Keeping Cool

George calls this a strange old fashioned cooling kit: that compromises of a hand towel soaked in cold water and then placed in a plasic in the fridge. I got the idea off Nanna who cools George down with a cold rub. To have a cool kit on the go, you also need a sandwich cool bag and 2 ice packs, one wrapped inside the towel and one in the bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It really is a Georgeously cheap way of keeping the big & the dark haired ‘hot dogs’ cool on a hot day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But if you have some spare treat money – The ‘Swamp Cooler’ from ‘Ruffwear’ is a really easy option AND your dog carries it. Soak the coat in cold water, wring it out and the heat from the dog reacts with the fabric of the coat and cold water to keep it cool – how cool is that?

Paws…..debate

When I first met George, it didn’t take him long to realise I had kibbles in my pocket. We’d stopped to have some pictures taken and suddenly a paw was on my knee. Although this looks cute, I thought ‘Um pushy behaviour’.

Our previous Rotties moved into our home, both offering their paw when wanting something and when being asked for it. I’m not sure if this is akined to the breed as most Rotties I’ve met will happily shake hands, or whether they had been taught it.

Giving the paw for food, in my humble opinion, encourages a dog to beg and/or try to get it’s own way. It will be confused if you do not always give food, especially if it is your food and can sabotage training if on some occasions it gets a treat and at other times not. It is cute BUT not when you have children eating and the dog suddenly comes up and starts pawing.

We’re discouraging the paw for food, I think it’s nice for George to shake hands as part of a positive interaction with people but for greetings and fuss rewards.

Socialising

Having a large breed dog and a breed that gets constant bad publicity in the papers, can make opportunities for socialising a little less frequent. We are lucky that a nearby neighbour has always had larger breeds, so each new addition has had the opportunity to have it’s socialising attitude tested.

Dogs use their mouth and voices to communicate, I guess the bigger the mouth and the louder the moans, which can put smaller dog owners off. Additionally the Rottie bad press adds to this to put even larger dog owners off. When Reg and Scooby had a game together they used to sound like lions and when Reg played with his friend Buster, both would be covered in slobber from their mouth using communication of which is biting non aggressively.

George came from the dogs home with a warning of not liking male dogs. We checked this out a little for ourselves when we visited him, as much as you can in a stimulating environment. Edwood took a halty for more control and sat him by a run that had lots of dogs barking out at him and fed him treats, as they walked, he seemed unphased.

It’s very easy to over protect your large breed and pull the lead in when approaching other dogs, this only sends an alert signal down the lead giving the dog a reaction of protection. Then you have it, a reputation of having an unfriendly and even aggresive dog and your in a loop of socialising trouble.

George met Tara and Chaser very early in his resettlement, remaining calm and confident, giving them loose leads, lots of ‘good boy/girl’, rewarding them quickly with treats and then walking together gave us the signal that he has good socialising potential. The good start reinforces our confidence with him and jointly working together as dog and owner we are all happy to meet new dogs. The treats let all the dogs receive positive reinforcement of their behaviour. If we see any body language we are unsure of, we just firmly say ‘NO’ and quickly praise any good signs.

We don’t encourage that he stops to greet every dog otherwise we’ll encourage a less desirable behaviour of him thinking he can sniff every dog he sees. Walking by we treat him or praise him. George really loves to know he’s a good boy.

Georges body language has been very good, he wags his tail, his fur is flat and he doesn’t snarl. Even when he barked at Hudson the Great Dane, his fur was flat and there were no teeth showing. Just a communication of some kind – maybe ‘get your own sausage’

Sometimes it’s owners that need to feel confident, so walking together lets them see Georges temperament. Dogs do have a pecking order though and sometimes they need to rough and tumble to sort themselves out and ascertain their position with new friends. We’ll probably get George a muzzle for uncertain situations so that he is protected from prejudice and an aggressive bite and to give other dog owners more confidence. However, just like people, some personalities clash.

Timing is essential, pulling a dog in too quick before any discouraging body language can make socialising confusing. Relax and take it slowly with treats at hand. Use your voice first hand , if that fails to get their attention pull them out.

 

 

A Dogs Bed

In our house, we have always treated the dog bed as a place for the dog only. Likewise our bed is for us only, we are the pack leaders and our space is respected as is there’s. A dog needs to know it has it’s own place.  When Scooby was young and pushy we used to put her on her bed when she was having a hyper session. We’d shut the door and leave her for 5 minutes away from the pack. Being away from the rest of the family seemed to give her some time for reflection and when she came back into the room she would be much calmer. As she got older, if she got over excited for any reason, she’d take herself off to her bed to take time out and calm down.

George, as you can see, is allowed to sleep on the sofa’s too. He came understanding the word ‘No’ and realises that if we are on the sofa then he cannot chance his luck to push us off, a firm ‘No’ asserts him to his place on the floor, or the other sofa. Reggie was well mannered and would ask if he could sit on the sofa before getting up, he’d look at the sofa and then look at you until you said ‘Up Ooh go’. Even then he’d sometimes check in with everyone else in the room, just in case they wanted the seat you know.

When a dog is sent to it’s bed it shouldn’t be a punishment where it is made to stay for long periods. If time out is required, a short time away from the pack lets the dog know it’s behaviour is not desirable. Start off by helping your dog associate it as a positive place by feeding treats on the bed.

On the nights George felt secure/exhausted enough to have the run of the downstairs, in the morning we found him on his bed under the staircase and not on the sofa’s, wagging his tail and rolling onto his back for a belly rub.

Currently, as he is showing signs of separation anxiety, we block the hallway so that he has less space to prance around getting anxious. He gets on his bed and sleeps through the night without a murmur, feeling safe and secure, reinforcing what a nice safe place the bed is.

 

A Good Routine

Like children, dogs need a consistent routine. An inconsistent routine for a dog can produce anxiety, they don’t know what is happening and when, often resulting in restlessness and undesirable behaviour. When settling a new dog into a new environment, it’s important to reassure them by showing them when they will go out for a walk and do their toileting, when they get their meals, when it’s time to play and when it’s time to sleep. If you had a friend to stay, you wouldn’t keep them guessing when they would be fed, or not show them the toilet?

So far George is doing really well and his morning walk chills him out for the day. He has to sleep downstairs at night as he has very loose stools still and only seems to pass in the morning. We’re hoping his regular routine of walks and meal times will change this pattern and make him more consistent and regular. We can all rest assured that there will be no surprises on the carpet upstairs if he sleeps downstairs. He has been pretty clean so far, only having a small accident one night. We don’t want to be upset with him for doing inside what he should do outside, so it’s up to us to get him into a routine.

Dogs rely on us to help regulate them and it’s often NOT their fault when things go wrong.