MypinchofItaly
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Sam the beach dog
Show us your pet
- Thread starter Morning Glory
- Start date
XstarX
Well-Known Member
Love seeing pictures of pets on here, how old is rolo
XstarX
Well-Known Member
He is so cute
Lullabelle
Midlands, England
One year and 4 months, with him having long hair he gets a bit messy around the back so we keep his hair short and today was his 1st bath, he is a pretty laid back character so not too much fuss.
When we tell the dog to do something she doesn't want to do, she'll half-assed snap, and then do what she's told, all the time with the worst "I hate you" look on her face.
Teddy has never snapped at me. He has bitten me, but we were playing and he and I went for the tennis ball at the same time. It is an accident, and he immediately feels bad about it. I can't hold that against him, as we were both playing aggressively. He really does feel bad, too.
When I got Teddy, I made it very clear who the "top dog" is. Once they understand the pecking order, dogs are actually very comfortable with it. He knows I am the "top dog," and he trusts me to take good care of him. He was not a well behaved puppy when my mom and sister gave him to me. They were amazed when I brought him back down to Houston for the first time.
CD
Kate will go as far as put her mouth on my hand if she's not in the mood for getting a pat on the head or if she doesn't want me to take something from her.
It'll be very gently done, like she's saying, "I just want you to know I could rip your hand open...if I wanted to," and then she'll let go, put her head down and let me proceed about my business of patting her head or taking a toy from her.
You are more tolerant than I am. I wouldn't allow any dog of mine to even gently send me that message. My sister had a big dog that did something like that the first time she met me. The dog was a rescue, and had apparently been mistreated. I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and she had a little "come to Jesus" experience. My sister was not happy, at the time. But, after her dog realized who was top dog, I became one of that dog's best friends.
You have to establish dominance, while at the same time establishing trust with dogs. For the rest of her life, my sister's dog thought of me as a best friend. She would go nuts to see me when I would visit.
Here is something amazing, that backs up my "top dog" theory. When I was engaged to be married, I bought my fiancé a dog. A shelty/border collie mix. Beautiful dog, not very bright. I already had a dog, who was a mature alpha dog, and well trained. We didn't have to train the new puppy. My dog trained her. Seriously, if the puppy did something bad, my adult dog disciplined her. It was really an amazing thing to see.
One time, we were taking the two dogs for a walk in a local park, with leashes, of course. My wife had my dog, and I had hers. A woman runner with a German Shepherd came by in the opposite direction, the dog not on a leash, and it lunged at my dog, a 32 pound terrier, and Tina's 75 pound shelty almost pulled me to the ground to get to that German Shepherd. The runner protested, and I told her if not for me, her dog would possibly be dead. She got the message and moved on.
CD
rascal
Forum GOD!
Agree, when daughter was here her dog started being her dog then over 6 months he was definitely my dog, I think the male voice has a lot to do with it. Plus I used to take my German shepherd to obedience training. He used to come upstairs at night and sit at my feet. Btw I never fed him so he wasn't food based loyal. I miss him. Great dog.
Russ
Ol' Kate's my dog through and through, except for the several-month period when MrsTasty was confined to the bed (2010); then she was MrsTasty's dog and would rarely leave the bedroom.
Setters are weird dogs - extremely independent and also extremely sensitive to over-dominance. "Alpha dog" training can be soul-crushing for them. We talked to all our vets (one of whom specifically breeds and shows setters) and a local fun dog trainer, and all agreed that Kate's behavior isn't unusual for a setter; she's not showing any kind of real dominance, as she yields almost immediately, she's just saying she doesn't happen to agree with me at that moment.
She's also almost hyper-vocal. She "talks" constantly. Moans, groans, yips, barks, squeals, wheezes, makes cough-like sounds, especially when she doesn't like something.
Setters are weird dogs - extremely independent and also extremely sensitive to over-dominance. "Alpha dog" training can be soul-crushing for them. We talked to all our vets (one of whom specifically breeds and shows setters) and a local fun dog trainer, and all agreed that Kate's behavior isn't unusual for a setter; she's not showing any kind of real dominance, as she yields almost immediately, she's just saying she doesn't happen to agree with me at that moment.
She's also almost hyper-vocal. She "talks" constantly. Moans, groans, yips, barks, squeals, wheezes, makes cough-like sounds, especially when she doesn't like something.
Yeah, "top Dog" training is controversial. It is a lot like Caesar "the dog whisperer" methods, but not the way I do it. His "pack leader" methods are fundamentally similar, but my "top dog" methods are not as harsh, unless I'm dealing with an aggressive dog. I can assure you that Teddy is a very happy dog, and part of that is the fact that he knows I am the boss, AND he trusts thatI am going to take good care of him.
When I visit the family in Houston, and I go somewhere and leave him with my mom, she says he lays by the back door and waits for me to return.
I am very fortunate, as much as I travel, to have a great dog sitter. Teddy stays at her house, and her cat, Voodoo, is his best animal friend. The two of them sleep side-by-side on her bed at night. If Teddy is napping on a chair during the day, Voodoo will sneak up on him, bat him in the face, and the chase is on. Voodoo, of course, can leap up onto a tall piece of furniture, and gaze down at Teddy with a smug look.
CD
After my last post, I decided to call my dog sitter, since I Haven't need her services in a while. We ended up talking for over an hour. She's 80 years old.She is still very active, and is a very happy person, so she should live many more years. It is so easy for me to travel knowing that Teddy is going to be with her. Sometimes I wonder if he wants to come home with me after spending a week with her.
CD
CD
MypinchofItaly
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Sam says “thank you XstarX”
Burt Blank
Legendary Member
Max was a South African Boerboel. Ridge back x English Mastiff Max was about 65 kg of muscle, originally the were used by Boer farmers to protect their animals from predators like lions. I got him out of the Police Pound where he had been placed after a raid on a drug house. A mate who was a cop told me about him and fixed things. They let me have him after checking the size and how secure the garden was. They brought him in muzzled. Mrs Blank gave the cops tea and cake, we sat in the top corner drinking the tea. One cop took him down to the paddock, took his muzzle of and let him go. He walked back sat down and told us to ignore him, they then drank up and left. About an hour later after sniffing and marking his territory he lay down at Mrs Blanks feet. Till I took him to the vet some 7 years later to be put down he never left the garden. I tried to socialize him but it was impossible. He liked my brother so he would move in to look after him when we were away. Looking back it was probably one of the most stupid things I have done.
CraigC
Guru
Rhodesian Ridgeback, one of the few dogs that I never trusted.
When we first moved here, our neighbors had a huuuuge mastiff, Nash. He was just massive. He was like a small hippo.
He was on a containment collar, but every day, our Kate (also on a collar) would go out as far as she could, then stand there and bark, until he'd come over.
He'd be lying in the driveway, hear her, and he'd raise his head. Then, a few minutes later, he'd slowly get up, then he'd start ambling over toward our house.
He'd get a good trot going, giant head lolling back and forth, huge shoulders rolling, and he'd hit that imaginary line with the shock collar, and he'd barely feel it. You'd see just the slightest twitch on his face, and then he'd be in our yard.
His idea of playing was to stand there while our 45-lb dog head-butted, dive-bombed, pounced on, humped, and otherwise annoyed him. He'd just stand there and take it, and after a while, he'd turn around and go back home.
I've since misplaced it, but I have a great photo of the two of them playing. He's just standing there, big strings of drool coming out of his mouth, and Kate is in full pounce, all four feet in the air, ears and lips flapping, and teeth bared, about to land on his back.
Sadly, Nash died of bone cancer at just six years old, and shortly after that, the neighbors moved away. When the new ones moved in, Kate found the tables turned, as they owned an even more energetic terrier who was 1/4 the size of Kate, but terrorized her the same way she did Nash.
He was on a containment collar, but every day, our Kate (also on a collar) would go out as far as she could, then stand there and bark, until he'd come over.
He'd be lying in the driveway, hear her, and he'd raise his head. Then, a few minutes later, he'd slowly get up, then he'd start ambling over toward our house.
He'd get a good trot going, giant head lolling back and forth, huge shoulders rolling, and he'd hit that imaginary line with the shock collar, and he'd barely feel it. You'd see just the slightest twitch on his face, and then he'd be in our yard.
His idea of playing was to stand there while our 45-lb dog head-butted, dive-bombed, pounced on, humped, and otherwise annoyed him. He'd just stand there and take it, and after a while, he'd turn around and go back home.
I've since misplaced it, but I have a great photo of the two of them playing. He's just standing there, big strings of drool coming out of his mouth, and Kate is in full pounce, all four feet in the air, ears and lips flapping, and teeth bared, about to land on his back.
Sadly, Nash died of bone cancer at just six years old, and shortly after that, the neighbors moved away. When the new ones moved in, Kate found the tables turned, as they owned an even more energetic terrier who was 1/4 the size of Kate, but terrorized her the same way she did Nash.