jaybeece

Ta, I'll get a copy of it :rolleyes: Ta for the run down Midol, it's interesting to see how different people manage different doggy combinations. The terrible trio here are all doing well still. The terrier barks at imaginary things over the fence and the border collie doesn't have the sense to question if he's barking for a reason or not. Thankfully the large brown one is actually using his brain for once and not jumping on the "hey let's go bark at crap that's not real" bandwagon.

I've been away for a couple of months and in that time have acquired another dog from a friend. She wasn't getting along with their baby and they asked if I knew anywhere she could go, I said if she fits in here then she can stay. Soooooo that was a week ago and so far so good, my dog's been very good with her despite sometimes being dog aggressive and she's settling in well. Details: Exhibit A is a male 4 year old bullmastiff x something skinny Exhibit B is a 4-5 year old female border collie Exhibit C is a 10+ year old male foster terrier who is just happy he has another dog to bark at All fed seperately, no toys left out, seperated when not supervised, training Exhibit A to understand "Settle!" means stop playing as he's overwhelming her, NILIF in full force and lots of training going into Exhibit A & B both individually and together. Exhibit C is let off the hook for training because I think he's a lost cause The point of this thread is that I'm just wondering if anyone has any general tips about managing dogs that are new to each other or know of any good resources, books or online? Anything about multi dog households in general would be helpful too. There has already been much Googling done, I'm more interested in what people here have found useful. Stories about your own experiences would be awesome as well, I'm just trying to soak up as much info as possible so I can pull useful stuff out of my brain when needed. Ta EDIT: forgot to ask, anyone know if there a border collie thread in breed discussion? I only saw a photos one there.

Thanks I guess the vet put him under again because he was worried he'd move around too much or not react well, somehow the dog has a note on the computer to say he's not good with people I've told them it's some DOGS, not people but they don't seem to pay attention to these things. New vet time methinks. I've stuck by these guys despite them being expensive because I thought at least I'd get good quality vet care, I think I would have been better off picking the cheapest one I could find instead. The new stitches appear to be holding up well at least.

Yeah I'm really suss on the quality of the stitches that were done He only had 4 and he was at the bloody e-vet only a few hours after the surgery bleeding heavily. It's never looked like the 2 edges are close enough for a decent heal either. He's been restitched by a different vet (same place). This time it looks like a proper job that's actually appropriate to the area. The owner of the vet clinic is trying to blame me/the dog for the stitches going which is frustrating because he's been kept so still for the last week. Just hope pet insurance does end up paying up for everything and this is the last freakin time I have to take him to the vet for it (other than to take out the stitches). It's cost $1,500 so far and the poor dog's been put under a general twice in a week and been in a fair bit of pain which I'm not happy about. EDIT: Thanks for the suggestions last night, I hit the sack before seeing them If it happens again I'll know what to do at least

He had the op a week ago and is (was) due to have stitches out on Friday. Looks like he's popped 3 out of 4 stitches. Click for photo.

Thanks IHF, he's inside and will be all night so not much chance of dirt getting into it at all. He isn't licking at it either. I guess he'll be ok till morning, just wish the vet had sewed him up a little better He's already been into the emergency vet once when it started bleeding heavily a few hours after the op. He's been pretty good, but when he sleeps he'll curl up with the wound to the outside a lot so it's been put under quite a lot of stress just by him sleeping.

Soooo le mutt would appear to have popped his stitches I've kept him as still as humanly possible and he's not allowed to play with the foster dog (which is hard), but given it's on his side it's a tricky spot. It's not bleeding or oozing, but it is gaping a little and doesn't look nice. He doesn't appear to be in any pain either. So is it something that can wait until morning? I'm happy to take him to the emergency vet, but would rather not given it's bed time now and the cost involved. Taking him in first thing tomorrow would be a lot easier for all concerned (even if work will whinge about it). If photos help I can post a couple.

My vet gave me a spray called Wound Guard, It's an antiseptic with a bitter taste and it's worked like a charm He'd definitely be licking at the wound normally, but I think one taste of this stuff has been enough for him to leave it alone. He licks at the sticky bits where his bandage was, but that's it. If he has to have another op some time down the track then I'll just use this stuff. The elizabethan coller isn't worth the stress it causes him. Pathology report came back to say that the lump was completely harmless too I can't remember what it was called, but apparently this type isn't uncommon in young dogs and they go away on their own if they don't ulcerate. His did though so it needed to be removed.

I'm so sorry RIP little pup.

He's ok He was whining a bit in the morning and looking very sorry for himself (painkillers must have worn off), but when I came home to check on him at lunch he'd perked up. He had a brief zip around the back garden with the foster dog this afternoon too before I managed to grab him, so he must be feeling better. All the bandaging is still in place and my normal vet called (e-vet faxed the report) to say he can come in for a free consult to see how everything is going. If he gets the bandage off tomorrow then I'll try out some of the suggestions here The elizabethan collar ain't going back on.

I do have a spare room Tilly and he'd happily nap on the spare bed all day in there so definitely an option. Lucky your dog likes them Mine hates anything on or around his head and neck. As it turns out the problem's solved anyway. His wound started to bleed a fair bit so I took him down to the emergency vet. Stitches are all fine, he's been still all evening, but it was bleeding too much. They strapped him up in a pressure bandage that wraps around his body, I don't see him getting into it in a hurry. He's also doped to the eyeballs as they gave him more painkillers. Poor bugger looks very out of it. Cleaning blood off the carpet, curtain and his crate is going to be fun tomorrow

He's not wearing an electronic collar, just the elizabethan one.

Nah, it's not that tight and if I were to leave his jacket on then I'd keep him inside so no issues with dirt. My only concern is that he'd get too hot in it, he only wears it on really cold days in Winter so it's pretty toasty. Might be my only option at this point in time. At least if he's inside he wouldn't be running around. It's on his side, just behind his ribs. The crate isn't a tight fit normally, but with the collar + his awkwardness with it he's struggling to move around and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him alone like that. He probably wouldn't try to rip it off, but I've never been able to find anything like that to fit him and probably don't have much chance at this time of night I'll take a look through old clothes tomorrow to see if there's anything I can modify that'll do the trick though. Provided it covers the spot ok and doesn't ride up then I think he'll leave it alone.

Oh god no, I wouldn't leave him with a muzzle on. Although he'd probably cope better with one to be honest, at least he's more used to wearing one. I really can't do any of what you suggested unfortunately. Mum or my housemate are the only 2 people who could look after him, but they're both working. Don't see the vets saying yes to having him there and I won't even ask if he can come to work because I know exactly what the answer will be. About all I could do is take a day off (not a really good idea 3 months into a job), but he'll have stitches for another 10 days or so and I can't take all of those days off as well. *sigh* I might see if I can leave his jacket on him or something, at least he won't be able to get at his side at all with it on. He might just get a bit warm in it.

Yeah that's what I'm worried about, but how can I stop him damaging the stitches without it?

Poor el mutto has a cone head right now, he had a lump cut out and tried to slurp at it. Lucky I borrowed one from the vet knowing he'd do it. He's absolutely lost with it on though, bumping into things, trying to get it off and can't even get in and out of his crate wearing it. I was intending to leave it on him when I go to work tomorrow, but now I'm not so sure! If I don't leave it on he'll be right at the stitches though so I don't feel like it's much of an option. Will he get used to wearing it if he has it on tonight? I can leave him outside or inside tomorrow, I'd like to leave him crated so he doesn't pull at his stitches, but he can barely move in there with the collar on so it seems a little mean.

They don't have to be "dangerous" to cause a problem. My dog was dominance humped to the point where he had scratches down the inside of his legs and was also chased and harassed. It wasn't very common that he was attacked by other dogs, probably only happened a handful of times, but enough for him to realise he was going to win everytime. I lost count of the number of people who said "Oh my dog's never done that before!" after I hauled my dog out from underneath them. And then of course my dog was the awful one when one day he got sick of being humped/harassed and snapped back. Of course the instigator wasn't at fault according to the owner, my dog was the horrible one The problem is that there are far too many dogs who have poor social skills and owners who say "Let them be, they'll sort it out". They will alright, but probably not in a very nice way.

Yikes, she's never caused a fight but she has started one? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You place far too much faith a) in your dog's ability to judge body language (you said yourself that she's going blind too) and b) too much faith in the idea that other dogs are socialised enough to read and display appropriate body language. You're right, she wasn't at fault, you were. If you see a dog approaching that you are unsure of regardless of what your dog thinks, you have got to have better judgement. My dog will display a mixed bag of body language while approaching another dog, but if they so much as stiffen up or stare he's likely to attack them because he beleves they're a threat and overreacts. Plenty of dogs have missed his tense body language entirely as many of them really don't get it as you seem to think they do. They're hundreds (even thousands?) of years away from their wolf ancestors and the combination of domestic life and poor socialisation often creates dogs that are not very socially aware. Do you really want to trust that your dog can judge these dogs and visa versa? I don't. Actually, sorry, I DID. Now I have a fear aggressive dog. You're lucky that your dog is not very big and didn't learn that she could win every fight she was involved in or else you could easily have ended up where I am now. Erny answered the question as to how you fix stuffed up warning signals. He's learning alternatives to aggression and also learning to trust me again. IMO, yes. I don't accept scraps regardless of the reason. It means I'm doing something wrong and not managing the dogs properly so it's back to the drawing board to figure out a solution. Dogs fighting together in the house isn't something I see as a healthy and balanced situation. For the record, my dog's only injured one other dog and that was when he had a fight with a dog next door (that the other dog actually started, mine shouldn't have been there though). Other than that, he's started fights and NEVER injured the other dog. Doesn't mean I don't have a problem on my hands. Yes. And now I have a mess to clean up. Actually staring is very confrontational and I wouldn't say a dog who's doing it is being particularly friendly. Hmmm you don't really know much about this stuff do you? I "haul" my dog across the road when I see another dog coming because otherwise he'll end up going mad at them on the end of the lead. Not very constructive and it's not doing him any good being that stressed. If I have to continue to do it for the rest of his life then so be it (unlikely though). I'd rather we have a peaceful walk then care about what other people think when they see us crossing the road. What if instead of having a polite sniff the other dog tried to take your dog's head off? Or it barked and lunged in a way that made your dog immensly uncomfortable? If the alleged tense owners of these dogs have prevented an unpleasant reaction from their dog then I daresay that they did the right thing regardless of what you think. Can't say I'm particularly tense when I pull my dog away, but sometimes there is a bit of persuastion involved as when he's beginning to feel threatened he's not willing to do anything than fixate on the oncoming dog. I'd prefer to give him pops on the collar and keep pulling him away rather than risk an aggressive reaction from him. You're absolutely entitled to your own beliefs Corvus, but I've met K9 Force, Erny and Cosmolo and these people know what they're talking about. I suggest you re-read what they've said to you as there's a hell of a lot of wisdom there.

I agree with you Erny (of course ), if I let the dogs here sort things out on their own then we'd have trouble. I have one very small old dog and one very large young dog and as I posted recently they have had their minor disagreements. They're fine now, I changed how I act a little and put more work into controlling both dogs and we have no problems now. I dropped the ball in terms of ensuring my dog wasn't too boisterous around the little one and wasn't watching enough for signs that he was uncomfortable. Both know with certainty now I'm here to look out for them and it shows. It doesn't sound like Penny is really confident about other dogs around her anymore and if they don't get the hint then she'll be forced to take things further. Young dogs don't (in my experience) always take the hint very quickly which is why we as their pack leaders, owners, carers, whatever you want to call it, need to step in. Whether you believe in this or not is fine, but I don't personally think you'll be doing her any favours by letting her settle things herself. You don't need to go crazy throwing your weight around, all it can take for example is to call the dog away that's upsetting her for her to know you've got her back. Even if as you've said she's spent her life looking after herself, it's never too late to help her out when she needs it. As to the original question, I agree with what's already been said. Warnings are much better when you can see/hear them, you don't want a dog that's learned to stop showing warnings for fear of correction. I've had that happen with my dog to an extent and have to undo the damage which is much harder than preventing it in the first place.

I've spoken to them, all good Just thought it'd be nice to get some input from people here as well.

I've had Fender the foster terrier here for a while now (5 months!) and he's been a pretty good little fella so far, but lately he's started to become a bit possessive of his people when it comes to my dog. If they're left outside together alone, no problems. They'll run around a little and generally just chill out. When I step out the door and my dog starts bouncing around me, Fender gets all antsy and starts barking at my dog. It used to be more of a play/excitement thing but it seems he's getting a little too serious about it now. The other day he actually had a bit of a go at my dog's leg which my dog ignored. Fender got yelled at by me though and they were seperated straight away. Then yesterday he did it again and my dog had a bit of a go back, nothing serious at all though and he stopped the moment I yelled. It was just a "leave me alone ya silly little bugger". This isn't happening inside the house at all and if I'm vigilant and tell off Fender for looking like he'll be a jerk outside is also fine. Keeping my dog calm also seems to stop Fender stressing out. I'm not taking any chances though so they're not being left alone (not that they were before) and I'm limiting their time outside together to the times when I'm out there supervising every moment. I'm not really all that certain what else I can really do to discourage this behaviour from Fender now though. I don't think it's a really big issue from him, my dog's a lot bigger than him and clearly Fender just gets a bee in his bonnet about him occasionally. I guess being both boys you can expect a little bit of rivalry at times and they're great with each other the rest of the time. I already treat them the same, make sure they get their individual time alone and Fender's now banned from my bed completely, my dog is still allowed occasionally when he's invited. They both sleep in their crates at night. I'm not allowing Fender on the couch anymore either. They eat seperately too and I make sure that they mind their manners with each other as well as the cats (ie. no barging in for attention, no chasing cats, etc). NILIF is not really happening with Fender as he has next to no obedience, but I'm having some success with sit and stay so hoping to start using that very soon. It's not a huge issue as it's easy to keep them apart and/or verbally control them but I like zen like harmony in my house and don't want Fender being a stress head over it. Any other ideas?

I wouldn't mind trying one out, but it'll probably be a long time before I can afford it.

Might be worth checking the bed itself to make sure there's nothing wrong with it. Mine has done similar things before, first reason was that his bed was getting a bit packed down and wasn't comfortable anymore so I added extra stuffing, problem fixed straight away. Second reason was that one of the cats had peed in his bed :rolleyes: Poor dog didn't want to sit in it (don't blame him!), but I hadn't noticed the smell and kept telling him off for not staying. So worth making sure of

Well he's not THAT bad He's done a fair bit of offlead work at school with his muzzle on and mostly all he wants to do is get back to me, not rush other dogs. But there is a chance he will attack another dog and if he decides to do it then I wouldn't be able to recall him which is why he wears the muzzle. If he saw something to chase or play with he probably wouldn't recall either so distractions are a bit of an issue. My club has been happy to allow him to do offlead exercises as they're aware that the chances of a problem occurring are low, but it's still something I believe needs to be worked on. Thanks Jules, maybe I'll go down there on my own and get a feel for it without the dog. A class just for socialising would be really good at this point. I think the price is pretty standard too, never seen anything cheaper. Thanks Cosmolo, where about's are you based again? I certainly wouldn't mind coming down to see how it all works some time if you're close enough. Ta Haven, actually almost inner Eastern suburbs so I'll take a look at your recommendations. Pretty sure 4 Paws was getting a bit far away for me and haven't looked at K9IQ before. Has anyone been to K9 Kompany in Lilydale before? They have a class called "Reactive Rover" that could work for us, haven't seen them mentioned on DOL before though.

I'd be pretty happy to scrap obedience altogether to be honest, we're both bored with it so he won't get any better. His recall isn't very good, but it's mostly because we never practise it outside of school and his concentration goes to hell when he's wearing a muzzle offlead at school. He just hits the ground and tries to remove it as it's not a good fit and is clearly quite uncomfortable. Agility would be great, but I really do need to address his socialising first and foremost. He won't be trustworthy offlead unless he continues to improve with other dogs so that's what I'm focussing on as a priority. Even with a muzzle on I need to make sure he's not going to be charging at other dogs if they upset him. Part of that is his recall, but the larger part is learning to deal with other dogs. We've had a play on agility equipment and both of us enjoyed it, but if I can't teach him a send away at the moment there's probably not much more we can do for now.