muzzle my oh so dangerous dog

Jotter

just back from a lovely walk with the dog the hubbie and the baby. Dog was walking really well, came when called off lead in field and we were basically happy with his behaviour as its not always consistant, some days hes good on lead other days he pulls and wont listen.
We were on way home, waiting at traffic lights to cross road, and there was a guard standing on the corner. I got dog to sit while we waited and this man crossed road coming towards us. The dog jumped up at him, he didnt make contact as I had him on lead and I apologised to the man who didnt seem to mind and we crossed the road.
Next thing I hear the guard shout after me that I should have a muzzle on 'that' dog. I said hes not on dangerous list, presuming he was saying it bec he thought the dog was listed breed. He shouts back that he could have him taken off me for being a dangerous dog jumping up on people.
Now I dont for one min think its ok for my dog to harrass people and its something we're working on as he can sometimes jump at people when they walk by us. He doesnt growl or bark so we know its not that hes aggressive, hes just an excitable puppy that needs to learn (hes a 6mth old boxer).
I just didnt like the remark that he could have him off us for being dangerous, he obviously didnt like me answering back, I cant help it, its a genetic trait
Im not someone who has a problem with gardai in general, but this guy really annoyed me, all he had to say was teach your dog some manners, which we are TRYING our best to do!
Sorry just had to rant

Nala

So he jumps up on someone while crossing the road?

What if it he knocked someone over while they were in the middle of crossing the road and they got run over? If they were elderly or a child they might not be able to get up that quickly.

peasant

errr, Nala ....


and how exactly would a muzzle help in your "what if" scenario ??



The dog was under sufficient control, it was on a lead and it didn't make contact ...end of story.

That garda was probably just pissed off he didn't make it into the traffic corps so he could give out to speeders all day

Gillie

Nala wrote:

So he jumps up on someone while crossing the road?

What if it he knocked someone over while they were in the middle of crossing the road and they got run over? If they were elderly or a child they might not be able to get up that quickly.

Ah come on now!

I'm afraid there's more of a chance of a car not stopping at those crossing's as seems to be the case in my town!:(

Seriously though OP. Just continue with the training. It'll work out. Don't let a total stranger get you down.

lightening

Maybe the Garda wanted you to tie the muzzle around the dogs front legs. No lunging at poor old people and trildren!

andrawolf

Boxers are just like that. My boxer jumps at everything and on everything when she is out on the lead. I personal would never let her off the lead as the are a very strong dog and do not know there own strength. the can knock people over. The are a very friendly dog and don't mean it. I wouldn,t listen to the guard you where be a good dog owner and have your dog under your control.:D

Jotter

ah its just one of those things that pissed me off yesterday bec i got the feeling the guard was flexing his muscles rather than trying to protect the community from my unruly mutt!! we'll keep working on him, one of these days hell be an angel - i wont hold my breath though

KITTENADOPTION

It's funny how we ALL get defensive about our animals our dogs in particular (And that is not meant in a bad way ) What we know, is not what the person walking towards us knows or indeed sees. Many folks do have a fear or phobia about dogs, but alas they never wear the t shirt and we are not mind readers.
However it works both ways as an owner of a bouncy OES who is always on a lead when walked, I am often approached or run at by folks with high pitched voices squealing how lovely my dog is, and children do it too.
Can there ever be a happy medium :rolleyes: and I don't mean Derek Ocora :eek:

Gillie

Well it's better that the dog does it now at 6 months when you can still have him trained properly!

Bex01

Sounds like the guard was power tripping to me. Sounds like he was pissed off with something and decided to take it out on you which Im sure was annoying. I hate when they do that.

You had your dog on a lead, what more do they want. Sure a muzzle wouldn't have stopped your dog from jumping anyway.

shinners007

The guard was just pee'd off or on a pwer trip as others have stated!!! I wouldnt let it get to you he just tryed to abuse his authority. he obviously didnt know boxers werent on the list and didnt like being correected... good on ya:D

Boxers are well known for there tendencies to jump ( I know as i have four of them!!!) His still only a puppy at six months so i wouldnt worry about it, just start training him a bit more not to be jumping up on people and he'll soon get the hang of it!!

Golferx

One more spam post & I will BAN you! NOT HAVING MEMBERS BEING BITCHY & NASTY TO OTHER MEMBERS!

Alfasudcrazy

I am a garda and would not have reacted like that. As previous poster states the garda may have been just having a bad day. :rolleyes:

Gillie

Golferx wrote:

Muzzle a Boxer?

Idiot of Garda.

I think we'd be better off muzzling Nala!

(Another pathetic useless post. Nala, better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove any doubt!)

The mods have already said they will not tolerate these kinds of posts!
Nala is entitled to her opinion just as you are my friend!:)

Golferx

Are you a mod, Gillie?

Dyr

In all fairness, you can't win with a garda just take your lumps and carry on. If you stop to argue the point then your boxer will probably wind up getting you summonsed :rolleyes:

Gillie

Golferx wrote:

Are you a mod, Gillie?

No not at all! There have been previous threads that went this way and the mods threatened to ban and lock threads. I don't want to see that happen!

For what its worth I find that I do not agree with any comments Nala has made.

But that's a democracy!:D

Rigsby

Golferx wrote:

(Another pathetic useless post. Nala, better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove any doubt!)

Just a reminder Golferx, this is a forum where people are entitled to air their opinions even if you dont agree with them ( I'm not a moderater BTW ).


Anyway as stated above I think the Garda was having an off day ( though he should n't have taken it out on you ) and you just were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Golferx

My last posing, OT, on this thread, would be a request for the persistent poster of banal useless postings to be banned, rather than banning people who make a positive contribution to the forum.

The OP made a perfectly valid observation, completely in line with the objective of the forum, only to have one of the most ridiculous answers I've seen in a long time, in reply.

As for the mods? That's something else entirely.

Slán, and here's to the unmuzzled freedom of the boxer!

Golferx

Rigsby wrote:

Just a reminder Golferx, this is a forum where people are entitled to air their opinions even if you dont agree with them ( I'm not a moderater BTW ).
....

From what I've seen, this is anything but the case, unfortunately.

shinners007

Why do people keep going off topic, its unfair when threads get locked as a result espically for those who contribute valid points to the OP.:mad:

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

Nala wrote:

So he jumps up on someone while crossing the road?

What if it he knocked someone over while they were in the middle of crossing the road and they got run over? If they were elderly or a child they might not be able to get up that quickly.

how many times has that ever happened?

peasant

GolferX

if you have an issue with the moderation of this (or any other) forum on boards, please take it to the "feedback" forum under "Sys" .

oh and btw ...I'm not a mod here either...

corkimp

Fine a dog will jump up but the Garda obviously hadn't a clue about dogs. Prob a bad day. The joys. Some people just have no dog sense - literally. Don't take it to heart - if the person the dog jumped up on didn't mind, that is what matters.

Nala

Golferx wrote:

Muzzle a Boxer?

Idiot of Garda.

I think we'd be better off muzzling Nala!

(Another pathetic useless post. Nala, better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove any doubt!)

Cool, thanks for the patronising, hang on til I try and remember anything you've ever said, but hey, I'm glad I've made an impression on you.

Golferx wrote:

My last posing, OT, on this thread, would be a request for the persistent poster of banal useless postings to be banned, rather than banning people who make a positive contribution to the forum

I think you'll find that the majority of my posts are neither pathetic, banal or useless, but you've been here all of 2 months so you clearly have read everything I've ever written.

Back on topic- OP, a Halti headcollar might be a good idea, they're like the ones horses wear. It's much harder for him to pull because he can't lean into a headcollar like he can into a regular collar.

corkimp

Nala - I only recently read up properly on the Halti's. They can also be used in tandem with your normal collar - a lead onto the main collar of control and another one contected to the halti. When say the dog pulls towards a dog approaching it you gently pull your dogs head back towards you to both teach it manners and distract it from the dog passing. Think it might be on the halti's box - will try re-search it on google - can remember reading it as I am getting one for my pup.:) Oh and Nala - your making some very interesting and good points. I enjoy reading them.

Nala

corkimp wrote:

Nala - I only recently read up properly on the Halti's. They can also be used in tandem with your normal collar - a lead onto the main collar of control and another one contected to the halti. When say the dog pulls towards a dog approaching it you gently pull your dogs head back towards you to both teach it manners and distract it from the dog passing. Think it might be on the halti's box - will try re-search it on google - can remember reading it as I am getting one for my pup.:) Oh and Nala - your making some very interesting and good points. I enjoy reading them.

Thanks.

Hellrazer

Golferx banned.
What a muppet.

hullaballoo

Hellrazer wrote:

Golferx banned.
What a muppet.

It's a good job for him that I was up slightly late today, because that would have been a temp site ban otherwise. I'll be keeping an eye on him. That sort of nonsense just doesn't wash around here.

@OP: don't let any member of the gardaí who might say things like that get to you. Just smile and say, "yes, garda, I'm sorry". Unless there's some sort of complaint he can make, he can't do anything, but if you start answering back - he'll find something!

Hope the training is going well.

lisajane

I had an incident a few weeks ago. I was on the beach with my staff. She was on the lead. It was a cold evening, i didn't expect to see people on the beach cause its always quiet anyway. But there was a couple out walking their yorkshire terrier. They hadn't a clue. And my dog is so friendly and playful. If she wants to play she'l jump on u. And especially if there's another dog around, she'l get so excited wanting to play.
This dog did nothing but bark. Woof woof woof woof. It didn't stop. The little fart was aggresive. Anyway while i still had my own dog on the lead the woman freaked and picked up her little barking fart in her arms. Anyway i had my dog on a lead and she was so excited about the other dog. She did nothing but pull and she wouldn't give up pulling. She was so strong that she broke her harness and broke free to play with this dog. She was jumping up anyway to play or try and greet the barking little fart. The woman was freaking (i suppose its understandable-a dog jumping on u). They must have thought it was a pit bull. But ur man was like trying to protect the woman and the dog by covering her and he was f***ing and blinding me-will u put the f***ing lead on ur dog over and over again - shouting at me as if its was my fault. I was there trying to get my dog that kept following them. They wouldn't stay put so i can get my dog. And when i tried to get her she was so strong she got away from me.
So the barking dog, the woman screaming, the f***ing man shouting at me, myself chasing my dog.
The worst part of it there wasn't any need for any of that especially the f***king man. I felt like turning around and telling them to f off.

Gillie

Sorry Lisajane but you should have better control of your dog in my opinion!
Do you use a choke chain? Very handy for keeping a dog in check and not cruel as some ppl suggest! I swear by it.

Their dog sounds like a rat but you still have to be able to control your dog! Do you have him trained? A well trained dog will respond to your commands.

Just my two cents. I know that when ppl start abusing you like that it's not nice though!

corkimp

A check chain in handy for quickening the training period - gets the message across to the dog faster and just as effective. But be sure it releases! People hate check chains because of the fact so many don't know how to put it on correctly, leave them on the dog all the time or use them to tie up the dog with and the dog will literally "choke" on them. I'm not sure of your opinion on them. I might use one on my pup when she is a little older to train her a bit.
As for the other people with their dog on the beach - they should have had the sense to stay still while you tried to catch your dog.

Gillie

corkimp wrote:

A check chain in handy for quickening the training period - gets the message across to the dog faster and just as effective. But be sure it releases! People hate check chains because of the fact so many don't know how to put it on correctly, leave them on the dog all the time or use them to tie up the dog with and the dog will literally "choke" on them. I'm not sure of your opinion on them. I might use one on my pup when she is a little older to train her a bit.
As for the other people with their dog on the beach - they should have had the sense to stay still while you tried to catch your dog.

Very true.
I have a normal "around the house" collar for my dog as well.
If the chain is not put on properly it will choke the dog.

Good luck with the puppy training!

corkimp

Gillie wrote:

Very true.
I have a normal "around the house" collar for my dog as well.
If the chain is not put on properly it will choke the dog.

Good luck with the puppy training!

Thanks Gillie. I did a dog training course so should get her basics down ok - if dave my fiance doesn't spoil her! Might eventually go do agility or something with her - she has a great nose for stuff already - mainly food! lol. I've seen so many people with the chain on wrong and I have gone up to people to say it. All you have to do is look at animal rescue programs on Discovery and see the damage and suffering it causes. People just buy them but don't know how to use them - most pet shops do ask when the products are being purchased. (note: pups on her back looking for attention from Dave - the sl*t! lmao)

peasant

Errr ...

Choke chains choke. That's what they do. Otherwise there would be no different "learning effect" for the dog than the usual collar.

Anything that puts strain on a dogs windpipe and neck vertrebrae can cause damage in the long run. Be that a choke chain or the occasional hard pull on a normal collar.

Not recommended.

Get a well fitting harness instead.

And as for the "learning effect" ...over time a dog will just develop stronger neck muscles and keep pulling.

Gettin a dog to "heel" is a matter of training, routine and patience ...not strangling it.

Jotter

well Ill be buying choke chains and haltis and whatever the hell else is available bec im going to throttle that bolkd brat after our walk today :mad:

He is soooo good in the house, does all his commands well and is nice and gentle with the kids. Outside hes so hit and miss.

Yesterday he was walked and he was perfect on lead, let him off lead (noone around) and we played fetch again perfect, came when called ,sat on command etc.

Today hes like a different dog. Pulled when walked, got that under control, got him to do a few commands on lead to be sure he was back being good and no probs, then let him off lead (again bec there was noone around for miles) and he legs it, doesnt listen to anything Im saying, runs back towards me, i had chicken in my hand and he just ran past me, eventually came to me after me shouting my lungs out, sat for the chicken and just about got him back on lead. His inconsistency is driving us bonkers and we dont know what to do as we keep his training as consistant as possible. We use sticks when out and about for training as he loves them and also chicken sometimes (he responds better to sticks tbh!)

Anyone any pearls of wisdom or is this just part of training and normal puppyhood?

btw with regard to OT he was on a good day then up until the jumping incident so hes not bold all the time (just most of it lol!!!)

peasant

Jotter wrote:

Anyone any pearls of wisdom or is this just part of training and normal puppyhood?

In a nutshell ?

YES !!

It's a dog ...not a machine


Next time he fecks off when there's no-one around ...don't shout and scream ...disappear. (i.e hide somewhere)
Let HIM panic for a change.

Ideally you' pick a spot to let him off the lead where you can "disappear" while still being able to keep an eye on him.
One call ...then "vanish" and watch him "sweat" after a while when he's finally copped that you're gone.

Only when he's really looking for you can you help him "find" you.


(of course you can only do this in a safe and deserted area)


Explanation: As long as you are there, shouting your lungs out, he kows that you are there and he just carries on doing whatever he's decided on doing at that time in the full knowledge that there is feck all you can do about it and also in the full knowledge that you're not going to disappear on him (after all ...he can hear you screaming) ...so just vanish ...that'll teach him

Jotter

Thanks, I remember my dad doing that with our old dog, I hadnt thought to try it with ours. Unfortunately we were in polo grounds so no place to hide there, I also had 2 buggys and 2 babies with me
Will bring him back to park tomorrow and give it a shot, I know of a place where theres long grass and rarely any people, it would be nice to see him sweat alright instead of me calling him like an eejit Glad to hear its normal as we werent sure if it was us or him doing something wrong! Phew this training lark is hard work :rolleyes:

Gillie

Jotter wrote:

Phew this training lark is hard work :rolleyes:

Worth it in the end though!

lisajane

Those choke chains sounds evil. My dog is impossible to control. She's very strong. She's even worse when there's another dog. Iv tried those halti's. But she got it off and ate it. We've been using a nylon muzzle and a halti on her now. It seems to be working. But she will try and pull. And sometimes she'l win pulling u with her-very strong dog!
Is there a way to train her to walk properly and not pull? Iv seen those leads in the pet shop to use with the halti - but do they work??? Is it a bit late to train her to walk at 2 years old? She's a nightmare to walk. And she's not getting enough walks because of it and thats unfair on her.

peasant

The first step to successful lead training is to start training with a tired dog.

Let the dog run off steam first (preferably off lead ) and start the training later when its tired.

Once the urgency has gone out of it it's so much easier to use the only method that promises long term success.

The tree method.

It's very simple ...as soon as the dog pulls, everything comes to a halt (you become a tree:D ) only when the lead is slack is when you move. Once that principle is understood you can then introduce a command like "heel" or "close" or whatever you want to use. (proper "heel" with the military precision that's a different thing but unecessary IMO).

It will take time and lots of repeats before this works. Also the command is easily spoiled. In the beginning you should only use it when there is a reasonable chance of it registering ...ie not when your dog is besides itself with excitment after just stepping outside the house or the car and pulls like there is no tomorrow. The command will never get through and become meaningless.

You have to work back to front. Start the training at the end of the walk with a fairly tired and listless dog, introduce the command and praise and reward when its followed ...ignore when not. Once that works flawlessly you can move the training phase further and further into the earlier stages of walkies until after a few months you will hopefully have reached a stage where your dog will heed it right from the beginning because it has become totally ingrained.