mantis

If your dog was sick, would you take it to Cesar Milan or a vet? Totally different scenarios. we are talking about behaviour not illness.

WOW she has a degree, sorry but I prefer people who have knowledge from owning dogs like Cesar Milan. People saying but I have a piece of paper means nothiing to me, it's people who have grown up around dogs & learned their behaviours who I feel are more educated. Maybe not, but he got his skills ftom living with dogs, not going to Uni earning a piece of paper.

WOW she has a degree, sorry but I prefer people who have knowledge from owning dogs like Cesar Milan. People saying but I have a piece of paper means nothiing to me, it's people who have grown up around dogs & learned their behaviours who I feel are more educated.

Sure, that's your prerogative. As McConnell says in her blog, petting may or may not help them cope with it, but it certainly won't make it worse. As she points out, fear is so aversive in the first place that it's very hard to "reinforce" it with anything positive to make it something an animal would voluntarily repeat. McConnell's blog articles are in fact referenced where appropriate. There is science behind what she says. It's been researched. Kaz, McConnell also points out that one thing that certainly does lower cortisol levels in anxious dogs is the presence of other dogs. I would venture to suggest what you find so effective is a combination of positive distractions and a group of dogs that aren't bothered by storms. We tried that one on my last dog as well, and it didn't work. Nothing did. You could only make it slightly better for her so that she wasn't shaking quite as much. I read the paper about the anti-static cape she refers to (it has been published, now) and it didn't make any difference, but wearing a cape of any sort did. The dogs were still afraid, but panted less when they were wearing a close-fitting cape. Again disagree, with some dogs you are telling them it's OK to be scared & run to your owner to stop the bad noise. You keep quoting Mc Connell, but she is just one dog owner who has written a book, I'm sure Cesar Milan would disagree with some of her methods. That's why I said that us all offering up different approaches is a good thing, because new dog owners get to try different methods.

Ij Jed needs a car, then I think she would be the most deserving at the moment.

When did I say anything about mollycoddling? There is a distinct difference between coddling and offering reassurance. My girl was always better if she had someone to lie next to or close by. If she got very frightened I would sit next to her and put my hand on her. It helped. I never cuddled her or made baby noises at her or did those high-pitched noises people tend to do when they are being sympathetic. THOSE encourage fear. It's like saying to your dog "I'm scared, too. Definitely something to freak out about." But calm reassurance does not reinforce fearful behaviour. And the chief reason why is because you can't positively reinforce fear. It's a response to an aversive stimulus. Here's several blog entries by Patricia McConnell with her views on dogs and thunderstorms: http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/categ...phobia-in-dogs/ Edited to fix links. Sorry but I disagree. A dog doesn't know the difference between mollycoddling & reassurance, all they know is that you are paying attention to them because they are scared. I used to do that with Kenny, but it didn't stop him panting, shaking & whining, since I have started ignoring him & sending him to bed, he is much better. But we all have different ideas on what works for our dogs, so at least new owners are getting many different approaches to try & see which works best on their dogs. :rolleyes:

If you mollycoddle them, that is just re-inforcing their fear, I think you are better off not giving into them, I make Kenny go & lie on the couch/his bed/my bed & stay there. Cuddling him & letting him stick his head under my armpit didn't stop him whining & panting, but eventually when he is lying down he goes to sleep, because he knows he's not allowed to get off said piece of furniture

Kenny who is nearly 12 is a shocker. He also pants, shakes & whines like a little bitch. :rolleyes: He tries to put his head under my armpit, as if he is trying to muffle the noise. One time when I lived in Perth, we had a storm while I was at work & the fence blew down between the neighbours, he was home, so Kenny went next door & scratched & whined for him to let him inside, he needed a human to stop the bad noise. Luckily the neighbour knew Kenny, so just took him to my house & shot him inside.

I'm getting on as well, the big boofers are the biggest cuddly bums ever.

APBT Neopolitan Mastiff Dogue De Bordeaux Tibetan Matiff Bull Mastiff Amstaff Staffy Malamute Great Dane German Shepherd

Do they know what caused this tragic event? Get better soon Jed & RIP lost babies, run free.

OH my gawd, that story was about Jed? I don't have much money at the moment, but I can give a little, also sending big & Jed's heart must be breaking. My thoughts are with you Jed.

Me too - I'm have a rottiexdobe and the swfs going crazy at the fenceline also keep me very alert and cautious - what if they got out and attacked my pretty well behaved girl and she went back - would my dog be held responsible because she was on a lead and the swfs got out of their property and attacked? I also had the same thing happen to me on the weekend, where I had taken my girl for a 1.5 hr leash walk and she didn't put a foot wrong, an absolute joy to walk on lead, however when passing this one particular house, there is a very dog aggressive dog that lives there and it has been out several times recently. As I was getting close to the house, I could see the front gates were open slightly, but enough to let the dog out. I stopped and could see the owners in the yard and yelled out to them to quickly shut the gate, which they promptly did just before their dog got out. It of course went balistic behind the gates, but you no what gets me, my dog probably would have a chance, but the old lady walking her old little mini foxie about 50m behind me, her dog probably would have been killed or very badly injured. I am also going to report this owner as they should no better. They have a da dog and should ensure 100% of the time that their dog will never get out of their yard without being on lead. It's pretty simple, but something a lot of owners can't seem to grasp. Would you be willing to name the breed of dog that almost got out? Farking people yet again with their heads buried deeply in their arses! I tend to get just as annoyed at people who dont take responsibility for their small dogs getting out and possibly run the risk of getting run over, lost, stolen or attacked! :noidea: What about the SWF that gets out & attacks? My boy was attacked by a small dog, he bit his ear & jowls, my dog just knocked him on his back & held him down until the idiot owner came & got her dog. The attacking dog was about 30kgs smaller than my boy, yet he didb't put a mark on it, OK it would have been bruised, but my dog could have killed it in an instant if he wanted to. Guess what? The owner rang the Ranger to report my dog who was on lead, while hers wasn't & it was only because of his breed, I am sick to death of people like you. OH & I call BS, when you said you have owned Bull breeds, your hate for them is obvious.

It is so very frustrating when this sort of thing happens time and time again! People just will never learn! I guess it is a false belief system with some people that their beloved dog would not hurt a fly, yea right! What breed of dog is the attacking dog? Sees Abigail licking her lips, hoping it's a Pitbull. The breed doesn't matter, unless you're a Pitty hater & want to get joy out of bagging the breed again. I'd laugh if it was the same breed as your dogs.

I will say it again, if a dog even slightly hurts a human it's the death sentence, yet humans are constantly allowed to abuse & kill dogs & get a slap on the wrist. Time judges started handing out serious jail time to these bastards.

Agree Jed. My Vet told me 4 years ago, that she heard rumblings that SBT's & all Mastiff breeds were next to be targetted by BSL. Unfortunately all dogs over 20kgs are eventually going to be victims of BSL, unless we all unite & fight against it..

She looked after the horse for 7 months & had monthly Vet checks, there is NO reason for that scum organisation to take her away for Vet evaluation, they just had to ask the treating Vet. I can't believe people still defend them.

Gawd, I remember that ridiculous story & unfortunately APBT haters keep using that as proof, that they are all deranged dogs & nothing will stop them from killing. Huh, another old person with a good memory, The mother was alleged to have killed the son, wasn't she? Of course, she had his whole life to do it, from when he was whelped, but it was strange that she chose the time when she was incarcerated, and it was nearly impossible to reach him to do it, instead of just tearing his throat out when he was born, or at any time after that, when they were living together, totally unrestrained. Do you remember how wide the gap between the wall and roof was? From memory, I think it was about 10cms? And she looked to be a good 30 - 40 kg dog. The whole thing was rubbish. Impossible to accomplish - except for Spiderman. Same as this current rot. I can't remember the size of the gap, but any smart person would realise she couldn't have gpt through, especially after scaling & 9ft brick wall. Just like the crap they came out with when they killed sweet Clifford, he went from being a lovely dog considering his earlier experiences, to turning vicious in a matter of days.

I did with my Cairn girl 2 weeks after her life long partner died. We couldn't get her to eat, she just laid on his bed, the Vet said he could put her on a drip, but it would only be a temporary fix & that if she is missing her mate so much, the minute we took her home, we would be back to square one. The Vet said the kindest thing would be to put her to sleep, rather than her dying from starvation. We took her home for another day, hoping we could get her eating but didn't work, so we had to take the Vets advice & yes we stayed with her & took her home & buried her with her mate.

Gawd, I remember that ridiculous story & unfortunately APBT haters keep using that as proof, that they are all deranged dogs & nothing will stop them from killing.

I saw that on TV & Lexy looked as proud as punch to be alongside the 'dad' she'd saved. Good dog, Lexy! I hope there's a Doggie Hero Award coming up. She certainly deserves one, aren't our doggies wonderful.

Yet there are still people on DOL, who wonder why so many of us hate this corrupt organisation. RIP Brandy, at least you had 7 months of love & care, before your death.

I was thinking the same thing, that Rotti was licking it's lips. :D

The separation anxiety has been going on since he was a pup, he stopped doing it when he was nine until tonight, there hasn't been a confused relationsship. Good news, Kenny just came up & licked my hand & we had a cuddle, so he has forgiven me.

My ex owned Kennys mum & he was one of 13 pups he was stillborn, but I managed to bring him back to life, but because he was the runt, I had to hand raise him, so we have always had a special bond the reason I am angry with myself. He's always had separation anxiety & chewed lots of couches, beds, doonas & clothes, but I just accepted it. I never went off like I did tonight, he still is shying away from me, it is so upetting, because I love the big boofa, I shouldn't have lost the plot.