SkySoaringMagpie Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 In the jealousy thread, someone talked about their dog being a household princess and being spoiled. I have a princess that I treat differently, my oldest retired girl. I am easier on her because I know she's a steady settled dog with good manners and I know how far I can go with spoiling before I start to give myself problems. I don't work her as hard before giving her rewards, sometimes I'll give her a treat and say "and this is because you are beautiful". I'm sure that would give some people here the horrors, but it has not turned her into an aggressive dog, she's still quite calm, takes treats delicately and has good house manners. So really she's a princess in my eyes, rather than a princess in behaviour. I have an entire male who we are much more on top of all of the time. He behaves like a supermodel so he gets the Ru Paul treatment: "you better work!" He needs inflexible consistency about what is OK and what is not OK all the time. If we treated him the way we treat my girl, we would have a ton of problems. I could impose the the rules I apply to him on all the dogs using the lowest common denominator as my guide, but it doesn't seem necessary. We give them the guidance they seem to need, if that makes sense. What do others do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 You cant be hard and fast. I sometimes give my dogs a treat for existing and they dont go trying to kill me for it. OK so they have to sit first but you get it My mum thinks I run a military camp. I do have the same rules for all (although Diesel is allowed to dig holes ) but they are the basics - no fighting, no barking, no stealing food, no resource guarding, no provoking, no pulling on the leash. Everything else, say when we go out and about socialising, some get more pats, some are allowed to eat from other people, some can meet dogs etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yes, my dogs are treated differently. My old boy is definitely spoiled more and although all my dogs will get treats for no reason sometimes, Flynn more often than the others. He also sleeps on the bed, gets fed first etc. My younger boy has more rules applied than any of the other dogs for self control. He must wait for his meal, must wait to go through doors etc. The other dogs don't as they naturally show more manners ;) Dogs are individuals and should be treated as such IMO. I don't feel it necessary to apply everything my young guy needs to all dogs, partyl 'cause I'm lazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Not to mention that girls in whelp and nursing are given special considerations -- as must be. My dogs do not seem to expect equal treatment. I think this "all created equal" stuff is a human invention that we need not teach to our dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaves Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yep i have higher expectations of Daire than i do the girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Ivan isn't crated or kept in a run, so I guess he's treated differently in that regard. He's older and somewhat chilled out, so he gets trusted not to wreak havok! We're very strict with Trixie cause we've seen what happens when her rules are relaxed. She reverts to the uber bitch she used to be. Chopper tends to get brought more places purely cause I like the company and it's easier to bring him than to bring one of the others and leave him behind ;) Angel tends to get hugs and cuddles without working for them cause she's so damn cute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paganman Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yep I do coz Jades a real bitch and thinks shes it and a bit and Ive got to watch her with other girls so Im a fair bit stricter with her than Mag whos a lot easier to live with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Basic rules are the same for all of our dogs- no fighting, mouthing etc etc I give my dogs something for nothing quite regularly- it doesn't affect their training or behaviour. They don't all love the same things so for instance Dexter gets more pats and cuddles than Cosmo- Cosmo gets more fetch games and targetting games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Lestat is older, calmer and a Lab, so pretty easy to train and in general deal with. Mistral, being a spitz breed needs a very firm hand and i have also noticed a lot more cuddles So yes they are treated differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamuzz Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yes mine are treated differently. For example, Coda doesn't always sit for treats and because of his bad leg I don't enforce the sit. Jatz will sneak upstairs, take a flying leap onto our bed, lick me 'hello' and then charge off downstairs again. I believe we both know she is bending the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 They get what they need. Basic rules regarding acceptable behaviour are in common, but they get handling that is appropriate to their own nature, level of training and age. And they all get the occassional treat or pat just for being beautiful as well - doesn't mean they don't have to work for it when I ask, which is frequently, just that spontaneous displays of appreciation are all the go in our house, for all members! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 They get what they need. Basic rules regarding acceptable behaviour are in common, but they get handling that is appropriate to their own nature, level of training and age. And they all get the occassional treat or pat just for being beautiful as well - doesn't mean they don't have to work for it when I ask, which is frequently, just that spontaneous displays of appreciation are all the go in our house, for all members! You've said neatly in a few sentences what I struggled to say in paragraphs. Your dogs are EXTRA beautiful tho' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-B-C Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Dogs are individuals and should be treated as such IMO. This is what I recon too FHRP. I treat my dogs according to the individual infront of me. A classic example that I can remember from years ago - I lived with a guy who had 2 kelpie x girls and I had a staffy girl. If Yoda (my staffy) got in trouble the two kelpies would hit the deck thinking they were going to die... Yoda kept on doing what she was doing, completely oblivious of the mahem she had caused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yes, Noah is so gorgeous that he is a spoilt, whiny little brat who gets all the attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Willow Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yes, they do get treated differently, because they have very different personalities, and are physically very different. They both get discipline, training, attention, affection & fun & games, but in different ways. We have basic rules they both have to follow.....just the usual "good manners" stuff, but for example, Jarrah (Stafford), give him an inch & he'll take a mile, whereas Rhu (fluffy x-breed) is naturally very compliant, and "soft" natured, so I can be a lot more relaxed with him & he won't push his luck. I can play rougher games with Rhu & get him quite hyped up, because I can calm him down just as quickly, whereas with Jarrah, he gets to a point where he gets too silly, so we play more with "brain games" rather than "physical games" with him. Rhu gets picked up & cuddled because he weighs 6kg, but Jarrah is 25kg, so he's way too heavy for that!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Your dogs are EXTRA beautiful tho' ;) Pics to prove it or it's not true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 Your dogs are EXTRA beautiful tho' Pics to prove it or it's not true! Borzoi. 'nuff said! Second most beautiful dogs in the world after Salukis. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) Yep, mine are treated differently. Cooper is older and much more trained than the young ones so he does not get crated of a night like the young ones, and I'm happy letting him do his own thing around the house. I am comfortable letting him off lead for a run because he does come straight back. He is not the type of dog that you give an inch and he takes a mile so is a joy to live with. The young ones I cannot fully trust not to get into mischief so they do have more house rules. However, they are getting much better and I am able to relax a bit more. They all get their own time with me, whether it be training or playing or cuddles and treats just because I them ;) Edited January 20, 2009 by BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Same as everyone else's replies. A general set of rules for all to maintain harmony, although I must say that my 15yo GSD is a little more spoilt than the others....well he deserves to be :wink: ....he's old, arthritic, going deaf and blind yet still a very noble gentleman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Your dogs are EXTRA beautiful tho' :D Pics to prove it or it's not true! Borzoi. 'nuff said! Second most beautiful dogs in the world after Salukis. Yep, that's fair! They think they are the most beautiful, but then humility is not one of their virtues. Better not let the affies hear you say that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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