Dog Owner Chat v4

[juicebox!]

@fasc; i need a service dog. i had been wanting a labrador for a while but had been wanting a husky mix. i had come across a few husky x labrador dogs and loved them. i love how they act. it would be the perfect service dog. i never said i was pawning it off for my mother to handle, lol? when my mom gets a house i'm moving in with her.. therefor, the dog would come with me. ya and im prepared to meet it's demands?? idk where you got that i wasnt. the puppy will be 7 weeks old on tuesday. i got my current dog at 7 weeks and he has no issues besides the usual breed ones. again, thanks for your concern. i asked for advice on convincing my dad not on questioning my logic, haha.

@taiger; im rehoming the dog cause 1) hes scared of humans. imagine a service dog afraid of humans? doesn't really work.. 2) he is a male and my current dog is aggressive to male dogs. 3) he's been escaping my mom's yard. i would love to work through his issues but i can't really keep him until my mom gets a house. i wouldn't be so defensive if y'all had offered advice and not bashed it. i know the problems with getting a young puppy. i have a mom that was vet tech and so i'm sure if any issues arise she could help me.

[.Middy.]

As someone with a dog that I got at 6 weeks old from a BYB (and yes they are a BYB, they allowed a female in heat to come in contact with a intact male. There are very very few instances where that is a actual accident.), don't do it.

Chewie was socialized out the wazoo, he's a stranger reactive mess of a dog. Litterally my most socialized dog, and he's a mess due to bad genetics.

If you are going to gamble on a puppy, get one from a shelter or reputable rescue. Support a good organization rather than lining the pockets of someone too irresponsible to keep a in heat female safe, and then sending the pups home way too early which can lead to future issues.

[Fascai]

I'm not trying to be a complete downer. You're seeing through puppy brain. There's a puppy that's convenient so it feels like you should get it. You asked for advice so I'm giving you logical input from an outside perspective. You can't just grab any dog you want and make it a service animal. There are actual selective processes that go into scouting prospective SDs, and even then those dogs don't always make it. If I were getting a piece of medical equipment I'd want to make sure I paid for something healthy and biddable. You're going to be depending on it. I wouldn't pull a wild card, lol. There are just a lot of problems this pup could be carrying, and it's mentally draining. Trust me, because I know.
You'll do whatever you want at the end of the day and all we can wish you is luck. We're just trying to give you other input and experiences to consider before making your leap.

[Taiger Lilly]

I don't think anyone on this thread means to bash you, it's just that our advice for this situation is to not get the puppy.

[Imzadi83]

@fasc; i need a service dog. i had been wanting a labrador for a while but had been wanting a husky mix. i had come across a few husky x labrador dogs and loved them. i love how they act. it would be the perfect service dog. i never said i was pawning it off for my mother to handle, lol? when my mom gets a house i'm moving in with her.. therefor, the dog would come with me. ya and im prepared to meet it's demands?? idk where you got that i wasnt. the puppy will be 7 weeks old on tuesday. i got my current dog at 7 weeks and he has no issues besides the usual breed ones. again, thanks for your concern. i asked for advice on convincing my dad not on questioning my logic, haha.

@taiger; im rehoming the dog cause 1) hes scared of humans. imagine a service dog afraid of humans? doesn't really work.. 2) he is a male and my current dog is aggressive to male dogs. 3) he's been escaping my mom's yard. i would love to work through his issues but i can't really keep him until my mom gets a house. i wouldn't be so defensive if y'all had offered advice and not bashed it. i know the problems with getting a young puppy. i have a mom that was vet tech and so i'm sure if any issues arise she could help me.

This person is a BYB. They were irresponsible and are continuing to be so. This dog could have loads of problems that make it unsuitable for service dog work many that won't show up until later. Why waste all that time, money, and work on another dog that may not work out as a service dog? If you want a specific breed go to a responsible breeder, if you want a rescue get a young dog (I don't recommend a puppy in this case) from a reputable shelter or rescue. Honestly if you can't afford a reputable breeder you're not going to be able to afford the care, training, and upkeep a SD requires anyway so what little money you save by going to a BYB won't help you. Especially if it turns out that this puppy has serious health issues due to it's poor breeding.

We're not trying to bash you, we are trying to help you. We've all seen/heard/experienced the nightmare that getting a dog from a BYB can be. We don't want to see you go through that. We're also aware that every time anyone gets a dog from a BYB it contributes to the overpopulation and death of dogs in shelters. Please, for the love of dogs, don't be a part of that.

[turmoil]

hey everyone c: i've been having a problem with my border collie (as always) and was wondering if someone knows how to fix it:

the kiddo constantly picks up items off of the ground. just two days ago he was carrying a dead frog. we tried to train him to drop them with numerous piles of treats, but he realized that we were trying to lure him. thus, every time we approach him when he has something in his mouth, he'll mostly likely swallow it or run away. i'm worried he's going to eventually hurt himself out of his stubbornness. is there a way to train him?

i swear he's too smart omg

[Imzadi83]

hey everyone c: i've been having a problem with my border collie (as always) and was wondering if someone knows how to fix it:

the kiddo constantly picks up items off of the ground. just two days ago he was carrying a dead frog. we tried to train him to drop them with numerous piles of treats, but he realized that we were trying to lure him. thus, every time we approach him when he has something in his mouth, he'll mostly likely swallow it or run away. i'm worried he's going to eventually hurt himself out of his stubbornness. is there a way to train him?

i swear he's too smart omg

It sounds like you may need to work on fading the lure and on proofing the leave it. You may also need to increase the value of your treats. He may be more likely to drop what is has if he knows it will get him a piece of chicken versus a piece of kibble. Here are some training videos to help you out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVivnOwiMoA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hInjqMSOYgs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMNup72dGyA

If you can spot things in the yard that he normally would pick up that you don't want him too, but aren't toxic, you could try spraying them with some bitter apple before he can get to them. In the long run training would create a more reliable drop it, but in the short run may help you out.

And of course the more you can supervise and make safe the areas he's in the better. It may mean keeping him on a short lead until training progresses, but could ultimately save his life in the mean time. And yes, I know that's a big ask and dogs are quick.

When you approach him if he looks like he's going to bolt try calling his name and going the other way so you aren't chasing him. If he swallows what he has don't reward him. Work on the drop it inside with low value items he doesn't mind giving up (sometimes give the item back and reward) and slowly up the ante of dropped item value. Also practice in various locations. Only up one criteria at a time though (value, location, etc.) Good luck.

[orpheus.]

As someone with a dog that I got at 6 weeks old from a BYB (and yes they are a BYB, they allowed a female in heat to come in contact with a intact male. There are very very few instances where that is a actual accident.), don't do it.

Chewie was socialized out the wazoo, he's a stranger reactive mess of a dog. Litterally my most socialized dog, and he's a mess due to bad genetics.

Gotta agree with this.
I love my dog but she is a mess, afraid of other dogs, afraid of new people, suffers from SA, afraid of cars and various objects. It's taken a lot of work to get her to where she is now, and still there's a lot we struggle with.

If you want a service dog then you'd need something sturdy and reliable, a 6 week old BYB puppy is most likely not going to be that. If you can wait until the pup is 8 weeks that'd be better obviously, but you still don't really know what you'll end up with health wise and otherwise.

I hope either way that you end up with a dog you can enjoy and work with, at the end of the day it is your choice. c:

[xXocea]

@turmoil

Instead of approaching him every time you see him with something in his mouth try to back off a bit. If it's nothing dangerous for him you should just let him drop it on his own accord. What you've done by doing so has made him start resource guarding. If you don't fix it soon, you'll end up with an aggressive dog who'll snap or snarl at anyone who tries to approach him while he has a toy, or is eating his food.

What I suggest you do is NOT to try and train him to drop things when you just naturally find him with stuff in his mouth. Instead enter a training session where you purposely give him objects, and encourage him to bite onto and tug on a toy and play with it ect. Then after you should stop the play session by holding the toy and not letting him tug and play with it. Hold it really still. Eventually he'll get bored and will release the toy from his mouth. When he does that say "Drop it" (Or whatever cue you want to use) Only say the cue once he's done so. Don't nag him or repeatedly say "Drop it, drop it, drop it." That'll make him learn to tune you out and ignore whatever's coming out of your mouth. Then immediately resume play. Don't stop and fish around for a treat to give him. His reward or 'treat' is to play with the toy again. Get excited with him, amp him up, have fun with it!! This method is easier (In my opinion) than trying to get the dog to drop it by enticing him with food. Especially if he's not a super food-motivated dog.
Videos to help with this: 1 2 Others

Another thing you could do is teach him a "leave it" cue. Like if you see something on the ground he's likely to go after and pick up.
If he goes after it tell him to leave it.
Here's some videos to help: 1 2 3 Others

[Muggywort]

Puppo
So, this is my dog, Sadie. We really don't know what breed she is but she appears to have some Blue Heeler along with a few other breeds mixed in there. We don't really care what breed she is but her genes may help us figure out why she acts the way she does towards other dogs.

Yesterday, me and my family went out hiking and invited a few other people along. One of the people along brought their huge golden lab with. When they met, Sadie started showing her teeth at him everytime he tried to sniff her or generally be friendly to her. She has done this in the past with other dogs aswell. I'm not sure if this has to do with her genetics or if she wasn't exposed to her littermates enough when she was a puppy. She is a rescue dog so we know nothing of her past and are trying to peice together the reasons for why she behaves like this.