SnickerKitten

Michelle, I'm with you. Yeesh, I tell you, the other thing that gets me is the one's that bring an aggressive dog to the dog park and when you point out that the dog is being aggressive to another dog you get, "oh, no, that's how he plays" ARGGHHHHHHHHH Or the other ones that automatically freak out when they see the hair on a dog's back raised without looking at the rest of their body language. When we see another dog on a walk I always ask from a distance, "Would he/she like to meet my dog?" then if they look like they're bringing their dog straight on I'll try to walk at an angle to them so Stormy's not intimidated by a dog zoning straight in at him. Lori

So glad to hear the news is so good. Lots of good thoughts and scratches coming your way!! Lori

Wow! Great timing and nice save!!! Hope he brings you as much pleasure and delight as my rescued boy Stormy has brought to me!!!!! Lori

That looks like Stormy's belly!!!! I hadn't really thought about it before, but he does have an awful hairy belly. The aussie rescue I currently have has a pretty bare belly, though. Lori

"He remains the best dog I ever owned, but I fear he would have been put down sooner or later anyway as he was an incurable snapper (attempts to stop this even by professional behaviourists failed and we decided it was probably inherited) with some, yet loved others. I'm not sure he was quite right in the head but I remain adamant that he changed my life for the best and I am certain I will one day breed fantastic dogs like him" The above is an excellent reason for breeding to be left to those with experience- years and years and years of experience. If the snapping behavior was inherited then that dog and the dogs that were bred to produce him should never be bred. I know you loved him and he was very special to you but there is no way that a dog that snaps at people would ever be considered "fantastic" by any breeder that I'd want to consider getting a dog from. Oftentimes it is the dog with the most serious issues that comes along and changes our lives or us for the better, but that is no reason to try to breed dogs that have issues. Also, breeding BCs to be the fabulous working dogs that they are produces plenty of BCs that aren't quite cut out for herding but are then able to excel at other jobs, sports, etc. Breeding without aiming toward the best working BCs just weakens the breed as a whole. Instead of getting some BCs that are excellent stock dogs, some BCs that are great at sports, and some that are great as companions you would then be producing some that are great at sports, some that are great as companions, dwindling off to all that are ok as companions and the BC as the breed we know and love is gone. I can tell you that I adore my Stormy. I've never had a dog that meant more to me, heck, when I was gone with the Red Cross for several weeks it was Stormy that I was pining for and not the rest of my family (husband and kids- not that I don't adore them as well but I wasn't desperate to have them with me for that time period as I was with Stormy) but if he weren't neutered I would still NEVER in a million years consider breeding him. Lori

So, are you going to eat HER dinner to teach her a lesson? <snicker snicker> Seriously, you can leave leftovers in the car with Usher and he won't touch them???? I'm impressed. Can't say that about my Stormy. My idiot little rescue would have probably eaten the container along with the shrimp. Lori

It would be my first move to have Toby seen by a dog behaviorist. The way you describe his reaction does not sound like he's fearful, it sounds more like he's just plain dog aggressive. If my dog acted like that I don't think I'd have any other animals in my house with him at all. I'd also start looking for reasons why his stress level is high in the house even when you don't have a foster and start addressing that. Goldens don't really end up living all that long compared to some other breeds so it might be best to put your plans for getting a border collie off till after Toby has passed away. Good luck with him. Lori

Hee hee hee.. thinking about things that make Cesar look like an angel... I grew up in a house where dogs were hit with rolled up newspaper, their noses stuck in messes while they were screamed at and hit, etc etc etc. Good thing I learned my own way instead of perpetuating all that!!! Lori

QUOTE(Laurae @ Jan 14 2008, 04:03 PM) So it's not that there is no pack order, but that it's a bit more fuzzy and complex than once believed. Yes, put like that I would agree. Lori

Ms Daisyduke- I *believe* that in the back of Cesar's first book he recommends "The Other end of the Leash" among others. Perhaps if you point that out to your aunt she'll broaden her search and get a wider assortment of input to think about. Lori

I use my blow dryer on a cool (room temperature) setting with a diffuser and just stick that into his coat rather than blowing from the outside. That way it's blowing from the inside out and gets the inside much dryer. Lori

I use the "zhhht" noise at times, just like I use "ack", "oof", "eek" and many other noises. It's not necessarily the noise I make that I want my dog to understand as "no" (which I think is way overused with both dogs and kids so they start ignoring it- also since I say it often to my kids I don't want my dog thinking I'm reprimanding him when my kids as for something and I say "no" because no matter what I'm saying Stormy always thinks I'm talking to him) it's the tone of voice I'm using with him that tells him "something I'm doing isn't what she wants" and he'll either look to me for what I DO what him to do or if he knows what it is (chasing a cat) he will immediately stop. I also use *words* with him as frequently as I use noises. Maybe he thinks I'm nuts talking to him all the time but he definately understands my tone of voice. As far as correcting other people's dogs.... if someone's dog jumps up on me you'd better believe I'm going to correct it. Also, if another dog is doing something dangerous to my dog or to my kids if I feel I have time I ask the person to intervene but if I don't have time (as in the time two huskies rolled my dog after they had viciously gone after another dog and been asked to leave by that owner) then I do step in immediately and the time with the two huskies I physically got between one of them and him and the one that had it's mouth on his throat I squirted with the watergun I use to stop Stormy from barking. At that time I felt Stormy was in enough danger that if I hadn't had the squirt gun I most likely would have done something alot more forceful. At the same time, being a responsible dog owner, I feel it is always my responsibility to make sure my dog never puts any one else in the position where they would have to wonder if it was ok for them to reprimand him. I correct him *before* he jumps on someone, I call him away *before* I think he may be in a position with another dog that the other owner may be uncomfortable with, etc. From my understanding, the "biting" that Cesar does is just a touch with his hand. I also do that with my dog and with my children. If I want their attention and their attention is elsewhere and I'm within reaching distance I will touch them to get them focused on me. I don't consider it biting when I do it, it's just a "Hey, over here!" that works better than repeating their name over and over again or getting louder and louder. Heck, oftentimes with my son I have to go a step further than touching him and get on my knees in front of him to hold his attention on what I'm saying- then make him repeat what I said. Unfortunately, I can 't ask my dog, "Now, what did I say? What does that mean?" to make sure my directive is understood. There are several things that I've seen or heard from Cesar that make sense to me. When people are meeting my dog I much prefer that they ignore him until he's come to them. If someone doesn't approach him, they just enter the space we're in then Stormy is very quick to check them out and then be comfortable with them petting him. If someone walks up to him, talking and reacing out to him, he gets very nervous and even afterwards tends not to want them touching him. I also like what says about the energy that we project. If I want my dog to be calm then I can't be agitated. Heck, I can read an email that upsets me and even if he's not looking at me he'll know something just upset me and he'll come right over looking for reassurance that I'm ok. As far as the thing about not giving affection to a dog that is scared, etc... well, I can kind of see his point. I don't however see an issue with using a "You're being ridiculous, this is safe" kind of comment and tone to reassure them while staying calm yourself and letting them see that you're not concerned. As far as the walking thing... as long as a leash is not taut and pulling on the dog I don't see why it needs to be any particular length or shortness. Most of the time that I walk my dog I do it without a leash and most of the time he stays pressed right up against my left leg so that I actually have to ask him for more space. I've found that the dog I found last month (seriously, she needs a new home!) will walk like that also when I am in a situation where I feel safe walking her without a leash however on a leash she has HORRID manners and will pull and jump (go figure). Oops, time to get my son! Lori

"Now that I think of it, I wonder if maybe the woman has Asperger's syndrome... the way she's interacted with both humans and dogs is so odd and inappropriate - maybe she can't read social cues from either species. ::Sigh::" Mary, could be. When my son was 3 and throwing an autistic meltdown (like a temper tantrum times a million) in a store and I was sitting calmly holding onto him as he's thrashing around so he wouldn't run off and injure himself or cause major destruction in the store and waiting it out. Next thing I knew a woman was standing in front of him screaming and jumping up and down and basically acting just like him. I was completely appalled. I said "Geez, he's three years old and autistic, what's your excuse?" She told me she thought I was autistic and stormed off. To this day all I can feel for her is pity. Not sure if she was somewhere along the autism spectrum (such as aspergers) or just a royal idiot. As for your woman, if you've run into her again since you posted this so long ago, I hope you didn't have any further issues with her. I find that when a human doesn't immediately move away from a dog that is showing signs that that's what needs to happen it's best just to treat that person as if they were another dog that was intimidating your dog- ie. physically move between them and then remove your dog from the area. Then again I'm not the least confontational person I've ever met I figure if someone wants my respect then they're going to show respect to me and that woman was certainly not respecting you in any way shape or form nevermind what she was doing to your dog. Lori

First dog as a child: Black German Shepard named "Shotzie" (registered name Imperial Black Pearl) First dog as an adult: Samoyed that followed someone else home and wasn't claimed by anyone Why a BC? He was scrawny, missing half his hair and I felt so sorry for this miserable little creature that was petrified when I met him and it took me 45 minutes just to get him to get near me, but when he did bond to me he let me know he was the right one for me. Did you do research? Yes, after our first meeting I went home and researched the breed. I was looking for a Search and Rescue partner, not just a pitiful creature to save. After our second meeting I saw that he was quickly developing trust in me and figured that was a key response I needed. Since BCs do well with Search and Rescue and he was quickly developing confidence in me I took him. First BC: Stormy (same one I have now) What made you want to get another? Haven't gotten another one. What have you done with your dogs? Obedience, play play play, beginning SAR How many BC's? one How many do you have now? one (plus an aussie or aussie/bc mix temporarily till she finds a home... anyone want her?) What "quirks" have you noticed with all your dogs? Different ones with each dog I've had. Stormy has been worked out of most of his quirks, though. City dog or country dog? Suburban Would you ever get another breed? If the right dog comes to me I don't really care what the breed is although there are several breeds I'd love to have.

I've had boy dogs and I've had girl dogs but Stormy is the only bc I've had and he's a boy. I do have two friends that have girls (one is staying with us right now) and the girls are at both spectrums of personality while my Stormy falls in the middle. Sadie (girl bc I am babysitting right now) is very mellow in the house, chases balls nonstop if you keep throwing it and very happy go lucky. She's pretty comfy with hanging out with my son while her mommy is away. Tika (girl bc belonging to a friend of mine) is extremely intense. She never stays still, complains about being brushed, is in your face constantly, go go go and can be very snarky at times. Will do tons of tricks... when she wants to. Stormy is extremely laid back as long as he can get to mommy. He'll run like crazy at the dog park - checking back in with me frequently- he'll trot along happily for hours on walks, he concentrates beautifully when doing SAR training, will cuddle up to me for however long I remain still. He's intense in a very different way than Tika. Lori