krissy
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Posts posted by krissy
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Current agility focus: weave poles!
We've got a consistent, speedy set of 6 with entry from all angles. Need to get up to a full set of 12 next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7gUS5Zf-20&feature=youtu.be
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If I remember correctly Truman is already neutered. How old was he when he was neutered though, Alicia? Some of the newer evidence coming out is starting to link "early" neuter/spay with increased fear behaviours. The exact definition of "early" isn't totally clear yet... typically they mean around 6 months, but in some of the larger breeds that might mean upwards of a year. There is increasing evidence that dogs with problem behaviours related to fear may actually not benefit from being neutered and it may actually have a detrimental effect. That's not to say that it's only about the neuter... obviously there are genetic and environmental factors... just that neutering may not help the situation.
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I'm beginning to wonder if hand signals would work better in our situation. He is not always (70%) with a verbal sit, but on the ninety percent range with the visual cute taught in class. We are currently working on a visual for down that doesn't involve physically touching the floor as it's rather inconvenient for obvious reasons. Maybe I need to think up one for "go lay down" and work on that next. I don't like having to use stern sounding "commands." I need to figure out a strategy for turning so-so verbal cues into visuals... Tips?
P.s. Videos would be very helpful!
Dogs typically respond better to visual cues than verbal. Some dogs are better at verbal than others. Kili is alright, Summit is pretty awful. Lol. He has a tougher time switching from the visual to verbal (since generally you are teaching with a visual cue first until you get a reliable response and then starting to add the verbal cue.
In almost all my videos I am using a happy voice when giving cues. In real life... if I get frustrated I might get a little sharp but I try not to let that happen. It's important to evaluate why your dog may not be responding rather than getting "stern" (easier said than done sometimes!).
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lol. There's a reason Kili still spends half her life in a crate.
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I once had a lady tell me, "Greyhounds seem like great dogs, but I could never have one. Their faces look evil."
Evil? Lol. That is not what I would have thought of. It's probably how narrow their faces are. My mom thinks that animals with narrow faces look mean (but not evil, lol).
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Depends on the actual numbers of course, but greyhounds routinely have low WBC and platelet counts. I would clarify if they were low compared to the lab reference ranges or low by greyhound reference ranges.
If you don't think he could have hurt himself I'd keep a close eye on what the bruise is doing and if new ones are starting. And definitely find out about the clotting test. But I've gotten bruises like that on my dogs that have been from bumping into something. Once Summit got a large one on his chest that we think was from falling off the bed and hitting the bed frame. Not saying that's the case for your boy, but they sure do bruise easily and fingers crossed that's all it is.
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Congrats Clarice! Keep up the good work!
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I'm so sorry. I guess I haven't kept up with the Health forum; I had no idea that Maya was ill. I'm sorry you weren't able to find a treatment for your sweet girl.
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I don't know Truman personally but it might be adolescence or an inherent part of his personality because Kili is the same way. She came home at 8 weeks and every day we worked on handling. She also had tons of medical problems and was having something done almost weekly. And she handled it all like a champ (with treats of course). She did her first conformation show at 6 months and was amazing for letting me stack her and letting the judge examine her.I'm curious about the handling issues since you've had him from when he was a puppy. When he was very young (under 6 mos old) did you guys handle him a lot? Hold him in your arms or lap, etc., including at times when he would have been excited or more energetic (ie. outside of when he was napping)? How did he react to handling then?
Then everything fell apart. After 3 more conformation shows I basically gave up. At shows she would get overwhelmed. She wouldn't let me stack her, wouldn't let the judges touch her. She went through a phase where I had to counter condition her from the beginning to allow me to trim her nails (something she'd had done twice weekly since she was 8 weeks old). At her annual vaccines she flipped her lid when I gave her vaccines and took her blood. Shortly after that she injured a leg and I ended up having to knock her out in order to take x-rays.
She is the biggest drama queen. And not for lack of handling training. She hit adolescence and suddenly every little thing was the end of the world. She is improving with age and continued work, but I do believe some of it is just part of her personality.
That may have nothing to do with Truman, but I thought I'd offer my experience. If nothing else, Alicia, know that you are not alone in this!
ETA: Spelling. Apparently my phone does not understand that conformation is a word. My pet peeve is when people say confirmation. Darn phone making me into one of those people! Lol
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I'm sorry for your sudden loss.
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Yes, absolutely, but it's the other way around. I tend to be the disciplinarian and DH is very lax with him. Then he wonders why Riley listens when I tell him to do something, but just stands there when he tells him to so the same thing.
I think the difference is tone of voice and intention. If you tell your dog to do something in a voice that says, "You will do this thing and I expect nothing else" and if there are immediate consequences for not doing this thing, i.e. getting grabbed by the collar, frog-marched off to bed and told very sternly to lie down, your dog will listen. If you tell him to do something in a voice that says, "You will do this thing but only if you feel like it, and I hope I don't sound too bossy," your dog will not listen to you. It is important that YOU follow through, not your BF. Otherwise you're reinforcing the idea that he doesn't have to listen to you, he only has to listen to your BF.
DH struggles with it too. I know he finds it frustrating. He just needs to find the Voice of Authority. He'll get there with practice, and so will you.
ETA: I'm assuming you are clearly asking things of your dog that he already knows the commands for, and that he's willfully choosing to disobey rather than simply not understanding what you want from him.
I will disagree just a bit. Tone has nothing to do with it in my opinion. DBF often sounds a lot more "no nonsense" than I do. I often sound laid back and playful, and my dogs respond best that way. When I do recalls it is generally in a high pitched "sing song" tone. Hardly the voice of authority. And yet the dogs come racing to me. They respond quickly not because I have drilled into them that they "must" but because I have turned my criteria (must) into their motivator (want to). The respond because they understand that doing so nets them something rewarding... food, a toy, playtime, praise, a chin scratch. This has happened enough that there no longer needs to be a reward every single time.
Turning on the "voice of authority" will get you nowhere. There is no special voice in training. There is just reward and consistency. And my personal opinion is that happy and playful gets you a lot further than sternness in dog training.
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I remember those photos of her being posted before and thinking what a beautiful, youthful looking dog. What a sad turn of events.
Run free sweet girl. -
I say something, it happens. DBF says something and the dogs generally try to figure out what's in it for them first. He does zero training with them. He asks them to sit every once in a blue moon and gives a treat. Of course they don't listen to him! Lol
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Teach him to wave. Requires no contact with the person but is cute and engaging. Also "shame" (cover nose/eyes with paw).
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Now you just need to get her to grab an actual tissue and hand it to you! What a useful dog she will be!
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Can't wait to see it, Jen! How exciting that you're teaching now!
Little bit of disc work.
Might make a disc dog out of her yet! -
Good job guys! Let's see some videos.
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Dew claws actually are functioning digits and should be left alone. They help stabilize the foot, grip the ground when turning, and are used to hold things the dog is chewing on. Dogs that fall through ice use their dewclaws as ice picks to drag themselves back out while dogs without are unable to save themselves.
A lot of greyhound people worry about injuries and remove them but a lot of it is each breeder's preference. Unfortunately both of mine had their dewclaws removed.
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Note: I do not off leash my greyhound in any un fenced area but we've been working on recall for emergencies and near misses like yesterday.
Awesome! Congrats on providing your dog with a safer home and you with a life of fewer heart attacks. One day you may not even consider something like what happened today as a near miss. I know I don't miss having heart attacks. And that has nothing to do with off leashing.
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We used to get our meds (Dexamethasone/Cyclosporine) compounded from one pharmacy. 10 ml cost about $100 (and it had to be kept refrigerated) and was good for 30 days (I usually used it a tad bit longer). Same thing from a different compounding pharmacy costs me $40 and doesn't need to be refrigerated, and it's best before date is 60 days after opening. Maybe you should look at a different pharmacy. Or switch to a different medication.
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Both of mine get 3 cups/day. Kili is a good 20 lbs smaller than Summit, but she is younger, more active, and still intact.
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Clarice did really well in class tonight. She's doing better with stays and tonight we introduced Down. She wants to stand up from her sit and bend over to get the bait. She will, however, allow me to pull her front legs forward to get her into the down. I'm wondering now if she will go down from a standing position easier (and if that is "allowed"?).
I prefer to ask for the down from a stand as most hounds are inclined to slide into a down from the sit. I'm not sure it makes a difference, but I like to think if I don't encourage it that they'll be less inclined. So I ask for a stand from the sit and then ask for the down from the stand.
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I remove leashes in the "calming area" (inside the double set of gates that our park has. It irritates me when people come in through the second set and then try to take the leash off. It's difficult to do because the dog is excited and is now being swarmed by all the other dogs who want to say hello. Then if it has leash reactivity it snaps. That's what the calming area is for! I generally recall Kili out of the group and wait until the dog's leash is off.
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Several things:
1. 2 months is too early to take a new dog to the dog park. You don't know her well enough to know how she will react in any given situation. And you don't have the trust and training needed to control her off leash.
Case in point: Summit is very aggressive towards huskies but is great with almost all other dogs. I didn't find that out for months after I'd had him. And by the time I was taking him places off leash near other dogs we had enough of a relationship and training that I could control him if I saw a husky approaching. If we ad run into a husky off leash in the first few months there would have been a huge dog fight.
2. Never never never NEVER muzzle a dog at the dog park. First of all, if the dog needs a muzzle to be at the dog park then it shouldn't be at the dog park. The dog park is for dogs that are good at playing and interacting with other dogs. Secondly, even a muzzled dog can do damage. And most importantly, your dog has no defence if another dog attacks.
3. Dogs are dogs. Part of their communication involves growling, showing teeth, and snapping. Summit snaps at dogs that try to mount him. That's how he tells them "f- off!" and is well within his right to do so. Kili loves pretty much everyone, but she has snipped at the occasional dog t the dog park for getting too personal in her girl bits. Again, completely warranted. You need to recognize whether a snap is truly aggressive or simply the dog trying to communicate a valid point.
What Are You Working On?
in Training and Behavior discussion
Posted
Yup, that's what we used. Great for teaching entries and I like having the dogs figure it out themselves. I don't think it's so good for footwork though. Kili is just starting to sort hers out.