Post by forestfalcon on Aug 11, 2008 18:43:51 GMT -5
So I've had him for almost a week now, thought I'd post pics of him. We're just working on getting him in the water at this point. He is great at being recalled. He really has that down!
These are pics I took today of him ravaging his mermaid toy. He's already gotten to second base with it.
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
hes so cute! looks like an awsome dog. already to 2nd base?! you better get him fixed before he makes it all the way then well have golden/mermaid mixes running or swimming around . well i hope your having fun with him again he looks great
Look at dem feet! He's going to be a big boy! Great lookin' dog and good to hear about the recall, that's the most important command a dog can know ^_^
If you dislike someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. --Jack Handy
Look at dem feet! He's going to be a big boy! Great lookin' dog and good to hear about the recall, that's the most important command a dog can know ^_^
Thanks, Ally! He's the best dog....with one catch. He doesn't get along with other dogs. they try to play with him, he immediately gets aggressive. He's good with kids, adults, cats, even our lovebird, everything but dogs. Anyone have any tips? We start puppy kindergarten next week.
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
He doesn't get along with other dogs. they try to play with him, he immediately gets aggressive. He's good with kids, adults, cats, even our lovebird, everything but dogs. Anyone have any tips? We start puppy kindergarten next week.
First of all, let me start by saying your new boy is a BEAUTY. Those paws, wow he's gunna be big.
(the following is JUST my opinion, feel free to respectfully disagree)
When it comes to identifying and dealing with dog behavior issues, all it takes is paying attention and consistent correction and redirection of energy (mental/physical).
1) if the dog is doing something you don't like (being aggressive to other dogs, chewing shoes, whining when left alone, begging, etc), are you providing negative reinforcement so the behavior diminishes and positive reinforcement when the dog IS doing what you want so those behaviors become more frequent. 1a) The most important thing about providing positive and negative reinforcement is TIMING, correct the escalation to the undesired behavior before the behavior gets out of control (correct before aggressiveness turns into nipping or barking or attack)
There are loads of tell-tail signs that will tell you if your dog is paying undue attention to another dog. ears perked up, shoulder and back hair raising, tail lifted above horizontal, shoulders not vertically over the paws (posturing); and most of these signs of excitement and aggression can be identified and corrected from a very safe distance to other dogs/people/etc.
Another good guideline is to NEVER take your dog to meet new dogs unless he is TIRED.. run the hell out of him before going to the dog park (or puppy school!). If he's tired, he's much less likely to get over-excited when in the presence of other dogs.
How you feel about the situation is very likely to transfer down the leash to your companion; dogs can be very in tune with their owners (hunting dogs have to be), and if you're anxious or hesitant in a situation, its likely that your feelings will be observed and mimicked by your k9 friend.
Never introduce new dogs to each other on "hostile ground", always make the effort to have dogs meet in a neutral area (the park, the next street over, etc); somewhere that neither dog has the feeling that the other is invading their "turf" until AFTER their friends
Well, thats all i have for now. Good luck at puppy class!
He doesn't get along with other dogs. they try to play with him, he immediately gets aggressive. He's good with kids, adults, cats, even our lovebird, everything but dogs. Anyone have any tips? We start puppy kindergarten next week.
First of all, let me start by saying your new boy is a BEAUTY. Those paws, wow he's gunna be big.
(the following is JUST my opinion, feel free to respectfully disagree)
When it comes to identifying and dealing with dog behavior issues, all it takes is paying attention and consistent correction and redirection of energy (mental/physical).
1) if the dog is doing something you don't like (being aggressive to other dogs, chewing shoes, whining when left alone, begging, etc), are you providing negative reinforcement so the behavior diminishes and positive reinforcement when the dog IS doing what you want so those behaviors become more frequent. 1a) The most important thing about providing positive and negative reinforcement is TIMING, correct the escalation to the undesired behavior before the behavior gets out of control (correct before aggressiveness turns into nipping or barking or attack)
There are loads of tell-tail signs that will tell you if your dog is paying undue attention to another dog. ears perked up, shoulder and back hair raising, tail lifted above horizontal, shoulders not vertically over the paws (posturing); and most of these signs of excitement and aggression can be identified and corrected from a very safe distance to other dogs/people/etc.
Another good guideline is to NEVER take your dog to meet new dogs unless he is TIRED.. run the hell out of him before going to the dog park (or puppy school!). If he's tired, he's much less likely to get over-excited when in the presence of other dogs.
How you feel about the situation is very likely to transfer down the leash to your companion; dogs can be very in tune with their owners (hunting dogs have to be), and if you're anxious or hesitant in a situation, its likely that your feelings will be observed and mimicked by your k9 friend.
Never introduce new dogs to each other on "hostile ground", always make the effort to have dogs meet in a neutral area (the park, the next street over, etc); somewhere that neither dog has the feeling that the other is invading their "turf" until AFTER their friends
Well, thats all i have for now. Good luck at puppy class!
Thanks for the advice, JonnyG. We took him running at the park night before last, and then our friends brought their 1 year old Lab. They actually played, and I provided some positive reinforcement during play, the only time Oliver became hostile was when the frisbee came out. Apparently, Oliver is a resource guarder. I'm not really sure how to correct resource guarding. When he'd stand on the frisbee and growl, I told him 'no' and took the frisbee away...not really sure what else to do in that situation.
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
Apparently, Oliver is a resource guarder. I'm not really sure how to correct resource guarding. When he'd stand on the frisbee and growl, I told him 'no' and took the frisbee away...not really sure what else to do in that situation.
Disclaimer: I'm not a professional animal trainer/handler, but these techniques have worked for me and i advise only as personal experience and encourage you to do your own research and/or to consult a professional before attempting any training steps.
So, here's some steps i did with my dogs to prevent them from "resource guarding" when eating, playing, etc. I'm sure you can start this training immediately with good results: 1) Push their limits, YOU are the master. Some breeds are natural resource guarders (breeds with prey instincts mostly). Even before they become resource guards, push their limits of comfort; show them that YOU are the master, and THEY have to listen to you... ALWAYS. Start at feeding time, put a small amount of food in their bowl and sit on the ground next to it while they eat; if they are OK with that, then put some more into the bowl and pat them while eating.. do this for a few days.. Tip: if your dog is still leery of you being near the food while he's eating, try adding small bits of chopped up chicken to the bowl when he doesnt react to your "interference", like a bonus treat for being such a good boy (this also teaches that you dont steal food permanently or interrupt to steal food, but that you may interrupt to ADD food or to take food away - that comes back with more/better goodies).
Once they are ok with you touching them anywhere while eating (this may take a while, days/weeks, depending on how far into the guarding mentality they have gotten), you should start getting them comfortable with you walking up to them while they eat, walk up fast, slow, casual; avoid eye contact or talking to the dog while you're doing this.. it should be as casual and unexpected as possible.. and there should be NO reaction from the dog when you pat him or put your hand into the bowl. Make sure the dog is OK with you putting your hand into the bowl, taking food away, putting your hand into his mouth, taking the bowl away, anything YOU want to do to push his limits... (use the food from the bowl as a "treat" when doing a command before you give it back; this enforces the "nothing in life is free" mentality and, with regularity, make sure the dog knows that he gets food/love/attention/etc ONLY when you want him to have it and ONLY for doing things that make you happy).
Once your dog is OK with you doing these things, start having other family members do it, then strangers, then see if you can introduce his "dog friends" to sit in the same room while you do it (15ft away, then 10, then 5, then VERY close).. make sure the "dog friend" is fully fed so they dont get hungry and try to steal food... Start SLOW, and make sure the other dog is VERY well behaved.
Once your dog can be fully comfortable with you and another dog in the vicinity while eating, start doing those "limit pushing" techniques while playing with his favorite toy. Agressive tendancies with toys can usually be solved by showing that you're the dominant party, and that even though you may take the toy away (temporarily), that you'll return the toy AND give a treat (this is called the Trade Off method).
If you have successfully gotten your dog to be calm while around you and other dogs using the above methods, yet your dog is still aggressive while playing with other dogs the key is usually supervised socialization with dogs that have no history of aggression toward dogs; while getting positive reinforcement from you for good behavior, your dog will learn that in place of getting treats, he'll be able to play with the other dogs (which is usually a treat in itself to some dogs).. this comes with socialization and the knowledge that the other dogs aren't trying to steal from him, but rather join him in playing.
There's similar but different training techniques to be used if your dog is ONLY aggressive while playing with toys that are "squishy" or squeak. Tennis balls, squeaky toys, anything that gives the illusion of "biting into it"; if your dog is possessive or excessively focused on the toy (most often occurs in dogs with prey instincts), your dog has learned to channel his prey instincts into "killing" the toy... I suggest a professional trainer at this point, as i have no personal experience in that specific training venue. Hunting training may be a viable alternative training method to curtail this prey instinct, as it will properly channel the prey/hunt instinct in a way that is positive for both you and the dog.
JonnyG had some good advice. The neutral location is a good idea, and the tiring him out first. They do feel your energy right up the leash too. If you've got that puppy wound up tight on it's leash, wrapped up against your leg fearing for his life, you very well could build aggression over time. That's why when it seems relatively safe, I'd take them off leash completely if you want to run them together. A couple questions for you:
When you say he immediately gets aggressive, what do you mean?
If it's just that he's initially nervous with the situation of another dog being there, that's natural. That's a little puppy you got there. I wouldn't worry about it too much, unless they're actually hurting each other. You can keep the two dogs near each other, but not able to reach each other at first, until they settle down a bit. You can run the two dogs in parallel fence runs next to each other for a while, if you have something like that available, until they feel comfortable with each other and then let them in together. Be the calming voice in the experience to reassure your puppy, if need be. The more time your puppy spends with other dogs though, the more comfortable he's going to get. That's if it's really important for your dog to socialize great with other dogs. I've never socialized my dogs with other dogs in the past, unless I had to. I would ask what your purpose is in socializing with other dogs. Are you planning on hunting that dog with other dogs? Do you plan on having regular playtime with friend's dogs, simply because that's something you enjoy watching? If it's just for fear of ever being able to have him near other dogs, I'll tell you that later in life, if I've had to introduce a second dog into my family, or whatever, I've never had a problem with introducing at that time. I've found that the drawback to socializing with other dogs is it takes my puppy's focus off of me. Why play with me when they have a four legged buddy that runs 3 times as fast as I can? That's just my observation though.
What did you mean when you said "Oliver became hostile" with the frisbee?
Guarding his toy in play, I would say, is nothing to worry about in itself. My dog(s) can guard their toys all they want as long as there's not true aggression being demonstrated. As long as I'm seeing a demonstration of possession without aggression, everything's going good. I just want to be able to stop the guarding when I decide. In my puppy training, the rule is that you encourage possession. Possession and aggression are two totally different things. Possession builds prey drive. I want them to be confident little prey driven monsters. You can then use that drive to train, using the toy as the tool for control. It's not a bad thing at all, as long as it has some rules. If he's snapping at you though, that's a different story. Food guarding is never good, because it always shows itself to be aggression.
Forestfalcon, I edited some of what I said to see if it makes more sense now. Feel free to elaborate on my questions. How's the puppy been doing since?