Member Riggan
MemberForum Replies Created
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What a lovely looking boy! Sounds like you are both blessed to have found each other. And what a blessing for his former owner! It sounds like Max was raised with plenty of love, even if without the material comforts and security. It must have been very difficult for his owner to give him up, but the fact that he let you have him for 1/2 of what he had been asking just goes to show the love he had for him and his gratitude that his dog would have a good home. I love stories with happy endings!
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Have you watched the “Puppies Don’t Bite” podcast by Robert? It is a great resource.
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Hi, Will! You have quite a challenge on your hands, if nothing else due to the size difference. It must be quite intimidating for your Yorkie-poo to have this great big galoot of a puppy coming at her! Robert always emphasizes that it is up to YOU to protect your older dog. The older dog always comes first. This is particularly true here where your puppy could cause serious injury to a dog who is so much smaller.
Here are a couple of Ask Me Anything videos on this question from Robert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQZrSZbULAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TPNURs3M5g
I know he talks about it in many other places as well, since this is a common question. You might watch some of his Podcasts on puppies. There are always great nuggets there, even if he doesn’t address this particular issue.
Follow Robert’s advice and your dog and puppy will learn how to co-exist. Your Yorkie-poo will feel safe in her home and not bullied, and the pup will learn manners and respect. It will take time to see if the pup can learn to play safely with the Yorkie and respect her boundaries, so make sure you supervise all interactions between them and step in long before your Yorkie-poo feels the need to defend herself.
Good luck!
(Side note: I also had a golden retriever who was wonderful with tiny dogs. He would lay on his side and wave his paws at them while they pounced all over him. The boarding kennel I took him too liked to place him in the small dog yard so that the small dogs could learn that not all big dogs are monsters. He was the most tolerant dog I have ever owned. I still miss that boy!)
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When I did Search and Rescue with my golden long ago, he definitely knew the difference between a training exercise and a real search. There was a lot of excitement, happiness, and silliness for training, but a real search was serious business. He’d come out of the truck ready to go to work, and would get quite impatient if there was a delay.
I found the same thing with our service dogs. They KNOW that they have a job to do and act accordingly. The example that really drove this home to me was a lab / Great Dane cross that we were training for balance / support work. He was a goofball in heel position when I would take him out for training. When we paired him with his partner, within 2 weeks he was walking carefully with each step at a slow pace that I never thought he would be able to maintain. But he knew his partner counted on him!
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It sounds like you have a lovely puppy who is well on her way to becoming a lovely dog. The biting is totally normal for ANY puppy! Watch the lesson on puppy biting in the link Alin shared with you. There is also a Podcast from Robert titled “Puppies Don’t Bite” that covers this and many other puppy issues. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaoJA1Rq1FU.
I had a “shark mouth” golden retriever puppy long ago. Every time he would grab onto my hand / arm / whatever, I would say “Ow! No!” and immediately put a stuffed animal toy that I had just for that purpose (I wanted something soft during the teething period, and he was not prone to shredding toys or else I would have had to choose something else). As soon as he grabbed hold of the toy, he got praised. Before too long, he would go grab the toy before running over to us.
The other aspect is one Robert mentions – all my dogs when they were young would get incredibly mouthy if they were overstimulated. Just like kids with too much caffeine or sugar, dogs can get so wound up that they can’t control themselves. The solution for this type of mouthing / biting is to put the pup in their crate for a bit. Not angrily – just matter of fact. They need a time out with no stimulation for a while.
Puppies can be overwhelming for the first 1-2 years, but once that is over, you will probably look back on those days with nostalgia. Enjoy them while they are here, in spite of the frustrations!
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Henry, Robert has several videos related to muzzle training, plus recommended products on the “Shop” section. I didn’t find any of the videos when I did a search on “Lessons”, but you can find them by going to YouTube and doing a search on “Robert Cabral Muzzle”.
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Patty, There are so many different aspects to your question, and so many different circumstances that could affect the answer. I ran a Service Dog program for several years, and we had volunteer foster families who helped train the dogs. We were using shelter dogs in the program. Transferring owners can be difficult for some dogs and no problem at all for others. German shepherds tend to bond tightly to a single owner and thus find these changes hard to take. Goldens and labs typically love everyone (and especially anyone who feeds them!), and while they might miss their foster family and be overjoyed to see them again, they usually handle the transition easily and quickly bond with their new owner. This is one reason most service dog programs have moved from using shepherds to goldens / labs. But remember there is huge variation in dogs, and many other factors come into play when the transition is made.
Another aspect is the training and support that the kids receive while they have the dogs. What are they being asked to do with the dog? How long do they typically have the dog? Do they just give it a loving home for a while? Teach it some basic manners and obedience? I would hope that they are being supervised and that the dog is learning skills to make it more adoptable.
Finally, what is the alternative for the dog? Living in a temporary home is going to be far less stressful than being in a kennel at a shelter. So sometimes we settle for less than ideal situations in order to avoid what we know will be a bad situation.
Finally, sometimes dogs choose their owner regardless of who has raised and cared for them. I worked with a prison program that trained service dogs for a while. We were doing initial placement with a seizure alert dog who had been with an inmate 24/7 for almost a year. The man she was to be placed with was coming for his first evaluation with the dog. When he walked in, the dog left her inmate handler and went directly to the man. She never left his side or looked back after that. I’ll never be able to explain it, but she knew at first sight that this was her man and she was responsible for him. He never even had to look at her or speak to her. So sometimes, nothing that has come before matters to the dog.
This was a long answer to a short question, but I hope it helps!
Riggan
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I have been in contact with the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department. They suggested two options to remember and honor Officer Adam Gibson and K9 Riley.
1. Go to https://cahpcu.org/DeputyAdamGibsonMemorialFund to contribute to a fund to support Officer Gibson’s family.
2. Make a donation to the Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept K9 Association at https://www.ssdk9.com/donate/. Donations are used to provide protective equipment for the K9s (vests, paw protection, lifting harnesses, cooling equipment, etc), enable K9s and their handlers to attend specialty training, pay medical bills for retired K9s, and pay burial costs for K9s.
Our police officers (both human and K9) risk their lives for us every day when they walk out the door. There is no way to thank them enough for their service. God bless every one of them around the country and keep them safe.
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As most of you probably know from my questions to Robert, Lance has some extreme fear reactions to situations that were hazardous to him during his time on the streets. One of the biggies for him is parking lots, where the open space, cars, and people overwhelm him because he cannot keep his eyes on everything at once. He tucks his tail and will do everything in his power to get out of there as fast as possible.
We have been working on this following Robert’s advice with short sessions in quiet parking lots. I have also been pairing work in the parking lot with his favorite activity – going out on the hiking trails.
Once the COVID pandemic settles down, we want to get back to traveling with our camper trailer and take Lance with us, but this will entail him being OK in RV parks with all their noise and commotion. He already understands that the trailer is “home,” but our local RV park was initially terrifying to him. We literally had to drag him through it to get to the hiking trails.
This week, we took our trailer to the RV park for a few days to do some work on it and to continue working on getting Lance comfortable in that environment. He absolutely amazed me! There were campers on either side of us, but he did not bark or growl at their noise at all. He looked up to us to see if we were concerned, and then settled down! When I took him out, he was alert, but his tail was up and he was relatively relaxed. Even when a few people came out of their campers, he startled but quickly resumed his sniffing and exploring. Hallelujah! We still have a ways to go before he is ready for a busy crowded RV camp with children running around and screaming, but this is a HUGE step for him!
Now to continue working with him on the parking lots at shopping areas. Bit by bit…
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Great question! Lance has been a great influence on all three members of our household. Pushing us to get out hiking is the biggest physical aspect. He gets a bit squirrelly if he doesn’t get his exercise! Here is an excerpt from a submission I made trying to get a grant for the shelter we adopted him from (sadly, we were not in the finalists):
Lance came home with us 6 months ago, and now it is hard to imagine life without him. Each day we see him change and grow, and he has changed us as well. Every morning, he reminds my husband to be open to the joy that can be found in small things. He has pushed me to find ways to help him through his fears, making me a better trainer and person in the process. He is helping Sandra find love and laughter again after a difficult few years. We are amazed at his resilience. In spite of all he has been through, he trusts us. He can face his fears as long as we are by his side. He actually loves adventure and new places! He is a goofy clown as well as a loyal guardian. I have worked with many dogs over the years, but there is something special about this boy. His eyes spoke to us, and they did not lie. When it comes down to it, I’m not sure whether we rescued him or he is rescuing us. Maybe it’s a little of both, and that is how it should be.