New Family Member, Pics to Come Soon.....

[Lonewolfblue]

Yup, she knows her name well. That's why I kept it the same and didn't change it on her.

Update....

Today was my first day at work with her alone. MISTAKE, lol. I left her inside, and even though she is great when I'm here, she turned my house inside out, lol. She pooped and peed as well, lol. So tonight I had to spend more money and got her a training kennel. This is only til I get my fence up in the back yard, then she can stay out all day. I'll have a 50ft cable run about 6 feet up, and a lead with a roller on it so she can run the whole length of the yard. You can get these at Petco, and they are fairly cheap. Made of aircraft cable, so it's high strength too. Also need to get her a dog house too. Maybe my next bonus check, lol.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Hi all.....

Well, some bad news here. Betty is doing very well, but I may be bringing her back to Spokane after my vacation, which starts tomorrow. She is absolutely awsome in the home and with kids and some cats, but she still has the viciosness with other dogs. Don't know if her past was brought up to be ruthless with other dogs, but it's really stressing me out. Can't take her out on walks without her pulling me towards other dogs because she wants to shred them to pieces. Same in my yard as well. She does great til a dog walks by, then her focus is 100% on that dog. She's attacked a Beagle (luckily no blood was drawn and I knew the owner), and had a runin with 3 rotweilers. And I was stuck in the middle. Luckily the rotweilers seemed to just want to play and was no apparent threat to me, but she was. And she got me too, got a hold of 2 of the rottys and they ran with their tails between their legs. The 3rd never got too close, and left with the others. I tried to get Betty to the ground, since she seemed to be the threatening dog, and that's when she got me. Then there was the run-in with a German Shephard. He came up to the fence that surrounded his yard, and she leaped up on the 4ft fence and would have got him of I didn't jerk her completely off the fence. It's just been really stressful, and am looking for something else. I don't think I want another dog that the past is not known and was dropped in the drop box at night. And I really don't want to take her on my trip to Oregon either, as my mom has a mineature dochsund. The kennel is coming with me, and also the corkscrew thing you screw in the ground with the 15ft lead. She will be kept away from the dog, and will take her on walks there with my mom and dad, as the dochesund stays home.

As for in the house, that's what makes it so hard to part with her. She is awsome with people, kids, and is just a doll, and completely listens to you. If you tell her to sit, she sits. She also knows stay, no, up, lay down, good girl, bad girl, and a few other commands. But the biggest thing, she tries to be a lap dog too, but is quite big for that, lol. She gets on your lap, puts her head on your shoulder, looks at you with her big brown eyes, and licks you on the face. She's the perfect house dog, but you can't keep them housed up, as they need lots of exercise.

Well, enough with the venting, lol. I'll be looking for something else here. Gonna try to find something about the same in size, but as either a puppy, or a dog that's known to be good with other dogs, and the history is known. I may even look at getting 2 dogs for playmates while I'm at work.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Awww LWB that sucks!

I can completely relate to you situation. I have a husky/shepard mix and as she has gotten older she has become VERY vicious towards other dogs, it came on very slow, but the end result was she's virtually unmanageable on walks (she's OK with me, but my daughter can't walk her). Now I've had her since she was a pup, and I certainly can't part with her (She's 9 now), but it just shows, that even knowing a dogs past, doesn't necessarily mean they stay the same as they age.

 

[MOsborne05]

Have you tried using a gentle leader? You should try that before you take the dog back, because that could completely eliminate the problem. I have a great dane who used to do the same thing. We got a gentle leader so that she could not physically overpower me, and that helped tremendously. If she started to act up, I would just tighten the leash, sometimes to the point where she couldn't move her head. It only took a couple of times before she realized that she didn't like that and she stopped acting up. She still watches the other dogs and is 'on edge' when another dog is nearby, but she doesn't bark or lunge or freak out anymore. Now if we see another dog all I have to do is tell her 'your fine' or 'relax' and she is fine with them. I don't know if this would work with you but I'd hate to see you get rid of her just because of that when it could easily be managed. I'd also suggest taking her to training classes. When she sees another dog in class and starts acting up, the trainer will be right there to show you how to handle her. Hopefully you find something that works so you can keep her

 

[HMarcks]

Have you found another dog yet? I just saw this so I don't know if it is to late but I'll try anyway. She can be taught not to act like that, she probably wasn't taught to act like that in the past she was just never taught not to. Talk to some dog trainers they will know exactly what to do. She is obviously a smart dog (most cattle dogs are) and you can teach her one more trick to add to her list, the pay attention to me and not other dogs trick. Please try to keep her she is so lucky to have someone who obviously takes such good care of her.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I haven't found another dog yet, but the Spokane Humane Society has another Blue Heeler/Australian Shepherd that sounds like would be perfect for what I want. She's also a year old, but her history is known. She's great with people and kids, is mindful, and gets along great with dogs and cats. I was really thinking about exchanging, but is hard to part with Betty, lol. I"ve talked to a couple trainers, and they all tell me the same thing, they don't take dogs that are aggressive to other dogs. So I can't find anyone to help.

As for a gentle leader, not sure what that is. I've used several different types of leash and collars, and have found the Illusion Collar to be the best for controlling her. But when she sees another dog, it don't help much. She'd rather choke herself out trying to get the dog rather than paying attention to me. I've used several techniques used by The Dog Whisperer, but with no success. He says you have to match the correction with the level the dog is at. Well, if I did that, I'd have to rip her head off, lol. I've done really strong corrections to the side, but she completely ignores them, and any harder I may hurt her. It is just miserable trying to walk her anymore. I was also wanting another dog as well, but with her the way she is, makes it an impossible task. Would eventually like 2 dogs.

 

[MOsborne05]

A gentle leader is a head collar. Dogs have alot of strength in their necks but not in their heads. The gentle leader goes across the dogs nose and back behind their ears, just like a horse's halter. With the gentle leader on, my 140 pound great dane cannot physically overpower me. It didn't take her long to realize that she didn't like having her head held tight when she acted up, so she doesn't do it anymore. At first your dog is going to hate it, and try everything to get it off, and then rub her face once you take it off. But eventually she will get used to it and I think it will work wonders for you. Good luck!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Now I see what you mean. I have the Halti, and it does no good for her. She know's exactly how to get out of it, lol. Here's the one I have, but it's in red.

Coastal Halti Headcollars at PETCO

She is a very smart dog. I can't use a lot with her. She knows how to slip out of regular collars, Halti's, chokers, and a few others. But she hasn't been able to get out of the Illusion Collar. It's like a double collar, where there's a stiff band between the 2 collars, and then a choker collar at the top of the neck. That way the collar keeps the choker at the top of the neck, which is where you control the dog. Works pretty well, but for her, she'd rather choke and try to get the dog rather than mind me, lol.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, I have some possibly good news. I finally found a trainer here locally that is willing to work with her. She said that it would only take 3-4 weeks to correct her behaviour. And the class is only once a week, then the rest of the week, I'll have homework to work with her on. She's also got 2 dogs of her own that she uses to train dogs like Betty. A Sheltie and a Border Collie. It's kind of expensive, but I think it's going to be well worth it.

Also, along with this training, she's also going to get training with hand commands as well. Betty knows many commands to start with, but it's going to expand her horizons with hand commands. She told me when we are done, she won't need to be on a leash as well, and not have to worry about her charging other dogs. And the most important part, it's not fixing her but training me, so that I'm the one in complete charge, and that I know what is expected of me on my end. It's gonna be a good experience.

 

[MOsborne05]

Great news, I'm glad you don't have to get rid of her!

 

[cchase85]

I'm curious to hear how this works out.

Hope everything works out!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

She did pretty well for the first day. Because she seems to have had some obedience training in the past, we were able to go directly to having another dog around on the first day. They usually don't do that, but because they felt her training was further along than expected, it's a good thing.
She still tries to go after the other dogs, but it's not aggression they say. They showed me her posture when she did it, and they tell me it's due to fear. Even with another dog at a distance, she still has the fear. So that is what we are working on. She said it's pretty easy to correct the problem, just takes some time. I thought it was going to be expensive at 30.00/hr, what I didn't realize is that the class is only 1 hour long. And she said even if we are there longer, it's still just 1 hour. Next Monday is our next class, and I have a few things to work on with her over the week.

After we work on this problem, and start getting things under control, I'm going to see what is needed in maybe getting her in on some agility training for competition. The gal seemed to think Betty's a good candidate for possible future competition. She said she can start on some training in the near future, but as for the jumping, doesn't recommend it until she's 1.5-2 yrs old. She said she's still too young to jump train, as her joints are not fully developed yet, and if started too early, she will have arthritis problems much sooner than most dogs. But the running and obsticle coarse are ok, as they don't have any jumping, just tube running, running around cones, etc.

The other option we have is when we get her comfortable with other dogs, can start the advanced obedience and competition obedience. Not sure what direction to take, any ideas?

As for the trainer, she's been doing this for well over 30 years, and holds several championships, and also has 2 new dogs she uses for training, and one already holds one Obedience Title. That's the Sheltie. Her border collie is a bit younger, but she hopes to start the competition training in the near future. But both dogs are excellent training dogs. They do very well with other dogs, and are awsome. I had a blast at todays class.

 

[MOsborne05]

That's great news! Let me know how it goes, because my dane has the same problem. Even though she looks angry, I always thought that it was fear aggression. She's mellowed out in her old age though, she will be 4 in November which is middle-aged for a dane

 

[IDunnoWhy]

That's great news LWB!!

I'm glad to hear the training is working for her! *thumbsups

 

[Lonewolfblue]

That's great news! Let me know how it goes, because my dane has the same problem. Even though she looks angry, I always thought that it was fear aggression. She's mellowed out in her old age though, she will be 4 in November which is middle-aged for a dane

My homework til next Mondays class is to take her out a couple times a day and allow other dogs to get closer, and at the same time, if she tries to charge out of fear, tell her to sit. And if she does, give her a treat. The purpose is to get her to understand that if another dog approaches, there's nothing to fear, and if she sits or doesn't bark or charge, good things happen, such as treats or lots of affection.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If things go well, I may start another training when she's a year and a half or 2 yrs old. It's K9 Flyball. But the trainer doesn't recommend it because of the jumping til at least a year and a half due to the leg joints not being fully developed til then. But check it out and let me know what you think.....

about flyball


This one is close to me, it's over in the Seattle area....
About Flyball


And here's a video.....
MySpaceTV: First NW U-Fli flyball event! by Lyndi

 

[MOsborne05]

I think flyball is a great idea, in fact I've looked into it before with my young energetic boxer mix I'm pretty sure Jess (FishGeek) bought her Aussie to compete with, so she might have some more insight for you.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Class #2 was good. She's learning alot, but still is quite fearful of other dogs. The trainer said it's going to take a little while, but she will get over it. I hope so.Told her if possible, I'd like to get a 2nd dog. Wanted to see what her reaction was. She said there'll be absolutely no problems with getting another dog. I thought I'd get a lecture that I shouldn't, lol. When she asked, I told her I was looking at getting an Australian Shephard if I did get another dog, and have 2 dogs that could possibly be competition dogs. She said it's doable.

 

[MOsborne05]

Yeah, it would probably be better for her if you did get another dog because then she could see that not all dogs are bad Getting a puppy helped calm my dane down alot, although now she's very protective of him!

 

[HMarcks]

Horray for perseverance. I'm glad you found someone to work with. I am suprised that alot of trainers wont work with dogs that are agressive toward other dogs. But I guess its better they refuse then do something they can't handle. She is one lucky dog.