Thank you for this great info. This is my next big step with my little girl. I have left her alone with Gramma and I have left her alone without anyone in the house for a total of maybe 4 hours on two occasions (two hour each time). I am looking forward to working this out. In fact today is when we are starting. I agree with the original post and everything said in it. I was told to leave my dog in her crate with lots of toys and treats but I wont be using the crate. She is fine in the house. I will leave a radio on too. Talk shows are better than music. I was told that when I return after leaving, to not make a big deal out of it as the dog maybe very very glad to see you, naturally but simply just say hi. Don't get into a major excitement mode and make it a big deal to see the dog upon the return. Just be very casual like it was never a big deal that you left in the first place. My dog goes totally wiggly when I get home, rubbing up against me and taking one of her toys in her mouth, tail curled and head held high, circling me forever more, following my every step. As cute as it is, I try not to make a big deal about it. After I have been back for a few minutes (maybe 5) I crouch down to her level and say hello with a pat and maybe a tug if she has her toy still. I may pick her up and cuddle her for a few seconds before putting her down to play a bit. If you have been gone for awhile, it is very important to take your dog outside right away so it may relieve itself.
Hi, I have been experiencing trouble with my YorkieXShitzShuXMaltese. She does the catch me if you can thing in public if she is off leash and can be a very scary thing. I can tell you that she is improving with practice of the come command in an open park that is not close to traffic or road ways. In private outdoors where there are no other people or pets, she is excellent and have never had a problem with the catch me if you can game that she has been known to do in public dog parks. I have been taking my 16mnth old to the park. We started with a 6' leash that I would drop and allow her to miander and then call her. If she didn't come or bolted off to chase another dog or something, I could easily grab the leash. Well in public, she is not interested in any treats no matter what they are so I simply use a vocal praise with a nice gracious pat and that seems to work. Roxy has improved ten fold. The time before last she was fetching a stick. The last time she was proudly carrying her toy around and came every time I called her. There were other dogs, adults and kids surrounding her. I was so proud of her. Although I am not feeling 100% confident that she will always respond like this, we will continue to practice. I am confident that eventually we can walk in the park off leash and that Roxy will respond to all of my voice commands. It is about regular practice, consistency and enthusiastic praise. Always praise the dog for positive response to your commands and never ever scold, yell or hit the dog for not responding in ways that you are expecting. Instead, find the way that works for your dog to positively respond to what it is that you are requesting of them. Always reward graciously, especially when practicing the come command but all commands during training and even thereafter. I practice the come command with the sit and stay command as well. This seems to be working. Everyday we work on Roxy's training. I used to work on one command at a time but have since started throwing in a few more throughout the day. A great one for us is having her find a particular toy by name and to "bring it here". She loves it and I feel that this helps with integrating the come command. I praise her with either a cookie (small kibble treat) and throw the toy again or a short tug and a throw once she lets go of her toy. Roxy just loves to play with her toys. Always praise your dog when they respond positively to what you ask. Google for Tips on Dog Training+Come Command. There are many very good free resources. Also try Googling the breed of dog and the training technique as well. For example "German Shepard+teaching come command. Best of luck and yes, there is hope for most all dogs. It isn't necessarily about a "Bad Dog Behavior" as it is "Improper Dog Handling". We must find what techniques work for our dog specifically. Not all techniques will work on all dogs. Find what ones work well for your dog. Our dogs simply want to please us. They love praise and really do want to do good. It is our responsibility as their handlers to guide them in the right directions to help them understand and positively respond, while helping ourselves gain the best relationship possible with our Fido. There is always hope. ... View related article.
Hi, Thanks for all responses, I really appreciate what everyone has to say! 1.) The HALTIi Collar seems like an interesting alternative, thank you. I will check more into this. 2.) For small dogs, collars and "choke chains" are NOT recommended. Since they are so small, this can crush their trachea. Roxy wears a small collar with a bell when we are in the yard, off leash only. This is only so I can hear where she is at when I am gardening. I will NEVER use a collar with a leash on my little Roxy. She is only 5.6 lbs and is a very small dog with very delicate parts. A HALTI collar may be a possible alternative. 3.) No Martigales for my small dog. Collars are totally out of the question. 4.) Consistency is what we do and she is improving. I am not breeding Roxy. I became the proud owner of Roxy August 18th and she was 15 mnths by that time and just going into heat. She is almost completely done. Her estrous lasted longer than normal but that is finished and now we are just waiting a bit longer since my vet doesn't spay during heat or very shortly thereafter but Yes, Roxy is getting spayed. Contrary to popular belief, it is said that she will calm down some afterwards. Even since she is now over the estrous, her personality has become more affectionate and playful. 5.) I will try the Victoria Stillwell show, thanks very much! 6.) I do the quick jerks on her leash to regain her attention. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't right away. Sometimes she just doesn't get distracted in public at all. I am trying to figure out what it is when she seems to be choosing distraction over non distraction. She is usually sniffing and seemingly distracted when she needs to relieve herself. Not letting her go where she wants is very important and find that she responds better and holds attention for longer periods of time. The shorter leash works well for sure. Thanks a lot for all your suggestions. I really appreciate it! ... View related article.
RE: Dog Getting Her First Period (Heat) (1x1 graphic ) Hi, Thank you very much everyone for your response(s). My Baby's cycle (spotting) ended on Saturday, Sept., 20th. It was especially long but I feel was due to the disruption of the moves and excitement of the changes going on in our personal lives. Little Roxy is doing Good and her vulva is less swollen now too. Her little personality has become even more playful and affectionate as well.. When Roxy was in to see the vet on Sept., 4th, she was given an excellent bill of health, other than being slightly underweight, due to lack of time to provide proper care by previous owner. It is a myth that dogs drag their butt because they have worms. Usually it is due to clogged anal sacs. I have checked Roxy and the anal sacs are fine too. I have a feeling that the butt dragging may have been something to do with her cycle because I haven't seen her doing it anymore. I have had Roxy since August 18th, 2008 and she has done the butt dragging thing maybe 5 times total. Roxy is due to be spayed and is far from poor. She is the riches dog in the neighborhood with tonnes of new friends, a smorgasbord for a well balanced, vitamin enriched, human grade diet of protien, vegies and fibre, Roxy has a regular 4x a day walking regime and plays in the park for about 45 min to one hour everyday, if not twice. When it is raining, it is an exception because she doesn't exactly like wet grass. I watched Roxy's cycle closely and was in contact with her vet. I also did a lot of research and found the answers that I was seeking as to what else could of been going on if her estrous was abnormally prolonged. Thank goodness that her hormones are advancing as they should and her period has finally stopped. The vet I use doesn't spay during heat. Roxy is booked for her spay but we must wait a bit longer. I have learned some more interesting information from the responses above and I am most appreciative. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Bless you all! Happy Tails. P.S. Roxy says "Thanks for helping my Mom know more about what's up with me" ... View related article.
I have read not to double up on flea treatment. Use only one treatment at a time. Read the directions and stick to the amounts for the animals weight and length of time the dosage lasts. Whenever in doubt, always ask a professional. Often for questions like this, your local vet can give you a good answer and usually advice that is over the phone and free of charge, in some cases.
Treating your house: If the infestation is really bad, plan to leave the house for a day and put the cat outside if possible or leave with a friend, or take the kitty with you and find a good raid that is made for fleas in particular. Once everyone is out, spray your house and leave. Return in 5-8 hours should be sufficient. Again, when in doubt, ask a professional. I am sure a pest patrol company could give you great advice about this. It's a phone call away. Hope this helps. Good Luck. ... View related article.
My dog does the same thing. She is 16 months old and in heat. She will only ignore vocal commands when off leash in public dog park. I only use a small mesh harness on her and never any collar of any kind. If we are in the bush or on a logging road, alone, she can be exploring ahead or behind but when I call she comes. She will walk right beside me out there too when I tell her to heal. In public, it is a totally different story. It is like she is distracted.It is frustrating. I can't have her off leash successfully yet.
What I am doing now is that when I take her to a park, I hook the 6' leash on her harness instead of the 16' zip line leash. I drop the leash and we walk. I call her and run with her in the field at the park. This way if she sees something more interesting than my calling her or telling her to come, I can grab the leash when she is taking off in the opposite direction, before she runs into any sort of dangerous situation, like a big aggressive dog, traffic or a bicycle etc.
So far I think this is working. I am constantly praising her when she comes and I ignore her when she doesn't. Except to get her leash and lead her in the direction I want her to go in.
I am hoping that once she is spayed that her behavior will change somewhat, a bit calmer, less investigative perhaps. Hopefully listen better. Once she is healed from her spay, Roxy is going to obedience classes for basic command training. I sure hope that helps. She dislikes her harness and I dislike having to put it on her but right now it is for her own good.
Especially in heat and at a dog park.. lol. I am confident that Roxy will come around and listen even better than she does right now, most of the time. When we are in the dog park and she has played catch me if you can, it is when other small dogs were around that she was playing with.
Roxy loves kids too and when she hears them playing in the park, they attract her, just like other dogs do. The park I am practicing in right now has kids as well as the occasional dog. I think within time, Roxy will come on command, whether there are other dogs around or not. I am determined to teach her. ... View related article.
You need to learn how to become the leader of the pack. You must be alpha not the dog. Remain strong and calm. Never reward bad behavior. Ignore, no eye contact and no voice. Be sure to praise him when he is good, with voice and or a treat. Ceasar Milan ~ The "Dog Whisperer" videos are highly recommended to help learn how to correct problem behavior in dogs. You can learn some really helpful tips from the Dog Whisperer videos. Also Oberhund's post below is very helpful. I wish you the very best with your success with your dog. It IS doable to have him come around. Best of Luck. ... View related article.
