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forscooter
10-15-2009, 05:51 PM
OK, so now that you all made me get a cat and a puppy :rolleyes: can anyone help me in teaching Baby Pallie that it is not OK to put Allo's whole head in her mouth??? :eek: She will not leave him alone...not for a second if he is in the room.

I have tried telling her firmly to "LEAVE IT"...which sometimes works, distracting her by playing with her and then praising her (but realistically I can't be on the floor every single second), and using a squirt bottle with the LEAVE IT. I have tried to let Allo handle it.....he bats at her with no claws....although sometimes he does bc she will yelp but then is right back at it. But he hardly ever does it. And he wants to be with me when I get home too. I have tried giving them their own time....but she is completely fascinated with Allo!

So, is there something I am missing? Because from the moment I come home to the moment I go to bed, she is just torturing him. And he will retreat sometimes to the other room but like I said, he wants to be with me. After being in the pen all day, I hate to keep her in there at night plus she won't learn that way.

Any ideas?????

Thanks!! Lots of hugs! An even Battier Beth!

gpgscott
10-15-2009, 06:05 PM
Beth,

This I think is an issue between Pallie and Allo, (still think it sounds like a greeting:D)

Unless Allo is real stupid, (not likely, afterall he is a cat) he will not allow Pallie to hurt him.

Frankly I am more concerned that Pallie might suffer eye injury.

I think you are worrying too much:D

Scott

AlisonandMia
10-15-2009, 06:20 PM
When I was growing up we had a kitten/cat and two young dogs and all three of them spent a lot of time playing this 'orrible game where the dogs dragged the cat around the garden by his head, legs or whatever - he'd end up covered in dog slobber and dried leaves and dirt. Then they'd all fall asleep in a heap - with the cat on top, of course.

The cat was a more-than-willing participant in this - as often as not he initiated it. In fact, considering he was "Da Cat" as opposed to a "Mere Dog" I suspect he always initiated it!

Like Scott I'd be more worried about Pallie getting an eye injury if she happened to get carried away and hurt Allo. It might be worth asking the vet his opinion regarding the wisdom of allowing them to continue - if these games ever go wrong then vets would be seeing the results. I've never heard of it being a problem and I've watched a fair few of those TV vet shows where this sort of thing will be mentioned if it is an issue.

I'd think if Allo didn't like it he'd get himself up out of the way onto a table, or bench top or the top of the couch. If that isn't possible then maybe getting one of those high-rise scratching post, cat roost thingies might give him somewhere to go to get a break when he wants to without having to leave the room.

Alison

forscooter
10-15-2009, 07:17 PM
Thanks, Scott and Alison! See, that's what I worried about...Pallie getting hurt. I read where a puppy needed over $2000 in eye surgery after not leaving a cat alone. :eek:

Allo will sometimes just lie there and that's fine. But a lot of the time he is screaming meowing but he will not get up. Or he will run under or behind furniture but she can still fit there too. Once in a while, his brain turns on and he'll hop up on top of something but the second she "seems" calm, Allo moves and the whole thing starts again.....his running, her chasing, him screaming, her biting at him....and then he will hiss...which she thinks is funny and doesn't take the hint. She will also do the puppy hop on his abdomen, bc I sometimes think he is just that stupid, and she is getting bigger where I worry she will hurt something internally jumping on his tummy like that....so between, her eye, his tummy and the constant chasing and hissing and screaming and being too stupid to move....my nerves are shot.

My sister seems to think Allo needs to teach Pallie her place....as Bailey is...but I am worried about injury to one or the other....

of course I worry too much! LOL.....isn't that one of the rules in the Cushparent guidebook??? "Thou shalt worry endlessly over everything." :rolleyes::o

She just shredded a tennis ball and a catalog, the cat food bag, and peed 4 times in the house bc it is raining and God forbid her little feet get wet!

Who has the margaritas???????
Love ya, Beth and the crazy-makers

Harley PoMMom
10-15-2009, 07:49 PM
Oh Beth,

Poor Allo, I can't believe he's taking this kind of behavior from Pallie. The things I watched from Cesar Millan show is that Pallie has to show Allo respect and somehow you must show her how??? This sounds like something Saskia would really know about, she is a certified dog behavioral trainer. Why don't you PM her and ask...just a thought. Wish I could help you more Beth...you poor dear...my goodness you do have your hands full...wishing you the best of luck, tho. :(:)

Love and hugs.
Lori

forscooter
10-15-2009, 08:29 PM
Thanks, Lori....I'll Pm her now and ask her to look in here!

Love and hugs, Beth

Harley PoMMom
10-15-2009, 08:43 PM
Thanks, Lori....I'll Pm her now and ask her to look in here!

Love and hugs, Beth

Dah me, I'm so sorry Beth, I should of done that for you. :o:( Sometimes I just don't think...forgive me?

Love and hugs.
Lori

BestBuddy
10-15-2009, 08:51 PM
Hi Beth,

There need to be some rules for play but I have no idea how you would set them or even enforce them.

I do know that a lot of time it sorts itself out but how long that would take in anyone's guess.

Siblings do play rough and I only just found out how rough when my sister in law told me about some of the things the boys did to the girls when they were younger. Would you believe the boys would hold the girls down because they were stronger and put one of their socks, usually at the end of the day or after a game of football (Aussie rules of course) in the girls mouth and tickle her.

The girls did get their own back in sneaker ways of course. And my hubby swears he never did it because it was the other two boys!

Jenny

SasAndYunah
10-16-2009, 11:38 AM
Hi Beth,

Allo and Pallie. I have read you thread about them to get some information that could be usefull and to help me come up with a plan...if possible :) Let me try and simply start from the beginning by explaining things that may help you understand what's going on.

First of all, if someone comes to me and asks me if they could bring a cat into their household which already contains a dog, my first question would be....what breed is the dog? If it was either a hound or terrier breed I would strongly advise those people not to bring a cat into their home :) Simply because breeds from the hound group are bred to chase and terriers are bred to fight and kill small animals. So dogs from these groups are the least suitable to get along in harmony with cats...because of their nature, not their fault of course. But of course, there are hounds and terriers that do get along with cats just fine...it's just that when people still have the choice, it would be wise not to bring a cat into the home with any of those breeds already in the house. This is not to discourage you, but to make you understand why it could be a challenging task to have Pallie leave Allo alone. If you add to this the difference in behaviour between both species...and you'll fully understand it may take quite some time and effort. But....nothing is impossible :)

Okay, here we go :)

What I would do under the circumstance is the following. Everytime you have Pallie and Allo in the same room, you leash Pallie. Right now, Pallie often get's in trouble for playing with Allo...right? You will say things like "no, leave the kitty alone", "Pallie, don't"...etc. Is that correct? In that case, what is happening that right now Pallie is not getting positive attention when Allo is around. One of the phrases I use most during training (the parents) is "You don't want to set the dog up to fail....instead you want the dog to succeed and therefore you have to create a situation in which the dog can succeed" :)

Leaving Pallie and Allo in the same room with no restriction (leash) for Pallie, is setting Pallie up to fail. You can't expect Pallie (given her breed and age) to restrain herself and not chase a fast moving object. And thus, you end up in a negative cycle...where Pallie get's scolded for her behaviour which is actually not fair because she simply can't live up to those expectations :)

So, put a leash on Pallie and have her sit (does she know sit, already?) and reward her. Let Allo enter the room and keep Pallie on the leash. If Pallie tries to chase Allo, wants to move into Allo's direction, you try to distract Pallie by saying her name, squeeking with a toy, whatever it takes. And the moment Pallie's attention shifts to you..instead of Allo, you reward her extensively with...hamburger, beef, frankfurters, whatever it takes :D Of course also your voice has to be all excited and happy. Your tone of voice should be telling Pallie she did the most amazing thing on earth :)

And of course, after Pallie has gobbled down her treat, she'll turn to Allo again....and you repeat the same thing...over and over again. This way, you switch from a more negative approach to a more positive one. Pallie should learn, over time and with lots of pratice, that leaving Allo alone is worth her while. And also, by leashing Pallie, she has a much better succesrate then off leash...that's a situation in which Pallie will always loose... and we want Pallie to feel like she won...like she did something incredably good and clever, instead of doing something bad. But you need to create that succesfull situation for her :)

And with Pallie possibly having hound and terrier in her blood (I think a vet said that there was possibly some JRT in her as well?) I agree that Allo could be at risk. Pallie could shake Allo and break his neck for example. It's in Pallie's genes to chase anything moving...it's in Allo's genes to run when in danger. And those two reactions clash...as you can tell :) And neither of them can help it, they do as told by "nature"... ;) So, keep Pallie leashed when in the same room with Allo so you don't set her up to fail by chasing or playing too rough, make "Allo is in the room" a good thing with lots of treats and rewards and praise and make the "stop chasing Allo" a positive experience (whenever Pallie's attention switches to you, praise, treats, hallelujah, etc) instead of a negative experience (no Pallie, stop chasing that cat!)

I hope I was clear in explaining this. If not, if you have any questions or doubts about how to do something, just let me know and I will try and explain it better :)

Best of luck and hugs to all of them...and yourself,

Saskia and Yunah :)

gpgscott
10-16-2009, 04:06 PM
Beth,

I respect Saskia's advice and find it well informed.

I have never had cats with terriers or hounds.

I can see that if Allo becomes comfortable with Pallie as a pup that Pallie may hurt him as she grows.

Probably good to try to stop this early, I think especially since Allo is grown and agreeable to the pup.

Scott

forscooter
10-16-2009, 06:15 PM
THANK YOU, SASKIA!!!

You are right with the hound instinct, of course! I didn't even really think about her natural instincts :o!!! And if she does have terrier, and I am planning on running a test for her mix, then that would add to it. I am just getting in from work a little while ago and started immediately. She is responding pretty quickly....:D. I know this will take time to truly get her to a point where she will resist, but at least she is responding to me when I tell her to "leave it" and then praise her lavishly. She turns right to me now. Allo even spent more time in the room. Only one time he had to hiss which is better. I will, for sure, keep on it!!!

That was my fear...that this is really I think her way of playing right now. But games can escalate and I have been seeing that which is what was so disturbing to me. It started with nosing Allo, and licking him, up until where we are now which is to take his whole head in her mouth and also to "lie in wait" for him and then chase. Allo has tried to approach her with a headbut, and he has been as patient as I think anyone can expect. He really does like dogs and I don't want that ruined either. He is very affectionate and friendly. But when I started to see hunting behavior, it concerned me and the escalation of just constantly chasing and grabbing his head. As it is, I am trying to teach her the "no mouth" rule.

Bailey holds his own bc of his size and sheer snarls when she pushes the limits. But I am afraid one day Allo will be seen as her stuffed toy and she will do the shaking/killing thing. She really is a complete love mush and I think she wants to be "friends". But as a puppy, her play times get out of hand.

I have also noticed when she gets tired, she escalates. She won't just poop out and lie down. She gets more and more wound up and is more and more difficult to control. At that point, I will put her in her pen for a nap bc she just gets obnoxious.

Allo would let her curl up with him and even play with him, as would Bailey, but she has to learn the ground rules. No chasing. No pouncing. And no mouth! Last night she ripped in half a tennis ball and all I could picture was Allo's head!

Jenny, I laughed at your post as it brought back many memories of my brother torturing me!!!!:D

So, we are on a break time now so I can eat my dinner....and I will re-open the festivities later after she naps. Thank you so much a million times over!!!!!!!! I appreciate so much the help!!!!!

Love and hugs! Beth, Bailey, always Scoobie, Allo and Baby Pallie

AlisonandMia
10-16-2009, 06:24 PM
If this were my problem (and it won't ever be because my daughter is violently allergic to cats), I think this is how I'd tackle it: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1403

The dog involved was a 9yo terrier with experience in hunting and killing "little furries".

The dogs I mentioned that we had when I was child were a beagle and a terrier cross. I think the situation balanced itself so nicely because the dogs lived outside and the cat lived both inside and outside so he knew he always had an "out" - not that the varmint ever seemed to want to be parted from his canine buddies for long though. It really was a disgusting spectacle, this bedraggled, saliva-soaked, dirt-encrusted Burmese cat! He cleaned himself up after every game but was usually re-drenched within the hour.... I think dog saliva was probably actually an appreciable part of his diet.:eek:

Alison

SasAndYunah
10-17-2009, 01:35 AM
Beth, there's an easy and simple way to asses Pallie's (any dog's for that matter) prey drive. Throw her favorite toy across the room and watch her reaction. If she is ignoring it or showing very little interest...low prey drive. If she will retrieve the toy, she has medium prey drive. But when she chases the thrown toy, shakes it and chews on it agressively, she has a high prey drive. Going by the "ripped in half tennisball" my guess would be that Pallie falls in the high prey drive categorie :D And in that case, Pallie would certainly not be able to change her behaviour towards Allo all by herself. (Unless perhaps Allo would have been an "aggressive" cat that was very self-confident and would whoop Pallie's ass :P) But that doesn't seem to be the case with Allo...

Have you ever taken little children to an amusement park or anything like that? By the time you get home, you're tired and worn out? Where the children will not calm down and start chasing each other through the house? :D That's what you see with Pallie (and most puppies) They cannot calm themselves down when all excited....and they become more and more excited. That is why it is very important to give pups a mandatory rest :) Exactly the way you do it... They cannot stop their excited behaviour so you have to take them out of that situation and put them in their crate or whatever quiet place, where they will calm down and fall asleep :) So bravo to you for the mandatory penbreakes ;)

I was very happy to read that Pallie was responding amazingly well to you for a first time excercise...that is soooo promising! :D Keep up the good work, you make us all proud :)

Saskia and Yunah :)

AlisonandMia
10-17-2009, 03:50 AM
" my guess would be that Pallie falls in the high prey drive categorie :D And in that case, Pallie would certainly not be able to change her behaviour towards Allo all by herself. (Unless perhaps Allo would have been an "aggressive" cat that was very self-confident and would whoop Pallie's ass :P) But that doesn't seem to be the case with Allo...



Zac is a dog with a pretty high prey drive (gives toys a good "killing") - but he's clearly at least partially reviewed his classification regarding cats as prey after being actually attacked by a cat in the street. We don't live in what would be called a rough neighborhood by any measure - except, that is, for the cats. It seems they lurk in front gardens and mug passing pooches - I think it's some sort of conspiracy!:D:p

Poor Zac has been attacked 3 times by 3 different moggies - the latest one just this morning. I had stopped (well out on the road at least 5 yards from the cat) to praise him and give him some treats for being exceptionally good when he saw a cat (polite, alert interest on a loose leash) when the cat came at us hissing. Another time he was actually jumped - the cat latched onto his hind quarters with tooth and claw like a lion on a wildebeest and I had to intervene. Fortunately the cat was polite to humans and didn't try to take me on. So he literally got an ass whooping. The poor dog was very confused by this turning of the tables and that was the incident that seemed to have changed his attitude.

He still finds possums very exciting though.:eek::p I don't think he realizes how nasty a cornered possum can be....

Alison

SasAndYunah
10-17-2009, 05:52 AM
Exactly Alison :D I know of situations where the dog wouldn't leave the cat alone... and they resorted to set up a meeting between that dog and a known, dog bullying, very feisty cat...:rolleyes: That dog never chased a cat again. But it would not be my first solution to try and get the dog stopping from chasing cats ;) Allo just seems to "nice" and not "self-assured" enough to give Pallie that message...and so it's up to Beth to teach Pallie the correct behaviour :) And it looks like she will succeed since Pallie was very susceptable to Beth's efforts :) A better way with less risk of damage to either one of them... And also a much broader lesson then simply not chasing cats...it will also help (hopefully) with "not chasing" in general...

Saskia and Yunah :)

forscooter
10-17-2009, 08:44 AM
Yes, I was so hoping Allo would teach Pallie her place, but not in a harmful kind of way...I thought Pallie would learn the lesson with Allo's hissing and near-biting and occasional claw....but no, she would just keep at it. I call Allo "catdog" bc I really think he is half cat and half dog :rolleyes:. He is very much a friendly, sweet cat and I think he knows Pallie is just a baby so he doesn't want to get too rough with her. Being out in the woods and having to survive before he came to me, I am surprised Allo isn't more "wild" in nature, but he isn't. I don't know how he himself didn't fall prey to something before me...I'm just sure glad he didn't! And I don't want to cause that now.

Pallie is still trying to chase and nip of course, but she is listening to me. I tell her in a higher-pitched voice, sweetly, to "leave it", and when she turns and looks at me, I give her a treat. It's enough that she leaves him. Allo, in return, approached her more often, and me, last night, and I just made sure I immediately used the same technique. They were on the couch together for a short while last night with me in the middle. And slept in my bed without Pallie pouncing him.

Of course, first thing this morning, Pallie went to sit on Allo and I told her, sweetly, "leave it" and she immediately came to me and sat and looked waiting for the treat. So I showered her with lots of praise and gave her her treat. Bailey wants one now too so he gets one....and then Allo comes for one and he gets one. Allo and Bailey will need diets, LOL, but I don't want there to be any food issues after this. This way everyone is happy when Pallie listens.

Pallie is pretty smart...I noticed that weeks ago so I do have high hopes for her. She still prefers to pee in the house when it rains and forgets sometimes to get to the back door....but she does seem to catch on pretty quickly when doing the sit and stay. Still working on "come".

She has grown like a weed in height, just not filling out like I would like her to...but I don't know if that is a parasitic issue or an issue of energy going into her height growth? We see the vet on Friday. I do know she did gain about 5 pounds so far....but again, she is much taller and broader....just would like not so skinn-ier.

Thanks so much again!!!:D:D:D I will keep you posted!!!
Love and hugs, Beth and the crew

SasAndYunah
10-17-2009, 11:35 AM
Beth, I am so pleased with this update :) Pallie is one smart cookie :D And so are Allo and Bailey...wanting a treat too :p

Could I just make one small suggestion? At this time you tell Pallie to "leave it" when her attention is too much focussed on Allo...right? This is what I call a "negative command"....a command used to stop negative behaviour. (and oh boy, do we need those at times :D) But, right now you are teaching Pallie "to stop a certain behaviour" which works fine just now. But in fact, it's best to teach her "different behaviour". Very simply put, if you teach a dog just "no" (or whatever command to make him stop doing something he shouldn't be doing) then you do not offer an alternative. And after a while, just "no" will not be enough. So the goal is not to just stop the behaviour but to implement a different behaviour all together. That will have more benefits in the long run and in other situations as well :) Also, you want to have the "leave it" command ready for emergency situations and then you won't have the happy, high voice....it will be more like "drop it!!!" <thundercloud face> so the dog understands you really mean business. You cannot use the same command in 2 different ways...that's confusing to a dog. So I would suggest you don't tell Pallie to "stop the chasing/rough playing" behaviour but instead you teach her a new..."pay attention to me" command, which always should be a happy voice command :) (again, it's like with children. If you tell a child "no, you cannot play football in the house"...you will have a bored, nagging child on your hands. If you tell the child "no, you cannot play football in the house but instead you can draw"...you redirect the childs focus from what it isn't supposed to do, to something it is supposed to do) Do I make sense???

We don't want Pallie to "only stop the behaviour", we want her to change some "bad" behaviour into good behaviour. So the command for her, when you want her to stop, should be a command that gives Pallie something "to actively do" like for example "look at me". And right now this is what Pallie is doing already...she stops, turns around to you, sits and wants her treat ;)

Imagine...Pallie laying on the floor, telling herself " I shouldn't chase the cat, I shouldn't chase the cat, I shouldn't chase the cat ...oh heck, I'm going to chase the cat" :P Where we want Pallie to think..."I shouldn't chase the cat, therefore I am going to do something else instead" :) In that first example, Pallie has not learned what to do instead, all she was taught was "leave it"...but not what to do instead. And that's what we want, that Pallie will start make a connection...that whenever she wants to chase the cat, she will understand that something else is even much more fun to do....like looking at mom, and getting cuddles and treats and watching mom doing a happy dance :D It's not that cat chasing is forbidden.....no, showing other behaviour is much more rewarding...that's what you want to achief :)

So, safe the "leave it!!" command for urgent situations like Pallie finding a dead animal (speaking of parasites :rolleyes:) or she runs into some food that someone threw away days ago and that's now covered with molds... That's when you want to use the "leave it!!!" and that's when there will be no time for sweet, high voices....at those times you have to be firm and loud. So try to use a different command when wanting Pallie to leave Allo alone... :)

Saskia and Yunah :)

judymaggie
10-17-2009, 04:22 PM
Saskia -- I haven't had the pleasure of reading any previous training tips you may have offered to other members and I wanted to say that your positive reinforcement method of training is fantastic. I just cringe when I read or watch other trainers piling on the negativity. If/when I bring another beagle into my home, I will definitely come back and re-read all your tips!

P.S. Beth -- hugs to little Pallie, Allo and Bailey!

forscooter
10-18-2009, 08:46 AM
Thanks, Saskia!! I knew "leave it" probably wasn't the right thing to say, but it was kind of stuck in my head. So, I changed it to "look at mommy!" and have a toy....She does look at me and has been pretty good about responding right away. We did have a slip up this morning when I went in the other room for something and Allo worked his way in the family room (gates do nothing for cats), and I heard the chase and then Allo screaming and by then it was hard to have her stop. But she did. :o

However, when she grabbed my laptop cord and began chewing, I gave a stern-faced and voiced, "Leave it!"....to which she replied by taking off with it....:o....she already chewed one cord in half on something not plugged in and I am ever vigilant now in watching her around those....luckily, I didn't have fried puppy! I felt so stupid!:(

I need to be about 15 years younger, I think, LOL....

Love and many hugs and much much thanks!!!!! Beth

SasAndYunah
10-18-2009, 11:13 AM
Hello Beth :)

If you find me annoying with all my tips and advice, please say so...and I'll "leave it" :D But something just occured to me after reading your last post... Did you actually teach Pallie the "leave it" command? What often will happen is this...

People bring home a new puppy and have everything set up, a crate to sleep in, some toys, etc. So, one day, the pup is playing in the room and finds the remote...Haaaa..that's an interesting object, let's see if I can chew on it. Mom walks in on chewing puppy and yells....Noooooo not the remote, leave it! Pup is surprised about his mom's tone of voive and drops remote to see what's going on. Mom is happy and telling the pup he's a good boy :) Next day, pup runs into a pair of glasses. Pup is curious, starts chewing on the glasses and when mom sees is, she yells...nooooooo, not my glasses! Leave it! Pup looks up at mom, thinking, what's wrong with her...is she in pain or what, drops the glasses and walks up to mom. Mom happy, saying good pup :) Third time, pup finds moms shoe and curiously starts chewing on the shoe. Mom sees it, starts yelling....leave my shoe!!! Pup thinks, I know this behaviour from mom, she does that once every time but that's just the way she is, I'll continue chewing this very nice shoe :)

That is what happens very often. People don't actually teach the "leave it" command, they just start using it when the pup does chew on something they don't want him to chew on. And then, by the reaction of the pup, they think the pup actually knows what it means, where instead, the pup doesn't have a clue :rolleyes: You will actually have to teach each and every command step by step, before you can actually use it. So untill a pup doesn't have learned a certain command, you shouldn't use it. Because that's when you end up with a dog that will sometimes "listen" and sometimes won't :) (since the dog actually doesn't have a clue what you mean)

If you haven't taught Pallie the "leave it" command in several traning sessions, then that's what you should do first :) In case you don't know how to teach it...let me explain it to you.

You take one "special" treat, something she's not supposed to have anyway like for example a cookie for humans and you take several other treats, she is supposed to have. Make sure there is no other distraction in the room when you practise this (no Allo in the room :p)

You lay the (forbidden) cookie on the floor, in front of her, saying "leave it" in a normal tone of voice. Not happy, not stern. Once the cookie is down on the floor, leave your hand right there, close to the cookie. Being a dog, she will move her nose towards the cookie. As soon as she does that, you cover the cookie with your hand, saying "leave it" a bit more firm this time. You wait just a few seconds before you pull back your hand, with the cookie in it of course, and you praise Pallie and give her one of the treats she is supposed to have. And this is what you repeat a few times. If possible, you do 3 til 5 trainingsessions per day, each lasting no more then 2 - 3 minutes each. And never reward her with the treat you use to practise :) Untill and unless Pallie knows this excersise, it's useless to use the command for any situation, she after all doesn't have a clue yet :) You might even want to consider to rename the command into "don't touch"" as to not confuse Pallie, since she has heard the "leave it"quite often allready. Just make it a whole new command all together and start from scratch.

I often see this where people say/think their pup is being naughty by not listening but in reality the pup doesn't have a clue what people mean since he was never properly taught the meaning of a certain command.

Oh...and about all the treats during practising... What I always did and still do is, I feed Yunah a certain amount of dry kibble each day, let's say 100 grams. I will feed her 45 grams twice a day, leaving me 10 grams of dry kibble to use for treats :) That way she doesn't get too much and will not gain extra weigth, So just take the treats out of the normal amount of food per day...no weigthissues when you do it this way :) When I recently had Panda to foster, I took almost 50% of his normal amount of dry kibble per day and used those as treats during the day :) So in the end, he still ate the amount needed but nothing more. And always carry a few pieces of kibble/treats in your pocket, there will be situations in which Pallie is doing all of a sudden something great and amazing, and you will want to reward that instantly ;)

Saskia and Yunah :)

forscooter
10-18-2009, 11:26 AM
Me tell you to "leave it"? Never!!!:D:D This is all very very helpful!!! And I appreciate it so very much!!!

I did screw this up! No, I didn't do the steps....just jumped right to the "leave it"! I will start again with the "Don't touch" and do it the right way. I thought, Oh good! She's looking at me and leaving it....but you are right, of course. She won't get it that way. I am going to practice with her right now while Allo is sleeping....just have to get Bailey's big nose out of here, LOL.:o This all makes so much sense. I did some training with Bailey when he was a pup, but never got the command down to leave things alone....just the basic sit, stay, come....which he never listened to bc I never followed up like I should have. And I really really want to do it right this time bc he can be a handful!

I posted two pics in my album....one is Pallie sleeping with Bailey and the other is Pallie "trying" to sleep with Allo....I think the pics speak for themselves in the difference in her attitude!:rolleyes::cool:

OK, I am off and going to try it this way and start with the basic steps....and hopefully tire her out a little bc right now she is doing laps through the house!!:cool:

Lots of thanks!!!! And tons of hugs to you and Yunah!!! By the way, can you and Yunah come stay with me????:p
Beth

SasAndYunah
10-19-2009, 03:00 AM
Beth, we would love to come...really :) There's nothing I love more then working with/training dogs...and showing parents why and how it's all so important :) It's just so rewarding and it (often) increases the bond and the understanding between dog and parents so much.

When you get the "drop it" command under control, just whistle and tell me with which command you would like to continue next and I will help you. Preferably a command that's quite important in this stage of Pallie's live :) Like indeed "drop it"..."here" or "look at me" or perhaps "no pulling on the leash".

Just a quick note on the "here" command...if you use and/or train it, never ever use the "here" command for something that Pallie doesn't like. For example...if she needs a bath (and hates baths) do not call her towards you with "here" because the next time she will remember that the last time she came when called "here", something bad happened to her and thus she is likely not to come....and who could blame her ;) Only use "here" when something good is happening after this command. You want a perfect "here"...since it is a very important command that you may need in dangerous situations (Pallie running out the front door towards the road!, for example) Many people make the mistake to use the "here" also when afterwards something negative (in the dogs eyes) is happening. So don't do that :)

Good luck!

Saskia and Yunah :)

forscooter
10-19-2009, 08:50 PM
OK, your bed is all ready!!!!:D:D:D

I was practicing the "here" command and using small bits of treats. And when the other two piggies aren't around! :p She is having a hard time with that one though...even with food...

I admit I made a mistake today...it was one of "those" days....extreme stressful all day long and getting hit from every angle...I came home by ending the day from a painful dr's appt and she immediately got in with Allo and (I really think she thinks she is playing) BUT she had him by the neck....in my exhaustion and panic, I grabbed her and yelled NO! And pushed her away....:( which then led to her latching on to my hair and almost scalping me.....which led to me putting her back in the pen until I could compose myself....

I felt like a bad bad mommy!!!! I am too exhausted tonight to work on the training the right way so I did need time off tonight from it...plus I am in a little bit of pain. I am so hoping tomorrow we can start over again....

I sent her cheek swab off in today's mail to see just what this little girl is made of breed-wise....I think part monster! LOL!:D

Love and hugs, Beth and Pallie

SasAndYunah
10-20-2009, 02:55 PM
Beth, you did the exact right thing...by putting Pallie back in her pen :) So no need to feel a bad mom at all, you're doing great :D We all have those days and on those days, just don't train. You need to be relaxed and not feel pressured by al kinds of things you still have to do for example. Safe trainingsessions for when you have the time and are relaxed...on other days, Pallie will have to stay a bit more in her pen. So what? :) With some toys and attention later on, she will be just fine, trust me :)

Take good care of yourself,

Sas and Yunah :)

gpgscott
10-21-2009, 04:05 PM
OK, your bed is all ready!!!!:D:D:D



No way!

If shes comming over here I get to keep her:D

I will let her visit others;)

Scott

SasAndYunah
10-21-2009, 04:48 PM
Oh you guys....you're nuts :p

But loveable nuts :D

Saskia :)

corgipallie
10-23-2009, 04:31 PM
I may have to mail you some night crawlers just for fun. hahahahahaha. Sweet, innocent, little Steph. I think NOT! ;)

forscooter
10-23-2009, 07:59 PM
Oh go ahead and send me squiggly wriggly things and see what comes back to your house along with them!!! :p I have had a whole house full of parasites!!!! :eek::p All looking for new homes, Steph! Hahaha!!

I did an update on Bailey's thread bc I was getting too confused...he had another episode which I suspect was a cortisol issue, Pallie had her vet check-up and I do not have to be dewormed YET!!!!!!

Love and hugs, Beth and the bunch

Oh and Allo is still being a good boy and not giving me a problem (knock on wood!!!!!)