Peng1zrule

I have a siberian husky. His name is Fang and he is who knows how many years old. I can guess at ten--I've had him five years and I was told he was five, (by the animal shelter) but a knowledgeable relative examined his teeth several years ago and said he looked much older and that it was a common practice for rescuers and shelters to take off a few years if it came close to an older dog's "time." He is black and white and gorgeous! His "wife" is an american pitbull terrier and he loves squeakies and (gulp) all smaller animals. He loves them in an unhealthy way. He does no sledding or pulling or any sports huskies are into. His favorite activity is voraciously enjoying airconditioning.

I hope I'm not to late to be responding to this...I have to be fast. The owner being with the dog in the room can make it worse...vets and groomers are used to being nipped, so don't worry!

if he's shown evidence of having his throat hurt by pulling (and they can do irreversable damage by pulling) get him in a harness asap. Now, when you walk him, stuff your pockets with treats. When he pulls, walk briskly in the opposite direction. He will eventually turn and come toward you, and for a few blessed seconds, the leash will be slack. Quickly stop the backward motion, praise the dog, and start forward again. Continue to praise the dog until the leash is taut. The leash will become taut because the dog will have started in the original direction again. The second it is taut, start backwards again. Praise when the leash is slack, and start forward again. This could take months to fully train him, but after that, he will need only a slight reminder. (in the way of pulling him toward you, then releasing him once he has turned) With the treats, work on "leave it" "come" and of course, "sit" "down" and "look at me"

My sister is a Petsmart groomer...they probably didn't give them water so the dogs wouldn't need a second bath. It's an unspoken, but unnegotiable rule, that if the dogs have water or snacks at any time during the grooming, they'll mess in the crate, then get all in it, and need to be bathed or groomed all over again.

Let them have a run everyday. Put a leash on them when they are supervised inside--then you can teach them to not chase the cat. I would suggest for a while, at least, you let them out one at a time. Leashed, and alone, you can easily train them NOT to chase the cat...step on the leash (while they chase) at the exact moment you say, loudly, "No! leave it!" and praise them as if it were there on idea for stopping the chase. Training them is not hard. Use treats they'll work for and wait until a few hours before mealtime--then they'll be very willing to work. Standing, let a pup (don't have them BOTH being trained at the same time--they'll lose interest in you and play with each other) sniff the treat (I use chicken dogs) and then bring it above the pups head slowly, while saying "sit" if you have to, let the pup nibble as you guide the treat up and back. They will ease into a sitting position. Praise calmly, firmly, and lavishly, with lots of petting. Give the treat, of course. Or take hold of the collar, say "sit" and push the dog into a sit, then give the treat and praise. once the dog learns to sit, it will probably try to stay seated, in an attempt to keep getting treats. Hold a treat out, let the dog sniff it, then pull it back while saying, "stand" the dog will stand to follow. praise and give the treat. Once the dog knows sit and stand well, you can forget about stand, or keep it, if you feel it will be useful later on. Once the dog has sat, let it sniff the treat. Lead it's nose as low to the ground as possible (for most dogs, the nose can touch the ground from a sitting position) then pull the treat slowly back--the dog will lay down as he stretches out to reach the treat. Say "down" as he begins to untuck his elbows for the downward move. give him the treat only when his chest touches the ground. To teach "stay" you put him in a sit, show him a treat, and move it away. He will start to stand. Tell him, "no, stay" with emphasis on stay. praise when he decides to stay sitting. when he learns to stay in a sit, have him stay in a down--I have found a 'down stay' much harder to teach...go slowly...a two second downstay, then a five second, ten second...so on, until he downstays for a whole minute. I have even trained mine to stay down while I leave the room for a whole two minutes. When the dog begins to act up, go back to what he already knows--the very basic sit and stand routine. have him sit, stand, sit stand a few times, praise him and treat him well, then quit your training--always end with this very easy practice--don't ever let the session end with him being frustrated. Let the dogs wrestle each other for a while every day, until they wear themselves out, then take them out to go potty immediately afterwards, and they'll catch on to "potty training" quickly! Being so young, they will want to wrestle and tug almost constantly, which is fine, since they spend alot of energy doing it. If you wear them out right before bed, let them have a drink, then send them out to potty, I find they sleep for a good four to six hours without waking you up. Good luck!

go online and request some catalogs, pet edge is a GREAT one, but care alot pets and some others are good too. Use frontline, and amatraz tick collars. Try treating your yard, too. I can think of [url]www.jbpet.com[/url] off the top of my head, [url]www.allpets.com[/url] too. they'll send you a catalog. In the meantime, get some lemon dish soap and see if that'll take care of ticks, and (yes, I am advising deceit) start sneaking Rowie in late at night and putting her out early in the morning. After awhile, come clean--that the dog has been in your room, and your room only, for some time and there have been NO problems. My dogs, because I still live at home, are confined to my bedroom almost all the time. I don't mind it, and they're very happy that they are protected from the elements. I also did obediance work with them and carefully planned the time to debut my well trained dogs. I'm still amazed it worked, lol.

Alpha dog reasoning does not work when the dog is ready to back up his vy for topdog position. Staring down a dog and alpha rolling the dog is a good way to get bit, especially in the face. A trip to the vet is definately in order, and if he's fine, you COULD try retraining him, but I would not suggest this if at any time there will be small children around him. I got one of mine from the pound, and he had problems--put that in capitals--PROBLEMS. He still does, but the major ones are past now. If I had had small children around him, I would've had to put him down. But since I have no kids, and have no relatives with kids, I worked with him. It took three years to get him to where I felt alright walking him down a public road, but never around strangers (I know all my neighbors and they know me and know his temperment) and I still never take chances.

I thought I was the only one with a dog with home-decorator aspirations...the landlord (expletives bleeped) didn't finish the wall of my bedroom. No, this genius of a man nailed plyboard (?) over a HOLE IN THE WALL. Well, it kept the air out but not the dog in. He chewed a hole in it, yanked up the floor (linoleum, no carpet--FINALLY) and GOT OUTSIDE. It's a good thing he didn't come back home for quite awhile.................

the few times I've seen the show, it's never been what I thought it would be (that is, the idiots breeding thier pets so their children could see "miracles") I remember crying because they were showing this sea otter named Homer who really, really, wanted a baby--she even kidnapped another otter's! When she finally had hers, it was stillborn. I felt so bad that she truly seemed to want that baby, and it was dead...she didn't even realize it at first. Another time, it was an orca whale having a baby...and before that, a llama...I guess I just tune in to the right episodes.

He looks (from what I can see) and acts (in the picture) like Calliope. I took a long time choosing her name...everyone got on me for giving her such an odd name that I told them my next male would be named Ichabod. =)

you CAN keep two dogs of opposite sex in your house, unaltered. But to me, it's MUCH better to get no less than ONE fixed. When she goes in heat, she will WANT to get pregnant by him. And he will not eat for a week or more. He will destroy all property he can reach that he feels is in the least way obstructing him from her. He will dart past your feet, out the door, and attack much bigger, meaner, and innocent dogs for "no" reason. If you've got other dogs, he may attack them, too. You risk her not producing quality pups (the quality you want) because I have not yet met one person who has never had an "oops" because they felt they could keep a male and female apart. it's a risk to keep them together and unaltered! I know of a breeder whose dogs live in crates from day one of her heat til day thirty. and in seperate rooms. with closed and locked doors. they learned from their mistakes. as for cancer...altering reduces the risk, not increases it. even nuetering is said to cut down the risk of testicular cancer. and for females, they can get mammary tumors as well as ovarian and uterine cancer.

last night was bathnight...always fun. Gypsy always follows me, and Sandy too. They know it's coming and hang thier heads. they drag thier feet, but they come. if on a leash, buddy trots along like a prize show winner until he sees the bathroom door, then he tucks his tail and starts looking over his shoulder. India bolts. I have to chase her down, pull her out from under the bed (or her crate) and carry her. she shakes all the way. then I fill the tub. Sandy goes flying in and falls half asleep as I shampoo her. buddy reacts as if the tub is the electric chair. he then spends his whole bath knocking bottles over and splashing water out. India sulks and sighs extravagantly. Gypsy, once the water is right, seems to enjoy the whole process. She gets in on command, allows her self to be lathered (but grumps all the while) then gets a rinsing. I drain the tub, then rinse her feet. I give her the shake command (she's the only one I can get to shake in the tub) then tell her "feet up, don't get out" and she waits until she's fully toweled before hopping out...then she towels herself on my bed. and my clothes. and wipes her face on me. then she waits, tail wagging, while I plug in the hair dryer. this is her favorite part and she is miserable if she does not get dried.

[quote name='Mei-Mei']Oh, I forgot to mention deafness in Dals, but I think you already know that.[/quote] the more white on the ears...the more likely the dog is to be deaf...

I used to own one...be careful when selecting dalmatians...if the breeder is spelling the name wrong, that should throw up a half dozen red warning flags...remember, its dalmatiAn, from the now-defunct land of Dalmatia. they are now very popular and you can run into some nasty ones. dalmatians cannot, ever, ever, ever, be bought, brought home, and left alone in the backyard. or front yard. they MUST live inside. (with lots of outside time) train them from the day you get them (or at least the week) they have alot of energy but are not "hyper." they can be trained and should be. they are very, very, incredibly, sweet, but they remember any ill treatment for years afterwards. they are smart. they love thier people, but can be too rowdy for small children. they learn fast. the ones I have known love other dogs. I've never known one that won't try to kill chickens or chase cats.

your new dog will not copy extremely aggressive behavior...behavior like this is born in. when she bit you, that is NOT normal. Some people like to try to train the dog out of biting again...I know it's hard to do, as you do love them, but if a dog bites me in the way you were bit (that is, an aggressive, deliberate chomp that broke the skin, eye contact was made) I would get rid of it...and not try to give it away...chances are, doggy will try this again. Also, if you decide to keep both...maybe try keeping them seperate from now on...if she's beating on him badly enough to require 22 staples, this is not dominance, this is something that you cannot allow to happen again.

check the phonebook, call and ask your vet...always preview the class for yourself by watching a session. be sure to ask how the trainer feels about dogs of certain sizes (I have a friend who brought her westie to a class, and the trainer wouldn't teach that dog-by ignoring him, no matter how good or bad he did-and refusing to discuss him with the owner by saying, "all little dogs are good for is looks, they're all small and too yappy and don't really need to be trained" My friend took her check back and walked away without a second glance) I trained my dogs myself and socialized them by bringing them everywhere. there's an upclass store called Julia Rush in Hickory, and Ms. Rush is a dog lover--she lets me bring them in! I also ask for puppy playdates, and when company comes over, I have the dogs perform--actually reinforcing that they need to be focusing on me when something's going on, not on anything else. They are wonderfully well trained!

unless there was an actual attack--the pup being picked up and shaken, as most small dogs are, or many skin puncturing bites being delivered, i think you should not take the pup away...the time between five and eight weeks is when a pup learns most of the stuff it needs to--like pack order and being a dog...I have had dogs that I got younger than five weeks, and they were horribly nippy and aggressive.

I wouldn't mind them sleeping with me if they didn't all have to touch me! It's not the touching I mind...it's the waking up too sore to walk I mind. I kind of pretzel myself to make sure everyone has enough space for thier back and they are all getting along...and I'm the only one unhappy in the morning.

Okay, here we go...I got sandy when I was young. my uncle's house burned down, and so he couldn't keep her and her sister, cookie. cookie went to someone else. I got buddy from a Hardee's parking lot. He had been dumped, and as we later realized, abused. I got gypsy from my aunt, who found her in a dumpster (a two pound fluffy white pup in a dumpster!) she gave her to me because I gave her (gypsy) a bath. I got Fang from the pound. It was his last day. (ominous music cues) I got India racing down the highway--a dirty all black pup with a foxy face and corgi ears. She, too had been abused. She is terrified of hairbrushes, the come command, and any hand raised too fast. I got Calliope less than a week after my rottie died...my neighbor brought up this bulldogish looking pup with a black mask. She's always had an eerie sixth sense--she knows what "belongs" and what doesn't "belong." If you don't live there, she won't listen to you. If you do, she will. If the dog isn't mine, she'll scrap with it. If it is, she won't.

I recently discovered a "quirk" that I'm still bragging about...My APBT, Calliope, is kept in a dog lot, (when I'm gone) and has a house, some wooden pallets, and a couple blankets (she could get chilly!) I stuffed the blanket in her house one day before leaving. When I returned, I went to let her out, and she had drug it onto the pallet--to curl up on while she sat there. I thought it had to be a "fluke" until I noticed that where ever the sleeps, she drags the blanket over there! I gave her a second one when the weather got even cooler, and she now has quite a dilemma--she must move two blankets! She tries to pick them both up and drag them, but she ends up tripping on them. So she moves one, goes back for the other. Recently she decided to put them on top of her doghouse. she did move them back inside it for her nap.

she shouldn't. a "spay" is an ovario-hysterectomy, meaning that everything is removed. the only dogs that will seem to have a heat after a spay are ones that the vet did not entirely remove all the tissue, and if it happens, you need to go back to the vet and get it corrected.

this one is easy...either lay your hand absolutely flat, the treat in the middle, and turn your hand sideways to her, but this is not ideal as children often do not like to follow this direction. the other way is to take a treat she will gladly "work" for (like cheese, hotdogs, steak) and make a loose fist. show her the treat in your fist, keeping the outside of your hand to her, so that she has to push at your fingers with her nose to try to lower and open them. I work up to making them take it from between my fingers, and any brush of the tooth, I move the treat out of reach and gently say, "no bite, no bite." I praise when the treat is taken with just the tongue and lips, and no teeth. (and i've got dogs in all shapes and sizes, and there's not a one that hasn't learned this)

it sounds as if he's treating you like another dog. try regular obediance work on a daily basis with him. when one of mine tries to knock me down (to play, to get a reaction) I learn to watch that one closely and constantly. I wait until the moment of impact and move, leaving the dog with only empty air. as s/he reaches the spot he would have "got" me, I say, sternly, "NO! no play!" and if s/he is still intent on her game, I will take ahold of the collar and require a sit-stay for a short time. I wrestle with my dogs all the time and none of them have ever even chomped me playfully...the closest is when the golden puts her mouth over my hand and grrrr wumps (that's the sound she makes) but she doesn't even close her mouth...I also have a command that tells every dog to stop an action that very moment...I chose the word "hey" and always say it in a loud "growly" voice...i've prevented fights and broken up play sessions with that one word.

I would say crate just because she could mess up the room she was gated in. However, if her housetraining is starting to sink in and you are a light sleeper, she may whimper when she needs out and you would wake up and be able to take her out. I have one of mine in a crate...because she likes it. when she is nervous about something, she gets in it. even to sleep or eat, she will climb in with the door wide open and stay there for hours of her own will. I have a gate up and it works great for those that a) don't like the crate as much and b) don't jump the gate! As for the crying....my continously crated one only cries when she knows i'm out of the room...are you in the room when the pup cries? Maybe crating her only when you are there would help her.

raise your grades. if school is becoming more difficult for you, ask your parents about tutoring programs. many schools offer after-school tutoring for free. i think so long as you are trying as hard as you can, your dad should not punish you.