Dog owners!

[AbsentFriend]

I adopted my doggie over Thanksgiving, from a rescue group in Pittsburgh. She turns 7 months old on Friday. Her breed is AmStaff (american staffordshire terrier).

I named her Mo Chuisle (pronounced "moe-koosh-la"). It means, "My Darling" in Irish Gaelic.

[least]

I adopted my twelve yr old beagirl ten years ago from our humane society. She has been a constant delight every day. My second dog was given to me almost two years ago from a dog rescue friend. No one wanted him cause he is diabetic. I'm so glad I took him as he too is a constant delight and a wonderful addition to my dog family. He went blind from diabetic cataracts almost a year ago but still gets around very well. I can't imagine life without my dogs!

[Emimily]

I got Haze from our old dealer/grower. He also operated a pit bull kennel, which I s'pose goes hand in hand with growing and selling... anyway. So, he wanted to place Haze mama but still have another litter, so I got her for free... but I consider her a rescue dog, because I think he would've bred her to death. He didn't love her. She is now the most loved dog in the world, and completely unaware that people fear her. I love that about her. I love EVERYTHING about the Haze puppa!

[AbsentFriend]

Emimily - you definitely rescued her from a sad life! I call my girl an AmStaff because people don't automatically cringe at that name... they don't know it's one of the breeds grouped under the "pit bull" category.

She is the most loving puppy ever If anyone breaks in, the most I can hope for is her licking them to death.

Least - how compassionate of you to take in a "special needs" dog. I bet you'd be (are?) a good mom.

Go dog people!

[SistersHelp]

Crazy lady alert! I have four dogs. They are Italian Greyhounds - which look like the big old English Greyhounds, except that they're little. Our most recent adoptee, Palmer, came to us as a rescue this autumn. Guess why his first family had to give him up... ?because the lady went into a drug rehab program. Turns out I'm meant to take in strays of all kinds.

[AbsentFriend]

Sisters... codies make the best pet owners. We put our caregiving energy into a being that actually (for once) gives us unconditional love in return!

Is an Italian Greyhound related to a whippet? They look like junior Greyhounds - and they're freaking fast runners!

[Freedom1990]

Crazy lady here with 8 dogs, greyhound, greyhound mix (newest dog), boxer mix, chow/wolf/newfoundland mix, golden retriever mix, cocker spaniel mix, wire haired terrier mix, lab mix.

[Emimily]

I also have an adopted son dog and daughter dog, named Cyrus and Chance. Chance is a Golden Retriever, she's my old roommate's dog... but she's kinda mine too. Haze and her were BFF while we all lived together. Cy is a big ole Akita/St. Bernard and probably the most handsome boy dog in the world... but I might be a *teeny* bit biased.

[TTOSBT]

We adopted Marley on December 7th from a rescue. She is a boxer and Am Staff mix. We tell people she is a Boxer mix so as not to deal with nonsensical fears from people. Here she is.

Absentfriend, question:
#1 How do you get her to stop chewing and eating everything (please tell me it gets better)
#2 We are struggling with the potty training.
ANY advice would be appreciated!

[AbsentFriend]

TTOSBT - She's adorable! Mine might have some Boxer in her, too. You've got a smart AND energetic pup there. That's a recipe for frustration

#1) She'll chew more when she's bored. The more you play with her and exercise her (including mental stimulation), the less she'll need to chew. Also, when she wants to chew on something of a particular texture (hard vs. soft, for example), I replace the "bad" thing with a toy with the same texture. Plus I keep all her toys (including "trash" like old shoes, socks, and cardboard tubes) in a single canvas box so she knows they are HERS. If she's REALLY being a pain in the ass, (biting and chewing everything, including me, and I've already tried to wear her out that day) I'll put a nylon muzzle on her for a few minutes and say "time out!" I usually don't have to leave it on very long - after a few minutes, she will forget why I put it on her in the first place. Sometimes, I just have to say "time out" now and she knows that she'll get the muzzle unless she calms down. If she calms down right away, I give her a treat.

Some people use the "leave it!" command, if she tries to go after something she isn't supposed to, but I haven't done that yet.

#2) First, you have to take puppies out very frequently, at least every 2 hours, until they learn to hold it. When she goes number one outside, say something like "Good piddle!" and give her a treat. When she goes number two, say "Good poopies!" and give her a treat. The sooner you give the treat, the stronger her association will be.

You'll also learn after awhile how long she takes to digest, and how long after a meal or water she will probably start wanting to go out.

If she goes inside, don't punish her, but don't give her any positive attention. Remove her from the area (so she doesn't see you) and use something like "Nature's Miracle" to clean and deodorize it so she isn't tempted to go there again. After it's clean and dry, bring her back in and play with her in that spot, and give her treats - dogs don't like to go to the bathroom where they play or eat. If she plays in the yard, you'll find she goes to the bathroom off to the side of the yard.

Also, I hung bells on the door to go outside. Anytime she wandered over to the door to go out, I rang them and said "ring the bell!" and then opened the door. Then I started saying it and waited for her to ring them before I opened the door. Now she rings them all by herself when she needs to go out. When I say "go piddle!" she knows what to do. When I say "go poopies!" she'll squat and try even if she doesn't have to go.

With ANY training, treat her, pet her and say "good girl!" (or "good [insert action word here]") every time she does something right. Once she becomes consistent with the behavior, only treat her sometimes - it's called intermittent reward. It's the reason people keep playing the slots even when they only hit the jackpot every once in awhile.

Good luck!

[SistersHelp]

Originally Posted by AbsentFriend

Sisters... codies make the best pet owners. We put our caregiving energy into a being that actually (for once) gives us unconditional love in return!

Is an Italian Greyhound related to a whippet? They look like junior Greyhounds - and they're freaking fast runners!

Hehe, I'm sure you're right about that. I think I'm very codie with my pups, but as you say, this is a healthy addiction!

Italian Greyhounds are in the same family as the whippet, yes. They look very similar, just a bit smaller. And they are ridiculously fast runners!

[michigangirl]

Originally Posted by TTOSBT

Absentfriend, question:
#1 How do you get her to stop chewing and eating everything (please tell me it gets better)
#2 We are struggling with the potty training.
ANY advice would be appreciated!

What a cute dog!!

If she is teething, I use to take old washcloths / dishtowels, wet them, tie them in a knot and put them in the freezer, when the are frozen, give it to her. The cold helps numb the gums when those puppy teeth are coming in.

My girl use to love them.

[WLDKATZ]

I love this link!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have 3 babies
Baby girl ( she turns two tomarrow) she is a Boxer German shepard mix and a pure lover
by the grace of God I fgound her about 3 weeks old on the side of the road almost dead........now she is loved beyond belief!!!!
I also have sisters Cocoa and Quizzy we found them in a really bad situation and they are full blooded Brindle and Stafford pit bulls.........I love them both they are just 6 months old as of the 10th............well havce to get more pics of my babies put up!

[AbsentFriend]

I find it so interesting that there are so many pit bull breeds loved on this list. Not to mention the Greyhounds.

I guess another way to turn a codie trait into a positive is to rescue one of these highly neglected breeds

[LynziDee]

Well, I don't have BIG dogs, but I do have two yorkies!! I have a nine year old girl, Lizzie and a one and a half year old, Lynzi. They are the loves of my life! I just filled out an application to possibly adopt a six month old yorkie girl that lost one eye. I just fell in love with her. I told my RAH that we must adopt her...I'm afraid that noone else will want her. so say a prayer for me that we are accepted to adopt her!!

By the way, that is my Lynzi in my avatar.

[ToABetterMe]

After years of the kids begging we finally gave in & got a dog.
After months of looking we were put in contact with a woman who shows Papillons. She has several champions. One of hers that she bread had a singleton puppy, she began to show her for the first several months in the puppy catagory. And then because she was an only puppy, she started to get "big" meaning too big for show standards. She was tipping the scales at over 10 lbs! Hehehe!

Well she was looking for a family home for her.

So a 1 1/2 yrs ago we adopted Tinkerbell & decided she needed a nice family home & out of the "show business"

[KindBird]

First time here. I am very lucky to have such a great companion - an oldie but goodie - almost 13 but going strong (5 mile walk and he wants to go again later in the day). Life would not be the same without him - and I do learn a lot from him about letting go and acceptance.

Feeling very lucky.

[CAPTAINZING2000]

LOVE TO SEE THIS

Hotel for Dogs - Moviefone

[CAPTAINZING2000]

growing old

[AbsentFriend]

Originally Posted by CAPTAINZING2000

growing old

*sniff*

[AbsentFriend]

Captain - I loved your post about the Cesar Millan article. Care to repost here? I'm sure if anyone doesn't share the spiritual take on that you have, they can take what they like and leave the rest

[stainedglass]

omg dogs <3.

Michael Anthony is a 4-year-old beagle. I rescued him from a real jackass owner who never let him inside and just let him roam the neighborhood freely. When I got my hands on Michael (he was 'Bailey' att,) he smelled like a petting zoo. This dog is my angel. He's gotten me through soooo much. He's seriously my son. I cringe to think where I'd be without him.

[AbsentFriend]

LOLZ anybody?

I made capshuns

PitBullMommy's Lolz

[nelco]

I Love your dogs name. lol... I have a husky and a yorkie. love them to bits. The yorkie is tiny and was also rescued from a puppy farm she was the runt of the litter is only 2lb 4 oz and has open fontanel she was not supposed to live. [img=http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6380/nelsw3.th.jpg] She is now almost 10 and is ............chuisle mo chroí......(my heart's beloved). My husky is a breath of fresh air and seems to smile a lot...[img=http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4315/samxn7.th.jpg]

[LynziDee]

Nelco,
your dogs are beautiful. I am very partial to yorkies....I think my oldest is my soul mate...LOL!

Thanks for sharing!