Dogs

[CadiBrewer]

I like that it uses the same attention getting method of a prong collar. Most folks think it is punishment but used correctly it really does serve only to remind the dog you are there when they get distracted. The positive reinforcement is the real training tool. A little worried about the reviews of the difficulty involved with putting it on and taking it off as I will have to do this once a day with 170 #'s of other dogs jumping around ready to go on the walk, too.

Not sure yet what way I going.

My comment on this would be to suggest going on separate walks with the dog in training until he is better trained and able to walk with the others. I have never had luck in the initial training stages while trying to incorporate dogs or kids or even the wife while on training walks. I'm better able to focus on the dog and provide praise or reinforcement at the right times when I can focus 100% on the dog. For that reason, I usually work with the dog for fifteen minutes or so in the morning and evening alone, and then do family walks or walks with multiple dogs at other times.

As for the difficulty of getting the Good Dog collar on and off, it definitely isn't as easy as a snap collar or a traditional choke chain, but after three or four practices, it can be done quickly. It does take two free hands, though.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

My comment on this would be to suggest going on separate walks with the dog in training until he is better trained and able to walk with the others. I have never had luck in the initial training stages while trying to incorporate dogs or kids or even the wife while on training walks. I'm better able to focus on the dog and provide praise or reinforcement at the right times when I can focus 100% on the dog. For that reason, I usually work with the dog for fifteen minutes or so in the morning and evening alone, and then do family walks or walks with multiple dogs at other times.

As for the difficulty of getting the Good Dog collar on and off, it definitely isn't as easy as a snap collar or a traditional choke chain, but after three or four practices, it can be done quickly. It does take two free hands, though.

My odd method of training, initially involves a lot of letting the other two pack members show the proper behavior until the new do misbehaves. It works WONDERS in most areas for ill-socialized dogs. Gus is not even trying to compete for alpha so he is learning a lot about the dynamics of acceptable behavior in the home and my one walk so far confirms this might work for behavior walking.

All that being said, there will be an occasion where an approaching dog riles him up and I need some solution. Pretty sure any good training collar will work as long as I do not get caught off guard.

 

[Singletrack]

First, I admit that I do not know how to train a dog, even though I have raised a dog that is very well trained.

I let my dog walk off leash sometimes when she was a puppy, while I could still chase her down if she tried to escape. Now, she always walks off leash. She stays beside me as if she were on a leash, and she responds to both verbal and hand signals to know where to walk, when it is okay to cross a road, whether to sniff another dog's butt, etc.

Oddly, when I do have her on a leash, she tends to pull and move toward other dogs that we meet. She is much better off leash than on.

So my advice: Stop using a leash. OTOH, refer to my first sentence.

And here's a picture of her, untethered.

 

[podz]

So my advice: Stop using a leash.

When a breed of dog is both incredibly stubborn and has an incredibly high prey drive, it is entirely untrustable off leash. That would be a Jack Russell. With the speed and agility to outrun most dogs, and definitely the stamina to keep going after other dogs are suffering lung collapse, you will not catch them if they bolt after a rabbit. If they don't manage to catch the rabbit, then they won't stop and start barking until they actually have cornered something. That could be a long distance from home.

No, Jack Russells can not be trusted off leash. Ever. They don't possess the people-pleasing bone and will not come back when you call them.

 

[Singletrack]

Yep, makes sense. Might work for some dogs, especially if you start young -- when you can still chase them down. Might help to start when the dog is young too.

 

[CB_in_Tokyo]

Here is my brew partner.

It is starting to get warm and this little dog sheds more than any dog I have ever seen. Taking the furminator to her is like shearing a sheep!

 

[CB_in_Tokyo]

I am currently training our new family dog, a lab we got at 8 weeks. She just turned 6 months old. She's literally the greatest dog I've ever had. I've taken her to classes from age 3 months. She's been easy to train, but she's been stubborn on pulling when walking and lunging towards people we meet.

I didn't want to go the prong collar route for the same reasons, so I recently bought a Good Dog collar. It has plastic prongs that are hidden by the collar. Two days with it and she has been great. I use 90% praise and treats and just a couple of well-timed leash "pops". The results have been perfect.

I bought it on Amazon for twelve bucks or so.

With the past five dogs I've trained, I was able to use just a nylon collar with most of them, and a normal choke chain on one. I'm a new believer in the Good Dog collar. YMMV

All my other dogs up until now have been Labs. I think Labs are one of, if not the, best behaved breeds out there. Wonderful animals!

 

[slym2none]

Here is my brew partner.

It is starting to get warm and this little dog sheds more than any dog I have ever seen. Taking the furminator to her is like shearing a sheep!

Much pretty! Very doge!

 

[podz]

Doesn't look like much of a killer, does she? Don't let those big brown eyes fool you, this little girl kills every chance she gets.

Notice the attitude shortly after attempting to take on a full-grown swan.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Yep, makes sense. Might work for some dogs, especially if you start young -- when you can still chase them down. Might help to start when the dog is young too.

In the last 15 dogs, I have had two that could be off-leash. All have come to me through rescue agencies or as "dumped" dogs (friends of friends gave up on them...and I go them). The YOUNGEST I have ever gotten a dog was my Newfie at age two. The oldest is my current Bernese age 12...now 15.

So Wally the Bernese goes off leash all the time as he could care less about other animals unless then have already been slaughtered, smoked and salt cured. He also is so unbelievably slow at this point, that there are no worries about catching him if he did attempt to run for any reason.

The other dog was a weird Jack Russel mix that was about 19#'s. My first dog. She loved everything and everyone. She used to sit next to me when I worked the door at a bar in college. She sat on the next barstool when I drank at the same bar. I would let her out each morning before jumping in the shower so she could say hello to everyone and once dressed, she would be waiting at the door to be let back in.

Off leash on a dog you get late in life is pretty unusual but not unheard of. Gus could end up like that eventually but it will be long time before I even try. All I know is I am not planning on trying it in the near future.

That said, going to interview a St Bernard foster dog Sunday. 11 years old and waiting for the agency to raise enough for an (in my opinion) ill-advised hip replacement. Since I have set my house up for a dog with reduced mobility they contacted me. I suspect, she would be an easy off leash candidate as well.

 

[CadiBrewer]

My odd method of training, initially involves a lot of letting the other two pack members show the proper behavior

That's not odd at all, it's smart. If you can use a dog's natural pack behaviors in training, you will end up with a well adjusted family friend and a happy member of your family "pack". You, sir, know what you are doing.

 

[Saboral]

Meet Milo!

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[HoppyDaze]

Milo! What up dog?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Singletrack]

Please don't feed happy babies to your dog. It can cause hyperthermia.

No, no, disregard. That's caused by hoppy babies.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Milo is adorable!

 

[Onkel_Udo]

You, sir, know what you are doing.

Not my first rodeo but I cannot take credit. My first dog trained me. She then trained a dog four times her weight and was alpha over that dog until I re-homed him.

When I had to start over after I came back from working in Europe, someone dumped a four year old Husky on me. That one took a HUGE amount of energy, time and persistence to train. That was the last dog I had to train solo...we always had at least two and normally three or four to make integrating a new dog easier. With the abused dogs that make up the majority of our adoptions (to a lesser degree the fosters), this is really a key to our success.

 

[AnOldUR]

Guard Dog . . .
(and new avatar)

 

[GrogNerd]

the Howdy's selfie

just got back from taking him to the doggie dermatologist ($345, OUCH!). he's got allergies, which make him scratch, which gets infected. So we got antibiotics and another special shampoo

plus Apoquel, which he might have to take forever

plus he has a yeast infection. again. he had one 3 years ago, when I first re-started brewing.

that's a complete coincidence, by the way.

hmmm... thinking of brewing a "brett"

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6-week update: the Howdy is MUCH better, the Apoquel is working wonders.

his coat is soft and shiny and silky and his scratching is at a minimum.

which gives him much more energy to run around like an idiot, chasing nothing

 

[Ridire]

Watching me mow the lawn really took it out of her.

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[Onkel_Udo]

Met the 11-year-old St Bernard the agency wants me to foster while they try to raise money for a double hip replacement today. I can honestly say, there is no way this dog should be put through that surgery which includes a 3 month minimum recovery including 3-5 weeks where they are not allowed to put any weight on on the hips. She was a sweetheart but I could not in good conscious be a party to that.

Her 7-year-old daughter is a likely coming home with me next weekend after I have verified that that Gus has fully integrated into our pack. She is a sweetheart with only a mild touch of hip displasia. They are offering her as a foster-to-adopt where I pay the whole adoption fee up front but have 90 days to change my mind. I cannot imagine exercising that option unless she has an issue with with the rest of the pups. No other obvious health issues.

With my extremely senior Bernese Mountain dog slowing to a crawl, he honestly cannot last that much longer. At 15, he has already doubled the average lifespan of the breed. I am going to have a huge hole in my heart when I have to make the hard decision for him...I was totally prepared for that end-of-life decision when we adopted him at age 11 hoping to give him one good last year. Stupid furball has dug himself deep into my soul. The hope is Belle can partially fill that hole.

Pictures of Belle to follow.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

which gives him much more energy to run around like an idiot, chasing nothing

If you have a fenced yard...Jolly Ball is your friend. The new ones are much lower quality and you do have to monitor them for sharp plastic edges created by chewing over time (sharp paring knifed or 80 grit sandpaper removed them).

Gus, who is now believed to be part Border Collie by the vet, can spend HOURS chasing it around...outside only. The hard plastic outer ball can survive my (RIP) Lab Dane mix throwing it up 8-10 feet to land back on concrete. No dog I know has EVER gotten the inner ball out but they will never stop trying.

Congrats on the skin issue being solved. I had a Newfie allergic to friggin grass. That was no fun.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Pictures of Belle to follow.

As promised, a picture of Belle. She comes home with me on 5/22. 7-years-young and full of calm.

 

[GrogNerd]

If you have a fenced yard...Jolly Ball is your friend. The new ones are much lower quality and you do have to monitor them for sharp plastic edges created by chewing over time (sharp paring knifed or 80 grit sandpaper removed them).

Gus, who is now believed to be part Border Collie by the vet, can spend HOURS chasing it around...outside only. The hard plastic outer ball can survive my (RIP) Lab Dane mix throwing it up 8-10 feet to land back on concrete. No dog I know has EVER gotten the inner ball out but they will never stop trying.

Congrats on the skin issue being solved. I had a Newfie allergic to friggin grass. That was no fun.

thanks!

& thanks for the heads up on the Jolly Ball, we'll check it out. though the Howdy isn't into plastic or rubber toys.

his favorites are rope toys (yay! cleaning up string!), nyla-bones and he loves some squeaky toys, but we only buy ones that look like they'll last longer than 2½ minutes or else yay! cleaning up stuffing!

 

[MysteryHaus]

Lyra, annihilator of stuffing and queen of hallucinating squirrels. Part pit, part gazelle. The most well behaved big baby I've ever met

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[SteveH aka shetc]

Geoff is 14 years young.

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[Onkel_Udo]

thanks!
thanks for the heads up on the Jolly Ball, we'll check it out. though the Howdy isn't into plastic or rubber toys.

Trust me, if he has any curiosity, the plastic nature will not be an issue. Gus can really entertain himself for hours and it took me only 10 minutes of tossing it for him before he became self-entertaining.

That said, per the Amazon reviews, if your dog is really into the toy, you will need to monitor for rough edges on the hard plastic outer ball holes. The original we got 9 years ago did not have this issue but the current one does. There are obviously thinner and thicker parts. The holes on the thinner part took 5 minutes with a piece of sandpaper to clean it up but Gus had the tinniest scraps on his inner lips.

 

[Jukas]

There's a bunch of different jolly balls on Amazon, can someone post an example of this toy? Ozzy would certainly benefit from self entertaining

 

[Onkel_Udo]

There's a bunch of different jolly balls on Amazon, can someone post an example of this toy? Ozzy would certainly benefit from self entertaining

Teaser Ball

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P6V990/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Cheapest best dog toy ever. Dogs love to play with empty soda bottles.

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[LMan]

I'm very excited - after many years since my last dog, I'm getting another. A year-old Black Mouth Cur named Shiloh. I have 50 acres for her to run in, and I know she'll love it. Can't wait

 

[slym2none]

Cheapest best dog toy ever. Dogs love to play with empty soda bottles.

My brother's miniature Dachshund will tear them to shreds, making his gums bleed, and then he starts to eat the plastic.

No bueno.

He does love them, just a little too much.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Cheapest best dog toy ever. Dogs love to play with empty soda bottles.

For my Pyreneese/Collie mix it is the 1/2 gallon juice bottles.

Gus, well Gus turned that into confetti in 5 minutes flat...much like our lab/dane mix used to. Great fun while it lasts...

 

[sweetcell]

Here is my brew partner.

It is starting to get warm and this little dog sheds more than any dog I have ever seen. Taking the furminator to her is like shearing a sheep!

you have a roller coaster in your backyard?!?

*bows*

 

[SharonaZamboni]

There's a bunch of different jolly balls on Amazon, can someone post an example of this toy? Ozzy would certainly benefit from self entertaining

IIRC, lots of people recommended the horse jolly balls for their durability.

Edit: I guess I bought one. Must have gotten chewed up. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431987475.229831.jpg

 

[drainbamage]

My brother's miniature Dachshund will tear them to shreds, making his gums bleed, and then he starts to eat the plastic.

No bueno.

He does love them, just a little too much.

Yeah, we have to keep an eye on ours. After 5 minutes (sometimes less) they'll have it shredded to the point that they'll hurt themselves.

Or, you can get these toys where the bottle fits inside what looks like a roadkill raccoon/fox/etc. They last a little longer that way, and it doesn't tear up their gums.

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[Kharnynb]

our dog's favourite is this:
labyrinth ball

 

[sweetcell]

dog owners, time to step up: we're being showed up by the cat people (it's a pretty funny thread, if you haven't read it yet).

so, has anyone tried brewing with their pupster, as an ingredient or source of bugs? i know hair occasionally makes it into my kettle but not sure if that counts... damn shedding furball.

 

[Inkleg]

so, has anyone tried brewing with their pupster, as an ingredient or source of bugs?.

I was going to try it with my Bassett Hound, but I'm worried my numbers would come up short.

 

[GrogNerd]

if I've said it once, I've told you guys a MILLION times; my return to brewing after a 17-year hiatus at the same time my Howdy was diagnosed with a yeast infection is TOTALLY COINCIDENTAL!

plus, the dermatologist has assured me the dog's strain is NOT saccharomyces

 

[Beernik]

thanks!

& thanks for the heads up on the Jolly Ball, we'll check it out. though the Howdy isn't into plastic or rubber toys.

his favorites are rope toys (yay! cleaning up string!), nyla-bones and he loves some squeaky toys, but we only buy ones that look like they'll last longer than 2½ minutes or else yay! cleaning up stuffing!

I can't recommend the Goughnuts Maxx toys enough. It's the only thing our ridgeback mix hasn't shredded in less than 5 minutes.


Does anyone find the 25lb weight limit for dogs in a hotel's pet room stupid? Tesla is amazingly well behaved inside. But he is 3.5 x a 25lb dog.

Of course, if he was left alone inside for too long he might get nervous and inhale the sofa.