Postings by Bella

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Bella 1240031     Barked: Sat May 11, '13 8:30am PST  Quite frankly, that doesn't sound reasonable for any puppy, who are known to be curious and excited about other dogs. It doesn't even sound reasonable for an adult dog. Dogs are social and get excited and sometimes that excitement is hard to wrangle. While I agree the dogs should adjust to each other, it doesn't seem reasonable in 5 minutes unless there's been some kind of movement or distraction. The class we took second (the better one) started every class with circling around the room several times, separately, on a leash, following behind each other, but not close enough for contact. The dogs could smell each other and the room itself (which must also smell like other dogs from other classes) and could get used to the space and do something with all the energy they were bringing to being with other dogs. It was a great strategy. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Bella 1240031     Barked: Sat May 11, '13 8:24am PST  Have you tried teaching the "touch" command? Our dog is super high energy and gets excited when people come over. While we haven't harnessed all of that energy, one thing that helps is a touch command. We say touch and put our hand out and she touches it with her nose. We do this several times (alternating hands and changing if the hand is high or low) and then try a sit or down command. I think it gives her something to focus on while still allowing her to be a bit energetic and responsive. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Dog Reactive in Class, Instructor Not Helpful

Bella 1240031     Barked: Thu May 9, '13 2:18pm PST  I would speak to the owner and request a refund... at least for the other classes. The owner deserves to know what is going on at their business and you deserve your money back. We had a similar situation and I wish I had done it differently. We took our dog to general obedience class soon after we got her (within a week). The instructor was very demanding and made us feel terrible. She labeled Bella reactive the first night when Bella got between two litter mates (unbeknownst to us) and was aggressive. I wish we had walked away that night. She was rough with our dog, who did listen but was unsure around other dogs and behaved poorly. I did speak to the owner after about the 4th week and explained my concerns. She spoke to the instructor, who decided to just ignore us for the remainder of the class (4 more weeks). We did learn some things, but I still feel bad for subjecting our dog to the treatment by the trainer and the chaotic class (8 dogs, all who were unsure around other dogs). We recently took a second class at a different establishment with just two other dogs and it went much better for all. The instructor was positive and reassuring about our dog's aggressive issues and was always kind, even when our dog behaved poorly. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > x post from Travel .... Travel Anxiety

Bella 1240031     Barked: Sun May 5, '13 8:50pm PST  Typically she is in the backseat of our sedan and in the trunk of our hatchback. We don't restrain her, as that made things really bad... crying, barking, straining to get out. We have tried crating her in the car, but that didn't seem to help. She also hates the windows being open... sigh. We love our dog, but the car anxiety has been a real struggle. We've tried the thundershirt and some treats that are supposed to be calming. We haven't tried dramamine or benadryl or the collar. At this point, we're happy that she jumps into the car on her own and doesn't always resist when being led to the car. The drooling is an issue and at times, she throws up (I think from drooling sooo much). We've gotten really good at covering the car and cleaning up drool. Target sells a cheap waterproof matteress cover that we've purchased that helps. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Windows open in house?

Bella 1240031     Barked: Fri May 3, '13 4:10pm PST  Love the idea of opening the top of the windows... why didn't I think of that? my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Bella 1240031     Barked: Wed May 1, '13 4:38pm PST  As the weather warms, I'm wondering what others do with their windows when they leave their dog home alone. We usually have ours open to allow air flow, but I'm worried about leaving them that way when we leave. We have screens, but they wouldn't hold back our 55 pound dog. What do others do? my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > x post from Travel .... Travel Anxiety

Bella 1240031     Barked: Wed May 1, '13 4:35pm PST  Unfortunately, we have the same problem. We've had our dog for a year and a half and she drools like crazy on car trips, even short ones. We find tiring her out before a trip helps. Sometimes, having a bed in the car helps her as well. Our vet says she'll grow out of it... but I'm not sure. It does stink. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Has an electric fence worked for you? Training advice?

Bella 1240031     Barked: Wed May 1, '13 4:31pm PST  We just got an invisible fence (buried electric line around perimeter of our backyard). We installed ourselves. The first week was terrible. Our dog got shocked several times early on and had a hard time even being in the yard. We were ready to throw it out. We both tried it and while the shock wasn't strong, our pup is sensitive to any correction (even yelling). We went back to the beginning of the training in the owner's manual and slowly gained her trust again. She has learned the flags mean stop and has learned the boundary. I think the fact she felt the shock helped her learn the boundary, as she never respected it before this with our other boundary training. Since that first week, We've been pleasantly surprised by how much she has obeyed it. Our primary goal is to be able to leave our dog unleashed when we're in the yard with her. The shape of our property would have made a physical fence challenging and I've seen her jump 5+ feet in the air, so I wasn't convinced a physical fence would work either. Even with the invisible fence, I believe she would leave the yard due to her prey drive, which is why we don't leave her unattended. The second week, she saw a fox in the woods behind our house (outside the fence line) and went straight for it... no care for the shock. We got her back in the yard, but obviously, had she been home alone or unattended, she would have been gone. Many of our friends with less prey driven breeds have great success with electric fences. I think it is a great fit for many dogs and an ok fit for some. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Weimaraner > HELPPPPPPPPP

Bella 1240031     Barked: Sat Apr 13, '13 2:51pm PST  A friend had a similar issue with her puppy. It turned out the dog had a urinary tract infection. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Bella 1240031     Barked: Thu Feb 28, '13 6:14pm PST  We feed 4Health after switching from Purina Pro. It is sold at Tractor Supply and costs $30ish for a 35 pound bag. It isn't the "best" dog food out there, but it is corn free and seems much better than what she used to get with Purina. We've seen great results in comparison to Purina- better coat, less stomach issues, fewer ear infections. We really liked reading the reviews on Dog Food Advisor to help us decide. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/4health-dog-food-dry/ my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

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