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Messages - maxsmom

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421
Happy Birthday!!!!!  :-* :-* :-*  Kisses from my boys.
Kathy

422
Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: Another fight!
« on: December 04, 2007, 08:58:29 pm »
Just my 2 cents worth, but it sounds to me like your dogs don't acknowledge that either one of them is alpha in their pack.  It sounds like you and your husband are definitely the human alphas, but they have not worked out a hierarchy in the 4 legged pack.  Unfortunately, it has been my experience that at least with my dogs, one of them ends up getting hurt (not broken bones, bleeding to death or anything like that) in order to establish pack order, when you have 2 very dominant dogs.  I have always let them work it out amongst themselves, but mine have always been somewhat equal in size, age, etc.  It has been my experience, that not allowing this natural process has only delayed the inevitable as they will continue to push the issue.  If I wasn't comfortable or in a position to let them do that, I would definitely hire a trainer to come to the house, observe their behaviour and work with me to see what could be done to alleviate the worst of it.  Good luck.
Kathy

423
Holiday Things / Re: Forgotten Dog's Christmas Poem
« on: December 04, 2007, 06:54:03 am »
I have never heard that before, but it sure is appropriate at this time of year.  All you see in the classified ads this time of year is Christmas puppies.  All you will see at the pound in 5 or 6 months is Christmas puppies.  It sickens me to see how many people still give cute little puppies for gifts, not thinking ahead to when that cute little puppy grows up into a dog with noone to care for it or love it or walk it or feed and water it, once it is no longer a cute little cuddly puppy.  What if we did the same thing to babies?  Sorry, just my 2 cents worth.  Jake was turned in to a kill shelter when he was 10 months old, because he was too big, ate too much and barked too much. My cat Nicki was given back to the breeder at 5 months because he was "vicious".  My other cat John was given back to his breeder because something was wrong with the way he walked.  One hip was broken, the other cracked and both knees were messed up from his hips not being fixed.  He has no ball on either femur now after surgery, but he gets around just fine and is a happy cat.  They were both Christmas kittens.  Really makes me dislike some people.  Thanks for posting this.
Kathy

424
I am laughing myself sick over your story.  I can't help it.  It sounds so familiar.  I have to tell you, when I got Max, he was 5 months old.  I flew into Memphis, rented a van and drove into Arkansas to get him, then drove back to Memphis, spent the night and drove back to FL the next day.  When I left the breeders house, it was dark.  We did not get 1/4 of a mile down the road and I had a 5 month old wolfhound sitting in my lap, while I am trying to see, steer and get him off me.  He had no manners and knew nothing.  What a fun trip home that was.  Now, the only problem I have is Jake.  He thinks he should sit in the front passenger seat whenever we go anywhere.  If I don't have anyone or anything there I will let him, but when I do, I let him get in the front door and hop up into the seat.  If I put him in the back, he has to stay there.  Usually a hard shove into his chest and a really loud NO is enough to stop him.  We take the dogs to Petsmart every weekend, but usually in my hubby's truck.  It is a little harder for him to crawl over the console in the truck than it is in my jeep, so it is usually not an issue.  Good luck.  At least he didn't try to eat the little dog.  Jake would have.
Kathy

425
Rottweiler Discussions / Re: aggressive dog
« on: December 04, 2007, 05:21:49 am »
I would have the dog checked out thoroughly by a vet first.  If all is clear health wise then definitely go with training.  It sounds like the dog's true personality is starting to emerge and he may be very dominant.  We adopted our TM almost 10 months ago and his personality is still changing a little at a time.  Your mom is going to have to establish her dominance over him and if she is not comfortable doing it may need some professional help.  Our female Springer would bite when you brushed her hips (because it hurt) or if you tugged too hard on a tangle.  Her skin was extremely tender for the last few years of her life.  She would also growl and try to bite you if you rolled her onto her stomach, again because it hurt.  Our Pyr will growl at my husband if he rolls him over in bed, but if he tells him to move, he will.  It's kind of funny because he never growls at me no matter what I do.  He thinks it is a game with my husband and wants to play if he is pushing him around physically. 
If you encourage and coach her through it, she should do just fine.  One of the first things she can try is making him earn everything he gets.  For his food, he has to sit, stay, shake hands, down, something.  Same thing for treats, petting, going outside, everything.  Anything he wants from her he has to earn.  That way he learns who is in charge.  Good luck and I hope this is something she feels she can work through.
Kathy

426
Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: Jumping on Furniture
« on: December 03, 2007, 05:42:19 am »
I figured out with my Springers that down just meant "down right now".  The same with sit, stay, etc.  No on the other hand meant that whatever they were doing was wrong and they should stop it.  I would try telling him no whenever he jumps up, just like you would if he were picking up a shoe, or chewing a towel or anything else that is wrong.  That way he understands that jumping up on the furniture is bad.  I allow my dogs to sleep in the bed with me, but if they jump in bed when I am making it or changing the sheets, they know to get down when I say no.  If you consistently say no each and every time he jumps up, he should quickly get the picture.  Good luck.
Kathy

427
Wolfhound Discussions & Pictures / Size Question
« on: December 03, 2007, 05:20:57 am »
Max is my first IW and I am curious about the size of other people's hounds.  Max will be 18 months old this week.  We were at the vet today for his annual checkup.  He weighs 162lbs.  He is 33.5" or 34" tall at the top of his shoulders.  I looked at the growth charts posted on the IW website.  According to both of them, he is average to short and heavy.  I talked to our vet about him today and he agreed that he is certainly not overweight.  You can see his spine, when he is standing or laying and feel his ribs and hipbones just under the skin.  The vet feels that he is very healthy and is probably about as tall as he is going to get.  He is still filling out.  His chest appears to be getting wider and his hips are definitely muscling up more.  How big are other peoples IWs?  Did your dog continue to grow after 18 months in height or just fill out?
Kathy

428
Saint Bernard Pictures / Re: Pic's of Timber
« on: December 03, 2007, 04:52:36 am »
I'm sitting here trying to decide which I envy you the most for having.  The beautiful dogs or the snow.  HMMM  Okay, the dogs win.  They are fabulous.  Timber is huge!  You must be so proud of both of them.  The pick with your son reminds me of a big stuffed dog I had as a child.  It was old and missing most of the stuffing, so it kind of looked like roadkill, but I would lay on top of it to watch TV.  The things that remind us of our childhood!  Congratulation s on your babies.  All 3 are beautiful.  Oh, and enjoy the snow.  Unfortunately I won't get to see any up close and personal until we go skiing sometime after Christmas.
Kathy

429
Food Discussion & Information / Re: Raw Hides
« on: December 03, 2007, 02:11:23 am »
We give our dogs the large rolled rawhides.  At night or anytime we are not going to be here, I walk around the house and pick up any pieces smaller than the size of my hand.  Max will swallow large pieces and they get stuck in his throat.  He will come to you and lean on you, licking his lips like crazy.  We know he has a piece in his throat and open his mouth and pull it out.  My whole hand will fit down his throat, so it is no problem.  My Springers ate them all the time and lived to be 13.5 and 14.5, so I don't personally feel that they are a problem for my dogs, but that is just my opinion.  Hooves are gone in a matter of minutes, Max can crack and eat almost anything.  Any rubber toys, kongs, etc. that we have tried, he destroyed and we ended up picking up the little pieces that he spit out. Bully sticks, even though we buy the whole ones and saw them into 1' lengths, are gone in a matter of minutes.  The only thing that lasts are rawhides and frozen beef marrow bones.  Those will take 30-45 minutes for them to finish and then they swap off and eat each other's, another 15-20 minutes of swap the bone.  When you have a collection of "dead" clean bones, thread them on a rope and tie the ends of the rope into big knots.  They will play with that and chew it to death.  When Max was teething, I used to wet and freeze washrags for him to chew on.  You can usu beef stock or chicken broth to add flavor to the water you wet them down with and make them more appealing.  Another thing we did for him as a puppy was to take old tube socks, roll them up and stuff them into another tube sock, tie it in knots, with the rolled up sock in between the knots.  He would chew on those and carry them around for hours.  Now he would eat them, but as a puppy it was a great, basically free toy, as the socks were worn out.  Good luck with your new baby.
Kathy

430
Saint Bernard General Discussions / Re: Chicken Tub the sky is falling
« on: December 03, 2007, 01:55:08 am »
I am sitting here laughing my head off.  The dogs came to see what I was laughing so hard about.  I can just picture one of my big brave boys doing that.  I wish the chicken phase had ended at 14 months for Max.  He actually started a new chicken phase at 16 months.  Thanks for the story.
Kathy

431
Great Pyrenees Pictures / Pictures from Christmas Parade
« on: December 02, 2007, 12:41:02 am »
We took these pictures yesterday when we were getting ready for the Winter Park Christmas Parade.







Jake is in the last photo, on the far left, hat and bandana on.

Kathy

432
Great Pyrenees Discussions / Re: Calling all pyr owners.....
« on: December 02, 2007, 12:16:53 am »
Jake is 1.5 and has wavy hair down the middle of his back.  The rest of his hair is straight, except for that area.
Kathy

433
Bulldog Discussion & Pictures / Re: problems w/ my bully
« on: December 01, 2007, 05:13:33 pm »
I third all the ideas you have been given.  My son and his wife have 2 bull dog mixes that they got as puppies from our local animal control.  At 5 they have calmed down tremendously, but they are still racing around the yard and very active when they play with each other or get excited.  He has an 8 y/o son, 2.5 y/o son and a daughter on the way.  The dogs have never hurt or marked his children, even though they were nothing but bundles of energy when he got them.  Their cats have scratched them when playing, but never the dogs.  Do you have a local dog park?  Playing is a great way to burn off energy.  Bulldogs are the most incredible dogs with children, even small ones.  They are very patient and tolerate most anything.  When the 2.5 y/o was an infant, they could lay him on a blanket in the yard and tell the dogs to watch (when they were outside doing yardwork or cleaning the pool, etc.  He wasn't left alone outside.).  One would lay on each side of him, cuddled up so he couldn't roll around and stay until they came back to get him. They are great nanny dogs.  Good luck and congrats on the new addition coming.
Kathy

434
Saint Bernard Pictures / Re: Some Photos of Isis
« on: December 01, 2007, 05:05:05 pm »
What a face.  I love the expression.  Give her a hug for me.  Nothing better than big dogs to hug on.
Kathy

435
Great Pyrenees Discussions / Re: Why Do Pyrs Bark?
« on: December 01, 2007, 05:01:11 pm »
Congratulation s!  He is such a handsome fellow, love his ears.  Ditto on the photos. 
Kathy

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