Mushaka

BUMP...sorry to bump my own thread but this is an urgent situation here!

A friend has recently taken in a dog that her friend was forced to surrender. This dog is a very nervous dog,and growls at strangers. I visited her tonight and sat in a chair and let her approach me(luckily i had been forewarned of her behaviou). She sniffed me ,so i put my hand out slightly and limply to let her sniff further and she was growling straight away. She growls at stranger..at my friend if she has her hair in a towel, wears hats..ANYTHING on a persons head..her kids put a cushion on thier heads while i was there,and she lunged at them growling(her kids are teens so not TOO scary). She asked wat i would do ... TBH,I told her since i have small kids,i would surrender her.In my area we have two LOW kill shelters,they can asses if she is rehomable... She walks this dog everyday, what if a child walked over to this dog ,God forbid wearing a hat ?? My friend is not very dog savvy at the best of times ..she just cant get over the guilt of giving up on this dog,but also doesnt want the stress of an accident waiting to happen! She DOES NOT have the funds to train,and this issue goes beyond what I can handle! I can offer her no help!! Are there ANY suggestions for her to aid in helping this dog,or should she hand it over to someone better equipt?? ETA- this isnt a breed issue,just thought i wld mention her type so we were all on the same page

i couldnt seem to get into the link can u cut n paste the bit about cars?... I really was curious too.. I take my dogs everywhere and hop out occasionly to do things. I mean,if its sweltering i would leave them home,but on a normal day they sit in with windows down

My puppy just had her stitches removed from her desexing tonight.. Went very well no dramas. Glad to hear your dog is doing well.

Lewis spent the night wth my brother(at his house) as Im working today! He is doing better,but I would just prefer him to be watched! Thanx everyone for your replies! Im off to work!

Thanx..forgot the skin pinch..MUCH needed reminder

Well sometimes My brother cant be told...feels very very bad about seein poor Lewis so sad lol.. dare say he will never give Lewis less than human quality food again!!!

hasnt thrown up again... just looks a little sad and sorry for himself... Brother swears he didnt think it would affect him... GRRRRRRRR drives me mad!!!!!!!!

if he is used to this and the area is clean... Gosh... My friends dog who we thought was secure on his chain( he broke out of EVERYWHERE) broke free jumped a fence and hung himself.. Sorry,but this can happen! Is there an alternative to chaining..not to mention a chained dog is at a higher risk of biting! SORRY just IMHO

My brother has had Lewis out for the day and allowed him to eat VERY suspect bacon!! uncooked..approx 3 wks old. He has already thrown up and lookin sorry for himself. What more should i watch for or should I do?

thanx

i did use the taking the toy at peak with my older staffy..this worked well. I think i just have to remove the other dogs completley. Im going to head dwn to the beach today and just take her. Let her off lead (its a secure beach) and practise her recall and see how well she follows me etc. She seems to wonder off wth others,which is a problem i havent faced with other dogs either. Even with older rescues!!

With regards to her recall...i have a LARGE family .. there is 7 permanents and a few more ring ins in my house. I worry that they do the wrong thing with training my dogs...such as yellin thier names wen disciplining etc.. I have a big sign on my front door asking that people make no contact with my dogs.. but my husband is the worst.. And he cant be trained lol.. i think that maybe she is confused with so many people not on the same page!!! Its drving me insane!!!!!

no hackles up..i just wanted to makeit clear before we continued,that if i question..its from want of learning..not to be a smart ass!! So many times things,as u have done now,are taken the wrong way. I wanted to clear that up before i continued my questionin with Vickie,who seemed to know alot about this subject

U know Vickie,i HAVE wondered if im not getting the same response as she is the baby of 3 dogs. As in,she might have formed stronger bonds with them than with me. Could this be the case? Should i try more one on one time with her?? What do u suggest??

U indicated that its more to do with the owners..I asked do u think Im stifling and could it be me even though the same trechniques worked for another dog?? ETA- Im here for answers...SO BEFORE people misinterperate anything i write,,i ask Q's only with an absolute want for learning. Im so sick of threads turnin to crap from people assuming different.

So wat r u saying exactly,that i am stifling Indie? when i clearly raised a HIGH drive dog previously(Sage) with the same techniques?

i have an old staffy who was very driven..to obsession. Luckily her passion has died down hith old age my lewis boy is happy with sweet talk and a pat,and rewards me with a big staffy smile and enthusiasm to do as i say.. But Indie...Aloof is the word I would use to describe her!

It depends - can you list what she DOES like - rather than wonder about what she doesn't???? Also how you deliver the rewards/toys/food has a lot to do with the dogs reaction too. I can say "good girl" to one of my kids and she just looks at me and say yeah so what. But if I say "WOW GOOD GIRL YEE HAR" this certainly pushes all her buttons. The same goes for toys - some dogs you can wave a toy in their face and they just look at you as if to say whats your problem, its your job to find their "on" button. I actually think most dogs have them - some are just a little harder to find. And yep give me a high drive dog anyday - although they do come with there own set of issues - usually involving over enthusiasm Tried all the get down all fours YEEHHAAAAAA...sure the neighbours think im a crazy lady,kinda talk..NOT really fussed!! I mean sure,she MIGHT sometimes get excited,but only if she is already in hyper puppy mode. She used to LOVE her cuz toy,..but she's over it now...and even then she wasnt driven by it.. as in..if i took it away she just went "oh well,seeya"..didnt come begging for more! Im not using her drive for training to show or do any work with,just basic skills..mainly the metre radius(staying beside me)but she just bolts. Her recall used to be great,but for some reason,she is now selectively deaf... Dont get me wrong,she is a well behaved,very placid etc,just not very responsive! Thanx everyone for your replies

thanx leo puppy that will help.

she likes all of these things but isnt "driven" by anything...Well none of the above,hence y i listed them. i was hoping for some suggestions?? Im findin it very hard to train her when she isnt motivated by the basics.

i cant seem to find wat drives Indie....??.. she isnt particulary food driven,toy mad,priase needy.. she just is ...well INDIE..lol.. Im finding it very hard to reward good behaviour wen i cant find wat excites her! I mean Lewis...he just would do about ANYTHING just to hear me say "good boy"..Indie,..she couldnt give a rats!!what do i do?

Wish i was in WA. Love wat u said about dog lovers....yes we all are!!!

PS.. large breeds u will find will be underwieght during growth spurts, Wat kind of dog r u referring to?

how can we get weight charts for "as they grow"? I had a Dane that for obvious reasons i had to keep track of,..but would love to know exactly where Im at with Indie an Lewis,and cant seem to find week to week or month to mont for AMstaffs or SBTs