well, our 5 year old golden retriever is a great dog… but he thinks the world is all about him. if we sit on the couch and he lays on his bed, he’ll bark for no reason! well, actually because we’re not petting him. but we are busy people and we can’t constantly pay attention to him. he gets over 5 hours of play time a day, and interaction all other times.
and also, he will nearly rip the door off a small kennel (like at the groomers) and can’t stand lonlieness. well, he used to be an outdoor dog and he had free reign of the yard, but he’d rather be in with us, so that all works in the house. but how can we teach him not to be so “in your face” in a bad way? oh, and he has a mouthing problem to (not so it hurts, it just gets annoying when your hand is always shrively and soaked).
do you think it is bad to have him sleep outside in -18 degree weather tonight with heat lamp, blankies? and if no, how will we keep him in somewhere? he opens doors and latches, and he goes nuts.
yeah, i need info on the alpha stuff to fix this, i did nearly all the “alpha dog” things i could find. or training help. or success stories.
need help on sleeping conditions though…
oh, and he eats soft toys and doesn’t enjoy tough bones, so the only ones he ever eats are soft and quick. he is mildly detructive. and afraid to climb stairs. should i camp out in the living room with him tonight?
I will try not to make this too detailed and not to leave out the important details. So here we go:
My daughter is a certified Vet Tech & works at our vet clinic. I had to take Bean in for a consultation. The clinic was slammed with appointments, running about an hour behind. Being a client for over 30 years, I have the privilege to go to the back, wait in the kitchen and watch TV.
As I am walking down the hall, I hear my daughter ask a man with 2 large American Bulldogs, if the dogs were okay with being touched by strangers or did she need to muzzle them. The man said the male was fine but his female may get anxious. But he could handle her and he would prefer she not be muzzled.
My daughter explained it is the clinic’s policy to always ask this whenever a *power breed or mix of* comes in. Though they ask the same question with ALL dogs that are new to the clinic no matter the size, it is highly important this question be asked and the owner provide sufficient knowledge of the dog(s).
I turn around and observe a 95 to 100 pound male & an 85 to 90 pound female. Ashley turns around and asks the man to follow her into the bigger examine room and I see the look in her eyes which are mirroring mine because the females body language, eye movement and ear positioning screamed: *THIS IS NOT GOOD*. I decided to put Bean in the kitchen and hang close to the examine room.
The male was fine. Took weight (97 pounds), blood, stool sample, temp, checked ears, eyes, mouth, coat……..great dog. Very calm. While all of this was being done the female was asleep on the floor. She looked very calm. NOT.
Ashley asked the owner to put her on the scale. It sits on the floor, plenty of room. She would not get on the scale. He picked her up, finally got a weight of 83 pounds. Ashley asked the owner if he wanted to restrain her head and told him how to do it. The dog was not having it. Every time Ash tried to take the temp, the b^tch would whip her head around so fast the owner almost lost control.
At that point she got a stool sample and did nothing else. She explained to the owner in order for the Vet to take blood and examine her, she MUST be muzzled. He relented.
While Ash went to get the muzzle, the owner had the females head in his hands saying to her: *You are not a bad girl…..no you aren’t. You don’t bite……The second the word *bite* came out of his mouth she lunged for his face. He had her head secured and laughed.
I am standing just outside of the examine room. Ash comes back and observes the owner saying this over and over and each time he says *bite* the dog lunges. He laughs and pets her.
Clinic policy does not allow for a Tech to correct an owner. This can only be done by the Vet. No one else can say anything.
But another client can…….
So the question is: If you were in this situation would you keep your mouth shut or would you say something?
And if you did, what would you say to this owner? Would you walk around it nicely & try to explain this is an extremely dangerous behavior? Would you just shake your head and walk away? What would you do?
(Sorry it got so long….geez)
Anne-b: I often sit outside on the bench. I don’t allow my dogs to meet and greet in the waiting room. I also have complete control over them & get very annoyed when somebody wants to introduce their dog to mine. When I take Launi I go in the back way and stay in the kitchen. Not because she is not under my full control in the waiting room. It is because the other owners do not have full control over their dogs and one time with a dog aggressive GS went for her was enough. That would have been a freaking mess.
Observing this I tried to assess if the dog thought of it as *play*. I am not an expert on body language but the fact he had to restrain her head? I do believe she would have bit the crap out of him.
The vet tech told Dr. H what was happening. Dr. H told the man if and when he comes back to bring his own muzzle and have it on the dog at all times while on clinic property. Dr. H will not put any of his staff at risk if he knows there is a risk .
My uncle has this horrible dog about a year old, the dog is a rat terrier. He eats the door, table, shoe, heel of a shoe (if it’s a high heel), anything that’s on the floor, how do you train him? If you have any videos, links, anything, tips, please do.
Thanks,
Megan
I don’t want to hit them and i remember my mom spraying the cat with a water bottle. Is that okay for dogs?????
i said i dont want to hit. thats why i want to use the water bottle. my dogs know im the alpha male. i am bigger stronger and louder
The behavior is trying to get up on the couch, bugging people when they are eating( trying to get food) and my boy is big enough to push doors and windows open(breaking screens etc.)
I have an adopted dog that was tested positive for hearworm and is on medication. My dog is mostly a good dog but some times he changes into a nasty dog that just gets into all kinds of trouble and will grawl at me. I am wondering if any other heartworm positive dog owners find this happens to their dog as well. I wonder if it has something to do with the heartworms making him a little nuts at times. Thanks for any answers from heartworm dog owners.
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My chihuahua was a sweety that mostly liked to nap and play, and never get into my stuff. After neutering, he chews up anything left out and pulls things out of the garbage (things he never used to do!). I was told that neutering would decrease any bad behavior, but the only benefit I’ve seen is that he no longer marks trees and bushes outside (not that that was any type of problem). He is nearly one year old. Is this normal? What can I do?
Puppy Separation Anxiety. Do you have problems with leaving your puppy at home. Lyn our puppy expert at the pet shop boyz is giving you tips on how to rectify this problem.