[Ed]

I seem to remember Robert does not recommend ecollars for lunging. I have used them with success, but may be there was a bit of luck involved. It might be worth to put in a question to Robert in the member chat or AMA on what are the cavets/advice on using ecollar for lunging.

[Ed]

Robert has addressed it a couple of times. I do not recall if it was on lessons or AMAs. Perhaps someone will jump in. But I would search the lessons. The 2021 AMAs are also searchable.

[Ed]

This afternoon, just after I mentioned that I did not remember Robert’s advice on tugging… LOL

Good thing there was some nail behind it 🤪. This was the adult female. I hyped her up with 2 or 3 misses and she went a bit crazier. Totally my fault.

Did not hurt nearly as much as the puppy giving me a bloody lip for the 3rd time as he tried to engage me in play 😛

He is such a sweetheart. 15 weeks, and he went downstairs and opened the doggy door and did his business outside for the first time. I’m sure there will be mishaps, but he did daddy proud today.

[Ed]

Thinking of it, what she did was to anticipate that I was going to pull again in the same direction. Doh 🙄

[Ed]

We just did an introduction. I drove in the garage. Left the pup in the car. Entered the house, greeted the dogs as usual. Spent a few minutes with them and asked each to their own crate in the living room. Then brought in the pup, already in a crate and put him in his crate also in the same room (I carried the crate from the garage with him in it, as I did not want to give him freedom in the house as a first action). Took the older dog out and had a small cuddling session with him in the front of the other dogs. Back in the crate he went. Took dog number 2 and had the small cuddling session. Back in the crate. Took the pup and had a small cuddling session with him too. Back in the crate. Let the two older dogs out while the new pup remained in the crate. After a bit of time I created a small pen with wire dividers where I got in and played a bit with the pup while the other dogs watched from the outside, all in the same room. I do not remember exactly what we did after that. It took 3 days for dog #1 to accept the new pup and 4 days for the other dog. It could have taken a lot longer. During the first 2 weeks most of the interaction between them would take place outside in the lawn once or twice a day in 15-20 min sessions. The old dogs pretty much avoided the pup in the first few days and gradually warmed up to him. I think it was important to have them in a setting they loved, outside where they can chase and play with each other while easily avoiding the pup. You ballance all of it. It is week 4 now and play is still supervised. I make sure the pup is not imposing too much on the other dogs. This will probably continue for the foreseeable future. Each has their own tolerance level. The pit wants piece and quiet. The rottie likes to play, but also needs a break every so often. So you are the governor of their behavior (like a truck that has a governor limiting the speed) and how well the relationship turns out depends on how you read each dog, when you intervene and when you let things develop.

[Ed]

Topic suggestion for a podcast: “How to be a good dog owner”.

Perhaps with portions on raising and living with softer and harder dogs, as well as realistic expectations on puppy behavior, etc. Thanks!!

[Ed]

My favorite bound activity is to help the dog with something they can’t do. Like a getting a thorn off his paw, putting mushers secret on a cracked paw, lifting a sofa under which they got stuck, etc. Second to that is to share a behavior, which usually means observing something with them, like a chipmunk, deer, bear, horse, etc. getting down physically at their level so that we are close and have the same point of view. Lastly walks and training… sharing out small transitory successes.

[Ed]

Robert’s general use of the collar as a correction tool has the collar at the lowest level the dog notices, and is the equivalent of a pop on a leash. My dogs often shake their head slightly a couple of times when it is applied. Robert does not use the vibration or tone modes, though he mentions others do.

[Ed]

I hope others will jump in. On #1… is it practical to try a different route/schedule. If the other dogs were on leash at least you can try to be snobbish and say out loud “we do not play with other dogs” LOL. On #2 Robert says “enjoy your puppy”. On #3 since day one I never even looked at the crate when my pup was whining, it seems to have worked, for the most part. But again, dogs have different personalities and drives, and mine is a rottie, not a mal. If you have a dog shipping crate handy (as opposed to a wire crate) I would try that. Is there a place he protests less? Like what if you put the crate in the living room while watching (and perhaps not being able to hear) TV or reading a book, perhaps try that. it is one those “enjoy the pain” type mindsets… LOL. If you are working at the computer and place the crate next to you while you work, perhaps try that. Hope is somehow helps a bit.

[Ed]

We are going through the same thing and we decide to let him bite. Reason being we did not want to inhibit the instinct and we also want to maximize the pup’s confidence. General picture is that of the lion in the savana, he lets the cubs abuse the hell out of him until he does not. Other considerations, like visitors and such are secondary at this point — the pup is family, the visitors are not. So it is sneakers most of the time… though boots maybe better. Finger biting is a not a big deal compared to feet, ankles and ear lobes. The fingers, half the time, we just push laterally all the way to the back where there are no teeth yet, and that seems to be very satisfying to him and not painful to me at all. Face biting on the chin is common, sometimes frantic, and often followed by little kisses. When it gets to be too much it is a strong physical push away, if that does not work, crate, so that he learns to settle a bit. He does very well on the crate. We are also doing the frozen bananas Robert recommends, plus knee bones and rubber toys. The pup has been a real joy, even though he bites the hell out of you. When we do have to have people come over crate is the solution. We worked very hard to find a pup with strong nerves and lot of drive. So we do not want to squander that.