Quote:
Originally Posted by Nishasmom  You got a clicker! How do you like it? |
haha. yea. figured i would get her a headstart.
i'm no trainer, but i watched enough youtube videos, etc. to kind of know what is going on, and she definitely knows that the click marks a behavior. she is getting better at almost everything, and it helps her to know to stop at "sit" and not go to the "down" position unless i instruct her. for a while, she figured out it was sit-treat, down-treat, etc. so she would sit, get a treat, then go down without being instructed, so it has helped with that a lot.
i'm getting two sides of this story here.
brunie's mom, etc...let me ask you this....does it help in any way that she is growing up with three other dogs who all represent different personalities of the spectrum?
we have 4:
1)Boston is a super-alpha big boy- an akita. he is my girlfriend's dog and he is getting up in age, so it is hard to teach him now..but she rescued him in college and did not a lick of obedience with him. he minds me and is a good guard dog, but he has horrible resource guarding instincts that she has had to learn to deal with. she is still a little scared of him (she'll run away if he is trying to "play", but it seems she is getting more and more used to him all the time. ) Any time they are together, play is supervised until i can trust him fully or until he kicks the bucket or just gets too old to care to play, which could be coming soon, who knows.
2) Oskar- another dog my girl brought into the home. 5 pound chihuahua with very poor social skills as far as i am concerned. he can't play worth a dam. he wants to, and is all around a good boy, but has a shrill little bark and jerky little scared, nippy attitude when it comes to playing that i can tell makes the others not really want to play with him. definitely a weird little dog to be around. once again, he came with the girlfriend. package deal : )
3) Charles- Dachshund. my dog. trained from the moment i rescued him. they are best friends. they love playing in the back yard and ruff housing and tug of war. she is already whooping him and she only 11 weeks.
4) Missy.
So, i think that i am better off than someone who had to keep her in isolation completely from other dogs, and i am glad she is learning doggy manners around a super alpha type male personality.
I worry though that they are all 3 males, and their could be a possibility that she could start thinking of herself as top bitch and develop anything weird out of that, which could lead to same-sex aggression.
do any of you guys have thoughts on this? Do you feel like the "socialization" i am describing is enough to get by until time for shots?
also, i should add i am a musician and don't work during the day, so i am always here with them and she goes in the car with me everywhere i go on errands just to get her used to the sights and smells of the city from out the window.
I am most worried about my dog's life. parvo is life threatening. i don't care about the money, i have pet insurance and wouldn't care even if i didn't. i just don't want to see her in all that pain, etc. So, unless anyone has a FOOL-PROOF way of making sure she doesn't get it where i can still take her around...then i think i will just take the advice of the people on this thread who aired on the side of caution RE: parvo.