Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[Taiger Lilly]

Getting it around that time would be nice! The anticipation of waiting for the results is going to drive me insane, to be honest. I also see similarities between Blue and Olive: blue eyes, similar colouring... I wouldn’t be surprised if they share a couple breeds.

About how long did Olive’s results take from the time the sample arrived at Embark’s lab? I know you tested her fairly recently, so I imagine the wait time would be similar (unless, like you said, something weird happens with Blue’s sample).

They got the swab Jan 16th, and I got the results Feb 22nd, although I wonder if they had an increased wait time because of the holidays. The 22 days comes from what someone posted on their Facebook group recently (Swab in June 4 and results June 26).

[drift.]

Doing this for fun but I will be looking for the future, any replies appreciated c:

Have you had dogs before? What breeds? Had a puggle, currently a hound mix, Lab, Border Collie
Are there any breeds that have already caught your eye? If so, why? Australian shepherd and Standard poodle. Intelligent and large capable dogs.
How much time a day do you have to devote to training your dog? All day, go to work with me from 4 a.m to 1 pm and then do activities at home.
What kind of grooming needs are you prepared to handle? Any really, my BC puppy doesn't need it too much YET. But I don't want something like an Afghan hound, you know?
What kind of energy level are you looking for? Medium to high
What do you plan on doing with your dog? some kind of job. Currently doing dock diving and agility. Really want to start weight pulling though.
What size dog are you wanting? medium to large
What age dog are you looking for? any age below 4 years
What kind of lifestyle do you live? extremely active. I'm in the army (train a lot) and I work on a cattle ranch and my dogs always come with me. They play with the calves and mamas' get a break to eat, it's adorable.

[Charlieluckytoby1]

Does anyone know of any good dog toys to exercise your dogs brain? I bought a giant kong wobbler and I have some kongs and some toys like kongs from Walmart..and I put treats and biscuits in them. I’m looking for good ones that will keep my dogs occupied for some time but also exercise their brain. I would like ones that are good quality and will take a long time to be torn up. Thank you!


My dogs love to get treats and things out of toys.

[Barnes&Rogers]

@Charlieluckytoby1 - for my girl, i use a muffin tin, with some tennis balls (i place a treat/food in the little cups in the tray, and then place a tennis ball over it. she uses her nose to find which tennis balls have treats under them, and then she has to figure out how to lift them out of the tray so she can get her reward). i also use toys similar to these (i use a different brand, and it has lasted over a year and is still going strong, but i'm afraid i can't remember what it was called. my girl is a strong chewer and has destroyed lots of toys expect this one.) i usually give her her dinner in these as it not only gives her mind some exercise, but it allows her to eat her food more slowly. sometimes its fun to hide treats/food around a room, and then letting your dog sniff them out and eat them as a reward if that's any use? it took my girl a bit to catch on, but i used a bit of apple and peanut butter (which has a stronger smell) and she got the hang of it.

[Tipsy]

How do you get a dog to stop barking when you leave?
He's not food motivated or toy motivated.
I could leave the room for about a minute before he starts barking. He barks for 30-45 minutes before finally quieting down.
I can't teach the bark command because he isn't motivated by something. I've tried leaving and not coming back until he's quiet for a week, every single time I left (bathroom break, food, check the door) I would wait it out and he hasn't changed this entire week.

I would recommend doing alone training. May sure you ignore the dog when you come back. Also very your leaving routine. If you usually put on your shoes and grab your keys before you leave put on your shoes at other times, don't leave, take them off after a while. Do the same with picking up your keys, putting on make-up, etc. whatever your personal leaving routine is vary it so it doesn't trigger anxiety in your dog.

Try to tire you dog out before you leave and leave him with a yummy puzzle toy. If he doesn't eat it, fine, pick it up when you come back so he learns that it's only available when you leave. If he is dealing with isolation distress or separation anxiety I wouldn't expect him to go for it for awhile but it may be worth trying anyway as he may go for it later. I would also recommend leaving your dog with something with your scent one it (like a used t-shirt or pillowcase) if you don't already.

There are also a lot of calming products on the market that may help, things that are ingested, collars, sprays, scent diffusers, thunder-shirts; some work for some dogs and not others so you may need to experiment to see what helps your dog. Be aware though they are unlikely to help on their own without alone training and addressing any other issues. Also nothing will help if there is an underlying medical issue that hasn't been addressed so be sure to speak with your veterinarian as well especially if this is a sudden change in behavior.

Here are come videos to help you out...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxhcb-itO4&t=38s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqPQKLh883s&t=105s

I'm sorry I'm replying so late! Thank you, this looks so helpful I can't wait to start.

may i ask, do you have a video of how he sounds when he does it, and do you know what he does when alone ...and really only 45min and is calm after barking and sleeping:?:
barking is not always barking.

I don't have a video sorry, He sits at the door and barks consistently. When he is alone after he barks he lays down and watches the door. around 30-45 minutes 45 mins being the longest.
What do you mean barking isn't always barking? Thats a first I'm really interested.

[Charlieluckytoby1]

@Barnes&Rogers

Thank you! I’m definitely going to try to th muffin tray thing and see if my pups like it! The hiding treats in a room sounds a lot of fun I’ll think I’ll do that

[Luzien]

@ drift
lets think about it..for this three sports to be used...


but not poodle... you cant use this highly intelligent dogs...for such things as ....pulling,...
.... they are way to sensitive and not strong muscled in body and bones...like a lab or sled dog or pit....... and way to intelligent to do more or less mindless pulling of heavy weight...yes this pulling is not really the ...most intellectual activitie..... or the pushing to pull thing like i did see in video of such training and events,...way to harsh and hard on there body and mind.... i think they would be terrified of there owner and refusing to work anymore...-poodle are only around 45-60cm..18-24in and not so heavy

when only for agility and dock diving-and going to work and playing at home with farm animal...sure this then yes there a poodle would be great.... or for flyball, bikejoring with the dog...tracking or even schutzhund or such


--> so maybe a pit....i did read they are used for weight pulling in this time!?

or chinook as they are sled dog and are known to do agility...atlest i did see two in pics......maybe:
alaskan Husky,´
alaskan malammute ...they are also all sled dog who know how to work and pull things and are active enough to jump-swim and such..
.greenland dog..
.Chesapeake Bay Retriever
-pit
-or a normal lab


and large dog breeds are not so great in agility or dock diving as to large and heavy ....
... but i did see some pits do this too aswell ....or a lab could do well with all three things you want to do...

these are dog-sled dog or such like pit... i read are used for weight pulling as they are breed to do this, but still can be trained for other things..and whose body are build for such work...
no other dog i can think of could be used for weight pulling thingens together with the other two sports

or look into mixed breeds they may have some in the shelter that the vet says has right bone and muscle strenght and the right shoulder,strong enough back...for pulling...

really dont know, maybe one of those dogs ,you could find still interesting for this what you want to do

@

Charlieluckytoby1
Does anyone know of any good dog toys to exercise your dogs brain

maybe build your own...im not so happy with some i did see as medium dog and up will oftenhave problems with them, and some dogs will not have fun with them after doing them 2-3+ times...
but i did see some great interesting looking ideas for such toys, that one can with some littlee work and time
-like something fully easy...a rope some plastic bottles or even plastic mugs(those then without holes as the mugs will hang easily), something to put holes in the middle of the bottles neck so one can put rope through and then fill in some nice treats...tie the rope on two sides and Show the dog how to push the bottles that it turns over and treat fall out of the top...you even coul put in bigger holes at the sides some treeats fall out more easy at first time..

[Charlieluckytoby1]

@Luzien

Thank you! I’m going to put some treats in a plastic bottle with no top and see how the dogs like figuring that out

[Luzien]

@ Charlieluckytoby1
that is great and when your dog can do it real fast, maybe make it more difficult and put a small rope with a knot on both sides in the bottle...one part with a knot is outside...so dog has to pull and push to get rope in or out of bottle and hope the rope lets treats out of bottle...it is something i did see as toy that one can buy...but it could work with the normal bottle too...maybe .


@

Tipsy
Luzien wrote:
may i ask, do you have a video of how he sounds when he does it, and do you know what he does when alone ...and really only 45min and is calm after barking and sleeping:?:
barking is not always barking.

-----------
I don't have a video sorry, He sits at the door and barks consistently. When he is alone after he barks he lays down and watches the door. around 30-45 minutes 45 mins being the longest.
What do you mean barking isn't always barking? Thats a first I'm really interested.

it is how they sound or look, how long they do it without stop till one is back, how there mouth Looks and there bodymovements, what they do...if they do something else....if they where trained to be alone for a moment or longer and owner did try anything but nothing works...if they really bark all the time or from the moment they hear or smell there owner and then you think it id bark all the time....or the bark because they know you are outside or near be...some are not stupid and do this but when one really goes the cam shows that dog is sleeping as soon as owner is down the street^^

...there are dogs who bark till they cant anymore and voice is gone then they cry soundless

i try to write it out bether...but please give me time, and im not sure if i fully get this together from what i remember of this book and video and what teacher on dog place told and one did learn from dogs we owned or did know

[liv :)]

Doing this for fun but I will be looking for the future, any replies appreciated c:

Have you had dogs before? What breeds? Had a puggle, currently a hound mix, Lab, Border Collie
Are there any breeds that have already caught your eye? If so, why? Australian shepherd and Standard poodle. Intelligent and large capable dogs.
How much time a day do you have to devote to training your dog? All day, go to work with me from 4 a.m to 1 pm and then do activities at home.
What kind of grooming needs are you prepared to handle? Any really, my BC puppy doesn't need it too much YET. But I don't want something like an Afghan hound, you know?
What kind of energy level are you looking for? Medium to high
What do you plan on doing with your dog? some kind of job. Currently doing dock diving and agility. Really want to start weight pulling though.
What size dog are you wanting? medium to large
What age dog are you looking for? any age below 4 years
What kind of lifestyle do you live? extremely active. I'm in the army (train a lot) and I work on a cattle ranch and my dogs always come with me. They play with the calves and mamas' get a break to eat, it's adorable.

I have very limited experience with aussies and little to no experience with standard poodles, so I don’t think I’m able to answer whether or not those breeds would be right for you.

As for breeds I think may suit your lifestyle...

-Any type of retriever
I think a field line would be best suited to your interests and your lifestyle, as they are working dogs and thus more energetic and sport-inclined than the typical retriever. Chesapeake Bays come to my mind, because they’re the biggest and commonly described as “rugged”, which are desirable traits in weight pulling. Retrievers would be great at dock diving, and some individuals excel at agility.

-Siberian husky
Super energetic and intelligent... would be fabulous at weight pulling. Depending on the dog, could be great at dock diving and agility. However, they’re famous for their “what’s in it for me” attitude towards training, which depending on the handler may make them undesirable. Especially for sports. As long as the dog knows that a reward will come in response to it doing a desired behaviour, it will be obedient.

-Australian cattle dog
An athletic, hardy breed that I think has your desired energy level and working capability. I’ve seen some ACDs that are amazing weight pullers, and I’m sure that the breed has the potential to do very well in both dock diving and agility. I think they’d also love to visit the cattle ranch, being cattle dogs and all.