Cheyenne_Fury

I too have a big problem ignorning my dogs. Jake (dalmatian) follows me around the house (yes even sits outside the toilet door and knows how to open the bathroom door) but my other dog Murray could care less if I patted him and will only approach me occasionally for a scratch and a pat. He is cute, but doesn't have the whole I need attention pat me thing. I sometimes wish he did because I tell you it is hard trying to get his attention at all which of course makes training very hard... Anne

I have been reading this thread with interest, as I have in the passed used the gentle leader, and had been lead to believe that they were "gentle". I have two dogs, both of which I adopted from an RSPCA shelter. My dalmatian i adopted between the age of 6-8 months and my beagle/basset cross between the age of 8-9 years. (they were adopted at different times) Both of the dogs that I adopted had had little or no training when i got them. With my Dalmatian (I adopted him first) I did preliminary training with him, getting him to sit, drop etc. and this went well. I admit that I have not had vast experience training dogs by any means, though have owned a few dogs over the years with my family, though my current dogs are the first dogs I have owned since leaving home. Our other dogs we had from puppies and while they never went to obedience school as my mum didn't drive and my dad worked 6 days a week we "trained" them at home and never had any problems. Jake (Dalmatian) was taken to obedience school at around 12-14 months and we started out training on a flat collar. I was having trouble controlling him with all the other dogs around and one of the instructors suggested that I try a gentle leader. I went to the RSPCA shop where the gentle leader was fitted and I was instructed on how to use the halter and for us it worked fine, though i can say that at first Jake was not too fond of it, but learned that when i put the halter on him we were going out and about adn so began to look forward to putting it on. We used the halter while we attended obedience and continued using the halter for a few months after we stopped attending obedience school (as I did not agree with one of the instructors who insisted on training methods that I didn't agree with she "picked" on people and I didn't think this was effective in encouraging people to train their dogs and make it enjoyable). I can know walk Jake on a loose lead for the most part and only really put the halter on if we are going somewhere new or different and there will be a lot of dogs/distractions. Murray on the other hand is completely different. I have tried a few different methods not to get him to pull without seeming success, but am also not really wanting to use the gentle leader on him as he positively hates it and as he has a different shaped head to Jake I find that although it "fits" him, it sits too close to his eyes for my liking. I know that the pulling is due to my ineffective training of Murray, but also he could have been doing this his whole life and it is harder to correct a dog that has been pulling for who knows how long, than a puppy or dog that has been pulling for a relatively short time. I have made the decision to look into taking Murray to ADT at Berwick after he has had his vaccination booster later this month, but for some people who can't afford to attend regular training or have other commitments and can not always arrange the spare time to attend training regularly, there has to be another answer doesn't there? I undestand that obedience and/or private lessons is preferable, but does anyone have any suggestions that people can try without "harming" their dogs in order to make taking their dogs for a walk more enjoyable for both dog and owner? Just my opinion... Anne

Kelpie - yep you are right about not knowing the history of the dog when getting them from the pound. But I don't regret getting my boy Murray. He is a great dog, apart from his problems, which I can deal with. All dogs have their own personality as you said and some are really "cuddly" type dogs and other aren't, just like people. From the way that he reacts when I do give him affection, I truelly believe that the people in his life before treated him as "just a dog" and not part of the family, which is how some people treat their dogs. I am the exact opposite, my dogs are my babies, which I can imagine would be quite confusing to the poor old boy. He was a completely different dog when I got him to what he is now, and I think that with more hard work and a bit of love, I can turn him around even more. I know that he is a hound and as such any little distraction and I will have trouble getting his attention back and I accept this, but just wanted to do more than what I had been to make his life better and mine too, not to mention my sister who lives with me and doesn't really like him at all because he listens to her even less than he does me. I do think it is a really good idea to only feed him half of his normal food as his "dinner" and leave the rest for "training" as you and Erny have both suggested. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions Anne Thanks again

Thanks Erny, yet again another great idea because the last thing that I need is Murray putting on more weight as you can probably see from the photo. hey Kelpie, yep I know about scent hounds. I have had a beagle before and know that they are not the most responsive dogs because all they want to do is follow their noses, but Murray is especially aloof. I think it has a lot to do with his previous homes. I have no way of knowing of course as the RSPCA found his as a stray and no one claimed him, but when i first brought him home he didn't want to have a bar of anyone, not that he was frightened or anything, I just don't think that he had had any affection or anything before. It broke my heart because I am probably too affectionate with my dogs and give them heaps of attention and he didn't really know what to do with all the attention he was getting. I think that was part of my problem wanting him to feel like he is loved etc and giving him to much attention and now I have to reassert my leadership. Nekhbet - Yep know all about lunge ropes, I have got horses and I use them with the dogs all the time Thanks for the suggestion though Anne

Thanks Nekhbet probably good idea to get him off the bed, will give it a go. I don't let Murray off unless we go to the park, but maybe best to avoid the park for awhile with him at least. Yep I have to be careful with what I give him as treats because I don't want to make him any more tubby :rolleyes: Thanks Anne

Yep Bree you are right. I am going to have to make a trip to the pet supplies and stock up on extra yummy treats :rolleyes: Anne

Just a little update that happened just now. My two boys were inside here with me as I am on the computer and a dog or cat or something was at the front window. Both of them started barking and so I called Jake my Dalmatian. He came straight to me and I made him sit and he was looking right at me and watching me for what he was to do next so I praised him, told him he was a good boy and gave him a pat. The dogs stopped barking, but then a neighbours dog started barking. Both dogs ran to the back door and were barking. As soon as I said Jake's name he was at my side again. I decided to try with Murray. My neighbours probably think I am crazy because I called Murray in a really loud excited voice as he usually will at least look at me when I use this voice. I called him and he actually came. I asked him to sit and he was watching me and so I gave him lots of praise and a dog biscuit which I always have on hand. I did this several times over and he came 3 times out of the 4 so that is pretty good for a start... Anne

Thanks Bree, the only thing is that while I get a lot of attention from my dalmatian because he loves to be patted and hugged etc. I don't seem to get hardly any attention from my beagle unless I have food. I think that the food thing may be the way to go. Not feeding him out of his bowl and making him eat from my hand when he is watching me. It won't hurt him to go without food for a day or so because he is a fatty. Thanks for your suggestions, everything helps Anne

I used a gentle leader on my dalmatian when I first took him to obedience school when he was around a year old. He was a rescue dog that I got between 6-8 months of age. I tried walking him on a flat collar and at first he was ok, but then he would pull and pull and I didn't really know how to stop him from pulling. I would make him walk beside me and would shorten the lead so that I could have better control and correct him when he pulled, but all he learned to do was lean against the lead. This was my fault and it was for this reason that I began obedience with him. One of the instructors at the club suggested a gentle leader or halti so off i went to the RSPCA shop and had one of the people there fit my dog with a gentle leader and instruct me on it's correct use. Though I didn't ever use it with two leads, I always kept his flat collar on when we were out on walks and it did work wonders because I had begun obedience and was being taught how to teach my dog to heal properly. Soon I didn't need the gentle leader and now only put it on his occasionally if he starts to pull or get really excited. He is much better, and I am going to be taking him and my other dog back to training so that I can learn to train them better. Anne

Hi Erny, A typical week day will see me up at 6.30am take the dogs for a small walk and then get ready for work. I feed about half an hour before I leave, which is around 10 to 8. They are put outside a few minutes before I leave for work. I then return home just after 4pm. I leave them outside for a few minutes before letting them in. I normally get changed and then will let the dogs inside. Murray will bang on the door because he knows that I am home, but I do not let him in while he is doing this. He must stop banking and jumping on the door and sit before I let him in. Once they are inside I say hello to them both, give them a pat and then we go for our walk. This is sometomes in the streets around my neighbourhood and other times I will take them in the car and go for a walk down the beach or take them to the park, which is a fenced cricket oval where they can both run off lead without me worrying about them running away or being distracted by other dogs etc. as I will only use the park if there is no one else there. Murray only comes occasionally when called, but Jake my Dalmatian will come 9 times out of 10 when there is not other dogs or people around apart from me and Murray. I usually let them run for half an hour and by this time Murray is well and truely tired and will come back to me and I put his lead back on and back in the car and home again. The dogs are allowed to play outside or be inside during the evening. They are fed outside the same time that we eat dinner. Later in the evening they are put outside to go the toilet for between 15mins and half an hour and then are brought back inside. Murray usually sleeps on the end of my bed and Jake sleeps either on my bed or on the couch in the lounge room. Anne

Thanks persephone, sounds like a good idea, I will give it a go. The only thing is that when I am ay work both of my dogs are left together for company. Do you think it would work if I didn't separate them during the day? Anne

Thanks Becky They are both cuties, but yeah Murray definately has attitude, he thinks he is the boss! He isn't really naughty but he just ignores me until unless he's hungry or wants a pat :rolleyes: My fault I know he was a rescue dog and even though we get along great now, I need to assert my authority which is kind of hard to do when he doesn't really pay any attention to me... Anne

This is Jake :rolleyes:

This is Murray, he is an old man

Hi, I have an older beagle/basset cross who I am having problems with gaining and keeping his attention on me for anything length of time. He is quite aloof and will not come when called. He was a rescue dog and I have had him for approx. a year. He is much better than he used to be, but is still more interested in everything going on around us rather than focussing on me. Food doesn't really seem to help all that much either. If anyone could offer some suggestions that would be great. Thanks Anne

Thanks K9 I will suss them out Anne

Thanks K9. Yep he was 8 when I got him he was found as a stray and I got him from the RSPCA. He is much better, but I would like to gain even more control and not have walking such a chore because both of my dogs love it so much. Anne

Tia, you need to convince your mother to take the dog to see another vet, or perhaps take him back to the original vet and perhaps you could go with her. As you have said that he is very overweight this is going to make his problems even worse and will be very uncomfortable especially with summer coming on. Speak to a vet and get them to suggest a weight loss diet for the boy and also swimming is great as poodle fan said. If you are in Melb PM kimjm as she knows all about hydrotherapy for dogs. Anne

I have a problem with my older beagle/cross basset who is almost nine. I have had him for just over a year and also have a dalmatian who is three. I attended basic level obedience with my dalmatian and he is well behaved and I have continued the training at home as we had a few issues with one of the instructors that believed all dogs should be trained on a correction chain. I have had no experience with correction chains and so was loathe to use one. My dalmatian is always walked on a flat collar and for the most part now does not pull. I do not insist that he walk in the heel position all the time, just when we are training. Is this wrong? My beagle/basset loves to pull and I am sure that he has had no obediance training whatsoever. He is much better behaved now when i first got him and is getting there. He is just a "pet" if you like, a very loved and much valued part of my family, but I have no aspirations of doing any kind of dog sports or anything with him as he is getting on in years and also was rescued to be a companion for my dalmatian and for me. He is a great dog and I love to take both of the dogs for a walk together and they do actually both walk better when they are together as neither likes to be left at home. Occassionally my sister or other friends or family will come for a walk with us and I usually have them walk Jake (Dalmatian) and I will walk Murray. He is a very strong dog and weighs around 25-30kgs and does like to pull. I have tried the stop start method, but these doesn't seem to work too well, most likely I am perhaps not doing it correctly. All I would like to achieve is to have him walking freely on lead and not pulling all of the time. I haven't heard of prong collars before and noticed that someone mentioned that they have now been banned in victoria, which is where I live. Could anyone suggest a good trainer in Melbourne who would be able to give me a few pointers and point me in the right direction. I didn't have any problems with Jake as he was younger and more willing, Murray (beagle/basset) on the other hand is older and more set in his ways, but I am sure once I know the correct way to begin that I can turn this around. Thanks and sorry for the long post Anne

I too have this problem with my dalmatian he drops hair constantly. It has gotten to the stage where people don't recognise me if i am not covered in dog hair. I think that I might have to invest in a dyson or dyson like vacuum to keep my non doggy sister who lives in my house sane... Anne

Thinking on what Erny said about 44 gallon drums, I wouldn't be included to use a metal one, but I have horses and you can get the same size drums in really hard plastic. The same as the plastic wheely bins are made out off. All you would have to do is cut the end of (could do with a electric round saw or even a hand saw) and then just make sure that the edges weren't too sharp but filing them down with a rasp. You can pick up different sizes barrels from all stockfeed places. This being said I think that I am going to go home tonight and try this out for myself. I have heaps of barrels and home from the horses and am sure I can find one that I can do without. These wouldn't be too expensive, probably around $20-$30 for the smaller kind and up to around $50 for a larger one. Just an idea Anne

I have seen these great material muzzles that a friend of mine used on her dog because she would constantly rip the washing off the line and destroy everything in the yard. The dog could still drink and pant etc. just not open her mouth wide enough to cause any damage. After a few weeks of this she got the idea not to destroy anything... I think she just bought hers from the local pet supplies... Anne

It is always so sad when we loose a much loved baby. My heart goes out to you and your family, and you are so right, it is the ones that gave us the most trouble that we miss the most. they had so much character and kept us on our toes for so long it is hard to adjust to life without them Anne