Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
So, I'm back to getting a dog...
Comments
-
-
-
-
looks rather like my guy.... This is his "Who? Moi??" look...
What I cant understand is how that lovely very chewable wicker basket in that pic has survived
Once he's over the KC pack him off to daycare for the day - you'll think he was drugged he'll be that tired that evening and the next day lol!
or you could take him swimming- an afternoon trip to the pool had ours guys in a coma:pac:0 -
-
Advertisement
-
Join Date:Posts: 29920
No, from day 1 I've adopted the "you dont get pats and cuddles if you jump about like a loon" but he still does it (to be fair its only day 6 and he IS getting better). He sits for pats now (though it KILLS him) and I do the same routine of walking in and ignoring him until he chill the %*^& out. It seems to be working, because tonight nothing *new* was chewed and he wasnt too mental when I came in. That said, its night time when he's better behaved and tomorrow morning could be a different story entirely
He's really a good dog tbh, but its his master who is having difficulties adapting I think! 0 -
No, from day 1 I've adopted the "you dont get pats and cuddles if you jump about like a loon" but he still does it (to be fair its only day 6 and he IS getting better). He sits for pats now (though it KILLS him) and I do the same routine of walking in and ignoring him until he chill the %*^& out. It seems to be working, because tonight nothing *new* was chewed and he wasnt too mental when I came in. That said, its night time when he's better behaved and tomorrow morning could be a different story entirely
He's really a good dog tbh, but its his master who is having difficulties adapting I think!
You're going about it the right way, just give it time.0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Join Date:Posts: 29920
Joshua doesnt like the rain much. He sticks his nose out and then looks up at me like "are you up for this, cos I could give it a miss..."
I did find todays walk nice, even though I get tugged from tree to tree. Mind you, it was warm this morning.... not sure how it will be in the depths of winter...
What do you lot do when its February and its lashing rain and howling outside??0 -
-
Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,688 Mod ✭✭✭✭
Join Date:Posts: 49074
Well its tomorrow morning and its a different story. Mental Mutt is back and despite a walk I can hear him whinging and jumping about a bit downstairs. Scratch one bike pump repair kit and a program for an event that he found under the piano by the looks of it.
He's very "puppyish" in his mannerisms, its hard to describe but its a bit like Tigger the Tiger. He "pounces" on things and has the attention span of a gnat. Even when I'm scolding him, he's wagging his tail while cowering down...
Going to change routine to walk him early in the morning, immediately after I come down but the energy from him when I arrive in the morning combined with the lunacy of when he sees the lead might just cause some sort of thermonuclear meltdown. Oh and he ate a sort of Pepperami themed rope-based chew toy. That made for "interesting" toilet-time and one very confused dog as to why his poo was following him around. :rolleyes:
He's really a lovely dog and very well mannered but he just needs to chill out a bit lol...
Could be worse, I once spent hours seperating the tape from a cassette from a dogs rear end :eek:
Then there was the time he went to kennels and the staff described my missing new underwear which they extracted from his backside. :
You're only a week into it, you'll start noticing him settling bit by bit over the next couple of weeks, it does take time :0
Giant coat like Twee posted.Joshua doesnt like the rain much. He sticks his nose out and then looks up at me like "are you up for this, cos I could give it a miss..."
I did find todays walk nice, even though I get tugged from tree to tree. Mind you, it was warm this morning.... not sure how it will be in the depths of winter...
What do you lot do when its February and its lashing rain and howling outside??0 -
What do you lot do when its February and its lashing rain and howling outside??
Invest in some raingear for you and him lol!! Are you near Blanch at all? Mountain warehouse have some great stuff and always have good offers on - or even take a look inside and wait for a 20% sale online which they have every other week. You can even bring Josh in lol
0 -
Joshua doesnt like the rain much. He sticks his nose out and then looks up at me like "are you up for this, cos I could give it a miss..."
I did find todays walk nice, even though I get tugged from tree to tree. Mind you, it was warm this morning.... not sure how it will be in the depths of winter...
What do you lot do when its February and its lashing rain and howling outside??
A parka.
My pair don't like going out it in, but if we miss a day they're bouncing off the walls.0 -
Buy walking boots, gloves, a waterproof jacket and HTFU.What do you lot do when its February and its lashing rain and howling outside??
Thankfully my dog goes absolutely ballistic in the rain so I've never had to spend more than 60 seconds walking her in lashing rain. Though she doesn't care about light misty rain or snow, so I don't totally get off scott free.
When it's a really crappy day out, she knows all about it - sometimes she's content to laze in bed all day, other times she sighs every five minutes with the boredom.0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,688 Mod ✭✭✭✭ Join Date:Posts: 49074
Aye but with the barking and the barging I didnt want to reward that behaviour so I waited for that to die down before letting him in.
This last time I took the fight to him and he got a big shock and just shut up and behaved so it was more like a minute before he got back in.
I think you may be entering phase two of normalising a rescue dog into your routine.
Now this is just based on my own experience.
Phase one is where they settle in, figure out boundaries, demonstrate some good behaviour and generally ingratiate themselves.
Lasts 1-3 weeks.
Phase two is where the evil two year old child that constantly has tantrums takes over the body of your previously tolerable rescue, and they push all boundaries (if you watch closely, you'll be able to see his inner demonic child cackling at your frustration) During this time they will disobey all commands, disregard previously agreed limits, and generally be a royal pain in the ass, as they try to push their luck as much as possible.
Lasts 1-3 weeks.
The good news is that after phase two, comes phase three. This is a magical phase where your dog has exocrcised the two year old child from his body, and has taken on the attitude of a relatively mature and reasonable being.
A normal settled routine will be adhered to, the lunacy of phase two and phase one is gone, and you can look forward to many years of fun and companionship 0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
Many years later, the mystery is solved
Thank you!
Tie some knots in it too so it doesn't slip thru your hands/under your foot - I learnt this at my peril!!!.. Xmas eve 2 years ago..Bratface Magillacuddy is on crate rest again having gone lame 6 weeks post op (he'd been finished round 1 of the crate rest for 2 weeks).. It's snowing and he's out for some air on a loo break but wants me to let him off his lead - not going to happen as he leg has been cut in 2 and held together with pins and a plate(!).. trying to jump and snatch the lead I stand on it - "how do you like them apples dog" :cool: - the bloody lead slid under my foot in the snow and he ran around the garden like a maniac with the lead behind him - my mum ran in crying and I caught him eventually - no damage done to the leg thank god lol!! :pac:0 -
Advertisement
-
Join Date:Posts: 29920
Ok, thanks for that, but perhaps I havent been as clear as I should. The moment he goes to jump up, (or put his paws up so he can have a good look/sniff around), I always snap a "No!" at him. He's certainly learning that its not on as he now stops himself occasionally, or.. more comically stands on his hind legs and doesnt let his paws touch the counter as a sort of legal-loophole I guess.Nothing unusual about this, you might be glad to hear! Use food treats all the time at first, but don't wave them at him. Ask him to sit, without showing him the food. If he sits, then he gets a treat from behind your back. If he doesn't, no treat. He'll cop the pattern soon enough. But once he's getting good, then you need to start phasing the treats down a bit, so that they're very regularly random at first (eg two sits treated in a row, then no treat for a sit, then three treats in a row for each of 3 sits, then no treat for a sit, then 1 treat, then none, etc), and gradually you make the treats less regularly random.
You might not like what I say next, but I am just being honest with you.
Let's look at what happened here from the dog's perspective: by the time you'd caught him, the dog had absolutely no idea why you were putting him out, so he hasn't learned what you think he *should* have learned from this incident.
Dogs learn according to whatever happened a moment ago: not after a chase, not after a minute, so you need to be really careful what you're potentially teaching, or not teaching, your dog at any given moment.
The lesson he learned from this incident was: when DeV chases me, he's going to throw me out in the garden when he catches me. Moral: don't get caught, and not: don't jump up on the counter.
I can also categorically tell you, he does not know he's not allowed to jump up on the counter. If he did, he wouldn't do it: at least, he wouldn't do it when you were about. He knows you get angry when he's up there, but he's not associating the link between jumping up there, and you being angry.
If you're wanting to stop him from jumping up there, you must catch him in the act of jumping up. It is the act that needs to be punished, not the result. Once it's done, it's too late to take action other than to quietly get him down again.
As far as he's concerned now, every so often, his owner gets angry and shouts at him, and throws him out. But he is not making the connection why this happens, because he's not getting the message consistently and/or at the right moments. This may explain why he's getting so upset with being put out: non-understood punishment is deeply unpleasant for any species. But it also explains what I'm taking to be a "guilty" look, a look that makes you think he *knows* he's done wrong.
But this is not guilt. Dogs cannot do guilt. What you're looking at is calming signals, given off by all dogs to stop their owner (or other dogs) being angry with them. Often misinterpreted as guilt, but it is important to distinguish, because if you think your dog is deliberately being bold, it's easier to get angry about it.
He's not being deliberate. He's doing it because for him it's more fun than not doing it is: the fact that you, to him, get randomly annoyed about something he hasn't made a connection with, will mean that he'll continue to cower or *look guilty* when you get randomly angry with him. And worse still, the bold behaviour won't stop, because he's not being taught to stop in a way he understands. Anger and dog training are poor bedfellows.
He has managed to destroy a fair bit of stuff on you, but most of it is stuff he shouldn't have had access to at all. Re the stuffed beds, don't give them to him any more. But re the jumping-on-counters, you need to (a) stop him in the act when you're there. Leaving a trailing lead on him can really help, as you can stop him in the act, and you don't have to get into this game of chasing, which has got to stop (never leave the lead on him when he's unsupervised). And (b) you need to stop him from being able to jump up on the counters when you're not there to intervene.
How to do this? Crates have been recommended here: personally, I prefer playpens... a lot more space, more adjustable to different shapes of rooms, fold-flat when you're home... and critically, you know when he's in his crate/playpen that he can't find stuff to chew unless you give it to him, and you know that he can't counter-surf when you're not there: the less he rehearses this unwanted behaviour, the quicker it will fade. But this often means managing the environment for a while so that the dog physically can't carry out the behaviour: hence the trailing lead, and the playpen.
Pic of an example of playpen set-up: http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/puppy-playroom-doggy-den
When you're there, you can bait the counter with something he might like to investigate. When he looks like he's about to jump up, quietly stand on the lead, and tell him "No": don't shout, just a firm "No". He may try to jump, but if you're standing on the lead, he won't be able to jump. He may try, but he'll get no impetus into it. Then, when he doesn't succeed at jumping up, go to town on praise, then distract him with a toy or a game.
Now, this will not work first time: it's rare for a dog to cop a pattern after only one or two tries. But, if you set yourself up that he cannot access your counter unless you're there to carry out the above, then he'll start to become far more responsive to the "No", so that eventually, when you say "No", he'll stop in his tracks without you having to stand on the lead at all.. eventually, the lead can be dispensed with in the training. But you must practise, practise, practise, and you must set up training sessions so that you're not only trying to stop him in "real life" settings when you might be under pressure. This will not happen overnight... that's why you need to have management tools in place for when you can't supervise.
Without these easy management tools (lead/crate or playpen), from what you've described I think you're going to find it hard to make progress. The most experienced dog owners use these things routinely, for a reason!
The second thing is that the moment he sees me seeing him on the table, he rockets off it and under it. Its not that I initiate the chase, he knows whats coming and he's pretty clearly know why (at any other time he rockets towards me and looks for rubs) so I have a suspicion he knows full well he's not to be up there.
I have a someone who is in the trade as a vet-nurse and behavourist who is going to give me a "once over" on saturday and some tips etc. He's getting his own hut in the backyard for when I'm out during the day and he can sleep in the house in the evenings when he's more sane
Ah to be fair, I have to consider myself very very lucky, he's a dote really and he's just a bit youthfully exuberant. He could be barking the house down and pooing everywhere and biting. As you say, a lot of the things he has chewed are really my fault for leaving them lying around and now I'm beginning to strip the kitchen down to the minimum. Thankfully he hasnt chewed the legs of the chairs or anything else of value, its all mostly just magazines and cardboard.
Thanks for the advice, I'll try to put it into practise.0
Advertisement