Too Much Dog for Me?

If you are wondering what is the right dog for you, this is the place to be. In this introductory forum we talk about topics such as breed vs. mix, size, age, grooming, breeders, shelters, rescues as well as requirements for exercise, space and care. No question is too silly here. This particular forum is for getting and giving helpful, nice advice. It is definitely not a forum for criticizing someone else's opinion, knowledge or advice. This forum is all about tail wagging and learning.

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Bosley

Will Work For- Food

Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 8:54pm PST


	I agree with Quincy - it sounds like your dog needs some good, hard exercise as well as something to stimulate his mind and keep him busy. To be crated much of the day and then only given a 30 minute walk is not going to be nearly enough for a young, energetic dog. Is there a place where he can safely run and burn off energy? How about doggie day care a couple times a week? Have you done any mental stimulation games with him like scenting games, trick training or hide and seek? He likes his food, so start with that. You can hide his meal around the house or yard and make him search for it. Try some tracking in a field by you first laying a track with cookies in the footsteps and then having him follow the track. Simple things like that but stuff that will help burn off some of that adolescent energy.

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Opheila

It ain't over- till the fat- kitty sings

Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 9:17pm PST


	Just a humble opinion, it doesn't seem like the cat thing might be too bad if she's not giving all the cats a hard time. We have some fearful cats in the menagerie that get chased, then we have some cats that give Callie the death stare if he looks at them...and he walks waaay around them. If the cat isn't being chased and HURT, things might be workable...jus sayin

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Quincy

We don't doodle!

Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 9:25pm PST


	Stella, you look JUST like a lab/poodle mix , okay, I'll say it, a labadoodle to me. Probably the result of two f2 ones being bred together. We have several clients here that are and that look just like your photos!!!

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Stella

Waiting for- Treats

Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 9:31pm PST


	Rain, Thanks for the doggie compliment. Your dog looks like a sweetheart too! I'm trying a combo collar now, but not sure how I feel about making the leap to head collar. I read a few reviews about the GL and will keep it in mind. Bosley, I've not tried scenting games, but she does immediately run to the cat vomit when it's available! I do treat balls for her evening meal, but haven't tried the tracking stuff but sounds like a great idea. She does get to spend several hours outside of her crate in the evenings and sometimes during the day, plus time roaming around outside during the day and frequent potty breaks. We have a very large yard, but she refuses to stay out there without me unless she has a special treat to occupy her, like a cow or pig part! If she's alone she gets a bit hysterical to come back inside and destroys my window screens and disturbs the cats who are usually resting on the other side of the windows. I think she thinks it's fun to paw at them through the glass because they can't scratch her! This also brings me to my point of her thinking she needs us to go with her on potty breaks. I guess it's good to know whether she has gone or not, but sometimes I wish I didn't have to stand around in the cold waiting on her to go potty. I want her to be more independent I guess. I might look into doggie daycare. She only has one other dog friend to play with and he's not always available. Anyone have thoughts on whether adding another dog would calm her down, or if it would be a big mistake? I tend to think that if I can't control one dog, I shouldn't add another. By the way, there are three photos of Stella on her page now! I'll add more soon. Any thoughts on her breed?

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Tiller- (Skansen's- Ira in the M

I DO Exist...To- Drive You Batty

Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 10:19pm PST


	Maybe I'll go back and forth with Quincy, who is a groomer as well as a breeder. Doesn't that coat look hard to you? I would say Schnoodle? That hock reminds me of a Giant, but it could be the angle. Toto handles a lot of dogs though. I'd defer to her, but I am looking at that coat and thinking Schnoodle. I do agree with Toto re the part Lab, which would be consistent with some of the behaviors, also. I know that Rain dog....she is my downstairs neighbor I don't like gentle leaders, but I am a stuckup purist I knew her before the gentle leader, and I saw it on her the first day and thereafter. Like PRESTO, and she doesn't pull. When I have to walk her at times, when her mom is away, I just use the flat collar and it may take her a while to even realize it and start pulling. A couple of things, Stella. I am on the case re the trainer. I've contacted three people in your state who I respect and are active with their trainers. Give me some time, I will give you a good lead. I think I stumbled on the person who board trains, and if I am right about who it is, I would avoid it. I'll find you someone solid, I promise! I will say to you.....doggie daycare can do WONDERS. We adopted out (I co-run a rescue) a Pit Bull puppy a couple of years back, and she was a bit of an issue. She had a lot of energy, no social graces, and was far more of a worrisome dog than Stella is. Doggie daycare majorly helped her. I know it's an expense, but it's not just a day out for her, but a day off for you, and your dog comes home just leveled and satiated. Dogs also do educate each other. If I am right about the Schnoodle thing, Schnauzers have bullying tendencies, and getting in with some good players may make the cats less entertaining. You don't know the background on your puppy. Those separated from their litter too early sometimes have more challenges, longer roads in their social education. I'd totally recommend it. I do hope you are feeling a little bit better. This will get better. There will be some degree of zany to deal with while she is still young, but the crazed greetings, hard pulling and cat stuff are things you can get sorted. You really haven't said anything about her that is in any way behavioral or extreme. It'll be ok. Thanks for showing up here!

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Stella

Waiting for- Treats

Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 11:17pm PST


	Ophella and Quincy, I think you posted while I was writing before. I'm starting to feel better about the cat thing. I was going on the assumption that if she doesn't ignore the cats it's bad. Maybe I'm expecting too much from her. Quincy, you could be right about the labradoodle thing. She's not so curly as many of them, but she does resemble some of them in the face! Thanks Tiller and everyone for making me feel so welcome here. This is a very active and helpful forum! Tiller, I will pmail you on the trainer person who is supposed to come out next week to observe us together. It could be the same you're thinking of. Did you scroll down on my page to see all three photos of Stella? Stella's hair is rough, not soft, very wiry. She barely sheds at all. I do hope I don't have a Giant Schnoodle! They get very large. Though I've always loved schnauzers. I'd rather Stella be mixed with schnauzer than Lab, but with my previous observations of these breeds, I'd have to say she acts more Lab-like. This is my first dog, but I did work in an animal hospital kennel for a year a few years back. I walked many dogs, and none of them ever pulled me like Stella, except one pit bull puppy. I really want to contact the shelter that had her before the rescue group to see if I can trace her origins back from the person who surrendered her. I really suspect a breeder on this, but I doubt the shelter would give me that info. I'm unsure of those DNA tests too, but will probably end up trying one!

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Happy

The Boy Wonder

Barked: Fri Jan 4, '13 12:07am PST


	My vote goes to Giant/poodle cross too. I have a friend who has a giant schoodle she's training as her service dog. A lot of the behaviors you describe remind me of him, and he also get's the mini irish wolfhound comments a lot. Granted she's been hand stripping him since she got him so his coat is a lot closer. Other than that everyone has given you some of the same advice that I would have. She's a puppy and will take a while to get where you want her and she sounds like she needs more exercise and mental stimulation. I'm not a fan of gentle leaders, or other head collars but mostly I'm not a fan of having to train my dog to tolerate a device to make them walk better when I could just spend that energy making my dog walk better on a leash. A lot of luck your way from Happy and I, and just have to say Stella is adorable.

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Toto, CD,- RN, CGC

We don't do- doodles!!!

Barked: Fri Jan 4, '13 5:10am PST


	Often the outer guard hairs in anything past f2 generation labradoodles ends up being very coarse/stiff. Sadly, there are several people local who keep breeding them and once they get past the first generation, pretty much anything goes with the coat. We have some that it's impossible to tell they aren't all labrador and then littermates who have a perfect "schnauzer" coat, complete with all the hair growing inside their ears, as well as ones who are soft and silky with long, straight, "setter" coats. Stella, as described by her owner, certainly SOUNDS like a labradoodle!!!!

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Kalisi

cum cibum- fluitante, vita- bonum est

Barked: Fri Jan 4, '13 7:14am PST


	I just read through your first post and saw you actually mentioned what I asked about in mine... Sorry about my reading comprehension, gosh. You've gotten a lot of responses, but I'll give you some more. At least where I live, the roads are icy right now, and I'd be afraid of slipping and accidentally jerking the head with a gentle leader. I'm more fond of front-attaching harnesses. I would interrupt any cat stalking behaviour by leading her to her spot, if she has one. If not, I'd make one - just a heap of blankets and a rawhide bone in the living room or the hallway - then eventually you can teach a "go to your spot" command. Food motivated sounds like lab, though she does definitely resemble a pointer. Well - she looks like a wolfhound too, so who knows... When you say you want her to entertain herself for a bit... well, she is, by bothering the cats. I would upgrade to ALL her meals served through some kind of brain workout toy, or just toss it all around the garden so she gets to sniff it out. Nosework is great for exhausting them if they have a bit of a brain. You could also work on impulse control by teaching her to wait for your approval before she eats a treat lying in front of her. Then with time, you can tell her to wait if she's starting on the cats, and reward her when she doesn't. If she's part schnauzer, those are high octane dogs, so I'd up the physical exercise as well. Buying a longline and letting her run amok in a field is likely way cheaper than a "doggie daycare" (I've never heard of the concept?). How long have you had her? If she's clingy to you, she may just take a few months to get used to the new environment. It's normal with puppies to not want to be separated from their humans up until they're 3-4 months, I'm thinking it may be the same, to a degree, with a shelter dog? Anyway... I'm going to take my 8 month old on her second 40 min walk today, with your dog. These emoticons are fun.

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Rain

The Biggest Wag

moderator

Barked: Fri Jan 4, '13 9:21am PST


	@ Happy - "I'm not a fan of having to train my dog to tolerate a device to make them walk better when I could just spend that energy making my dog walk better on a leash." ...I've strapped a Gentle Leader onto several dogs for the first time they were exposed to it. There really is no "training" involved. If there were, I probably wouldn't be able to use one. I have little training skill.

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