shekhina

I've re-read the thread and I get where you're coming from, I just don't agree with you. You say our replies were black and white...our first replies were about the violence towards the dog...that IS black and white...violence is never OK. But both of us also offered suggestions to Scope. The only difference I see between us and almost every other poster was that we weren't "fluffing" our responses to avoid conflict.

As for giving suggestions, I did that. I also think it was good of Scope to come and ask for help, it was Scope being worried that she might lash out at her dog AGAIN that was particularly worrying. Sometimes I think people sit back and don't really say what they think and when it comes to abuse they should. I did point out exactly what Scope had done wrong, I wasn't going to pussyfoot around it and say "hey, it's OK you belted into your dog because you couldn't handle it and got frustrated, just don't do it again" because it's not OK. And if being upfront about it here on this thread helps someone to think about their actions before they lash out again then it's worth it.

Erny, having been on a tonne of different psych drugs myself I can tell you they do take at least 2 weeks to start kicking in, so definitely don't give up hope yet.

Shekhina (& jaybeece too), just out of curiosity, how old are you both? Edited for spelling!! I've just turned 22. Are you asking because I'm an immature brat who did the wrong thing? no but it wasnt hard to guess . As you get older most people realise that the world isnt merely black or white, but made up of many shades of grey, unlike the young who often show the temerity of youth & wear their heart on their sleeve :p . Actually you'd be surprised how I see the world after what I've dealt with in my short but eventful life. I just didn't feel like being "fluffy and nice" when I felt strongly about a dog being punched simply because the owner could not keep control of their emotions. THAT to me, is immature.

Shekhina (& jaybeece too), just out of curiosity, how old are you both? Edited for spelling!! I've just turned 22. Are you asking because I'm an immature brat who did the wrong thing?

And scope has been advised to either get in touch with Steve from K9 Force or to seek out another good trainer.

Yes, exactly Anyways, I hope you don't leave the forum, obviously you're pretty stressed about this and with everything else going on sounds like you're having a shit of a time, I know all about those Keep your chin up with all the other crap going on, seek out a good dog trainer and see if you can get these problems worked on. Good luck

As you said, you're putting human emotion into it, dogs don't work like that. If Harry is a submissive dog then let him be submissive under Grace, don't shit Grace off because you're not reinforcing her and you'll be making things difficult for Harry. I felt a bit like you did when I first saw the signs that Kovu my GSD was submitting to Daegon the Rotty, but that's just the way dogs work, Kovu isn't any less happy...infact both dogs are far more content now that they know where they stand in the pack and it's reinforced to them. Yes, I thought we were all pretty polite as well, a LOT more things could have been said but I think we were all rather well behaved

Shouldn't you be reinforcing THEIR pack order? If between them Grace is higher up you should be reinforcing that otherwise you're just confusing them and causing those issues I had that problem with my two for a little while because the Rottweiler was maturing and looking to head to the top of the dogs. Rotty was displaying to me that he was above the GSD in the pack order, so I reinforce that and it's harmony again in the house.

Agreed. If my dogs don't move when I want to walk in their pathway they get walked into, not kicked, not punched, just I don't stop moving. They soon learn they're to get out of the way. The roughest I get with my dogs is a good scruffing and a loud growl if they're being total shiites and repeatedly doing the wrong thing, but I would NEVER hit my dog.

I know you're probably looking for constructive advice but punching your dog is just NOT on, for ANY reason...that's abuse, you abused your dog. It is NEVER OK to lose your temper like that at your dog, if you're hitting her the only one getting anything out of it is you, and hitting is not healthy anger management...go scream into a pillow or something It seems like these dogs piss you off a lot, most posts I read from you you're getting really angry and annoyed with them...maybe they're not the dogs for you? Donning my flame suit

Well I could do that, but affording it is another thing. The breeder of my GSD does free training for all dogs she's bred, so I could take Kovu to her, but I would be doing that now if I had the transport

I'm about to start a drive training course with K-9 Force through the internet, so I can do all that with Kovu, but I want to title him and to do that I'm going to need to go to an obedience school...that's where the problem is.

I'm in Hobart. There are very few places to pick and choose from here and as far as I know they all use the same methods. I am going to be training my GSD in drive and that doesn't seem to be how they work where I go now with my Rottweiler.

What if it's the only kind of place you have in your state though? Is it OK to fully train your dog at home and then expect to take it to a trial and actually pass?

Thank you everyone! I'll be passing this thread on to my mum so that she's got plenty of ideas

Thanks showdog. I've told my mum to make the changes really slowly, will tell her about the tuckertime roll to, I'm pretty sure Taja likes those

Today I'm using small cubes of cheese, but also like to use cabana. At home I use either dry cat food (dogs LOVE it ) or ham, yes, my ham

Thank you lillysmum, I'll let them know about the vegies as my mum wasn't sure which ones and I wanted to ask to make sure there were certain ones she shouldn't eat. My mum said that she's happy to prepare the food if she needs to. Scottie, thank you for that, I'll see if mum wants to go with the raw foods or whether she wants to add the enzyme stuff. The vet did have her on some kind of power in her food, not sure what it was called though, I'll have to try and find out. Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated

Yes, he was so proud of himself too, prancing around like a pony Got training again today, hopefully he'll be good in class too

Thank you very much for that MrsD, much appreciated

Congratulations!!

Sezy...how did you train stand for examination??? I cannot get Daegon to stay still

Thanks for that. I've only started Daegon in obedience on Sunday, so both he and I are learning...I haven't done any formal training since Kovu was 7 months old...that's 2 1/2 years ago So from now on when I walk Daegon I'll make sure everytime I stop he has to sit. Thanks for the tips guys