For Dog Lovers.... Part 3

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I feel so lucky with Nikon, he has not been bitey or mouthy at all with us yet. Maybe it's b/c I do so much tug, ragwork, and bitework with him he has enough of an outlet or maybe I'm just really lucky! I have some bloody bites on my hands but they were all situations where we were doing bitework and I was holding a toy wrong or not paying attention and he got my hand.

Though I'm sure it will all change when he starts teething soon...


Nikon got a new crate today, I gotta go set it up and finish organizing my house and my life!
 
OMG Amy I have a wee tear to my eye just viewing those gorgeous pics of Gracie, she really is a top cutie! :up:

:cute::D:hug:

and Lies, thats great about wee Nikon, I love every pic you put of him up, they are so cute, because he is still all legs. I cant wait to see the 'Chrimbo-prezzies-ripped-apart' pics in a few weeks! :D:D :wink:
 
U2Fanatic4ever said:
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Can I smoosh her now, pls n thx?
 
How do you politely and compassionately tell someone it might be time to put their dog down (for temperament)? :sad:
 
Hey lies I'm getting an 8 week old sheltie puppy in December and I'm having a hard time deciding what food to give him and when to change foods. Should I wait until he adjusts to being in his new home or switch right away? The breeder is feeding them Diamond Puppy. I read the ingredients and cringed. Anyhoo I picked out 4 different brands. Wellness Puppy, Orijen Puppy, TOTW, and Natures Variety Prairie. What do you think?
 
I've gotten a few e-mails about local German Shepherds that have extreme fear issues. Honestly in both cases if those dogs were mine I'd put them down. My Kenya is high strung and has some fear issues, but she is not afraid of everything and she has outlets where she can be super confident and in control. A dog that exhibits such fear and stress in ANY type of situation (even something like rearranging furniture at home)....I would just feel so guilty every time I looked at them. Also, a fearful German shepherd is very dangerous, MUCH more dangerous than say, a solid tempered German shepherd trained to bite.
 
samralf said:
Hey lies I'm getting an 8 week old sheltie puppy in December and I'm having a hard time deciding what food to give him and when to change foods. Should I wait until he adjusts to being in his new home or switch right away? The breeder is feeding them Diamond Puppy. I read the ingredients and cringed. Anyhoo I picked out 4 different brands. Wellness Puppy, Orijen Puppy, TOTW, and Natures Variety Prairie. What do you think?
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Orijen is probably the best quality, closest to a natural canine diet as it is grain-free. I personally steer clear of puppy formulas, but it may not matter for a Sheltie since they are small. GSDs grow slowly and take over 2 years to mature so some puppy formulas are too rich in certain nutrients for them. Nikon was weaned onto Nature's Variety Prairie. Both my other dogs were on that when I got them and I've never had problems with that food. Really any of those four are very good quality.
 
Liesje said:
I've gotten a few e-mails about local German Shepherds that have extreme fear issues. Honestly in both cases if those dogs were mine I'd put them down. My Kenya is high strung and has some fear issues, but she is not afraid of everything and she has outlets where she can be super confident and in control. A dog that exhibits such fear and stress in ANY type of situation (even something like rearranging furniture at home)....I would just feel so guilty every time I looked at them. Also, a fearful German shepherd is very dangerous, MUCH more dangerous than say, a solid tempered German shepherd trained to bite.
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If I was going to tell someone they should put their dog down because they have fear issues I would be honest and direct. I would make sure I had lots of info to support my opinion. I hope they have good homeowners ins. Good luck with that situation.
 
One of them yes and it is on medication for anxiety. The other I am not sure but I suggested trying medication if they haven't already. However in the case of the one on medication the dog's quality of life is still suffering greatly, IMO. To me he is more "crippled' with fear (he literally slouches over and is shaking) than the 14 year old husky with bad hip dysplasia. A friend asked me to help with him but I've not touched him myself yet. I move very slowly around him, no front approaches or eye contact, and let him watch how I interact with my dogs.
 
That's a tricky spot to be in. If the owners have said anything like "If I can't resolve this we can't keep him", that may be a good diplomatic oppurtunity to suggest that if the dogs problems are such that they are thinking of rehoming you can state that doing so would be a bad idea due to the potential liability issues if the dogs fear problems escalate to fear aggression. That may provide you the chance to suggest the other option. Perhaps asking the owner to verbalize what they personally feel the dog's current quality of life is may kinda direct them to "the talk". Has any of these dogs attacked a person?
 
I don't believe either have any sort of bite history, but I think both owners are very good at management (like me with Kenya, she has not bit but I have no doubt she would bite a "rude" toddler that made a grab at her so she is not out if we have toddlers here and I do not allow kids under the age of 6 or so to pet her. She had a really bad experience with a toddler and it's something we just haven't been able to work on b/c I don't exactly have throngs of toddlers at hand to use for socialization). I believe the dog that has been coming to our class mostly has issues with environment. He appeared to be really interested when my dogs were playing in the field and I think he mainly shies away from people because he can't handle the environment in general. He basically shuts down beyond the point of even giving warning signals (I've never seen any teeth, growl, fight or flight response, he just cowers shaking and looks at the floor).

One owner is suggesting that re-homing the dog is the right thing to do, but re-home to who? The dog was a rescue and had a terrible beginning.

Now obviously I love German shepherds above all other dogs but I am the first to admit that there are way too many skittish, reactive, and weak nerved shepherds out there. I think because they are bred to be smart dogs yet handler-dependent if they aren't given the right direction from day one, they go nuts. Kenya is the happiest when she is "working" - doing heeling patterns, herding sheep, on the agility course. When she is not working and people just want to love her she looks confused and needs to constantly be told what to do (sit, down, give paw, etc).
 
Ok i have a major problem...

I have 3 dogs (a beagle, a retriever mix, and a lab mix) all three are constant barkers, and as much as my parents don't like it, they bought the shock collars (the collars that jolt the dog every time they bark) i am completely against them. The box says its not supposed to hurt but I still hear the dogs yelping and my parents are so adamant about keeping them. I think its an inhumane treatment of calming them down, I don't know what to do.
 
How about training them not to bark? The problem with these collars is that it gives the human no control, and there's no feedback such as rewarding the dog for NOT barking or stopping the barking. My Nikon is an insane barker even as a puppy so I taught him to "speak" when he was 10 weeks old. Often teaching the dog to do the unwanted behavior on command makes it easier to teach them NOT to do it. Now we are working on a "zip it!" command so I can turn on and off the barking.

What triggers their barking? How exactly do you or your parents react? How much exercise and mental stimulation to they get each day?

If the dogs are yelping, then the collars are set too high. If you can't control it then they are probably cheap collars and will just scare the dogs into not barking but not train them anything other than when they wear the collar they will feel pain.

(And I say this as someone who does condone the use of e-collars for training when used properly. An e-collar should NEVER be used as a correction; only as negative reinforcement. Bark collars are only corrective devices.)
 
Lies, and all others..

I have a question. As you know, Gracie is 11 weeks old going on 12 weeks here and luckily I have been home to care for her (was laid off my job prior to picking her up). But I am looking for work and have interviews lined up so I am pretty sure I will be working full time here soon.

My question is since she is going to be crated all day (I should be able to come home at lunch time to feed and relieve her) how much food and water should I give her in the morning and at lunch? Meaning would it be best if I gave her less food/water then I have been giving here? Considering she is going to have to hold it for four hours (in the morning and the afternoon) She obviously holds it all night everyday when she is crated at night.

Any advice on what works best would be great! :hug:
 
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