Dog People - Help us before we go mad!

[knitnerd]

"a large part of training a dog is training the owner to maintain the discipline."
Many years ago I read a book that suggested training a dog to never cross a street without coming to a full sit. It made sense and saved me when my large dog was hit by a firecracker thrown from a car and panicked. I have taught it to every dog I have had since. My current stray learned it in a week and even learned to reverse it and sit when she wanted to cross a street. I have not been able to teach it to anyone elses dog because I can not get them to always stop and tell the dog to sit, even if it means missing a light. You are only ready to train a dog when you get to a corner and tell your spouse to sit.

 

[knitnerd]

"a large part of training a dog is training the owner to maintain the discipline."
Many years ago I read a book that suggested training a dog to never cross a street without coming to a full sit. It made sense and saved me when my large dog was hit by a firecracker thrown from a car and panicked. I have taught it to every dog I have had since. My current stray learned it in a week and even learned to reverse it and sit when she wanted to cross a street. I have not been able to teach it to anyone else's dog because I can not get them to always stop and tell the dog to sit, even if it means missing a light. You are only ready to train a dog when you get to a corner and tell your spouse to sit.
And its great to finally fine some else familiar with Sturgeon's Law.

 

[AuroraGyps]

. His pet toys do eventually start to come apart with play (he's very strong and no cloth in the world can stand up to his jaws and paws for long) and we discard them,

My parents have the same problem with their pitbull. Our other dogs, two bull mastiffs & a rottweiler both liked nylabones and heat treated beef bones. Wouldn't ya know the pit likes teddy bears and bunnies. I've asked aroud about tougher stuffed animal toys and have no luck (tires and tree limbs have been suggested). My mom has to perform surgery all the time... sew up rips, apputate limbs, and patch missing eyes and noses. She's even performed squeaker transplants, taking a whole squeaker from
a "dead" toy and putting it in a new one.

Originally Posted by the Jester
I knew a Jack Russell once that ran under a diving board just as his hu-man went off it... naturally it smacked the poor guy on the head, giving him a nasty concussion and temporarily blinding him.

Twenty minutes later he was tearing around the yard like nothing had happened.

When our bull mastiff was about 6 months old, she got hit my a VW Rabbit (it was going up hill and around a corner, so it wasn't moving too fast). The dog got a good bruise on her head... the car got a dented bumper. I dodn't remember what she was like right after, but she NEVER left the yard again, and she lived until almost 11 yrs old. Later on, if she and her son got loose, she stop right at the end of the driveway and he'd just keep going. Luckily, we lived on a pretty rural road. Oh, and they were both indoor dogs.. they just played Houdini sometimes.

 

[Dirigible]

Home canine electrocution kit? A collar that squirts lemon juice?

 

[KidCthulhu]

Home canine electrocution kit? A collar that squirts lemon juice?

You joke, but they sell both of these things. One is called an e-collar, or electronic collar, and is a collar that administers shocks to the dog when the owner presses a button on a remote. The other is a citronella bark collar, which sprays a mist of citronella (strong citrus smell) in the dogs face when they bark.

E collars are not a tool I'd use, and they're frequently bought by folks who have out of control dogs as a "last resort" when they really haven't stuck to any of the other resorts. I've known trainers who've used them successfully for the use they were intended, long distance work with retrievers & bird dogs. But I still think they're a crutch.

Citronella bark collars are actually a kinder form of bark collars, because the adverse stimulus is a smell, not a shock (as used by some kinds). While I wouldn't use one, for folks with a really barky dog who barks while they're not around and unhappy neighbours, a bark collar can mean the difference between getting rid of Rover and keeping him.

This message brought to you by the "More Information than You Needed" committee, with help from the "Giant Soapbox" foundation .

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

You joke, but they sell both of these things. One is called an e-collar, or electronic collar, and is a collar that administers shocks to the dog when the owner presses a button on a remote. The other is a citronella bark collar, which sprays a mist of citronella (strong citrus smell) in the dogs face when they bark.

E collars are not a tool I'd use, and they're frequently bought by folks who have out of control dogs as a "last resort" when they really haven't stuck to any of the other resorts. I've known trainers who've used them successfully for the use they were intended, long distance work with retrievers & bird dogs. But I still think they're a crutch.

Citronella bark collars are actually a kinder form of bark collars, because the adverse stimulus is a smell, not a shock (as used by some kinds). While I wouldn't use one, for folks with a really barky dog who barks while they're not around and unhappy neighbours, a bark collar can mean the difference between getting rid of Rover and keeping him.

This message brought to you by the "More Information than You Needed" committee, with help from the "Giant Soapbox" foundation .

I will NEVER resort to pain. But a nasty smell, I don't really see any harm in that, although I doubt much it would work with him. He's not a barker. In fact, aside from his weird sounding "mumbling" , mostly in his sleep, he is rather quiet. He only barks when there is something worth barking at (ie. strange car pulls up out front).

Good news. The two nights we spent teaching him DROP worked....somewhat. He stole a dishtowel and was running around with it. While he didn't drop it when we said DROP, he did drop it when we stood in the spot we typically have been doing the DROP training. He dropped it immediately when he saw us go over there and stand like we do. So he *is* learning, but we need to get him to associate the treat with the word, not with us being in a specific place.

But it *is* a start!

 

[Umbran]

One is called an e-collar, or electronic collar, and is a collar that administers shocks to the dog when the owner presses a button on a remote.

There are also versions of this technology used as "electronic fences" - the borders of your proerty are marked off, and if the collar passes over teh edge, the animal gets a jolt. I'm told that for some folks it works well, but I've heard far more horror stories than success stories. Not that what stories I've heard are a representative sample.

More importantly - you veterinarian commonly uses a different thing that they call an "e-collar". In this case, though, the "e" is for "Elizabethan". The collar is a big cone thing they put around an animal's head to keep them from chewing at bandages or inscisions. It isn't electronic, and is designed to protect your animal, not to shock it. If you go to the vet, and they reccommend an e-collar after a surgery, don't get upset

 

[trancejeremy]

Okay, this might sound crazy, but have you ever thought of getting another dog?

About a year ago, 2 black lab puppies literally showed up on my doorstep, apparently having been dumped.

Anyway, at first I wasn't sure if I should keep them, because a roommate of mine in college had one, and she was really really energetic (and I am rather lazy).

But, turns out having two dogs = them playing with each other a lot. I still have to play with them, but not nearly as much as I feared.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Sounds like the doggy "terrible twos". The good news: it won't last. The bad news: it will get worse before it gets better. When he's about two, you'll look back on it and laugh.

When our youngest dog was this age, my wife felt the same frustration you're feeling -- he's great now.

My best advice is what a few others have said -- plenty of exercise. More dog behavior problems result from under-stimulated dogs (mentally and physically) than anything I can think of, with the possible exception of improper reinforcement. 'Course, JRT's are a high energy breed, so it's going to take a lot of exercise, but you can make it fun -- why not look into some agility training?

 

[Umbran]

Sounds like the doggy "terrible twos". The good news: it won't last.

With a Jack, it will last. For this breed, it doesn't go away on it's own.