courtnek

you can order it from Amazon.com at the following link [url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-5475546-8274207[/url] It's 12.00 for new and 9.00 for used, in paperback form. Good Luck!! :D

Thank you VERY much Rosebud....I will check out the fungicide co. They get it by inhaling it from the soil. The spores get in their lungs and then it starts attacking organs. On Alex's case, the organ it attacked was his eyes, but it could have been any one of them. Over time it would spread and affect all of the organs anyway....Alex was a horrendous digger, which Freebee is not, but I am afraid she will "check out" his holes because she misses him...I will put the fungicide or bleach into his holes and then fill them in with stones. I really dont care if nothing ever grows there again. I was thinking of puttint those decorative walkway stones in that whole area so that no dog will ever be able to dig there again. But I want to get the fungicide and use it on the lawn,.just in case. thanks again. :)

HNM, I have a suggestion. I read your PM and I know your upset, but try this at least. It's helped me with every dog I have ever owned!! There is a book you can buy, by a behaviorist named John Fisher, called "Why Does My Dog...."...and it explains dog behaviour from A-Z, with good examples and training tips. A lot of what I know came from this book, and it has never steered me wrong. And it's a FUN book to read. The man has an excellent sense of humor, and the reading is light and easy to follow. Believe me, it would be a fun book to read even if you didnt have a dog, because of his writing style. Give it a shot. It may help you with Hazel, and it will teach you alot, trust me. XXX :D Katy If you cant get it for some reason, let me know and I'll get a copy and send it to you!!

Guilty as charged. She gets no food from the table, no matter HOW hard she begs, but if she lays down and behaves while we eat she will get leftovers mixed in with her dry.

You will need to blank her for the first 5 minutes or so, make sure she sits and doesnt get all hyper when you come in. After that, however, you can give her a command like "Huggies!!" and make a big fuss over her and you should be ok. It's the initial "walk through the door greeting" that yu have to control

Rosebud, I think you may be right. I HAVE been kinda fawning on Freebee cuz she seems so lost, and I have also been checking her for any signs of this ilness, so maybe PushyCat is feeling left out. I'll let him sit on the bed tonight too. Thanks. I am so messed up over this I'm not thinking straight. :D p.s. I am putting Roundup (major-strength-kill-anything-alive weed killer) in the holes that Alex dug, and then covering them with stones so that she cant ever get to them. Thanks

Not yet, but I have a new concern... PushyCat seems to be fighting alot with Freebee....nipping at her as she goes by.. anyone heard of this? it almost seems like he is mad that Alex is gone, and is blaming it on Freebee...They have never been this so much at odds.....

There is another side to this coin which is just as bad...people avoid rotts and pits because of their reputations, but they gladly let their kids pet labs and goldens, because they are "kid dogs".... MY lab is NOT a kid dog, and I wish people would stop saying "OH look - its a lab!! go pet it!!" A dog is a dog is a dog....Like people, they cant be analyzed because of breed (or color, or race, or national origin) I have heard stories of goldens that attacked small children, labs that caused terrible injuries, each dog needs to be considered as an INDIVIDUAL, not as a breed standard.... Why cant people get that????? A dog is an ANIMAL!!!! In most cases things turn out ok, but not all labs are good with kids, not all goldens wil lay down and let you stomp on them.....You see stories of people communing with bears (Gentle Ben comes to mind) but I would NOT walk up to your average bear and introduce myself.... grrrrrrrr.... :o

On that note, Rott, I have a question (probably a dumb one, but I am not real familiar with the bully breeds) What is the difference between an American Staffordshire Terrier and a American Pitt Bull Terrier? Are the AST's less aggressive? Sorry, I dont mean to upset anyone, I just want to know.... thanks Katy

Freebee takes off everytime someone leaves the gate open, but I have been doing recall training with her and the last time she came straight back....If I can get her to come back first time every time I may take her to the local dog area. It's not fenced in, so I want to make sure she will come when I call her.

I would not recommend letting a 2 year old spray the lemon water in the dogs mouth, because she could easily miss and hit his eyes. And as was mentioned before, you should never leave a small child unsupervised with a dog, even a puppy. Until she gets a little older, you will need to discipline him for his mouthing. He's teething, but he should never be allowed to set teeth to flesh, and he needs to learn that now. If thge lemon water doesnt work (goldens are very stubborn, I had one) an alternative is bitter apple, or simple black pepper. Put it on a spoon and wipe it on his tongue, with a loud and boisterous NO BITE!! and explain to your daughter that you are not mad at him, but this is the only way he can learn. You can teach her to say NO BITE once he has learned the command, and from that he will start to see her as alpha over him. It sounds harsh, but neither substance will hurt him and the extremely unpleasant taste will break him of nipping sooner that commands will. It also puts you in a position of control, as soon as he sees the spoon he will learn to back off. If you are uncomfortable with the bad taste solution, there is one other thing you can do which will stop him. Grab his ear with thumb on one side and fingers on the other and and clamp down with your nails just hard enough for him to feel it and know you are displeased. Again, say NO BITE. The clamping down on the ear is similar to what his mother would do (She would use teeth) and instinctively he will know he is wrong. You do have to pinch hard enough for him to try to pull his head away, so he knows you are displeaed, but not hard enough to really hurt him. Then make him sit, and rewqard him when he does (goldens want all the hugs and kisses they can get) . Good luck to you!! :D

Just find out if you can return her if she and your boys dont get along.... I am happy for you. I havent found the perfect playmate for Freebee yet, Hope all goes well. :D

HNM LISTEN TO ME!! I worked with a breeder who trained dogs worse than Hazel. Dogs who bit children, dogs who chewed thru fences to get away, dogs who attacked other dogs for no reason. yes, you are 15. Yes, you are sick and tired of this sh**. YOU NEED TO DECIDE! to keep Hazel, or not. If YES, then you need to follow all of the advice previously given. You have a dog with ALPHA SYNDROME. She works fine in obedience because she sees the trainer as Alpha. YOU NEED TO BE ALPHA. Forget the obedience training. forget the agility trials, forget everything except that YOU NEED TO BE ALPHA. I am 46 years old Hazel. I have a son who is failing in school, bad attitude, thinks he knows everything (typical). YOU have to be the strength. the guiding hand, the firm decision maker. Dogs are easier to handle than kids, trust me.... I know your parents arent helping, but YOU CAN DO THIS. She needs to be crated when you are not there, You need to enforce all Alpha rules on her like mentioned above...Please Hazel - try to think this out. I wil help you in any way I can. PM me if you want.

Gooey's advice is excellent. Put him on a long lead that is within your reach, and let him roam. This is also the standard way to teach recall... Good Luck!! :D

They know. Better than us.....

Then if they sell/give away the dog they have to alert the vet, or the police, or a database somewhere with the new owners name and address. It could be done, if anyone was willing to invest the time and money into getting the laws changed. There is still too much of a "they're only animals" attitude out there... I also think that if they knew they would get caught for dumping, they'd be less likely to do so.

THANK YOU DAISY!! I found THREE of them, one male and one female and Sammie. I need to arrange off-territory meetings with them, I think part of Freebee's response may have been because Dexter (The lab/pit mix} was in HER yard.... again, thanks! One of them, Riley, looks exactly like Freebee!! Twins!! LOL :D

I am beginning to believe that all dogs should be chipped, and if one is found in that condition the owners better have a DAMN GOOD REASON for why it was like that...... I can see a dog escaping, getting lost and maybe the owners couldnt find it, but they better be able to prove they tried REAL HARD..... It makes me so angry..... I lost mine to disease, and some people just throw them away like they're trash..... :evil:

Well, sadly, Gypsy didnt work out either. I got an email back that she is dog defensive and needs a home with her as the only pet.... <sigh> I know, I need to be patient, but Freebee seems so - lost - she goes out in the yard and sniffs all the places he's been, and everytime I come home she has this expectaion look on her face, and he's not with me.....Oh well. I'll keep looking. Thanks everyone :)

Hazel, for the time you're not with her she should be crated or baby-gated in a room where she cant run to the door, she cant get to the cat food or the counters, etc. She is very headstrong obviously, but you can demote her by proving to her that you are in control at all times. As far as leashing goes, I have a "reel in" leashe that is a basic thick grade wire. You can let her out on it, or push the "stop" button and reel her in. It can also be locked at any length you want. This would be for outdoors, not in, but I dont believe they can chew thru them. For walking her outside they are ideal. Also, for the yard, youy can get wire runners like was mentioned before, but they have to be securely fastened to a tree or fence so that she cant pull them out. You can also get heavy duty runner's to attach to the line that are pretty much invincible. Also, recallis desperately important, for her safety and everyone elses. She has to learn to come when you call, but never call her in anger. EVERYTIME she returns voluntarily, treat her with something. a ballgame, or something she likes to eat, or hugs and kisses, it doesnt matter. Just so long as you make returning to you the most pleasant thing to happen to her. Good luck! it takes time and patience, but you can do it!!

DONT GIVE UP Hazel!! DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT!!! You may need to change your training a bit. You may need to keep her under tighter control, but dont give up!! Did you ever consider companion leashing? You leash her on a six foot leash and attach the other end to you whenever you're with her. This forces her to follow you around and obey your commands. I'm going to start it with Freebee for recall purposes. (I have to buy the leash). Dont know if it will work, but it's worth a try!! When you're not with her, keep her either crated or baby-gated in a room. Treat her like a puppy you're trying to housebreak. Then when she's leashed to you, run her through her whole command stream. Sit Stay come...just dont let her loose until she has been demoted enough to start obeying regularly.. Best of luck to you!! :D

I am SOOO sad....I have been searching the web at animal shelters looking for a companion for Freebee...they are mostly Pits!! It;'s SOOO wrong...I wish I could take one, and if I didnt have Freebee I would, but because they can be dog aggressive I cant risk it. Rott will understand... I think there should be training at shelters for adopting these dogs...they would have let me adopt one. even with Freebee and PushyCat... If I was home all day I could watch them, and intervene if something came up, but I'm NOT!! I have to work!!! I am sooo sad for them!!! On a better note, I have an enail in on a lab mix named Gypsy.... we'll see what comes up...

I had the so-called Lab/Weimeraner mix out today to meet Freedee.. First, his foster owner did not tell me the whole truth on the phone. He is not part Weimeraner (I know what they look like) he is part Pit Bull. Then she had told me he was neutered, and he wasnt ("musta been a misunderstanding.....") then she had told me he's really good with other dogs..." I guess that depends on how you define "really good"....He wasnt aggressive, but neither was he friendly, towards me or Freebee....Then she told me "well, he really doesnt like small dogs..." Freebee is NOT a small dog at 75 lbs....And he acted like he owned the yard as soon as he walked in. She went up to sniff him, and then started to back up and bark. She was afraid, not aggressive. She had her tail down low, wagging, but she was barking at him whenever he got close so she obviously didnt like him. And was afraid of himn. So I said "no, it wont work" and sent them on their way... He was a very pretty dog, but I have to look out for Freebee. And he wasnt even that friendly to me, which is unusual in itself, but especially from a lab....Oh well.

Freebee would be one of those girls who flirts, plays, looks cute, UNTIL someone crossed her....Wouldnt matter if the someone was a guy or a girl....she would definitely make her presence known if somthing ticked her off.... Then after she'd ripped this person a new one, she would go back to being coy and apologize..... :D

Same ****, different day...I know how you feel. Everyone's kids want to pet freedee cause she looks like a black lab, but she's a mix and not particularly fond of strangers or small children....it's annoying I know....