Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

My dog can do this, to the extent that he once had hubby down A&E after a disagreement over a bread roll that he grabbed from the gutter and tried to eat while it was still in the plastic bag... so I do sympathise. For us, the answer was to muzzle him (he has a few more issues that made this a n...

I don't think adding wet food to dry food is a problem as long as you reduce the amount of dry food accordingly. Though of course if you can find a good quality dry food that she will eat, that would be more convenient.

That all makes sense, Nettle, apart from this bit... reward is not the be-all and end-all of their existence If reward = food, then this is pretty much the be-all and end-all for him! The only thing he'd prefer would be fields going off to the horizon with a group of deer just within sight. And mayb...

Thanks Sarah :D Where do you end up, then? Has Rupert developed any complex patterns, or does he still just lick his lips, move his head, etc.? What do you do if Rupert licks his lips again, and again, and again, and nothing develops....? What does Rupert actually get out of this in the long term? A...

I've been doing some free shaping with Jasper, including '101 uses for a box'. I'm wondering, though, if it's quite right for him as he keeps looking to me for direction and getting anxious when he doesn't get any. I'm not sure if the anxiety is because he really wants direction, or because he reall...

That's really interesting, thanks Hopefully awareness of autism support dogs will grow - and I'm sure you'll make a great ambassador for them.

He's a cutie, too Can I ask what tasks you'll be training him to help you with? Or is the emotional bond you have with him - and the confidence you'll get from discovering your training skills - the main factor?

(Hope this isn't being too nosey - ignore me if it is )

I feel like if I give in to his bad behavior (pawing me, whining, mouthing, etc) and get up and leave the room with him, he will never learn. Sorry, I should have been clearer - what I mean is you leave the church with him before he starts mouthing. So if he usually starts mouthing after 40 minutes...

Jasper, at 20 months, will still do this if he gets overexcited. I agree with all the advice above. In addition, you want to try to avoid the situations where he will do it, as far as possible. So if he can be good in a church service for 30 minutes, if at all possible, I would walk out then (you co...

Depending on how the dog has been trained, I'm wondering if it's better to ask for a 'wait' before they eat their meal rather than a 'leave'. 'Leave' could mean 'You can't have it,' which could be confusing and upsetting because they know it's their food, whereas 'wait' means 'Hang on, you can have ...

That's why I didn't ask for advice, because I know you're right I'm just not very good at disciplining other people's children. Shouldn't be seeing them again for a loooooooong time, thank goodness!

I can't comment on dog-dog food aggression, but my dog was food aggressive against people at that age, and still is to some extent. Around his food bowl we fixed it by adding treats to the bowl as he ate (starting by throwing them from a safe distance). That's not so relevant to your problem, but I ...

I'm pretty sure that as long as most times you recall him he gets praise and/or a treat and is let off again, then if sometimes you call him and he gets praise/treat and is put on his lead, his recall won't deteriorate in general. This is, after all, how most people get their dogs back to go on lead...

I thought I'd post this in Chat as it's out of interest rather than seeking advice... We had some visitors round today with two children. Jasper is usually happy to greet visitors but is nervous of children so barked and actually gave a low growl when they came in, so I kept him out the way until ev...

She looks like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to me - but I don't know how common they are in the US (we don't see Pit Bulls in England as they are banned - if they are anything like the Staffies I have met, unjustifiably so).

She's very sweet!