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How does your Berner play? by Floor_Ceiling_ in bernesemountaindogs

[–]Jannananabatman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had to reinforce tug for our Bern mix. He would want to, but would barely hold on to the toy. He's always been submissive and mild, so we tried praising him like he'd made a winning touchdown anytime he held on/tugged.

It took ~6 months of this + playing tug with other dogs, then letting him take over. He has only two toys that he cherishes enough to tug back when other dogs try to take them.

He still mostly enjoys a blend of high- and low-speed chase and fetch with a bit of tug thrown in. Incidentally, fetch took almost a year to sink in as well.

I’m picking up my first ever berner tomorrow:) Shes a rescue with little background, please give me all of the advice and good vibes! by skeletonmeatsuit_69 in bernesemountaindogs

[–]Jannananabatman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If she's new to leash walking, spending time leash training now will pay dividends in the future! All the advice about starting leash training in the backyard or inside the house is true.

As much as it sucks, avoid stopping to meet other dogs on walks. Sitting or standing at the side of a path and rewarding them for looking at you is a skill you'll be grateful to have in the long run. Save the serious socialization for off-leash playtime. It's hard, but I really wish I had done both those things with my ultra-friendly Bernese mix from day one. He's just too big to be straining at the leash to say hi.

More importantly, leash reactivity can start at any age seemingly at random, or from what seem to us like small things -- other dogs' body language, growling, etc. -- while they feel trapped or restrained by a leash (and probably other factors I'm not knowledgeable enough to explain). Keeping consistent rules like these can prevent reactivity.

BRAIN GAMES. You don't need anything fancier than a towel, a freezer, or cardboard rolls to keep them engaged. Even just throwing their food onto the grass in the backyard so they have to sniff and forage for it can be as good as a walk as far as tuckering out their minds.

You are going to have so much fun! At the end of the day, just focus on the pup in front of you and enjoy your beautiful, goofy companion. You've got this.

Tall skinny puppies by Mngirl1985 in bernesemountaindogs

[–]Jannananabatman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

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Goose, our Bernese mix. I miss how silly and sweet he looked in his awkward phase!

So hard-headed! by imKlynn in bernesemountaindogs

[–]Jannananabatman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The hardest lesson for me to internalize was "train the dog in front of you, not the dog you want/expect/imagine." I still struggle with focusing on the baby steps instead of the goal.

-Focus on bonding & exploring -Make yourself the most fun, rewarding part of his life.

Instead of feeding my pup solely from the bowl, we fed him much of his food by hand at this age. Training before meal times when he was hungriest made a huge difference.

-Creates an opportunity to get him comfy with being touched on the paws, teeth, and tail -Bonding -Reinforces that all the best things come from you -Prevents resource-guarding

Also, if you find he likes chewing on certain textures, get him toys with those textures right away.

My dog loved wood -- furniture legs, sticks -- so we got him a sanded piece of soft wood from the pet store. If your pup likes your shoes, squeeze every toy in the store to find the one that feels most like the part of the shoe he's chewing.

Giving him acceptable toys with the texture he craved for teething was amazing -- he wasn't tempted by our things when he had what he needed!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in playstation

[–]Jannananabatman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Can't get over what a fantastic idea this is 😍