MollieMae

So glad that things are going so well. It feels so good to see a rescue turn around. Hope Charley and Romona have many years together!

If you haven't yet, please read the posting at the top of the forum titled Welcome to the BC Boards, Read This First. It will explain a lot, particularly why affiliation with AKC is detrimental to the breed.

Mollie has a tree house, she likes to be up high where she can see what's going on. She takes EVERYTHING out to that tree house! Blankets, sofa pillows, toys, bones, the tv remote, a feather duster, a pair of my glasses...she's a total hoarder! If it's missing, we check the treehouse!

Humping when an animal has been spayed/neutered is about asserting dominance. So it sounds like Lilli is trying to establish that she is in charge now, and Fender disagrees. The shouldering and face to face behavior are control behaviors as well. It's a rough form of 'herding' him. Holding him in one place, and going for him if he moves is a pretty common behavior in BCs to control another animal. First, you can't let it continue or will be become obsessive behavior with anything that moves. You can't obilterate the drive, but you can teach her that it's up to you whether, or when, she does it. Teach her a 'that'll do' or 'leave it' command. You will have to be consistent, and patient. Any time she gets away with it only reinforces it. Then you will have to give her something else to do. You can't just say 'no' and leave her hanging - she needs to know what you DO want her to do. So, have her do a little trick, such as sit, go to place, down -whatever you like - then praise her effusively so that in her mind this new behavior is much more rewarding. It takes time, but it will be rewarding and bring you closer. They want to do what you want them to do, they just need clear direction. We have 2 BCs and 6 cats. We have spent many an hour working on this, but our BCs and cats live in peace for the most part now. Good luck!

We have 2 BCs and 6 cats. Some of the cats ignore the dogs, some love them and like to play with them, and 2 are quite intimidated by them. We do not tolerate any interaction with the 2 that are intimidated, we let the ones that like to play set the pace, but call a halt if it gets out of hand, the ones that ignore them are, quite frankly, ignored right back. The cats have trees to get into, there are several gated rooms the cats can go to, and several other places high enough the cats can go to if they want to get away from the dogs. Our cats and dogs have always played together. The cats always determine how much interaction they want.

Our 2 yr old female had learned she could out run me before we got her in obedience, and it has been tough to overcome. As others have said, don't let her be in a position to ignore you call her. Our girl has always shined at class, less than stellar at home for a while. We had to do a lot of work at home to get her in the habit of obeying without really thinking about it. We left a short leash on her even in the house bcs she equated that leash with obedience. Then we really worked at reinforcing the obedience commands in everyday situations. You have to be consistent, nothing reinforces bad behavior like getting away with it 'sometimes'. They always think 'this could be the time I could get away with it!' She's beautiful, you can see the spirit in her eyes. She'll do well, and be well worth the time spent. Couldn't ask for a better girl than Mollie, but it took a lot of time and training.

She is beautiful! I don't know a lot about coon hounds. Our dogs' trainer has worked with them, and she says it's tough to motivate them, but that's the sum of my knowledge of them! Our little guy ( 19 weeks) is a biter/chewer, too. He drives our 2 yr old crazy. She likes to play with him, but he will get carried away. We use the command 'let it go' or 'off' (he will sometimes launch himself at her and grab her collar) to make him calm down. Also, we give him something that he can chew on instead. It's a slow process, you just have to be consistent. But, you're right, other dogs won't tolerate it. Your trainer at the puppy class should be able to give you some tips too.

Mental stimulation will tire her quicker than physical activity. Time out is great when she gets too wound up. We use the crate for that with our 18 week old boy. They really need to learn to 'turn it off'. It takes time and consistency, but when they realize that play stops if they get too crazy, they can figure out how to turn it off. Games, obedience, learning tricks -things that make them think are good. Might try adding random sits and downs to the walk - nothing that would stress joints or anything - but just mixing up the pace a bit so she has to think.

I'm not knowledgeable about breeding, etc. but I will say that sometimes people that don't know much about BCs tend to think that all BCs have to have really long thick coats, and if they don't, then they must be a mix. He's a beautiful boy, and looks BC to me, but I'm not a breeder, so that's not an educated opinion.

I have had labs, and GS/labs, and I don't see any lab in her. She is beautiful, whatever the mix.

Beautiful Boy!

1. How sensitive they are 2. That a little mental stimulation can take the place of a lot of physical activity, but a lot of physical activity WON'T take the place of mental stimulation 3. How strong that bond is, how much they NEED to be involved in every aspect of your life. I have some wonderful, intelligent dogs in the past- German Shepherds, Labs, Goldens- but they were dogs. BCs really AREN'T dogs. They are a species all their own.

Beautiful boy! Hope you have many adventures together!