The dog musing/vent thread

[BostonBanker]

Clearly the answer is for all dogs to just default to Gusto's first line of defense when a dog gets too pushy/rambunctious/scary. Throw yourself into your safe spot. This was his reaction when the big, intact male lab that he was playing with on the beach suddenly got a little too intense for his comfort:

It's a great plan, and he has the same reaction to truly scary dogs we encounter. It works wonderfully until the dog in question starts to try to climb me to get to him. Luckily it is usually just the stupid happy ones who do that; the one time we came across a dog that I was really concerned was going to hurt one of mine, he threw himself up there and I was certain I was going to get my face bitten off by the other dog. Thankfully I had the Angry Reactive One on leash in front of me, keeping the dog at bay.

 

[pinkspore]

Yes! Now if only my dogs could jump...

 

[Beanie]

During Payton's adjustment today I mentioned to the vet "We now know Xanax does nothing to this dog."
She laughed a little, then went "Nothing?" then laughed some more and said "I'm actually not surprised."

Special little man.

She also very carefully examined Auggie's teeth and gums and told me she sees absolutely no reason to put him under for a dental, especially with his heart murmur, and thinks we might be able to get away with never needing one if I just keep up with what I've been doing. I hope we are so lucky.

 

[Bruschnazzy]

For those who don't know, Little Foot broke his leg a couple weeks ago. It's just getting to be both a downer and stressful....I feel so bad his summer is now ruined with no hikes and swimming, both of which he loves. No flirt pole fun, which I discovered is his favorite game. I take Chomper as normal out walking and all this good stuff, and then have to leave poor Little Foot. I still at least take him when we go on rides or to families houses when we visit so he gets to get out and see things, but just not the same. I try to reassure myself saying he's only 8 months old and has his whole life to make up for a couple months of rest, though. But now it's a bit of a stress as he's at the vet's overnight getting his third cast, because he's destroyed two. The first he was good for a while and then discovered he'd chewed it while we were at work. So, got another and used a cone while we were gone as brought up by the vet, and he got that off and destroyed 4 days later, and it looks like this cast, which was different than the first, might have been rubbing on him as there's three circles after he'd taken if off discovered that now appear to have been infected and his poor foot swollen. The break is healing as well as it can....but this just hasn't been fun.

 

[Moth]

For those who don't know, Little Foot broke his leg a couple weeks ago. It's just getting to be both a downer and stressful....I feel so bad his summer is now ruined with no hikes and swimming, both of which he loves. No flirt pole fun, which I discovered is his favorite game. I take Chomper as normal out walking and all this good stuff, and then have to leave poor Little Foot. I still at least take him when we go on rides or to families houses when we visit so he gets to get out and see things, but just not the same. I try to reassure myself saying he's only 8 months old and has his whole life to make up for a couple months of rest, though. But now it's a bit of a stress as he's at the vet's overnight getting his third cast, because he's destroyed two. The first he was good for a while and then discovered he'd chewed it while we were at work. So, got another and used a cone while we were gone as brought up by the vet, and he got that off and destroyed 4 days later, and it looks like this cast, which was different than the first, might have been rubbing on him as there's three circles after he'd taken if off discovered that now appear to have been infected and his poor foot swollen. The break is healing as well as it can....but this just hasn't been fun.

Awww... Poor little dude. It is stressful when they are hurt or ill. Just remember it will pass. You will have a normal happy little dog again when he is healed.

How long does the vet think before he is healed enough to not need a cast?

 

[Liminal]

As someone who teaches dog training classes I would like to point out
1) It's very difficult to actually kick someone out of your classes being they have paid you for a service and in lawsuit happy America you have to be careful of upsetting anyone for a reason they might be able to invent that will result in legal action. For a small business this is often not worth the trouble, time-wise, bad press-wise, or financially.

Personally, some of the groups I go to don't involve a longer-term, however-many-week contract, charges are applied class by class, and I'm guessing that would make it more difficult for me to take any legal action even if I were so inclined. However since that can be a concern for trainers like yourself, do you have any suggestions for making one's self seem, well, legally non-threatening? My usual strategy is to inform whoever is running the class that I have a dog with which we're still working on calm behaviors and avoiding overstimulation before I ever commit to it. I try to make it obvious that I'm going to trust their judgment re: whether we're a good enough fit for the group or not and that my initial participation is essentially a trial run. Periodically I ask about in-class management, which is a good way for getting tips at least.

I would hope that doing those things gives them a socially acceptable and easy opening to air concerns with me, but if not, I wouldn't mind knowing how better to create that kind of informational flow.

 

[Beanie]

There is zero way of knowing when somebody is going to suddenly go off the crazy end. It's not always about lawsuits, it's just about dealing with the consequences to your business if someone decides they are on a mission to get you back for some unintentional slight to them or their dog. Especially when precious Fluffy is involved, people do NOT like having you suggest there might be something wrong with their dog and their dog isn't suited for something. Even telling somebody who keeps complaining about their dog getting in fights at the dog park "Maybe he's just not a dog park kind of dog" upsets people. Very few people want to admit or face the idea that they cannot just do whatever they want with every dog, because in their mind every dog should be Lassie. Someone who says "I know my dog does X" still reacts poorly to being told "Then you shouldn't do Y." About the only people who tend to take those kind of discussions easily are pit mix owners, I am guessing because they are all too well aware of how people view their dogs, so IME they are quick to say "Okay, my dog doesn't like other dogs who have spots on their tongues, so we will not go to the dog park just in case one of those dogs shows up and mine tries to eat it."

It's a service oriented business and people are highly emotional about their dogs. In this day and age where things can go viral fast on social media, it's tricky to deal with. The only worse business I can think of is the wedding industry. DON'T RUIN MY SPECIAL DAY OR ELSE. I WILL TELL EVERYONE ON THE KNOT HOW MUCH YOU SUCK. SO THERE.

 

[Liminal]

Well, I suppose I'll just have to keep trying to express my willingness to leave easily if asked and try and showcase a willingness to absorb and apply criticism in class, and hope those things are demonstrative enough that I can rely on the people I'm working with to be comfortably honest with me, especially if it means keeping other clients' dogs comfortable and safe. At least I've never gotten into any borderline yelling matches with trainers, which I've seen more often than I wished I had.

I can understand the caution, but though they may have no way to be sure of it even at "crazy" I'm not really a lawsuit-happy, angry Yelp reviewing type and of course it's disappointing to think that other people's behavior in that regard might make it more difficult for me to get good feedback.

 

[Beanie]

I realize that post sounds kind of bitter and gloomy LOL. I don't mean it to. I love dog training, I love the way it affects someone's life when I help them learn to enjoy their relationship with their dog more. The look on someone's face when they ask their dog to do something and the dog does so with joy and the look of "I did it! What next? More training please!" is so wonderful and I love having a part in that. I love pointing out the good in a dog and telling somebody "Did you see that?? He made such a good choice!!" and being the perpetual optimist for how good their dog can be. And I am very very good at that, because I love all dogs and can always see the good... Always.

But since it is a service oriented business it means the product I am selling is, essentially, me, and I have to be on top of my game all the time... Not about working in fear of saying or doing something "wrong," just being absolutely awesome at all times. There is no having a bad day as someone's trainer. Wonder Woman is present at all times... I am never allowed to simply be Diana.

 

[amberdyan]

I realize that post sounds kind of bitter and gloomy LOL. I don't mean it to. I love dog training, I love the way it affects someone's life when I help them learn to enjoy their relationship with their dog more. The look on someone's face when they ask their dog to do something and the dog does so with joy and the look of "I did it! What next? More training please!" is so wonderful and I love having a part in that. I love pointing out the good in a dog and telling somebody "Did you see that?? He made such a good choice!!" and being the perpetual optimist for how good their dog can be. And I am very very good at that, because I love all dogs and can always see the good... Always.

But since it is a service oriented business it means the product I am selling is, essentially, me, and I have to be on top of my game all the time... Not about working in fear of saying or doing something "wrong," just being absolutely awesome at all times. There is no having a bad day as someone's trainer. Wonder Woman is present at all times... I am never allowed to simply be Diana.

Blerg. I've totally seen this in classes I've taken where it's obvious that one person isn't getting that fact that their dog IS NOT READY TO BE TRUSTED OFF-LEASH. They came back every class bitching and moaning about the fact that their dog took off that weekend because she let him off lead in a field since "he was doing so well on a long line!" Every single week the dogs training was completely undone by self-reinforcement. The trainer tried SO hard to explain and work with her, INCLUDING offering 1 private consultation to work on distractions FOR FREE and the lady STILL wrote a nasty review about the trainer on google : ( That's why, when I take a class, I bake cookies for my trainer at the end and give them with a card and treats for their dog(s). They put up with way too much crap.

Coincidentally, I sometimes feel that exact way as a teacher, lol.

 

[pinkspore]

That moment when you look at a list of dog tricks and can't remember whether you deliberately taught the dog to crawl or not. I'm almost positive Brisbane will army crawl on cue, but I can't remember teaching that so he may have just figured it out on his own.

 

[Julee]

That moment when you look at a list of dog tricks and can't remember whether you deliberately taught the dog to crawl or not. I'm almost positive Brisbane will army crawl on cue, but I can't remember teaching that so he may have just figured it out on his own.

Son, no.

 

[Oko]

I'd say forgetful there.

 

[pinkspore]

Probably! It's been a decade. That wouldn't have been something I'd ask him to do on hard floors though, so it would have been 8+ years ago when we lived in a house with carpet. Apparently his memory is better than mine.

 

[Torch]

Rhys LOVES going to the vet. I have to warn the staff to not be over the top happy because he is already thrilled to be there.

That being said, he is a perfect angel at the vet's. He loves being handled and fussed over. And I'm proud that a 54 pound, wild ass Amstaff will stand willingly for all aspects of an exam with no restraint. Everyone always remarks on how good he is.

The vet sat on the floor for a minute when she was having trouble with a vaccine cap and he scooted into her lap. It was hysterical.

 

[lancerandrara]

I just wanted to announce that Rara ignites every dog's prey drive, ever, even if the dog didn't have much of a prey drive, because of the fast/twitchy way she acts LOL.

Or an annoyance drive. She annoys the hell out of every dog.

The only dogs she is capable of getting along with are chill as balls Australian Shepherds.

Rara makes me laugh, and also feel sorry for her. :rofl1:

 

[Samsonyte!]

Today my terrified-of-everything-the-world-is-going-to-eat-me border collie puppy willingly went over the teeter in his agility class not once, but twice, and wanted to go again and I couldn’t be more proud

 

[Liminal]

A past World Sheepdog Trial winner just moved to my state and is apparently willing to work with all breeds. So that's, you know... a thing to think about.

Plus I just found and nabbed the greatest 5 acre rental property and so while finances will be a bit tight at least until the boyfriend's current lease expires and he can move in, too... the goats, they are a-comin'.

There's even a kennel in the barn that the landlord is letting me keep, so no more crating indoors for Indy while the weather is decent.

 

[amberdyan]

A past World Sheepdog Trial winner just moved to my state and is apparently willing to work with all breeds. So that's, you know... a thing to think about.

Plus I just found and nabbed the greatest 5 acre rental property and so while finances will be a bit tight at least until the boyfriend's current lease expires and he can move in, too... the goats, they are a-comin'.

There's even a kennel in the barn that the landlord is letting me keep, so no more crating indoors for Indy while the weather is decent.

oooo, that rental property is super exciting! I can't wait until I can have decent sized bit of property for dogs and gardening : )

 

[Liminal]

oooo, that rental property is super exciting! I can't wait until I can have decent sized bit of property for dogs and gardening : )

Gosh, I didn't even do all the gushing I could have... I am really excited. It also has a stocked pond and somewhat damaged but easily repairable hutches on site (I have a few quail and wouldn't mind having more). I will probably post a whole thread of pictures of the dog running around the place.

My only concern is that we haven't pinpointed any really good internet service. Since me and my boyfriend are both in IT (doing most of our work through virtual machines) and it would be nice to be able to work from home occasionally... that could limit the time we spend there.