courtnek

You have my DEEPEST respect for that feeling.... Most people wont take an older dog, for various reasons. I really hope he does get a home soon.....GOOD FOR YOU for caring so much!! :angel:

One other suggestion DK, for yours and your childrens safety. While you are demoting your Bully (and yes, that's his problem. He's a puppy, but he wants to be "top dog" and is fighting for the spot) You should keep him on a short three foot lead ALL THE TIME as long as someone is there to watch him. When you want him to move away from something, rather than risk a limb trying to push him, pick up the lead, give a short, sharp command like the ones above, and pull him away. The command shold be loud, and firm, but dont yell. Yelling just gets them more excited. As soon as he has come away from the issue, then make him sit and then praise him alot. Every thing he does right should be given lots of positive praise, even the little things. In a short time he should learn that whatever command you gave him means "leave it alone" and he will respond. The short leash is also excellent for obedience training. Good luck with your baby!! :D

[quote]I know there are alot of ignorant people out there that purposefully train their dogs to be vicious.[/quote] OK another rant.... y'know what really ticks me off about that? People buy "guard dogs" to protect their homes and selves....they train it to be vicious while it's a puppy, before it's natural instincts to guard kick in, then when the instincts DO kick in around a year old, the animal is now out of control and cant be approached by anyone, sometimes even it's owner. So the dog is labeled as "dangerous to society" and put down. Gee, how did that happen? gggrrrrrr...... If they would just realize that guarding and protecting is part of the dogs breeding heritage, they would know you dont have to "train" them (unless it's for military or police work, that's different) to protect you. They will do it on instinct alone!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

[quote]I agree with the idea that a dog can be born with some problems that may cause him to behave like a "bad dog". [/quote] I agree with that, 100% - there are always diseases, and neurological disorders that can cause a dog to snap, just like a person. But I think you'll find that in the majority ( not all) of these cases the dog has been raised poorly, treated badly, untrained and sometimes abused...and the owner IS responsible for all of that. Medical disorders can be determined by a vet, either disease or brain problems. Maybe my recommendation to make the owners responsbile seems to harsh to some, but you gotta start somewhere. If these people realized they couldnt just do whatever they want with these animals without being punished (really punished, not slapped on the wrist) perhaps it would make some people think twice about owning one - once their popularity decreases, the animal bite instances will decrease, same with the GSD's the Rotties and the Dobies.... I'm looking at long term, not just here and today... :)

I agree Dog Lover hitting a dog will only tend to make it more aggressive in the long run. Positive reinforcement is better - rewards of love, rather than fear of pain. works well with Children too. Discipline does not have to be painful, and shouldnt be.

The stairs and the bathroom seem to be our issue!! LOL Why do children, dogs and cats INSIST on being in the bathroom with you??? :D

I agree Mouse. I happen to be a big lover of trees, anyway, but about 15 years ago I planted a Mountain Ash in the yard - it's a beautiful tree, and now about 20 ft tall....When the tornadic weather came through it got hit by lightning and lost three very large and elegant looking limbs from the top...now it's lopsided and it's sad to look at. At least it's still alive... I bet the dogs had fun though! they dont mind fallen trees, they just have more stuff to leap over!! :D

If he was sleeping this much before his fall it's probably ok....puppies do sleep alot, just like babies. Also, is it warm now in the UK? he could just be hot.... It's very warm here in the states and all my lab wants to do is sleep... me too, for that matter...trying to avoid turning on the A/C :D

PLEASE!! TAKE HIM TO THE VET!! Dogs can tolerate pain (even puppies) that would have you and I screaming....he may have injured a kidney in the fall, or his bladder. He could also have pulled or strained some muscles....for you peace of mind (and mine) please take him in and have him X-rayed and examined..... especially if he remains lethargic!! :( let us know!!

I would also suggest a book by John Fisher called "Why Does My Dog...?" there is a lot of good information on housebreaking, socializing, and also explains the "who's Boss" concept of rank in a human/animal household, which you may find very useful with a Bully breed. They need a strong hand, discipline and training to become the kind of pet you want to have. Do not mistake "strong hand" for punishment, please. This breed can be stubborn, and you will need to train the puppy to obey you no matter what. Once that is accomplished, I think you'll find he is a wonderful friend and companion. at 17 weeks he should be very close to completely housetrained, so since he isnt behaving properly you may want to consider taking him to a professional puppy trainer to work out the bugs... Good Luck!! :D and ps. as well.... Labs and Goldens are advertised as the "perfect first time dog" in just about every dog related magazine there is. Their breed standard says "they are intelligent, friendly, good with kids, easily trained", etc... FOR THE MOST PART - that is basically true. However, the ad's make people think that because they are so gentle they need no training. any untrained dog allowed to do as it pleases is dangerous, bottom line. No matter what the breed. In the case of your Bully, training is essential.

How's it going Abker? Has the dust settled yet? :D

[quote]Feel????????????? [/quote] so when he goes to the vet, do they grab his neuticals and make him turn his head and cough? OMD that just cracks me up...... No, the dog doesnt miss them. I've never had one yet who's personality and playfullness didnt IMPROVE once they were gone. neuticals......that's too much for me - LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you click wrong the page gets weird.... sometimes just rebooting the PC will take care of it...

Mutley....I like that! :D Most breeders will breed one, or maybe two, different breeds, usually the same type, like Toy, Or Sporting, etc... The breeder I worked for bred both Goldens and Labs, but he had a contract with the Seeing Eye to provide top notch guide dogs, and both breeds are well recognized in that field.

if the basement is cool, he'll be ok. A lawn sprinkler sometimes works for a dog that wont lay in a pool....it wont hurt him to be hot....they will pant it out and be ok as soon as it cools off, if they are quiet... my lab will lay in a kids swimming pool all day if I let her, but some dogs just dont like them.

I dont even want to know the shape the dogs were in, if the humane society got involved...... sick bastards..... :evil:

well, you could breed him to an AST, and call it the American Shstaffordshire Shterrier, and tell people that the kennel club requires you to drink heavily before showing them, to insure you pronounce the breed name correctly... :D

no, I get the big red X.... puppy biting is normal, she may be teething. put a towel on the floor and when she starts to bite, make her lay on it and giver her some ice cubes to chew on, with a verbal command like "ice" or something. that way she'll associate the word with the ice, and them when she starts to nibble you can say Ice? and she'll go lay down for it. it also helps with the teething pain.... :)

I often wonder if dogs eat cat poopies because when the puppies are young, it's her job to clean the den of all waste....so she would eat it.... just a thought....

also, in the case of the Goldens, that price is for pet quality. If they have good, stable bloodlines and papers, they can run as high as $3000 and $4000 for show quality dogs. Especially if the bloodline is well established and has proven itself to be free of many of the poor breeding ailments, and fits all the requirements to be a top show dog....

I agree Rosebud!! other side of the coin, as I've said before, is that everyone thinks since my dog looks like a lab that she is a child magnet and they can run up and hug her!! I've never heard of a Daisy Dog (does it wear short-shorts, like Daisy Duke? lol) and I doubt even it was recognized by the AKC and others, that they would allow it to be called a Daisy Dog as a breed standard. I can only think of one that falls outside their naming convention - most of them are Something Retriever, pointer, hound, terrier; or like the RR, named after the country and the shape of it's back....the French Poodle, things like that...I dont know what Chihauhah means in Spanish, if anything, but maybe that's an exception too. The only one I can think of right off hand (correctl me if I'm wrong, of course) is the Papillion; which means butterfly in French....Kinda like the Chihahau maybe?

Mary, Behle, REALIZE that the reason they want to ban Pit's is an "easy" solution. so much easier, neater, than enforcing laws to FORCE OWNERS TO CARE - force them to have their dogs trained, force them to realize that this breed CAN BE DANGEROUS IF NOT RAISED PROPERLY. FORCE them to be responsible owners..bottom line... they want to blame the dogs, not the owners, for the bad things they do. The "owners" cant be responsible, they're PEOPLE - these are just dogs. and laws are easier to pass about dogs.....this is what we have to fight, continously..... It just MAKES ME SICK.... :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Its hot here - I have a fan in my doorway, bringing the air conditioning into my room....she wont walk around it - she whines to come in, even tho there is plenty of room to get by...She cant stand anything blocking her path, or any enclosed places...she wouldnt be crated. I had to baby gate her in the bathroom, which is big, or she panicked and destroyed things. (during housebreaking) Anyone ever hear of this? I've never had a claustrophobiac dog before......

Mary's Mama is right. They are extrme;y high=energy dogs, need something useful to do (agility training is good for these dogs) need some kind of "work" to keep them happy. They need tons of good durable toys, lots of exercise (a SECURELY fenced yard is best) and like Mary said, never let them off leash. They run. and run. and run. and run....... they also chase cats pretty badly, unless they are socialized kinda young... good luck!! glad you took a rescue!!

black lab/German Shorthair Pointer mix