hankdog

Also have own and paper handy so you can make notes, there'll be lots of things to remember. Enjoy!

Wow, so much wrong in one place. Who ties a dog to an umbrella, who ties a dog. Actually it's irrelevant whether Justice is aggressive, even aggressive dogs get to walk unmolested. Good on you for getting yourself together and getting the report done. You may be saving the life of this idiots next victim, imagine if it was an elderly person with a mini poodle next. What if the umbrella had connected someone's head on the way down? I'm sorry you seem to be going through a bad patch. I hope you and Justicexare in the couch, chocolates and a nice cup of hot chocolate in hand.

It's quite a learning curve when you get a dog that hasn't had much human interaction, all those things you take for granted with regular dogs. If I spend time with my friends regular dogs I'm quite amazed at how different they are to Jake. Hopefully Rocky will pick up stuff from your other dogs and understand how to speak human.

Tea training. Every time I boil the kettle for a cup of tea I just do three or four tricks. I do a walk and an afternoon training session but during the day I regularly "shoot" my dog, make him do a death roll, wake him up for a high five. I think the value of tricks is you can just ask for one every now and then during the day. That way the dog gets to never know when you're going to suddenly give him a command and treat.

For Jake giving him all food by hand has been a good idea. He had little people interaction and didn't seem to find humans relevant. All food coming from me made him notice me a bit more. He didn't really seem to know how to be patted but now he loves a belly rub or tail scratch. I just added it in to his death roll. He doesn't need much food though and I buy the royal canin French bulldog kibble that is quite big and moist so he thinks that's a treat. I'm guessing a BC would eat a lot more so it might take ages to hand feed.

Have you tried the 101 things to do with a box. For Jake it was a great way to build confidence and get him to start offering behavior.

Mmmm dyzneys a shocker too. I'm a sucker for big chunky monkeys. Still I stalk the frenchie thread for feel good pictures. Torture myself for fun.

I would say reactive dogs and also bite work training. The trainers that have been unfazed by Jake both do extensive work with the big, bitey dogs. Not sure if it's schutzhund? I guess if you're used to the big Rotties and malinois looking all agitated and bitey a little bulldog or border collie doesn't seem so bad.

I have "play with Pax" envy. Play must be such an important learning tool for dogs. I can get a game of bitey face with pillow out of Jake but nothing else. They look so happy and I'm so glad to see Justice having fun. Interested to know about the DVD sounds like it coukd be quite good.

I so wish I had a hero dog...your dogs sound amazing. Once I told a lady that Jake was a rescue. It was right after I got him and I was still a bit raw from losing Hank. "What does he rescue?" she asked looking curiously at my lump of a dog. "Well me from being a pathetic old woman who bursts into tears every two minutes." It's kind of heroic.

Only feed from the hand, throw away the food bowl. Best thing ever.

He is THE best cuddler in the whole world. He jumps on the bed when I go shower then when I jump in bed he shifts over, waits for me to settle and then takes all the bones out his body and turns into a nice warm cushion. He has lovely breath and he will stick his nose next to your face and breath puppy breath on you to make you sleep.

So great, hearing about a dog starting to respond and have fun. Warming my heart!!! Thanks.

Well I guess I should be taking them then! Blegh.

My first PTS recommendation was from a Delta trainer, my impression is they're great for normal dogs but not really for our nutcases. My experience is to go with someone who has no one specific method. Someone who will work with drugs, prongs, BAT and everything else. Basically someone who starts at the dog not at a method. Stella is probably as far out the box as Jake so you need someone open minded and who will love her for what she is so you don't end up feeling like you have to defend her right to be here. I think it's important that they're working out of a large facility as well. The trainers operating out of the local park or their front yard just can't offer our dogs the space they need. Just my own experience and no disrespect to the trainers that operate that way but when there's a whole lot of crazy you need space and fences.

She is a nervy girl isn't she. Prozac has been Jakes lifesaver but I find it's fine tuning makes all the difference. At 20mg he is manageable but awake. 5mg (1/4 tablet) either side of that and he's a zombie or a nightmare. Time of day strangely seems important. If I give it at night then he's back to nightmare, first thing in the morning and he's fine. I really believe I would not have him if it weren't for Prozac, I only have to be late with a dose to realise what a difference it makes.

All the training out there is quite confusing and there are a lot of different methods. Junior puppy training would be the first classes you take your boy to, they are very simple and mostly aimed at getting your dog used to being around others and starting the basics of learning to take a command. Advanced puppy classes would be aimed at puppies who have completed basics but don't have the focus to be in a regular obedience class yet. They can be run by a bored vet nurse or a very competent trainer. If you say where you are people here can recommend a good place. Regular obedience classes are graded into different levels and normally run weekly. You go with your dog and progress through different levels. Again quality varies and you need to find one that is reputable and where you feel comfortable. In house training is where you send your dog to a boarding establishment normally for a week or two and trainers train your dog. There are some horror stories and if you are considering doing it you may want to ask here if the establishment is reputable. Training your dog forms and is dependent on a bond between dog and trainer. So it's true that the dog will perform better for whoever trains it. There is also a limited amount of training that can be done in a short time and so dropping off a dog and fetching him two weeks later might have begun a training process but you will need to continue to achieve or maintain results. You can hire a trainer to come to your home or you can go to a few private sessions if that suits you better. Normally in house training is expensive and to address problems happening at home. Two years ago I adopted a norty dog so I have a fair bit of experience with dodgy trainers. I have been with my present trainers for a year, I go weekly to private classes and he has been twice for board/ training sessions. It's very much a combined effort with my trainers and a lot of our private sessions are aimed at teaching me what to do. If your dog is just a normal youngster and you're feeling a bit overwhelmed maybe you could look for a training center that offers good facilities with a combination of private classes and weekly group classes. Maybe have a private to set your expectations and get you started and allow them to map out a path for you and your dog. There's lots of experienced trainers here and people can recommend if you say where you are.

My chooks would love one,

It's probably one of those "all dominant dogs will do it but not all dogs that do it are dominant" things. Personally I'm very lucky that Tubster allows me to sleep in his bed. I've been an insomniac my whole life and now I hop in bed with my snoring, farting bulldog and sleep like a baby. Weird but true.

So I've been working late this week and finishing up after midnight. I have to bath as part of my bed time ritual and was soaking away on Tuesday night when I realised the shampoo was finished. It was cold and I didn't feel like going downstairs dripping wet and Tubby's Aloveen shampoo was right there. What's the worst that could happen, my nose gets damp and I start sniffing crotches? Meh, I just used it. Ditto for Wednesday and Thursday, my hairs a bit dry now so hopefully I will remember to fetch the human stuff tonight. Anyway this reminded me of a funny story, of my sisters. A few years ago she was dieting, it was right before Christmas and all the pressies were under the tree. She woke up in the early hours and was craving chocolate...."Oh wait. I bought the dog a special Christmas stocking and there's chocolate in there," she remembers. So she breaks into dogs the pressie and eats the carob chocolate at three am in the morning. Ok come on folks, what weird things have you used the dogs gear for?

I've also given that thought but I wonder if we live closer together nowadays so whilst our "territory" is smaller our dogs genetic wiring for territory hasn't decreased. As kids we had un neutered male dogs and yes there were a few scraps. Somehow though we sorted it, we took responsibility almost because we were aware of that potential. We didn't expect our dogs to interact with others and if someone was stupid enough to let their dog run up to ours well they'd get a scrap. Dogs were dogs, you didn't pat strange dogs without asking, we knew they had teeth and could bite. If you got bitten the first question would be "what were you doing?" Not "what breed was it?" I think we have to train our dogs more because we train people less. Dogs have to be better behaved to deal with the people who are less so. I guess back then dogs wandering around a neighborhood worked out the pecking order and suffered consequences and learned. Take the same dog and confine it to a backyard and you have to actively socialize it on a leash or not at all.

I've also given that thought but I wonder if we live closer together nowadays so whilst our "territory" is smaller our dogs genetic wiring for territory hasn't decreased. As kids we had un neutered male dogs and yes there were a few scraps. Somehow though we sorted it, we took responsibility almost because we were aware of that potential. We didn't expect our dogs to interact with others and if someone was stupid enough to let their dog run up to ours well they'd get a scrap. Dogs were dogs, you didn't pat strange dogs without asking, we knew they had teeth and could bite. If you got bitten the first question would be "what were you doing?" Not "what breed was it?" I think we have to train our dogs more because we train people less. Dogs have to be better behaved to deal with the people who are less so.

I guess border collies aren't on the scary dog list, that must make it hard to convince people to back off. I wish we had on leash beaches, there's a few off leash and nothing else here. When I used to take Hank it was a free for all and since he was the big dog he seemed to draw his share of fidos wanting to have a go. Luckily he would wade out to sea until the other dogs couldn't stand and then he would be ok. We just had an interesting scent walk. A rather large, feisty male dog walked across a t junction in front of us. Jake was ok, he needed one reset but considering the other dog barked at him I was fine with that. I waited until it was gone and then set off on it's path, we had to do LAT or is that SAT at each wee mail spot. Interestingly Jake didn't write any weemail of his own, he would have a little freak out we would do a slow approach and then quickly walk away. He's such a funny dog, he would Hoover the air and then look meaningfully at the peanut butter, just as if it were the actual dog......wonder if he was playing me? Probably but that's ok too.

From the discussions I've had about Jakes issues until you can get to a behaviorist my advice would be to read lots and take a quiet , calm approach. Dogs have a flight or fight response. You would rather she chose flight and so try to avoid cutting off that option. I had to spend effort getting into jakes head that flight is an option. You don't want a scardy dog though so I guess it's flight to a safe distance and then turn and look at the scary thing, work out what it is and then have the freedom to approach and get some pleasant thing, treats or a pat or just leave calmly. You could just start with a walk past the vet surgery, lots of fun and move on. Maybe next time a venture into the car park, do a bit of training and leave. When she's comfortable with that maybe the nurse could come outside and wave at you, next day a pat from a stranger. When just going to the car park is no issue approach the door, as soon as she looks stressed, stop do a few tricks walk away. Slowly builds confidence, and I think if you just let her build confidence in a few scenarios she should generalize to many. You want to keep her under threshold, so as soon as there's stress or arousal then that's how close you go, light happy voice and off we go over here for a bit of distance and looking at the scary thing. If she doesn't have LAT then google it and train it. It's probably my most used tool.

I guess I'm lucky having a really loud reactive scary bulldog. I don't need to yell, really you can't hear me over the noise the Tubster makes so I never need to convince people to take their dogs away. I often get the pit bull rubbish which makes me laugh because calling him a pittie is rather like calling a ute a Ferrari. I just go with it though, whatever keeps the crazies at bay. I wonder what the answer is, is it just a case of increasing irresponsibility in dog ownership. I'm lucky enough I can walk mid morning, post school drop off but most people are at work or shopping. I see a lot of responsible owners at that time, and even had a chat with a lady and her two dandy diarmants yesterday. That being said about a third of the streets in my area are no go zones because of frequent roamers.