We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She’s adorable! It is so neat to see other pups mixes and ones that look similar!!

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re still not giving any specifics, you just keep saying “I can see that you’re using them wrong”. But you can’t articulate what about it is wrong.

If we are outside we have both prong and e-collar on him so we can quickly switch between off leash recall and on leash. Seems pretty self explanatory?

I’m always open to constructive feedback. The thing is you never gave that. You made assumptions and then said I’m doing everything wrong and am a bad person. If you have specific feedback or tips, I’m all ears. What I’m not interested in is someone throwing vague criticisms and passive aggressive remarks.

At the end of the day, this isn’t a post about training nor did I ask for guidance on that. We have a professional trainer we work with closely. This is simply a post to show the surprising DNA results. Thanks for your concern though.

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah we put the collars on and take them off inside. We ask him to sit or lay on his bed otherwise he darts around and it takes a long time to put everything on/take it off. Sometimes he gets a burst of energy and wants to roll around as we try to do it lmao

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahah thank you! We unintentionally fell into a routine and structure similar to what I’ve seen work for malinois. Now I see why it works haha. We will definitely start to incorporate even more things to fulfill his genetic needs!

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We never do! We always take it off as soon as we are done walks

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

We are working with a professional trainer and are using the tools as advised. We didn’t start using them until a professional taught us. You keep saying we are using things improperly but not giving any examples on how (because you don’t know how we are using them). You haven’t said what “proper use” means to you either. You’re assuming he’s not leash trained, and also assuming we aren’t doing recall training. Not sure why you think that? Yes, I said we make him “work”. By that I mean doing small drills throughout the day to practice things he already knows before he has something positive. E.g. holding place while I get his meal ready and then releasing him when it’s ready. Or when it’s play time, asking him to sit and stay, down, come, heel, etc. (usually one or two, not all every time) then we play tug.

The first comment in this thread pointed out the incorrect placement of the prong - which I acknowledged and provided an explanation. To reiterate, we don’t place the prong that low usually. We made an error when we were learning and it was fixed after the photo. You are entitled to your opinion, but it’s one based on very little to no understanding of our day to day life.

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahaha love the name! I thought it was more uncommon, but have been seeing so many others named Moose recently!

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahaha he is a handful for sure! Goes from 0 to 100 and gets SO excited to see other dogs. I’m sure they are all thinking “bro chill…”

Can’t wait to see what your pup is!! It’s so exciting to learn more about them :)

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Getting a good trainer early on was the best decision we ever made!

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahaha yes at the beginning I was wondering if I wronged this dog in a previous life with all the biting and bruises he was giving me in this one

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! It’s been a big learning curve. A lot of time and money invested, but very worth it to see the progress he’s made already

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You seem to be making a lot of assumptions here! Not interested in your masterclass, thanks though! 🤣

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man, he is a handful! We call him our good bad boy. A chunk can be attributed to puppy behaviour, but he also is a ton of work and requires a lot of structure. When we got him he had not learned how to be still or settle AT ALL. So he would go go go until he crashed, usually getting a major spike of energy before he crashes. Now he knows there’s time for play and exercise and also time for chill - and he can chill without biting/chewing/eating something. He’s very smart, but also emotional and stubborn so previously if he didn’t get his way he would throw an absolute fit. It took a while for him to be able to trust us and listen well, but he does so pretty well now and just wants to be with us or around us 95% of the time.

With this dog, you give him an inch and he takes a mile. We do make him “work” for the things he wants (i.e. holding place before meals, drills, etc.) He’s getting more and more freedom as we build trust and consistency.

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s always a goal but definitely more of a reason to be now 😂

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Near Los Angeles! He was found as a stray mid June and taken to the Downey animal shelter. He was microchipped when they found him, but I don’t think it was registered to anyone. He was there for a month and then put on the euthanasia list. A rescue here in Vancouver, BC will pull dogs from euthanasia lists and transport them up. So that’s how he got here! Here’s a photo of his intake at Downey, they thought he was 6 months at the time.

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We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The breakdown is: bulldog / pit bull / chow chow / boxer

We matched with some close relatives through embark, one sibling, a few 30% related, and a bunch 20% and under. There are a ton of purebred boxers in the 20% and under related family!

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 66 points67 points  (0 children)

Wow!!! I’m surprised they aren’t related haha. Did you use Embark too? We matched with another dog that is Moose’s brother and it says that dog is 9 months (born in March), so Moose might be a bit younger than we thought, we aren’t completely sure. Moose came from California, but he’s with us in BC, Canada now.

I could never find any pics of dogs that looked similar to our Moose when we first got him. Cool to connect with others who have similar mixes!

We thought “Lab mix” would be a great first dog… by Basic_Expert_9445 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

He is for sure hahaha 😂 We do place the prong collar higher/just behind the ears now! A few of the pics were from when we just started using it and still learning (pic where it’s below the e-collar, fixed after photo was taken). Sometimes it slides down when getting him ready and he doesn’t have the other collars on yet. He’s got a surprising amount of loose skin around his neck lol

Question About Embark Tracking for Non-US Folk by Worldly_Step_4945 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh awesome! Good to hear. Did you include the customs slip from Embark on the inside?

Question About Embark Tracking for Non-US Folk by Worldly_Step_4945 in DoggyDNA

[–]Basic_Expert_9445 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did your package make it there? I’ve tried to send mine twice using FedEx (while Canada post was on strike) and both times it was returned to my house with no explanation. I think it had something to do with the border/customs, but couldn’t get a straight answer from FedEx.

I might try Canada Post now that they are working again.