Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

Swoozie Kurtz. Her actual legal name. Her dad worked for Howard Hughes, and she was named for an airplane part.

I will omit other examples of "naming the kids as if they were pets" because they would unfortunately stray into inappropriate political territory.

Lis

I used to disapprove of giving cats and dogs "human" names because I felt it offended the dignity of both humans and nonhumans. I had some friends who named their cats as if they were naming human children, and I didn't approve, but thankfully I kept my mouth shut. None of my business! The...

Also, i know it is not good to dress dogs up but this worked really well for us. Oh, how silly. Most dogs, especially larger herding, working, or hunting breeds, don't need clothes most of the time. There's nothing bad about putting clothing on dogs when it's appropriate. This would be one of those...

Emmabeth, how awful for you!

But Pteppic is at peace now, and not plagued by the demons that came to him from whatever his early life was.

Lis

I know someone who has two English Mastiffs that live inside. 100kg each. Not a huge house, either.

As long as your dog is outside at night with no company, you're not likely to solve the barking problem. It's not natural for dogs to be alone; she's lonely.

Lis

Get rid of the newspaper. You're right, it's scaring her. Go for positive reinforcement training only --reward good behavior, and as far as possible ignore behavior you don't want. The other part of that is to manage her and yourselves so that you don't trigger bad behavior when it's avoidable. I.e....

Get a bed that's really comfortable for her. Consistently put her back on her own bed when she gets on yours. And yes, treat and reward her for being on her own bed--including randomly giving her treats when she's just lying there. This is not a moral issue; it's a practical one. Dogs are pragmatic ...

I bought Addy a raincoat and boots, and took her out in them the first time in a pouring rain.

She quicly realized they were keeping her fairly dry, and got to like the raincoat and tolerate the boots quickly, and became much easier to walk in the rain.

Lis

Yelling at or punishing your dog for peeing or pooping in the wrong place will not make her understand that she is doing the wrong thing. It will only make her afraid to pee or poop in front of you--which does not help your goal of housetraining. That process is clearly already well begun, which mea...

I have a CC (Chinese Crested), and she's of the PP (Powderpuff) variety.

Lis

I'm glad he's doing better, and that things seem to be looking up.

Lis

I brush Addy's teeth most nights, and it does help a lot. I use the fingertip toothbrush, too; it's the easiest for me. Make sure you're using a toothpaste that tastes good to your dog, and start slowly. You don't have to to the whole mouth the first night, or the second or third. Start with just ge...

Young children and dogs should never be left together unsupervised--they need to be closely supervised whenever they are together. Your four-year-old is young, but old enough to start learning the Dog Rules, including being calm, moving deliberately rather than suddenly, not running or jumping or sq...

Rawhide is dangerous. It expands when wettened, and while this is usually fine most of the way through, that last piece can get swallowed unmoistened, and expand inside the dog's stomach or intestines. The resulting blockage means emergency surgery, and dogs have died from it. Raw meaty bones are mu...

I wasnt and haven't been harsh thats what i dont get. I said it came across as being snotty i never said she was being snotty. Anna Nicole, what you said was: I was asking for help an ur reply sounded kind of snotty. Not everyone is clued up about trainin so it don't help with having snotty replies...