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[ranganathan]

We tried our puppy on a bully stick, but the one we got stank like a rotting carcass.  She loved it, but it made at least 1/3 of the apartment uninhabitable for me. 

I'm going to try the bell method soon, but I'm pretty sure she'll go through a phase of using it to get to whoever else is hanging out in the yard. I think eventually she'll figure out that ringing the bell doesn't let her play with the other dogs, it just means she gets to go out and pee on leash and come right back in.  ucprof, what if you taught the dog to ring one of those wireless doorbells that could be heard all over the house?  might be more expense and trouble than you want, but it also might be better than having poop on the floor.  Only thing is you have to be consistent about this kind of thing, and that'd mean a lot of doorbell sounds every day.

Second the thing about off-leash recall being really hard to learn.  My parents' dog, well-behaved in basically every other respect, would have random episodes of totally refusing to come back because she was having such a good time tearing around the bushes or playing with neighbor dogs.  I think it depends on the dog's personality, but also on constant practice and rewards for coming.

I used to pick up stuffed toys from Goodwill (2 for a quarter) for Rangapuppy to rip apart.  If you have access to marrow bones from the butcher, many dogs LOVE them. (You have to empty the marrow out to make sure the dog doesn't get too much as it is very rich.)  Take away before the bone gets small enough to swallow. Also, simmering the Nylabone in chicken broth makes it more interesting to pups.  Now that Rangapuppy is Rangadog, we don't worry as much about chewing and have moved on to treat dispensing toys, another way to spend lots and lots of money. =)

I completely agree that recall is challenging.  The trick is to figure out a way to make coming back to you better than whatever it is the dog shouldn't be doing. High-value treats work great with food-motivated dogs.  Never scold when the dog returns to you, always praise to the heavens.  We constantly work at recall and Rangadog is probably about 90% reliable.  If she's chasing deer or other animals (we're in the country), she goes deaf.

[infopri]

I used to pick up stuffed toys from Goodwill (2 for a quarter) for Rangapuppy to rip apart.  If you have access to marrow bones from the butcher, many dogs LOVE them. (You have to empty the marrow out to make sure the dog doesn't get too much as it is very rich.)  Take away before the bone gets small enough to swallow.

No, no, no!  See my post above concerning bones.  Not even big bones are safe.  And I say this as someone who used to give my dogs bones all the time.  I hated to give them up (especially since no other "toy" interests Big Dog--at all), but the surgeon made a very convincing case that no bone is ever safe.

I completely agree that recall is challenging.  The trick is to figure out a way to make coming back to you better than whatever it is the dog shouldn't be doing. High-value treats work great with food-motivated dogs.  Never scold when the dog returns to you, always praise to the heavens.

I do agree here, however.  We don't usually use treats (except as noted below), but we make coming to us fun, with praise and petting--every single time.  It was hard to train White Dog when he was young and rambunctious, but even he got it after a few weeks.  When we adopted Big Dog, she was already trained to come, but we keep up the positive reinforcement.  Little Dog will come whenever My Better Half calls her (she loves him, hates me), but I often need to give her a treat.  But the treats do work.  (I usually give her only half a biscuit for answering a "come" command, though.)

[lexan]

I used to pick up stuffed toys from Goodwill (2 for a quarter) for Rangapuppy to rip apart.  If you have access to marrow bones from the butcher, many dogs LOVE them. (You have to empty the marrow out to make sure the dog doesn't get too much as it is very rich.)  Take away before the bone gets small enough to swallow.

No, no, no!  See my post above concerning bones.  Not even big bones are safe.  And I say this as someone who used to give my dogs bones all the time.  I hated to give them up (especially since no other "toy" interests Big Dog--at all), but the surgeon made a very convincing case that no bone is ever safe.

See, I've heard so many different things about this.  Bones are indispensable, bones are a delicious treat, bones are dangerous, uncooked bones are dangerous because of bacterial worries, cooked bones are dangerous because they splinter, feed knuckle bones rather than femurs, feed femurs but never knuckle bones, feed bones to puppies so they have proper jaw and tooth development, don't feed bones to puppies because their immune systems can't handle it.  I'd expect surgeons to have some bias in their observations, in that they only see the dogs who come in with problems (and nothing you do for a dog or a person is without risk).  I'm generally a sucker for the more natural version of whatever, but I don't really know what to think here.

[ranganathan]

Regarding bones: I completely understand those who have had bad experiences with bones wanting to warn other pet owners far, far away from them.  But as lexan says, there's so much conflicting information out there it's hard to say whether bones really should be verboten.

Rangadog is a lab and labs are known for ingesting everything. I've met lab owners who have had to pay tons of money for obstruction surgeries due to tennis balls and socks.  I know lab owners who refuse to allow their labs to play with regular tennis balls for fear the dog will eat them.  We're lucky that Rangadog doesn't have the 'eat everything' trait, but she does love bones.  We've asked 3 different vets if this was okay, and all said that as long as they weren't poultry bones, and she was chewing them up with her teeth and not gulping them whole, bones are fine.

We let Rangadog have tennis balls, bones, and even rawhide (I'm on a dog-related forum that would string me up for admitting this last one) but all under supervision.  In regards to bones, each dog owner has to make the choice that's right for her and her dog.

[infopri]

Regarding bones: I completely understand those who have had bad experiences with bones wanting to warn other pet owners far, far away from them.

For the record, I had no bad experiences with bones.  My dogs loved them and had no problems.  But the surgeon tells me that I/they were very lucky.

We've asked 3 different vets if this was okay, and all said that as long as they weren't poultry bones, and she was chewing them up with her teeth and not gulping them whole, bones are fine.

Yup, my vet said bones were okay, too, as long as they were the kind that don't splinter.  (I bought those really thick hard ones, usually coated with a layer of some kind of yummy beef flavoring.)  But the surgeon overrode the vet.  Yes, you're right, she sees only the dogs who suffered perforations or similar problems from ingesting the bones, but she also cited statistics about dogs in the wild, and how eating bones greatly shortened their life spans (and led to painful deaths).

In regards to bones, each dog owner has to make the choice that's right for her and her dog.

Agreed.  I sounded the alarm here only because I was so surprised to learn how dangerous even "good" bones were, and therefore I thought that other people, like me, might have been unaware of the risks.

[ucprof]

My first dog did OK with those big old cow bones.  Dog #2 has a problem with diarrhea when he chews those bones.  He has a big jaw and teeth and just crunches them up.  He does not get terribly sick, just all the bone - maybe it is the calcium, I don't know - modifies his digestive tract so he gets diarrhea.  So we basically do not give him any of those bones. 

[zarathustra]

At the moment, my dog has "rawhide nose." She's been munching on her rawhide, and has a film of it dried onto her snout.  I should take a picture and give it the caption "got rawhide?"

Hehe. Get it?

[peppergal]

At the moment, my dog has "rawhide nose." She's been munching on her rawhide, and has a film of it dried onto her snout.  I should take a picture and give it the caption "got rawhide?"

Hehe. Get it?

That is so cute!

PepperPup once got Dorito dust on his eyebrows (the result of stealing an empty Dorito bag from the trash can and sticking his face all the way in it to lick up the crumbs).  He walked around like that for a couple hours before I took pity on him and washed his face.

[jossi66]

Just wanted to say, aandsdean, that I can sympathize with the whole Lucy thing, and I hope that you can find some resolution.

I had a BAD weekend with my JRT.  She has been really aggressive lately, and seems to put all her venom against Little Shih Tzu.  I was out and about one day and when I came I found blood all over the house and JRT in the act of attacking LST.  I thought LST was a goner for sure, but I rushed her into the vet and she pulled through all right.  It turned out JRT had pierced her jugular.  It was an absolute nightmare.

My vet suggested I have JRT put down immediately (it's not the first time she has attacked her) and I can see the wisdom of that, but it's not so easily done.  I am going to try to rehabilitate JRT by keeping her isolated when I am not around, getting her more exercise, and trying what a pet behaviorist suggested awhile ago, use of a electronic collar when she gets out of line.

A neighbor of mine had her aggressive dog put down a few years ago for a similar infraction and I always felt like she did not try hard enough.  This seems to be a female dog thing -- the JRT never attacks or even really stand up to any of the males.

By the way, ALL of my dogs are fixed.  This appears to be a seasonal thing  up to a point -- it gets worse 2-3 times a year when they probably wold have been coming into heat.

Just wanted to share my story and would be happy to hear any advice, brickbats, or other responses.

Bottom line -- it is a wrenching thing to have to take part in the death of a healthy, loving, often fearful dog.

[infopri]

Jossi66, I'm so sorry!  I'm glad to hear that Little Shih Tzu pulled through, but I agree that you can't risk another attack.  I hope the techniques you've got lined up work.  If not, is there a chance to place LST in another home?  Perhaps she'd be fine in a single-animal household, for example, or one with only male dogs?  Like you, I would resist euthanasia if there was another way to keep your other dogs safe.  If that become your only option, my heart is with you. 

[jossi66]

Thanks for the thoughts, Infopri!  We trained JRT to stop attacking Ancient Lhasa Apso a few years ago using the collar.  It's not my favorite device but I know she does respond to it.  I can't see how to rehome this dog -- just too aggressive.  My dog behaviorist told me that those in the trade have dubbed this breed Jack Russell Terrorist.  I know a lot of it is fear aggression, and I really do want to help her.  But, you're right, I can't and won't risk another attack on LST, who is a sweet and non aggressive little dog.  I feel so bad for her!

[infopri]

Thanks for the thoughts, Infopri!  We trained JRT to stop attacking Ancient Lhasa Apso a few years ago using the collar.  It's not my favorite device but I know she does respond to it.  I can't see how to rehome this dog -- just too aggressive.  My dog behaviorist told me that those in the trade have dubbed this breed Jack Russell Terrorist.  I know a lot of it is fear aggression, and I really do want to help her.  But, you're right, I can't and won't risk another attack on LST, who is a sweet and non aggressive little dog.  I feel so bad for her!

Oops, I suggested finding a home for LST, but I meant JRT.  I'm glad you understood.  :)  There are people willing to take aggressive dogs, though.  (For example, my Little Dog is a biter--serious bites, not nips--yet I keep her.)  The trick, of course, is finding such folks.

Another option, at least for the short term (until the collar or other efforts succeed), might be to keep the dogs segregated when you can't supervise them (especially when you're not home)?

[pink_]

Have you considered a muzzle for JRT at least when you cannot supervise?  There are humane ones that would prevent biting.

[jossi66]

Have you considered a muzzle for JRT at least when you cannot supervise?  There are humane ones that would prevent biting.

Yes, I thought of that, too. I might take a look at some of the web to see if there is one that would work.  I am thinking, Hannibal Lechter, and treating JRT as such.  A ticking time bomb, I keep telling myself.  Problem is, I still do love the little demon.

[jossi66]

Blah, a double post to say, looks like I mishandled that quote -- and to mention that yes, segregation is already underway.  I will keep JRT apart from all the others when I am not home.  The tradeoff for her is that she will be getting much more exercise when I am home.
Thanks for the support and the ideas!  I am most appreciative!