percyk

i know a couple of iggy owners and their iggies sleep with them they get cold even when they have coats on them- a laundry is a cold room dont know that an iggy could sleep happily in a garage either unless it was heated which would be hard to do i think iggies arent the most loyal of breeds but they will do anything for body heat - one i know will jump on anyones lap just to keep warm even though he shies away from pats i also read that iggies are regularly dumped for their failure to be toilet trained - not here i guess but in the states in new york -they are hard to train and apparently they dont like to get their feet wet perserverance is the only thing that will get you through i have toilet trained many small dogs and one was five months old when i got him but i had them tethered to my arm the whole time i slept this way the minute they stirred id be up and out in the garden this was in the dead of winter and it wasnt easy working and getting up twice a night but it got better til the boy started to sleep through til 6 iggies are house dogs - more than that they are couch dogs bed dogs undertheblanket dogs they love the sun and will follow it around gratefully they worship the heater and need to wear a coat for a good part of the year it is hard to have an iggy and ten month old baby- iggies arent real great dogs for kids cos theyre so fragile in those early months and even beyond theyre not exactly playful with kids either- they can be pretty aloof really sorry youre having these problems will take time to train your iggy please make sure he is warm- they will bark if cold

i hope to have a grey or two when i retire i have seen them at gatherings and it was like walking through a deer park - all so docile and lying down it can be deceiving though By Mod: Edited to remove some content.

interesting post and just reminds me of my friends problems with a greyhound cross the behaviourist she employed told her that 14 weeks is an important time flagstone and that you have to get behaviour under control by then - aggressive tendencies at any rate her dog is let me see....about a year old i saw it last weekend seems better with the owner she got the food thing going- getting the big boy to lie down and hold eye contact the dog is more attached to her now there is some improvement in recall - i think through all the training she has down with this strange mix of greyhound and some farm dog type he will walk quite well on lead and responds very very well to food rewards so she continues to do on and off food rewards if he gets a bit pulley on the lead she has chosen to muzzle him when out on the beaches only because the greyhound in him is really coming out in recent times he will go for the dogs hindquarters in play and bring them down which scares other dogs' owners he is disinterested in most dogs but will chase one that is in full flight and try to initiate a game never joins into a rumble though this was a very dominant and potentially aggressive pup that resented my g/f intervening when he was having his fun but i swear the way he looks at her now is very different took about 8 months to really notice a consistent difference he still has a way to go and he is in his teens now i really admire her for putting up with it all hes one of the hardest dogs i have seen and certainly im glad i havent had to wear the damage and destruction and worry she has had to put up with keep at it amstaffs are a very strong breed and you certainly dont want to fear it nor have others fear your dog

oh lol i have in my lifetime to date acquired a few breeds that may not suit the beginner but not once did i get a grilling from the breeders well - no i lie...once when i was looking at a pap the woman asked if i had children under 8 cos she wasnt prepared to send a tiny dog to a household with little kids thats about it one time i asked a breeder if she wanted to know anything about me and my situation but i guess she already knew a bit by the questions i was asking of her and that i was aware of what the breed was like never have they asked for photos of yards nor taken me up on an offer to visit - even when it was important to have fully fenced yards etc- they just took my word for it makes me sad but it is business for a lot of them and i can absolutely say that not one of them has ever shown an interest in any follow up even when there were some genetic tests involved nope i dont put my faith in breeders so i just make sure i do as much asking and gutfeeling as i can even then it can be potluck if youre unfortunate to strike problems

mine is a wire crate with a good rubber mat in there and lots of blankets for snuggling into

i have only crate trained one dog it took about four nights to get him to sleep through but it worked for a bit then sometimes hed start to whinge for some reason once i let him out and he actually needed to pee so that was ok but the other times ( knowing that hed already peed in the yard) i didnt let him get his way he goes to his crate at night quite well in that i dont have to lure him any more it has been about five months now - and he wasnt a young pup when i started - more like five months old just perservere - it can happen but if you give in and let him out on his terms it will take longer

please talk to the breeder and let us know what she said this is awful tear staining is something that is unavoidable in some breeds but i havent seen a spitz so badly affected can be an ingrown hair sometimes which has to be surgically removed or a bad infection but some of the poor malts u see around have chronic problems with infections in the nose and tear duct that causes this weeping

just steam some chicken it is cheaper and not salty like bbq - they do love bbq but dont give the skin if youre doing heavy duty training them dont forget togive nutritious treats i hate hate hate the idea that some trainers give sausage and i have even seen people using bacon and ham out of a pack make sure it fits in with their dietary requirements- you can really stack on pups weight if youre using too many joules

at that age id let her out i once ignored a crated dog's whining and he wee'd in the crate now the minute he whines im up and listening- if it escalates then i let him out he does drink quite a bit and i dont deprive him of water as some recommend cos he tears around at the odd hour so id rather get up at 4am for a couple of minutes than have him go drying himself out - once he actually wanted a drink so i let him - hed not have settled otherwise usually he sleeps through til 7 am or so the older dogs are fine - they can hang on while i have a shower if need be but i usually get them all out and then go shower

it is going to be hard to break this habit if youre at work because the younger one is doing it without a chance of being corrected - a bit like toilet training that is not being picked up - every accident is takingthe dog further away from the goal of going outside so what to do the goal is to break the habit and this has to be worked on when youre at home stopping a dog from barking is hard - it is such an inherent behaviour but it isnt impossible either you have to catch the dog before it gets into the frenzied state so devote your home time to watching the behaviour and being ready to stop the dog from barking you can try a long leash and just watching for any potential situations that will lead to excitement terriers are notorious for barking excitedly so you will get that opportunity to correct quite frequently id imagine have some cans or plastic bottles with a few pebbles etc and get ready to peg it close to the dog when it barks - to startle it it has to associate the act of barking with something unpleasant call the dog to you ( hence the leash if it wont come - you can try a really long one like the one you use to train horses) you have to be around and you have to be determined to break the behaviour - the more hit and miss the more likely your dog wont get the message the more consistent you are - the more deadly your surprise attack is, the more likely you are to be successful with some dogs you can squirt water but this may delight terriers you have to work out what will deter him as soon as he stops then you have to reward him and timing is vital so he doesnt associate the reward with the act of barking line up a fav toy or ball just for that occasion or some really high value treats make him sit or focus on you - ask him to do something and then reward for performing an alternate behaviour we have trained one of our barkers to 'speak' by saying the command when she barks - then saying shhhhhh to stop her - now she understands the difference between silence and barking and will stop mid bark this was an accidental discovery by the way - i thought i was a genius til i read that others were using this method to control barking! terriers are busy dogs for the most so in the meantime id try to keep them separated when youre not at home - you dont want the dog practising all the wrong moves when youre away can you ask the neighbours if he is annoying them? at least theyll know you care and are working on it maybe they could even cooperate and do a bit of throwing over the fence to startle the dog or at least distracting it ( big ask for most people i know - they usually prefer complaining lol) good luck im sure youll get plenty more advice and handy tips!

back into the crate or tether her to your wrist so that you know she has moved and you whisk her outside before she has a chance to get down from the bed be careful - they will start going on the bed too if youre not careful

it's not a naughty thing lol it's a dog thing and yep some of them will mark at all sorts of times my g/fs dog marks when he visits lol some of mine would mark when a new pup would arrive - pee all over his bed or even bowl LOL yep theyre toilet trained in normal circumstances but sometimes things just need to be done - thats their world! in my case it settled - once the new pup was totally accepted

i only know about bunny hopping with my gsd ( years ago) did turn out to be hip dysplasia but was controlled well with medication later in life gosh i hope your little one is just fine id love to hear how it all pans out for you guys heart goes out to you during this worriesome time - you just want things perfect, dont you...

used to train with choker collars as they were called way bach then ( then they were called check chains lol - just to soften the blow to the owner not the dog lol) i remember one night at training with our goldie - a big boofy good natured boy who loved all people and dogs he wasnt walking to heel as wellas the trainer liked so she grabbed him off me - wriggled the collar way into the back of his ears and away she went and so did he! he looked like hed been trained in micro seconds no such luck though lol hed work for the check chain but not otherwise eventually he did but it took some time i just didnt like to have the collar up so high nowadays i use martingales

id get her checked by the vet first then id give it more time truly weeks arent enough it sometimes takes months to have that leadership made clear to some dogs they have to trust you - they have to know that youre the boss and they have to hand it over keep training her short and sweet try using a harness for extra help in walking her - both collar and harness keep the collar lead slack but use the harness to shift her bulk in these early stages - the collar can get a light jerk to indicate what you want - maybe use a martingale this has worked for me in the past with bigger dogs i have owned

we heel MOSTLY all the way to the park then they can sniff freely we toilet them before we go as much as possible - since we walk on suburban streets it's a lot nicer not having to carry a full poo bag and i dont put it in other people's bins as i have seen others doooooo - that is grosserama for those poor people who may not even have a dog! there are some favourite spots for them to sniff about 20 mins down the way - we really only have one sniffer though so it's not too bothersome to control but we do let this sniffer have a turn there - it's his hotmail spot !

you need to get some really tasty treats like sausage or chicken and coax him on the lead they all learn to walk on leads! heaps of praise and encouragement sometimes if you have a friend with a well trained dog on lead the younger one gains confidence

id walk molly separately for a while you need to focus on her and she needs to focus on you teach them to fetch in the backyard in the meantime so they have something to focus on when theyre out off leash hopefully one day ! when molly starts showing interest in another dog change directions and walk the other way for a bit reward her for sitting and focussing on you ifthis is not possible cos sheis going nuts try crossing the road and using some stimulus to distract her - dont avoid dogs altogether though find out what make her respond to you - it may not be food it may be a squeaker this has to be practised at home where there are no distractions so she becomes focussed on you find a park with dogs and put her on thelead and feed her bbq chicken every time she looks at you move her closer to the dogs but keep feeding her chicken - in quick succession - just as long as she is watching you eventually you may be able to be even closer to dogs - maybe even outside an enclosed dog park do not go in though unless there are only very old fat dogs ( joking ) - some dogs that wont go for her for being in their face or nipping at their ankles fear aggression is hard to manage and the dog can become a prisoner in their home because the owner wont go on walks with them and with a kelpie thatis isnt walked that will be a nightmare - they need heaps of stimulation those working breeds try tiring her out at home then go for a walk outside itd be great if you could make friends with some people who would be willing to walk their wellbehaved dogs past you while you maintain her focus by walking briskly try not show fear - walk assertively and quite quickly and reward her for not paying attention to the dogs i met one girl with a tiny dog who used to be fearful and bark but the owner kept taking it to places where dogs were ( from a distance) and just sat training it to be quiet and feeding it chicken all the while

when youre walking him - walk on grass it's a bit better for their joints than the pavement 20 mins is fine as is free running when the joints become less knobbly they can generally get more exercise keep his weight on target - thats the biggest nono for future joint probs

those mutes are vocal hey ! lol should change that last part of their name lovely dogs though !@

yep thats what id do too just show him that leaving is not a bad thing and leave him kongs to play with freeze some stock in a kong and let him lick away ( not salty - just meat broth like chicken and veg not the commerical type )

i have talked to someone whose breeder told them to vaccinate in the hip area rather than shoulder to avoid the lumps in lean breeds

hi there gossco what did you decide in the end? please let us know!

i always sleep with the new additions as pups theyre on the end of the bed and i tether them to my arm so the minute theyre up i grab them and get them out to the backyard they can hold on for a long time even at 10 weeks my dog was sleeping through til 6am after a toiletting at 11pm or 12 am it is tiring but it is reliable - the dogs arent having accidents sometimes even if you set your clock you wake them as youre approaching and they will go where you dont want them to go ! now about the crate i have done this once the dog didnt like it the first three nights and whined ( the crate was in my bedroom) - i totally ignored him and by the fourth night he settled straight away later i could even toilet him when he got up and put him back in the crate so i could sleep another hour this dog was not crate trained from an early age (but at about 16 weeks after initially being on the bed and tethered to me) i realise pugs arent great bed companions cos they shed and you may not want dogs on your bed anyway ( i never did but a few years ago i read about this method and have stuck to it) i read a book 'housebreak any dog' by audrey carr and lou ellen davis years ago and thats where i learned about tethering you need to know where your dogs are all of the time so theres no chance of them going off somewhere private so thats where you can crate train them or have them in a basket or mat but tethered to an eye hook in the skirting board or a heavy piece of furniture whenever youre at home with them pugs arent the easiest dogs to train - many small dogs have problems with housebreaking - small bladder mentality but the fewer accidents you have the more chance you have of getting them into a habit so clean thorougly with a solution of biozet and water ( that washing powder that breaks down urine and is much cheaper than the other urine cleaning products) let them outside as much as possible too - some dogs just pick a favourite spot and learn that way now that it is spring theymight enjoy being out when youre at home or just go sit out there with them watch the heat in summer but i guess you know about heat and pugs! id have the dogs separate for the time being - the one who is not trained at all should be the one closest to you for easy access you can get a tarp and put the crate underneath it it only has a wire floor and then make it cosy with bedding dont give up on the crating - i never crated but i do recommend it now the dog really seems to like it not that he goes in there during the daybut eventually i might move it downstairs ( wehave only one and its too much hassle to lug it down the stairs at the moment so it's up there only for night time) good luck - forget their age and treat them like babies - that way you wont get frustrated! remember lots of praise and even treats once they go outside ( if you want to paper train them to a spot inside then do so - lots of people who live in apartments do that with their little dogs and it is perfectly acceptable for some but othet people hate the idea so it's upto you)

yep im with you it is so great when your dog has a real play mate - that kind of play we cant give them - hey! and know this - this too will pass - bad times dont last! ( good ones are short too lol) but now you have some experience and so it's not been a waste