My Name Teresa

[tristinstar]

I am from washington. Yes i own and train my dog. My dogs name is rebel he is a siberian husky he is my passion and training to the best of my knowlege. i got on this site looking for a harness to use for dog powered scooter. I love my dog so much and the is why i want to try to figure out a good way to keep him happy and get all the exersise that he needs and walking doesnt seem to be enough. he is sciddish so i thought this might also help him with different suroundings. He is a great dog but high energy.

 

[bekah1001]

Welcome!He is so cute! I think there is a forum about dog powered bicycles or something like that.

 

[tristinstar]

thanks for your reply there is a site for dog powered scooters and that was what i was trying to find but i can not get a reply from them. I was just at this time going to get just the harness so i could get him used to it then i was thinking about puchacing the rest. I think he is to sciddish to try on my bicycle i dont think it would be wise for him or me lol. The scooter is a pretty neet idea cause the only way the dog can go is forward and you have all control of the turning and stopping. Thought it would be a great way to get him so exersise cause he is full of energy and walking him isnt doing it. even throwing the ball forever wont tire him out hes alot of fun though and sure keeping me busy. your dogs look cute also

 

[Dogster]

Hi and Welcome!!!! LOVE your dog!!!! Does Rebel know any tricks??? Do you use a clicker???? I don't know what kind of harness to use on that scooter. I'm not sure. Don't want to give you the wrong advice.

 

[tristinstar]

hi and thank you for the welcomes. Im just in the process of beganing training he know sit,lay down. stay, he give me 5 and 10 and 15 which 5 is one paw 10 is the other paw and 15 is both paws. He is only 5 months old and trying to get the basic down really well. I tell him porch when i open the gate and stay and he goes and sits down on the porch till i tell him ok. I havent taught him any other tricks yet and not sure yet how and what i want to train him. no i dont use a clicker but im thinking about getting one. I use the reward system and at first he wasnt snack crazy it took him a while to get the idea but now hes right there to get his snack. He comes on a dime so hes coming along real well which i herd these dogs a kind of hard to train but he is really starting to want to please me.He does need alot of work yet he is very leary of people and i had him around people all the time but he just doesnt seem to want to have anything to do with strangers and i am a little worried about that. His mom and dad were very friendly dogs so i dont know why hes this way. i got him when he was 6weeks old which was to early i think but if i didnt get him someone else would of and i know i can do just as well. but even that young he wouldnt let people touch him i could but no one else hes ok with my friend but no one else. I thought buy now he would be getting better with this but hes not. Where i live they have train rides and i take him over there where there is alot of people so its not like he hasnt been around anyone. He is good with other dogs. The vet even tryed for about a hour one day to get him to come to her but he had no part of it and she was so sweet to him gave him really good treats and stuff. I love him so much that i m thinking about maybe taking him to a trainer dont know if this is something that can be fixed or not but im afraid of him becoming aggressive or a fear bitter. has anyone had this problem and if so did you fix it or is that just they way they are? I do live alone so its good to have a good watch dog but i dont want one that would really bite not saying that he will but hhave to take caution. Hes just so sweet with me and wished i could show people how sweet he really is. Im hopeing after i start him on the dog powered scooter it might make a different dog out of him but thats down the road a bit.

 

[Anneke]

Hi and welcome!
The dogpowered scooter is a great way to give your dog exercise, but... be carefull if you start now! You say your dog is only 5 months old, so he is still growing. When you have him pull you and the scooter, you put a lot of pressure on his body. Something he can't handle yet.
I wouldn't recommend having him run like that, untill he is at least 10 months old. And even then I would start him just walking/running besides the scooter/bike but not pulling it.
And keep your sessions short at first. Build up slowly.
If you have a bike, you can start now, by getting him used to walk next to it.
You say you are afraid he will pull you off the bike, well he can get scared when attached to the dogscooter as well and pull it from under you.
So it is important to teach him that this thing is not scary. You can start by walking next to your bike and having him next to you.

About him not liking strangers, well that is a bit off their nature. While some husky's are very peoplefriendly, some just aren't. Give your dog the time and space to get used to people, educate people on how to approach your dog. Most dogs don't like it when a stranger just comes rushing in to greet them, but we want them to like it. Let me tell you, when a stranger come up to me and touches me, I will back away too and look at him like: who the heck are you???
Tell people who would like to pet your dog, to make themselves small, by kneeling down. Don't let them pet him on the head, but on his side or under his chin(this is less threatening to a dog) Have them extend a hand, so he can choose to come in and sniff. If he doesn't want to, then that is too bad for the person.
It is ok to say your dog does not like to be pet by a stranger.
Most of the time, if the dog is ignored by the person, he will come in and sniff. On his own terms.
Don't pressure your dog into being pet by people, it will only make him more wary.
I am talking from experience, i also have a dog that does not like to be pet by strangers. Once the stranger has ignored him, he will come and sniff and when this person has been with us for a while(like ten minutes or so) then he will allow him to touch.

I wouldn't make a big deal out of it, as long he is behaving(not growling/barking/lunging) around people. If you can take him to a crowded place and walk him through the crowd without any problems, then there is no problem.

 

[tigerlily46514]

CONGRATS on your new puppy!!
WHAT a cute dog!! so so cute!

I like Anneke's advice above, i also think your dog shouldn't be straining his joints til he is at least 1 year old, and some articles say not til 2 years old. Dog's joints are not "set" yet, til they are 1 or 2 years old, and some moves are not great for puppy joints, can lead to early arthritis later in life.

There are plenty of safer ways to exercise your puppy, like jogs or trots to 1/2 mile at most for this age, fetch, tuggie-toy play, etc,
plus tricks training is GREAT to help dogs build confidence, increased trust in their owner, thinking ability, and tricks training helps tire out a dog, as well prevent 'boredom', really, there is just endless list of benefits from teaching a dog tricks.
ANY trick will do, and once you get started, you AND Rebel will BOTH get addicted.

Yeah, do keep all tricks lessons short at first, reward correct moves, or, attempts in correct direction,
and silently ignore wrong moves. and yes, using a "clicker" really helps. Since your dog sounds like a bit of a shy dog, you may want to add a small piece of play-doh or tape to part of the clicker to soften the sound.

You'll want to stop the lesson before the dog zones out/stops paying att'n. You can repeat a lesson a few times a day, but, keep each lesson kind of short, for dogs new to training.

some dogs who are fairly new to trick training, can only pay att'n for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then, add a minute longer to lessons every few days, slowly building up dog's ability to pay att'n.

Keep your treats about pea sized or raisen sized, to avoid a full or fat dog. There are some great recipes in "Treats" section to make your own.
BEST OF LUCK!! ANY QUESTIONS, just post them!

 

[tigerlily46514]

//He does need alot of work yet he is very leary of people and i had him around people all the time but he just doesnt seem to want to have anything to do with strangers and i am a little worried about that. His mom and dad were very friendly dogs so i dont know why hes this way//

Well, it might be, that you have a "shy" dog. Can't know for sure, is no way to evaluate a dog via online, but, it sort of sounds like it. Shy dogs can occur in any breed at all.
Shy dogs are born shy, and usually dislike unknown ppl touching them.
Some shy dogs even dislike being leaned over, or even stared at.

You can make a shy dog better, or worse, depending on how you manage your dog (that is, IF IF IF your dog is even shy). LIke Anneke says, you never want to force your dog to accept unwanted contact, forcing your dog to accept unwanted contact could even make your shy dog worse, not better..
To read an analogy of this idea, to help you better understand why you don't ever want to be forcing a dog to accept unwanted contact, do look at reply #3 on this thread:
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/advice.4508/#post-34523
^that thread is from someone else with a shy dog who is frustrated that others that seem to disagree with her ways of protecting her dogs from unwanted contact,
or from contact her dogs aren't yet able to handle well.

and you are NOT alone, there are many others with "shy" dogs, too. Shyness can be mild/barely noticable, to severe. Some ppl call these dogs "fearful" or "timid" or "bashful" etc etc. It is genetic. It is recessive, the parents are often 'normal' dogs. It usually shows up in the litter box. Usually, shy dogs ARE okay with other dogs, but, some shy dogs CAN escalate to also reacting to unknown dogs, although most shy dogs get on fine with other dogs.

The shy dog usually only reacts to UNKNOWN ppl, and once the shy dog gets to 'know' a new person, usually, the shy dog is okay with that person, too . But getting a shy dog to accept a new person, requires a bit of learning on your part. I keep meaning to write a thread on that, to link for owners of shy dogs.

For now, instruct all new ppl to ignore Rebel, and allow Rebel himself to decide how close someone can be to him,
allow Rebel to decide who gets to touch him (if anyone)
and protect Rebel from anyone reaching for him,
leaning over him,
shrieking in his face,
staring at him,
just have everyone ignore him for now.


You CAN help Rebel become his best possible self!!! You can help reduce Rebel's fear of unknown ppl.

 

[tigerlily46514]

IN this thread, do read the part about "growling". Your Rebel may at some point, escalate to growling at unknown humans who are too close to Rebel.

You don't get a lot of chances to get YOUR reaction to Rebel's growling down right, so please also read "REPLY # 5" which begins with the words:
//" #7) ------GROWLING----------
NEVER 'correct' a growl, never do it.
Teaching your dog to skip his warning growl
does NOT make your dog "nice",
it only makes him “silent”//
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/7-things-that-helped-my-dog-aggressive-dog.4413/#post-36426


The rest of THAT thread is not useful to you, that thread is about dog-aggressive dogs, which is an entirely different disorder than Rebel has. But do look in the lower right hand corner of the replies for "Reply #5" on that thread, and read why you never ever want to "correct" any growls. One thing i left out, is, you want to calmly remove Rebel, not the person he is growling about. okay? that is, IF Rebel ever does growl at ppl, you calmly remove Rebel, not the person.

 

[tigerlily46514]

You might find that Rebel is more likely to dislike unknown ppl in his own home, or even anywhere indoors, as opposed to unknown ppl out on a walk.

when you have visitors,
ask the visitors to ignore Rebel, completely, just act like they don't see Rebel.

If Rebel is very very upset about being indoors with unknown ppl, put Rebel in some closed room, while you bring in your guests, have them SIT DOWN in chairs, instruct them to not stare at Rebel, don't reach for Rebel, and THEN allow Rebel in. Give all your guests some treats.

If Rebel approaches the guests, fine, allow guest to toss a treat to Rebel, (not in fast way, just calmly toss a treat to floor). If Rebel allows it, have guests hold out a treat, but ask guest to not stare at Rebel. The guest can glance, and look away again. Staring is a threat in the dog world, and may put Rebel off to that staring person.

Have guests glance at REbel, and do slow, obvious blinks to Rebel, and then guest looks away again.

Have guests do 1 deep slow sigh out through their nostrils for Rebel, or a soft big yawn. That is Rebel's language, and Rebel WILL know what the stranger said, "calm down". this may further assist Rebel to decide this unknown human is trustable.

If and when Rebel ever decides the stranger can touch Rebel, have guest pet Rebels' sides or chest, not his head. Still no staring for now, jsut glances, or have guest look and slow blink. Have guest reward Rebel for allowing touching, when Rebel indicates HE is ready, but do NOT push this onto Rebel.
ONce Rebel "gets to know" a new person, Rebel will probably be okay with that person. This might take several visits.

Remember, Rebel IS doing the best he can. He can get to accept ppl, one person at a time. EVery new friend Rebel makes, can further help him reduce his overall fear of unknown ppl, a little bit more. You'll see!!

GOOD LUCK, hope this helps!!

 

[tristinstar]

thank you so much for the great advise on rebel it is so much appreceated. Im not planning on using the scooter with him for sometime that is why i was just looking for the harrness cause i want to start with that. I am in no hurry and dont want to hurt my dog thats for sure. I had a dog once that blew out his knees poor thing cause he loved to fetch so i learned a lesson there he had to have surgury on one leg and not even a year later had the other one done. poor guy but i didnt have a clue i thought all dogs like to fetch but didnt know it could hurt them. Thank you also on the imformation about if he growls or bark at someone take him away i never thought of that cause he does this even off the property to strangers. I dont force him to go to people cause i wouldnt want someone to do that to me. He did real well with my neighbor today she was on the other side of her gate and at first he was barking untill he found out she wasnt paying any attention to him then he went to her and licked he hand. He just layed down while we talked and didnt bark at her again. but some people he just doesnt want anything to do with them and sometimes i think dogs can read into it more then we think. body lanugage probably plays a big role in that. And about how to pet them and not on the head he doesnt even like me to do that so i never thought of that either. but i touch him all over all the time feet,ears, mouth and toes. Thank you so much this imformation will be very helpful. I did order him a harness today i finally found a site. I also ordered him a larger crate he loves his crate. He will go in there in the afternoon for his nap i dont put him there he just goes on his own. I have to put him in the crate if i go to the doctors or something but he is usally with me everywhere i go but i used to put him in there at night but he goes on his own and i dont have to lock him in. its his safe domain i think. So i got everthing almost i needed but the clicker i was even at the store and could have got one silly me maybe tomorrow if i go to town. thanks again you have wonderul dogs love the pictures

 

[tigerlily46514]

if get a clicker, get 2 or 3, in case you lose it.

It sounds like you are doing a lot of things right with this dog!!
Yeah, if IF IF Rebel is a "shy" dog, it might not take much for him to decide someone is suspicious. Loud voices, waving arms, leaning, wrong facial expresssions, wrong tone of voice, all might seem odd to a dog who may be prone to be suspicious of strangers.


My dog is not a shy dog, and he loves ppl now, but he hated furry hoods. oh boy, did he ever!! But this video helped me realize how some ppl might seem even more odd to a dog.

 

[tigerlily46514]

sounds YOU are already doing this stuff:

 

[Dogster]

Those videos are REALLY helpful. Good luck with the training!!!! Hope all goes well!!!!

 

[tristinstar]

thanks again for the respones these vidioes have been very helpful.still have not got a clicker yet it is 40 miles to town but will be going this week seem like this will help. He is better with me touching his head which he did not like but hes will let me pet his head now i can pretty much touch him all over now but hes still doesnt like his feet touched that much so have been haveing a hard time doing his nails. I have been doing this as gently as possible. I have been doing like one nail at a time and a treat. Then later i will do another and treat but he is still very hesitant. I handle his feet all the time ever sense he was really little and handling him everywhere and always tryed to make it a pleasant thing but he doesnt like it but getting better. the vidio that was sent by tigerlilly was great and will really help thanks to all of you. And what nice looking dogs you have so cute. What tricks do your dogs do. I like the picture of tigerlily and the caption and thats funny cause i think Rebel does smile and that is why i like the picture i posted of him cause i think it looks like hes smileing. He was on my bed which he is not supposed to be on and he tore my bed up and he looks like he was laughing about it lol.

 

[Anneke]

For now you could use a marker word, instead of a click. I use YES! when I don't have my clicker with me. It works the same way.

 

[jodetoad]

I got clickers on Amazon, I'm way out in the sticks too. It took about 3 days, they are very cheap. Package of 6 for about $5, if I remember right, not much, anyway. Totally worth it.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Tristinstar, you sound like me, you get a big thrill out of your dog smiling same as i do. You can actually teach a dog to "smile" on cue! I did this by 'capturing' his smile, and click/treat whenever he smiled.
I'd run around, turn and look at him, he'd be smiling (he loves it when i run around ) and CLICK/TREAT (or "YES/TREAT" til you order a clicker online). It is a great beginner trick, too.
If i am eating my lunch, if he looks at me, i say "smile" and then he gets a scrap of it. I've taught him, if he smiles at me, he gets to go on walks, so he comes up and smiles at me when it's time for his walks. It's hilarious to watch, imo.

I love "smile!" trick very much. I think it is my favorite trick of all, and not that hard to teach:

http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/when-youre-smiling-the-whole-world-smiles-with-you.3555/#post-33840


I think, once a person gets started training tricks and cues, well, they can't stop!

 

[tigerlily46514]

Re: the nail clipping, it sounds like you are already doing the right stuff, but, to further encourage you, that you can get there:

i use this "PediPaws" nail grinder:
http://www.amazon.com/PediPaws-3269-6-Pet-Nail-Trimmer/dp/B001FMHZSC

and i followed the included "5-day introduction" steps that came with that product, getting Buddy "used to it" and now, my dog actually sleeps while i grind his nails down. I still treat after each nail.

If you ever do order one of those------- DO take off that stupid orange cap, and just hold all fur back and just take care you never hit his paw pads with the grinder, which is not that hard to do.

The orange cap makes it too hard to use. If you are left-handed, you can not use with the orange cap at all anyway. Also, the instructions say "only grind for 3 seconds at a time" but i disregard that instruction, too. I grind away as long as i want to, and my dog sleeps through it, *my* dog's nails do not "overheat" as the box warns about.

Doing it with a grinder takes a long time, i do his front feet on one night,
and his back feet the next night. Buddy gets a break between each paw, too.


I also found that putting my dog on the sofa, and i sit on the floor, helps me see his nails better, so his paws are more at my eye level.

 

[dogcrazy]

Welcome to DTA!!