dee lee

Bones are great- especially marrow bones, but considering she likes digging make sure you take them away when she has finished with them- YOU decide when she can have them, otherwise she will bury them for later. My girl loves bones and gets a couple each week but i know that if i leave her home alone with one for a couple of hours my garden will suffer. RIP poor little camelia bush.

The tricks thread is locked at the top of the training/odebience/dogsport forum. (oh, too late- see above!!) I have to say my naughty girl picked up 2 tricks in 2 days after following the instructions on the thread (its nice to see that clever brain put to good instead of evil!! When i tell her to sit now she gives me the paw! hmm...) But she is not tired by the training in the slightest- just wants more. Its worth a try Chloebear, if i can do it you can and the kids will love it.

I know that you are restricted from obedience classes but can you possible get a private trainer to come to your house? I have difficulty getting to classes too so ive done that before and am planning on doing that again soon- a trainer should be able to clarify what can be done. I'm sure that there are people on DOL who can recommend one in your area.

Chloebear, your post almost made me cry. I recognise all your dog's problems, destructiveness, willfulness, behavioural issues- and am suffering them with my dog too! I dont know if you remember (i have replied to another of your posts) but i have a nearly 12 month old staffy x (prob kelpie) rescue pup and have had so much trouble with her from day one. If i could have given her back i wouldve except i know that would mean she would be put to sleep and i do love her. I also have 2 preschoolers who just dont enjoy our dogs boisterous behaviour and a OH who didnt want a dog at all. Every day i wonder is it ever going to get better? I have no advice for you- ive received all the same advice you have gotten and have found little improvement. I have just starting on training her to do tricks to tire her mind out- but now everytime she sees me she gets even more excited and it doesnt seem to be tiring her out at all. At least she can rollover annd shake hands now. Fortunately(?) for me i have a very small yard so there is LESS scope for damage but i have learnt to just put up with the fear of finding something damaged everytime i come home. As for shoes, she has gotten better, but i am vigilant about having shoes and toys put AWAY- we have baskets for that upstairs and down. If something gets eaten its the owners fault- so i keep telling my husband! Still i dont know how that translates to a boat trailer I wish i could give you some kind of hope- as someone said to me on another post, dog ownership shouldn't be this hard, we just got unlucky. Hopefully its just a matter of immaturity and they will grow out of it - Oh and with a lot of persistant training!! My heart goes out to you, you are not alone, Dee

Oh wow guys!!! I'm so jealous- ive been putting off getting help for my demon dog (combination of both probs there) until next year (after xmas commitments are freed up) and had been undecided whether i could make it out to K9force (difficult to get to him) but i have to say, im very impressed by your progress and think i'll have to make it happen. Good work everyone!!

Hi newNewf, just putting my 2 cents worth in (tho prob only worth 1 :wink:). My now nearly one-year-old staffy x pup went through the same challenging behaviour at about 7 months, lots of forceful mouthing and nipping of all of us including the kids which was a BIG no-no. But i'd like to give you some hope- it didnt happen overnight, but after a couple of months of persistant correction she completely stopped it Cant tell you exactly what we did but it was a bit of all of the above. (thanks for the good advice guys!!) Generally speaking she had to pay attention or get a (small) smack or (big) growl/Uh Uh. I agree with whoever said its better to say Uh Uh (harshly and deeply) than No. somehow it just gets through better. Oh, and i find that rather than turning away from my dog when she was being pushy i would walk towards her into her comfort zone whilst saying UH UH, then make her sit, drop and stay. then praise her once she had done it. In fact WHENEVER i need her to behave (visitors in the house, wanting to chase cats when out etc) she is made to sit, drop and stay. So basically what i'm trying to say is, he is young and WILL get better with persistance but it wont be next week, or the week after, or after- but eventually. After 2 kids you'd think i wouldve worked that out earlier- Its only looking back i can see how impatient i was! (still got a few issues- but thats another story!) So good luck with the trainer!! Dee

Ditto on both counts Rachelle.

Look, i think the leash under the foot is an invaluable technique on the fly since it must be about 99% of people who approach my dog ON THE STREET want to pat my dog and dont mind her jumping . Whats the alternative? It doesnt hurt her(i dont use check chain in these situations) and it stops the positive reinforcement for the jumping. It doesnt force her to drop just stops her from jumping above my reach. If i had her on a close-hold on her leash she can jump- lower she cant. The key is NOT to abuse it. I DO agree any invite up is bad idea- though the poster said that too. Dee

Rachelle's tip about the leash is a good one for when you are out and about and your dog leaps up to other people (though not necessarily with the check chain). If like me you have a very people friendly dog it can be a real headache when friendly strangers want to pat her- she always tries to jump up and her behaviour is usually compounded by the idiots saying "its ok, i love dogs" and giving her a big pat and cuddle. In that situation by having your foot on the leash there is no chance of that happening.

Hi Chloebear- My dog was like this with my kids (3 and 4.5). we HAD to stop the littlies from being silly round her, made them understand that if they squeal and runs the dog chases, and if they roll on the floor they get licked. AND we roused on the dog every time she did it too (cause the kids dont listen!!! ). Finally the dog seems to have stopped (mostly ). it seemed sad to have to stop the play but i think that our dog felt they were other puppies and not in charge of her- this is NOT a good idea. Your dog will get a lot bigger a lot quicker than your son- She needs to see him as higher up in the pack. Ive read a couple of your posts and it sounds like you may be on a similar path to me. My pups a rescue too, if you are having trouble now you are right to get on top of it. She was quite submissive when we got her and it didnt take long for her to get her confidence after being in a happy family environment- now we are having a hell of a time with her. Thank god for DOL Good luck, Dee

I'm definitely no expert ( ) but at home with our dog we tried the ignoring and it didnt work- the poor kids would seek refuge on chairs around the house. But Lately when she tries to do it my OH has been correcting her (a loud "ah-ahh STOP") making her sit and then giving her a pat only when she does so. This has worked well and also when visitors come she is now instructed to sit, drop, stay until she calms sufficiently to get a pat. She is stilll a mad thing but the jumping seems to have stopped. when we are out and she runs up to strangers thats a different story... BTW Ive heard the knee thing hurts them. good luck, Dee Oh i just read that you are having trouble with sit- hmm maybe work on that first before you try this!!

woohoo!! Anyone out there?? LOL, More bumping for MY interest too!! Nanna, My 10m staffy x (prob w kelpie-so maybe its a breed thing?) does this too. God its a pain isnt it? plays havoc with loose lead walking- EVERY dog is way more interesting than the sound of "heel" and well worth the swearing from me after pulling my arm off. Off lead she is majorly social- LOOOVES other dogs (so much that she wants to eat some- but thats another story) and will not recall if a dog is in sight. Im wondering if its a bonding thing, ie other dogs are way more rewarding then me- even when im armed with salami! Anyone have hints on how to turn these dogs around? Dee

Thanks Erny, i must say i was not convinced by the talk of medication, but i think she mainly believed it would facilitate faster training (since i have small kids). And I guess being able to give my dog the label "INTENSE and unable to hold focus" was a bit of a wishful thinking, itd be nice to have something to blame it on rather than me!. If im honest, my dog's training could've been more consistent- though im sure that leadership is not a problem as i have worked very hard on this and her behaviour at home is very good. I think i will talk to Steve. thanks, Dee (have pm'd you this message too!)

Bit of an update. And thanks to Erny for the good advice! And everyone else ! Got a call from my trainer this morning to tell me she had heard 2nd hand about my "pitbull"(?!) attacking a dog and called me to warn me that i have a problem (she outlined the legal ramifications if she continues- yikes!). I filled her in and she advised me that since my dog is not letting go when the other dog yelps that she should not be allowed off leash until i have seen a vet behaviourist (she has recommended one). I'll be organising all this for the new year and until then i will invest in a long leash. Bloody hell, I knew it was a problem but ... this is all rather distressing, i was in tears on the phone. My trainer said she was shocked that it was my dog- last time she saw her she was overly submissive. GREAT... Thanks for telling me not to feel guilty but i do. And even worse, i will have go jogging every day to get the bullying bugger excercised enough! Dee

My 10 month-old is outsmarting me that way too. LOL. I guess the NILIF approach goes both ways I must say she is finally getting better teensy bit by teensy bit. They will improve as they get older- early days yet. Just so you dont think you are alone

Thanks everyone, that all sounds do-able. CavNrott, im completely with you- it worries me no end. Unfortunately she had been playing at the dog park with some overly rough staffies who have been doing the same thing to her. The owner kept saying to me: "Dont worry they are just playing- its good for her" and i (a novice staffy owner) stupidly let her be bullied and now she's doing it to other dogs. Im really annoyed at myself since she was such a lovely sweet dog with ALL dogs before that. One thing i am glad about though is that she does not pick fights with dominant dogs, with them she is still submissive- so far...

Thanks for the reassurance Pippi. But sadly that is exactly what is happening. She only does it to more submissive dogs who dont know how to say no and she gets obsessed with bullying them. Ive had quite a hard time getting her off several dogs- who have been yelping when she wont let go and she is pulling them around by their jowls. So now we might have to keep her away from other dogs altogether- its sad because she just LOVES other dogs (too much!).

far out- im having no luck with this question-! Have i asked a really stupid question or something?

i tried this in general but got no response so maybe here is a better place. (and i'll make it shorter!) My 10month old staffy x has become increasingly rough when playing with other more submissive dogs. After a quick game of chasey she will start to grab at their jowls or ears with her teeth and try to wrestle them down. She seems to be playing but it is not pleasant for the other dog (or either owner!). This stops by me growling NO, putting her on leash and dragging her away. is there any way i can curb this behaviour? She is perfectly fine with more dominant dogs and has a very friendly nature and im sure this is a bad habit picked up from some other dogs she has played with. Thanks, Dee

already desexed... problem getting worse. I know its a training thing, just trying to find HOW. Its always when my kids have gotten her overexcited by their squealing and carrying on (no chance training them . Recently I have tried to do the "NO biting" followed by a push to the ground and holding her down by her throat for a short space of time if she doesnt stop. Mostly works to calm her down. Mostly... But she just doesnt seem to be learning to stop. As for the increasingly rough playing at the park, i'm coming to the conclusion that they must be related and i need to practice zero tolerance there too. HELP!!!

Me too, me too!! my 9monthold staffy x pup has upped the mouthing and jumping up lately, and saying NO no longer does the trick. She has started playing VERY roughly at the dog park lately so im eager to hear what other people do to stop this kind of thing. Im imagining its a slippery slide from here so i want to nip it(so to speak) in the bud. Any more tips to add to the arsenal??

Cut my pups nails again yesterday- Waited a week... And whadya know - after extra walking on concrete and last weeks and this weeks trim the nails are now almost short! Yay! mind you i nearly went through a whole bag of treats! rest assured there will be no more dilly-dallying in future! Dee

im having the same problem with my dog and im planning to trim little bits more often to make the quick shrink back. How often should you do it to make this happen? once a week or more often? (sigh, so not looking forward to it)

Have been a bit put off a harness from some of the comments now and in the interim (my dog trainer is away at a conference for a couple of weeks) been trying to increase my onlead training sessions (alone and with no time schedule so i dont get frustrated.) i did always suspect i was just being lazy and impatient! small improvements will hopefully lead to big ones... hopefully it will all come together (along with the now rebellious behaviour at the dog park- she is not as keen to come back to me now the cheeky bugger the new walking regime aint so fun!!) . Have also been recommended the gentle leader by a couple of people too so will put that to my trainer as well. Ta all, Dee

Thanks Mel, its a great offer but im in sydney sadly. Hmm, more complicated than i thought. i am leaning towards the halti as ive had quite afew people suggest them at my local dog park. i guess i'll give my dog trainer a call. Dee