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

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

Post by JudyN »

A very happy Christmas from Jasper and me - though he's not quite got the hang of wearing Santa hats!

Image

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Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

hahaha jaspers so handsome =)
Bax is going to be having a rough evening, two fur cousins coming in and my lil nephew and neice so he's gonna be a bit stressed. he got a good morning though cause i was wrapping presents and he got to steal scraps of wrapping paper and tear them up. He doesn't know it but he got early christmas presents to! 4 wrapping paper tubes to cut up and stuff with paper towels and treats plus a big brown paper bag to tear up later.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Oooh, Jasper looks dashing :)

I hope Bax enjoys his toys!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

My god my fur niece has no manners. 75 pound rhodesian ridgeback that does NOT know the meaning of no from other dogs. shes about a year i think? and ki is very obviously like snarling, barking, lip curled, ears back, telling her no and she keeps trying to play. like she will not give up and Ki is just very obviously telling her no. then bax will play with her but he keeps snarking to and she wotn listen when he snarks she just keeps bouncing and play bowing. she's gonna get bit soemday >.<
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Sounds about right for a large one year old dog and a smaller friend! It can help to reinforce the other dog's "stop please" signals by separating the pesterer (a leash can be helpful here).

However I know your family is full of "let the dogs sort it out themselves" types and that might not be possible at the moment :(
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

Well the worse day is over with only one minor scrap. Today is harder than tomorrow will be because the fur nephew and neice were here today and they wont be tomorrow. Bax actually got properly into a scrum with them at the end of the day because he wouldn't go into his room to calm down (he preferred to hide behind me) and i was forbidden from A) going into the room with him to quiet down (i would be unsocial) or B) locking him in his room by himself (he would start barking even when konged)

So bax stayed out almost the whole time until at the end i think he reached his threshold and got into a proper scrum with, of all dogs, the neurotic quiet one that OBSESSIVELY carries tennis balls everywhere. big goofy 1 year old that had been harassing him all day couldn't care less but Tanner and Bax turned into a whirlwind of snarls and flashing teeth and fur until my sister physically grabbed Bax and handed him to me. maybe not the best way to disengage that since Bax hates being held (doubly so to be held by anyone other than me) but it got him out of there and i put him in the room. since he'd been fighting i told them that he was locked in his room as "punishment" for the fight even though i was just giving the poor dear some time to decompress. He barked a bit but not too bad and we were all talking pretty loudly so we couldn't hear it. I gave him his dinner an hour early to give him something to do while he was in there and i thought he might be calmer on a full belly.

the good news is that both the other dogs loved their xmas present. with bax safely in the other room i let them have their gifts. 2 paper towel tubes and soda can box stuffed with paper towel wrapped homemade vegetarian treats that they got to tear open. i didnt want to give them it while bax was out cause he can be a bit possessive of food. they loved their treat bombs and made a huge mess. it was great!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

I guess the quiet dog was an easy target, Shalista - like if someone annoys me I might snap (verbally, not physically :wink: ) at OH. The persistent one-year-old sounds normal to me, too - I tend to relax if a dog comes back at J after he's told them off as I don't have to worry about him upsetting/scaring them. But it's not fair for an RR to be allowed to annoy a chi :? I know you do what you can though.

I was quite impressed with J yesterday - he managed to get up close to Monty, the cat, and wagged his tail hopefully at him. Then he tentatively lifted a paw wanting to plonk on his back. I told him he had to 'leave the pussy cat alone' and he waved his paw in the air a bit more and then wandered off. The poor lad - I think he feels quite rejected.

He's been a little stressed the last few days, since my mum arrived for Xmas. He loves her so much he was shaking with excitement when she first arrived, but now he feels he needs to know what's going to happen, is anyone thinking of going out, can he come, is Granny safe to go out on her own? We only have to say something like 'Shall we....' and he's up on his feet following us everywhere.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

poor jasper, he looks so tough and strong but he seems like such a sensitive little flower :lol:

I hope things calm down for him
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Sister brought Marble and Jax over for Christmas, and brother's girlfriend-and-as-of-last-night-fiance :D has her dog, Lola here too...
Image

Delta and Jax are two males of the same age, so I keep Delta on leash because their interactions can go from friendly to challenging quickly. I like to supervise them closely, and keeping Delta close to me is the easiest way to do that.

So that was a bit stressful for all hounds involved. Now Delta and I are taking a break at Sofi's house, and I've got a dog on either side napping peacefully. :)

I've found out I'll be co-teaching a class in the new year! It'll be our basic manners class and the class that is between basic manners and CGC/CLASS prep.

We're also turning the afternoon puppy class into the poodles-and-doodles class. The head trainer has observed that these dogs tend to prefer different playing than the labs and pits - poodles/doodles are a little more respectful of space and less likely to bodyslam other dogs. :lol: And we have a steady enough supply of poodles/doodles to keep a good number, as well as using it as the introduction class for new puppies. It's a bit less intimidating than the morning class (where we put the "sturdy" and "vibrant" puppies ;) ).
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

My poor dogs got left at home with the cat while we went to my parents' house for family Christmas. Brother is fearful of dogs and SIL is allergic to them. No reason to ruin somebody else's Christmas pleasure by brining the dogs along.

We got back home in time for me to take both dogs out for walks. Sirius didn't have a very good walk. We got a few houses down the street and encountered a box truck. I waited for a guy do pass and climb into the back of the truck. Then me thinking he was going in to get more stuff out, decided to take advantage of the chance to walk Sirius past quickly. Only guy wasn't getting something else out of the truck, he was preparing to slam the back door when came down with a rattle, clatter and crash with Sirius practically right beside it. :( She told guy she was not appreciative. Guy commented that she was a good dog. :shock: Guy went around side of truck. I got Sirius back moving forward along the sidewalk again in an attempt to pass quickly, and guy fires up the engine just as we are passing the hood. :(

That was it, Sirius was done with any and all vehicles that we happened across for the rest of her walk. She got the loop around the park and then back home the most direct route with the least traffic possible. Where as last night she had enjoyed a nice long walk in the park and been able to take the long way home around the block on the sidewalk.

She has been lacking for walks lately as OH can't take her out during the day and I refuse to take her out after dark. At least we have passed the winter solstice so days will be getting longer and hopefully it won't be too many more days before I can start getting her out as soon as I get home from work again.

Sky has been loving her walks as she has been able to take some nice long walks since my walking distance and time has not been split between two dogs. New Year's Day we will be joining the Samoyed Flash Mob on the mall in DC.

I have learned that Sky will resource guard food (plastic sandwich bags) while out on a walk even if she isn't interested in eating any treats. (She gets stressed with her anxiety when out and about and generally won't eat anything other than the highest level treats.) We were out with her Samoyed buddy that she always greets with play bows. I have long known that she resource guards water from other dogs, so have always made certain we stayed well away from the other dog when taking a water break. This last time out, she got snarky at him when I was handling a plastic bag. The bag didn't contain dog treats, but we package the dog treats that we make in plastic bags, so any time someone opens a plastic bag in the house, Sirius comes running and sometimes also Sky.

Sky was looking intently at the bag and I had the thought pass through my head that she wanted a treat and I would get one for her after I finished putting away the bag in my hand. I have a vague recollection of glancing in the direction of my friend and other dog who were standing a ways away. It caught me totally off guard when Sky lunged and snarked at the other dog, It was a single snark and we both immediately moved away from each other and took our dogs with us.

I was caught off guard, yet in a way I saw it coming and as I think back on the incident, I think I may have unintentionally triggered it by looking at Sky in my recognition that she wanted a treat, and then glancing in the direction of the other dog who appeared to be a reasonable distance away.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

This is how Jasper spent most of Christmas lunch...Image

He's very good, though, he waits patiently until we've finished. And his behaviour was far better than the cat, who wandered in and threw up on the floor while we were eating :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

I'm loving the pictures.

I got to skip out of work early today and took the dogs for a very relaxing walk at the battlefield. Sirius volunteered to join Sky in a bath on Saturday, by finding something black and oily looking to roll in which is now smeared on the side of her neck and she keeps wanting to be lovey dovey and rub her neck all over me.

Some temporary clean up is definitely in order.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

Found a new chewable for Bax! i was cutting up some big heads of broccoli for stir fry and i was left with the big thick core/stem. I wasn't gonna bother slicing it up but i know bax kind of likes broccoli so i gave one to him. he loved it!!!!!!!! I think he got a huge kick out of crunching up the hard thick pieces. he didnt eat all of it (though he thoroughly chewed it all) but i think im looking at low cost, low calorie alternative to a kong.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Delta and Sofi, the dog I'm currently taking care of, get along pretty well. They enjoy playing together, or sitting one on either side of me. However, if I let play escalate they start going more to the fighting side of things.

To make it easier on myself to keep them from getting into scraps, I taught them to run to me and sit when I called them, even while they were playing. Now that they're solid on it I tend to only use it when I can tell they're escalating past the "fun" point and into "hurt feelings, and also biting" point.

The unexpected side effect? Now, when Sofi feels overwhelmed, she runs over and sits next to me instead of getting fighty-bitey at Delta. :D She learned that she can "tap out" with my help, instead of feeling like she has to go on the defensive (with some offense) to stop over-the-top play.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

That's brilliant - I love it when dogs use their own initiative :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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