Dog lovers and anyone thinking of getting a Dog

[movie zombie]

i heard a program on the radio and found it fascinating. its normally an alternative health type show. but today it was featuring the author of Born to Bark as well as other books re dogs.

its already been archived and can be heard here: http://www.yourownhealthandfitness.org/

see the right side of the page where it says:

Radio Show
The latest show is A Dog’s Life.

click on the Listen Now button

the first 7 minutes is all about a health issue that may or not interest you.

A Dog's Life starts at about 7 minutes.

want to know how a dog thinks.....and more? he's a professor of psychology and is absolutely fascinating to listen to. if i had a dog, i'd buy his books.

MoZo

ps and i quote, "if you don't have a dog there is not nothing necessarily wrong with you, but there is something wrong with your life!"

 

[AGBF]

I listened to it, MZ. It was great. Thank you!

Deb


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Puppmom]

Thanks! I'll have a listen.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I didn't listen to every second of the broadcast, but I caught most of it and thought it was really good.

I was just talking with Byron's neurologist about genetics last night and how easy it is to breed something into and out of a breed. As the guest was saying, Doberman's used to be considered the ultimate bully breed, but the breeders really banded together and bred all of the "mean" out of them--today Doberman's are one of the sweetest breeds around. The same thing has happened to Chows. They used to be the kind of breed you wouldn't leave your kids around, but in a relatively short span of time, they've become very good family dogs. Alternatively, very popular breeds such as shepards and labs have taken a turn for the worse.

And it goes beyond temperament. This happens with health all the time. For instance, Byron was recently diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder that used to run rampant in pugs, but the breeders banded together and bred it out of the "bad" lines. Now Yorkies and Maltese have started getting the same disorder. I even notice it with newfs--hip dysplasia has always been a serious concern for breeders and in the past 10 years, the hips have really tightened. Now, however, here is an onslaught of cruciate tears and the breeders fear that the hips have gotten so tight that it's putting pressure on the rest of the leg, leading to more injuries.

I was also glad he touched on the poodle mix issue. I'm not a fan of poodle mixes...mainly because I worked in a shelter where dogs were turned over to rescue when the family thought their first-generation poodle mix would be hypoallergenic. VERY frustrating and a product of awful, awful "breeders".

All of his other points were very good, too. The imporance of socialization from a very young age. The fact that chewing is often a sign of boredom, which is not the dog's fault. (Or in my case this week, chewing was a result of Bo going on a diet and him thinking the staircase looked tasty). I agreed with him about how yelling at a dog when he/she barks sounds a lot like barking ourselves, though "quiet!" is still an effective command for us. But my boys aren't very vocal.

Anyway, I definitely enjoyed it!

 

[Puppmom]

NEL, we accidentally taught our dog that quiet meant bark. Ah, the intricacies of dog training. He suddenly found his voice when he was about 2 and began barking at guests. He would bark, we would say "Quiet!", he would stop because we distracted him, then we would treat. So basically, we reinforced his barking with the quiet command by associating the word with the act of barking. Sometimes, he we see someone coming to the door, we'll hear the littly grumbly woof under his breath. If we accidentaly say quiet, he starts barking like a mad man! Ugh...do you know how hard it is to NOT say "Quiet!" when your dog is barking?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Puppmom, that is pretty funny. I can't tell you how many times I've done something similar. My in-laws are the worst, though, they can only get the dogs to come in by saying "Cookie!". My in-laws will start saying "come!", but the dogs know that if they hold out long enough the ILs will break down to cookies. Classic case of dogs training humans.

Byron found his voice at 2 as well, which is really common. We called a dog behaviorist because we didn't know what to do, haha. It was good for us, though, because he kept coddling Byron and telling him "It's okay, honey" while I barked "QUIET!!" at him--talk about confusing! The dog behaviourist had to laugh at us.

 

[Puppmom]

NEL, when we called the dog behaviorist and she asked what our issue was, I complained that he barks when people come to the door. She was wondering why in the world I would want to train that out of him. I realized that a nice *warning* bark is okay but when I say enough, he needs to stop...still working on it.

Hollis only knows the command *come* when I say it because DH reaches for the treats before he says it and the dog has learned to listen for the sound of the treat bag! This is only one of MANY examples of how he outsmarts us on a daily basis.

 

[AGBF]

(Or in my case this week, chewing was a result of Bo going on a diet and him thinking the staircase looked tasty).

OK. NEL, slight threadjack here. Discussion of eating staircases made me realize that you would be a great resource. Do your Newfoundlands climb staircases...steep, indoor ones, I mean? Mine refuses to go upstairs in our house. I realize that you got your dogs as puppies, when they would have been small enough to do the climb easily. I don't know if it is safe for Griffin to climb stairs. He is big and I am afraid to encourage him to do something he is incapable of doing. I don't know if his foot has enough room on the stair, if his leg has enough room to move. What do you think?

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[davi_el_mejor]

(Or in my case this week, chewing was a result of Bo going on a diet and him thinking the staircase looked tasty).

OK. NEL, slight threadjack here. Discussion of eating staircases made me realize that you would be a great resource. Do your Newfoundlands climb staircases...steep, indoor ones, I mean? Mine refuses to go upstairs in our house. I realize that you got your dogs as puppies, when they would have been small enough to do the climb easily. I don't know if it is safe for Griffin to climb stairs. He is big and I am afraid to encourage him to do something he is incapable of doing. I don't know if his foot has enough room on the stair, if his leg has enough room to move. What do you think?

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Climbing stairs isn't something a dog is born to know how to do. Lots of adopters face this problem when a new dog has never been exposed to stairs.

The only dogs I see having physical problems with stairs are Corgis (short legs) or Doxies (long inflexible backs). Your Newfie shouldn't have any issues with stairs unless of knee/hip problems of giant breed dogs.

Positive reinforcement training and coaxing with cookies is my favorite method of training

 

[movie zombie]

i thought it was also interesting that even though dobermans have been bread to be docile here in the US, that is NOT the case in Europe!!!!!!!!!

another interesting bit to me is that Europeans spend a lot less time training a dog than we do here in the US.....but their dogs are considered better behaved/mannered. seems its a result of the time spent with their humans........in Europe dogs are allowed almost everywhere and people take them everywhere.....

MoZo

ps and his comments re making sure you're getting a dog that's characteristics are what you are looking for were interesting......he rates the dogs from most intelligent to least. but the ones with the least intelligence actually have some very desireable traits.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

(Or in my case this week, chewing was a result of Bo going on a diet and him thinking the staircase looked tasty).

OK. NEL, slight threadjack here. Discussion of eating staircases made me realize that you would be a great resource. Do your Newfoundlands climb staircases...steep, indoor ones, I mean? Mine refuses to go upstairs in our house. I realize that you got your dogs as puppies, when they would have been small enough to do the climb easily. I don't know if it is safe for Griffin to climb stairs. He is big and I am afraid to encourage him to do something he is incapable of doing. I don't know if his foot has enough room on the stair, if his leg has enough room to move. What do you think?

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Staircases have been an issue for us because we've had hardwood stairs in all of our homes...which can make them slippery. Byron was slightly easier to train. I was a terrified first-dog owner, so I carried him up the stairs until he was nearly 6 months old and over 60 lbs. (I thought climbing stairs might be hard on his joints or something). When he started to get too big to carry, I went the positive reinforcement route giving him a treat for each stair he climbed. He was afraid of them, but the dog was so food motivated he tried pretty hard, though he never made it up more than a few steps. One day I went upstairs to do laundry and he just appeared. Apparently he decided to do them in one fell swoop and from then on, he was no longer afraid.

When we got Bo, I carried him up the steps to go to bed for a few weeks, but after that I thought he could handle them on his own. He seemed to really hate the steps and would whimper when I tried to get him upstairs on his own. Finally he did make it all the way up on his own...with a lot of treats and coaxing, but getting down was worse. He hated going down the stairs--for him it was much scarier than going up. For months he wouldn't go down the stairs unless I had my hand on his back. When he was around 6 months, he would go down on his own, but only if he was right next to the wall. To this day he only goes down steps if he's right next to the wall.

Funny story: when he was about 6 months old we took him to Nantucket and he literally froze in terror mid-way down the ferry steps. He was a pretty big pup, but I tried picking him up on my own to get him down the steps and at that point he completely freaked out and started peeing. So mortifying!

So what worked well for me is obviously treats. And patience. But also making sure the dogs felt secure. I would stand on one side of them and have the wall on the other side. For some reason that seemed to really help Bo. I also think that having your hands on them for support makes them feel secure. The trick is to feel supportive without pressuring them. Bo would be okay, then freak out the moment he thought I was pushing him.

Since we moved into our new house the boys have very rarely come upstairs. Byron can't climb stairs anymore and Bo prefers to be with Byron. We have 2 staircases and one is a the VERY steep original staircase and neither will go up or down that staircase (even when Byron could). I don't mind having them downstairs all the time, but I could definitely see how it's an issue if you're trying to potty train.

 

[AGBF]

Climbing stairs isn't something a dog is born to know how to do. Lots of adopters face this problem when a new dog has never been exposed to stairs.

Thanks davi and NEL. I never heard this before, davi, and I have had dogs all my life! I guess I either got dogs as puppies that were easy to train or I adopted dogs that were used to stairs but I didn't recognize that I was fortunate! Thanks for the information...both of you! I guess I'll eventually start teaching Griffin how to do stairs, but that is last in line after a long list of other things I must teach him. Most important appears to be learning how to use a ramp to get in my Jeep. Getting him into and out of it for obedience class was impossible this week. (Thank goodness another dog owner was brawny and volunteered to help us lift.) I cannot even take him to the vet!

Deb


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Miss Sparkly]

NEL, when we called the dog behaviorist and she asked what our issue was, I complained that he barks when people come to the door. She was wondering why in the world I would want to train that out of him. I realized that a nice *warning* bark is okay but when I say enough, he needs to stop...still working on it.

Hollis only knows the command *come* when I say it because DH reaches for the treats before he says it and the dog has learned to listen for the sound of the treat bag! This is only one of MANY examples of how he outsmarts us on a daily basis.

I agree. My little 6lb Milo SCREAMS like there's no tomorrow when he hears somebody come up to the house. It is loud, continuous, pierces the ears and makes me feel very safe to know that there's enough of a racket going on the the neighbors will look (it is very rare for somebody to come up the house btw). Somehow he knows the difference between DH and I and a stranger. I've never figured that one our

 

[AGBF]

NEL, when we called the dog behaviorist and she asked what our issue was, I complained that he barks when people come to the door. She was wondering why in the world I would want to train that out of him. I realized that a nice *warning* bark is okay but when I say enough, he needs to stop...still working on it.

Hollis only knows the command *come* when I say it because DH reaches for the treats before he says it and the dog has learned to listen for the sound of the treat bag! This is only one of MANY examples of how he outsmarts us on a daily basis.

I agree. My little 6lb Milo SCREAMS like there's no tomorrow when he hears somebody come up to the house. It is loud, continuous, pierces the ears and makes me feel very safe to know that there's enough of a racket going on the the neighbors will look (it is very rare for somebody to come up the house btw). Somehow he knows the difference between DH and I and a stranger. I've never figured that one our

My Lab would have eaten an intruder alive if he had made it to our doorway through the barking that would have been set off long before the intruder was near the house. Now with a huge monster, I may as well not have a dog at all!!! Here is a list of the worst watch dogs.

Rank Breed

1 Bloodhound
2 Newfoundland
3 Saint Bernard
4 Basset Hound
5 Bulldog
6 Old English Sheepdog
7 Clumber Spaniel
8 Irish Wolfhound
9 Scottish Deerhound
10 Pug
11 Siberian Husky
12 Alaskan Malamute

Deb


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[soocool]

I listened to most of this, not all.

Ok, so I had to find out how he rated my dog' intelligence. Number 12 on the list for a mini schnauzer.

I have heard that schnauzers are perpetual barkers, but mine is not. He does not bark when the doorbell rings. He runs to the window to see who it is. If it is someone he knows he goes back to doing what he was doing before. Otherwise, he hangs around to make a friend. He'll always greet the UPS guy. Don't you know that UPS drivers carry dog biscuits? He recognizes the truck and the uniform.

Also, my dog can count. He gets 4 bisuits before bedtime. Shortchange him and he will sit by the cabinet with his biscuits and jump. Give him one too many and he will wait until you tell him OK.

He is a true terrier, nose always to the ground.He finds all the bugs in the house for me.When he wants fresh water he'll jump at the sink. Wants to be brushed, jumps at the drawer with his brush. Tell him car ride and he grabs his chew toy and goes to the car.

 

[AGBF]

When he wants fresh water he'll jump at the sink.

OK. I have to share this one. To me it is unbelievable. Griffin, my Newfoundland, loves beverages of all kinds. He loves his water dish. He loves my drinks. He loves running water in the sink. He loves to drink out of the toilet, which we try to keep closed at all times. The bathroom is his favorite room in the house; he tries to push his head into the sink while I brush my teeth.

All of that is just background.

We had heard loud, banging noises at night and finally figured out that Griffin was attempting to open the toilet by himself, but that it was slamming shut. I figured this, because I heard repetitive slams. I figured he'd get sick of trying and go use his water dish. It is always clean and full of clean, fresh water although he does his very best to fill it full of drool, sticks, and pieces of kibble that expand when wet. Once he even dropped his large, fuzzy, yellow duck (that squeaks) in there and then realized he couldnt get a drink!

But I digress. The other night I happened to catch a glimpse of Griffin in the middle of one of his banging acts...and I had been slightly off. Griffin had not been failing in his attempts to drink! He successfully opened the toilet with his head, drank his fill, and then let the lid slam shut. I guess further bangs were just because his thirst was not yet slaked. Now we are going to have to keep the bathroom door closed...which is just as well, because once he got himself closed in the bathroom and no one could find him!

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[iLander]

Hi Mozo!

Did anyone see this article in the NYTimes? This poor guy buys a border collie and I guess he didn't realize how smart they are and how busy they need to be. So, to keep the dog from going stir crazy, he spends 5 HOURS every day teaching the dog new words. He buys bags of toys from the salvation army, just tons of objects for the dog to learn the names of. Ends up the dog know over 1,000 words. The poor guy is quoted in the article saying something the gist of which is "I'm 82 years old and this dog is wearing me out". Remarkable dog, poor guy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18dog.html

My papillon closes both eyes for no and winks one eye for yes. It took me a while to figure it out, but one day I realized what she was doing because when I tell her "no", I close both my eyes involuntarily. She picked it up herself. After that, it was pretty easy to teach her yes.

It really makes things easier, and I use her as my "interpreter" to tell me what the other animals want. I didn't really think much of this, until I mentioned it to someone else and they were shocked. Seems perfectly natural to me.

And that whole "you can't teach a cat" thing? Malarky. Mine comes when called, will sit or stand on his hind legs for a treat. I think because he saw the dogs do it from kittenhood, he thinks it's normal. The animals learn back and forth; one of my dogs will lick her paws and then rub her face with it, like the cat.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Deb, to say that newfies love water is a understatement. We also have to keep our bathroom door shut, mostly because Byron likes to dunk his head into the toilet bowl water. In fact, just this morning he fell asleep with his head on his water bowl. I wish I'd taken a picture...

Our dog park is on the ocean, which is nice since it rarely freezes in the winter. The downside is that it means year-round swimming. Bosun swam for nearly an hour this weekend in single digit temps. I basically made him stop because a.) D and my hands were both freezing from throwing the stick and 2.) I was seriously worried that he was going to freeze to death. But trust me, that dog did not want to get out of the water.

 

[soocool]

AGBF, how about this?

 

[risingsun]

Deb~ We need to change your name. ADGBF=A dog is a girl's best friend