Socialize your dog

My first Sheltie Roxy( my avatar ) got run over by the mail truck twice . No major injuries . She chased anything that dared to move . Her final chase ended up with a Lincoln Town Car . She did not win the battle . She never went out into the road for over 7 years until one night at the backyard campfire she took off after a new neighborhood dog . Sad night for the family . My three do not go out unless leashed these days , that's why we call them the prisoners .
 
My dog is much better off a leash than on it. He'll be close by when off the leash, and listens much better. When he's on a leash he can pull like a horse, and his listening is delayed a bit. When off a leash I can stop him dead in his tracks while running after the deer with a quick NO. On our property he is always off leash. When out and about, always on leash, except for the dog park. To help with the control, we may use a training collar.
 
Enjoyed all the posts very much. Had German Sheppards all my adult life but seven years ago we became parents of a mix Yorky/shih tzu and he has been a great companion that loves walks at the beach and people. Always a calming effect to be with any of these guys. How anyone can harm any of them is beyond me. Many people just shouldn't have pets. They're smarter than many humans. Thank's.
 
We've been on vacation for the last month or so, and have hit all the dog parks with our Healer "Little Bit", as well as out on a bunch of back country hikes. As noted above It's rarely a "dog problem", and almost always an owner problem. Mine is used to being off leash most of the time, and has gotten very good at staying close by, but when out and about I always have a leash, and follow any posted rules. She's a service dog, and we've been working on taking her into restaurants for the last year or so, and she just curls up under the table and waits for us to finish. I think if people were as good as dogs, it would be a much better world to live in. Mike
 
mmcmdl said:
My first Sheltie Roxy( my avatar ) got run over by the mail truck twice . No major injuries . She chased anything that dared to move . Her final chase ended up with a Lincoln Town Car . She did not win the battle . She never went out into the road for over 7 years until one night at the backyard campfire she took off after a new neighborhood dog . Sad night for the family . My three do not go out unless leashed these days , that's why we call them the prisoners .
Click to expand...
We seem to have had dogs with similar quirks over the years. Our first dog when we were kids was a Cocker. We lived in the country and he loved to sun himself on the front lawn while watching my twin brothers. He would watch them closely and herd them toward the house if he thought they were getting too close to the road.

He never chased anything except the neighbor farmers red International pickup. One day he got a little too close and a rear tire caught his front paw. He was immediately flipped into the box an landed upright on the load of logs.

The neighbor stopped immediately and got out to see what had happened. The dog stood there confused for a couple seconds then came over to the neighbor for a little help getting down. Once in his arms he gave the neighbor a big kiss and ran back to the house. No damage was done, and he never chased the truck again.
 
Couple years back I had two of the Shelties up on the property in NY . They run free on the 45 acres and not really much traffic . July 3rd sitting around the fire in the evening , my neighbor comes up with a tractor trailer full of skids for his fire at the party . My one dog took off after the TT and went under the darn thing . Both he and I heard the dog screech . We searched for HOURS where we thought the dog would be laying dead . Nothing . Batteries went dead in the flashlights so we gave up for the night . Had to run down the bottom of the mountain to call home . My family was 4 hours into coming up to help when Holly walked into the camp from the pond side . Unhurt . Had to run back down the mountain and call the family Holly showed up . They turned around and went back home . So now even though they roam the camp , I keep a pretty damn close watch on them . They also chase the dirt bikes and ATVs which run all night up there . :(
 
We had a collie cattle cross a while ago.
He absolutely loved everyone in our family, tolerated anything the kids did.
BUT, woe betide anyone else getting close to him, he would attack anything that wasnt our family, no noise just in for the kill.
I have never owned a dog so protective as that one. He had to be kept on a tight lead everywhere, we never managed to cure him of it and he hated every other dog he came across.
All our other dogs have been softies and obedient but still always on a leash when out and about. life wouldnt be the same without them.
 
savarin said:
We had a collie cattle cross a while ago.
He absolutely loved everyone in our family, tolerated anything the kids did.
BUT, woe betide anyone else getting close to him, he would attack anything that wasnt our family, no noise just in for the kill.
I have never owned a dog so protective as that one. He had to be kept on a tight lead everywhere, we never managed to cure him of it and he hated every other dog he came across.
All our other dogs have been softies and obedient but still always on a leash when out and about. life wouldnt be the same without them.
Click to expand...
My guy knew my Granddaughter was pregnant and was the same way with her. When she would stay over for the night he would sleep next to her belly to protect the baby all night. I was told that they can hear the heartbeat.
 
My boot has met the head of more claimed “friendly” dogs thancI care to remember. Last dog I had was s street rescue. My dad picked him up of the streets of boston

Absolute softy but very well picking up on threats. Never in his 16 years. Did he aggressively go after anybody or anything but whenever threatened, he did not back down and was borderline scary.
Today most people have dogs treat them more like an accessory. They also think that somehow magically the dogs will behave the way they want them too. My aunt very much a dog person always had large dogs always well-behaved well trained. God help you if those dogs ever feel you threatened her.
 
savarin said:
We had a collie cattle cross a while ago.
He absolutely loved everyone in our family, tolerated anything the kids did.
BUT, woe betide anyone else getting close to him, he would attack anything that wasnt our family, no noise just in for the kill.
I have never owned a dog so protective as that one. He had to be kept on a tight lead everywhere, we never managed to cure him of it and he hated every other dog he came across.
All our other dogs have been softies and obedient but still always on a leash when out and about. life wouldnt be the same without them.
Click to expand...
I’ve never met a nice collie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top