RE: Most agressive breed of dogs
It's both the owner AND the breeder.
(Warning gross generalization to follow) Owners of small dogs don't seem to be as serious about training out aggressive tendencies than owners of big dogs; because small dogs cannot do as much damage.
However, genetics make up more of the problem than most people are willing to accept or believe. Poor or unstable temperaments require more training to make the dog behave in a socially acceptable manor than dogs with stable temperaments. These temperaments are genetically based and are the responsibility of the breeders. If breeders do not select for these traits then the pups do not get them (generally). When a breed becomes popular, unknowledgeable (in terms of the breed's traits) people and people who do not care about genetics start breeding pups; this increases the population of dogs within that breed that have the wrong traits (dumbing down the gene pool). It's not just BYBs and high volume breeders that can cause harm to the breed.
Thank you Mark for an excellent post. You truly are the voice of reason on this board.
I don't care how good of a trainer one is, you can't take a fear biting, nervous dog with an obvious lack of confidence and "train" it to be bold, confident and outgoing. At best you can "mask" temperamental flaws but you can never train them out. They will always remain, just waiting to resurface under stress. Unless you hide a dog in closet and expose it to nothing you will see the nervy behavior again. Good dogs are born not trained and imo good (stable) dogs are not all that easily ruined! If only breeders started paying more attention and putting more emphasis on traits through carefully testing their dog's temperaments for strengths and weaknesses by exposing them and training them in a variety of circumstances and under stress and pressure than they do on a specific look or how much money they can make we would have so many better dogs! If you never stress a dog, how would you ever know its ability to handle a stressful situation? You can't, which is why extensive temperament testing is imperative if you want to breed (and I am not referring to CGC tests as a mean of testing temperament)
Here is an example I like to use to help the average person understand what I mean by "masking" temperamental flaws...
You have a dog that has a phobia of people in wheelchairs. Every time the dog sees a person in a wheelchair it panics, tail tucked and goes into major flight mode. So, you spend weeks and weeks working with the dog by exposing it to people in wheelchairs over and over again. Starting off at a distance, building its confidence through positive obedience lessons, rewarding the dog with food or a game with its favorite toy every time it can ignore what is stressing it (person in wheelchair) and focus on the task. Each time the dog is able to get closer and closer to the wheelchair. After several weeks of conditioning, the dog is finally able to sit right next to the wheelchair without showing any visible signs of stress and is even accepting treats from the person in the chair!! Progress? Well maybe, but then out of the blue the person sitting in the wheelchair accidentlly drops a large book which in turn makes a loud, sudden noise. The dog panics all over again. That is what I mean by the problem resurfacing under stress. The dog was conditoned to deal with the person in the chair, but as soon as something different was thrown into the mix, back into nervy mode the dog went.
I definitely put the genetics/upbringing ratio at AT LEAST 50/50. Maybe even 70% genetics. 30% upbringing.
It is no wonder so many people believe the "it's all in how the dog is raised" BS. Take tv shows like the "Dog Whisperer" where it is preached by Cesar each and every week that issues with dogs, be it fearfulness;, aggressiveness, nervousness etc that it's always the owners fault. Of course he is going to say that because he works with and trains dogs for a living so its his bread and butter! If it's all in the training then why do police forces, military, pp sport trainers, ranchers who want herding dogs, hunters etc, wash dogs out on a regular basis from the specific work they do? Because the dogs do not have it GENETICALLY. I don't mean to downplay good ownership and training because I am a huge advocate of responsible ownership which of course involves training, but to say training and upbringing have more of an impact on what the dog turns out to be than its genetics is ridicuolus imo. STABLE TEMPERAMENT to me is the most important aspect in a dog. You may be able to train any dog to sit, lay down, heel, or stay, but you can't train any dog to be confident, outgoing, have herding instinct, prey drive etc. There is a huge difference between BEHAVIORAL/TRAINING issues and TEMPERAMENT traits and sadly most pet people do not know the difference.
RE: dog barking in crate Update - success
Personally, and I am sorry if I offend some people here, but I think many make crate training much more complicated than it really is.
I don't baby them with an introductory period to the crate or anything like that and none of my dogs have had a problem getting used to the idea of being in one. With puppies, I tend to exploit food to the fullest. So much so that I don't even feed them from a bowl until they are about 6 months old. I measure out their food ration for the day and keep it on the counter close to their crate. EVERY time they must enter the crate, they get a handful of kibble along with a verbal command to go in the crate. The rest of their food for the day comes directly from me (by hand feeding) through focus and obedience type exercises. I usually have my puppies happily going into their crate on their own in about 3 days. My newest pup barked for the first couple nights, then quickly settled down and slept quietly through the night. She only started becoming a pest barking in the crate when I started teaching her to bark on command and rewarded her with food so now she thinks if she barks she is going to always get fed :S but I am sure before long she will figure out that isn't going to happen.:p
I also don't worry about "too much crate time" with pups. Most pups (at least the type of pups I like ;) ) are full of piss and vinegar and want to bite and chase everything. Crating a dog when unable to supervise 100% helps keep things much more "black and white" from a training standpoint. Too much freedom with a young puppy can produce way too much "gray area" because owners get distracted or busy and as a result are not consistent with the puppy. If children are in the picture then you have the issue with them yelling commands to the dog and the dog learning to it can ignore those commands. At my house I have crates all over my house (I have 4 dogs so separation is often necessary anyways)I use crates to keep order in my home. I also have out door kennel runs which works great for pups in the nice weather. Room to stretch their legs and run around with me not worrying about them destroying my property and maybe as a result harming themselves (obstruction, poisoning, etc). As they get older and less rambunctious they get more freedom but when young, if I can't be with them to follow them around, they are confined.
Usually by 3 months of age they can go through the night with no accidents in their crates. Often times when people have trouble with puppies urinating in the crate over night is because water wasn't limited in the couple hours prior to bed time. If I want to go to bed at 11 pm for example, my pups aren't allowed water past 8-9pm and are brought out to urinate right before I retire for the night and they don't go in until they "produce". If they go to bed with an empty bladder that is half the battle.
Once they are older, I will use bark collars. I like the Tritronics and Dogtra the best. I won't buy the******they sell at Petsmart. As I think someone mentioned, TRAINING does help keeping a dog quiet in the crate BUT since my husband works midnights and sleeps during the day and we like to go camping, I want a REALIABLE deterrant, and something that will give them the message when I am not in their sight. It's amazing how well they work on "most" dogs.
Hope some of that info helped.
RE: Mosquito repellent for puppy
Well, I live in the middle of a 10 acre Carolinian Forest so I have had a little experience with this.;) You can try using Avon Skin so Soft mixed with water and in a spray bottle. 1 part SSS to 2 parts water. Shake well and spray on dog. Spray into hands and wipe your hands over their head and ears. It works ok and your dog will smell great, but does not seem to repel flies all to well. It does seem to keep the mosquitoes at bay though.
What I find works a little better is a horse product called "Wipe". Just pour it into a rag and wipe all over their bodies. Keep the rag and store it in a ziplock bag for future use. It usually lasts for a couple of days before you need to re apply it. It keeps the flies away also but it does have a bit of a "chemical" smell. It also costs quite a bit more than the SSS. Maybe try the Avon stuff first and see if it does the trick for you, then if not, try the WIPE.
Good luck.
RE: Bad Doggie
First, I would have a short leash attached to this dog at all times.
Second, I would start hand feeding this dog. Measure out its ration for the day and only let him eat from you. This is what I do with any new puppy I get but it can help with adult dogs with attitudes also. Reward the dog with a bit of food when it makes eye contact with you. Make it sit, down, or come to you to be fed. Mark the correct behavior. I like to use the word "yes" for that. Obviously "no" if it makes the wrong choice. Do not feed it from a bowl at all until you start getting some respect. At that time put the food down and the second the dog walks away remove the food. No free feeding and no time limit..dog walks away or turns its nose up-bye bye food bowl until the next meal. Being BLACK and WHITE with a dog is extremely important when trying to get a point across Do not be in a rush to stop the hand feeding. I would do it for several months. Do not allow free access to toys. They should only come out when YOU chose to take them out and let your dog play with them (WITH you). Put the toy away when the dog is still in drive and excited for it. Having a toy the dogs likes will help with your training also but you want to keep its drive up for it. EVERYTHING good in this dogs life should come from YOU so it may take some time to make yourself more fun to the dog. Make it earn everything and look to you for it. Control all its resources. By making yourself the center of your dogs universe and the bearer of all good things will help you gain some respect from your dog. YOU decide when and what it eats and what it has to do to get it. YOU decide when it plays and where it sleeps. Don't give the dogs the opportunity to make too many choices for itself.
Hope that helped.
RE: Taking pets to Canada and bringing them home again
The ONLY requirement for transporting dogs across the border and back is proof of RABIES vaccination. Puppies under 4 months of age are exempt from this.
RE: Our Litter is Growing Up
Hi Mark!! It's been a long time since I have stopped by but I got a pm so decided to take a peek at the forum! The litter looks and sounds great! I am so happy for you. We both know there are a lot of so called breeders out there but you are definitely one of the good ones! Keep up the excellent work! People with real goals and ethics and an appreciation for the traits working dogs were originally bred for are few and far between. You are one of the good guys!
