Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

Soapy...have you tried simply stopping walking and standing there till she lets go, then rewarding her, then carrying on walking? If you are still walking while she is garbbing on, that is like a huge game to her! When my sheltie was a pup, he was really into nipping at my heels and grabbing my pan...

I think you are right there Chay, not only that but we seem to have somewhere got this weird idea about how dogs OUGHT to live with us. Sure, back in the day when MOST dogs worked, dogs being kennelled outdoors or in a utility room, porch or outhouse wasnt a bad thing as the dog had work and compan...

I can understand the instinct to pull a dog away, even if I now know it's wrong. The hiding from horses always cracks me up. Yeah. Hide behind a tree or bush from a prey animal whose every sense is designed to detect predators who are much better at hiding themselves than we humans. :roll: My horse ...

When I lived in an apartment, I put the cat box in the bathroom and had a baby gate in the door to keep the dog out. Luckily, this dog never learned to jump it. You should take a look at the thread on mental stimulation. There are some great toys/tips there for keeping an active dog occupied. And Sa...

This thread makes me laugh. I was NOT going to become one of those women: the single, middle aged woman who has dog and cat stuff all over her house. Then I got Frederik. Frederik needs stuff to chew on. I do rotate his toys, but there are baskets of them up out of reach on every floor and his curre...

Keeping my fingers crossed for Storme. Don't beat yourself up over the possibility you missed some subtle signs. You did the right thing when you noticed her personality change (many people wouldn't) and some dogs just don't like to show signs when they're in pain. My sheltie will prance around acti...

Glad he's okay, and before you napalm the neighbourhood - often visiting wildlife or even someone's cat can bring nasties into the yard. Over here it's foxes - don't know what you have where you are that can lift and carry a chicken carcase. Where I grew up, it was raccoons. I have countless storie...

Yuck, yuck, yuck! I found out today that my little Frederik dog eats his poo. :oops: I'm not sure if this thread belongs in training or health care/diet, so I made a guess. Please move it if appropriate. On to the embarrassing problem of poo eating... I don't know if this is something new with him o...

Yay for rabbit catching and a recovering dog! I agree with those who've said dog screams are the worst. Absolutely terrifying!

Nettle wrote:
your dog is a gurt big fat pudden

Oh my gosh! I so wish I could have said that!

I'm not a dog expert or trainer. I'm posting only because I know the frustration of trying to figure out why something is/isn't happening and not being able to. I also know that following the suggestions of the experts who posted here can't hurt and may help. So why not give them a good try? Years a...

I'm so glad your dad is doing better! Whew! What great news. Now it's time to do a little de-stressing for you! When you mentioned dreaming about Rupert being put to sleep, I had a flashback to years ago when my mom was very ill. She came through fine, but I couldn't let go of the stress for some re...

Or, really, anywhere. How do you do it? How do you not lose your patience? Twice since I've acquired my new dog (and it's been just over two months, so not long), I've had to bite my tongue at obnoxious, rude comments in the vet's waiting area. Part of me wants to tell them off, or at least try and ...

Just wanted to give you an update: I've been calling a halt to play that gets over exuberant or seems to be excessive. It's been a good plan. When they start getting a bit crazy or just don't seem to quit, I'll call them over and have them do some sit/lie and wait exercises. It's easy stuff for them...

Don't let him sit and offer things to her so she comes near though, have him really ignore her, read a book or watch tv sat or lay flat out on the floor so hes unlikely to move, and his size cannot intimidate her at all. Interesting you mention this. I did something similar with my newer dog who, f...