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Yamaha_gurl

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Posts posted by Yamaha_gurl

    Metacam

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    It was a blessing for my Bella when she had some neck pain, however she stopped drinking water, so we added pepcid and that solved it! The metacam must have been tough on her stomach, but with the pepcid, it was a miracle drug.

    No Judgments... Question About Off-Leash Hiking

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I'll probably regret this, was really trying to stick to the OP's questions and not the general debate about off leading :P, but your comments struck a chord with me. There really is this very cool harmony between us and our dogs that can be achieved when off leading is taught properly (and by that, all I really mean without getting all training technical is tons of positive reinforcement and no ruining of cues). I'm working a lot with Skye on her off leash training and have been for a while (perhaps I can share this without getting flamed since Skye has no sighthound in her :P). The other day, we were in circumstances where I felt comfortable letting her off leash on a hike and it truly was a thing of beauty. She exhausted herself exploring. She was wearing a bell so I could hear her and I was comfortable with her going off of the trail as long as I could still hear her bear bell jingling away (she's small, only 30ish lbs so I can't always see her easily when she runs into the foliage). If she sounded like she was getting too far, I gave her recall cue and she came bounding back for treats. She was also reinforced (with steak & cat treats) every single time she checked in, which was often. As we progressed, I started giving more subtle verbal cues - "stay close" or "little too far" and she would immediately adjust. I also use "this way" a lot when a trail splits so if she was ahead and started going the other way she would know to adjust to the other route where we would soon be behind her. I can't sufficiently put into words how gratifying it is to get to see your dog being 100% a dog and having this cooperative relationship. I am not saying this to try to convince anyone to off lead their dog. And I am aware that there is always a risk with deciding to off lead your dog, as there is with many things we do with our dogs. I just see the comments about how a dog's life isn't any more fulfilled when they're allowed to be off lead and not only do I disagree, but I also think my life would be less fulfilled.

     

    I agree, big time! My Bella is happiest off leash running at the beach, no question about it.

    No Judgments... Question About Off-Leash Hiking

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    People just need to get over it and realize that we all take responsibility for OUR dogs. A lot of people on this forum choose not to go to dog parks. I take Teddi all of the time and because of the way people act about dog parks I don't talk about it on this forum. A lot of people feed TOTW, and while I think it isn't necessary, I keep my mouth shut. Why? Because no one asked me if I thought it was necessary. Alicia asked how to know if Henry was ready. She didn't ask "what do you think of me letting my dogs off leash?" She isn't some dumb kid who deserves to be treated like one. She's an adult and isn't brand new to greyhounds.

     

    I know I'll get flamed by those of you who think I'm just a dumb kid and irresponsible and someone who hasn't raised/bred/trained/owned greyhounds for 30 years. BUT, there are plenty of people on this board who disagree with your opinions, didn't sign a leash clause, and want to let their dogs act like dogs. Hijacking Alicia's thread and being rude to everyone who disagrees with your opinions isn't necessary.

    +1! Awesome post! Pssst, Bella goes to the dog park too! Gasp! :riphair:hehe

    No Judgments... Question About Off-Leash Hiking

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

     

    And yet they were bred for hunting off-lead and in pairs, and are still used this way by the English 'Traveller' community for rabbiting and hunting hares, and various greyhound breeds (salukis, galgos, borzois, lurchers etc) all over the world are, or were, used this way for hunting anything from rabbits to wolves and small deer.

     

    I would respectfully suggest that your reading has been somewhat limited. ;)

     

    Quite simply, if you're out hunting with dogs (which I have never done, and have no interest in, just as a FYI), you are going to need them to come back to you with their catch. Greyhounds and their cousins have done this for far, far longer than they've been used for racing.

     

    I'm not here for an argument, but I think we need to bear in mind that our greyhounds are dogs which have been bred for a task. We have suborned this task into a gambling game, so that modern greyhounds never get the training that their ancestors had - which doesn't mean they can't BE trained. Sure, it's 100% harder after they've been brought up in one particular way, and there are many, many greyhounds who will never make the adjustment. That's where common sense comes in: if you have a dog who doesn't seem capable of learning a solid recall, and doesn't have the right temperament, you don't let them off-lead outside a fenced area. However, a small percentage of our ex-racers are perfectly capable of this, and I think it's wrong to make the owners of such animals feel guilty or pressured into reducing their dogs' quality of life.

     

    I agree with this: if in doubt, don't. In other words, if your dog is unreliable, or if you don't have safe off-lead areas to walk, don't. If you have a particularly vulnerable dog, don't. If you have signed a legal contract which forbids it, don't. Etc.

     

    Wow...how I agree with everything you just wrote. And it is true, about how greyhounds were used for coursing, they HAD to learn how to come back.

    I also think "off leash rules" depend on where you live. I have facebook friends from all over the world, there are sooo many in Europe that let their dogs off leash...pure joy and happiness on those dogs faces!

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