My first Dog thread!

[CorvusCorax]

You can also do stuff like doggy interval training (bike a bit, stop and slow down for a while, throw a ball uphill a bit etc etc) but as you say with a bit more weight off.
I wouldn't put anything on that he could lick off and poison himself, but my own dog healed really well with Botanica cream a few months ago after managing to remove the skin and hair under his eyes by wodging himself through the garden gate hair grew back the same colour and everything....

 

[splashgirl45]

does he try and bury bones or toys. my little terrier buries antlers sometimes under one of the dog beds and his nose looks like that, i never put anything on it and it always heals ok. i have found my terrier can be a bit hit and miss with recall and i think he is being a bit of a teenager at the moment. i have just started using a whistle , giving two sharp beeps and always treat when he comes to me. i think the whistle is more effective than the voice for him and although i can whistle, in this cold weather i found i sometimes couldnt so resorted to the dog whistle, the one i use is not one of the silent ones but a gun dog whistle, may be worth trying. glad you are enjoying having him and he looks very happy , and slimmer than when you got him. well done

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I think that’s a fabulous weight loss. You’re right to wait til he’s lost more for high impact. I like the going uphill suggestion. Bikejoring eventually? For recall, have you tried a squeaky toy? Is he into them? It’s astonishing what it does to my lot!

Re the nose, do you have an aloe plant? I’d want straight aloe gel on it for a quick impact.

 

[LaurenBay]

Splashgirl, actually he has started burying his bones, he does it under Geroges bed.

Cinnamontoast will Aloe be ok if he licks it off?

He does sprints already for the ball, He does get out of puff quickly though (understandable) but has improved fitness too.

 

[splashgirl45]

dont worry too much about the nose, i thought it looked the same as my terriers and at the moment his nose is normal as he hasnt tried burying anything lately..but im sure he will soon

 

[LaurenBay]

So the Beagle has come out to play.

He has decided he can't hear me when I call him back. I lost him in the woods for half an hour, I was almost in tears as I didn't even know if he had left the woods. I had a ball (2 balls actually) and he did not care one little bit. Finally I caught site of him and managed to get him. I hoped it was a one off and he picked up a scent that he really could just not leave alone. Doesn't seem the case though, he went off for a wander this morning on a usual route we do (always off lead) admittedly he did come back after a good while. So he is back on the lead at all times and we are back to doing some training on re call.

Nose has healed up fine, so those who suggested he had rubbed or scraped the skin when digging, I think you were right!

 

[Tinkerbee]

So the Beagle has come out to play.

He has decided he can't hear me when I call him back. I lost him in the woods for half an hour, I was almost in tears as I didn't even know if he had left the woods. I had a ball (2 balls actually) and he did not care one little bit. Finally I caught site of him and managed to get him. I hoped it was a one off and he picked up a scent that he really could just not leave alone. Doesn't seem the case though, he went off for a wander this morning on a usual route we do (always off lead) admittedly he did come back after a good while. So he is back on the lead at all times and we are back to doing some training on re call.

Nose has healed up fine, so those who suggested he had rubbed or scraped the skin when digging, I think you were right!

Apologies if its been mentioned before but are using a whistle for recall? Mine is terrible for coming back and a whistle helped start afresh the training and also gives a more neutral command rather than a panic/angry (depednding on where we are!) tone seeping into the words...!

 

[LaurenBay]

I haven't tried a whistle, although I do own one.

Thanks I will give it a go

 

[Cortez]

Ah: the selective deafness ploy

 

[pippixox]

I have found with any breed of dog that I have rehomed (GSD, collie, lab, so all trainable breeds!) they hit a point about 3 months in when they felt more settled and therefore I think their perceived recall went out the window! All three were around 2 when I got them and with very very little previous experience. So at first I treat like a puppy with a long line. But they pick up fast so you give them some freedom. Only to find a few months later they have a ‘blip’!
I would go back to long line again and treat like a puppy. Of corse it may also be a true character trait becoming clear now he is settled and confident with you.

 

[LaurenBay]

So yesterday I took him out on a lovely walk, they are huge fields but there is no way out of them. I came armed with 2 tennis balls, a squeaky toy, a whistle and some low fat treats. Now he has lost some weight I can afford to use some small treats. I let him off, gave him a couple of minutes and called him back, he ignored me so out came the squeaky toy, he came straight back so I gave him a treat and off he went again. I didn't have a problem the rest of the walk (45 minutes) I called him back if he seemed distracted or going to far from me and he came back every time, got a treat and he went off again. Played with the tennis ball for quite a while (with some nice long sprints) and found a poodle cross to play with.

 

[splashgirl45]

good news, keep up the good work , you may find he still goes awol sometimes as he is a hunting dog but the more you practice the less this will happen....but remember he is still a beagle....my lurcher was ok most of the time but did on the odd occasion disappear so i know what you are up against...

 

[LaurenBay]

I am so shaken up and upset.

I have just got back to the office from my lunch break, took Ralph out on our usual 45 min route. We came across 2 Labs on a lead, the owner had them very short so I collected Ralph's lead up so he was short and on my side of the path. He still tried to pull to see the 2 dogs and 1 of her pulled to see Ralph but they didn't get near. Then all of a sudden the Dog on her outside leapt over the other lab, snapping his lead in the process and before I could blink was on Ralph and was attacking him, Ralph didn't even attempt to fight back and was just trying to run but the other Dog had him pinned to the floor. His owner and me were trying to get her Dog off. After smacking her dog a few times in the head he did let go. I checked Ralph over who didn't look any worse for wear but was very shaken and frightened. Owner did say sorry, and that her Dog had been attacked which in turn has made him aggressive but he has never bitten before. I did respond that if her Dog is unpredictable he should be muzzled to which she replied that she wasn't going to do that as doesn't like them and Ralph was the one who approached her. I did shout at her, she did look just as upset as me though to be honest. It is not her fault that the lead snapped. It was so horrible, I felt powerless to do anything. Ralph was shaken for a little while, we didn't meet any Dogs for the rest of the walk so I really hope it hasn't effected Ralph going forward. I gave him a very good check over once we were home and he was back to his usual happy self.

 

[pippixox]

How scary. I hope she is literally buying a new very strong lead right now! And perhaps a yellow jacket.
My GSD was reactive with unknown dogs and he was taught to wear a muzzle when necessary- such as when we may have to pass close to other dogs. But in general he just stayed on a lead and he would never launch over another dog to get to one. Especially smaller dogs. He only barked and snapped if they went towards him and he didn’t have enough space to retreat.

Sorry you had to go though such a scary situation. Keep up the good work

 

[MotherOfChickens]

oh I am sorry-this type of thing is very scary. lead aggression is very common and its unfortunate the lead snapped but if her dog is liable to do this she needs better control of it (ie with a headcollar and double ended lead). Hope Ralph and you are ok and try not to dwell on it too much. tbh if I meet someone on a path I do my best to get my two off to one side and make them sit until they've passed by-its the head on thing that makes some dogs react , even ones that can be fine generally.

 

[LaurenBay]

The thing is she didn't even call ahead to say that her dog can be unpredictable, I would have been happy to give her space and move as far as I could over to the side. She didn't say anything though.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

well unfortunately lots of dog owners are muppets and she didnt expect the lead to break.

 

[ester]

She prob thought as on the lead would be ok even if he did kick off, always easy to do what ifs in hindsight though she definitely shouldn't have said to you she wouldn't use a muzzle (even if she was then lying).

Hopefully Ralph will bounce back and be none the worse, at least he knows you well now and you have other doggy friends he can socialise with?

 

[LaurenBay]

She prob thought as on the lead would be ok even if he did kick off, always easy to do what ifs in hindsight though she definitely shouldn't have said to you she wouldn't use a muzzle (even if she was then lying).

Hopefully Ralph will bounce back and be none the worse, at least he knows you well now and you have other doggy friends he can socialise with?

He has lots of other friends luckily. He goes to a doggy social group on a Weds and his best mate is a Pug. We also go for long walks with my cousins Cavapoo who he adores.

 

[ester]

I thought so

 

[LaurenBay]

I am sure he will be ok, I can't be nervous because then he will pick up on it. But I will be worried when he meets unknown Dogs from now on.

The more I think about it, the more angry I get. If I had a Dog known to be aggressive and I was on a narrow path, I'd have either stepped off the path (there was woodland so although a bit muddy, loads of room to go) or shouted ahead that my dog is not great with others so please make sure your Dog stays away, there are the leads as well (red I think?) which say not dog friendly or something. She knew he was aggressive as she said that he was. Had Ralph been a smaller dog he might have been more hurt. I regret loosing my temper but I was caught up in the moment and over emotional. But as you said she probably didn't think her lead would break, hopefully this will make her think next time and act accordingly. I am just grateful her other Dog didn't decide to join in too.

 

[Clodagh]

If he seesm reactive next time he sees a lab we can arrange a meet up with my lot so he sees they are just big, black, greedy beagles. Poor boy. I'd have gone mental.
If it ever happens again, kick the dog up the bum if you can, safer than putting your hands in.

 

[LaurenBay]

Thanks so much Clodagh I a hoping no lasting effects but only time will tell. We are going for a river walk tomorrow so bound to be other dogs.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I am sure he will be ok, I can't be nervous because then he will pick up on it. But I will be worried when he meets unknown Dogs from now on.

The more I think about it, the more angry I get. If I had a Dog known to be aggressive and I was on a narrow path, I'd have either stepped off the path (there was woodland so although a bit muddy, loads of room to go) or shouted ahead that my dog is not great with others so please make sure your Dog stays away, there are the leads as well (red I think?) which say not dog friendly or something. She knew he was aggressive as she said that he was. Had Ralph been a smaller dog he might have been more hurt. I regret loosing my temper but I was caught up in the moment and over emotional. But as you said she probably didn't think her lead would break, hopefully this will make her think next time and act accordingly. I am just grateful her other Dog didn't decide to join in too.

don't get me wrong, its scary when it happens and as you rightly point out, completely avoidable and annoying and I would have reacted in the same way. But as long as you are both OK, its best to not dwell on it for your own sanity Hopefully she'll be more proactive in future but you can't rely on other people to do the right thing when it comes to dogs sadly IME.

Things like this happen every so often -its one reason I avoid walking mine in dog walking hotspots (and I am lucky to have the choice) because people are useless. Last week I took Quarrie jogging in the park next to work and had to fend off a lab and two other (much bigger) goldens because the owner had no recall (they were initially 200 yards away) and Q got a bit worried as he was on a lead and they were just mugging him. Owner said it was my fault because he always walks his dogs there that time of day .

 

[Clodagh]

We are very spolied in that we never walk with other dogs, we only see them out working.
We were in Ross-on-Wye on Tuesday night and went for a walk along the river at about 5pm, so a busy time. OMG, I had no idea people that are talked about on here really are that stupid! We didn't have a dog with us, but observing others was far more fun.
Why does constantly repeating your dog's name, like a litany, while it blanks you make you feel you are achieving anything? There was a young GSD bitch, called Luna (I heard that name 50 odd times) jumping on all the other dog walkers and their dogs. OK she was only the size of a small lab and gawky puppy cute, but is that behaviour suddenly going to cease when she is adult? A poor older lady with a staffie on a lead was trying to get her away from her dog, who was giving every signal going that it wanted the pup to go away and the three owners with it did nothing. Well, they said it's name a few more times...And that is only one example on a 30 minute walk.

 

[{97702}]

Awww you were 10 mins down the road from me Clodagh I never walk my dogs in populated areas because of the sorts of other dog walkers that you describe! I have to say that the river by Ross is always ridiculously busy mind you....

 

[splashgirl45]

sounds scary, but no one got hurt and the sooner you get yours walking with other dogs the better....my friend went through something similar but she didnt have a dog with her. she was wheeling her pushbike through the park and a man was on the other side of the path with a dog on lead and in a halti. as my friend has german shepherds and this dog was similar, she stopped and asked the man what breed he was , he walked towards her to reply and the dog (belgian shepherd) lunged at my friend and bit her arm. the man apologised and was very worried that she was going to report him.. apparantly the dog has bitten someone before!!!!! he has had the dog since he was a puppy and it is a year old, my friend told him to get help soon, keep it muzzled and if she heard of it doing it again she would report him...the bite drew blood through her coat and jumper and she is still bruised a week later...she has spread the word to all of use who use the park in case we see him....what a numpty!!!! shouldnt have a big powerful dog if he cant control it, in fact shouldnt have a dog at all!!!!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Please use your feet if there’s a next time (hopefully not!). Two owners needed hospital treatment this year in my local park, intervening in dog fights and reaching down to pull their dog away.

 

[Clodagh]

Awww you were 10 mins down the road from me Clodagh I never walk my dogs in populated areas because of the sorts of other dog walkers that you describe! I have to say that the river by Ross is always ridiculously busy mind you....

I've been on an hho users tour and I had no idea! 😆

 

[LaurenBay]

So on Saturday we went for a long 2 hour walk down the river. We had only just started our walk when a Basset with no owner approached us (Owner must have been in one of the canal boats) Ralph showed no nervous behaviour and wanted to greet the other dog. Because there was no owner I did not let Ralph over to see the Dog and lead him off, all of a sudden the Basset started chasing him and growling at him and went for him, he ran off straight after. Not the best start! We then met a walker and Dog and she shouted ahead that hers was not Dog friendly, so we moved off the footpath and they went by safely. We then came across a yellow lab, a Husky mix and 2 GSD's. Only lab was on a lead. I called ahead to check that hers were friendly, and she replied yes all were fab. Whilst they were really friendly, he was quite nervy and tried to run, showed no interest in greeting them and wanted to get away from them ASAP. We met about 5 dogs (all smaller or same size) after which he wanted to meet. One of them he liked so much I took him off lead and they played really nicely together. Hopefully he does not develop a fear of bigger dogs (4 in one go probably was a bit frightening, had there only been 1 I think he would have been ok)