Dog Questions

[waverly]

Since some of you are dog owners I thought I would put my questions here. Plus something positive to talk about.

Do you let your dog in the couch. I was thinking no, then yes, now I think my couch smells so maybe no again. What do you use for dog smell febreeze?

Do you leave your kids alone with the dog? Google says never ever do that, but as a kid I was home with our lab and it was never a problem. Assuming older kids and reliable dog. We just got our dog, so I would still wait in it until we know her better.

Since puppy training is closed, we have to train on our own. She seems a bit stubborn. Any recommendations for that? She is supposed to be a bright breed. She learns but more from getting to know us/ routine. I got her to sit in the living room and outside she acted like she didn’t know what that word meant, normal for early stages?

Is barking at other dogs and growling a problem? She was fine with dogs in the dog park? Maybe just more socialization when puppy training reopens?

Any thoughts on continuing to introduce her to the cat? I was thinking to put them each jn their carriers but she doesn’t like to be crated. We can get her in at night but not sure it’s worth it too much at other times. Someone mentioned putting food up high for the cat but it’s an automatic feeder so that makes that harder. We have them separated but I tried to keep the door open and she started eating the cat’s food.

We are first time dog parents. We both had dogs growing up but they were trained when we were kids and that was 20 years ago. I remember some but not a lot. The library does have dog training ebooks but I like to poll y’all too.

[mae0111]

I am no help at all as I've never had a dog, but congrats! I'm lobbying fairly hard to get one soon, but Dh is not on board yet.

[sdlaura]

So exciting!

We now have a 14-year-old Scottish terrier who is great with the kids. Previously we also had a border collie/lab mix who we put down when my older kids were 2 and 3 years old.

I think with your age kids, it's totally fine to leave the dog alone with the kids. Our Scottie is amazing with the kids also old and small, so yes, we definitely leave them alone together. Our old lab mix started to get really mean when she got old and couldn't hear or see well, so we couldn't leave her alone with babies and toddlers. There was a risk that they'd torment her accidentally and she'd snap at them. But that was very specific to the dog's age/personality and the ages of the kids.

We let our dog on the couch but not the bed. I think it depends on how much your dog is outside. Ours is so old that he doesn't get out of the house much anymore, so he's rarely smelly or muddy or anything. He also doesn't shed. If I had a younger dog that shed and got dirtier outside, I wouldn't let him on the couch.

We trained our dogs with little pieces of cheese and hot dog. Luckily they were very food-motivated.

[waverly]

I like the cheese and hot dog idea. She’s OK with the treats but not super excited, so maybe she’ll be more excited about those.

[186momx]

Congrats
We have a 11 year old Lab/border collie mix (Ry) who has always been great with DD. I still won't let DD walk Ry mainly because Ry still out weighs DD and I don't trust others to keep away from DD and Ry if they were out walking and then DD could be stuck in a bad situation. We taught Ry to wait for the okay command when she was a puppy so if DD dropped something as a baby the dog wouldn't pounce on clean up duty. She has her best sit stay when food is involved.

Ry gets on my bed and loves to snuggle with me once DH leaves the bed in the morning. I swear she thinks my bed is her big bed. That is the only piece of furniture she is allowed on. I'm a firm NO on the couch. Once you let them get on the couch it is a very hard habit to break.

I would call the vet or Pet store and see if they can give you some tips for the early training. I know lots of it is socializing, sit, and leash walking. Keep tiny puppy treats in your pocket at all times is what I remember most of dog school.

Ry will bark at any passing dog when she is with me at work and she sees them in the window. She won't bark at anyone when she is in the car and doesn't bark at home unless someone rings the doorbell but she also can't see out the window at home.

[waverly]

Yeah I am finding the couch to be a bad habit to break. She must have been allowed to do it in her previous home before us. She is 1 year old. She is sweet, but I don’t think there was much training.

[mrsGreeko]

Do you let your dog in the couch. Yeah our current dog is allowed on the couch. Our old dog wasn’t. This dog is much more tenacious so we gave up the fight. Not allowed in our bed, but 13 year old DD has recently started letting him sleep in hers.

Do you leave your kids alone with the dog? Yeah all the time. My kids are 8, 10, and 13 though. They all also take him for walks alone.

Since puppy training is closed, we have to train on our own. She seems a bit stubborn. Any recommendations for that? She is supposed to be a bright breed. She learns but more from getting to know us/ routine. I got her to sit in the living room and outside she acted like she didn’t know what that word meant, normal for early stages? Positive reinforcement. Like a lot of positive reinforcement. Buy this book: books.google.com/books/about/Training_the_Best_Dog_Ever.html?id=xx2fIufUW0wC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button

Is barking at other dogs and growling a problem? She was fine with dogs in the dog park? Maybe just more socialization when puppy training reopens? Barking is pretty normal, but a habit you want to break as much as you can. Growling is not as normal. Definitely lots of socialization.

Any thoughts on continuing to introduce her to the cat? No cat here. But feed the dog in the crate for awhile by hand to get it used to the crate.

[erinshelley21]

We have an almost 10 year old lab/shepherd mix. He is our child that taught us not to let kids sleep in bed with you. He slept in our bed the first night we brought him home and still does. When he stays at MIL's he sleeps in bed with her too. She likes him for the warmth lol. I don't mind him in bed with us since DH is gone 3 nights a week. He is allowed on the couches too.

He has never growled at other dogs, or anything really, so I'm no help there. He's actually quite a jumper and is alllll in everyone's business that visits. He eventually calms down after 10 minutes or so and DH and I just let everyone know we can't do anything about him sniffing and wanting their attention. If its someone older that he could knock down or a small child, we put him on a leash until he calms down. We also give benadryl. I really shouldn't be giving advice lol.

The irony in all this is that we did to the puppy obedience class at Petsmart where he passed with flying colors and even won a contest. He KNOWS what to do and how he should act, but he just doesnt give a shit. That class did recommend small treats meant for training that you can find at their store and others I'm sure.

[covergirl82]

We originally let our German Shepherd on the couch when she was young, but once we had the kids, we were worried about her jumping up on the couch on top of the kids, so we trained her to stop getting on the couch. When we did let her on the couch when she was young, we always had a thick cover over the couch. We did use Febreeze on the couch, though, to help with the dog smell. I may train our next dog to be allowed on the couch if someone is already sitting on the couch, because dog snuggles are the best.

Our German Shepherd would bark at other dogs. I don't remember her growling at other dogs. We don't have any dog parks close to us, so the only other dogs she saw were the few on our street.

We did leave our dog with our kids. By the time the kids were old enough to stay home without us (for maybe an hour at the most), our dog was about 12 years old and would just lay around/sleep while we were gone. It would be unusual for a German Shepherd to attack someone from their pack.

[librarychica]

We have a one year old dog who is okay trained but not nearly as well trained as her predecessor, who I trained before kids.

Our dog is allowed on the couch because we like to snuggle her there and are slobs. She also is allowed alone with the kids. DD1 trained her to do tricks and they’re close. It never occurred to me not to leave them with her since they’re not very small.

Our dog is rather stubborn and we have had to really work on issues with food snatching and some chewing. So I feel you. It’s just a matter of consistency and your dog will eventually listen. Probably. 🙃

Dog training videos, m.youtube.com/channel/UCD1GzLU_z841xB9cwa_cWYw

[twinmomma]

I feel like the most important thing here has been neglected.... Can we see a picture of your new puppy?!

[waverly]

[waverly]

Another question, we were out walking and another dog ran over. I will admit I have no chill right now, but I was envisioning a dog fight (that didn't end up happening at all, but I was afraid of it) and it is something I can't deal with right now. Is this a concern of yours? My dog was leashed, the other dog was not.

The owner apologized but frankly I was trying to run away into the house since we were almost there, and I might have let out a Jesus bomb. Overreacting? I got bit by a dog once owned by crazy people across the street from my grandparents, so I always stay away from unfamiliar dogs, and I guess I feel like based on all the barking and growling from our walks that everyone is cranky with each other (dog wise). But any big dog running at me is a concern in general, and I never pet dogs on dog walks since I don't know the dog. Basically I assume all dogs are not friendly until proven otherwise.  And DS was holding her so I was grabbing the leash and dragging both of them along lol. 

[mommyatty]

Dogs should be leashed when they’re being walked. Period. I think I’ve said on here before, my first job was as a vet tech. The number of dogs we saw who were injured because they were off leash (hit by cars, hit by bicyclists, smacked by a person with a walking stick when the dog charged, attacked by other dogs) or were attacked by a dog off leash was INCREDIBLE. And my vet was an eye doctor for dogs, so these were just eye injuries we were treating, sometimes in conjunction with a general surgeon who was doing other work (setting pelvises, hips, and legs, often). So no, you were not overreacting. A dog off-leash in an unenclosed space is a danger and is in danger.

[waverly]

Apr 8, 2020 14:47:04 GMT -5 mommyatty said:

Dogs should be leashed when they’re being walked. Period. I think I’ve said on here before, my first job was as a vet tech. The number of dogs we saw who were injured because they were off leash (hit by cars, hit by bicyclists, smacked by a person with a walking stick when the dog charged, attacked by other dogs) or were attacked by a dog off leash was INCREDIBLE. And my vet was an eye doctor for dogs, so these were just eye injuries we were treating, sometimes in conjunction with a general surgeon who was doing other work (setting pelvises, hips, and legs, often). So no, you were not overreacting. A dog off-leash in an unenclosed space is a danger and is in danger.

Thank you for the validation. The dog was not being walked. He was in his front yard not fenced. The owner tried to grab him and couldn’t. But they have a fenced in backyard, so they should keep the dog there. We have not let our dog in our front yard without being leashed. I thought about it (since dog ownership is new to us), but now I know I won’t because people walk their dogs in our neighborhood. We were also crossing the street away from the dog when it happened so the altercation happened in the middle of the street where the dog caught up to us, luckily a quiet street but your point stands if there had been a car or bicyclist there.

[waverly]

One more. How long after her spaying can she go for a short walk? Google says 2 weeks.

[Rydo]

So what kind of food is best to eat.
But I won’t tell you, because each dog needs its own food. For example, poodles and many other “woolly” breeds, it seems to me, it is better to take food that spares the liver, which includes lamb and rice. Many companies call them food for allergic dogs. But this is far from the whole specificity of the food based on lamb meat. It is known that feeds containing a rice component have a better effect on the skin and coat of the animal. Therefore, I believe that this type of feed is best for you HI-TOR Veterinary Select Reduso Diet Dry Dog Food, 20-lb bag 

HI-TOR Veterinary Select Reduso Diet Dry Dog Food, 20-lb bag