Odin's Momma

Oh, I forgot something really important in my original post . . . I'm not really sure how to go about training with distractions. I know what it is, but I don't know how to do it exactly. I really want to do everything right, so I want to make sure I understand everthing 100%.

LOL! I guess I'll have to start checking between the couch cushions for change

You guys, thanks so much for the helpful replies! (as if I've ever gotten any other kind around here! ) I've made a decision to have a *nice* conversation with this lady the next time I see her, and try to make her understand where I'm coming from without being confrontational. I truly don't think she realises how rude she seems. As for my father in law, who is the person who doesn't think well of me because of what I said to madam froo froo, I'm going to tell him as tactfully as I can, that I don't agree with everything he says or does either but I don't shove it in his face. Thanks again! EDIT: Also, I don't think he really sees it from my point of view, so maybe I should explain it for him. I usually cannot go outside on my own without having a panic attack becuse of my anxiety, and i've been trying really hard to go out and be strong for Odin. So I cannot have this woman or anyone else setting my progress back. Everyday is a struggle and the last thing I need is to put up with her. I would much prefer it if she would just avoid me altogether instead of coming over to me all the time.

Summer is coming and I've made it my mission to work with Odin until he has an excellent recall. I've read the Recall thread in the FAQ section, and I found it very informative. Already I'm aware that I made a few big mistakes with Odin, including calling him to me when I can't reinforce the command, and repeating the command as if repeating it will magically send him running to me. Yea right Now, I moderate a message board myself, so I know how annoying it can be to see someone post a topic that's been discussed many times before, but if I felt that I could do it on my own, without guidance from you guys, I swear, I would not make another thread about Recall. I have some posts printed out and underlined, I'm trying to learn as much as I can and I'm taking this very seriously, but what I'm looking for is some advice on my specific situation. Honestly, I feel really bad asking this, because I feel like I should be paying someone for this information! But alas, all I can repay you with is lots and lots of gratitude. If that's not good enough then I guess I'll have to send y'all some money Okay, so in the apartment, Odin has a pretty good recall. But sometimes, especially when he's being lazy, he'll just ignore me. I don't want to bribe him over, as was mentioned in FAQ thread, and I admit I'm guilty of saying "come see mama, common, come see mama!" or something similar. So basically, 80% of the time, if I call him while we're inside, he WILL come to me. But I know I have to get him to do it that other 20% before I move on to the "next level" as Miz said in the FAQ. That's the first thing. Now, behind our apartment building, there is a reasonably large park, located next to a daycare, with a large, fenced area. This is the only place Odin has had freedom to run free since we got him. Also, we can only go there after 6, when daycare is out. I assume this would be the next place to move on to. When Odin is in the fenced area (which is pretty big) he will come when called about 80% of the time. Unless there's another dog in there with him, then it drops to about 20% of the time. Obviously, I have some work ahead of me there. After reading the thread Miz posted, I know what I've been doing wrong, and I know some tips to get me started, like the game and the chase method. However, there's so much information, I'm not really sure where to start! Should I put him on a long lead and pull him back to me if he doesn't come? Does that method work? Oh, and today my husband and I took Odin for a walk through the larger park just a block away from us, and we decided to walk along the Waterfront Trail http://www.waterfronttrail.org/trail.html We went in a lesser travelled direction that lead us to a very secluded spot (It would have to be for me to even consider taking Odin off his leash). There was a large clearing surrounded by trees, and I could tell right away that people don't go there often. So I took Odin off his leash to test out his recall and I was very pleased. Each time we called him, he would come running. Of course, this is with 0 distractions, but I still feel encouraged by it. It looks like an excellent place to train *with* distractions, since I can get my hubby's cousin or brother to bring their dog, or other members of the family to come along and help me out without having to worry about stangers walking by every 5 minutes. So basically what I've tried to do here is give you all an idea of what my situation is. I think I have about 4 "levels" : the apartment, the fenced area, the clearing, and if he makes it past that, hopefully he'll be okay in the regular park where people come and go. So if he were your dog, and this was your situation, how would YOU handle it? Again, I know it's alot to ask, but I hope someone can help me. Odin is so intelligent and so sweet, and I would have had no clue how to mold him into the dog he is today if it weren't for the people here on the BCB. I truly feel like he is who he is - not because of me - but because of the great people on these boards who helped me through raising a Border Collie Puppy when I knew nothing about the breed. Knowing what happens to BC puppies with ignorant or lazy owners, knowing what Odin *could* be like right now . . . and knowing that he *is* . . . I just can't help but feel so grateful and so proud. When it first hit me that I had to teach my boy a great recall I was really intimidated. I was discouraged because I had screwed up already and I wasn't sure if I could fix it. But then I remembered that I have people who are here for me and Odin, and you guys have been a great inspiration and great teachers. I feel like there are just no limits to what I can teach Odin, as long as I have the BCB I'm done being sappy now, I swear. Now help me. :mad: Please?

LMAO! Oh wow, that's too funny! Sounds like it's the owner who's a few beer short of a six pack The dogs are probably running around laughing their butts off at him "Haha, look at that loser run! Weeee!" lmao! Wow, that gave me a good laugh

Today I took Odin to his daily trip to the park. Exept for another incident with the Froo Froo dog lady, everything was perfect - More that perfect!! First it was Just me and Odie. We walked through the park, spent some quality time together, and had a great time. Then came Trigger and his owner and him and Odin played for awhile. Great so far, right? Then came the froo froo dog lady You would think that after the last incident she would have given up her little "Odin needs a big dog to play with" mantra, but Noooo! Now, on top of her sickening mantra, she said that "the last time I let Odin near gumper he rolled him over on his back and scared him". First of all, that's BS because she has never let Odin within 2 feet of Gumper, except for a quick sniff which I witnessed and there was no dog flipping going on. Anyway, I basically told her that if she didn't want to have Gumper near Odin then it was because of her own issues and it had nothing to do with Odin's behavior. Odin was playing with a dog Gumpers size RIGHT then and there! Sigh. Anyway, she left, obviously miffed but not more so than me. Then something happened that I thought was going to be just as bad . . . this lady went to meet some friends who had 3 small children. If I were to guess, I would say the girl was about 2 years old, and the boys about 4 and 5. They ran up to Gumper and hugged and kissed and played, yadda yadda. But then the little girls eyes saw Odin and I think she fell in love. She waddled over yelling "Big dog like Gum-puh! The two boys followed. At this point I got really nervous, because the only child Odin has ever been around is my 9 yr old sister. So, I let myself have one quick bad thought directed at the kids parents and/or guardians for being halfway across the park and playing no mind to their children who were running at full speed toward a strange, large dog (Trigger and his owner left and everyone else drifted across the parc, leaving me alone with Odin and the children) . . . and then I started thinking positively. I held Odin's halti right where his lead attaches to it, gave him a little reassurance and flashed the kids a big smile. I introduced them, trying to keep my mind positive the whole time and BOY did it pay off . . . Odin was wonderful with them. No, he wasn't like lassy or even gumper, but for a dog who had never seen a human so small he was incredible. I feel like this was such a HUGE step for him and for us as a family. I didn't let go of his leash, but he was really tolerant of them, even letting the little girl, Sophie, lay her head on his back and give him a hug and a kiss. I nearly cried like a baby. I was so proud of Odin, so grateful to these little kids and so thankful to whatever it is that gave me this blessing. Odin came to me at 3 months and my husband and I didn't know any children except my sister, who didn't visit often. I blamed myself for not trying harder to socialize him at a younger age with children, and I thought that it was a lost cause. But today . . . today was beautiful. To see that cute, chubby faced, curly haired girl wrap her arms around my Odie and lay her cheek on his back . . . and to see him lay there, calmly, as if it were an everyday occurance It just made my heart sing. But for some reason, now that we're back home, I find it hard to concentrate on that little miracle. Instead I keep thinking about that incident with Madame Froo Froo. I want to just forget it even happended but it keep coming back. I keep worrying that she'll hate me now and my husband's family will scorn me forever over this. Her hate I could deal with I suppose, I just don't like my dh's family thinking ill of me, it hasn't been very harmonious for me as it is. Anyway, so I came here to get the bad off my chest and to share the good . . . and to ask, am I the only one who can't stop dwelling on the bad, even when awesome things happen within minutes of the bad things? ps...sorry in advance for any typos, I typed this quickly

I think Rune is a lovely name! I wish I had taken more time to name Odin! I really don't like his name at all but my hubby wanted a Viking-ish name. If I hadn't compromised on Odin he would have called him "Naglfar" :eek: Good luck with your new girl, I'm very very happy for you PS: I'm going to throw out a random name suggestion, just for fun. I was thinking about it for a minute and I think that if I ever lost my Odin and had a second chance with another dog, I think I would call her/him "Renaissance" which is french for "Rebirth". I think it's a nice name for a new beginning. Plus, "Renai" sounds really cute

But won't he get tangled in trees or something? Or if he's playing with Rocky? (Rocky belongs to my dh's cousins and will be there as well) edit: Not that I'd leave him unattended, but if he does get tangled around trees and such, 50 feet seems like alot to untangle btw, is this what you are talking about? http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396670059&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443273068&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474396670271&bmUID=1 145501316872&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true://http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortme...fromSearch=true

Today I brought Odin back to the park we were at the other day. One of my husband's cousins was there and she was talking about how she was getting an English Bulldog for her bf because "he won't stop talking about getting one". Apparently, she has found a "breeder" and is going to pay 2000$ for a pup. Guess when the breeder wants to send the puppy home with her? Brace yourselves . . . 4 WEEKS! :eek: I did everything I could to try to discourage her from doing this but she's very set on getting this pup. What can I tell her to get through to her? I've already said that no responsible breeder in their right mind would let a puppy go at that age, I told her that she will end up with ALOT of problems . . . but she's just - stubborn I guess? She just doesn't "get it". How do I make her "get it"? To make things worse . . . my mother in law was there and told her about how smart Odin is and she asked me to show her the tricks he knows . . . After seeing him Hide, Sit, Stay, Crawl, give High Five, Take a Bow, Touch a treat on command, touch me on command, give me a kiss on command, give my husband a kiss on command, play hide and seek with treats, and see how well he will "leave it" when I tell him too . . . and God knows what else, I can never remember them all . . . she CAN'T WAIT to get the dog now that she can "see what they can do" :eek: Did I mention she was getting an English Bulldog? Sigh . . . she said that it was so hard to find a breeder in Toronto and "my bf wants one SO BAD" . . . but feel compelled to turn her away from the damned path of evil she's on right now!! Advice anyone? Or should I just leave it? I wish to God I could just get through to her.

My hubby and I are planning to spend alot of time camping this summer. We'll be splitting weekends between spending time with his cousins in a trailer parc they visit during the summer away from the city, and spending time with my mom and sister who do the same, just in a different trailer park. Dogs are allowed but have to be on a leash at all times . . . I don't want my baby to be on a leash 24/7. Someone suggested I get an excersise pen, but I've never seen one before. Do you guys know anything about them, would they be okay for Odin? The only one I've seen is only for small dogs and is only a little bit taller than Odin, so I would need something bigger, I just don't know if they make them bigger or how much it would cost me. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance! Oh, and would he be happy in one of these pens? Or would it just be depressing for him? Here is a link to the itty bitty one I found at Canadian Tire . . . http://gateway.canadiantire.ca/driver.php?...45524443281015_

I guess it really gets to me because this member of my family really thinks I'm rotten for saying it . . . he says "Oh, she's such a sweet lady, she didn't mean anything rude by it" and no matter how hard I try to explain that it doesn't matter that she didn't mean it, she had to be told, he still says that it was a "horrible way to talk to her" >:|

Omg, that is just what she was doing too . . . petting gumper and telling him that Odin is a nice dog but he needs a big dog to play with =

Well, they wanted to come over and talk with us, which is completely cool . . . I like talking to them. But when my dogs starts being insulted, then that's too much for me.

The other day my husband and I took Odin for a walk. As we rounded the park near us, we saw my husband's brother and his cousins playing baseball, so we go visit. Things are going good, even though Odin nearly pulls my arm out a few times trying to run after the ball One of my dh's cousins comes out with his dog, a little one, I always forget the breed. Anyway, Trigger gets let off leash but I don't let Odin off, there are too many children nearby and although Odin isn't agressive in the least, he is super playful. Anyway, so I go over to a picnic table and chat with a friend for awhile. Odin wants to run around with Trigger so he lets out a bark now and then. I tell him "Sit" and try to occupy him with some tricks and some treats and praise from me and my friend. Then along comes 2 ladies that are friends of the family. They have a gorgeous little fluffy dog named Gumper. He's a black and white Shih-Tsu, and very loving and gentle. Anyway, these ladies approach the bench as if Odin is the spawn of Satan. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still . . . If they don't want gumper to play with Odin, that's fine with me, I understand. But Gumper's owner kept saying OVER and OVER "Oh, Odins a good dog but he needs a big dog to play with" . . . like it was a mantra or something. I bit my tongue for about a half hour but finally, the last time she said it I said "You know what? Odin plays FINE with small dogs." And she just said "oh". Now, one member of my family thinks I'm just HORRIBLE for saying that but I just had to say something and I though the truth would be the best thing to say. In my head, I though "if she's too afraid to let her dog play that's fine, but that's HER issue, she doesn't have to put my dog down over and over in order to validate her decision to not let her dog play with mine. It's like she felt bad for not letting Gumper play, so instead of just saying, "You know, I'm just too afraid of letting him play with bigger dogs" she had to repeat, over and over (and I mean it, she must have said it 50 times) "Oh, odins a good dog but he needs a big dog to play with" . . . which is BS . . . all of Odin's "cousins" are small dogs! Ziggy is just a little thing, Trigger too! Trigger is about the same size as gumper and he really puts Odin in his place. Odin is actually afraid of him! Casper is an American Eskimo, so he's not very big either. In fact, the biggest dog in our family is Rocky, but I don't even think he weighs 30lbs soaking wet. Anyway, this was really long, I guess I needed to rant. Was what I said REALLY that bad? If I would have had my time back I probably would have said something like "I know you are afraid of letting Gumper play with bigger dogs, and I understand that and it's completely your choice, but I just want to let you know that Odin plays fine with small dogs. Alright, /end rant

Odin sleeps in the bathtub mostly . . . not sure why he likes it so much though

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone! I feel so much better now! I've been busy helping my mom out with my little sister these past few days because she has a pretty bad flu but I'm going to start calling some vets tomorrow I'll let you guys know how everything turns out! Thanks again for the help!

I *am* in Canada lol! I just had to say it I am definitely going to look around for another vet today!

Yes, I think I will. I thought it was very odd as well, but the vet said it was necessary to keep him in so that there was no risk of infection. What do I know, right? I'm not vet, so what do I know? So just thought it was the norm. The only other male dog I know personally who has been neutered is my husbands' aunts' dog and he was taken to the same vet.

Zoe, thanks so much for the reply. If I had been there at the time, I assure you, Mr. Odin would not have gotten away with that. Alas, he was alone with a bunch of men who thought it was hilarious. (Now you see why I hate to leave him! ) EDIT: Yes, he would be charging to keep him there. The cost of neutering in total would come to a little over 400$

I second that YAY!

And here's one of the reasons I really need to crack down and take him to the vet . . . Of course, it doesn't help when my husbands' cousin gets on the floor and flaunts his leg saying "Common Odie, I know you want me!"

I know! Maybe I should check out other vets . . .

Odin's vet says he will have to keep him there for 2 whole days! I guess letting me stay there with him the whole time would be out of the question, huh? And yea, some of my relatives say I'm crazy for having a "big dog" inside As if only small dogs deserve a warm home :eek: Other relatives/friends say I put too much of my time into Odin and that I should realize that he's "just a dog" Oh well, what can ya do?

I saw this while browsing a classified site online: ------------------------------------------------ Rare Imported Toy & Mini Australian Shepherd pup forsale Blue eyed blue merle 2 males and 1 female Black Tri's with lots of copper 3 males and 2 females Toys are 12" and 10 -15lbs priced at $1500.00 Mini's are 13"-16"and are 15-25lbs and are priced at $1200.00 All are vet checked, 1st needles, dewormed, and reg'd pups are 5 & 7 wks old and will be flown to Canada in 2 weeks $500.00 Deposits can email pic. ------------------------------------------------- Ugh.

This cutie is at the Toronto Humane Society. http://www.petharbor.com/detail.asp?ID=A097607&LOCATION=TRHS&searchtype=LOST&friends=0&samaritans=0&nosuccess=0&rows=10&imght=200&imgres=thumb&view=sysadm.v_TRHS_SW&bgcolor=white&t ext=black&link=blue&alink=red&vlink=blue&fontface=Arial,Sans&fontsize=10&col_hdr_bg=white&col_hdr_fg=black&col_bg=white&col_fg=black&shelterlist='TRHS'&where=type_dog://http://www.petharbor.com/detail.asp...&where=type_dog