Continue reading... "how this freaky site works..."

He really is. It's rare I get to see an all-around good dog, since people call me mostly for problems that are making them tear their hair out. In this case, Sam is not one of those dogs. My first impression of him was this; he's just a happy puppy who gets a little too happy when people come over to visit. This is expressed through lots of bouncing around the visitor, and grabbing them on the way back down. His owner likes it that he's so ecstatic, but wants to stop the jumping altogether. Sam uses wee wee pads but sometimes misses when he aims to pee on them. I don't count these as accidents, but they're not to be ignored completely. He's at the age (adolescent pup) to start using only the yard as his bathroom. He has learned to ring bells hanging from the doorknob when he wants to go outside to play, which could turn into a signal for when he has to relieve himself. Right now, the backyard is his playpen where he becomes the greatest entertainer of himself. He loves to stuff his face deep into the snow and dig wherever he finds a suitable spot. When he is not tossing pine cones into the air, he is barking back and forth with the dog on the other side of the fence all day long.
He has a habit of running out the front door when the opportunity arises, to explore nothing in particular, and then to play "catch me if you can". He will steal if given the chance (a stray dish towel, stuffed animal, etc.) and he needs to learn how to walk on a leash without dragging his owner around the neighborhood.

Loveliest dogs ever. Except they were eating the entire kitchen while their parents were at work. Cabinets, linoleum tiles, chairs, tables, and even the replacement linoleum tiles. Throughout their six lessons, they both learned how to sit, sit-stay, lay down, stop jumping, stop playbiting, walk on a leash and stop using the rest of the apartment as a bathroom. They were both wonderful to work with and their parents were one of the few couples who practiced as much as they should've.
Mia and Stomper ended up having to be confined when left alone so they wouldn't run hog wild, shredding wee wee pads and the like. They have lots of pacifiers so as not to get too bored. Both respond well to a shake can correction when they're jumping or stealing. Overall, a great pair of dogs who happen to get along except when there's a pig's ear around. Love them silly.

Sophie actually bit her Dad over a piece of wood chip from the garden. I saw Dad's face afterwards and it wasn't anything nice. She bit him correctively, which means she gave him a warning and she could've hurt him if she wanted to, but she chose not to. Time to enforce a new protocol..

Continue reading... "sophie's hit a speedbump of sorts..#7"

We decided to try the Spray Commander on Bacardi to help correct his jumping up on counters and stealing things from them. We started with a sock as bait, which he attempted to take, then a slice of bread, then a few other things. He caught on to the verbal warning quickly and resisted the urge to take the baits. He wasn't overly anxious about being sprayed, but he took the correction as a deterrent.

The first week of experimenting with the citronella correction is the most important. Most dogs react to the spray at first, but some blow it off within a few days, so just be aware of the possibility of your dog becoming desensitized to it.

Continue reading... "bacardi's citronella experience...#3"

Bacardi graduated last week a better man, but still holding on to a few of his own ideas. For one, he has a few times stolen bras, socks and underwear from the laundry pile while everyone else was sleeping in the next room. Stealth. He surprisingly doesn't want to destroy them, but seems to enjoy relocating them to the livingroom in a nice spread-out pattern for everyone to see when they wake up...

Continue reading... "bacardi graduates #4"

I suggested using a citronella collar on Zack as a correction because it's the easiest way to correct (push a button), and with all the responsibilities Mom has, she needs an easy & effective weapon. I feel she should have it for the possible corrective aggression episodes at least. She's thinking about it. We started the lesson with the sit command, which Zack knew, then we moved into sit-stay using a six-foot leash and training collar.

Continue reading... "zack- first lesson..#2"

So, anybody ever have a dog who barks in your face or taunts you by punching you in the chest with both feet? How about nipping and tearing off into the hallway, hoping you'll chase them all over the house? Any just-for-fun shoe stealers out there? Read on...

Continue reading... "sophie's craving some interaction. #3"