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Kind of a niche question, but how do folks feel about letting their dog chase squirrels? I’ve got a 3 year old mutt, acquired from the shelter when he was about 3 months old, who allegedly got him off the street and then shipped to them from out of state, so who knows what his deal is. The best guess at breed has been pit bull mixed with maybe Australian cattle dog and a hint of terrier, but I like to pretend he’s a Pharaoh Hound because in my head their pictures are so like him. Since I got him he’s always been high energy, high intensity, and high anxiety, and despite working with a behavior specialist he continues to struggle with reactivity, particularly toward any other animal, but really anything from people, sudden other unexpected noises (e.g. a car starting), the wind, birds flying overhead, etc will provoke anything from his jumping in shock, fixating on it, lunging, barking, etc. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable keeping him and everyone else as safe as I can, despite his being a good 55 pounds and fast as hell I keep him on a real short leash, shovel treats in his face when appropriate, etc. He remains very much a work in progress, but he’s my guy. Because I don’t always have time to get him out for a long hike, and I don’t have a yard, I’ve taken to borrowing them from other folks, basically going over to friends homes and letting him run wild in their fenced yard. He adores the off leash time, because he’s unquestionably a sprinter, has a TON of energy and endurance, and he otherwise never gets any outdoor time without a leash. That said, they have a bunch of beautiful old pines in their yard, that are chock full of squirrels. Naturally my dog is fine with this, and has an absolute blast trying to kill them with his stare or seeing if he suddenly developed a 40 foot vertical leap. I just worry this might be building bad habits for him? Like, should I enable this when not actively in a training session, and just let him be himself, or will that serve to undermine his already limited self-regulation skills?
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Aug 18, 2020 20:05
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 22:30 |
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Dango Bango posted:My first time fostering a dog I plan to adopt if things go well. He's a 3-year-old lab mix from a county shelter. Housebroken and knows a few commands. Seems to be really smart too. That said, he's underweight and the shelter told me they were feeding him "whatever kibble was donated" but weren't specific. Sounds like a reasonable adjustment behavior, laying low and trying to avoid causing a ruckus. I’d guess after a week or so he’ll start to warm up and unwind, and then the play comes out. kalthir posted:Mine goes after birds and lizards and digs for mice, and is occasionally reactive towards people. Well, I ran him up and down a dang mountain yesterday on top of his exercise session today, so it’s hard to say exactly how it may have impacted him. This afternoon he’s been more quick to go bananas at a delivery person or some such, but was also way more chill on our walk, like he’s especially protective of the home while being worn out enough to relax out and about. In summary, dogs are a land of contrasts and I have no clue.
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Aug 24, 2020 02:24
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GoodBee posted:My "shut up" toys are the Kong Genius toys: Thought these looked great, and one happened to be on sale at the store. 5 minutes after first loading it,  I swear, he does these things just to spite me.
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Aug 26, 2020 01:28
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My dog farts whenever he’s startled or anxious, which is always. It’s hard not to find it endearing when he snaps to attention, absolutely rigid sitting up, and 1.5 seconds later there’s a little “phweeet!” from behind him.
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Sep 11, 2020 03:18
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Sab669 posted:That's actually pretty funny. What kind of dog was it? No idea, best guess is some kind of pit/hound/maybe Australian Shepard-ish kind of thing, but I’ve never bothered doing any of those tests to try and narrow it down
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Sep 11, 2020 16:47
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 22:30 |
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Sab669 posted:Unfortunately a dog's behavior can change radically when they're on a leash VS off leash. One of my dogs is much more Flight when on her leash than off; the other is the opposite. A bit more aggressive on the leash than off. I would just say to really focus on your surroundings and as soon as you see another dog coming step off to the side and just work on some Sit/Stay commands until the other dog passes. That’s going to largely depend on the dogs and how they prefer to sleep, my guy is shameless about trying to insert himself into the sleeping bag, but we have terrible boundaries to begin with. I’ve also had dogs (huskies) who will outright prefer to curl up outside on the ground versus coming into the tent regardless of weather, or a pug who wouldn’t lie down on the ground regardless of circumstances, even just to kick back for a minute on a walk. It’s usually warm enough in a tent and a thick blanket under a dog to stave off ground temp that I’d aim for that, outdoors under a open sky would probably be tough unless they’re already accustomed to it, and it doesn’t sound like their coats are made for it.
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Oct 22, 2020 16:28
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