be the cause.

Yes please. Arthur Koestlers name sounds right,but I can't find reference in his book list that sounds right.

World War 2 in Brittain saw citizens having their dogs PT in mass numbers "to help with the war effort" in conserving valuable resources in those difficult times. Thousands of dogs a day at times were being put down This would have continued unabated but for a letter published in a a major Brittish paper at the time which virtualy halted the practice overnight. I read this entire letter about 20 to 30 years ago in a book and would very much like to see it resurected. It would be an invaluable tool even today for anyone concerned with any aspect of dog welfare or even bred specific legislation. It would be a great letter to have at the entrance to any Pound where people surrender their dogs. It was a powerful and emotional plea on behalf of dogs and some one,some where must have some idea how this letter can be found. Being so long ago,I can't remember the author,but some details may help. It was a male who lived in a rougher area of London during the war years,and sounds like a man well able to handle himself.The book was predominantly this mans life experiences and dogs featured heavily,often having their own sections. He was an asscociate of Jack London and may have been one of those well known in anthropological circles such as Konrad Lorenz,Desmond Morris,Niko Tinbergen and Arthur Koestler. I have an idea this author had a more European sounding name,I remember thinking he may have had a hard time in Brittain war time due to his name. I think he mentioned his dog being a Bull Terrier,possibly named Jock (who chased some rough thugs he was having trouble down stairs and away from his appartment) This is all very vague but I think this is a valuable,historical document that should be found. This quote is attributed to an unknown author " He is your friend,your partner,your defender,your dog.You are his life,his love,his leader.He will be faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." I am fairly certain this is a small part of the letter I am seeking and the author is actualy a very well known identity,mentioned by name in this book. It would be great if this letter can be found in its entirity once again. edited for spelling,but not well!

Sounds like a selfish spoilt brat. Her sentence might actualy do her some good. Its says the dog was rehomed.Why didn't her B.F just re-home her?

Yay Gamby!! I know just how you feel,and I would like to thank all the trainers who regularly contribute to this thread. I have had questions answered I didn't even know to ask and learned heaps. Moss at 3 yrs seems like she is coming out of a very long adolecence. Now she responds with the speed she used to reserve for any distraction and is learning faster than I ever thought a dog could be taken so casualy(as opposed to doing regular formal obedience classes) So nice to have her listening to me 1st,not the 'roos poking their heads out from every 2nd bush here . Thanks people!!

Gotta admitt thats a good point. Mine may bark on command but theres nothing intimidating about that bark and i wouldn't want to teach them to bark so obviously at a person.

I taught mine to bark by...Barking 1st! They learned it in seconds and like that that one! And a reward of course.

Hi Kailam, In the meantime,it would be best if you do not allow your puppy to play with your cat.If they are to get on,its important that he does not see the cat as a toy and if your cat will not put him right NOW,thats what will happen. Let them interact,but as soon as pup tries to play with the cat,put a stop to it and give him some thing else.i would keep them separated when you can't do do that.

JulesP, While I can see where you are coming from,I think you have missed an important point. This bloke hasn't brought home unwanted dog,He has taken away the womans choice and given her responsibility for HIS choice! I agree with others comments,but I would try to get her to at least point out to this bloke that these dogs are not what she wanted. They are what he wants. Its HER birthday and if she is going to take responbility for a dog,its got to be her choice or it will be unlikely to work out.

O.H is a mechanic. We use old car seats for our very big dogs and find they don't get chewed like plain foam since the covers are streched tight. They are cheap to replace when they get old and smelly.

Mars, I have a Dobe. Girl who is 12 and still going strong and we expect ours to live to 14 on past experience. My 1st dog,a collie cross lived to 18 years.He saw me through my childhood and the birth of my children.Very sadly missed to this day.

A friend has just asked if I have any ideas how to stop her 3-4 month old female puppy Weeing on her bedding every time she is given a fresh mattress or rug to lie on. She has otherwise been house trained from 8 weeks old and her owner says it seems like she is marking it. I have not seen this before. Any ideas?

Absolutely agree! The first looks untidy to me and as though he's hit the roids, the second looks very clean and sexy. All Dobes should look sexy IMO, they're a classy dog. Got to agree,I prefer the less extreme older types myself. (Steroids were my thought too)

When I was looking for a very specific type of dog I had no idea where to start,and was unable to find what I wanted for years,literaly.When I found it,it was a cross bred. Your average member of the public has never heard of DOL,does not subscribe to dog magazines. They are unaware of the resources. Searching breeders on the net can be very time consuming and may be of little help if litters are unavailable. my search brought me into contact with a lot of shonky establishments. It would have been nice to be able to find reputable places as easily. I think its about accessability and can't understand why that would not be a good thing.

Well i hope it works for poor Mason quickly,its awful seeing them so uncomfortable with this. Good luck with the treatments. If he has allegies already I think the water may well have set this one off.Poor boy.

I don't drink beer (or any alcohol) much. And she knows better then to get between me and caffeine. There is risk taking, then there is plain foolishness ...but the serious answer is no, I'm careful not to let that happen. But she would if she could. The one I had as a kid used to pick th poppies mum had growing,pluck all the petals and eat the centres.Yep,a druggie!

The girl we have now was just raised as part of the family,with the kids.No formal training, she never needed it! The one I had as kid tho' got lots of training.Could be very stuborn with a kid as leader but learned so easily!Back then I used to challenge that I could train him to do anything with in 5 minutes,just say what.(stupid kid,smart dog) Enormous self confidence in both these dogs too.

Interesting! We have to take the phone off the hook if we leave our girl because if it rings and we aren't her to answer she will try to get it off the hook.Also great at alerting us to things that are as they should not be,like horses in the yard or another critter in trouble.She often tries imitating our behaviour and has a great sense of the ridiculous.She even has a "silly walk" where she lifts her feet out and to the sides in an exagerated manner while tossing her head side to side. I had another like this as a kid and they have both been very cluey dogs as far as people go,with a very human like type of intelligence. The other was more easily bored,being a town dog and would wander to look for amusement.(in the years when this sort of thing was common and taken for granted!)Both try new things and "helping". ie: see you watering the garden so come up nudging your hand till you give them the hose to have a go themselves.

Yeah, I didn't think your dog was allergic, just chucked that out there more for Mason's mum Weird that the vet didn't say what it was... did they offer a treatment at all? Can you ask them? The vet offered no ideas at all! I was prety disapointed,but 2 of my kids get a allegies and their skin reacts to the dam water too,so I have assumed its a bacterial problem and just avoid the dam,but when she does get in there it flares up overnight and I just resume the wound spray while its working.

Did your vet say what is was? I would suspect bacterial or fungal cause if related to the dam... Mason's Mum: An allergic dog may be more prone to picking up fungal or bacterial things from the dam / river as well, as their skin barrier function may be compromised, so getting that functioning better may help in the long run... Nope. Vet had her there under anesthetic for speying,so a good chance to look and explore.She has no other alegies and 12 yrs. Wound spray takes a few days,but does clear it till next time she gets her feet in the water.

I will be interested to hear what your vet says,because my girl gets the same and the vet was no help at all! I tried bathing in salt water,antiseptics and antibiotics. What does work is the enzyme wound sprays. It seems to come after a dip in the dam water so i try to keep her out. Would be nice for a better solution though.

Yep,I've got one too. She is not particularly drivey or excitable,never been easily bored but thats likely her environment too....Lots of mental stimulation She can be an emarrassment tho'. She will poke and prode at things,like the girl sitting on the curb with her back to us.As we walked past Lou gave her a sharp prod on the back of her neck to test out the neat little bun sitting there! Just a big sticky beak,always checking out anything new and not shy about it.

How about a Doco. on dogs changed role in society? Increasing time demands on families, legislation and lack of education is leading to fewer dogs seen in society...which leads to lack of education,more complaints,more legislation and fewer dogs in society. I think the need for education on dogs in school cirriculum(safety and behaviour around dogs,legislation, empathy/behaviour and welfare)is imperative to avoid the problems escalating to more of th same. Should be some great footage from the not so long ago when dogs were taken for granted in large numbers sharing kids fun times.