JackieMaya

That's so funny! I've seen something very similar only about horses.

HF, thanks! I'm anxious to get my boy home and get him back to being a puppy! DO, I live in Minneapolis. When I pick Pooh Bear up at the vet clinic tomorrow, I'll ask them if they know of any hydrotherapy places around the Twin Cities.

And thanks everybody for all the good thoughts about my Pooh Bear! You guys are da bomb!

I'm pretty sure someone on here suggested a big horse water tank for Pooh Bear to do his hydrotherapy in. I suppose I would want to get a life vest for him too. Do you think that would work if I can't find a hydrotherapy place around me? It's been raining every day, and I don't think it's going to stop for a while, so I really don't want to go to the lake in the rain. Hey, I just had an idea! What about if I fill up the bathtub? He's always wanted to go in there anyway. He helps me wash my hair when I stick my head under the faucet in the bathtub. He's fascinated by the water. Do you think the bathtub would work? Then I could have the water warm too.

DO, I don't know if there's an actual hydrotherapy place near me, but I do live a half block from a lake. I've taken Jackie swimming there before.

If you can figure out how to get Sassy to shut up, let me know! I'm still working on Pooh Bear's barking. If there weren't any squirrels or birds, he would be fine, but he gets totally mommy deaf when he sees them. I found that the only thing that can grab his attention is to jiggle his leash. But if I do that all the time, he'll figure it out.

The vet clinic just called and said that the surgery went very well and that Pooh Bear is waking up! I'm so relieved! Now comes the hard part -- the aftercare. When I pick him up tomorrow, they'll give me the lowdown on what he needs to do in his recuperation. Okay, I can breathe now!

I'll be happy when Pooh Bear gets out of the puppy stage! He's taken bites out of three leather recliners, one sofa, one dog bed, two harnesses, one leash, several shoes, and he ate the leg off of the clay statue I had made of Jackie! So now Jackie has three legs. LOL! Good luck with Toby! Like Pyrless said, it might just take more time with Toby than it did with your other dogs.

Wow! Some great ideas there for Kong stuffers! I've been putting peanut butter in Pooh Bear's Kong when I put him in his crate, but I'll bet he would like to have some other stuff in there too! He's always in the crate waiting for me before I even finish PBing the Kong!

I dropped Pooh Bear off at the vet clinic this morning, and he was so happy to be there! He just couldn't wait to go back with the assistant! They obviously must have treated him very well the last time he was there! That sure made me feel better! I'll let you know later in the day how the surgery went.

What a great story! And non-dog people wonder why we feel the way we do about our dogs!

Crystal, does Toby get enough exercise? Maybe he has too much energy and that's how he's releasing it, by play biting? Maybe if you could take him for a long walk every day his attitude would improve. Just a thought. I also think that a puppy training class would be a good idea. Good luck with Toby.

Jackie is a bit of a picky eater. If she's not hungry when it's lunch time, she won't eat. If I want to make sure she eats when the other dogs do, I'll squirt some doggie gravy on the bottom of her bowl and then put her dry food on top. That way she has to eat the food to get to the "good stuff." I've done it with peanut butter on the bottom of the bowl too.

I agree, K. When will people learn? You don't leave a child alone with a dog, ESPECIALLY new dogs! Such a sad, sad thing to happen.

Pooh Bear is having his hip surgery on Thursday, and I'm so nervous about it. I know that it's the best thing to do for my little guy, and it just breaks my heart to see him walk around with that terrible limp, but there's always the possibility that something can go wrong. It took him two days to recover from the anesthesia the last time he was x-rayed and sedated that I'm afraid what it'll be like for him after being totally under. And I'm nervous about how he'll be feeling after the surgery, and nervous about him hurting his hip before it's totally healed. The vet said he isn't worried about him playing the the girls. And I'm sure that he'll be real sore for a while after the surgery and he'll tell them that he doesn't want to play. I don't pray, but if you do, Pooh Bear (and I) could use any prayers and good thoughts you guys can muster! I'm glad I didn't give up smoking yet! :HUT012: [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0VwAAAE8aVnkU8Y5MeJW*jV9PSS!M41oLXSbxSQDc8i66GmQxz1BWWPSydB3tEeTjM8DRztlCxcFU7TKeQDoLhF6nbLtSUl7NppqlvPIX3Bvh4PPNH5kT1fv9tE1xhAXI/Canon%200021.jpg?dc=4675520631922086502[/img]

With my dogs, instead of "chill" I say "time out," which means the same as chill does for your dogs. And I agree with everything that Courtnek said.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for Pooh Bear. I'm scared to death about the surgery. No surgery (or anesthesia) is guaranteed safe. But it just breaks my heart to see such a young happy puppy have such a terrible limp when he walks around. He can run real fast, but he limps terribly when he's walking. I just want him to be able to play and be happy and not be in pain -- for a LONG time. When they sedated him for the last set of x-rays, it took him two days to recover from the anesthesia. I'm afraid to see how he'll be when they put him all the way under for the surgery. I'll just have to think positive!

[quote]Quote: "People have to call us and tell us if a dog attacks another dog, chickens or anything like that because once they get the taste of blood, they're going for something else," says Wells. [/quote] Yeah, whatever. Jackie is the sweetest dog in the whole world, but if a little animal like a squirrel or rabbit gets in her yard, she'll kill it. She's a born hunter. But that doesn't mean that she's going to attack a person. The animal control officer who said this obviously doesn't know dogs very well.

I think most of the people in my neighborhood would like to put a shock collar ON THE HIGHEST SETTING on my neighbors! Actually, I think I'm going to put off using the shock collar for now. Pooh Bear is having his surgery on Thursday, and I'll be having him out there on a leash for a little while after his surgery before I can let him run, so that will be a good time to practice the no barking when he's on the end of a leash! I hope there will be lots of squirrels and birds out then!

[quote]NILIF stands for Nothing In Life Is Free Meaning that he has to do something to get ANYTHING. He wants to go on a walk, he has to do something good (sit, down, roll over, whatever). If he doesnt do what you ask him to do, he doesnt get his walk. Soon enough he'll learn that if he's going to get what he wants, he needs to do what you want first.[/quote] Isn't this just a normal part of training? It always has been for me with any dog I've had. My dogs all sit and wait before they go out the door, sit before they get their food, give things to me if I want them, etc. When I first teach them "give", I grab the end of what they have, but don't pull it, and say "give." I don't pull it because then they think it's a game. I look at them in the eyes and say "give", and it doesn't take too long for them to figure out that I'm not going to give up. When they give it to me, I give them LOTS of praise.

I really hate to do it, but I'm going to have to go with the shock collar now. Pooh Bear gets so focused on the birds and squirrels that I just can't get him to stop. When he was sitting next to me, when he would bark, I would close his mouth with my hand and say "SHHHHHH", but when he's outside and sees the wild critters, he just can't help himself. And I think I will give the neighbors a nice call and explain the situation. I'm very good at being civil (even if I don't feel civil). Other than the barking, Pooh Bear is so well-behaved it's just amazing. He's only in the crate when I'm gone, and he's being just wonderful. Wish me luck with the barking problem!

The yellow lab I used to have (Sandy) would always chase the birds at our lake home. One day, he was running full out while he was looking up at the birds and he ran right into the rope that was tying the canoe to the tree. He somersaulted over the rope and kept on running. LOL. It was if he had said "I meant to do that!"

Okay, now I'm trying a different tactic with the barking. Every time Pooh Bear barks, I go "SHHHHHHHHHH" as loudly as I can. I do it at the same time as he's barking. It distracts him and he stops! I've been doing the "SHHHHHHHH" thing with Maya too, and it works pretty well. So I'll let you know if my SHHHHHHHHer works!

Pooh Bear is fascinated with the birds. He barks like crazy when he sees them. Jackie and Maya don't get excited about birds, just squirrels. But... One time a bird was lowering its landing gear to land in the big evergreen tree right next to the fence. Just as it was preparing to land in the tree, Jackie jumped up in the air and grabbed it in mid-flight! I was absolutely amazed. Jackie killed the bird immediately and then gave it to Maya. Jackie is the hunter in the family. She's killed 1 bird, 2 squirrels, 2 rabbits, and a baby something.

[quote]Train them to bark less. Its just pure laziness(sp?)[/quote] Of course I'm not even considering debarking, but because a dog is a barker doesn't mean the owner is lazy. I'm having a lot of trouble with Pooh Bear's barking now, and I'm working with him on it. He's kind of in sensory overload now in my big back yard with all the birds and squirrels. I don't think he's ever seen wildlife (or much of it) before.