Dog Owner Chat! (for-fun poll added) (new chat)

[Cardinal]

Read something super interesting!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/can ... motionally

!!

[.Coyote]

So I'm more than a little sad today.

I know lots of people train different than most of us on here do but one of the facebook groups I'm in posted the following picture with the description;

"The pups had to lay next to one another touching but weren't allowed to look interact with one another. If they did they were corrected via either prong or shock collar. It was supposed to teach them to be tolerant of other dogs but to not interact with one another"

Apparently some school that "trains" "dog trainers" has their students do this to their young dogs. One of the students that went there is speak out against their methods but it makes me sad. I mean even if you don't know any better (which I'm sure the students didn't because they are students and there to learn) I don't see how anyone could go around inflicting pain on such young puppies.

A good way to make dog aggressive dogs is all it is ...

I do not understand this at all. If they wanted to teach the dogs to become tolerant of other dogs then they should have let all those puppies off their leashes for some fun romping about. Dogs that misbehaved would get time outs maybe, but being able to play with a bunch of other dogs would certainly make my dogs more tolerant of them.

Anyway. So what I posted before, about my German Shorthair and my mistakes with body language, he is totally okay now. Playing like he usually does. In fact, he seems to have gotten much happier than he was before. He tries to follow me around the yard a lot, and comes running at me, and is licking me often. I think it is because I spend as much time as possible looking as relaxed as possible, as well as becoming very visibly excited to see him when I go outside and lowering to his level often and hugging him. He is looking me in the eye quite often, and definitely not in a defensive way. More like a curious one, I think. Anyway, I am super happy =D.

For my birthday on Saturday my dad and I are taking the dogs to the island for a fun walk on the trails early in the morning. I am a little afraid, because they are oooooh so untrained, but I think it will be fun. I'll put Poker's back pack on him full of water treats and doggy bags and hope for the best!

Oh, and I finally got a picture of my two dogs on the web

here!

[Lupen]

Even though there aren't any big fireworks going off yet, some neighbors are setting off small ones. Rylee is freaking out ... Koda couldn't care less. So funny seeing the big black dog chickening out while the puppy is relaxed as can be. Though like I said, the big ones aren't going off yet... So we'll see what he's like then.

[.Middy.]

1 step forward, 3 steps back with Chewie today. I got him to completely relax in the bathroom while the tub was full of water. Then we put him and Princess in the kennel while at the 4th of July parade and Princess peed in the kennel covering them both.

So I had to put them in the outside kennel and hose them down, there goes my positive work on water!

Princess is scared of the fireworks but we cant let her inside until she is dry. Chewie is totally chill with them though.

[evol]

Lucy + recent surgery + fireworks = oh great. DX

And Zane's just jumping around without a care in the world, wanting to play with her and wondering why she's trekking out

[.Coyote]

Oooh, fireworks!! The rain quickly ended everyone's plans for fireworks here, but they had a few going off for a while while it was just sprinkling. Bailey is veeery afraid of loud noises, and was freaking out and shaking the entire time I had her out of the crate and was brushing her. But once she was allowed back into the crate she immediately calmed down.

[Bluebird22]

Fireworks...*shudders* While my parents (who like fireworks) went out to s firework show, I stayed home. I knew Sophie would freak out with them, but I didn't know it would be that bad. First of all, she barked the whole time. Then she took to running to the bathroom to hide, to the basement, to the garage, to her kennel, to under my desk, to on the computer chair with me, to my bedroom, then after all that, if I happen to get up she followed me barking the whole time e.e She would hardly touch a treat, wouldn't lay down, panting heavily, and doing about every other stress sine out there. She calmed down ones they stopped, but she is still following me around-even in the bathroom when I went to relax in the bath lol.

[Keletheryl]

On July 1st, which is Canada Day, Piper didn't mind the fireworks one bit! She didn't even care about the firetruck and ambulance that stopped beside our house! (Don't worry... my neighbour's fine... ish)

[~Serenade~]

We went to a fireworks show with Bella, the most she reacted was turning to look when they had the grand finally that sounded like a million guns going off. Living in the country she got used to loud gunfire and fireworks from a young age.

[.Coyote]

UGH! Does anyone else's dogs eat less food and altogether seem uninterested in it during the summer? This is the first year one of my dogs have, though I know he has always had more trouble than the other one to stand the heat. So I called the vet and asked about it, and the first thing she said was "does he live outside?". Yes -_-.

She said it was pretty normal, and that they were more likely to eat more food early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and that if he is otherwise acting normal he should be fine. But I've dropped his meals from 4 cups a day to three, and it still isn't all being eaten. He gets all excited like normal when he sees the food, but then I put it down and he just eats reaaal slow like, always taking breaks to look around between chews. And somewhere in there he just leaves the rest!

I've been giving him three meals a day for that reason, to space out the food and that seems to help a little. So does feeding in a kong toy, like it gets him more interested in the food that way? But I only have the large kong, thinking it would be big enough for my large dog (aha, no), so it takes a really long time to feed him with that. Anyway, later I think I'll mix in some good stuff with his food and see what he does. Maybe he is just bored of it.