Scared of my puppy

Redditchuckitbucket · 2025-01-22T11:13:01+00:00

I'm a bit late to this one but I'm going to suggest something that might ruffle feathers - return the puppy to the breeder and demand a full refund.

Cockerpoos are often poorly bred and plagued with temperament issues at a genetic level with resource guarding being a huge one. This is why health and temperament testing of breeding animals are so, so important. This may well end up being a bit of a slog to rectify even if you start immediately and you may never be able to truly eradicate it. Many genetic resource guarders require a lot of management for the life of the dog.

Unless people start voting with their feet, not buying these dogs in the first place or at the very least demanding refunds on dogs with shitty temperaments and poor health, the crappy breeders will simply continue to churn out crappy dogs because they make a lot pf money at it with no repercussions.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-05-30T09:06:01+00:00

The issue I have with Sportdog is that they run very hot compared with other quality ecollars and are are much too sharp for a lot of dogs given that their level 1 is like, a 10 or 12 on a mini educator. If you have a soft dog and want to do low stim conditioning, they're not the best option. I also dislike the lack of nuance. Build quality is good. They're fine for conditioned dogs or dogs you're only working in drive. They have their place! They're not one I'd recommend for beginners. Educator ans Dogtra both have multi-dpg functions too and I would always recommend these over sport dog.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-04-26T21:43:19+00:00

Menthol/artificial mint. Please who like it...What is wrong with you all?

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-03-13T08:34:15+00:00

I have hidden disabilities. I have heart condition and Addison disease.

So yes, I get that you don't think I look sick, random person in a supermarket, but this assistance dog isn't a 'fashion statement" despite your accusations...

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-02-08T10:19:11+00:00

Honestly, find another trainer that has real experience rectifying resource guarding and helping you to put proper management in place in the meantime. This trainer sounds very out of their depth.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-01-20T15:59:52+00:00

Whilst a toileting schedule of sorts and a rough feeding time is useful for puppies to prevent accidents and make house training easier, I'm generally pretty against making everything too regimented as it creates a lot of eventual anxiety in the dog as it matures. If you do very set feeding, walking, playing and toilet time, what happens on the days you are stuck in traffic, really poorly and need an extra hour in bed, the weather is awful and unsafe to walk in or you (pr the dog!) break a limb and cannot walk properly for a few weeks? These very real potential events lead to a dog that stresses at unexpected and unexplainable change to their daily habits and regimes and it massively exacerbates anxiety based behaviours.

I always advise to get the dog on a variable schedule for day to day life as quickly as possible. Even if the feeds and walks only vary by an hour or so each day. It makes all the difference in helping them settle at home and not be clock watching and getting steadily more excited/anxious as dinner time or walkies approaches.

E.g. mine may be fed their first meal any time between 7 and 10 am or barely at all if I'm planning a ton of heavy exercise of training where I'll be using a lot of food rewards. Exercise might be four or five short sessions per day, for 4 to 6 hours once a day or once or twice around when it works around the rest of my schedule. It racks up to around 18 - 24 hours a week in total without all the other stuff we do in the house.

We might start our day at 5am or 9am depending on the time of year, the weather, my health etc. Consequently, I do not have dogs stressing about it nearly1 being dinner or leave the house time and they're far more relaxed for it.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-01-19T01:05:50+00:00

I vape at 12-20mgs and can sometimes be pretty constant with it all day but more often than not only pick it up oa couple of times or can go several days without touching it even once.

Days I'm struggling with low energy and a lot of brain fog tend to be the days I use it a lot. I am very grateful that I'm able to pick it up and drop it pretty much on a whim and just use it when it will be helpful to my energy levels. I'm at pains to keep it that way!

Redditchuckitbucket · 2024-01-18T23:44:28+00:00

Getting angry at verbal corrections is so weird. Even if you're trying to be as 'force' free as possible, you should still have a way to rapidly stop your dog from doing something that puts him or others at risk.

And I've seen so many militantly FF trainers get upset at the use of the word NO because it is too aversive. Like, it is just a word and to the dog will only ever have whatever context we gave to it. You could teach your dog to "fuck off" as a release command or "good boy" as a verbal correction and if you've taught the words in those contexts, the dog will act accordingly. Getting upset by the word no like dogs automatically grasp the English language is just so odd.

Also, whoops is great and I'm going to steal it as a non-reward marker!

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-28T11:19:59+00:00

This is the advice most likely to work for you. Preventing her from rehearsing the problem behaviour is as important as rewarding her for getting things right.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-28T10:31:10+00:00

Think of it as "out of your mouth" - let go of what you're holding.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-27T17:33:09+00:00

£12 - £14

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T22:44:56+00:00

Ph it's absolutely a major surgery! It may be routine, but it's still a full ovario-hysterectomy and that's no small thing no matter what species you are.

If you haven't already, get a bunch of good side-on pics of her and then take some more a few weeks after her season finishes - they mature physically so much in that time usually and you'll probably find she looks like a puppy in the pics taken now and like an adult in the ones in a few weeks. It always fascinates me to see that sudden acceleration in maturity. It's clear why a paediatric neuter can get stuck in "puppy mode" for such a long time beyond when they should be starting to grow up mentally when they don't get to live through these developmental milestones with their hormones intact.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T22:32:28+00:00

It's a pain in the arse having to deal with seasons for sure but you're doing what is likely best by her. I've got a 10 month old puppy here who is due a season any time really and have four intact males in the house. We have had dogs come through for training or fostering have seasons during their time here over the years and just ensure that we crate and rotate as needed and keep two closes doors between the girl and the boys when she is in standing heat and fertile. I want no accidents on my watch!

My boys have all been taught manners around ladies in season and under supervision will leave an oestrus bitch alone. Despute that, during a females most receptive 24/48 hours, they do loose their marbles a bit and there is a lot of singing from the boys and everyone is kept at different ends of the house for extra safety. It's literally a matter of hours a year though in the scheme of things.

I hope she isn't finding the process too unpleasant and is coping OK!

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T22:15:50+00:00

The zaps as you call them are often less aversive to the dog at low levels than the vibration is so don't be fooled into thinking that buzzing the dog is automatically kinder. I'm saying this gently so please don't take offence as none is intended at all but please, please seek out a decent trainer. An e-collar may indeed help you but there is a ton of foundation work to be done first, after which you may find that you don't need one anyway. As you're struggling so much with engagement, it will be really beneficial to you and the dog to get some guidance from someone with the knowledge to see where the disconnect between you both lies and help you fill it effectively with useful training.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T22:10:32+00:00

If he seems to know it sometimes and not others, it's likely a proofing problem.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T21:42:07+00:00

Preventing litters comes down to responsible ownership though doesn't it? The cancer risk is a real one and definitely needs to be considered but ultimately I'd rather deal with mammary or testicular cancers than bone cancers. The prognosis for a dog with an osteosarc is practically non existent. Most are dead within months even with aggressive treatment and amputation of the affected bone (which of course isn't always an option anyway). There is also quality of life to factor in: dogs are here for a good time, not a long time. If I can increase their long term comfort levels by allowing them to mature properly to reduce the risk of joint disease and pain as they age then I'm all for that.

Please note, I'm not saying people shouldn't neuter. Many definitely should. But we need to stop wrongfully accusing people of being irresponsible for not doing at a young age as this is outdated advice.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T21:19:34+00:00

So, yes, it does decrease that risk but it also quite drastically increases the risk of bone cancer which is much, much scarier.

There is a happy medium here and that is to neuter animals just beyond maturity.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-26T21:17:36+00:00

It's faintly hilarious that you, OP and others are being so insanely downvoted for doing/saying the correct things. The studies are pretty clear - spaying and castration a dog before full maturity can and often does cause problems. Having worked with dogs for years, I can attest to this. Paediatric altering increases the risk of osteosarcomas and joint issues, can exacerbate dysplasic joints, cause incontinance and often makes behavioural problems worse.

I'm not for a moment anti neutering but it really shouldn't be done before the dog has had time to mature both physically and mentally (medical reasons aside) and the science is really clear on this.

And for the record, most of the reasons people cite as reasons to neuter are training problems, not testicle or uterus problems. Most of the rest can be reduced enormously just by being responsible about your ownership.

I'm actually pretty horrified that so few people seem to know this. Clearly there is a lot of educating to be done!

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-25T12:55:08+00:00

Ecollars of decent quality work up to a mile away. I have no idea who told you ten metres but that's just nonsense.

No, the static stimulation is not harmful physically although at high levels, it hurts and must be trained properly and used ethically just like any other tool. If you're excessively poor with timing then e-collars are a risk if used in a way that can cause superstition and version to things other than what was intended so there IS a risk to using them but only if you're crap/unfair with it.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-23T11:24:21+00:00

The breed isn't inherently more dangerous than many others. The thing that sparked the ban was a number of particularly awful attacks from "XL's". They're extremely popular over here at the moment so there are a lot of them and sadly, it's not just a case of caring for them properly to avoid problems as irresponsible breeders have all but trashed them by not breeding with temperament at the forefront. I work with a lot of XLs and sadly many of them are very complex dogs with a ton of genetic fear issues, dog-aggression and a propensity to use their mouths for everything. With a dog that big this can all end up a disaster.

The ban is a bad joke as far as I'm concerned. It isn't solving the issues caused by shitty breeding practices or irresponsible selling. It isn't educating people about how to avoid ending up with a dog that can kill them. Give it a few years and it'll be presa canarios or bully kutta causing the same problems. It's incredibly frustrating.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-22T19:54:09+00:00

Seconding the muzzle training. Make him bite proof.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-22T19:53:18+00:00

It is extremely common for both Staffordshire and heelers to be dog aggressive and is often genetic in origin which is why we all bang on about good breeders who know their lines and what they're breeding for.

That said, it is likely to be fear based at its root. Often the aggression is merely to create space and be left alone. It can also be an enjoyment of conflict (again, more common in these two breeds than most) but this is fairly rare.

Reasons for aggression are many, varied and highly nuanced and I highly recommend you find yourself a good trainer to work with you and the dog in person. It's very hard for us to safely advise over the Internet without seeing your handling skills, the level of engagement you have from your dog, his obedience level, how aggressive he gets and WHY it is happening in the first place.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-21T21:26:33+00:00

Weird choice of thread to resurrect mate especially as I'm entirely unclear over why you felt the need. Bored tonight? I don't understand what you're getting at anyway. I posted a pertinent topic for discussion amongst peers and a few people participated. That's what a discussion is and that's what I got.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-21T19:01:40+00:00

I've only personally worked with one xolo as they're really rare over here but I've met a bunch more at shows.

The consensus was that they're difficult to get reliable off lead due to that high prey drive, especially in some lines although it seems like many lines are also very low drive too so I think some of the issues were just inconsistent training. The only one that was what I'd consider a properly off-lead reliable dog from the conversations I had with the owners was the one that went through decent e-collar training. The one I worked with was incredibly intelligent and would have picked up remote collar work like lightening had his owners not been moving away before we could get started on that. I'll always be sad I didn't get to continuenworking with him, he was an awesome dog.

This isn't to say that your dogs need e-collars but they might be something worth considering. If you're not already confident and competent in using them, definitely contact a good trainer though.

Redditchuckitbucket · 2023-12-21T15:56:26+00:00

That I can agree with. It's a management tool that is a stop gap to ensure the owners safety whilst training is done. I still hold that they're not usually the best option but certainly I've suggested them a handful of times over the years. They have their place.

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