New Dog in Northern Virginia

[rst]

My wife and my first kids were a pair of brother Shih Tzus that lived to be 16 and 17.  When I was coaching soccer year round my daughter and I bought my wife a female to keep her company.  Seven years ago my other daughter, with a new baby and full time job bought a male at the Bloomsburg fair.  Less than two weeks later she realized her mistake and we inherited this one.  My wife's female pasted two years.  The woman that grooms our dogs is into rescue work and got my wife interested.  Next thing I know we're driving four hours to Ohio to pick up a four? year old, five pound Yorkie...did I mention that at the time of the trip I was surviving the flu?

P.S. To find out who really loves you unconditionally, lock your dog and significant other in the trunk of your car and after an hour see who is ecstatic to see you again [big grin]

 

[Cheese]

P.S. To find out who really loves you unconditionally, lock your dog and significant other in the trunk of your car and after an hour see who is ecstatic to see you again [big grin]

Funny...that's a no brainer. [scratch chin]

 

[Tinker]

Oops! Hit the wrong button.
Jobby, I hope the original OP read your post. He would learn a whole lot if he is thinking at the same time he reads. Your whole approach is so healthy. I think you might be the type who can get along with any dog and keep him/her happy and healthy.
Bravo
Tinker

Once I get a doggie they are not a pet, they become part of the family. Im still in mourning for one we lost over 2 years ago.
I treat them like my kids, after all they arent much different got to give them expectations and train them to do what they want. This one is a little stubborn but she'll be ok in a month or so

Any dog we bring home are our babies.  we have raised several. Two were raised for Guiding eye dogs. One was a purebred English setter that was given to us for free because she was the runt of the litter and could not be sold.  we even brought home a dog (Took into our house on a 20 below nite and he stayed until we finally had to put him down.)  The last puppy we got from Golden Rescue.  she had been abused to the point where, when we first brought her home she would cringe and cower in a corner when ever one of us moved our feet or even when i made a move to scratch me ear (no kidding-really) Every time she ran away from me, i would go into the corner with her and smooch and hug and especially scratch her neck.  Within two hours of repeating that treatment, she was my dog.  She went everywhere with me.  Why had she been mistreated? Because the owner felt he had to have a male dog and so he made life miserable for the puppy.  We got her at 7 months.  At 19 years old, we finally had to put her down. Every time we had to put a dog to sleep, I went in with the dog and held him/her in my arms while the vet gave the needle.  When our kids were small, we always let them know, as the dog was showing symptoms of too old, that one day when taking their friend to the vet, he/she might not be coming home with us.  We always prepared the children ahead of time. Today, they are both the same way. I grew up on a farm and was always taught that the animals were cared for first. 
Tinker

 

[Wooden Skye]

We have a lab and beagle both are over 10 years old.  The lab kept his puppy behavior for a really long time.  He sheds like mad.  The beagle doesn't bark unless she needs to go out.  The dog in my avatar was a French Mastiff and she was the most down to earth dog, people would see her and be afraid, after meeting fear went away.  Even my mom felt that way.  She was protective of all the family.  One of my favorite stories was we were baby sitting our niece that was only a few months old.  My girlfriend forgot to close the gate on the first floor, and the baby was in her car seat thing and Skye ran over, smelled her feet, laid down and protected her.  Hardest day of my life was when we had to put her down.  Hope you find the right dog, they do make life good.

 

[DrD]

Great Thread!

I tried posting yesterday, but it somehow didn't make it.

We currently have an almost 2 year old Boerboel - she's my avatar, and a slightly younger Rottie (male).  Wouldn't take anything for either, they are both simply WONDERFUL.  We've always raise/bred large dogs, Great Danes, Rotties, and now Boerboels - love them all, but if you're ever around a Boerboel, you'll be hooked for life.  To coin a phrase from a local BBQ Rib Shack - "They ain't nothin' like 'em, nowhere."  Boerboels are very large dogs - not the largest of the Mastiffs - getting up to about 200 lbs, and as such, they require a firm, loving hand, and they are certainly not for everybody.  I first saw a Boerboel on the Outdoor Network, on a program hosted by Theresa Vail who was showing her Boerboel - Sarge. They are not quite as gentle as Great Danes, and they aren't as goofy as the Great Danes; they just simply - in my mind - are the greatest pet I have ever had, with Rotties a close second.

Enjoy the voyage, and whatever you get, I'm sure you'll be happy.

 

[sancho57]

Today, I have to take my little girl to the vet to get fixed. Im looking at her this mornig taking a nap sleeping next to me not knowing what shes in for today. Shes also getting her rabies shots and 2nd deworming and chipping. I might hold off on the chipping for another month or so. But then since shes under she wont feel the chip being implanted.

 

[GoingMyWay]

We ended up getting a Mini Labaradoodle.  We named him Parker.  Attached are two pictures of him.  The first picture is the first day we brought him home, 3 weeks ago today.  The second picture is a more recent picture of him.  Don't let his cute looks fool you!  He's more than a handful.  He loves to bite us and bark at 1 and 4am.  We don't have kids, but I'm thinking that it's actually easier having kids than a puppy - babies aren't born with teeth and can't jump and bite!!

 

[peter halle]

I have to admit that I am a sucker for puppy pictures.  Congrats!  What a cutie.

When you think about pups versus kids I offer the following when people ask why have adopted numerous versus having human kids:

1.  Love is unconditional

2.  If they mis-behave you can put them in a cage (crate) without penalty.

3.  No college financial planning is involved.

4.  They don't talk or text on a cell phone.

...

Peter

 

[RKA]

Congrats!!  He’s super cute!  He will settle in in a few weeks, don’t worry.

 

[greg mann]

When I met my wife she had a male greyhound. He succumbed to osteosarcoma a number of years ago and we have since rescued four more. We lost a second male to the same illness and had a third contract it about a month ago. He was failing quickly a week ago and my wife had made an appointment for him only to have him rally, and he has been holding his own. Sadly, one of our females, Gina, started limping only 3 days ago and virtually collapsed this morning, we had to put her down today and will soon lose our Moe, who is on borrowed time but comfortable for now. We still have another female, Noelle, and our wonderful German Shepard, Rommel, who is now almost 14 and still going to work with me every day.

The greyhounds are wonderful dogs, gentle and laid back, real couch potatoes. They are susceptible to sarcomas but all of ours were quite senior when their time has come. It is a shame their life spans aren’t a bit closer to our own but we can’t avoid giving our hearts over to them.

Like us humans they are all different, in breed and individually. I believe our GS is probably the smartest creature in the house, us humans included, and as gentle and affectionate as any dog I have ever known. He was three when our son rescued him. As an active duty Marine living off base he and Rommel would run five or six miles every day. Matt would joke that they could train anywhere in Long Beach or nearby without ever a care, day or night, although Matt was imposing enough that he really didn’t need a dog to be safe. Life brought changes for Matt, another tour in Iraq, and we wound up with Rommel nine years ago and he adjusted to yet another home. He follows along wherever I go and always keeps tabs on exactly where I am. The reality is I never spent a minute training him to do anything. He just figured out what I wanted from him.

Losing the greys as we have and knowing we will lose another any day now has been tough. I just hope Rommel can continue to beat the odds as long as possible.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Greg, thanks for sharing that.

 

[Tinker]

My (our) most recent dog ws the Golden Rescued mentioned in a previous post. within a couple of weeks of bringing her into our family, I noticed that she ws walking a little oddly. We took her to our vet and he confirmed my suspicion that she had hip dispaysia.  He said it was severe enough that he wanted to bring in a specialist the look at her.  The specialist wanted to break her pip in three places and put her back together. I said "NO WAY".

read up on her problem and discovered that some times the hip will heal with scar tissue buildup in the joint if the young puppy gets plenty of exercise.  We live in a small neighborhood where many dogs runn free in their yards.  I just let Maggie go where she pleased.  By that time, she was trained to come when called (I thought).  When i called her on the second day of her freedom, she did not come.  i searched the neighborhood and soon discovered her running and playing with two other pups about the same age and size.  i realized, after watching a few minutes, that thepuppieswere chasing each other, but not the same two chasing only one.  They were switching off who was chasing who.  I let them play for little while and finally called Maggie.  she paid no attention.  after calling a few times, I decided to go catch her.  As I started across the lawn, she stopped but still did not come.

I walked up to her, and cuffed her very lightly on her front shoulder.  She did not cower as she had done that first night.  She just walked along beside me, head high/tail high as if to tell the world "this is MY man". From then on, she nearly always came when called. I even took her on jobs with me and we developed a pattern where-by she would be familiarized with the boundaries of the property. Once established, I could let her run free all day and she would never go out of bounds. 
Tinker

 

[GoingMyWay]

I have to admit that I am a sucker for puppy pictures.  Congrats!  What a cutie.

When you think about pups versus kids I offer the following when people ask why have adopted numerous versus having human kids:

1.  Love is unconditional

2.  If they mis-behave you can put them in a cage (crate) without penalty.

3.  No college financial planning is involved.

4.  They don't talk or text on a cell phone.

...

Peter

Good points.

Congrats!!  He’s super cute!  He will settle in in a few weeks, don’t worry.

I sure hope he settles down!  We've only had him 3 weeks and I think my wife is sick of him.  6 months until hopefully fully potty training is a long time to go!  At least he slept through most of the night last night without waking up barking.

He is a real cutie, that's the main reason why we picked him.  In hindsight, maybe we should have picked his quieter brother (who we origially wanted to begin with).  We picked Parker because he was super friendly when we first met him.

Losing the greys as we have and knowing we will lose another any day now has been tough. I just hope Rommel can continue to beat the odds as long as possible.

Sorry to hear about your greyhounds.

My (our) most recent dog ws the Golden Rescued mentioned in a previous post. within a couple of weeks of bringing her into our family, I noticed that she ws walking a little oddly. We took her to our vet and he confirmed my suspicion that she had hip dispaysia.  He said it was severe enough that he wanted to bring in a specialist the look at her.  The specialist wanted to break her pip in three places and put her back together. I said "NO WAY".

read up on her problem and discovered that some times the hip will heal with scar tissue buildup in the joint if the young puppy gets plenty of exercise.  We live in a small neighborhood where many dogs runn free in their yards.  I just let Maggie go where she pleased.  By that time, she was trained to come when called (I thought).  When i called her on the second day of her freedom, she did not come.  i searched the neighborhood and soon discovered her running and playing with two other pups about the same age and size.  i realized, after watching a few minutes, that thepuppieswere chasing each other, but not the same two chasing only one.  They were switching off who was chasing who.  I let them play for little while and finally called Maggie.  she paid no attention.  after calling a few times, I decided to go catch her.  As I started across the lawn, she stopped but still did not come.

I walked up to her, and cuffed her very lightly on her front shoulder.  She did not cower as she had done that first night.  She just walked along beside me, head high/tail high as if to tell the world "this is MY man". From then on, she nearly always came when called. I even took her on jobs with me and we developed a pattern where-by she would be familiarized with the boundaries of the property. Once established, I could let her run free all day and she would never go out of bounds. 
Tinker

Great story.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sparktrician]

We don't have kids, but I'm thinking that it's actually easier having kids than a puppy - babies aren't born with teeth and can't jump and bite!!

Then again, you don't have to worry about your dogs drinking and driving or enjoying recreational chemicals, or knocking up (or getting knocked up by) a classmate.  [scared]  I vote for dogs any day.  Dogs grow up quicker.  Dogs are more loyal.  Dogs don't try to drive their trikes down the stairs to the basement.  [big grin]

 

[Wooden Skye]

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member]

Congrats on the new puppy.  I'm going to give you a hint on getting the young pup to stop biting.  Next time he bites or nips at you, bite his ear just until he makes a whimpering noise.  Generally you and your wife will only have to do this once each.  This trick was told to me by a vet when I was breeding German Shorthair Pointers.  Basically a young puppy gets disciplined by its mother by biting, and young dogs tend to think of humans as mom for about 1 year.  I have never had a dog try to bite me after doing this. 

 

[RKA]

Then again, you don't have to worry about your dogs drinking and driving or enjoying recreational chemicals, or knocking up (or getting knocked up by) a classmate. 

Well, to be fair, it's not socially acceptable to have your kids "fixed".  [wink]  As to the drinking and recreational chemicals...my dog is worse than a curious toddler or teenager.  He will eat or swallow anything (except medicine)...completely senseless. 

 

[GoingMyWay]

We don't have kids, but I'm thinking that it's actually easier having kids than a puppy - babies aren't born with teeth and can't jump and bite!!

Then again, you don't have to worry about your dogs drinking and driving or enjoying recreational chemicals, or knocking up (or getting knocked up by) a classmate.  [scared]  I vote for dogs any day.  Dogs grow up quicker.  Dogs are more loyal.  Dogs don't try to drive their trikes down the stairs to the basement.  [big grin]

Then again, you don't have to worry about your dogs drinking and driving or enjoying recreational chemicals, or knocking up (or getting knocked up by) a classmate. 

Well, to be fair, it's not socially acceptable to have your kids "fixed".  [wink]  As to the drinking and recreational chemicals...my dog is worse than a curious toddler or teenager.  He will eat or swallow anything (except medicine)...completely senseless. 

Maybe babies are only "easier" in the short term, but not the long run.  We'd like to have kids too.

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member]

Congrats on the new puppy.  I'm going to give you a hint on getting the young pup to stop biting.  Next time he bites or nips at you, bite his ear just until he makes a whimpering noise.  Generally you and your wife will only have to do this once each.  This trick was told to me by a vet when I was breeding German Shorthair Pointers.  Basically a young puppy gets disciplined by its mother by biting, and young dogs tend to think of humans as mom for about 1 year.  I have never had a dog try to bite me after doing this. 

I recently discovered the dog trainer Zak George.  He's apparently the most popular dog trainer on YouTube.  I also bought his book.  I think he's really great.  He's only about positive reinforcement, nothing negative so I have been trying to avoid inflicting any type of negative reinforcement and definitely no physical correction.  We're enrolled in a training class at PetSmart and the trainer told us to shout/yell "AH AAAAAH, NO" when the dog does something we don't want him to do.  The whole "positive only training" sure sounds good on paper, but I now realize (the vet also suggested) that sometimes you have to mix it up a little.  Try different approaches from different trainers.  We don't have to only listen to Zak George or only Caesar Milan or whoever.  We've since adopted the "AH AAAAH, NO!" technique since the whole redirection thing - "chew this, not that" doesn't really seem to work.  This too is having limited results.  I already tried the "ouch" and yelping when he bites me.  When I yelp he usually stops and lets go, but then goes right back to biting me.  This morning he was really excited and he bit me quite hard.  We may need to try the bite his ear trick.

 

[Wooden Skye]

It does work.  A guy I used to work with got 2 dogs, they both bit him and his wife, told him this, he did it and never bit him again.  His wife wasn't thrilled with the method, so she decided not to try it.  A month later after being bit almost daily she did it, dogs never bit her again.  Good luck with the training, finding the method that works is almost as hard as the training at times.

 

[Tinker]

Another trick in training a puppy:  We raised a couple of Guiding Eye puppies.  One actually graduated to leading a blind man.  The second was decided to be kept for a brood mother. We whelped two litters with her. That is another long story. During training, we had to go to classes every week. I think two classes per week. We had to subject our trainees to all sorts of problems they might be faced with in the real world. One problem we found difficult to set up in class was chasing cars. Our instructor suggested that as we walked our dogs at home, or wherever, the puppy,if so inclined, would try chasing cars while on their leash. If voce command did not work, do not punish by slapping. Do not actually give the command to stop chasing a car as it whizzes past.  Just give the leash a little soak whn you know the problem is going to happen. As the puppy gets full steam to go after the car, yank on the leash and continue walking s if nothing has happened. Don't even say anything. ddon't admonish and don't praise. Every time the puppy goes after the car, do the same thing. Some dogs, it only takes one time.  Others, it might take three or four times, but they will quit very soon. Our first trainee took only a couple of sestions to break her. Our second trainee was easily trained with just he very first, and firm "NO".  Maggie was trained with the very first yanking incident.
Tinker

 

[RKA]

Be patient, he's just a puppy, they play with their mouths, so what we perceive as biting is usually just play.  What they need to learn is not to apply pressure and it may take some time for him to understand how hard is too hard.  He's also got sharp pointy teeth, so it's not entirely his fault that even the slightest pressure is a bit too much.  A loud "OUCH" serves to startle and get his attention, then stop the play and attention for a minute. 

As they get older (4-6 months), if you don't want them being mouthy, the same technique works, just stop the play and tell them no.  But the play/attention stops for longer intervals (15 mins) as they get older.  They will learn what not to do.  Don't underestimate the reward value of play and attention.