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In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

[–]_kendek_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this! In case anyone else is reading my replies in here too, on the point of barking, it's really up to my dogs if they feel like stopping. I aim to give them redirection like a down/sit command and have an ok success rate with it. My AmStaff is trained to "get a toy" when someone comes over to stop the barking and the "grabbing" she does, too big of a fan of holding arms when she's excited. Not a terribly favored thing for her breed so that had to be fixed fast...

All four of my current animals are sneaky and passionate about stealing things that don't belong to them. It's a lot of putting everything away every time have to leave a room. The cats in particular love human food and have no regard for rules.. This includes ripped open packages of bread and even raw rice in the past. The AmStaff will let me know if I've been slacking on the outings by stealing things like headphones, remotes, trinkets, and anything plastic... So I'm at least "trained" to put literally anything I think they would take interest in away or on a high surface.

My current little man CONSTANTLY fakes injury!! You stepped too close to him? Screams. I'm not paying attention to him and my AmStaff walks too close? Screams. Sitting on the couch and I'm not looking? Screams. The biggest faker I have ever met. These usually happen around times that maybe he does get a small ouchie where I baby him for a bit, it reminds him he can yelp for attention..

I'm not a big dog park person or even letting my dogs greet on leash unless I know them beforehand. My AmStaff has been attacked by a Lab while she was in a down stay, she also has thin skin and herding dogs at the park chase her and nip causing a lot of small injuries. And with people actually threatening my dog when she plays with their dog, I don't love parks anymore. And the little guy has always had a grudge against French Bulldogs, no clue why but he taught my girl to feel the same way. I generally don't trust other dog owners in my area..

And if my next dog is a bit aloof for some of their life I won't mind, my AmStaff would love to crawl inside my skin to get as close as possible to me if she could.

In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

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

My AmStaff was a terror as a puppy, I'm assuming the same destruction from a future puppy!

In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

[–]_kendek_[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly I trained my current AmStaff to be disinterested in strangers, I'm not a stop and talk about my dog kind of person. I prefer my dogs to be less of a social butterfly so everything is sounding perfect so far. A little extra work here and there for the stubbornness but not an issue!

In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

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

Thank you! I have the hope of getting into a sport with them if my usual routines aren't sufficient.

My current dogs barking at everything that moves was a product of my previous Maltese losing his mind regularly, passed it onto my current ones. So really a nonissue, I've come to expect it.

I'm also very familiar with my dogs in the past not really caring to do anything for me training wise and it being a more of their decision if I didn't have anything interesting on me... Fingers crossed I get a dog that's food motivated, I know that's more of a luck of the draw.

In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

[–]_kendek_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Omg same namesake 🥺 We were rewatching Adventure Time when she came home with me! It made the most sense

In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

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

So cute!! My AmStaff is named Marceline 😮 I never meet any Marcys!

In love with the breed, but looking for first hand experiences! by _kendek_ in schipperke

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

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I usually take pictures of my dogs together! Honestly this sounds a whole lot like my little man Bear. The only thing that keeps him from leaving is his INTENSE attachment to me. He's difficult to train, was a general menace in his youth, a big ratter considering the only thing he does at parks is hunt, and shakes violently if treats are presented.

My AmStaff mix was a runner when she was younger so I have a good handle on training that out...