For Dog Lovers.... Part 3

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
You guys remember that 6-pound heeler puppy I showed you about two weeks ago?

Well, he's about 20 pounds now, twice as tall and long. How does a puppy grow that much in two weeks?!
 
^

Speaking of heelers, here's quite a little survival tale.


A canine castaway lost at sea five months ago has been reunited with her owners after washing up on an island off the central Queensland coast and living off goats and koalas.


Jan and Dave Griffith were devastated when their Australian cattle dog, Sophie Tucker, fell overboard in choppy waters off Mackay in late November, while the trio were on a boat trip to Scawfeld Island.

"We hit a rough patch and when we turned around the dog was gone," Ms Griffith said.

"We were able to back track to look for her, but because it was a grey day, we just couldn't find her and we searched for well over an hour.

"We thought that once she had hit the water she would have been gone because the wake from the boat was so big."

Unbeknown to the Griffiths, their hardy hound swam five nautical miles to St Bees Island, where she hunted wild baby goats and koalas.

The hardy pooch, named after the famous 20th century Vaudeville star, was last week reunited with her family after rangers captured what they believed was a wild dog.

Ms Griffith said she contacted Marine Parks and Wildlife after learning from friends that rangers had captured Sophie Tucker, who was by then infamous on the island.

"She was seen on St Bee's looking pretty poor and then all of a sudden she started to look good and that was when they discovered she was eating baby goats," Ms Griffith said.

"She had become quite wild and vicious. She wouldn't let anyone go near her or touch her. She wouldn't take food from anyone.

"There are many theories...some say she drifted with current first to Keswick Island where there is a small community, but that when people tried to approach her she ran away and then swam to St Bees where she lived off the island's population of wild goats.

Marine Parks and Wildlife staff had told Ms Griffith that along with goats, Sophie Tucker had eaten koalas to stay alive.


The story has shocked animal experts.

RSPCA vet Vicki Lomax said Sophie Tucker's breed and her level of fitness had no doubt contributed to her survival.

"I've never heard anything like it, it's truly remarkable," Dr Lomax told brisbanetimes.com.au.

"Cattle dogs are probably the most suited type of dog to survive something like this, but it would have been a major ordeal for her.

"Five nautical miles is an incredibly big distance to swim for any type of dog and I dare say the current would have helped her along a bit, but is lucky she hasn't been taken by a shark.

"If this had been a Pomeranian, I don't think it would have been a happy ending - it's hair would probably have been too heavy."

Dr Lomax said pet dogs could turn feral and become aggressive very quickly as basic survival instincts kicked in, citing the example of Hurricane Katrina in the US, when many of the city's pets went wild and were left to starve.

"As soon as they see their owners, though, they return to normal behaviour."

Ms Griffith said Sophie Tucker had been quick to embrace her now easier existence - complete with air conditioning and a normal doggy diet.

"It's just like she's never been away. I put my sandshoes on and she goes and sits beside the lead," she said.

"It's just amazing."
Click to expand...

And a pic of Sophie

st_sophietucker-420x0.jpg


link
 
Aw, so many lovely fur kids! Here is my wild child. She's a 8 (almost 9 yikes!) year old Australian Shepherd named Jenna.

IMG_1607.jpg
 
U2Fanatic4ever said:
Thefly2U,
I love your pics of blue what a handsome boy he was.! I don't blame ya for missing him so. Looks like he had a great life!

I have a 7 month old chocolate Lab named Gracie..

here she is recently at a leash free dog park

IMG_1520.jpg


IMG_1514.jpg


IMG_1519.jpg


in the snow
GracieSnowDawg.jpg


graciesnowdawg1.jpg


graciesnowdawg2.jpg
Click to expand...

My parents have a chocolate lab and we call him a big chocolate kiss. He's really a small pony! :cute:
 
The Sad Punk said:
She's gorgeous, IS!



I heard about that today! I was tempted to post it myself. Great story, and another reason why heelers are awesome. :)
Click to expand...

Yes, but how do you teach them not to bite? I've established myself as alpha, but he still tries to bite me, and especially, my 6-year-old brother, who has autism. We're getting fed up. To the point where we're thinking about getting a muzzle.
 
JCOSTER said:
My big boy Riley:

045.jpg


036.jpg


034.jpg
Click to expand...

wow.. riley is so handsome!:cute: I love goldens. Almost got a golden. When I was growing up we had a irish setter/golden retriever mix. She was all irish setter (body shape) except for a slightly longer coat and she had a golden retriever head.. Loved her such a sweet dog she was. If I ever find a pic i'll post it.
 
Reggo said:
Yes, but how do you teach them not to bite? I've established myself as alpha, but he still tries to bite me, and especially, my 6-year-old brother, who has autism. We're getting fed up. To the point where we're thinking about getting a muzzle.
Click to expand...

Zeke is generally very good but when he gets excited he will sometimes nip. I just tell him no -- firmly and definitely. If he stops nipping I continue with what I'm doing (usually petting or playing with him). If he doesn't stop, the game or petting is over and I walk away and ignore him. Usually if he doesn't stop it's because he's very wound up. Walking away and ignoring him (giving him a time-out, if you will) allows him to come back down from his little doggie adrenalin high and start to think again. The urge to nip is bred into heelers and they can be very mouthy, so it is something you have to be aware of and continuously work to control. Luckily heelers are smart dogs, so if you are consistent, fair and firm (not harsh) they learn what they are supposed to do quickly.

And Zeke got loads of chew toys and squeaky rope toys he could bite and shake when he was young. He still loves the squeaky rope toys. That way he has something he's allowed to release his urge to bite on. (and that was a really poor sentence... :huh: )

Good luck with your little fellow!
 
With Nikon's biting (GSDs puppies are commonly referred to as "landsharks" and known for being a lot mouthier than most dogs), I had sort of a threefold approach. 1) if I he did bite inappropriately, I'd give a firm "no" and if he did not stop, I would grab and hold his muzzle for a few seconds, release it, and then ignore him completely for about 10 seconds (the squealing "ow!" thing did not work with him, nor does pressure on the bottom or roof of the mouth). 2) I made sure to have plenty of chews and chew toys available so he always has an outlet for chewing, and 3) I don't act in ways that encourage biting. I see this the worse with kids, they are loud, high pitched, and move quickly in jerky motions, all things that = prey to a dog. I don't allow people to dangle their hands/fingers over my dogs' heads, no waving around and rubbing all over the dog so he gets worked up and fixates on hands.

Make sure the dog gets enough exercise like walking, fetch, tug, playing with other dogs so that when he's playing with humans, he doesn't get so worked up he's going into prey drive.

Biting like this is not really a dominance thing, it's a puppy/young dog behavior. It really needs to be taught out of the dog and EVERY person needs to be consistent, that's probably why the dog is better with you than with others. A muzzle will solve the "problem", but not really b/c this does not teach the dog anything. Some puppies are just much worse with being mouthy than others (and some breeds are generally much more work), but it really must be taught and dealt with or it will become a big problem later. My uncle has a working retriever that was never taught not to mouth and now he has a 4 year old, adult dog that can seriously hurt and scare people even though to her, it's just puppy play. Typically, the younger a dog is removed from its litter, the more time it takes to overcome the mouthiness. Dogs learn bite inhibition from their siblings (not their mother).
 
graciestuck.jpg

"mom get me down pleaze, k thx"


i'm in the other part of the basement and i hear her bark a couple of times i go around the corner and she is looking at me. :lol: she was afraid to get down..
 
i am still cracking up at that pic.. it was so funny. I stood there for 5 min taking pictures and she didn't move both times she jumped up there last nite.
 
If anybody asks if I have a dog, I'm going to say, no, I do not. I have a monster too smart for its own good disguised as a heeler-Jack Russell mix.

This morning, I caught him not only with his nose on the dining room table, but with one paw trying to grab at things and bring them closer to his mouth. I was so shocked and impressed that he was smart enough to try it that I couldn't tell him to get down. I started laughing incredulously and walked out of the room.

Patches needs puppy school, I think. And we need a taller dining table.
 
Reggo said:
If anybody asks if I have a dog, I'm going to say, no, I do not. I have a monster too smart for its own good disguised as a heeler-Jack Russell mix.

This morning, I caught him not only with his nose on the dining room table, but with one paw trying to grab at things and bring them closer to his mouth. I was so shocked and impressed that he was smart enough to try it that I couldn't tell him to get down. I started laughing incredulously and walked out of the room.

Patches needs puppy school, I think. And we need a taller dining table.
Click to expand...

hahaha..

i know the feeling. Gracie table surfs all the time. Especially our coffee table (it sits kinda low but hey she's a 50lb 7 mo old lab) cuz that's where we tend to eat most. As soon as I let her out of her area she goes for the coffee table. I have caught her licking the table clean when there isn't anything there.. She has stolen a sip of my cran-raspberry juice before.. lol
 
Nikon passed puppy school but he's doing it again, lol. His manners and self- control are lacking. He needs remedial education.

One morning he chewed through a pair of headphones, an mp3 player, and the cord of my Dyson DC14 Animal in less than an hour.
 
Liesje said:
Nikon passed puppy school but he's doing it again, lol. His manners and self- control are lacking. He needs remedial education.

One morning he chewed through a pair of headphones, an mp3 player, and the cord of my Dyson DC14 Animal in less than an hour.
Click to expand...


I was wondering about what you were going to do with him in the OB department. Are you going to take him to OB classes or just do the SchH? I know some people say you shouldn't mix the two. When is his big show? It's a sieger show right? He is looking beautiful.
 
The OB itself is fine, he learns quickly and is food and toy motivated so he is very easy to train. It's more the self-control that's a problem. Part if it is age, part is inexperience/not being proofed in many environments (read: my fault). I am not overly concerned with precise obedience at this age. I did not get Kenya until she was over 3 years old and yet I have put 8 titles on her and am working on 5 more. Nikon needs to learn to control himself around other dogs and people, he gets too agitated and anxious. Kenya is the opposite, she is very composed. Last night I took her to class instead of Nikon and I was helping Becky with Schumi and left Kenya in a down-stay across the room, with dogs running past her and she doesn't care or break her stay. Later on I put her in a crate that is always in the room and someone said "isn't she going to throw a fit in there?" but she ruffled the dog bed and went to sleep. She does what I say until I tell her to do something else :D I stayed to watch the flyball class to see if I can do it with Nikon, and Kenya just slept in a down-stay the entire time.

Nikon did puppy class and he passed the AKC STAR. Honestly he's probably more trained than most adult pet dogs but I have different standards. He is very trainable - he knew sit, down, stay, speak, and shake by the time he was 9 weeks old - but I care more about my dogs have a clear head than just the tricks and the performance. People marvel at Kenya and honestly, I spend maybe once or twice a week working with her for 10 minutes (maybe more like 5 minutes twice a day every day, the week before a trial) and that's it. Dogs are very easy to train as long as the human figures out how to train them and the dog is under control. Nikon needs to learn that organized activity can be fun too.

Generally the people who say you cannot mix are people that are super competitive in SchH and that's it. I dabble in a lot of things and I value the breed's versatility. I think it's bullshit that they can't do a lot of things. Christine/umzilla on the GSD board is a great example, look at all the things her dogs excel at, at very high levels: Vesta German Shepherds - Home . Of course the SchH people want you to believe that SchH is the end-all and be-all of dog sport, and as far as GSDs it pretty much is, but that's not to say a well-rounded dog will be "ruined" by training in other venues. That I think is bullshit. Also, when I see the temperaments on the dogs that are considered world class sport dogs, I don't believe these are dogs that could ever live in my home. I want a dog with a clear head and an "off" switch. This generally distinguishes sporting GSDs from sporting Malinois, the Mals are known for being absolutely over the top. There is one coming to our club now that is like this, top class dog that went from BH to SchH3 in less than 9 months before he was 2 years old, that's about as good as it gets, but this dog would destroy my home literally and figuritively. But, some of these dogs would not even pass a simple CGC test.

Yes, it's the Sieger show. It's sort of confusing because the WDA has one and the USA has one. The WDA one was in October and the USA one is this month.
 
hi dogsters! :wave:

Liesje said:
Nikon passed puppy school but he's doing it again, lol. His manners and self- control are lacking. He needs remedial education.
One morning he chewed through a pair of headphones, an mp3 player, and the cord of my Dyson DC14 Animal in less than an hour.
Click to expand...

Nikkon! :tsk:
And he's looking great!

and your cousin's doggie! :cute:

IS~ beautiful close-up pic!

jcos! hi ya! :hug: Riley- what a big cutie!:cute:

Justin :cute: great SNOOOOZE pic! :lol:

and thanks, Indra, for the Sophie T heeler story.
I'd only heard a brief mention, but not all the details.

That is one set of astonished & ecstatic dogsters! :yes:
 
Wally and I start beginning OB class tomorrow. I don't know if he is going to go far. I think if he gets his cgc it will be a miracle. The only thing he knows how to do without me giving him treats is sit. If I am giving him treats he can poke my hand (it's me or the dog lady does it alot), sit, and paw. It's embarrassing. I don't know if he is slow or just stubborn. He's 6 months old now. I would love to have a dog as smart and as well-behaved as Kenya. I think Charlie has the potential to be a good boy. I hope his neurotic behavior is because he wants a job and not just bad genes. I'm gonna try to get him in class next if the school I'm going to is any good.
 
From my experience with dogs, some degree of trainability does depend on the dog's inherent intelligence level. Even the best trainer will have a harder time training a less intelligent and less motivated dog. And what usually happens then is that people give up when their dogs aren't easily trainable.

My aunt has an American Eskimo who is just basically a holy terror in about every regard. She also feeds him eclairs (with the chocolate scraped off) though so it's not like it's any wonder.
 
True, but I think many people make a lot of excuses and sell their dogs short. I used to work at the animal shelter and the reason we have so many abandoned and unwanted pets in this country is not because of over breeding, it's because people just don't have the time or the basic commitment to their dogs. Some dogs get turned in for the most stupid reasons, things that take maybe three ten minute training sessions to fix. There are shelter mutts that have SchH titles, are service dogs, etc. I know someone with a Chow Chow service dog who also does lots of obedience and that is one of the most difficult breeds in just about every aspect.

My uncle has a chocolate lab, a field lab, and he insists that my dogs are trained because they are house dogs and his dog is wild because she is a kennel dog. The logic makes no sense. I can put my dogs in a kennel all day no problem. His dog can't come inside because he never trained it. It amazes me the weird stuff he says considering how long he's had dogs and how extensively he uses them (for hunting and working companionship).

Also so many people attach human emotions to dogs and it gets in the way of simple problem solving and training. For example, if I had a dollar every time someone told me their dog pees in the house out of "spite" or "jealousy", I'd be rich!

Generally speaking, I think it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dogs feed off our attitudes and we get out what we put in.

But I agree about motivation and intelligence, putting more emphasis on motivation. Kenya is easy to train but very difficult to motivate. She's a very obedient dog but she is not flashy and often "flat" because of the lack of drive. Coke, who is a mix of several intelligent, trainable breeds has NO drive for toys whatsoever, and just enough food drive to accomplish the basics. My cousin's new dog on the other hand already tugs and chases toys. That fluffy little kick dog will be a breeze to train because she's already motivated by several different things.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Headache in a Suitcase
3 Irishmen and a Dutchman Walk Into A Sphere - General Discussion Thread Part III
52 53 54
Replies
2K
Views
65K
Hewson
Hewson
M
Looking for 3/11/09 Somerville, MA ticket stub & 6/30/18 Bourne, MA lawn access pass
Replies
2
Views
872
MASSU2
M
Janet H
  • Sticky
Forum Update - We're back! Ask your questions here.
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
Popmartijn
Popmartijn
2861U2
Album of opening tracks / closing tracks
Replies
1
Views
935
Airseven
A
cobl04
Kiss the Future documentary
Replies
11
Views
3K
MrsSpringsteen
MrsSpringsteen

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom