Shadrack

It's a large crate, the dogs will often get inside and use it as a bed if I leave it open, so putting ace in it wouldn't be hard. I'll need to take a break introducing them though since kitty has a bit of a tummy bug, I'm not keen to spread it between pets. But when he's better I'm also going to put things with kitty's scent with ace

Thanks for the responses, and ace has met kittens before, he's a gentle dog hell chase birds and things in the yard, but until the meeting got ruined by mother we haven't had a single problem, I've always kept him socialised and he always accepts new pets, and was showing his first signs of acceptance. Yea we've been putting the kitten in a cat crate and ace on a lead to sniff the crate and such, as well as letting him see how the other dog interacts with kitty. I was just looking around for more options.

Me and my partner recently got ourselves a lovely kitten that's 8 weeks old, wormed and vaccinated. We did think it through because of having 2 dogs already. Both which already get along with my nans cat and always have. We slowly begun introducing them on neutral ground and the female jack Russell X chihuahua gets along fine with the kitten, however my purebred jack Russell, during his meeting with the kitten, my mother made it a negative experience by freaking out when ace (dog) got a little playful and jumped at the kitten to play bow in front of it, an action he does to the other cat even though she has no interest. But basically after my mums freak out, grabbing ace and smacking him (which we had quite a fight about, I don't smack my pets) now whenever ace sees the kitten he goes into attack mode. A muzzle just made him angrier, he's never muzzled because we don't have issues with aggression he's well socialised. I put him with the other cat and he was still fine, still plays with the rabbit through the cage, only showing aggression to the new kitten. Right now we are introducing them with the cat in a carrier and ace on a leash as we don't want to risk the kittens safety on chance. (Ace has a mighty powerful lunge, has broken several collars) I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions how to help ace accept the new kitty in the house and realise that it's not bad, I would love for both dogs and kitten to get along the way they do with the other cat. (My mum is no longer involved at all in the process haha still angry at her.) Sorry it's so long just wanted to provide detail for accurate answers.

thankyou :) and im sorry to hear that you have ongoing health issues, it must not be easy to live with. My housemates have both been very good with the dogs, i sat down with Mishka last night and had a mini training session with her, cut short because i got breathless and really sore. and they've been giving the kids some extra loving in the meantime which is good, giving them outside play sessions, she took them outside yesterday for a good 3 hours or so, they came in and went straight to sleep haha. The good thing is, i spoke to my doctor about my mobility issues and its not caused by the blood clots or anything, its all the medication im taking for pain relief, since most of my painkillers are morphine based, its making me really kinda lightheaded, so once i can stop taking the medication, i'll get my mobility sorted out, so the only issue will then be, the blood thinners, but that can be sorted when i an either get the soft claws, or some like arm sock things another member linked me to to protect my arms from his claws. Ill probably get both, the sleeve for my arms, and the soft claws for my legs and such. Coz i have a scar on my hand from his claws when he sliced open my hand. if i where living alone without help, unfortunately i dont think id be able to handle the dogs, but with my housemates help, its manageable and i know its not permanent, so even though its not ideal whats happening with the dogs, i know its not for their entire life, which helps me feel a little better about the whole thing. and everyone on here have been supportive which helps a bunch. :)

No they havent learnt that yet, i honestly havent even started teaching them that it never crossed my mind, i thought of stay and come and everything but never to go to their spot, ill have to look on youtube how to teach that :) They know back when it comes to doors, its back and wait. but they arent very consistent in an open space. Its ok, theres plenty of people worse of than me, so in a way im kind of lucky :) and im lucky that im nt likely to need surgery. well i spoke to my doctor again today, and the pain is aparently going to be here for atleast another month, then the actual recovery time for all the other symptoms is 3-6 months, but i should b back on my feet before then. im in the northern suburbs of melbourne, your thing says pakenham? i think im on the wrong side of the city haha. thankyou for the offer though it was very thoughtful and i appreciate it We brought Ace out on the leash, hes just so excited that he really hurts, i think i might get my housemate to do the exercises the trainer showed us to calm him down before bringing him to me, i miss him dearly and its so weird not having him with me all the time, LOL Awesome ill take a look, its going to be funny putting them on him, he didnt even like a jacket xDD

Little Gifts Wow i HAVE to try that, my two are notorious for chewing all of my stuff including holes in my mattress right through to the springs. My only thing is, you'd supervise closely with that? in case they swallowed anything you put inside? it would be good to let them have their destructive moment on something i wouldnt mind they destroy haha

ohh so i should teach her the rest during playtime instead of during a proper training session? that does make sense, she can learn the 'hold it' command through play :D that would actually work haha. i am so not there with all this medication i didnt even think of using her play to teach her something. Also we let Ace out tonight, and his lack of manners seriously hurt me, he knocked me down onto hard floorboards and hit my chest >__> all up he knocked me over quite a few times, but only once completely down. i dont know what to do about it, im severely sore at the moment and arent due for any painkillers for another hour, he didnt get a chance to scratch me coz im wearing a dressing gown though thank goodness. Mishka was good, she was gentle, and well behaved, but Ace had completely lost his mind the way he was acting LOL

yea, she does, but the problem is, with the trainer having come out, when she sees the clicker, she's learnt to focus on me xDD so she wont play with her toy for more than a few seconds before she snaps back to training mode, the only way i can get her to play is to pack up the training, so i wouldnt be able to click for the good behaviour anyway LOL i should be happy that shes giving me her entire focus

but shes come so far with the glove? i started with any interaction, she got a click, then only touching it with her paw to get a click, then her nose, which started with 'forced interaction' putting it against her nose, and now she'll bite it, but wont hold it. She also does the same with one of her toys, she'll bit it, but wont hold it. i do intend to add more bjects to it, but gotta work on implenenting the cue word, not sure what it should be though, at the moment im useing 'touch'

ohh, i wish i lived up that way, id love my two to have a playmate(well when im better atleast and can control them properly), theyre not socialized as much as they should be. I hope you find someone who'l bring their dogs to play with your pups :D Even pups should have friends haha

thats a good idea! but ill have to see if mishka wont back away when i try it because she didnt learn to touch the glove right away, so i gently tapped the glove against her nose and clicked, so forcing the interaction, and maybe 5-10 mins of that she figured out what i wanted from her LOL my housemate laughed at me for it, telling me it wouldnt work, she found it hilarious, so ill definitely try that, its a trick i can probably work on in my physical state as all i have to do is sit there, theres no real moving around, the only moving around is when i put the glove in a different position to 'get her thinking' although she wont interact with the glove if i put it down. it has to be in my hand.

oh wow, sorry about the issue your having, if i could help i would but my two are a little too friendly at dinner time LOL they had to be seperated for the opposite reason, sharing too much. With one being on puppy food and the other on adult, they werent eating their right meals, they enjoyed sharing the same bowels or taking it in turns, the same with the water, if one drinks, the other is sure to stick their head in too, then lick each others faces during meal times. ive even seem them take some food gently out of the others mouth xDD But all i did was annoy them during dinner time, pat them take food out of the bowel, take the bowel away, push them away, poke their faces as they ate :p and teaching them to wait. Although Mishka does get a little aggressive when she has a pigs ear, or the white bone things you buy from petshops, because she cant have actual bones because she gets really sick. But shes never bit or lashed out, she just growls a little but lets you take it, or lets ace take it

ohh ill have to get those soft claws when i have the money, they actually look really good, and it will help prevent bleeding too. thankyou! Ahhk, yea, i thought you meant that tricks are completely pointless straight out and that dogs only should learn obedience. but yes, Ace is very good at holding positions, his release word really came in handy haha so teaching 'dead' well at least part of it was really easy, as good as it looks, im not sure whether i'll teach him the start of it where they just drop to the ground, its just as cute when he does it from down :D so, got my walker, and waiting for the shower chair to arrive that i hired, thanks for the links and helpful tips, it really was needed, i didnt know you could hire stuff like that, so it'll certainly make things easier and means i will most likely not have to go back to hosp, Because those here a few reasons i was going to go back, being unable to move around without falling and the fact that i couldnt have a shower (no one wants to go without a shower for too long you start to feel extra dirty.) And Mishka is slowly learning that when i get into bed, she has to be gentle. Ace, not so much, i havent been able to spend much time with him sadly, he's still a bit rough and will knock me over, and if im sitting, knock me and really hurt my chest. thinking about getting the trainer back out for this to teach them, but im not sure they work that way >_> would it even be worth getting them out if i cant really do anything with the dogs? or would he do it? im trying to think of ways to safely have them around me, especially since i cant afford the soft claws yet. Pick it up i think is what im slowly teaching Mishka, thats where you teach them to touch an object yea? and eventually move on to biting and holding it there mouth? then to bring it to you? eventually theyd learn different words for different objjects? She learnt the start well, shes up to the bite where she bites it then gets the click, but i cant get her to hold it LOL she bites it for a second, then looks at me, then the clicker, then sniffs the clicker or puts her paw on it xDD its kinda cute

Both my dogs hump, surprisingly though my female does it a lot more than the male, he seems to have stopped after getting Neutered, he humped as soon as i brought him home at 8 weeks, but only humped my me or my stuff it was weird lol My neutered female always humps, but only objects like her toys or pillows >__> but they never hump each other. they're just strange lol And she'll also do it several times one after the other, i counted at one stage and she humped her toy 15 times before settling down to sleep , she was rather exhausted afterwards, but yes, they d get that grin about them LOL Edited for spelling errors >_> i cant type

oh wow i wish i had toys that lasted that long LOL my two can destroy a toy withing an hour, so thats the average lifespan of toys in this house, even some of the kong brands are destroyed that quickly, only one which is the kong ball thing that you put the peanut butter in? it has like a hole in the bottom of it . im so bad at explaining, but that is the longest lasting toy in this house

ohh dear, im sorry you need brain surgery! that must be worrying. aww, i wish mine would play tug by themselves but instead, they just chew on the toy then try and eat it, they cant have any of them kinds of toys unserpervised anymore for that reason. i do still want to teach them stuff, their slowly learning house manners with the help f a professional trainer, and thats going really well, im just not sure whether i can have him out while im so sick. you know, that actually sounds like it would of made the cutest photo! its nice they where gentle, we had another issue last night. My housemate got me into bed, and everything, and then Lovely mishka, i know she missed me when i was in hospital, Jumped up and wanted to give me a hug, but she jumped all over me, and really hurt me, i ended up in tears. and on the blood thinners, im at risk of internal bleeding as well, so its not the best thing. But with my housemates help she was able to settle her, so her training session last night ended up just being in bed trying to teach her to be gentle around me, and to hug me 'nicely' without all the jmping and scratching. i get theat tricks arent important from certain views, but for my two, especially Mishka, they still are important for her, it keeps her mind active, and learning tricks actually makes her more behaved and learning to focus more on what i want from her, the way i teach her is not to show her what i want, but using the clicker reward in baby steps, like teaching her to touch the glove. First i rewarded for any attention paid to it, then once she figured that out, only reward for touching it, feet , head, anything, after that, only her nose. then only when she bit it.. So shes usingher mind to try and figure out exactly what i want, she sleeps better, shes a little calmer. and i think its ust really helpful sometimes for them to learn trcks, just from that standpoint.. Spinal surgery? that sounds painful, and you probably should have it lol are there any good kennels around? im sure someone would have to help you out, a friend maybe? you should be in pain, im so sorry your living with it. my housemate has been very helpful with it all thank goodness, im actually kinda shocked over it. and she generally takes them to the toilet anyway, its been wet and cold here, and im also very prone to catching Pneumonia, the last year i think ive been very sick, off and on though, and this is the sckest ive been so having people around willing to help have truly been a life saver. Speaking of them My housemate is actually out getting a walkin g frame from her friend that doesnt use hers anymore haha, so ill have that for around the house, then ill just need help with the 3 stairs we have. i think thats the trickest part about small dogs too, while big dogs have the weight to knock someone down, when your not good on your feet, little dogs seem to be more dangerous to have around the way they just rush around your feet lol. To me, tricks are important like id explained earlier, Mishka has become so much more well behaved while having solid training sessions than whe she wasnt. there are still obviously issues, but that requires more traning. Sitting down and training is good, i might try some tonight, the only issue is Ace, no matter how much i clip his claws, they are still very sharp, and they cut me, i got a cut this morning when i went to see him, and t bled for so long, my blood wont clot properly on these blood thinners, and i dont have the speed or anything to properly control his excitability like i normally would. Mishka is different, she sees the clicker now and completely focuses so i can still do her training, but i think shes also more of a 'trick dog' than Ace is anyway. The dogs have been seperated a bit lately, when they get together, its a crazy circus so we often bring them out seperately then together when theyve calmed slightly. The waking frame will certainly make things easier for me, i cannot wait, i wont feel like such a burden once i have it lol. All thats left is to navigate the 3 stairs we have :) I would love to hire some aids, but with all the medication im taking, i just cant afford it, as well as Registratioons are due and all that lovely fun stuff of owning a dog xD

Thanks for the messages guys, I'm on my phone and it won't let me do the quotes but you should know what you sent lol Yea having them around makes me want to get well again, I miss playing with them, and I enjoy our training sessions (most of the time) LOL I'm sure my housemates will take them out into the yard for extra plays, she's been really good through it and took on their care when I was admitted to hosp. Unfortunately foster isn't really an option, I could be sick for 3-6 months and that's a little long to be without my babies sadly. Haha the sight of my housemates trying to get the dogs to do tricks is funny as it's not a bad idea, but my housemate kinda has her way and she will stick to it, which would prolly mean by the time I'm well again the clicker will mean nothing to mishka, she also rewards for anything that looks cute which generally means everything they do xD thank you, I'm hoping I recover quicker than doctors estimated it would just be brilliant haha. Aww that's a good idea, just before I got sick I was teaching mishka to touch an object, I use a pair of gardening gloves right now, and she's at the point where she'll bite them but I can't actually get her to hold onto it haha. I'm sorry you had health problems and this might sound bad, but I'm glad I'm not the only one keeping my kids, I was feeling a little selfish and expected a lot of comments calling me a range of things, so this is definitely nice, and positive, I don't feel so bad.

so, got the professional trainer out from the place that i had suggested to me by a few different people, and he was great, really helpful, and i've noticed some replies on my new thread of teaching Ace Play Dead, which i havent been able to reply to (sorry). BUT Once again im very sickly, i just got out of hospital again. this time, Blood clots in my lungs, theres every chance that i could end up back in, but as of right now im home, But being home, and being there for my dogs are two very different things, i cant even walk around without the help of my housemate to hold me on my feet, without help, i fall. even to the toilet, sorry to say it, but i need help with everything, even getting up from my chair. im weak, i cant balance, and i cant even sit and play with my dogs because now im on blood thinners, and even when Ace or mishka knick my skin, i bleed something horrible. is it even possible to have well behaved dogs when their owner is sick most of the time? i only got out of hosp today, and barely had a chance to let them out properly around me, even though their both small, being so unsteady on my feet, even their size is enough to knock me down. This is pretty much a rant, and sorry to do it here, i had to get it out, i love them to death and i feel incredibly guilty about it. once again. thinking maybe, the place i got the professional trainer through, they offer dog walking, so maybe i might hire them to walk them, although i wont be able to afford it daily or anything, but its still better than nothing >__>

ok, so i've had the professional Trainer out and he really helped the dogs learn to calm down, which in turn might have helped Ace's focus a little, so training worked out a little better, and he knows when he's sitting or laying down Stay means to stay there so i thought he might be able to learn play dead. Basically i got him to lay down, then gently pushed him on his side and told him to stay and he did, after a few shots taking away the word stay and replacing it with dead while using the hand gesture for Stay. within about 5-15 mins this was the result So now, i wonder, how do you get them to do the beginning of play dead? lol as of now, he'll only do it from laying down and with my hand gesture, maybe a little nudge in the right direction, i think hes completely capable of learning it. (although he wouldnt learn 'touch' hence trying something different.)

Oh wow, that sounds like it would look really neat! a great show off to the friends haha! i'll have to start that once shes got shake and hi-5 down pat :D i hope shes enjoying her training sessions, she earns her dinner through training now instead of just being fed in a bowel, it really seems to help.

oh wow sorry did not see that you'd replied haha. Thanks for asking :D i actually uploading a video or two of Mishka's progress since re-trying the clicker, shes doing really well, Ace is still being stubborn, but i have a proffessional trainer coming out on wednesday, so he'll be able to give me some good advice i put the video in the photo bit where it has a thing for videos :D

done one for each of my dogs :) i agree with what everyone says, it really shows how different they are, i always thought they where very similar, but those questions really made me think about it and realize that thats not the case.

she is such a stunner!

open to suggestions and criticism as well

Mishka bowing, still working on a verbal cue. Mishka learning hi-5, the prcess i took with her