51 replies to this topic

[matt770]

We finally did it, went to the humane society yesterday and picked out our pup.  His name is  Pork Chop, he's 4 months old and he's a lab/basset hound mix.  He's so awesome!  Really playful and just hilarious when he runs around outside, and really affectionate.  We're crate training him and he just walked into the crate and is dead asleep in there now!  I thought that was pretty good after one day.  I think he's gifted.

[Scorcher]

It's always good when someone rescues a dog or cat. Sounds like he's fitting right in. Congrats!

[boltnlava]

Ummm pics? I want to see cute puppy pics!

Edited by boltnlava, 25 March 2012 - 02:09 PM.

[Bier Meister]

[Yukon Cornelius]

matt770, on 25 March 2012 - 01:07 PM, said:

We finally did it, went to the humane society yesterday and picked out our pup.  His name is  Pork Chop, he's 4 months old and he's a lab/basset hound mix.  He's so awesome!  Really playful and just hilarious when he runs around outside, and really affectionate.  We're crate training him and he just walked into the crate and is dead asleep in there now!  I thought that was pretty good after one day.  I think he's gifted.

probebly smarter than most mensa member i am sure~~~

[Chargerz]

Congrats on the new pup!

[matt770]

He took a dump outside and I just about gave him a heart attack with praise and giving him treats.  He's the funniest dog when he gets excited, just goes completely nuts.  I'll get some pics online soon.

[Hugh 0ne]

[whomper]

Congrats and enjoy !

[chester]

whomper, on 26 March 2012 - 08:08 AM, said:

Congrats and enjoy !

You make it sound like he's eating it (Pork Chop).

[rajncajn]

Very cool.

[Big John]

chester, on 26 March 2012 - 02:56 PM, said:

You make it sound like he's eating it (Pork Chop).

Thought he ran fast so named after him

[Sugar Magnolia]

Congrats and let me know if I can be of any help with the puppy raising.

[matt770]

Sugar Magnolia, on 27 March 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

Congrats and let me know if I can be of any help with the puppy raising.

Thanks!  Working from home sure helps with keeping him occupied and in a routine.  Not sure how we could do it otherwise, he'd be left in a room alone going nuts.  He follows me everywhere and if I leave him alone for 30 seconds he howls for about 5 minutes.

He's accepted his crate as his sleeping spot.  When he's too rambunctious and before bed I lay down on the floor next to the crate, he nuzzles me, then I'll throw a Nylabone in the crate and he'll go right in and lay down.  Once he starts snoring, I shut the door.  He freaks out momentarily, so I still just lay there, playing on my phone and paying him no mind.  Then he goes to sleep again, I turn on his radio and leave.  Wife and I take turns getting up at night to take him outside and he knows to do his business ASAP, then it's back in the crate and back to sleep.  Never once have we had to take him out because he's crying, it's always proactive.  

Then really just give him tons of exercise outside, run around with him, throw the ball and he fetches it.  Last night we took him for his first walk and he loved that too.  Bonus, the walk prompted a nice dump and I gave him a treat.  I'll probably walk him at least once a day.  Overall except for a couple of frustrating moments he's been such a good pup, much better experience than I could have expected.  At this rate hopefully he'll be fully house trained before too long.  I'm looking forward to the day he can exist in the house without so much direct monitoring and just give a bark when he needs to go outside and lay one down.

[SEC=UGA]

You need to be sure to punch him in the face or kick him in the ribs at least twice a day for the first 8 months to let him know who the boss is.  After 8 months of age, mount him from behind, pressing your pelvis toward the ground, forcing him to lay flat at least twice a day for the next 4 months.  After this you shouldn't have any problems with him.

ETA: Please note these kicks and punches are not hard, just enough to get his attention.  Kinda like you do with children.

Edited by SEC=UGA, 28 March 2012 - 09:44 AM.

[matt770]

SEC=UGA, on 28 March 2012 - 09:43 AM, said:

You need to be sure to punch him in the face or kick him in the ribs at least twice a day for the first 8 months to let him know who the boss is.  After 8 months of age, mount him from behind, pressing your pelvis toward the ground, forcing him to lay flat at least twice a day for the next 4 months.  After this you shouldn't have any problems with him.

ETA: Please note these kicks and punches are not hard, just enough to get his attention.  Kinda like you do with children.

I guess if he ever acts up I'll grill him a lower cut like flank steak as opposed to the ribeye he prefers.  Maybe no potatoes either, and make him drink box wine instead of the good stuff.

Pics

[MrTed46]

matt770, on 28 March 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

I guess if he ever acts up I'll grill him a lower cut like flank steak as opposed to the ribeye he prefers.  Maybe no potatoes either, and make him drink box wine instead of the good stuff.

Pics

cute pup...defintely yours, has your color fur.

[Square]

Cute pup.  The only thing I'd do differently with my dog if I could do it over again was to trim his nails often and mess with his paws  so much when he was a pup that it wouldn't bother him.  My dog did ok when he was little but he grew to be about 100 pounds and would get so freaked out when we try to cut his nails.  Lazy dog the rest of the time but for some reason that always spooks him.  It's a bit of a problem considering the wife is too scared to cut his nails and she doesn't weigh enough to help hold him down.  Good luck though.

[matt770]

Square, on 28 March 2012 - 10:44 AM, said:

Cute pup.  The only thing I'd do differently with my dog if I could do it over again was to trim his nails often and mess with his paws  so much when he was a pup that it wouldn't bother him.  My dog did ok when he was little but he grew to be about 100 pounds and would get so freaked out when we try to cut his nails.  Lazy dog the rest of the time but for some reason that always spooks him.  It's a bit of a problem considering the wife is too scared to cut his nails and she doesn't weigh enough to help hold him down.  Good luck though.

We're interviewing some Korean ladies to come in every two weeks for the nails.

[rocknrobn26]

matt770, on 28 March 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

I guess if he ever acts up I'll grill him a lower cut like flank steak as opposed to the ribeye he prefers.  Maybe no potatoes either, and make him drink box wine instead of the good stuff.

Pics

Cute little guy. Good luck.

[Sugar Magnolia]

matt770, on 28 March 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:

Thanks!  Working from home sure helps with keeping him occupied and in a routine.  Not sure how we could do it otherwise, he'd be left in a room alone going nuts.  He follows me everywhere and if I leave him alone for 30 seconds he howls for about 5 minutes.

He's accepted his crate as his sleeping spot.  When he's too rambunctious and before bed I lay down on the floor next to the crate, he nuzzles me, then I'll throw a Nylabone in the crate and he'll go right in and lay down.  Once he starts snoring, I shut the door.  He freaks out momentarily, so I still just lay there, playing on my phone and paying him no mind.  Then he goes to sleep again, I turn on his radio and leave.  Wife and I take turns getting up at night to take him outside and he knows to do his business ASAP, then it's back in the crate and back to sleep.  Never once have we had to take him out because he's crying, it's always proactive.  

Then really just give him tons of exercise outside, run around with him, throw the ball and he fetches it.  Last night we took him for his first walk and he loved that too.  Bonus, the walk prompted a nice dump and I gave him a treat.  I'll probably walk him at least once a day.  Overall except for a couple of frustrating moments he's been such a good pup, much better experience than I could have expected.  At this rate hopefully he'll be fully house trained before too long.  I'm looking forward to the day he can exist in the house without so much direct monitoring and just give a bark when he needs to go outside and lay one down.

Separation anxiety is a big problem with many rescue dogs.  I would read up on how how to prevent it.  What is the longest he has been left alone with you out of the house?

Meredith

[matt770]

Sugar Magnolia, on 28 March 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

Separation anxiety is a big problem with many rescue dogs.  I would read up on how how to prevent it.  What is the longest he has been left alone with you out of the house?

Meredith

Well, so far after 5 days, not long.  Probably 45 minutes yesterday when I went out and then my wife came home from work.  He's great in his crate at night and for short periods during the day when I can't keep an eye on him, but obviously he knows someone is home.  Today I tied him to a shrub in the front yard while I was messing with the sprinklers and he howled whenever I was more than 30 feet away.  Then he'd relax and lay down.  He does seem to be getting better day by day.  I'll definitely read up on that though, I assumed he'd be cool once he really settled into the routine here and we just continued lots of bonding and play/exercise.

[Sugar Magnolia]

matt770, on 28 March 2012 - 03:55 PM, said:

Well, so far after 5 days, not long.  Probably 45 minutes yesterday when I went out and then my wife came home from work.  He's great in his crate at night and for short periods during the day when I can't keep an eye on him, but obviously he knows someone is home.  Today I tied him to a shrub in the front yard while I was messing with the sprinklers and he howled whenever I was more than 30 feet away.  Then he'd relax and lay down.  He does seem to be getting better day by day.  I'll definitely read up on that though, I assumed he'd be cool once he really settled into the routine here and we just continued lots of bonding and play/exercise.

Dogs are often given up for separation anxiety and studies show with each rehome the behavior get worse.  He needs to learn how to be alone while you are home first.  Give him at least one stuffed Kong toys, stuffed with some canned dog food.  Put him in a room with a gate up so he doesn't scratch the door.  Do this several times a day, and this may be how he now eat (you can add his kibble in with the canned).  Come and and take the Kong away before he is done and before he starts howling, so he goes, darn why did you come back.  Then he gets his freedom.  He is learning, yippee when I am alone I get cool stuff to eat.  Stuffing it in a Kong adds duration.  IF he guards the Kong and growls at you for taking it away--that's a problem to be addressed. especially with kids in the house.  Don't let your kids take it away.  If he is too stressed to eat out of the Kong, the separation is severe enough to be a real red flag.

You have to teach him how to be alone while you are home, before you address leaving him alone while you are away.  You need to take baby steps.  I would purchase Dr. Patricia McConnell's $10 booklet titled "I'll BE Home Soon" and follow the protocol for desensitizing your dog to you leaving.  Try the Kong when you are outside as well.  Stuffed Kongs relieve a lot of stress in dogs.  Dogs when stressed food and chewing provide comfort and Kongs are the safest way to provide this.  I call them doggy pacifiers.

The positive thing is, he is getting better with each day.  The bad cases we see are when it is getting worse with each day, not better.

[whomper]

:grabsjergens: Cute pup

[matt770]

Sugar Magnolia, on 28 March 2012 - 04:56 PM, said:

Dogs are often given up for separation anxiety and studies show with each rehome the behavior get worse.  He needs to learn how to be alone while you are home first.  Give him at least one stuffed Kong toys, stuffed with some canned dog food.  Put him in a room with a gate up so he doesn't scratch the door.  Do this several times a day, and this may be how he now eat (you can add his kibble in with the canned).  Come and and take the Kong away before he is done and before he starts howling, so he goes, darn why did you come back.  Then he gets his freedom.  He is learning, yippee when I am alone I get cool stuff to eat.  Stuffing it in a Kong adds duration.  IF he guards the Kong and growls at you for taking it away--that's a problem to be addressed. especially with kids in the house.  Don't let your kids take it away.  If he is too stressed to eat out of the Kong, the separation is severe enough to be a real red flag.

You have to teach him how to be alone while you are home, before you address leaving him alone while you are away.  You need to take baby steps.  I would purchase Dr. Patricia McConnell's $10 booklet titled "I'll BE Home Soon" and follow the protocol for desensitizing your dog to you leaving.  Try the Kong when you are outside as well.  Stuffed Kongs relieve a lot of stress in dogs.  Dogs when stressed food and chewing provide comfort and Kongs are the safest way to provide this.  I call them doggy pacifiers.

The positive thing is, he is getting better with each day.  The bad cases we see are when it is getting worse with each day, not better.

Was planning on getting some Kong toys, but I do think you've hit on something I didn't realize. If I throw him a dental stick or rawhide bone while I'm working, he'll annihilate it.  By himself in the crate, untouched.  Gotta be stress.  I'll try your suggestions and let you know.