Favorite Breed of Dog

[onthepequod]

Originally posted by Liliara: IT IS BAD OWNERS THAT MAKE BAD DOGS!!!!!!

Very true. Every dog owner should socialize there dog while owners of large breeds should very seriously consider obedience training. We have trained our German Shepard and have found it extremely helpful. Our favorite commands are heel, sit, stay, attack, kill, maim, dismember, disembowle, lobotomize...... Oops....did I share too much? Hehe...I....um....er.....I'll be going now.

BTW my favorite bread is the German Shepard. Ours is a real sweetheart and a pleaser.


------------------

Originally posted by DragonMage: I believe you hit the nail on the head, Liliara. You MUST socialize your dog properly (both out in public AND at home) if you want to come as close as possible to ensuring that your dog won't be agressive to others. Also, I've found that YOUR attitude towards other people affect how your dog (pack-mate) sees them. If you go up to a friend and hug them, the dog knows that this person is accepted. If you go to the other side of the street when you see someone while walking your dog, they WILL pick up on that.

I would like to know at what age do dogs develop their social attitudes because we brought our pup in as a 3-month old stray and in spite of the fact that he likes Rex and Rex's dad, he does not like men in general. I have to be in Grandpa's company when he goes outside, holding one of his arms to help him support himself. The pup sees me being close with him and the pup should know (if he is keen to my emotions) that I care very much for this man, but Grandpa's fear of the pup made the pup wary of him.
We have taken other male friends out into the back yard and the pup has lowered himself, his hair on end, his teeth showing, and growled. This is not a result of any anti-social behaviour that we have instilled in him!
One of his back feet has very deep scars in it...he was abandoned twice before we got him, once by his original owner and once by the kid who initially took him in but was not allowed to have him and whose mother made him take him back to the tracks where he had found the pup. When this kid approached our fence to tell us about his one-day ownership of him, the pup approached the fence very cautiously, sniffed at him, growled, backed off and barked fiercely at the boy. He hates him and it has nothing to do with the way we have raised him since he has been in our care...we had only had him for two days when this happened.

Here is a pic of our dogs. Hercules is the pup I am talking about. Zip and Code are sisters LOL!





------------------


You know childhood is over when a puddle seems like an obstacle instead of an opportunity.

Is Too! Is Not! Is Too! Is Not!

[This message has been edited by Moni (edited 09-08-2001).]

[Memnoch]

Beagles are so cute!!!

------------------

[Fljotsdale]

I'm not a very doggie person. I love the independace of cats too much, but:

Basenji. Beautiful, beautiful, elegant little dog. Fell in love with it when I saw Crufts Dog Show this year on TV. (I think it was a Basenji...)

------------------

[onthepequod]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Beagles are so cute!!!

12 months ago I would have agreed with you Memnoch. But our neighbors bought a Beagle at that time. That's when I found out that Beagles are loud, full of energy, like to run, and like to dig. Our neighbor's Beagle was constantly running down the street with her owners hot on her heels, barely able to hold the explicatives back. That was actaully entertaining. But when that little devil dug up and chewed through our dogs electric fence I was irritated. Fortuantely it was any easy fix.



------------------

[Nostron]

Well right now i have an Akita... Japanese dog who weight more than me. But he's my dad type of dog.
A sharpie is my dog of choice. slow, laid back, sorta mimics his owner

------------------
That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[Reeka]

Dachhunds! Definitely!

------------------
Order of the Holy Flame
Member of Clan HADB
Laughing Hyena

[DragonMage]

Originally posted by Moni: I would like to know at what age do dogs develop their social attitudes because we brought our pup in as a 3-month old stray and in spite of the fact that he likes Rex and Rex's dad, he does not like men in general. I have to be in Grandpa's company when he goes outside, holding one of his arms to help him support himself. The pup sees me being close with him and the pup should know (if he is keen to my emotions) that I care very much for this man, but Grandpa's fear of the pup made the pup wary of him. We have taken other male friends out into the back yard and the pup has lowered himself, his hair on end, his teeth showing, and growled. This is not a result of any anti-social behaviour that we have instilled in him! One of his back feet has very deep scars in it...he was abandoned twice before we got him, once by his original owner and once by the kid who initially took him in but was not allowed to have him and whose mother made him take him back to the tracks where he had found the pup. When this kid approached our fence to tell us about his one-day ownership of him, the pup approached the fence very cautiously, sniffed at him, growled, backed off and barked fiercely at the boy. He hates him and it has nothing to do with the way we have raised him since he has been in our care...we had only had him for two days when this happened. Here is a pic of our dogs. Hercules is the pup I am talking about. Zip and Code are sisters LOL!

I've raised and trained MANY dogs (several cats, a rabbit, a rat and - believe it or not - a fish). As far as dogs go, their training begins almost from birth and AT LEAST from their weaning. Since you got your pup at three months old and, not only a stray, but one that had been mistreated and abandoned before, he's already developed emotional issues. He's got fear of abandonment to deal with, he's got a great deal of willfullness (I'd imagine) from being independent and on his own so much and he developed more of the "pack-hunting" instinct than a puppy that was raised in one, loving home would.

The way he reacted to the boy who had taken him in and then abandoned him (in the dog's eyes anyway) is understandable. He didn't trust the child anymore. All the pup knows is "one day the boy was nice, the next he told me to get lost!"

And the way he's reacting to your Grandfather has nothing to do with anything you have done wrong. He CAN be trained out of it. With time, he will come to accept your Grandpa. Mostly, your Grandpa needs to show NO FEAR. I know it's an old saying, but they CAN "smell" fear. If a dog senses someone is afraid, they see that person as a potential threat (when a dog is afraid of another dog, it usually attacks rather than runs). If a dog runs from another dog, it is chased. Either way, fear means fight. He needs to also be slowly brought closer and closer to your Grandpa, but on a restraint or even with a "soft muzzle". If Grandpa is frail, your dog may sense his weakness. The old and weak are often driven out to die in pack society.

The way he reacts to other men is probably due to two things: the first, men have been "bad" to him (and animals do know the difference between the sexes). The second seems to be a tendency for one sex of dog to bond with opposite sex humans. If your pup likes women, he will be protective of them. If he gets along okay with your husband, then you have properly shown him who is "alpha-male" and as long as he knows who is boss (but who also loves him), he will continue to respect that male.

As far as your puppy "knowing how you feel about someone else"...hmm - as much as I feel that our pets are our family and that we should all give them more credit than most do, there are still limits to his understanding of emotion only. They understand tone-of-voice and body language, scents and volume of noise. I don't know if they ALL pick up on "emotion". Fear is an emotion, true, but when you are afraid, you give off a strong scent.

I hope this helps you. Do not be alarmed! I doubt that your pup will hold on to these attitudes once he sees you aren't going to abandon him. I've had similar problems with my own rescues and they have all worked out just fine. Also, you could try to gradually get your Grandpa to give him his favorite treat. First have him sit across the room and gently toss a treat. Eventually (over a few visits), have him see if your pup will take it from him. Talk soothing to him and pet him the whole while (the dog, not your Grandpa - unless you think Grandpa needs the gentle encouraging, too).

And, sorry for getting off the original topic. Just trying to help make the world a better place. (Can't we all just get along?)

------------------
"Allright! We'll call it a draw."

"I'm INVINCIBLE! ... You're a LOONEY!"

Dare to dream. Be bold enough to try.

The day we stop learning is the day we start dying!(c)

Originally posted by DragonMage: The way he reacted to the boy who had taken him in and then abandoned him (in the dog's eyes anyway) is understandable. He didn't trust the child anymore. All the pup knows is "one day the boy was nice, the next he told me to get lost!"

Yeah I agree with you there. He definitely did not like that kid anymore and he is a deeply sensitive little dog. Seeing him lost across the street, I could see the emotion in his eyes, the confusion, the lonliness. That is the only reason I went and got him, because of the depth of feeling his eyes showed.

And the way he's reacting to your Grandfather has nothing to do with anything you have done wrong. He CAN be trained out of it. With time, he will come to accept your Grandpa. Mostly, your Grandpa needs to show NO FEAR. I know it's an old saying, but they CAN "smell" fear. If a dog senses someone is afraid, they see that person as a potential threat (when a dog is afraid of another dog, it usually attacks rather than runs). If a dog runs from another dog, it is chased. Either way, fear means fight. He needs to also be slowly brought closer and closer to your Grandpa, but on a restraint or even with a "soft muzzle". If Grandpa is frail, your dog may sense his weakness. The old and weak are often driven out to die in pack society.

I agree with this too. he knows he is loved and safe here and i have learned from past experiences with dogs about showing them fear and how they may or may not react depending on how "wild" they are.

The way he reacts to other men is probably due to two things: the first, men have been "bad" to him (and animals do know the difference between the sexes). The second seems to be a tendency for one sex of dog to bond with opposite sex humans. If your pup likes women, he will be protective of them. If he gets along okay with your husband, then you have properly shown him who is "alpha-male" and as long as he knows who is boss (but who also loves him), he will continue to respect that male.

I agree with you here too...the kid that owned him abandoning him and the scars on his hind foot have me thinking that his owner prior to the kid was more than likely a man.

As far as your puppy "knowing how you feel about someone else"...hmm - as much as I feel that our pets are our family and that we should all give them more credit than most do, there are still limits to his understanding of emotion only. They understand tone-of-voice and body language, scents and volume of noise. I don't know if they ALL pick up on "emotion". Fear is an emotion, true, but when you are afraid, you give off a strong scent.

Maybe I give animals more credit than most people but I do believe they can sense our emotions on all levels. I even consider most wilder animals to even be a bit telepathic if not in a manner that has them knowing what we are literally thinking, then at least one in which they know what we are feeling or what our intentions toward them are. I have handled a lot of wild birds for example that were stressed until I let them know I was there to help them escape (my cats). A few of them were even content to remain sitting in my hand after I opened it up to allow them their freedom once I got them outside...one (a cactus wren) even came back to my bird feeder with his mate everyday and would set his food down in front of me (if I was outside) and then "nod" at me before taking it and leaving with her...sort of a "thank you" as I understood it to be.
I also used to hand-feed the wild squirrels that lived under the shed in my backyard. A couple of the females were content to sit down right next to me and stay there for a while, but as soon as I even thought of petting them or touching them, they would get up and move away, beyond arms reach and they'd keep a close eye on me before settling back down to just chill out in my yard with me.

I hope this helps you. Do not be alarmed! I doubt that your pup will hold on to these attitudes once he sees you aren't going to abandon him. I've had similar problems with my own rescues and they have all worked out just fine. Also, you could try to gradually get your Grandpa to give him his favorite treat. First have him sit across the room and gently toss a treat. Eventually (over a few visits), have him see if your pup will take it from him. Talk soothing to him and pet him the whole while (the dog, not your Grandpa - unless you think Grandpa needs the gentle encouraging, too).

Your post was quite a bit of help to me! I will be sure to follow your advise with grandpa (even the not petting grandpa part ) and I thank you for taking all the time you did to talk to me about it! We have had him for four months now so he is very well adjusted to me and Rex. It is just grandpa misses his own dogs and he is so frail that I have feared the pup reacting violently to grandpa's fear of him, as has grandpa.

And, sorry for getting off the original topic. Just trying to help make the world a better place. (Can't we all just get along?)

Again, Thank you! Your help is much appreciated!

I'll end my post with Rex's vote for a favorite breed of canine:
"If I knew what Hercules was I'd say his breed LOL but since we can't figure him out I'll say Old English Bulldog"

------------------


You know childhood is over when a puddle seems like an obstacle instead of an opportunity.

Is Too! Is Not! Is Too! Is Not!


[This message has been edited by Moni (edited 09-08-2001).]

[Larry_OHF]

I think that those Canadian Huskies are beautiful dogs!
In Mexicali, Mex., those are one of the few dogs that do not die from the severe heat.

------------------

Father of the wicked but cute child known as MaryBeth

Padre de una niña bien traviosa pero guapa
---------------------
Aisukuríimu ga tabetái desu.