I am currently training a German Shepherd. The first time I met him I thought I would never be able to get close to him. The minute he set eyes on me he started barking and lunging - trying to bite me. He was so upset that he was foaming at the mouth. I did not know anything about him except that he was two years old and when people needed to get him under control they needed to be strong and tough with him. His "dad"/owner said that his dog acts differently when he's around - it seems he likes showing off when his "dad" is around, so I sent his dad away. That did not help, his behaviour towards me did not change.
So I sat down and started "courting" this dog. After about 15 minutes he calmed down enough to come near me but when I stood up he started barking and lunging again. It took me another 15-30 minutes before I could even hold his leash. He started walking around calmly when I got hold of his leash so I thought the worse was over. When he realized that I was holding his leash and he started barking and lunging again. At least he ended this behavior quickly - I don't think I would have had the energy to hold on to him and prevent him from biting me for more than 5 minutes. When I started training him I realized that there were a lot of things he was afraid of, to the point he could not even look directly at me out of fear. I started training him at the same time trying to find out what makes him happy. I tried treats, toys, his own food and I finally realized he loves to be rubbed. After almost a week with him he treats me differently now. He jumps around when he sees me and tells me what he wants to do before training starts. He looks directly at me, he chooses his treats, he complains when I rub him too hard (he likes the gentle touch), he gets really excited about hanging out with my dogs, he tells me exactly where he wants to go but takes into consideration when I give him commands. He is willing to make friends with people, especially when we are walking around. We still have a long way to go but it really is fun being able to play chase and hide and seek with him now. He even cries when Charis and Keegan go for a walk without him. He turned out to be a real gentle and sweet dog who just needed the gentle touch in order to see me and the world differently.
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Foods that are edible for humans are not necessarily good for the dogs. One day I was enjoying a chocolate bar in front of the tv and had to stand up and get a drink of water. By the time I came back all I saw was the wrapper and Charis was just licking her lips on my seat. I immediately called the vet and the first thing they checked was the composition of the chocolate bar. It's a good thing that the chocolate was only on the outside, I had to give them a breakdown of the different types of nuts and other contents. They finally deduced that it may not be as bad because the food that was considered poisonous for a dog was minimal. So, just to help you out here's a list of food that is unhealthy for animals.
alcoholic beverage baby food - could contain onion powder bones from fish or poultry or any meat product that can splinter cat food is bad for dogs dog food is bad for cats chocolate, coffee, tea and other caffeinated food/drink citrus oil extract fat trimmings grapes and raisins human vitamin supplement containing iron large amount of liver macadamia nuts milk and other dairy products unless they are lactose free mushrooms onions or garlic in any form persimmons pits from peach, plum, apple, cherry potato, rhubarb, tomato leaves, potato and tomato stems raw eggs raw fish rotten or moldy foods salt string, ribbons, and rubber bands sugary foods table scraps in large amount - should not be more than 10% of total diet yeast dough When I got Charis I was very worried what she would do to my two cats. In fact I was even more worried that my cats will beat her up. The first thing I did was organize the house so my cats have their own personal space. I used baby gates to prevent the dogs from going in certain rooms. I also placed scratching post in front of it so that the cats can look over the baby gate before going into the common area. The common area is where they are all allowed to hang out BUT my cats still have their personal space like counter tops, sofas, scratching post, etc. I also cut the nails of the two cats before I brought Charis home to ensure that if a fight occurs Charis will not lose an eye. I introduced them to each other while Charis was still in her cage. I only let her out when it seemed like Sumo and Bimbim were bored with her. I also kept a close eye on them to make sure that nothing major happens. Sumo was not happy about Charis and made it know immediately by swatting her. I decided to let them duke it out but making it clear to Charis that she cannot be bite Sumo at all. Bimbim on the other hand just decided to let things be. As long as the dog does not bother her she will not bother them. She is the one who maximized the use of personal space. When she wants complete rest then she will stay in the "cats only" rooms. If she wants company that's the time she shares space with the dogs in the living room.They all eat in the kitchen but the cats eat on the counter while the dogs stay on the ground. Sometimes the dogs chase the cats when they get too excited. The cats will respond with the occassional growls and swats when they think the dogs have crossed the line. But overall I would say they live quite harmoniously. In fact, I think Charis is more willing to share her things with Sumo than with Keegan - her mate. Believe me when I say Charis does not share her food with Keegan at all! Here's some photos of Charis giving in to Sumo. When Sumo and Bimbim became part of my family I was so surprised at how well they play with each other, even when toys were involved. When both of them wanted to play with the same toy, one of them (usually Bimbim) would step aside and let the other play. When that one was tired the other would step in and take their turn playing with the toy.
When the Keegan came home I was so surprised with the way he and Charis behaved. Charis and Keegan would fight over me and over their toys. I found this totally unacceptable especially since my cats did not do this. I started teaching them how to share. First I had to show them that they can still have fun even if I play with them together and this gave them an idea what the word share meant. The next thing I taught them was how to share their toys with each other (see photos). So far the only thing they really don't share is food - which is good because they both have different dietary requirements but they don't have fights over it either. There will be times they will forget and I will hear them (esp Charis) give each other a warning growl, I quickly remind them to share. They have been pretty good with it. My niece is four years old and has always exhibited interest in stuff toys. Her parents and I thought that she would be a natural at making friends with dogs but we were wrong. The first time she met Keegan and Charis she was scared. She did not like them to go near her nor jump on her however, she kept looking at them. So I started introducing the dogs in a different manner. She associated with them under her conditions. If all she wanted was to touch their back that's all she had to do. She soon progressed to touching their face, stroking them all over, allowing them to smell her back and walking them inside the house.
One day my brother made a mistake and allowed Keegan to play with her with no control over the dog. So Keegan happily greeted my niece and started jumping on her to play. She got scared and started running, thinking it was a game, Keegan chased her. When I heard about this I thought "Oh no, now she's never going to make friends with them". Boy was I wrong! After the incident she came to me and said that she was now scared of Keegan but she still wants to play with Charis. So she started by touching Charis' back but I had to hold on to Keegan. Her fear of Keegan was pretty bad, every time Keegan shifted in my arms she would run away. She only comes back to Charis after he settles down again. After a few minutes of this she progressed to touching Charis' face then she started playing with Charis when I saw this I invited her to touch Keegan. She did and I still had to hold on tight. I let her do that then invited her to touch the tail, and so on. After an hour with the dogs, my niece was touching both of them and allowing Keegan to step on her back and on her stomach. I had to get Keegan to step on her stomach so she will know what it feels like when he tried to jump on her. The next day we spent another hour with the dogs this time I started pushing the envelope, even if she was afraid I would get her to try new things. She is back to walking the dogs indoors, letting them step on her back and stomach. She gives them commands and tries to separate them when they are playing rough with each other. She even allows Keegan to lean on her arm and shoulder - something she was not able to do before. I'm really glad that my niece is brave enough to try things despite her fear. I hope to see more kids like her - daring to overcome their fear and show their pets that they are loved. Every morning I have a hard time getting Charis to walk outside because she's usually sleepy and does not want to go when Keegan goes in the morning. This morning was a different story, she was up and ready to go. She was alert and walked quickly. I was wondering what was different about today, I soon found out. The minute we got out she started eating grass and she would not stop. She'd stop long enough to go to another location but she'd continue eating grass. She would not pee or poo, she would just eat grass. Finally after 15 minutes of this I took her away from the grassy area to a concrete area. I then found out what was bothering her, she definitely had stomach problems, her stool was soft. She ate grass every chance she gets for the rest of the day. The next day she was her lazy self not wanting to go out with Keegan. When she finally pooed I was relieved, it was normal.
My cats and dogs have a habit of hanging out in the hallway outside my apartment. The other end of the hallway is pretty dark. One day I saw both cats head towards the end of the hallway. After a while I saw Sumo come back and enter the fire exit which is located next to my unit. About 10 minutes later I saw him leave the fire exit and stand in the hallway.
I called out his name and he looked at me. "Can you go to the end of the hallway and pick up Bimbim?" I told him. He looks at me then he looked at the fire exit. So I answered him " No, I think Bimbim is at the end of the hallway - I can't really see her because she's black but just go get her." Once again he looks at the fire exit, so I told him "Just go to the other side and get her". So he starts walking in his slow lazy manner. When he gets to the middle of the hallway he starts meowing, I told him " I didn't tell you to call her, I told you to go pick her up." He continues meowing and lo and behold - Bimbim comes out of the fire exit. Shamefully I had to apologize to Sumo for doubting him and scolding him. Nice to know that he knows where Bimbim is even if I don't. |
AuthorJoy has had 17-20 dogs, four cats, at least a dozen rabbits, three to four chickens and one turkey in her lifetime. She was close to her brother's bear cat and the snake, who she rescued from the attic. While in Canada she decided to get a cat and ended up with two. Since she lived alone she had to find ways and means to develop a harmonious peaceful relationship with her cats by "training" them. Eventually she decided to get formal training and invited dogs to join her family. Archives
May 2012
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