register for free
View our sister sites
Our sister sites
Our sister sites
Our sister sites
red collar
Dogsey Junior
red collar is offline  
Location: England
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 174
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 08:10 AM
Originally Posted by hectorsmum View Post
so he lost it for a bit. we all can and do sometimes.
true, there are members who sometimes 'lose it'. It is usually because they are passionate about dogs and although I very often don't agree with people I respect their view because I know it is all about doing the best for dogs.

The OP's outbursts on all threads come across as being 'all about me'.

give it a rest now
that was my first post for 3 months.

he should be made to feel welcome
he was.

NOT berated for an opinion
he was questioned about his opinions. Different thing.

and emotions.
yes, the emotions were a problem because they were defensive-aggressive.

When our dogs show these emotions we spend a lot of time coaxing, managing, soothing etc. When a human shows these emotions, we may be prepared to do the same to some extent on a forum.

However when a person has in effect separated himself from the general population of newbies by almost immediately starting 'how to' threads, (and expressed a desire to help those unfortunates who have previously been floundering amid 'know alls' without a canine guide, and who don't know any better), we don't expect to spend a lot of time soothing ruffled feathers. We expect them to snap out of it quickly - otherwise they lose credibility.

Many forums are knee-deep in professional behaviourists. They give their advice and time freely and generously. Somtimes there are different opinions expressed. I can honestly say this is the first time I've seen someone come on so strong initially, and been so huffy when their ideas are challenged. So, whilst I'd agree with you that newbies should be given some latitude, they don't all jump in with the 'hey, I'm a behaviourist' posts straight away.

Sometimes the only clue to a person's RL occupation is a comment such as "in my behavioural work I often see ...". There are scores of people like that quietly and modestly giving advice on forums.
Reply With Quote
youngstevie
Dogsey Veteran
youngstevie is offline  
Location: Birmingham UK
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 20,832
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 08:41 AM
Originally Posted by Steve Wishart View Post
Hey Dee,

It sounds a lot like your puppy needs vital socialising skills if even you get a bit scared of him, I suggest you get a muzzle for him before these puppy classes, just to be on the safe side.

I advise all new dog owners upon getting a puppy to be involved with everything. Take them over to parks where they can meet other dogs, not so much bringing other dogs to your house, in case he is of a dominent nature, as he won't take to them coming in uninvited by him. Also take him down your local pub to meet people as well, the more situations a puppy is exposed to, the less likely the puppy will grow into a dog that is unsure of everything, including other people and dogs.

If you taught him bite inhibition, he should be pretty comfortable with your hand in his mouth. Has he ever displayed anything at all similar previously with what he did recently?

The tendon may have even been sore for him, in which case he growled after associating you with the pain or discomfort.

I would advise that you take 10 mins time out every day to groom him, it'll get him used to you running your hands over him, obviously give him a treat whilst grooming him so he can get the idea that grooming is a good thing. He'll learn to trust you and it's also quite an empowering role for you to letting him know that you'll take good care of him/let him know that you are boss by taking the alpha dog grooming role, whichever theory you believe, they are both essentially the same one thing.

With regards to taking his bowl away, this can be dangerous and it's become synonomous with how to teach your dog that you're boss by general media, unfortunately they don't take into account that an overly dominent and aggressive dog will get very offended by this and could cause you some damage. Dogs love their food, it's like taking away cake from Vanessa Feltz, it'll only piss her off.

I would also advise that you never smack your dog on the nose, even I was taught this one as a child and sadly enough, employed it as a kid when I knew no better. It's probably the equivelent of kicking some guy in his family jewels, it's harmful for the dog and with experience, the dog will only learn to resent you for doing so, growling back is also not a good idea. A firm "no!" is better, but only if the dog knows better.

Use the power of reinforcement, give him a treat whilst he is doing a behaviour that you want to encourage, such as sticking your hands in his mouth. Scoop his food up or feed him a treat by placing it on his tongue inside his mouth after letting him have a sniff, let him eat food from your hands. Basically, everytime your hands go anywhere near him, he needs to think "Oh my, I like these hands, they give me food. Good hands", if you continue smacking him on the nose and keep taking his bowl away, he is associating negative things with hands, its possible that everytime he sees your hands he thinks "those hands cause me pain and they take my food away, I don't like those hands. Bad hands"

Give grooming a go, its a great bond between you and your dog, he gets comfortable with you touching him all over and he'll also have a much nicer coat because of it. If you believe in the pack mentality, the alpha dog grooms his pack with the thinking that he is the boss of them and he is allowed to touch them. Grooming puts you in that alpha dog role.

Try and get him to associate your hands as things of goodness, they play toys with him, they throw balls for him, they feed him, they groom him, they stroke him; not things of badness such as them hitting him and them trying to take his food away.

I'm sure many others have different opinions on the matter, so listen to other's posts and do whatever you feel comfortable with and what seems right.
Good answer.............the only thing I would be included not to use would be a muzzle...well unless it was the very last resort, althoug the answer only suggests taking one along incase.........but otherwise I agree, also with the grooming, I sit on the floor with all three of mine...trying to groom them all at once they LOVE it...pity they can not comb my hair maybe that it a future training exercise
Reply With Quote
youngstevie
Dogsey Veteran
youngstevie is offline  
Location: Birmingham UK
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 20,832
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 08:50 AM
Originally Posted by red collar View Post
true, there are members who sometimes 'lose it'. It is usually because they are passionate about dogs and although I very often don't agree with people I respect their view because I know it is all about doing the best for dogs.

The OP's outbursts on all threads come across as being 'all about me'.



that was my first post for 3 months.



he was.



he was questioned about his opinions. Different thing.



yes, the emotions were a problem because they were defensive-aggressive.

When our dogs show these emotions we spend a lot of time coaxing, managing, soothing etc. When a human shows these emotions, we may be prepared to do the same to some extent on a forum.

However when a person has in effect separated himself from the general population of newbies by almost immediately starting 'how to' threads, (and expressed a desire to help those unfortunates who have previously been floundering amid 'know alls' without a canine guide, and who don't know any better), we don't expect to spend a lot of time soothing ruffled feathers. We expect them to snap out of it quickly - otherwise they lose credibility.

Many forums are knee-deep in professional behaviourists. They give their advice and time freely and generously. Somtimes there are different opinions expressed. I can honestly say this is the first time I've seen someone come on so strong initially, and been so huffy when their ideas are challenged. So, whilst I'd agree with you that newbies should be given some latitude, they don't all jump in with the 'hey, I'm a behaviourist' posts straight away.

Sometimes the only clue to a person's RL occupation is a comment such as "in my behavioural work I often see ...". There are scores of people like that quietly and modestly giving advice on forums.
I agree to a point redcollar....but lets assume now that the PO has realized that by coming in a 'hey I'm a behaviourist' and ' Right point to your problems I'll sort them'....was not the right approach. I do think Steve is a little 'over zealous' with his occupation and agree that others on this forum have many same qualifacations but just haven't said.....but I for one are willing to put that behind me, as you know I wa a little concerned about they way it was abit 'full on'....but am willing to see how things 'pan out'. As for Steve I think (as he said in one of his outbursts) he also needs to do alot of learning to......still go a long way to go.
But if he and us are alttle more flexi perhaps he (and us) will learn alot of each other
Reply With Quote
Jackie
Dogsey Veteran
Jackie is offline  
Location: UK
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 13,122
Female  Diamond Supporter 
 
07-06-2008, 08:59 AM
Originally Posted by Steve Wishart View Post
Hey Dee,

It sounds a lot like your puppy needs vital socialising skills if even you get a bit scared of him, I suggest you get a muzzle for him before these puppy classes, just to be on the safe side.
:
Originally Posted by Minihaha View Post
Hi Dee I won't answer your question, it wasn't requesting suggestions from members in general but may I make one observation?

You say.. someone suggested.. I have to say something here, not to be picky but I really would not use a muzzle on this puppy, you say he is shy of humans, muzzling him can make him worse .

Have to agree with Minni, your pup is 14 wks old, putting a muzzle on him, can do untold damage...

He sounds to me like a normal bolshy pup..albeit he needs to learn what is expectable and what is not....
Reply With Quote
ClaireandDaisy
Dogsey Veteran
ClaireandDaisy is offline  
Location: Essex, UK
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,147
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 09:02 AM
and the topic was?
Whoops! dropped off there for a minute.
So here`s one for you - if food, excercise and mental stimulation are the three first weapons in a Behaviourists` arsenal-
what would a humble trainer have?
Because none of those would address - oh - poor heelwork for example.
Reply With Quote
Dee Buzby
Dogsey Junior
Dee Buzby is offline  
Location: Brussels Belgium
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 60
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 09:08 AM
I'm not planning to get a muzzle. He had been a very sweet natured dog so far (apart from this one incident)I've AlWAYS spent lots of time interacting with him (I'm an old fashioned housewife with nothing better to do haha!), I groom him, spend loads of time sitting on the kitchen floor with him lying on my knee...he just jumps on and lies down to be stroked whenever I sit. I can groom him in the same way that monkeys do it-all over..inside his ears,his paws, even round his "privates"! ..and he's happy and relaxed about it. He does get excited sometimes like all puppies, and can become more like a velociraptor but he is much better at keeping his teeth to himself. It's only been play biting so far anyway, but we're doing well at teaching him to keep off hands. He does like to lick them though.. Probably for the taste of the chicken breast that we are giving him during training.I guess that, as Kooikers are a notoriously hungry breed, I can't really blame him for putting up some resistance when I took the tendon. I have often removed stuff from his mouth that he has picked up from the garden. He had gastritis a couple of weeks ago so I'm probably more fussy about what he eats from the ground.He has NEVER growled at me then.....so........?
Reply With Quote
Dee Buzby
Dogsey Junior
Dee Buzby is offline  
Location: Brussels Belgium
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 60
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 09:13 AM
Oh...by the way...I'm more than happy to have ANY and ALL advice from ALL and ANY experienced doggy owners! Sorry if I gave the wrong idea, just that it looked like behaviour problems were the hot topic at the time! And just for the record, my pup and his littermates had "personality profiles" done on them at 7 weeks old (in Holland they do that apparently) and he was considered to be submissive and shy and kind!...
Reply With Quote
youngstevie
Dogsey Veteran
youngstevie is offline  
Location: Birmingham UK
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 20,832
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 09:23 AM
Originally Posted by Dee Buzby View Post
Oh...by the way...I'm more than happy to have ANY and ALL advice from ALL and ANY experienced doggy owners! Sorry if I gave the wrong idea, just that it looked like behaviour problems were the hot topic at the time! And just for the record, my pup and his littermates had "personality profiles" done on them at 7 weeks old (in Holland they do that apparently) and he was considered to be submissive and shy and kind!...
He sounds a sweetie Hun.......nothing wrong with shy etc., now he can be nurtured. Good luck with your classes
Reply With Quote
Dee Buzby
Dogsey Junior
Dee Buzby is offline  
Location: Brussels Belgium
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 60
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 09:29 AM
Thanks Young Stevie. I needed your reassurance. We all love him to bits and will do everything we can to make sure he turns out a happy well balanced dog.
Reply With Quote
youngstevie
Dogsey Veteran
youngstevie is offline  
Location: Birmingham UK
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 20,832
Female 
 
07-06-2008, 09:37 AM
Originally Posted by Dee Buzby View Post
Thanks Young Stevie. I needed your reassurance. We all love him to bits and will do everything we can to make sure he turns out a happy well balanced dog.
He will I'm sure....at least he wasn't like Bruce...like I said before he was like a demented thing over food.chews etc., nothing worst than a 8-9 week old pup showing all his gums and pin teeth coming at you.....he is not abit bothered now, hands, feet, even if I got a chew in my mouth,he's like a real softie.......he's a real GENT now. xxxxxxxxxxx It's all down to trust and respect...and calma calma....
Reply With Quote
Reply
Page 8 of 18 « First < 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 > Last »


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 


© Copyright 2016, Dogsey   Contact Us - Dogsey - Top Contact us | Archive | Privacy | Terms of use | Top