JMFS

I've determined his other dog's name is Digger because we heard the same chant the other day, only this time it was Digger getting the royal treatment. If I didn't think I'd end up bopping the man on the nose with a rolled up newspaper I'd go talk to him. :D I would also have to go open the gate from the garage and by the time I did that ol' Jake and Digger would be in my yard and I can only imagine the yelling that would ensue! I'm trying to think of a way to help him because we need to stop the pups from crossing the road. For now I've avoided, as much as possible, letting our pooches out while his are out. Gertie, on the other hand, has learned the value of freeze dried beef, liver, and salmon (omg the fish is beyond pungent but she Loves it). I've returned to the silent whistle training as we're often up into the wee hours of the morning. Never mind the other neighbors' confused roosters are having a crow-off at 2:30 in the morning; I don't want to be out there calling or lip whistling for Gertrude if those flippin' roosters happen to be quiet. :D

I promise, it gets better! The only thing Gertie "steals" any more is Abbi's toy after Abbi has abandoned it and the husband hasn't put it away. After the nose in the peanut butter incident we had a Frito fiasco and then she licked my husband's sandwich. Since then we haven't really had any problems that come to mind. Maturity and training will curb the behavior. :) My husband has even braved leaving his steak on the coffee table with Gertie on the couch and she sniffs, but she doesn't touch. I wouldn't leave her for an extended time because that's too much temptation, but we can leave her alone with food long enough for him to retrieve whatever item he forgot.

Aw, such a handsome fella! I'm sure Adrienne will have some good advice for you and Hank. It's terrible he went through such a trying time, but he's lucky to have you who wants to enhance his quality of life. :) I have a clingy pup, too. She's getting better as I apply techniques I've learned here. Here's a link to the advice Adrienne gave me, it should be a good starting point for you and Handsome, er, Hank. :) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?130-Thundershirt Post #8 has the details We have a dog picture thread here, if you want to show us more of that good lookin' guy: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?259-Canine-Picture-Thread

Aw, if I told you all the trials I had with Momo you'd marvel that I even entertained the thought of getting another dog! You don't suck at it, you're simply new to Harley's particular set of challenges. Dogs are far more complex than we think they are! :) This is beyond my scope and has me perplexed, so I'll offer encouragement instead. Harley is fortunate to have someone who cares enough to try! With Adrienne's help and some patience with yourself Harley will be in excellent hands!

Aw, not a failure! The fact that you're seeking help means you're on the road to success. :) I am poking my head in to offer encouragement. My older brother's Golden, Stella, was a devil when they first got her. The nipping was out of control. My sister-in-law would walk away and Stella would pull back her lips, furrow her brow, and bite my SIL on the leg. Evil little monster, lol. She was about 5 months old at that point so you're at the stage that they were. I can tell you that now Stella is an amazing Retriever. She and my younger brother's dog, Gordo, were quite the pair during a hunting trip they took this past Winter. She's all grown up into a fine young lady and they did not have the same guidance you're going to have so I can only imagine Abby is going to be an amazing companion for both you and your spouse. :) The day one of our shelters take in a Golden I don't care What my husband says, I'm rescuing - I adore the breed.

If you have the means to cordon off an area to practice training that might help. We're on 1.3 acres and we have a front, back, and middle yard. The middle yard is where the pups can roam free without supervision because we are able to manage that area. Another thought would be putting him on a tie out so you only have to manage him within a 50 ft range until he's got the hang of "don't eat the yard." On occasion Gertie will "forget" that nighttime outings are business only and I'll put her on our 50 ft lead for the next few nights. That's helped in reminding her nighttime is Not play time. Like you I don't care to be chasing after, well, anything! He'll give you cues when he's getting tired or bored of training. He'll seem to lose interest or to forget everything y'all have been working on. I've learned here that the key is to stop the training before they get bored, frustrated, or over threshold. You're absolutely correct, age and consistent work will pay off. I thought Gertrude was untrainable - she had Zero house manners when we came home with her. 18 months'ish later and she's trusted to be alone for long periods of time in managed rooms (definitely Not my yarn room - she's a fiber addict like me :D), she listens far better than she used to, she stays at the door until I give her the okay, and her recall has improved immensely. We didn't get there by me sitting on my duff, that's for sure! There's been a whole lotta work happening to get to that point and I'm thrilled with our progress.

That clever boy has you trained! I know it's easier to give him what he wants, but to nip it in the bud you're going to need to do adjust when the reward is given. When Harley is Quiet he should be rewarded. Eventually he's going to figure out silence = reward. I've conditioned Gertrude to expect good things when the waste collector comes by, for example. Instead of her barking at them she now watches them silently. I did this by using Adrienne's "look at that" game. I sat at the window with Gertie and when the waste collectors came by I'd ask her, "who's that?" When she looked at them I put a treat on the window sill so she could eat it while still watching them. It took time but she couldn't care one lick about those guys now. That's a place to start - think of a situation where you could have Harley look at something he'd normally bark at and when he's about to bark, give him a treat. Timing is key. You don't want to do it as he's barking or he'll think bark = treat. If you miss the cue you can treat him after he's been quiet for a couple seconds. I follow up with "good quiet!" Gertie has a little cheek puff and head lift that happens when she's about to bark so I watch for that and give her a treat before she can get the sound out. There's a post around here somewhere about a time Adrienne had to help a gal with her dog barking at her boyfriend. By ignoring the behavior he's getting to rehearse it, which reinforces it so it becomes more and more ingrained. I have to dash now, but if Adrienne doesn't beat me to it I'll dig up some posts for you because I know there are a couple specific to your situation with the barking. I'm leaving the bullying issue up to the expert. :)

This morning my neighbor, whose yard is without a fence, had his two dogs out. For the second morning in a row it's been at the same time as Gertie's regular potty break. His one dog putters around close to his house, but little Jake is inquisitive. Gertrude is getting better with not barking at people through the fence, but she's still a work in progress so she runs up to the fence and gives a few barks. I calmly say, Gertie, potty. Wait 30 seconds, Gertie, potty. She does. Then it's back to the fence line to chuff. Gertrude Marie, poop (the things we say for all to hear!). 30 seconds go by, Gertrude MArie (the "uh oh, better listen for sure" version - working on phasing that out), and she goes to do her business. Now she's ignoring Jake and the neighbor, who is Repeatedly saying, "Jake, Jake, Jake, get over here Jake, Jake!!!" She trots over to the Other neighbor's area and chuffs at a pool float he has on the ground, I suppose it disturbed her. I calmly and quietly say, "Gertie, come on," she does her "I don't hear you" thing so I say it excitedly, but still quietly, catch her eye and motion her over and we go inside. Neighbor is still chanting the Jake mantra. Now we're inside and that little stinker, Jake (not the neighbo, is at our gate sniffing around. Neighbor is standing in his yard, hands on his hips and I can only imagine he's Really hollerin' at poor Jake now. Gertie recall doesn't occur just because that's who she is. No no, I used to be a chanter myself because that girl ignored the daylights out of me. With the advice here and great gobs of effort on my part, not to mention looking and sounding so very ridiculous numerous times, I now have a pup who Mostly recalls quickly. We'll continue to work on it. I wanted to illustrate the differences in technique, though. I didn't have to raise my voice or repeat myself continuously to get Gertie to come back to me, meantime the neighbor is raising a ruckus and getting zero results (and likely getting frustrated). I will give him credit for not running after Jake, which could have made matters worse and turned it into a game of chase for Jake. Our street isn't very busy but some of our neighbors have a need for speed and Fly down our unmarked narrow street. I sure hope little Jake learns recall sooner than later - he had to cross the street to get to our gate - and training could very well save his life.

I can put your mind at ease about acorns. Momo used to eat them like candy and I asked my Veterinarian. She gave the green light saying they weren't harmful. The pine related items, on the other hand, might be concerning as pine is toxic to pooches. Have you practiced leave and drop? Here are the training lessons for those two: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ Another option would be to redirect his attention to something that's okay. With Gertrude I can start pretending like I'm digging in the yard and I start making high pitched excited noises. Dang near every time she'll abandon what she's doing and come over to investigate. Another distraction tactic I use is to start running away from her. I have a high success rate of her following me because dogs love to chase. Then there's the flirt pole option: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?216-Flirt-Pole&highlight=flirt One more option is having high value treats on hand - the ones he really goes gaga over - to get him to leave the other, less tasty, items alone.

I'm willing to bet she's unaware of her size rather than behaving jealously. Dogs are better than humans in that way. :D Momo is constantly stepping on my feet, utterly unaware or not caring that his claws are puncturing my skin. Do you know if Bella was socialized before coming to you? It's been said around here often that pups learn to handicap themselves with their litter mates. That means when Dog A bites Dog B too hard, Dog B withdraws from play and Dog A is like, "hey, why'd we stop?" Eventually Dog A figures out Dog B doesn't like being bitten so hard and Dog A learns to withhold its zeal aka self-handicapping. I'm pretty sure I got that right - Adrienne will clean up anything I misstated. :D Dogs don't generally get their feelings hurt the way people do, either. They Can be jealous, but it's more of a resource guarding than an Eeyore "okay, I'll just be over here until someone wants to love me," situation. For instance, when I was petting Momo one day Gertie came over to join in and Mo wasn't having it - those were His scratches - and he grumped at Gertie. She got the hint and went away. I stopped loving on Mo, though, because I was not going to reward him for being rude, He soon got the idea, "when I snarl at the interloper I stop getting attention, but if I let the snot-nosed brat get pets, too, I get even More lovin'." I was talking to someone the other day about Great Pyrenees. His stories are inline with your description of the breed. :D He said they'll put a leash on the dogs, try to move them, give up, come back 20 minutes later and the dogs are still in the same spot. Add to that the Labrador exuberance and you've got quite a mix - free-thinking And free-spirit! Does Bella enjoy chewing on Kongs or some other kind of solo activity? She could do that while you're working with Charlie. Dogs with something to do generally don't mind if you're not paying attention to them. There's a picture thread - feel free to post a pic of your pooches. I'm curious to know what Bella looks like with those two breeds and I bet Charlie is a handsome fella. :)

Then it definitely wasn't here that I read it! :D It's possible I misunderstood (wouldn't be the first time!), or the commenter did.

:o Hannah's eyes are Gorgeous! Remie is trying to pull off that "who, me?" look. So nice to put the pups' faces with their names! Thank you. :)

I can share some non-food rewards that work with Gertrude. I'm lessening the number of treats she gets because something said here or elsewhere regarding Service Dogs piqued my interest. The comment was that Service Dogs don't get rewarded with treats, but instead are given affection. I've been experimenting with Gertie and sure enough, she's happy to recall for chin / ear scratches or being brushed. Flirt pole is a big one, too, unless she's already played with it. Like your pup, once Gertie is bored with something she's done. Another thing that works for her is enthusiasm. The more animated and cheery I am, the happier she is to comply. I feel ridiculous, but it's working so the neighbors can deal with it - they should be minding their own business anyway. I do use treats for the tough stuff like drop . . . that one is still a work in progress. One benefit of not using treats is that I don't have to carry the darn things around all the time. She'll respond quicker to treats than the rest, dogs in general are slaves to their stomachs after all, but I'm okay with it taking longer to reinforce the behaviors with non-food rewards. I taught her "paw" and "other" (left and right paws) without treats so I know it's doable to go sans food motivation. I've also been experimenting with her meals. Gertie has anal gland issues and super itchy skin. I've nearly eradicated the itching, but her bowel movements are still tricky. She gets oatmeal, chamomile, and fish oil with a bit of dry food in the morning, wet food, chamomile, and a bit of dry food at night. Our ingredients are nowhere near as varied as your menu as I can use pre-made dog food, but still I understand the struggle of finding the perfect blend. She also gets pumpkin and psyllium husk in an attempt to harden her stool. Oh, what about freeze dried liver? It's an organ meat rather than muscle so it may or may be processed differently by her system. Bonus - the only ingredient is the liver itself so there aren't other variables at play.

You could ask local Veterinarians for a referral as well, or boarding facilities, or even groomers. Groomers may actually be a good start - their job causes reaction in dogs so they may be in touch with trainers who could help. We have a place here where they do lure coursing and dock jumping and they were associated with the trainer I used for Momo so there's another idea. Pretty much any dog-related business is worth a try.

Here's a good one for body language: The yard guys were here and that makes Mo Very uncomfortable. Here you've got a slight whale eye (the whites showing), he's looking away / shifting his eyes, he's panting, his ears are down, and he's hunkering down. If he was standing I'd put money on his tail (nub) being tucked under. If this were another dog I would not approach him and I Definitely wouldn't reach out or bend over him. Since it's Momo, though, I know I can comfort him when he's like this by standing to his side and offering the side of my leg for him to lean into. That tends to relax him. And I still haven't gotten the hang of this new camera. :D Everything is blurry (softened) except his face. I'll figure it out eventually! It did capture his gorgeous color - he coordinates well with our floors, lol.

Never hurts to be reminded! Gertie flops over into my lap like a bowl of pudding. Abbi is stiff but compliant. Momo is the one I'll have to watch carefully and believe you me, while attempting to maintain a nonchalant mood I'm watching that boy like a hawk! He's really good at whale eyeing, pulling away, stiffening up, whining, then growling before he takes action, thankfully. Lots of warning. I don't think I'll touch his nails for quite some time but instead do Tons of positive reinforcement for him relaxing and handing over his paw. Thankfully he wears them down mostly by running around like a mad dog all day (though he's Finally starting to slow down a little now that he's 9) so it's not urgent. It would just be nice not to get big ol' red marks every time we play "high five" and "shake." :D I got an attachment for the vacuum cleaner to suck up his hair as I brush him and I gave up on that one for a while. He's Such a nervous pooch, skittish even. I tried the vacuum across the room, turned on, and he wasn't having it. Turned off he didn't care one bit so there's a step between those two I need to figure out to bridge the gap. We have this 99 cent bucket I bought from Walmart, nothing special, but to him that thing is some mystical portal to an evil bad place - he won't go near it and he eyes it suspiciously. Getting him used to the push pedal trash can took some doing, but he'll at least walk by it now when I'm opening it. Adopting Momo as my first dog was like putting a Kindergartner in grad school, I was in Way over my head! Oh, and Abbi sneezes like the dickens when I get a good shear on her nail. She and Momo have Excellent noses and are made to sneeze easily. Gertie falls asleep while I'm working, complete with snoring, lol. I can't even imagine getting all of Einstein situated for a session - he's a lot of canine!

Yes, please! It would definitely help. It's encouraging to others because trainers can be cost prohibitive and seeing success stories reinforces the value of the help they give us. Plus, we care and it's nice to see follow ups! :)

I got a new camera today - my first non-phone camera in 13 or more years. Naturally, the dogs get to be my muses. Well, Gertrude because Momo doesn't sit still long enough! Anyway, I thought it might be fun to have a thread where we can post pictures of the little rascals we're asking questions about, or not asking and just training. Whichever, I just want to see pup pics! Gertrude Marie, born circa 09/2017: Momo, born circa 07/2010; don't let that cute face fool you - he's vicious (but only sometimes)!: Abbi born circa 01/2008 and Monkey (who's not a dog) born 05/2008:

They Can be trained, though it's a little slower than dogs! Mine's been working with Abbi on her Insane (ear splitting) greetings when he gets home. He's following my advice on ignoring her until she's quiet and let me tell you, five days has made a Big difference. I can also tell you, firsthand, that with aggression issues it's night and day having a behavioral trainer right there walking you through it versus trying to do it yourself. Trainers see things we miss and that essential to the task. Momo's aggression is fear based as well and it took baby steps, but it was worth it. We do have backslides now and then (usually my fault), but our recovery time is less and less.

Here are two courses about potty training to get you started: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/7-secret-potty-training-strategies/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ At 2 months (8 weeks) of age she's not going to have a lot of control, yet, so the puppy pads are going to be your friend for a while. As she grows she may be able to get to the grass by herself - she's still in that awkward toddler stage where she's learning how to use her legs. Such a cute age, where they're figuring out life in general. :)

I bought a dremel last month ($30 from Chewy.com) and I'm Very much enjoying it; far less stressful than clipping. Gertie rolls over onto her back and puts her head in my lap while I file away her claws. She's got über long quicks so it's taking a lot of time to get her nails short, but we'll do it. Abbi sits in my lap, but is trickier with her arthritis and black claws (most of Gertie's are clear). She tolerates it far better than clipping, though. I do Abbi's when the husband isn't home because his nervousness makes Abbi nervous and then it's an annoying thing instead of enjoyable. Both girls are relaxed by the time I'm finished. I tried Momo today and that was a big ol' Nope in his book. As usual, he's the tough nut to crack. Armed with Zuke's minis, and many baby steps (touching his paw, treat, touching the dremel to his paw, treat, barely touching the dremel to his claw while it's on, treat), I'm now easily able to touch his nails with the dremel turned off. When it's on he's not so sure and we've had to backstep a couple times, but we're talking a 10-minute session so he was coming around quickly. The battery ran out when the Zuke's did so we'll try another day to see how much further we can get. He's such an intense boy - nothing is done halfway with him.

Thank you, both. :) I've got her hopping on to it with all 4 paws, but it's literally a hop to get to the other side, lol. It's like you said, Adrienne, she can feel that the floor is different and she's not all about that. I'll certainly keep in mind limiting the exercise. I'm thinking 15 minutes on the days we can't go to the trail, or if I have another arthritic flare up myself (those take me to my knees and I'm worthless for exercise). I am working on getting her nails shortened. Her quicks are so long it's taking ages to get her to a non-click on the floor stage. I was thinking the harness, minus the lead, might be a good idea since she associates it with walks and good times. And I'd definitely be right there with her while I cool down after my turn. :D It's just so doggone hot right now, 100+ with the heat index every day and usually by 10 a.m., that I'm looking for alternate solutions. I'd go with the pool for exercise but wet dog every day is a daunting thought! Not to mention Miss Priss' dry skin - chlorine might dry it further. Incidentally, I have figured out a course that's working for us with her meals. She's still getting swollen glands despite having solid stools so back to the drawing board on that issue; however, her itching is darn near eradicated. Switching to half wet and half dry food helped, adding chamomile to each meal helps, in the morning she gets oatmeal and dry food, in the evening she gets 1200 mg of fish oil and wet food with the dry food. Bonus - since switching to Pro Plan from Blue Buffalo her head no longer smells like pee - that was a strange phenomenon.

I found this one on the PPG site. I had to open the search to 100 miles from zip code 83467, but this is from a site Adrienne recommended a while back: http://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Sys/PublicProfile/7466291 Then I found this one, again I had to open it to 100 miles, but there are 3 trainers. It's a school for positive reinforcement and science-based (so Adrienne should approve! :D) https://www.animalbehaviorcollege.com/dog_trainer_search_result_zip.asp?startpointzipcode=83467&radius=100 If nothing else, you may be able to get names from one of these folks. Also, ask your Veterinarian for recommendations as they may have someone they know. I also live in an area that's not rife with trainers. Horse trainers galore, but dog trainers not so much (and most all use the Alpha method which landed got us into a pickle with Momo). I was able to locate a trainer through the PPG site and though we have setbacks here and there, Momo and I are communicating Much better and his aggression is in check. The only time he slips up is when *I* slip up. They really look to us for guidance so we have to get ourselves set in order to be good guardians of these furry little guys. I had to learn not to yell and get upset - and boy was That a tough one. It's taken 15 months, but between my behavioral trainer and the assistance I've received here we're in a Much better place. I say all this to encourage you. If I can curb my yelling and hair trigger responses, I have faith you can get yourself and Finn to a good place, too. :) You've already taken major steps in the right direction by being here and asking for help.

Aw, it's good that you're thinking of Finn's wellness. If the dog park is too much, what about scouting out a playmate or two? I used to "borrow" my best friend's dog for play dates since I had a yard and she didn't. It worked out well for both pups. Or, hey, here's an idea (lol, I type exactly what my head says sometimes)! :D Do you have a friend with a dog who's not reactive? Maybe you could train yourself with their dog. Once you're used to walking a calmer dog you might have more confidence and be calmer yourself with Finn. Or you could walk their dog while they walk Finn. Sometimes experiencing another dog's personality is enough to help. Also, before each walk, put yourself in the right headspace. Take a few moments to breathe and tell yourself today's going to be even better than yesterday's walk. That attitude will rub off on Finn, which will help him help you remain calm. If we were nearby I'd sure let you take Gertie for a spin. She's not 100% but man-oh-man is she ever 100x better than walking Momo, lol, and she's never met a stranger so there's zero aggression, only love of life.

So, I have Gertie confident with stepping all four paws onto our treadmill and she watches me quizzically when I use it. How do I progress to getting her to use it? It's been so flippin' hot that we've had to skip a couple walks but they do so much good for both us gals that I want to give this thing a whirl to see if I can get Miss Gertrude to use it as well. She's had a busy week. Her first deer, her first foray into a fully enclosed trailer, and now the treadmill. So far she's taking these challenges on like a Champ. :) A little kudos to Momo, who is wholly distrusting of doors - he made it Mostly through the kitchen baby gate a few nights ago Mostly without help. It tapped his rump at the last second and he headed for the hills, lol. Thankfully it didn't set us back. It's so funny to watch Gertie while I'm trying to entice Mo through. She comes over from the opposite side of the gate, whips the door open with her nose, and gives him an encouraging bow. He's having none of it! He's such a timid pooch. It's tough to train him with Gertrude around because of that resource issue. He snarled at her the other night because he was over threshold with the exercise, Gertie would Not let up, and I was not reading the room very well. Since there was a baby gate that he's too shy with she was safe, ha! Next time Gertie will be properly separated. Okay, now returning you to the original question - treadmill training. :D I'm imagining a dangling carrot (meat chunk) on a stick scenario, lol. Pets and ear scratches to Einstein. :)