BaileysMom

Let us know how it turns out! And yeah-it seems that around here there are no vets offices open on Saturdays. And there are more veterinarians in this city than I have ever seen anywhere else!

These bones keep Bailey occupied for quite some time.

 

 

I really just wanted to test this out and see if I could get a pic to post correctly. :confused: It didn't work the last time I tried.

Jennifer and Vicki

 

That may be true for many dogs, but with Bailey if he looks away without ever looking at me at all its because he is not going to take heed to what I say. With the roll I can make eye contact, give my verbal correction, and then he will look away before I do. That is the key-he looks away first. That means that I win. And in many minor situations all it takes is a look from me (with eye contact) to let him know that the behavior is unacceptable-and that alone corrects him without any verbal correction.

 

Sorry-I am not very good at getting what I want to say across in writing. But from what I have read if he looks away first then he is the one giving in. But that is what I did't say in my last reply-that he looks away first.

 

But every dog is different.

Sorry to have caused all the conflict by posting about this subject!

 

The roll has worked for Bailey the past two times that I have used it (for those most grievious of offenses) and the offenses have never been repeated. I will find out if it worked this last time (for all who didn't read my last post Bailey snapped at my boyfriend's face and drew blood). To me that behavior called for the alpha roll (but for me I know that it works with Bailey). So that's why I chose that correction for that instance.

 

I wouldn't use it if the dog tried to resist. I could see where one migh get bitten. Bailey willingly lets me flip him and doesn't move a muscle once flipped. I can make eye contact and he doesn't try to turn his head. EDIT: He looks away first. Doesn't move his head but averts his eyes away from me.

 

Nor I am hurting him with all 106 lbs of me! I am always firm but gentle, even with the roll. I think what actually works for me about the roll is that he is 100% paying attention to me, and he can see and hear that I mean business.

Deafbat-

You can get the cube at petsmart or petco.

 

I saw those IQ puzzle toys at the Discovery Channel Store at the mall. There were two different ones, the one with the balls in it and one where there are a bunch of rings around a bone that can get pulled off. I almost bought them-I think I will go back and buy one now!

Deafbat-

 

Have you tried the "Cube" toy. It has a little hole and you can set it to let out more or less treats. And since it is square it takes a bit longer to get the food out, and you can stuff quite a bit in. Although with Bailey it only took about 2 hours to figure out that he could pick it up by getting his teeth in the hole to hold and then kind of toss it so it lands hard and food comes out. But it sure is funny watching them figure out what exactly to do with it.

I don't give rawhide at all! I won't give a lecture-but the majority of the opinions that I have read and heard are that rawhide is no good! It isn't digestible and sits in the stomach. I give a good old femur bone or other big thick bone to Bailey and it lasts forever. I throw it away when it gets gnawed down to where large pieces start breaking off.

I'll check that out-the title sounds familiar-I think I have that book at home. I have so many books and they all have so many variations on training its hard to keep track of everything.

Thanks for posting that! I did read that one but then couldn't find it again. I am not disagreeing with you Cholla1-nor am I getting defensive. (Not that you said I am ) I am just curious to hear some other opinions. I am now reading "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell and I really like her techniques about how to establish pack order. Has anyone read this?

 

A wolf would flip another wolf against his will ONLY if he were planning to kill it. Can you imagine what a forced alpha roll does to the psyche of our dogs?

My only gripe about the article is that I have seen many dogs playing and they DO flip each other on their backs and go for the neck in play. Now is that having some horrible effect on the dogs because it was the threat of death? I really don't think so. Bailey and our husky do this to each other often in play.

 

Nor do I teach with fear. I establish pack order by walking out the door first, ignoring bad behavior like jumping until Bailey figures out that it isn't getting him anywhere (which only took about 3 days), etc.

I am curious to hear opinions on the alpha roll. Does anybody use this technique for corrections? I know that some people have recommended it in previous posts. I only use it in extreme circumstances, when Bailey has done something terribly unacceptable. Probably only have done it 3 times and he is almost 1.5 years old. In my last post I was warned against this technique and did some reading on the cons. Bailey does not try to resist or bite me. It does not cause him to become more aggressive. Nor do I feel that I am scaring him with the threat of death as some of the articles stated that I am doing. I'm glad that Cholla1 pointed this issue out to me, now I am curious to hear some other opinions.

Thanks J.!

 

I just hate the thought of any kind of worms! :eek:

 

But in the grand scheme of things it really isn't such a big deal I guess.

Thanks! I did manage to get through to my vet and she said it takes 21 days at least for them to start showing up. Bailey does not eat poops, but he does like to gobble up everything from the carpet. I am just worried that maybe a segment was on the carpet and he ate it. I vacuummed as soon as I noticed and my friend took his dog home immediately.

My friend brought his dog hiking all day with me and Bailey on Saturday and then we later went back to my apartment and I noticed an icky tapeworm near his dogs butt. I vacuummed the house immediatley in case any were on the carpet. Bailey and his dog did the butt sniffing and were playing around all day. I know how tapeworms are transmitted (through fleas being ingested), I'm just wondering how likely it is that my dog will get tapeworms now. (They rode in the back of the car together, and Bailey likes to eat everything, so I wonder if he gobbled up a tapeworm segment) Not sure-can get the worms this way also? :eek: And if he does get tapeworms, how long will it take for them to start showing up in the stool? Should I take a sample to get tested right away? His dog is healthy but is mainly outside during the day because they have a lot of property and loves eating all the wild animals poop. UTD on shots and all so I'm not worried about anything else.

Thanks for any replies!

I use Interceptor for Bailey. I give it all year round because it stays warm here. Haven't had any problems with it. Bailey gobbles it down like its a treat. My holistic vet feels it is safer and less toxic than Heartgard. And from what I have read I have come to the same conclusion.

On the note of Bills post-my friend has a husky puppy that acted the same way. When it snapped at her she would growl, flip him on his back and hold in down. She even went so far as to bite his neck. Only took about a week for the pup to stop the snapping.

Ah-that explains everything much better. Sounds like our husky Odin. He is smart, he knows the basic commands but only listens when he wants to. Otherwise he'll just stare at us blankly. And I really think with him he just doesn't care to learn more. Knows what he is allowed to do and what he isn't, where he is allowed to go in the house and where he can't, but other than that we cannot train this dog to listen every time, or get him to even seem interested in anything we say or do. He is 3 years old. He does not misbehave or have any bad habits. Just seems like he doesn't care to learn anything else. Bailey, my BC, is the opposite, loves learning new things and playing games. It sounds like you definitely know what you are doing, maybe its just the personality of your dog. It drives my crazy sometimes with Odin, Bailey is eager to learn and Odin just looks at me like, "I could care less."

What about buying it in a bottle rather than gel caps? Many health food stores online sell it, I don't use it because it gives Bailey diarrhea. But I think its cheaper in a bottle, although you would have to measure it out. The only way that I have seen it in bulk is if you are actually buying the flax seeds to grind yourself. Which sounds pretty unappealing to me!

Have you tried incorporating learning into fun activities and games? Bailey gets bored practicing the same old thing over and over again. I have to come up with games to play in order to get any progress sometimes. Hide and seek for stay, because he has to stay until I hide the object, then come when he is called. When he finds the object I do another sit, stay, down in order for him to get the treat. I have to change treats frequently to keep his interest in the treat which helps because it is the reward. I go to fenced areas and run around with him between learning to make it fun and exciting. Have you been on the boards long? Sorry, I don't remember. There are lots of good posts to look through on training that may be of some help. It can be tricky to think of a fun way to teach commands other than the basic ones, but it may help. Just have to be creative! And eventually your dog will learn the cat's name and all that just by listening to people say it. Bailey knows bone, ball, Odin (our husky) couch, outside, come in, go back, banana, you name it! Those are things that he just picked up on his own. But if you lay a banana down with a bunch of other things and tell him "get the banana" he will choose it. Good luck to you!

There are many sites online that you can order food from. Type in the food you want to purchase in a search and you will get tons of online retailers that will ship the food to you. It may cost a bit more because of shipping, but it is well worth it. You can also set up automatic shipping on some sites, they will automatically send out the food every month or however often you need it so that you don't have to remember to order it.

Here are links to the foods I think are of very high quality. Wellness- www.oldmotherhubbard.com , Innova, California Natural and Healthwise- www.naturapet.com , Azmira- www.Azmira.com , Canidae- www.canidae.com

Bailey never ate puppy chow either. It is better for the puppys not to grow too fast.

She did get the leashes, collar, etc. Are they to keep? If so I'm guessing thats what some of that 80 dollars goes towards.

He loves it! He does some funny stuff though. He likes to run through the tunnel backwards at warp speed (well as fast as he can go backwards!) It burns lots of energy, mentally and physically. Its one of the only things we do that when we get home he'll take a long nap. Which is nice because even after running nonstop playing fetch for 3 hours we'll get home and he still won't stop moving.

 

I think its great that it is a nonprofit org. Thats really cool!

Isn't nice to feel like you are getting something in return for your money? I'm glad you like the new class. There are some obedience classes here in Tucson that have 20-30 dogs at a time, and they are not cheap! My thought is, what the hell is my dog gonna learn? Nothing. Baileys obedience class had 7 dogs, his agility class had 5. I really like the school we go to too. Good luck!

 

PS. I wear a dorky little treat pouch hanging off my belt, so don't feel bad!

I'm so sorry to hear about your family's loss. It definitely sounds as though there is a major problem with these pups-more than giardia. Was parvo ruled out? Thinking of you and your family, again sorry about the loss of your puppy.