Rome – 0 George – 1

Whoop whoop, I’ve really made an impact on Edwood and Pooky. They should have gone to Rome for a mini break this morning. Read more

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.

 

 

Top Ten Signs You Spoil Your Dog:

1. You think begging for table scraps is beneath him, so you let your dog eat at the table with you.

2. You take him to the supermarket and let him pick out his own dog food. Read more

Pub-lick licence, I should have named you Moses

What are Sundays perfect for? Losing weight by going on long walks and then having the public licence to head towards the furthest watering hole Read more

George’s First Week

George has shared with us, a truly Georgeous week settling into his new home and meeting his extended family. Read more

Recall

To teach George the command ‘Come’ we sat him down, took one step back and said ‘come’ in an encouraging voice, treat in hand. As soon as he came for the treat, we clicked the clicker and gave the treat. Each time we performed the command with George we increased the distance slightly. When on the extendable lead outside, particularly walking in the woods, we call his name to get his attention and then do a recall to keep him checked in with us.

Set your dog up to succeed, they learn faster. Don’t make goals unachievable.

Clicker Training

We’re using a clicker with George. The basic principle is that he’ll associate the click with desirable behaviour, followed by a treat. He’s learnt that when he hears the click, a treat follows to reinforce that he is behaving correctly. Sometimes a dog does something good but the treat can take a while to get out of your pocket, by this time the behaviour can change and the dog will be confused. The clicker gives you a few moments to get the treat.

I noticed today, one week into training, that on a few occasions, when engrossed in enjoyment from his walk, he hears the click, gives eye contact and carries on walking. I think he’s getting really confident. We worked as a team today, George performed, I clicked and Edwood hearing the click, took the treat from the hip bag to give to George, who wasn’t confused, he knew who had the goodies.

Always give a treat when clicking or you’ll lose your dog’s interest. Clicker’s come with an informative leaflet, read it thoroughly before using.

 

First Long Trek

On Monday morning I took Georgeous out for his first long walk, it was a wonderful warm spring day and using a Halty and extendable lead we walked in the morning sun to the sound of the birds. We are very lucky that we live within spitting distance of the woods and were soon on the beautiful walk down the old railway line into the Hertfordshire countryside.

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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.

 

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