Peng1zrule

my dogs were friends, as so happens, i lost a few and gained a few, and now none of mine are friends. I wish I could make them be friends but I don't know how. I do know that your older one ignoring the younger one is normal. the younger one has not learned puppy manners, I, personally, would keep interfering with the puppy biting the older dog because the older dog shows no inclination to bite back. you could try to make them play tug of war or fetch together but I don't know that that would really work so well--mine are probably never going to be friends and this has not worked for me. It has worked for me in the past. Long walks together has worked in the past before, too. they get excited about spending time together, it's sort of a conditioning excercise.

have you taken him to the vet to rule out a health reason, like a uti?

maybe his throat is dry? If he's snoring, he's probably sleeping with his mouth open.

I have a german shepherd dog named Christobel. Christobel loves me more than anything in this world, except maybe food. She has seperation anxiety issues and a great working drive. She is scared of other dogs, and this is where I run into trouble--my neighbors moved away and left Sissy, a great pyrenees. A fantastic pyrenees, actually. Sissy loves me too, and they both have food issues, and Sissy beat Christo up in a fight over food. Christo is terrified of Sissy now, and I keep her outside, but Christo looks both ways and tip toes around her and just basicly acts scared to death of her, but is convinced Sissy will hurt me too (she won't, she has no people aggression, even over her food) and it causes them to fight. What is the smoothest way to move sissy to being an inside dog like christo and my other two (who are way, way, smaller than sissy and are also afraid of her)?

one nuetered jrt and one spayed jrt should get along fine, terriers tend to not get along well with other dogs, when mixing two dogs who may fight, opposite sex pairs that are BOTH altered get along best. I suggest obediance training just to make life easier for everyone involved-new dog, old dog, and YOU.

I disagree with the head halter advice-it's like an anti-pull harness, he isn't learning anything, you're just restricting him. I put a flat collar (NOT a choke) on my husky (a dog bred to drag things) and a leash, and when he pulled, I stopped walking. If he didn't come back to see why I wasn't moving, I turned and walked in the other direction, until he came after me. when the leash became slack, I immediately turned and walked back in the original direction. I trained all my dogs this way and it works. I suggest training him a "leave it" command, and using this for his small-dog aggression. When does he nip? He is a herding dog and he may be herding or he may be playing. As for the not-coming-back when there is a distraction-it takes years for a dog to be considered really reliable for a recall. A long time and a whole lot of training--start training now! teach a leave it command, don't take him off leash when there is a chance of something distracting coming around, and work, work, work, on the recall. And I agree, you have one of the smartest breeds ever, and he is just a pup, when he is grown, he will calm down, and you will adore him and be so glad for this dog.

he looks almost exactly like my purebred american eskimo...

Gypsy I got from my aunt a few days after my dad died. They had found her (all one and a half pounds) in a dumpster. (!) Toby belonged to a friend of mine. They had him two years, and her kids were not kind to him. So they asked me to take him. Christobel was running down a highway. I had seen her around the neighborhood for a couple weeks, so I knew she was homeless. I threw on the brakes, coaxed her in my car, and kept her...but that's a whole other story. Sandy i got when I was ten years old. I still have her. She's been with me through everything...my baby girl.

he probably shreds because it's something to do--mine all do it in their crates, and they even carry things to shred into thier crates. (argh) I just make sure it's all safe and that I approve of them shredding it before I let them have it. Don't feel bad for crating him...I've been gone awhile but I'm sure you're crating him for the best, and if he is left out and gets hurt or into something, you'll feel much worse because you had the crate and didn't use it.

[quote name='mnp13'][quote name='courtnek']I love Shepherds.....[/quote] You mean shepards[/quote] is this a joke. If so, i'm laughing now. if not...why are they shepards? sheep herding dogs... SHEP HERD. sheep pardoning dog? SHEP PARD. what does a shepard do? wait until a sheep is about to become mutton and pardon him? his sins? just not getting what a shepARD is.

I hope I'm not repeating anybody, I didn't read the other replies... Two problems with YOU training Remington: one is that you will grow attached to him. training forms a bond and you will end up being attached to him whether you want to or not. I speak from experience. The other problem is that yes, he will be very well trained...for you. Again, from experience. Several of the neighborhood dogs come when called, down when asked, sit when told...for me. Thier owners get the "who the H-E- double hockey sticks are you?" look.

I see alot of people saying "how" (btw, weirdest mix I ever saw...well, not the weirdest, but the weirdest I"ve seen in person--chihuahua mixed with a labrador...same chihuahua got with a dalmatian...some FUNNY looking pups!) In this case, I've seen the female lay down so the male can reach her...I assummed that's how it always happened

when he bites, stand tall, turn your back, cross your arms and put your hands in your armpits, put your heels and toes together, and look slightly up. it takes seconds to get into this positon, and it leaves the dog isolated. for me, yelping has just never worked. correction tends not to work, because they're not sure what they did wrong. "Isolating" them when they nip works because it is immediate and they gradually draw a connection...nip...no play...no nip...keep playing! it took minutes for my apbt to learn this, and I let her teethe on my knuckles when she was a baby.

thanks everyone for your replies...I didn't think others would realize that feeling...once, a very large white kitten got killed in the road. I have a very large white cat and was super disturbed by that kitten. It got so that I couldn't even drive by it--I'd close my eyes. after two or three days, the owners removed it, and I felt MUCH better. I'm hoping Buddy returns soon...today I think I'm gonna put up posters, and go door to door. I just can't see any reason for him not being home yet...he's such a pest, nothing stops him from getting outside, so I don't see why he has not come home yet...

Sunday, I was working at the resturaunt and found out one of my co-workers (and friends) had died in a car accident. I was devestated and came home to find that India was missing. Buddy is still missing, after two months, and I'm finding it very hard to deal with. So India was gone, too. It had been raining all day, so I assumed she had waited to be let in and everyone was too lazy to get up and look out when the rain started to see if she was there. When it started raining, after dark, and just pouring down, and she still hadn't come back, I started to worry. I thought of calling my friend, who lives up the road, to see if there was any sign of her, but by that time it was midnight. I went to sleep and got up thinking about India, and still feeling really horrible about my friend. Then my mother came in and asked me if I knew where her cat was. "no, why?" I asked, and she told me there was an orange cat in the road. I checked it out, it wasn't her cat, I moved it off the road, and was late to work at the college. They've got this PE teacher instructing ESL....he doesn't know what to do and they won't even let me have the key to the closet but expect me to lead this class of low-to-non-english speaking people. (NOT my job--i'm supposed to grade papers) So on the way home, I stop by the pound (twice weekly, looking for buddy) and see many pitbulls, all friendly and beautiful and they've been coming in three or four a week since that story about the little boy in charlotte being mauled. ANYWAY, on the way home, my mom suddenly remembers seeing a black dog five or six miles from the house, in the road. So I went and checked it out. The dog was destroyed beyong recognition, but it was all black and the right size to be India. I sobbed all the way home and went to the library, looking for something to do. I sobbed as I looked for books and dvds. I sobbed on the way home, and as I came in, my brother mentioned that Brenda, my friend up the road, had called to say she had India. I started laughing and crying and went to get her. As I came in, my friend pointed toward the bedroom, and i held my breath. India appeared and I started crying all over again. I picked her up (not something I usually do) and hugged her and kissed her and she got playful and bit my arms and hair and I didn't care...I was sooooo glad to have her back. so....sorry I ranted on so long! there was no one else to tell my terrible, horrible, day to.

could you please give us more information? this is a very vague post and it's hard to help with basically zero information.

four mutts...and here's why I'm against purposely breeding them. one of mine got missing two months ago. i've been going to the pound twice a week, every week...the amount of mixed breed puppies is heart breaking. there's always a dozen there--and i've been going TWICE A WEEK--and every time, it's a different dozen.

there is debate over whether "dixie dingos" are actually a breed. however...if the dog was found (bred, born, raised) in the city, consider it a mix breed and not a dixie dingo or any kind of dingo, for that matter. the basic description of the mixed breed could also apply to dingos (and, ahem, pitbulls) short haired, medium size, brownish color...you get the idea.

he is NOT doing his job--in no way is his job to be aggressive to innocent people. now, people who are accosting you, people who have barged into your house, have grabbed you or otherwise behaved threateningly--that's his job. but on walks, when he's snapping the leash out of your hand and knocking people over, that is simply aggression. I would NOT allow my dogs to do this...I would never think they were doing their job. My suggestion is not simple but it is straight forward--arrange to have him NEVER out of your control. If he's in the yard, you're with him. excersize him where he's fenced and secured, and no people are going to interrupt. when you're not home, he's in a secure crate inside the house. this kind of constant supervision is a full time job, but it's what it will take to prevent an "attack." While this is going on, consult with a professional behaviorist, not a vet--a behaviorist or a certified trainer. see what he or she thinks, and follow his or her advice to the letter.

I am doing a persuasive speech on tuesday and I need some ideas. basicly, if i could just get something to get me started... does BSL include insurance companies that require you to overinsure your breed? or areas that require you to carry huge amounts of insurance on your breed? or is it straight law making and statute passing? what are the best ways to combat bsl? is simple letter writing enough? I plan to point out (in a creative way, i could use some more ideas) that most of the people targeting pitbulls are not trained to identify them and that the identifying is subjective. I also plan to include (from Bandit by VH) the story of the new york lawmaker who planned to ban apbts until she met them as the owners brought them to her office. I know the best ways to write letters--but what about protests? How can I conclude? where can I find some actual facts and statistics to back up what i'm saying? i went on the cdc site and found a bunch of sociological reports saying that pitbulls are the most common biters, but it is likely that the dogs are not largely pitbulls as most of the people who had seen the bites or attacks were not very well-learned in the canine area, had only a glimpse of the dog, or were anti-apbt to begin with. in short--ANY ideas AT ALL, i'm open to them! please help me make this a dynamic speech!

[quote name='ebkelsey']I all honesty it was kinda a personal choice of not having him fixed. I got a male becaues obviously you don't have to worry about him getting pregnant. I know it may sound like a stupid excuse but that is really only one i have for not having him fixed. I don't plan on breeding him though. As for the other dog I don't know exactly why he isn't. Im not his guardian. I really didn't know that at that age the scent of a female in heat would set them off. You taught me something new there. I guess it could be pack placement, I expected it to happened at some point,but I didn't expect it this soon or all of a sudden like that. Thanks for the info though[/quote] males don't get pregnant, but they do more damage to the pet population than females. you're not planning on letting him breed. Does he know that? because he'll have other ideas on your plans for him. four months is young, but not too young for hormones to start kicking in.

I think we're getting somewhere...is your back to the door/him when he comes in? My neighbor's dog, Kelzie, was fine with me (right after I met her) but one day I went to let myself in the puppy pen as Brenda was leaning over with her back to me. Kelzie, who is actually a protection trained dog, barked twice and came at me. I turned around and put my hands under my chin just as she left the ground. I heard her teeth click and felt the wind as she missed my tricep by [i]thismuch[/i] Her behavior was that she didn't trust me entirely and felt I was sneaking up on her owner. Maybe if you advanced on him, it would make a difference. You stand up and go to greet him, perhaps laying a hand on his arm or something. It helps if you're just a second faster than she is. The idea is that you let her know that interaction between the two of you is okay. One last theory is that she feels she is above him in the pack. When they are alone, just the two of them, it's fine because with just two, there's no need to figure out order. But when there's three, things need to be figured out, and it goes you, her, him. Not You, him, her, like it should. Or, perhaps the talking and door slamming makes her nervous and her only course of action is aggression, but through love or submission, she turns her aggression away from you. (Have you asked him to not open doors boisterously? And try keeping your voices lower than usual?) [/i]

i can't...i can't even think of words. i'm absolutely disgusted. if those...wait, now i'm wanting to cuss 'cause i'm getting mad...if those people had handed me that as a CHILD...oh, my God. The trauma. The psychological TRAUMA. The years of therapy. OH MY GOD. Someone should call the freaking news about this. it's bad enough when they have a stupid cow dancing around outside of elementary schools, or having websites that say, "if you're a kid/teen who loves animals, request our literature!" and when the literature arrives, it's messages like "do you give a shit?" under the PICTURE of a SKINNED COW HEAD, but now they are actually causing anxiety that could carry on into adulthood, absolute loss of trust in the parent figure...This is not some stupid freaking campaign about what people did or did not have for dinner...this could mess up a LOT of kids.

[quote name='courtnek']LOL = sometimes, yes...but I was actually looking for something less "punishment orientated" and more "positive reinforcement"... :D[/quote] in psychology, we learned about things called positive punishment and negative punishment. what you are doing (grabbing the muzzle) is called positive punishment. it GIVES her something. a time out would be negative punishment, because it DEPRIVES her of something. My thinking is that she, for some reason, wants you to lay your hand on her. So in her brain, she is getting a reinforcer. OR, you may have actually reinforced her behavior in some way when he comes in. She may have been startled of him, and thought that you were too. When you correct her, she may feel it's just a pack order thing and that you are each playing a role. I would try, just once, not responding, at least not right away. I would not offer treats to redirect her because it poses the chance of her thinking you are out and out rewarding her for barking. You could call her to you and praise her, stressing the aspect that she "came!" First, call off the barking---"NO, hush! come here! GOOD DOG! You CAME!"

(what did I hit?) continuing....it's a bird! she's a bird dog! what she did was instinct...I wouldn't ever trust her with any of my birds, and I have three kinds of parrots.