What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

[jacksdad]

srry, perhaps my choice of words for "take down" wasn't clear enough. I didn't think any kind of hunting really involved the dog KILLING the prey, certainly not something as big as a boar.

I was just impressed that they were used in the hunting process at all for something as legendarily fierce as a wild board.

I am still learning about hunting dogs, but it would appear that most "western" breads are more of a hunting assistant vs actually full on hunters. they find the game or they find and flush, or they retrieve the game, or they hold it in place for the hunter etc.

[jacksdad]

well Jack did it again...charmed one of my client's fearful dog. by the end of the session...my clients dog thought Jack hung the moon.

This session was about 6 months in the making. this client is a dream to work with. embraced the training with both hands and dove right in and did the work and she got to see a possible future for her little guy.

[Nettle]

Fabulous result, jacksdad and Jack! What a journey you have set this person on, same as Jack started you on yours. Just wonderful.

RE: western hunting - assuming legal, which a lot isn't now - the objective is to catch the prey without damaging the hunting dog/s and with minimum or no stress to the prey. Designated prey is either for food or to protect food (crops, livestock). There are scent hounds that hunt in packs and will despatch prey up to fox size (hunted deer are brought to bay and shot) and sighthounds/lurcher types which do the whole job themselves and are ideally fielded singly or in pairs. Then terriers, whose job is to go underground and bolt a fox to be netted and shot or coursed and despatched by a sighthound type. If the animal won't bolt then the terrier bays at it while people dig down from above, make the terrier safe and then shoot the fox. Terriers are also useful in mixed packs (i.e. with non-terriers) on small vermin like rats, squirrels and rabbits.

Not everybody's cup of tea and I am describing it to avoid popular misunderstandings, because it is essential in dog behaviour to know and respect if you have a dog with the genetic disposition to hunt as a 'professional' . I do get so fed up with people describing ball-chasing as 'prey drive' when they have no idea what real prey drive is.

[JudyN]

I do get so fed up with people describing ball-chasing as 'prey drive' when they have no idea what real prey drive is.

And barking & growling furiously at cats... as if a good stealth hunter is going to be so undisciplined and make a racket when it spots the prey It's the 'Balls and [in Jasper's case] squirrels are just for fun, but deer & rabbits, that's serious business, this is WHAT I DO'.

[Shalista]

yeah if bax barks and growls hes just having fun, if he FLINGS himself at a dead run at the end of his leash perfectly silently... THEN i know he's seen something

[Shalista]

Worried about Bax, his pottying was doing so well and then Zuri came over a week ago and he's backslid CONSIDERABLY. we were all standing chatting in the kitchen and he cocked a leg against the cupboard not six inches from my dad. he pottying in the house at least 3 times a day now

I cant confine him to his room because he barks constantly (he wotn eat a kong if i give him one) so hes free to roam and potty. he pottied in the house 6 min after hed just peed outside to

and im moving to a new aprtment in a few months so hes about to be EVEN MORE stressed

[Erica]

sudden backslide might be medical, too -- UTIs are often culprits when dogs suddenly lose their housetraining. I know Bax has a history of backsliding under stress, but it's still a possibility.

[Shalista]

yeah id be considering medical issues more seriously if he wasnt kidna iffy allready on his pottying. this is just more iffy than usual =(

[Erica]

I've started dogsitting for the little super insecure cattle dog in my neighborhood. She and Delta had a playdate to see how they got along before her family left, and it was a little iffy to me -- not worrisome as far as aggression or anything, but she was definitely a little overwhelmed. Delta was on very good behavior, though, and was listening to her body language Oddly enough, he respects the subtle signals better with dogs smaller than him, but will very nearly ignore growls and air-snaps from larger dogs.

I brought him over again today, and they just get better and better. She didn't seem to be out of her depth at any point, and knew how to stop the chase game (stop running and lay down). They took turns being the chase-ee, and paused every now and then. They even took a full break from play to toddle around the yard individually. Very nice improvement from both of them! And Dixie discovered Delta won't go up the stairs, so she has a "base" to go to if she wants to totally stop.

[Shalista]

Sigh taking bax back to the begining. got the timer ticking. every hour im taking him out and if i cant be there to take him out he's confined. poor pup =(

[Nettle]

Good stuff, Shalista. He was obviously traumatised by the whole RR pup thing, and not surprisingly, especially if his Mom was "attacked" and barked at by the other people in the house. He is marking because he feels massively insecure, and as you know, stress levels don't dissipate overnight. Poor little chap - his world is in bits, and when he tries to solve the problem in a dog way, that makes things worse instead of better.

[Nettle]

I've started dogsitting for the little super insecure cattle dog in my neighborhood. She and Delta had a playdate to see how they got along before her family left, and it was a little iffy to me -- not worrisome as far as aggression or anything, but she was definitely a little overwhelmed. Delta was on very good behavior, though, and was listening to her body language Oddly enough, he respects the subtle signals better with dogs smaller than him, but will very nearly ignore growls and air-snaps from larger dogs.

I brought him over again today, and they just get better and better. She didn't seem to be out of her depth at any point, and knew how to stop the chase game (stop running and lay down). They took turns being the chase-ee, and paused every now and then. They even took a full break from play to toddle around the yard individually. Very nice improvement from both of them! And Dixie discovered Delta won't go up the stairs, so she has a "base" to go to if she wants to totally stop.

Very nice work, Erica. Lovely when you see it all working just as it should.

[JudyN]

Jasper's been a bit iffy over the weekend too On Friday we went out as a family in the evening for a meal. He seemed chilled when we left, happy with his Kong. (DS1 has a George Foreman grill he cooks burgers in, I scrape the cold congealed fat out of the fat-collector tray, stick it in Kongs, and save them in the freezer - J thinks they're AWESOME!) We weren't out that long, but J seemed a bit flustered & frantic when he greeted us. I think the problem may have been that DS1 (who has ME/CFS so limited energy) came home before the rest of it, so J might have been excited about us coming home but then realised that the most important ones were missing...

Since then he's been a bit twitchy, and has gone back to his trick of lying right in front of us when we're sitting down and then sometimes snarking when we get up, as if he only feels safe when we're in our seats. We can usually pre-empt this by firmly telling him to wait and holding up the 'wait' finger before getting up (and then rewarding him) but he caught OH out on Saturday and actually left slight tooth scratches on his arm (just scrapes, I don't think there was any pressue behind it).

The monsters at the end of the garden can't help either, though he was OK last night when he went out at bedtime.

I've just ordered some Nupafeed Stress-Less http://nupafeed-dogs.co.uk/home/4582331931 to see if it makes him more chilled. I like that it's a 'supplement' and shouldn't have any sedative effect. I'm very wary of messing with his brain in any way as it's quite sufficiently messy already

[MPbandmom]

Great news with Jack Jacksdad. I know you have done a lot of work and taken a long journey with him.

Last night we had heavy rain, and thunderstorms. This morning we had a bit of a reprieve, before things started up again.

I really do think the medication is helping Sirius. She went out in the yard to potty this morning and didn't immediately bolt back to the door when there was a low rumble of thunder. In fact, there were two low rumbles of thunder while she was outside.

I did stand outside with her to provide moral support and she did become Velcro Dog when the rain started to pour down again after she was back inside.

After I left for work, OH called looking for her thundershirt and asking what he could give her because she was freaking out. When I got home both dogs were outside. OH reported having put the thundershirt on Sirius for about half of the day and having given her the situational medication we have available for such things as thunderstorms and vet visits.

I am not yet convinced that the situational medication is beneficial. I do believe the daily Prozac is helping her quite a bit though.

[Shalista]

I know its early yet but i just have to celebrate even the minor victories. day three of potty training again and ZERO accidents all three days! ive gone over the living room with a fine tooth comb and not a single pee spot!

not only that but i took him out today really quick cause i wanted to get back to stuff in the house. he peed and i whipped him around to go back inside. wed been in for 45 min when he started whining and pacing. he pawed at me, paced some more, before finally going into a down staring at me. I wasnt sure if he was just being annoying or if he really had to go, anyway i decided it was only 15 min so id keep an eye on him and wait. if he left the room id track him down to go. AND HE WAITED! he waited in a down until i got up and then he ran to the door and i whisked him outside. he pooped immediately! im so proud of my lil guy! and im finally hopeful i can crack this thing once and for all!!!