For Dog Lovers.... Part 3

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Yay! I was hoping to find an update. Glad it's going well :)

And if anyone still reads this thread.... what are thoughts on dogs as "kids"? Today someone asked me who is taking care of my "kids" (I'm in Florida) and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to that question. I responded saying my husband is taking care of my dogs and I don't have any kids. Do people really assume that someone who puts a lot of time and effort into training dogs and such really views dogs as they would their own child? Or would I be frowned upon for NOT viewing my dog as my child? I guess to me a dog is a dog and a child is a child. I do not have children but I do not consider dogs to be any sort of "replacement" and I certainly do not treat them like children. My dogs are my partners; we work as a team and I have very high expectations of them and they work very hard. To me my dogs are much more like a partner (in a police officer sort of way, not a spouse way) or a colleague than a child. They serve an entirely different purpose and hold a very different place in my heart than a child.
 
I find that most of the time when people say that, they mean it in the sense of "kiddies"--dogs as precious-wecious, lovey-dovey bundles of cuteness. I seldom if ever talk like that about anything, let alone dogs, but at the same time I'm not really bothered by it if someone inquires after my dog in that way; I tend to hear it as a personality thing on their part. But, my dogs have always been first and foremost family pets; even I would often call Falstaff "buddy," for example. Whereas you're definitely not someone I could easily imagine cooing "And how are the kids today, Lies?" at. :lol:

It's probably stereotyping, but if someone I know always refers to their dogs as "my babies" and the like, I tend to assume that if and when I meet their dogs, they'll turn out to be very badly behaved.
 
yolland said:
It's probably stereotyping, but if someone I know always refers to their dogs as "my babies" and the like, I tend to assume that if and when I meet their dogs, they'll turn out to be very badly behaved.
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I'm the same! People are often amazed at how many dogs I dislike and I actually do not consider myself a "dog person" because most dogs - whether it's because of breed, bad behavior, or annoying owners - I give a wide berth and have no interest in. German shepherds are quite possibly the only breed I will ever consider owning with the exception of a pound mutt for the family pet (along that line, Coke is referred to as "our dog" and the GSDs are "my dogs" or "Lies' dogs").

Maybe I take it too personally or read too much into it but when people refer to my dogs as my children I think it is both presumptuous and disrespectful (toward my dogs). Also if and when I have children there will be no comparison.
 
:)

My wife has always referred to herself as Kimo's "mommy." I bug her about it a little because it seems silly to me, but obviously there is a big distinction between how she views our son and our dog so I'm basically fine with it.

I thought Elijah might have an issue with it since he's very jealous of his mommy, but it turns out that since Barbara is referring to herself in the same way she always does at home, it hasn't occured to him that Kimo might be "competition."

Re: Kimo. Things are going well so far. We've had a few issues with her scratching to go out in the middle of the night but nothing too serious. I think she may have tapeworms though. I found several flat white worms in her feces today when I was walking her so we'll probably take her into the vet to have that checked out next week.
 
It's going to be a long two weeks...

5705353655_bf041b7f40_z.jpg
 
Liesje said:
Yay! I was hoping to find an update. Glad it's going well :)

And if anyone still reads this thread.... what are thoughts on dogs as "kids"? Today someone asked me who is taking care of my "kids" (I'm in Florida) and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to that question. I responded saying my husband is taking care of my dogs and I don't have any kids. Do people really assume that someone who puts a lot of time and effort into training dogs and such really views dogs as they would their own child? Or would I be frowned upon for NOT viewing my dog as my child? I guess to me a dog is a dog and a child is a child. I do not have children but I do not consider dogs to be any sort of "replacement" and I certainly do not treat them like children. My dogs are my partners; we work as a team and I have very high expectations of them and they work very hard. To me my dogs are much more like a partner (in a police officer sort of way, not a spouse way) or a colleague than a child. They serve an entirely different purpose and hold a very different place in my heart than a child.
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I refer to my dog as my baby, among other things. I've always used those terms with my animals. That being said, he's a dog and I treat him as a dog first and foremost. It's funny how some people think that you somehow love your dog less, or are even a cruel pet owner by saying you treat it like a dog. On the contrary, you have to honour the species that it is. :shrug:
 
mama cass said:
oh no! poor thing! what happened?
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He split the claw on his hind foot over three weeks ago. At first it was very painful and he was basically lame, so we had to "rest" from training and exercise and he took antibiotics and pain meds. I kept trimming the broken nail pieces back as they grew out because the pressure on the split nail was causing pain and irritation. Eventually it was short enough where there was no pressure on it so not as painful and he was free to train, but he chews on it when he's bored which makes it more infected and prevents healing (it's been raw and bleeding for three weeks now). We went back to the vet to see about amputating the claw because now the soft tissue that's normally inside a claw is swollen and deformed which could cause issues with a claw growing out normally, but the infection is now deep into the nail bed so the entire toe would have to be amputated. We are trying new medications (oral antibiotics and neo-predef healing powder that I poof into the claw, no more pain meds since I want the pain to help me/him know his limits) and the Cone Of Shame. Luckily he is allowed to do training and exercise with the cone off, but he has to wear a sock or dog boot and the cone any other times.

Click the spoiler if you want to see how it looked on Friday (I've cut more nail off since then).

5694141439_4d7f822953_b.jpg
 
poor lad! i hope he gets better soon!

feet can be a nightmare to heal... one of my cats (who disappeared recently, sadly) lost a toe when he was a kitten - it was awful - he was right behind the front door and my husband was outside and opened the door really suddenly and his paw got caught under the door!! was just horrible! he had antibiotics (injection and tablets) but he pulled the dressing off as soon as we got home from the vets, was a nightmare trying to secure it properly - i didn't think about a little sock! that would've been perfect... he recovered quickly afterwards though...
 
This is my dog. I smudged out the phone number on his tag, so that's why it looks a little weird.

IMG_0147.jpg


He's not always outside, but we have a pen for him so he can be out there when the weather is nice.
 
So, hello. I am considering (read: have decided upon) a new puppy. As long as the landlord approves, we will be welcoming a new Lab/Beagle into our home tomorrow. Here's our question, because personally, I've never been had a puppy and been old enough to care for one. If he is already housebroken, does he need to be crate trained? Does he even need to be crate trained if he's 5 1/2 months old? Is that too late to do it? Is it necessary even if he IS house broken? I mean, I assume it's going to take time to get him re-acclimated since he'll be in a new environment (any advice there?), but I want to make the transition as soon as humanly possible.


Any and all advice (even if it might not be a question I asked above) would be more than welcome.

Thank you in advance :).
 
For me, crate training is an absolute must. For one, my dogs all ride in crates in vehicles. I wouldn't set a child in a vehicle unrestrained and I won't allow dogs to ride unrestrained either. My old car couldn't fit a crate so I had one of those barriers. One day some a-hole cut me off and I had to brake so hard that without the barrier, Kenya would have gone through the windshield doing serious damage to herself and possibly me. Second, if there was ever a time where the dog was ill or injured (or something happened to you and the dog needed to be confined while arrangements are made), it is best the dog is already acclimated to a crate and does not have panic attacks being shut in a crate for the first time. Third, my dogs are dogs they do not run the show at my house and don't automatically get free reign. They earn privileges like being left out while I'm at work or having access to certain areas and furniture. I need crates for my own sanity so that I can get stuff done without worrying about who is chewing what or if they are licking the chemicals while I'm trying to clean or walking through my wet paint. Fourth, most of my friends and family are not dog people. Many simply do not like dogs, or are afraid, or allergic. Out of respect for them, I confine my dogs while we have invited company (drop by unannounced and I won't necessarily shut the dogs away). Again, it's best for the dog to be accustomed to the crate and view it as a nice, safe, relaxing place than not ever use one and have to shut the dog away for the first time and find out the dog will panic or have separation anxiety. All of my dogs are house broken and all of them are crate trained.
 
Thanks for the advice Lies :D.

Well, we are a go! Going to get her in about an hour or so. Soon as my mother returns my vehicle to me, which she borrowed yesterday.

Also found a crate with food dish, water dish, leash and some food (we'll see about whether I use this or not) for $20, so...sweet.
 
Awesome! I was going to say, you can get cheap crates on Craigslist. If your puppy ends up being one of the very few that are perfect (no potty issues, no chewing, no separation anxiety) then at least you have it on hand for any emergencies. If the dog is potty trained, you may want to still treat it as if it is not. They often need a refresher when in a new environment, especially with new owners. We moved when Pan was 6 months and I made the mistake of giving him the same freedom he had at the old house and he had three accidents. My bad.

If you need any dog food advice you know where to find me, although I can't give out any more advice without pictures first!
 
Rachel D. said:
This is my dog. I smudged out the phone number on his tag, so that's why it looks a little weird.

IMG_0147.jpg


He's not always outside, but we have a pen for him so he can be out there when the weather is nice.
Click to expand...

He's a cutie - reminds me of my black & tan, Ringo (a min-pin mix). :heart:
 
Oh this is just wonderful. It took her all of a minute of coaxing before she went in the crate and ate her food. I was going to take her out after a few minutes, but she fell asleep. I don't know if I should just leave her in here or not..
 
Cute! If she goes in and stays in I would leave her in. If you plan to use the crate, that will reinforce that it is a nice, safe place to be. Mine will often go in when they are tired and want to take a nap alone. Basically it's their den.

My Pan turned 9 months yesterday
5784233155_e9dda19bc3_b.jpg
 
fabulous pics Liesje - your dogs are incredible!! they look amazing and so obedient!! i have to show these to my daughter later- she's interested in being a dog trainer when she's older (she's torn between that and fashion design at the moment hehe)

she's a natural with animals, and she's taught our golden retriever every trick she knows so far: left paw, right paw, sit, lie down, "bang" (point fingers like gun say bang and she plays dead lol), jump, big beg, little beg, spin, roll over, crawl, and wait (for her dinner), followed by "ok" (she can go)... we know nothing about dogs, and Goldie is our first, but my daughter has worked wonders with her... we also use clicker training sometimes on our ponies and they respond really really well (although haven't used clicker with Goldie, just lots of praise when she gets the idea)...

what kind of training do you need for dog training work?? maybe animal behaviour kind of thing?? i'm really interested in kind, non-violent methods of training animals studying body language and herd behaviour, giving reward etc. - i use that approach (known as "intelligent horsemanship") with my horses (they were both unhandled youngsters when i got them) and it's been fascinating and really really rewarding, and we kind of just applied a similar approach to Goldie...
 
You don't need any formal training or schooling. When I look at working with trainers their work speaks for itself. The more actual experience training dogs, the better. It is really a skill that some people have an others don't, something that cannot really be learned in books or studying learning theory. I find that one needs to have a very good understanding of the four quadrants of operant conditioning and how they apply to dog training and behavior. That is absolutely the most important thing regardless of what training tool you are using or what you are training a dog to do. Read Karen Pyror's "Don't Shoot the Dog!" My philosophy is that training is basically communication between you and the dog and for it to work you need to be clear, fair, and consistent. Those three things - clear, fair, and consistent - leave lots of room for using various tools with various behaviors and account for the vast differences in temperaments and working drives. I train dogs with everything from food treats, tug toys, balls, prong/pinch collars, remote collars, you name it I have used it. There are some behavior chains I will *only* train via backchaining and freeshaping, and other behaviors I will train exclusively with compulsion/escape training.
 
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