Topic: Problems with dog - long post!

[betula]

What a lot of hot air we are all spouting...............I too have been alongside dogs most of my life,however I would not set myself up as an expert. :)

[Bjerreby]

It is easy enough to be around dogs for 100 years without being an expert Betula. Thousands of us do it. I do however claim I can get along with most dogs better than most people...........WOOF!

[betula]

You better come and live with me then...........any creature that says woof is one of my best pals ;D

[flowerofshona2007]

Lets put it this way then if dogs are NOT pack animals why when i had to go into hospital did this pack fall out ?? I was away for 9 days and on my return i had to re set the pack ! I have no un neutered dogs but the 2 males fell out trying to take my place.
Im no expert but i do live with a pack and they all run free on walks and i can trust them all to come back to me with no hesitation and none have been 'trained' as such.
The point is this dog has already bitten, ok not drawn blood but the next time could be very different ! if the owners dont sort the dog out and allow it to think its ok to bite humans the day will come when it will be destroyed and called a ' nasty dog'  its the owners causing this problem and no dog should be left alone all day, why get a dog and put it in prison all day ??? if you cant be with it why have it ???
I breed 1 litter evey 2 years and i willnot sell a pup to anyone who works all day and i do ask several times and have refused a few times if i was not happy.
Giving treats for bad behaviour is going to make the dog worse :( my heart sink when i hear about nasty dogs, its stupid owners.

[Bjerreby]

I readily concede that if there are several dogs living together, the situation is different. But most dogs don't live with other dogs, and I understood that this particular case concerned a lone dog living with people.

One of the most striking examples of one dog / one man relationshps I recall is from my Army days back in 1971. We had 3 Polish men to guard our armoury near Farnborough. Each man had his own "war dog", and these were huge, ferocious animals that could kill a man. Funny then, how the dog handlers rolled about and frolicked with their dogs, and how affectionate the relationship was. Nobody was pretending to be a wolf, and if they did, they would very likely have been seriously hurt by the dog.

No, this special relationship with single dogs does not build upon fear or dominance. There has to be playful rivalry and gentle discipline, but above all, mutual trust and affection. Once you have that, the dog will not want to join a pack.

[betula]

Dogs are pack animals,regardless of if you have a good relationship with your dog.

All dogs are capable of biting no matter how well trained.

It makes me cross when I read people saying oh mine are great with kids they would never bite. :(

I believe this as They are capable of what I would describe as jealousy.

When my husband comes in ,both my dogs want his attention.My collie will fight with my terrier if she thinks the terrier is getting more attention.

[Hyacinth]

KittyKatt, my understanding is that you're there to do your job - you're there to clean, not to be a dog minder/trainer/playmate to it. The dog needs to be let out while you're there? - fine. Take it out into the garden on a lead and don't let it off it - just as you would do if you had to walk it in the street. Should it display aggression towards you when it's back in the house, ask its owners to buy a cage for it to be put in for the time you're there. Any other probs with the dog are theirs, not yours. 8)

[Uncle Joshua]

Has Homo sapiens ever been typed more than in this thread.

It does sound like the dogs owners treat it like a baby which should be avoided.

Dogs are pack pack animals, thats a fact!