hankdog

At one point I actually did consider making some kind of blinkers for Jake, then one of my early trainers told me she had a terrible client who had tried to blinker her dog....oops. Poor Justice, you must both be worn out. Fingers crossed for a good nights sleep tonight.

I think it's degrees and also the quality of life for human and dog. Another DOLer ended up euthing her dog, she had exhausted all options and it really seemed the kindest thing to do. My Tubster has responded well to training and meds despite his initial prognosis not being great but I do work from home and I don't really have to ever leave him for more than a few hours at a time. So he's gone from being a howling, inconsolable, pacing, anxious mess to just sitting on his beanbag staring up the drive. Yes it has a huge impact on the humans and it's unlikely I'll be allowed another dog after he's gone. (Pht) I can't go out in the mornings until he's been walked and settled and can't stay away for more than about 3 to 4 hours max. This week I have to support a family member through surgery so the juggle between dog and human needs becomes quite stressful. People get judgemental about me putting the dogs needs first but firstly the human can talk and understand. Secondly my dog is always there, people drop in and out of my life and thirdly that's just the deal. If I choose to keep such a dog alive then it requires constant commitment not just when it's convenient. It's a choice I make every day I choose to keep him alive, I'm aware it's often a selfish choice as I wish to avoid the pain I would feel euthing him but then I have to accept the responsibility. His quality of life is good, he gets a walk in the morning, spends the day either in my sewing room or in the garden with me and then either a training session or short afternoon walk. We go to training once a week and his social skills have improved to the point where he will actively solicit attention from strangers out walking, belly rubs always welcome. He communicates his needs and will come to me for help, someone sitting in his spot he will come nudge me and look meaningfully at the offender or walk up and lean on them. Does he gallop around having a carefree blast, never going to happen but he interacts with his little world quite confidently and asks for help when he needs it.

Fingers crossed that you're on the right track. Aaaargh I hate that crazy car to car dodge. Although Tuesday is my best walk day because it's bin day in our neighborhood, I have occasionally considered wandering around with a collapsible dog shield.

Well I could write one about Jake, he has legendary DA, been a nightmare to train and I didn't have a clue how to handle him. 4 years later I've learned from brilliant trainers, I've come to terms with the fact that nothing's perfect and not every broken thing can be fixed but I live for my Friday training session, look forward to jumping on the couch with the dog whose cuddles are described as "the Jake experience" and can't remeber what my life was like before it was organized around a bulldog. Probably not the poster story but still special.

I think tinnitus, panic attacks and increased anxiety are all possible withdrawal effects of prozac. You see the VB tomorrow? I hope she can do something. I feel so sorry for you guys, such a hard road you are walking right now. Holding thumbs you get some good luck soon.

So I've been doing some mind bending with Tubster. We have a poodle we walk past, sweet dog that makes lots of calming signals. It's garden is raised about a meter above the pavement and has metal bar fencing. For years now I have worked on luring and doing LAT past the house but I think I'm being trained so now I've decided that once he lunges I'll go with it so the reward he gets for a lunge is to get closer and have to sit and calm down before he gets a lick and can choose his next step. Poor dog, his mind is so confused. So now that first lunge is kind of hesitant or he just reduces to a whinging walk past. Lots of looking and grumbling and then a nice sit to collect his reward once we have gotten past the house. So we shall see what he comes up with next week in the game of trainer vs trainee.

Interesting but not a bad policy. I'm a bulldog fan so I think they're pretty good looking. If you cast around the Internet you can find pictures of Bulldogs before they were bred to be what they are now and they're quite similar.

A prong should only be used with careful training. On some dogs it can have the wrong effect, just adding to their level of arousal. My boy was quite happy to pull harder on a prong.

They may be something like the Johnson bulldog. They're supposed to be similar to what original British bulldog were when they were still an athletic fighting dog. I've seen johnsons come up in rescue, not a dog for those who don't want to do a lot of training.

Oooh, I'd love a coat like that too! Pretty girl in pink.

My bulldog is 26kg and was a serious puller when I got him and although I tried the front attach he just swung around, collapsed his shoulders and it pulled straight off so be careful with the big shoulders and harnesses. My boy is very DA so I have him attached to my waistbelt via his ruff wear harness that has a chest and belly strap so basically if I die of a heart attack ir embarrassment he is still attached to my dead body. Ambulance people will just have to work that out. I couldnt use a head halter with him although I did with my previous dog and found it very useful. How I trained him to walk loose leash was to walk very slowly and come to a dead stop if there was any pressure on the leash, I would wait for him to stop straining and then make him walk back around me into a heel position. This took about 5 weeks but now he walks without pulling so it was well worth the effort. I have a nice thick leather martingale collar with a leash to my hands and that's primarily my training collar.

Wow, things seem to be escalating. I have read that coming off Prozac can give you brain zaps, hopefully that's what it is and the vet can give him something else to help. I'm sorry Snook, so very sad.

How many weeks? See why I could never get a puppy , I can't even wait for puppy photos.

Thanks, that sounds Jake compatable.

Oh dear that sounds pretty intense. Hopefully a side effect that will abate quickly. Gentle hug big boof head. ETA and you to Snook.

You getting a bulldog puppy. I now officially commence my photo nagging campaign????????????

Jakes been coming along in leaps and bounds. We have had him outside doing his little obstacle course right next to the trainers dogs enclosure. Last week there was 4 dogs on the other side of the fence and I had him about 50cm away from the fence looking right at the dogs and relaxed enough to hold the pb jar so that he had to turn away from the dogs to get some. All the little dudes were looking at him with envy. This week there was a training trainer, so I gave Jake to him and Lynette was showing him what to do and I went and played with the enclosure dogs with a toy rope. I was throwing it around and the dogs were chasing and barking and Jake was listening to a complete stranger and doing everything he was told. I'm so rapt, since his last board/train he's been very much more friendly to people he doesn't know, he will actually roll over on the street for a belly rub. It's great to see him being a real bulldog attention hog.

You're such a laugh Stan it was all our lucky day when you wandered in to Hazywals life. Many more gotchas????

Different times of day here. On first waking the face wrinkles need scratching, he likes to suck his dew claw whilst you do this. Then after we have done chook rounds and had coffee THE BEST part of the day, lying on the bed having his tummy brushed with my daughters zillion pound english hairbrush. For this he likes to have your other arm to "flea". After that just regular ear and chest rubs. Strangely not a fan of tail scritches.

Happy birthday gorgeous.

It's not that hard to dig proof your fences, most chicken owners do this by running wire out underground away from the fence. Given these dogs have apparently been declared menacing for killing a goat I would have thought the owner should have been making an effort to keep them in although I'm surprised they were only declared menacing for previously killing an animal.

Well Jake already got in the same photo as another dog and that was kind of a lifetime goal. I think my new goal will be to get him to sniff another dog, there will need to be a fence but a friendly sniff and interest will be a huge milestone. Plus not look at me like he's never, ever seen his bell before when I ask him to do tricks at training.

I have one, too much hard work. Now I just do the scraps bin and tip those into a lidded compost bin outside. The turkeys spend a lot of time around it so it must be good for worms. I Bought it thinking it was a wonder thing but really it's just an expensive extra step in compost that didn't seem any different to non-bokashi compost in the end.

Jake stages fake dog meltdowns, although to be fair just because I can't see them doesn't mean he can't smell them I suppose. I think just go with your instinct on your reaction. I still reward him for "calling himself off" because the way I see it if he's practicing behaving well then he's building confidence and working out how I work. So if he's figured out when he's stressed to come to you for help then that's a good thing and worth practicing so in a "real" meltdown he can do the "seeking help" behaviour with confidence. Not really the same rules as would apply to rational dogs but seems to work for Tubby.

Haha this has become the dog in a box thread. Well done Justice, that was very quick to get in there. I wonder if it's a mix of real meltdowns interspersed with "oh I'm bored but mum gives me attention when I do this" meltdowns. I think when our dogs are really in tune with us there's a certain amount of reverse training and he may have just worked out what works, if that makes sense.