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How can I cope with my GR?







michelleteh
Dog Kichi


Dec 3, 2004, 12:24 AM

Post #1 of 7 (1014 views)
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How can I cope with my GR? Can't Post

I bought my GR from a home breeder. His name is Baskin (yes, the ice-cream Smile) and he is now 3+ months. I only allowed him outdoors to do his business. Even then I have to watch him closely, otherwise he will try to destruct my dad's garden (pulling out grass, digging soils, chewing on plants, picking up stones and eating them and God knows what else Crazy). Inside the house I have to keep him insight at all times. He will wander off to find something interesting to keep his itchy mouth busy.

The only peaceful time I have is when he is sleeping Cool. Only then I can watch my tv programme without interruption, do housework, read books, chat on the phone, eat peacefully and etc.

When he is awake, I will play with him to keep him happy and tired. But there is a problem. He likes to snap at our faces. Whenever we pet or hug him, he will bite on our hands and sometimes quite painful too. He cannot stay still without getting any scolding or light smacking from us first Unsure. Even then he will only be still for 10 seconds and returned to his naughty puppy behaviour again.

Now my bf wants to give away my baby Baskin to his uncle because he feels that I am paying more attention to the dog than him . Ever since I had Baskin, I am at home at all times to look after him (no more gym classes, no more shopping, no facials for more than a month, no more outing with friends unless it's very important).

There is one time I went out for a quick lunch and left him alone in the kitchen. He had barked non-stop and banged on the kitchen door, luckily the neighbours did not complained about the noises. When I returned I was fortunate to find that my kitchen was still intact but the less than an hour commotion had exhausted him so much, he drank the entire bowl of water in one shot. Half an hour later, he peed continously every 5 to 10 minutes for about an hour.

Since then, I can't leave the house without someone at home to babysit him for me. Whenever my bf ask me out for dinner or what-so-ever, I had to turn him down because I cannot trouble my parents each time as the responsibility is mine. (Baskin can be quite difficult to handle when he is awake).

My friends said that I had pampered Baskin too much and that he has to learn to be alone. But if I leave him outside, he will wrecked the whole garden and if inside... Shocked (I don't want to imagine). Whenever I tie him up, he will bark non-stop unless I stay next to him.

What can I do to keep my Baskin without troubling anyone?



mic


Bailey
Member


Dec 3, 2004, 3:22 AM

Post #2 of 7 (994 views)
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Re: [michelleteh] How can I cope with my GR? [In reply to] Can't Post

Poor girl! .Not only you have to deal with a puppy 24x7, you also have to deal with an inconsiderate boyfriend who behaves like a baby!! No wonder you sound so frazzled and upset!

First things first - you definitely have to train Baskin. Buy books on dog training and read. I can suggest the KISS series on puppy training (I bought mine in MPH - pictorial and an easy step by step guide) and buy a book specific on GR breed. GRs are easy dogs to train as they are intelligent and eager to please. If you feel you are not up to it, you can also consider enrolling Baskin for dog obedience classes provided Baskin has had his second jab. As a short term measure, you may consider fencing up a part of your garden to allow Baskin to run free (where there are no poisonous plants and where there are no plants to be destroyed and leave her be. Puppies being puppies will bite at anything, bark and dig. Buy some toys to keep Baskin occupied. I suggest the rubber Kong (stuff food in for Baskin to dig out - do a search on google and type in Kong toy and you will find several websites on how to use your kong), a soft toy (my dog loves her Winnie the Pooh), some squeaky toy etc. I got my Kong toy from Pets Wonderland and my dog loves it. This is so that you do not have to look after Baskin all the time. If you intend to make Baskin an indoor dog, then you will have to teach Baskin to behave properly. You have to keep Baskin busy and occupied. The moment he is bored, he can get pretty destructive. What I normally do is to buy those rawhide bones, give it to my dog and she can spend hours sitting at my feet just chewing them.

You can train Baskin to be quiet quite easily. Whenever Baskin is quiet, praise him and give him a treat. And when Baskin starts barking for no reason, scold him by saying "No bark" and wait for him to stop. Once he stops, go up to him and praise him and give him a treat. The reason why Baskin barked none stop was because Baskin had separation anxiety. That is why you must learn to leave Baskin by himself periodically and keep popping up to praise him and to assure him that you will not abandon him. Do this and keep extending the period of Baskin being by himself. First ten minutes, then extend to 20 minutes and before you know it, Baskin will be able to be by himself the whole day. Learn to praise Baskin when things are right and give him a treat. Likewise for the biting - whenever Baskin bites your fingers you have to scold him by saying "No bite". And once he stops biting, praise him again. (I got all of this from the dog training book - very helpful indeed and it works!).

You have fast become a slave to Baskin and it is obvious Baskin does not treat you as the dominant master.So, it is time you learn to reverse this. You are also becoming a slave to your boyfriend!

Secondly - you have to train your boyfriend properly. If he is complaining about the attention showered on a poor defenceless puppy, then he has some serious insecurity problems and on top of that he is just plain selfish!. What is stopping him from coming over to your place to help you to take of Baskin as well? Don't worry. As time goes by, taking care of Baskin will be easier than taking care of your boyfriend. Will also suggest you take your dog out with you and learn to socialise your dog (provided he has his second jab of course). Go to dog friendly places (check out the thread on dog friendly places) and have fun together with your boyfriend and Baskin. Get them involved together and make them learn to share you. You are a slave to no male (be it human or canine). Go girl!!

If all else fails and your boyfriend still insists that you give Baskin away, my advice to you is dump your boyfriend! Tongue A dog is more trustworthy than most men (no offence to the nice men out there) and the best part, Baskin will always love you and be loyal to you his entire life. I am speaking from experience here :-) if not why would they call dogs " Man's (which includes the female gender) best friend"?

Puppy Power

Bailey

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" - Mahatma Gandhi


kelsey
K9 Maniac


Dec 3, 2004, 4:13 AM

Post #3 of 7 (992 views)
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Re: [michelleteh] How can I cope with my GR? [In reply to] Can't Post

wow, that's a bundle u have there, but good news, your bundles sounds a bit like mine before. and ur boyfriend sounds like my hubby too before..Sly my solution:

Roxy: female GR 18 weeks

train her by buying books on training, ensure she know her specific training time and play time and don't disturb me when i am with a book. how? positive training, i use to hold down her muzzle when she is being bad, nowadays i just ignore her when she is bad, and she hates that or just a really strong "NO". let ur doggie know u r the boss, this mean if u say sit, means sit and not running around. if u say stay, mean butt on the floor till i give another command, for puppies is quite hard but eventually they get the message.

did u get good chew toys for your doggie? i really would recommend u to get a kong, this is expensive and can buy at petshop but it is a good toy. you fill the inside of the kong with treat and let him figure out how to eat it, don't help him, ur dog loves it when he has to work for something, or let him know he has to work for something. i normally would have homemade stuff, mashed banana with raw mince of lamb and freeze it in a kong is a good trick, my roxy really try to lick all and i can spend time doing other stuff when i don't feel like playing with her. when he tries to bite/nip you, remove your hand and say "NO". repeat it everything, teeth are not suppose to touch human skin.

i ALWAYS eat first before Roxy, she will sit at our leg as we eat, i suggest you do this too if u r not doing it. don't overuse the word " good boy or good girl" unless she does something good. i think some ppl, they will let the puppy to sit on the bed or chair and say "good boy" , and then when it's bigger, cannot get on chair/bed anymore and say "bad dog", not fair isn't it. if u don't want a habit, don't start it.

if u have a lawn and let ur dog inside, this is not very fair on him, let him outside, puppies love grass and so do other dogs and grass is good for puppies to walk on as it's soft. supervise him when he is the garden, if he is going after ur daddy plants, then go to him and say "no", i like using hand signs, for "NO", i have my fist and show it to her and she scared already. of course i won't hit her face lah but to threat mah.

i suggest u invest in those baby gates/ playpen/ crate. this is very useful and it will teach ur puppy that he has to be alone sometimes. if ur puppy is sleeping on a comfy bed next to ur bed or something then use a crate to punish him. so if he does something bad, then off to the crate. i have a crate but it's my doggie's den, when i am outside, she will stay in the crate about 4 - 5 hours with adequate water, food, toys, music and ventilation. when i am work, i am now using a playpen since she is now bigger. we are moving to a house next year, so she will not be crated at all by then.



the boyfriend

- hmm, sit him down and ask him how much time he wants u to spend time with? does he like pets at all?

- ask him to participate in training baskin and make him prepare food for baskin. or play fetch or anything.

- if u r comfy staying in the same house with ur bf for 1 - 2 days, send ur parents for a holiday or go to his place, bring the dog, experience, you, him and the dog living together, can u do it? if he is jealous of the dog, then sadly miss, you can dump him.

i don't know ur boyfriend, so hard to say but we resolve our jealousy issue. my husband now understands that the reason i am close with the dog cause i spend most of the time with her and now he has taken an effort to do so too. and i am glad roxy too understands when i want human companion. as i am typing this, she is resting at my leg and my hubby is watching TV. she is juggling tennis balls in her mouth waiting for mummy to finish..haha


i agree with bailey that i will not give up the dog but dump the guy. geez. dogs do offer u unconditional love and if this guy can't live with ur dog or stand the dog, afraid he can;t stand kids too if u plan to marry him.

good luck!

p/s - ohh, if ur doggie barks, ignore him or say in a low tone voice "no" never ever say his name when he barks or shout as he will think u r joining in the fun. bailey, i use the KISS series too! very helpful! and you may want to check www.landofpuregold.com


surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA

Dec 3, 2004, 9:24 AM

Post #4 of 7 (967 views)
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Re: [Bailey, michelleteh] How can I cope with my GR? [In reply to] Can't Post

   

Hello Bailey ...

... Smile ... Good posting ... well said.

Michelle ... just a couple of thoughts to add ...

(a) Try and get other members of the family to also spend time with Baskin ... that will make for a more balanced relationship between you and Baskin, and will allow Baskin to learn not to be overly dependant on you.

While you love your dog - by catering to him all the time - you may be spoiling him just a tineey wee bit - and that is not such a good idea ...

(b) Use the Search Function at the top of the page and check out the threads on "mouthing" ... much discussed before and you may find some useful information ... You can start with these:

www.puppy.com.my/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=74847;search_string=mouthing;#74847

www.puppy.com.my/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=63064;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;guest=694485

Cheers


michelleteh
Dog Kichi


Dec 3, 2004, 9:00 PM

Post #5 of 7 (948 views)
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Re: [surchinmy] How can I cope with my GR? [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks to Bailey, kelsey and surchinmy for your valuable advices.

Oh... my poor bf. Felt sorry for him. Shouldn't have 'placed him on the table' in the first place. Well, I won't dump him because of Baskin and vice versa. He and me are very long story (besides, he's the one paying for most of Baskin's expenses). He like dogs as in DOGS only (jaga rumah, play-play, particularly like GRs because very 'gaya' when fully grown). We like dogs as in FAMILY (dog kissing and hugging, companion, dog talking and many more).

Anyway..... you guys have given me very good tips. I'll try them out but Baskin may require some readjustment (eg. sleeping on the bed with me, have his dinner at 7pm whereas our dinner time is usually around 7.30pm or later)

BTW, I came to notice that GRs are very 'lan fun', or is it only my Baskin? Well, he likes to sleep on his back, against the wall. Hind legs up in the air or sometimes against the wall or whatever there is to put his feet on. Maybe because he feels cooler this way. Who cares..... he is so cute to look at. Cannot tahan.... must go and kiss-kiss him .

p.s. this is really a good website. learned many valuable infos here. must recommend to friends. Thx so much.


surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA

Dec 3, 2004, 10:44 PM

Post #6 of 7 (936 views)
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Re: [michelleteh] How can I cope with my GR? [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi ...

Actually - I am sure we all spoil our dogs ... they are so easy to spoil ...

We have found that as long as we impose some basic discipline within our doggie family ... through the use of basic training, order & sequence ... we can actually spoil our dogs a little more - without running the risk of the dogs thinking that they are the "bosses' ... it's very much a balance thing ... requiring little adjustment & modification from time to time ...

As for being "lanfun" ... errr ... yes, GRs are like that ... so are Labs ... come to think of it ... most dogs are like that ...Tongue ... We find that many secure dogs - sleep belly up a lot ...

All the best ...

PS ... Am sure your BF is a good fella - guess it's up to you to train him some too ...


kelsey
K9 Maniac


Dec 4, 2004, 5:27 AM

Post #7 of 7 (921 views)
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Re: [michelleteh] [surchinmy] How can I cope with my GR? [In reply to] Can't Post

hi michelle,

u r welcome, i am glad surchin said secure dogs with ther belly showing cause roxy always sleep like this when we are watching tv and she is still at the living room with us. her legs is wide open (for lack of better words, waiting to be "tiew"Blush) but if she just get into this position, i will quickly say "play dead" and she will just freeze...

yes we do spoil our dogs sometimes, we love them so much. i suggest when baskin does something different, think of a trick u can associate with it and say the word and praise, so next time easy to learn. GR love to learn, i think all dogs do and they also love to work for attention/food. if urs don't, force him..hahahaSly but gently lah.

surchin, roxy is 18 weeks now and started to drool a bit at the corner of her mouth, this happens esp after drinking water, is this normal? i know when they are older, they will drool. but at 4+ months?? normal?

 
 




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