The Chillout Zone (Off-Topic Thread)

star-pants

seamus wrote: »

Troublemaker in the house;

pffft always a trouble maker! :rolleyes:

I'd gotten the impression it'd been added to the charter, apologies - I'll direct you here for now and check.

Cherry Blossom

<<<<< :mad:

I meant to come in here and post:
Yay, post #2000!!!!

. . . . or something to that effect.

Can't believe I missed it

tk123

Please vote for my fur baby! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150269886006594&set=a.10150269885721594.318775.306257871593&type=1&theater

tatabubbly

LOL Watching the sheepdog trials with my two, they are dumbfounded watching the tv, hilarious!

Chris_Heilong

TillyGirl wrote: »

Anyone know what date the Pet Expo is on this year? Anyone going?

Yeah, I am going. I have my tickets already, I Also got a vocher with my tickets that allows 50% off Royal Canin 4kg bag but only while in the Expo. Since I dont feed my Malamute dog food I wont be needing it, If anyone wants it PM me(only hitch is to get the voucher they want you to register with them)

zuroph

Dexter is getting big! starting to settle down when in the van, and had his first play with my mates dog yesterday ( a 6 month old lab/samoyed cross).they went for a huge playfight, was hard to tell if it was getting serious or not, but as soon as they both went for water from same bowl we could tell it was all ok!

We introduced them on neutral ground, outside his house, and took them for a walk. Dexter was fairly well behaved but Charlie wanted to jump up on Dexter straight away, and pulled at the lead for a lot of the walk trying to get at him. we gave them plenty of short stops to have a quick sniff, and before they got too excited, moved on. got back to the house and they were both brought into the yard. we let them play on the lead for a bit, then took them off lead. Dexter went straight passed charlie and burried his nose in her food bowl! took this off him, and he ran into house and jumped in her bed! Talk about trying to aggravate the situation! Anyway, after ten minutes of playfighting at high speeds, they started to calm down. Took Dexter home, and he fell asleep in van on way back he was so tired from it! First time that's happened!

belongtojazz

Yay think I'm winning the battle of the terriers!!!
I had to get a behaviourist in due to fighting between Jazz and my dads 2 Jacks, it had gotten very very quickly to the point they were injuring each other
2 weeks and a huge amount of work later my 3 girls are curled up wrapped around each other on the couch!!
I am thrilled to bits... We still have work to do but I reckon we've broken the back of it now

Shammy

After 2 years of begging , grovelling , basically being a doormat , my better half has finally agreed on us getting another dog.


Thrilled is an understatement

Whispered

belongtojazz wrote: »

Yay think I'm winning the battle of the terriers!!!
I had to get a behaviourist in due to fighting between Jazz and my dads 2 Jacks, it had gotten very very quickly to the point they were injuring each other
2 weeks and a huge amount of work later my 3 girls are curled up wrapped around each other on the couch!!
I am thrilled to bits... We still have work to do but I reckon we've broken the back of it now

I'd love to hear what the issue was and how you tackled it.

ppink

BtoJ that is great news. I would also like to know how you managed it......and so fast to make such good progress:)

belongtojazz

The issue was serious fighting between Jazz my Jacker and my dads 2 ladies both also Jacks, within a couple of weeks of it starting Keri ( our oldest lady at about 11) was injured and I was ready to take my pair and move out as we were all miserable and there was no way we could continue as we were. Everytime Jazz walked into a room with the others it kicked off. Unfortunately Jazz was the mainculprit and it was starting to affect her relationship with dogs outside the house. I went from having a small dog I could hold up as an example to show the stereotype doesn't have to be true, to your stereotypical snappy dog.
When Keri got injured I decided I'd had enough and recognised I had to get professional help. Thankfully I do agility training with a wonderful behaviourist so I arranged a visit with her.
The reasons behind the behaviour were very clear to her, the main triggers were the attacks jazz had suffered one of which was quite serious and also her growing confidence due to her success at agility. She spending a lot of time one on one with me and getting lots of stimulation, so when we got home she had decided she was going to show the others who was boss, because of her attacks she thought that was how you did it.
All of this was so obvious when it was explained to me, to combat it I have had to change how I treat Jazz ( my baby)
When we're at agility unless she is on the course or practising she's in her house, this means she doesn't get an oppurtunity to start on another dog, if she does growl or snap whatever we're doing stops, she goes I to her crate and I walk away and ignore her... She hates that as she is a very very social dog underneath these problems. When we get home I leave her asleep in the car for 10 minutes or so so the others get over their excitment at having me home and they don't have to give out to Jazz for being with me, I then bring her in through the back of the house and as she's been asleep all is calm
In the house it is constant vigilance! At the first hint of aggro, which could be as simple as a look, whoever does it is verbally corrected it has to be at the exact moment, that's all it takes to break the emotion, then carry on as normal. No allowing them to sit on laps facing each other going " neh neh look where I am"
I think the real breakthrough though has been me! I was so nervous/stressed after the first week of fights that it caused more stress for the poor dogs and really escalated things.
It probably doesn't sound like much but we have gone from a miserable stressed house to one where there is real hope. We haven't wonthe war yet but some major battles have definitely gone my way

My apologies if this is a bit all over the place but I've typed it on my phone while sitting in a field with the doglets

tk123

Well done belongtojazz it's great when you see your work paying off isn't it? I think if more people held their hands up and asked for help a lot of issues would be nipped in the bud and possibly a few less dogs would go to pounds. There's still a lot of I don't know what the right word is tbh but you know what I mean the "It's just a dog :rolleyes:" mentality that puts people off getting help?

So get this - my little baba scaredy dog - afraid of the tin foil, a plastic bag the other week in the park :rolleyes:, skips that weren't there yesterday, umbrellas, traffic cones etc etc was playing with his pals on Sunday when some local kids start setting off bangers in the field beside us... **BANG** he looks at me - "come herrrreeee! Thats a good boy" (i called him as some of the dogs were barking and some were afraid so didn't want him taking his lead from them), take a light hold of his collar (I LOVE that EZYDog collar lol) 4 or 5 more let off - he looks at the field each time then goes back to playing - NOT BOTHERED!! Maybe it's the gun dog in him lol :pac::pac:

Also on sunday - the dog who snapped at him when he was tiny and made him afraid of other dogs comes strutting over..my guy lies down as usual (this is a JRT the size of my now 2 year old GR's head!!), next the other fella decides to try and hump him like he always does- my jumps up and politely bites air beside him lol and he ran off - all I could think of was Malcolm and the middle lol "you're not the boss of me now and you not so big" :pac::pac:

zuroph

So how do I get Dexter to behave in the house? He's still quite snappy, mad to play with anything that comes near him, and is pulling at my clothes and all the cushions in the sittingroom. he has chew toys and cloths, but prefers anything on me

Cherry Blossom

zuroph wrote: »

So how do I get Dexter to behave in the house?

Patience, consistency and nerves of steel :pac:

zuroph

he's broken me tonight,

Cherry Blossom

We all have days like that, that's why we need the 'the chill out zone'

lrushe

Just back from a lovely walk with the dogs. What is up with the weather, not that I'm complaining it's just freaky going around with just a t-shirt on when it's almost October

Whispered

Phoenix just moved out. He's gone to live with his new family.

2 glasses of wine, a bucket of cookie crumble ice-cream and a million kisses from Harley and I'm nearly ok

lrushe

Whispered wrote: »

Phoenix just moved out. He's gone to live with his new family.

2 glasses of wine, a bucket of cookie crumble ice-cream and a million kisses from Harley and I'm nearly ok

Awww how bittersweet for you. I would be no good at fostering, it would break my heart, well done you

Cherry Blossom

Whispered wrote: »

Phoenix just moved out. He's gone to live with his new family.

2 glasses of wine, a bucket of cookie crumble ice-cream and a million kisses from Harley and I'm nearly ok

NNNNnnnnoooooooooo!!!!!

No idea how you managed it! A&PI will never be the same again without all the tales of his clowning and messing about and his happy smiley face staring out at us from his pictures .

Whispered

It's a boardsie not quite an API regular.........yet

Cherry Blossom

Whispered wrote: »

It's a boardsie not quite an API regular.........yet

Oh, I can't cope with the suspense . . . .

will Phoe make a return to API?!? . . . or is he gone forever?!? . . .

Whispered

Dun dun duuuuuuuuun

ppink

Whispered wrote: »

Phoenix just moved out. He's gone to live with his new family.

2 glasses of wine, a bucket of cookie crumble ice-cream and a million kisses from Harley and I'm nearly ok

Oh no:( poor you. I thought you would never be able to let him go but fair play to you. I am sure he certainly was the better of having had someone love the paws off him over the last while:)

I hope you get plenty of updates as he grows from boy to man;)

Does Harley miss him?

toadfly

I got engaged

TooManyDogs

Whispered wrote: »

Phoenix just moved out. He's gone to live with his new family.

2 glasses of wine, a bucket of cookie crumble ice-cream and a million kisses from Harley and I'm nearly ok

You poor thing!!!! When my first foster dog went to her new home I bawled my eyes out, the only other time time I was that bad was when a foster I had broken my heart rehabing went to his new home. He had come to the rescue so aggressive no-one could get near him but after months I got him turned around and really wanted to keep him but it would have been selfish of me so off he went. I still cry thinking about him, he went to Sweden and my hubby brought me away to meet him and his new owner as an anniversary pressie

Whispered

ppink wrote: »

Does Harley miss him?

He kept running out the back excitedly looking for him today, but on the flip side he's giving me more space because I guess he's not feeling like he has to lean against me to stop phoe from having me. I think he'll settle back to normal no problem.

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I still cry thinking about him, he went to Sweden and my hubby brought me away to meet him and his new owner as an anniversary pressie

Wow what a gift! How was he doing in Sweden?
Similarly Phoe was here for nearly 9 months so very much a part of the family and I'd imagine it would be as hard to give Harley up TBH. I'm so sure of the home though it made it easier than I expected. The worse and probably the most irrational part is the guilt. I know he's curled up on a sofa, with 2 adults who really adore him and a child who is very sweet with him and yet I worry he feels abandoned :rolleyes:. Not a hope he's getting more attention than he got with me. Stupid irrational brain!

TillyGirl wrote: »

I got engaged

Congratulations! Was it a surprise? Did you cry? Did HE cry?

TooManyDogs

Whispered wrote: »

Wow what a gift! How was he doing in Sweden?

He was doing fantastically. He was a mastiff x rott at our best guess, HUGE, so people literally crossed the street here. Over there people have no hesitation going over and hugging him! When his owner is away the mother takes him and can bring him into her office, can you imagine that happening here :eek: He's got a fabulous home and really is better off there, his owner doesn't get the usual 'that dog should be muzzled', 'keep him away from my dogs he'll kill them'. 'He'll eat the child'........



TillyGirl, did he go down on one knee? FULL STORY!!!

ppink

Congrats Tillygirl:):)

Have you set a date?

Whispered

TooManyDogs wrote: »

He was doing fantastically. He was a mastiff x rott at our best guess, HUGE, so people literally crossed the street here. Over there people have no hesitation going over and hugging him! When his owner is away the mother takes him and can bring him into her office, can you imagine that happening here :eek: He's got a fabulous home and really is better off there, his owner doesn't get the usual 'that dog should be muzzled', 'keep him away from my dogs he'll kill them'. 'He'll eat the child'........



TillyGirl, did he go down on one knee? FULL STORY!!!

So Sweden should be on the list of possible places to move to then. Sounds fantastic!