Dog Advice

[qubdub]

No animal should get through the door. I can't fathom these house dogs who are treated better than a child, and the house is feckin' stinking because the owners can't smell it, as their smell becomes atuned to it.

If you feel that way about it, fine. But please dont inflict your standards on some poor dog.

I used to breed pedigree labs and cairns. Not farming, just a couple of litters from pet, house bitches. I always made sure that no pup would end up in a shed. Easy enough to suss out that before committing a pup.

If you feel a dog should not be in the house then do dogs a favour and let them have a better life. Farm dogs, guard dogs and pack dogs are different of course. Single family pet dogs kept in sheds and given the odd walk and thrown the odd ball draw the short straw. Let somebody else have them. People that like dogs, rather than people that don t like dogs but want to keep their kids onside. Forget about dogs. Anybody that thinks a dog is an animal should not keep a dog. Anybody that questions that should definitely not keep a dog.  Anybody that thinks a dog shouldn t get inside a door should never bother with a dog. Dogs are a social animal that feels part of a pack, and behaves as such. Confining it to a shed apart is only going to make it miserable. Of course it will wag its tail and fawn when you feed it and will go wild when it gets a walk because thet like to please. But most dogs have a miserable time of it. A lot of people that think they re giving a dog a good home should really get a cat instead. Cats are loners and can cope with or without attention.

WOW! Are you a dog psychologists? It amazes me how some people are able to understand how an animal feels in its head!
You could make a fortune with that skill. When did you first realise you could get inside the dogs head? 

And as for the part in bold, last time I looked a Dog is an animal. There's no debating that.

You're caught there Moysider. There's no disputing that a dog is an animal. Anything else is just bullshit.

If you had such regard for dogs and their behaivour then why would you force one to make an unnatural association with a different species? Raising a dog in a human household is the same principal as letting a child be raised by wolves. If you are so in tune with dogs and their "social" needs then you'd allow it to roam free in a pack with the freedom to hunt, rather than being kept in a stone fort and being feed dry chicken necks.

What are you on about? How is it unnatural for a domesticated animal to be surrounded by humans? Dogs view their owners and their family as their pack. So separating them is the unnatural thing to do.

[trileacman]

No animal should get through the door. I can't fathom these house dogs who are treated better than a child, and the house is feckin' stinking because the owners can't smell it, as their smell becomes atuned to it.

If you feel that way about it, fine. But please dont inflict your standards on some poor dog.

I used to breed pedigree labs and cairns. Not farming, just a couple of litters from pet, house bitches. I always made sure that no pup would end up in a shed. Easy enough to suss out that before committing a pup.

If you feel a dog should not be in the house then do dogs a favour and let them have a better life. Farm dogs, guard dogs and pack dogs are different of course. Single family pet dogs kept in sheds and given the odd walk and thrown the odd ball draw the short straw. Let somebody else have them. People that like dogs, rather than people that don t like dogs but want to keep their kids onside. Forget about dogs. Anybody that thinks a dog is an animal should not keep a dog. Anybody that questions that should definitely not keep a dog.  Anybody that thinks a dog shouldn t get inside a door should never bother with a dog. Dogs are a social animal that feels part of a pack, and behaves as such. Confining it to a shed apart is only going to make it miserable. Of course it will wag its tail and fawn when you feed it and will go wild when it gets a walk because thet like to please. But most dogs have a miserable time of it. A lot of people that think they re giving a dog a good home should really get a cat instead. Cats are loners and can cope with or without attention.

WOW! Are you a dog psychologists? It amazes me how some people are able to understand how an animal feels in its head!
You could make a fortune with that skill. When did you first realise you could get inside the dogs head? 

And as for the part in bold, last time I looked a Dog is an animal. There's no debating that.

You're caught there Moysider. There's no disputing that a dog is an animal. Anything else is just bullshit.

If you had such regard for dogs and their behaivour then why would you force one to make an unnatural association with a different species? Raising a dog in a human household is the same principal as letting a child be raised by wolves. If you are so in tune with dogs and their "social" needs then you'd allow it to roam free in a pack with the freedom to hunt, rather than being kept in a stone fort and being feed dry chicken necks.

What are you on about? How is it unnatural for a domesticated animal to be surrounded by humans? Dogs view their owners and their family as their pack. So separating them is the unnatural thing to do.

How do you know that a dog sees it's owners as part of it's pack? You'd don't hunt/ share food/ breed so don't go saying that it's a "natural" arrangement.

[qubdub]

It's not like it's a wild animal that's been tamed.

It's a domesticated animal, that has descended from a species that has lived around humans for generations upon generations hence being around humans, living with them etc is a natural environment for it to be in!

[Captain Obvious]

Dont agree with dogs being kept in sheds in gardens. Why bother with one at all?

But if you must, a Jack Russel, or any small mongerel terrier is probably best. Smart and good with kids as well.

I don't agree with dogs being kept in the house. How do you teach them to wipe their arses? Would you live with a human walking around where you eat with dangleberries hanging out of him?

Plenty of people in hospitals or homes aren't able to wipe their own arses. Should they be kept outside in a shed?

The difference of course is that dogs are animals and people are.....well, people! Are you saying that dogs are on an equal standing with people?
Either you REALLY love dogs, or REALLY DONT like people!

I was exploring the logic of arse wiping not a love hate relationship with people or dogs.

[Galwaybhoy]

the dog is a domesticated animal. It's ok if you dont understand why people have dogs in their homes or trust that their family pets wont kill their kids.
We can agree to disagree.
I love dogs. I love big dogs. This will be my second Doberman - I wouldn't have another breed (at this point)

I have a Black German Shepherd, a nine month old Dobie and a 10 month old Dobie/Shepherd cross.  I love big dogs too.  They are great companions.

[tbrick18]

After a lot of careful consideration and research into what type of dog to get or not to get we went for a "Cockapoo".
Funny as the name sounds, it's a great wee thing.
A non-shedding breed which was important for us as one of the kids has Exczema.
Apart from an initial settling in period it's been relatively plain sailing. He stays outside, tries to get in the house from time to time but has come to learn he's not allowed and generally doesnt come in.
We have an insulated kennel for him which is kept inside a shed and he has free run of the garden all day. We've been able to train him to fetch and sit and the kids love him.
There is a bit of a barking/howling (or as one of the kids calls it..."aroooing") problem. I put him in at night or chain him under a lean-to in the good weather as he's a bit stupid in that if it rains he would stand in it getting soaked all night. He doesnt like this and will bark and howl for 10 minutes but apart from that he's quiet enough.

The biggest problem is the shit!
No matter what I try, I cant get him trained to shit in one part of the garden. His favourite spot is in the area just outside our back door around the clothes line. Mrs. tbrick18 doesnt like it! And the kids usually step on it.
Can anyone give me any advice on how to train him to go to a certain place? If we dont get something sorted soon, I'm probably going to have to build a run for him and keep him locked in there through most of the day which I dont want to do.

[Orior]

When bitches pee, they burn the grass, so after getting a dog my garden was completely destroyed.

So I uprooted the front garden and put down bushes and woodchip. The back garden is still grass. My dog is not allowed to do any business in the back garden - we had to fence it off for a year.

So, the only way to teach your dog is

a) rub their noses in it. This generally works for deposits in the house
b) create a run which takes the dog away from your precious area. In my case this was the front garden

[heganboy]

we have a 7 year old wheaten terrier that doesn't shed, is hypoallergenic, the 3 kids love her, and you couldn't ask for a better dog, don't need much in the way of exercise, but do need a hair cut every 6-8 weeks.

Also have had labs a king charles and a glen of imaal terrier back home.

the wheaten and the glen are very friendly and too bloody smart for their own good. Both bred for the Irish climate and excellent family dogs. Whilst energetic they don't need much walking, only issue for both is the need for hair cuts, both brilliant with small kids and very gentle. The wheaten is used a lot as a therapy dog because of its temperament. Some terriers attach themselves to an owner, but the wheaten tends to be more of a family dog, will bark at strangers, however non aggressive to humans so much more of a watch dog than a guard dog. Were bred originally as the poor mans wolf hound...

[tbrick18]

When bitches pee, they burn the grass, so after getting a dog my garden was completely destroyed.

So I uprooted the front garden and put down bushes and woodchip. The back garden is still grass. My dog is not allowed to do any business in the back garden - we had to fence it off for a year.

So, the only way to teach your dog is

a) rub their noses in it. This generally works for deposits in the house
b) create a run which takes the dog away from your precious area. In my case this was the front garden

A few burnt patches in my garden...but this is a dog not a bitch. I'm guessing the same reason though. Looks like I'm going down the route of a run. I just know he'll bark like a fooker when he's closed in.

[ardal]

We concreted in a small section of the garden; about 1m by 1m. If the dog shat outside this the nose was rubbed in it. If it shat inside then no nose rubbing. After about 3 to 4 weeks no more shite in the garden

[Olly]

Dogs are remarkably clever. Over the course of 7 years I taught my dog basic maths like adding 3+4 ect. By the time it was 13 it could do long division and square roots. Although it was maybe cruel, I used the humiliating technique. I would tell the dog to make SEVEN by taking three logs from one pile and 4 from another. If he got it wrong i'd lock myself in a glass cage and eat all its dog food and bones. He'd go mad.

[Orior]

Dogs are remarkably clever. Over the course of 7 years I taught my dog basic maths like adding 3+4 ect. By the time it was 13 it could do long division and square roots. Although it was maybe cruel, I used the humiliating technique. I would tell the dog to make SEVEN by taking three logs from one pile and 4 from another. If he got it wrong i'd lock myself in a glass cage and eat all its dog food and bones. He'd go mad.

I managed to teach my dog simple arithmatic. For example, I asked what is 7 + 4 - 11? And my dog said nothing!

[Jell 0 Biafra]

When bitches pee, they burn the grass, so after getting a dog my garden was completely destroyed.

So I uprooted the front garden and put down bushes and woodchip. The back garden is still grass. My dog is not allowed to do any business in the back garden - we had to fence it off for a year.

So, the only way to teach your dog is

a) rub their noses in it. This generally works for deposits in the house
b) create a run which takes the dog away from your precious area. In my case this was the front garden

C). Get a dog crate.  By instinct, they won't relieve themselves in it, and if you bring them outside regularly during housebreaking, they will never foul the house.

[tbrick18]

When bitches pee, they burn the grass, so after getting a dog my garden was completely destroyed.

So I uprooted the front garden and put down bushes and woodchip. The back garden is still grass. My dog is not allowed to do any business in the back garden - we had to fence it off for a year.

So, the only way to teach your dog is

a) rub their noses in it. This generally works for deposits in the house
b) create a run which takes the dog away from your precious area. In my case this was the front garden

C). Get a dog crate.  By instinct, they won't relieve themselves in it, and if you bring them outside regularly during housebreaking, they will never foul the house.

The dog stays outside, but he has a kennel and at night I put him in the kennel with a wee chain on so he deosnt go wandering. In the morning I take him on the lead to the part of the garden I want him to use, a stoned area we have. He'll occassionally pee there but refuses to sh*t. I've stood for an hour with him on a number of occassions. The second I let him off he runs up the garden and starts to sh*t. What do you do with that! It's frustrating, because apart from this he's great. And I dont want to tie him up all the time or have him locked in a run. Perhaps if I do it short term though he'll learn?

[Jell 0 Biafra]

When bitches pee, they burn the grass, so after getting a dog my garden was completely destroyed.

So I uprooted the front garden and put down bushes and woodchip. The back garden is still grass. My dog is not allowed to do any business in the back garden - we had to fence it off for a year.

So, the only way to teach your dog is

a) rub their noses in it. This generally works for deposits in the house
b) create a run which takes the dog away from your precious area. In my case this was the front garden

C). Get a dog crate.  By instinct, they won't relieve themselves in it, and if you bring them outside regularly during housebreaking, they will never foul the house.

The dog stays outside, but he has a kennel and at night I put him in the kennel with a wee chain on so he deosnt go wandering. In the morning I take him on the lead to the part of the garden I want him to use, a stoned area we have. He'll occassionally pee there but refuses to sh*t. I've stood for an hour with him on a number of occassions. The second I let him off he runs up the garden and starts to sh*t. What do you do with that! It's frustrating, because apart from this he's great. And I dont want to tie him up all the time or have him locked in a run. Perhaps if I do it short term though he'll learn?

That's what I'd do, short term.  If he won't take a dump where you want him to, just put him back in the kennel for another hour or so, and try again.   If possible, temporarily block off the part of the yard he wants to go in.  They're creatures of habit, so once he gets used to going where you want him to, that'll be that.