OT: Dog Nut

[Ernie00]

After my girlfriends' dog past away last year, we decided to get a young puppy(Husky). This will be officially my first dog. On the picture he is 4 weeks old and should be picking him up april 20th

We decided to name him Aspen. Made my dream riding trip this year in Aspen and it was amazing plus we found it was a cool winter dog name.

[eddie]

It's not the most current picture. My son Matix likes to hang out and play with Soleil.

[BlueB]

My pets...

[Steve Prokopiw]

I'm not really what you'd call a dog nut, but our dog, Misty ,is a nut and our oldest ,Evan, is nuts about his stuffed dog,Carlo, who he named by himself when he was one year old.Misty's the one licking herself.

[Allee]

Boris, your cat is totally staunch. Is he as big as he looks?

I have to go home and dig up my baby pics now!

Michelle, your dogs share their birthday with me. Lucky beasts. And any dog nut knows their dogs birthday - Skylar's is 03/10/96, and Caelan was rescued at about a year old at Easter 2004, so his is set as Easter weekend (this weekend, in fact). My twin cats are July 2, 2004.

A friend sent me this : this is totally gorgeous.

http://www.thealders.net/blogs/2006/08/02/how-to-hug-a-baby/

[C5 Golfer]

Thought I'd show off my lovely daughter. Yes, she is a snowboarder – soft boots for now but has a hardboot set up but no time to try it out.

Yes, she is single but don’t even ask guys…. I know what your intentions are.

[BlueB]

Boris, your cat is totally staunch. Is he as big as he looks?

Actually it's a girl. Shes fat, but quite small. On my lap it is closer to the camera, so she looks big. Also, the terrier is very small.

From the other hand, the Ridgeback is absolutely huge. Here's another pic.

Terrier is also a speyed girl, but she humps the cat and ridgback at every opportunity. :D

[Allee]

Caelan is my boy, the tricolour border collie cross, Skylar (my old girl) is a pedigree border collie ...

[pebu]

The kitties are rescued from the pound, so that's why we don't know their exact bd. Somebody was advertising free yellow lab/white german shepard mix puppies for free up at my grandma's place and they were born outside and lived outside (on a farm) until we picked up loki. I don't think loki's mom's owner knows the exact date they were born, but we know pretty close. Loki is early may and I thikn the kitties are late may.

[Michelle]

After my girlfriends' dog past away last year, we decided to get a young puppy(Husky). This will be officially my first dog. On the picture he is 4 weeks old and should be picking him up april 20th

We decided to name him Aspen. Made my dream riding trip this year in Aspen and it was amazing plus we found it was a cool winter dog name.

OMG, disgustingly cute! I have a special place for huskies, working in a dog sledding kennel.

Here I am with the puppies from last spring. How can you resist pink puppy belly???

We have more now, about 7. Last week they all fell asleep on my lap! The one on the right is Elvira - she's all grown up now and running on teams.

[Allee]

We have more now, about 7. Last week they all fell asleep on my lap!

I love that! I used to volunteer at the local SPCA, and if you were in the "puppy room", they'd all mob you until about 2.30, and then if you sat down on the floor, they'd fall asleep all over you. You'd always come home covered in punctures from all those little puppy teeth ... I might not want kids, but I can definitely live with puppy!! (and kitten, they're even cuter).

[eddie]

Boris,

I was going to ask if that was a Ridgeback/ Ridgeback mix. That's what I have. She's super loyal and very fun.

A lot of shelter dogs are the best dogs you'd ever want to meet. We got Ullr from a shelter, and he was semi-trained (sit)

I adopted my Soleil from the Humane Society and she's been a great dog. Some shelter/pound dogs are already trained and been through strict tests to let the public know whether the dog is house broken, good with cats/dogs, and good with kids.

[BlueB]

I was going to ask if that was a Ridgeback/ Ridgeback mix. That's what I have. She's super loyal and very fun.

Lovely doggy, your Soleil.

I brought my monster with me when I moved here from South Africa. He's supposed to be a pure blood. However, the breader might have introduced a bit of Great Dane i the past, to boost the size - my beast moves the scales at whooping 110 lb, and stands an inch taller than bread's upper standard...

[Blue Bird]

that's my girl, 11 years and still kicking

[eddie]

I brought my monster with me when I moved here from South Africa. He's supposed to be a pure blood. However, the breader might have introduced a bit of Great Dane i the past, to boost the size - my beast moves the scales at whooping 110 lb, and stands an inch taller than bread's upper standard...

Larger size= more dog to love.

Does he have the ridge? I can't tell. Soleil doesn't have it. You can see a change in the hair but she most likely has a little Labrador in her, giving her the webbed toes. She'll swim for hours if I let her.

Super friendly dog, right Michelle. She's played with her before.

[skategoat]

I'm going to look at some dogs up for adoption:

- 2 year old Jack Russell

- 1 year old Pug/Boston terrier

These are dogs that are being given up by owners. I know the JRT is high energy but I have two young kids who will burn it off, hopefully. I think I know how to test for aggression and resource guarding. Any advice on what to ask and look for?

Active dog is fine. Hyper, destructive dog is bad. Aggressive dog is bad. We want a family pet that will lick a burglar's face rather than bite it off.

[BlueB]

Eddie,

Yes, Gvozden has the ridge. I know that many of Western Canadian Ridgebacks do not have ridges !?! To much in-breading I guess...

He used to be fierce - real South African guard dog, but calmed down a lot since we moved to BC. Still doesn't like men much.

Henry,

With JR you've got 50% chances for hyper, destructive or aggressive... I've got one, and she's very fine tempered (for a JR). She was really handfull as young. Active, you bet! Still very placid when at rest indoors.

JRs are definitelly not dogs for everyone, but once you had one, they get under your skin.

[Justin A.]

I'm going to look at some dogs up for adoption:

- 2 year old Jack Russell

- 1 year old Pug/Boston terrier

These are dogs that are being given up by owners. I know the JRT is high energy but I have two young kids who will burn it off, hopefully. I think I know how to test for aggression and resource guarding. Any advice on what to ask and look for?

Active dog is fine. Hyper, destructive dog is bad. Aggressive dog is bad. We want a family pet that will lick a burglar's face rather than bite it off.

Jack Russels are only destructive if they get bored, just like an Aussie, Border Collie, Poodle, or any other intelligent and active dog. Ullr can get VERY destructive if we let him. Make sure the dog gets all the exercise/activity that it can handle, and keep toys and treats very structured. We have a large basket that all of Ullr's toys live in unless he's playing with them. If he wants one, he'll go take it out, play with it until he's bored with it, then he'll leave it on the floor. About 10 minutes later, he'll put it back in the basket and grab something else. Keeping his toys in the basket, and ONLY in the basket lets him know that those are his things, and that everything else isn't his, and he shouldn't chew it. One time we left a few of his toys around the apartment when we went out, and lo and behold, he chewed the remote to the DVD to smithereens.

Clicker train your dog-I CAN'T stress this enough. Especially with an intelligent dog like the Jack Russel, clicker training will work WONDERS. You can train a dog to do anything with a clicker-get the lights (jumping jack russel), get the elevator, put his toys away, and even the "oh that's so cute" tricks-roll over, play dead, twirl, etc. Some owners have even trained their dogs to ring a bell at the door when they need to do their biz-nass.

With Jack Russels, they are a farm dog (hunt rats and other pests), so they have a natural guarding instinct, which can be broken VERY easily (it can with any dog really)-just remember the clicker . They tend to be protective of their home and their families and pretty loyal. Smart as a whip too-their problem solving skills are amazing. If you don't have them already, I would sugguest getting child deterrents for your cabinets-learning to open a cabinet to get at some food when you're not home would take it oh....about 5 minutes or so.

The biggest thing that you need to remember about active and intelligent dogs like Jack Russels is that you're not dealing with a "dog" as most people would consider a dog, you're dealing with an intelligent member of the family who mumbles, walks around on all fours, and has hyperfolicleosis (hairyness), that just happens to lack opposible thumbs. When dealing with a dog like this, just consider it to be a kid who doesn't know any better, but is willing to learn.

Keep the dog's mind active too-when we go out, we hide treats all over the apartment to keep Ullr occupied for a bit, and it keeps him on his toes looking for something. We train him alot when we are home to keep his brain going, and at the dogpark he gets to be a dog for about an hour or so, and then its time for S&R practice.

The Pug/Boston Terrier mix could be anything....Boston Terriers can be nasty dogs, and Pugs are the sweetest thing this side of hard ball sugar. Pugs are lazy, boston terriers are pretty lazy too...you're not dealing with the most intelligent creatures out there at this point either, they're much harder to train than a Jack Russel would be, but on the other hand, because of that they're alot less work for you mentally. They still need their exercise (though not to the same degree) and they still need to be trained well, otherwise they will get destructive and nasty. Boston Terriers also tend not to be the best around other dogs, they're somewhat difficult to socialize-but this can be an issue with any dog.

Can you tell that I'm a dog nut ? Good luck, if you have any questions, lemme know. Hope you find the perfect pooch!

[Michelle]

that's my girl, 11 years and still kicking

She's beautiful! Does she ride on the motorcycle too?

[Michelle]

Super friendly dog, right Michelle. She's played with her before.

I have? remind me....

[C5 Golfer]

Lovely signage for dog owners

[kipstar]

Sorry Justin, agree with what you wrote, but you keep talking about a clicker...

what is a clicker and how do you (you personally) use it to train a doggily?

[eddie]

I have? remind me....

At the WTC in Park City last year. I had her with me a couple times hanging out in the car. I brought her out to play when I was eating lunch or hanging out.

[Justin A.]

Sorry Justin, agree with what you wrote, but you keep talking about a clicker...

what is a clicker and how do you (you personally) use it to train a doggily?

A clicker is a small (keychain sized) device that you use to mark a behavior. It's kinda like an industrial sized verison of the pop top on snapple bottles and the like-the kind that you can keep pressing and the button will always pop back up and it makes a small sound. Clickers are noisy versions of that. You use it to train your dog by marking a behavior when it happens, after you have the dog associate the click with a treat. To do that, it only takes about 10 clicks or so. You just click and give the dog a reward. Once that association is made, say that you want to teach your dog "Sit". You'll hold the clicker, and wait for the dog to sit (don't tell them "sit" yet). When they put their butt on the ground, hit the clicker and give them a treat. It takes most dogs 20-50 clicks to learn a command. Timing is everything with clicker training...if you're trying to train a dog to not jump on people when he meets them, your click will be reinforcing the wrong behavior if you click when he jumps on them, not when all four of his paws are on the ground. Ditto on training your dog to jump into the air, if you click AFTER the jump is completed (he's back on the ground now), then you're teaching him to keep his paws on the ground-for this kind of thing, you click when he reaches the highest point of the jump-he'll soon associate a click with being in the air.

To teach a dog to stay, you'll have them sit, and make them hold the sit for some time, then click- that way it's the act of not moving that gets them the reward.

There have been multiple books written on clicker training, and I'm by no means a professional trainer, but I think that this does a good job of giving the general idea of clicker training.

Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clicker_Training

The wiki article explains it a little better than I did.

[Allee]

Clicker training definitely works, and especially in the case of food motivated dogs. You do get the odd case like my border, who knows that she'll get treats if she "wipes her face" when I tell her. So now, if I'm eating something she likes, she'll wipe her face all by herself and then be all expectant!

One thing you have to remember when training your dog, is not to overdo it. The rule we used to use at agility was do it once and reward, do it again to make sure the first one wasn't a fluke, and then move on to something else. If you keep repeating a behaviour, the dog figures it's still doing it because it hasn't done it right - they're pretty smart like that. And happy - happy is the key. Be visibly and vocally happy when it's done right, and if you're not getting anywhere, give it up before you and the dog get frustrated.

Dog psychology is interesting. So many people have no clue as to how to train a dog (watch "Dog Whisperer" sometime). Dogs are dogs, not people, and you need to talk dog to them to make the connection. When I trained starter agility, the average dog had it down in 3 weeks, but I used to spend the whole 8 weeks pretty much teaching the handlers from scratch. If you really don't feel comfortable working the dog yourself, then definitely get a pro to help.