Canine Compulsive Disorders!

[Cloud]

My other half is always telling me that I have to many opinions and that I should keep them to myself.I think that maybe this is one such occasion!

[Two_Sheds]

Sorry but I am a great believer in the fact that dogs should be licenced at a ridicoulous amount maybe £1000 a year.

Cloud, if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all.


Snadger, our Dobermann cross used to do this all her life (was better than chasing the cat's tail anyway).

I like these, from the Guardian website:
Why do dogs chase their tails?
* Because they can.
* Because no one else will do it for them.
* Because it's good, clean, simple, and wholesome fun.
* Because they're stupid.
* Because they want to get our attention (kind of like kids doing cartwheels and saying "Mummy, Mummy, look at me!").
* Presumably because even licking one's own genitalia can get a bit dull after a while.

[OverWyreGrower]

OK, I'll stop now, but...

Firstly how can you compare a dog to a child?

Very easily. They are both living beings that a great deal of thought needs to go into before having one. A lot of people can't have children, and often get a dog instead of a child.

Secondly if you choose to have a dog as a car ,these are all considered as RUNNING costs.A dog is not considered as an essential.

Neither is a child! A car is not essential either!

[bluemoon]

I have a dog, as does my daughter. Both were rescues. My daughter's had never had a real permanent home until she took him in, ours had been starved to within days of death. We try to be responsible dog owners and always clean up after them. Even so our street has to have street cleaners every week, but this is because of the school at the top not because of ours, or anyone else's, dogs. We also have problems due to non-resident parking by the parents of the school kids, teachers (there is a car-park, but it's awkward to get into and they can't be bothered) patients at the nearby hospital who don't want to pay the £1 parking fee and, every other Saturday, the people going to the football. All of these drop litter to an extent that is so bad you wouldn't believe. Last year my eldest daughter was married and left for the church from my mum's home rather than mine as the mess outside is always so embarrassing. Frankly, I'd swap all that for the odd bit of dog poo.

[Cloud]

MPFNHMPRNHFFMNPFMMPHHHHMMMMMMNNNHHHPPFFMNNMN!!!!!!!!!!
[I've been gagged]

[T.Austin]

Ha,ha.ha Lol

[T.Austin]

OK.Went to visit my kids today,got out of the car and walked down the road to be confronted by a big black dog growling at me.The owners just kept telling Harry[stoopid name]to get back in without any attempt to retrive him,assuming that I was a DOG LOVER[not]
Why is it that dog owners assume that everyone loves dogs!!!!!?

[terrier]

OK.Went to visit my kids today,got out of the car and walked down the road to be confronted by a big black dog growling at me.The owners just kept telling Harry[stoopid name]to get back in without any attempt to retrive him,assuming that I was a DOG LOVER[not]
Why is it that dog owners assume that everyone loves dogs!!!!!?

Responsible dog owners DON'T. Unfortunately they get a lot of bad press because of irresponsible dog owners!

[jamesp]

OK.Went to visit my kids today,got out of the car and walked down the road to be confronted by a big black dog growling at me.The owners just kept telling Harry[stoopid name]to get back in without any attempt to retrive him,assuming that I was a DOG LOVER[not]
Why is it that dog owners assume that everyone loves dogs!!!!!?

Quite correct, its the dog owners fault though, not the dogs fault.

If you come across this situation again do the following, I've never known it fail even when I have been faced with a pack of dogs off the lead.

If it doesn't work it means you have done something wrong:

If the dog seems aggressive it is important that you stand your ground and face the dog, if you walk or run away or turn your back this can be seen as weakness as far as the dog is concerned and you could even become prey, whatever, you have a much higher risk of being attacked or bitten.

You must remain calm and assertive (quietly confident) as if your nervous, angry, tense or frustrated the dog will pick up that you feel that way and all of those states of mind to a dog is a weakness, in the wild the pack leader is always calm assertive and this is the state of mind a dog will respect the most.

If the dog walks past you, you must keep turning and keep facing the dog as going round the back is a typical ambush attack for a dog when hunting prey.

Its important that you hold your ground, if you even step back slightly the dog may see it as weakness.

Its very important that you hold your ground until the dog looks away from you and turns its back and walks off, you can then walk off as you now have won the physiological battle.

If you hold your ground and remain clam assertive and the dog still approaches you, make a short sharp noise when the dog about 6 feet away, like tsssssshhhh, ahaha, do not talk to the dog and say for example good boy, go away etc, as pack leaders in the wild do not negogiate, the dog then will stop and wont approach you if you do it correctly, you are effectively creating a 6 foot invisible boundary around you, with dogs its all about territory and ownership, you are telling the dog this is my space keep out of it.

On rare occasions the dog may enter your space in a non-aggressive mode even though it was aggressive to start with, this may be a time to re-asses the situation, if they enter your space and a short sharp noise wont stop them that is because your timing is wrong or you have done it to many times and the dog can block and ignore it, if the dog enters your space with his head lowered this can mean respect as they do this when approaching a pack leader in the wild or it can mean the start of an attack as they also do this when going for preys legs, if it in attack mode you will notice the hairs on the dog stand up (they do this to make themselves look bigger like a blow fish does), which ever it is make your hand in a cup shape (so your hand becomes a mouth and teeth effectively) and prod with medium force (not to hurt just to get their attention) around the high neck area and the dog should run off, a pack leader in the wild do this with their mouth on other dogs to discipline.

If the dog is completely non aggressive you can still do the above if you dont want the dog to approach you, if you dont mind then just stand your ground, give no eye contact, no touch and no sound, the dog will then sniff you, its important that you dont disturb the dog when it is sniffing you as this is impolite in the dog world, once the dog has sniffed you he will prob just lose interest and walk off.

Another thing you can do is hold an object by your side...ie a box or anything handy, and hold your head high and your chest out and if you have nothing to pick up and hold by your side put your hands on your hips, all of these tips will make you look like a bigger animal to the dog.

If you have an umbrella or a walking stick, wait till the dog is 6 foot away and stamp the ground with the umbrella or walking stick, this is very effective at claiming the space as mentioned earlier, this is what shepherds do with their crook to tell the cattle I own this space go into that space.

Never hit a dog as you are more likely just to intensify his aggression towards you.

If your facing a pack of dogs do the above with the pack leader and the rest will just follow the pack leader as they do in the wild, to identify the pack leader it will nearly always be the dog out in front of the others, it will also have its tail in an upright posture and the other dogs tail will be lower as only the pack leader allowed to have the tail high as that is a sign of dominance.

You may find that one dog will go to the front and one to the back of you, this is typical 'pack attack' modes, you must keep turning to face the dogs and keep claiming your space, as i have mentioned once you have dealt with the pack leader the other dogs will follow.

During all this just ignore the owner, if they say don't worry my dog is friendly just totally ignore that and do the above, most people who get bitten is when they have taken that advice from the owner, the owner has no control of the dog if the owner cannot stop his dog approaching you, ie his or her dog is the pack leader not the owner if they cant stop the dog.

[Snadger]

Quite correct, its the dog owners fault though, not the dogs fault.

If you come across this situation again do the following, I've never known it fail even when I have been faced with a pack of dogs off the lead.

If it doesn't work it means you have done something wrong:

If the dog seems aggressive it is important that you stand your ground and face the dog, if you walk or run away or turn your back this can be seen as weakness as far as the dog is concerned and you could even become prey, whatever, you have a much higher risk of being attacked or bitten.

You must remain calm and assertive (quietly confident) as if your nervous, angry, tense or frustrated the dog will pick up that you feel that way and all of those states of mind to a dog is a weakness, in the wild the pack leader is always calm assertive and this is the state of mind a dog will respect the most.

If the dog walks past you, you must keep turning and keep facing the dog as going round the back is a typical ambush attack for a dog when hunting prey.

Its important that you hold your ground, if you even step back slightly the dog may see it as weakness.

Its very important that you hold your ground until the dog looks away from you and turns its back and walks off, you can then walk off as you now have won the physiological battle.

If you hold your ground and remain clam assertive and the dog still approaches you, make a short sharp noise when the dog about 6 feet away, like tsssssshhhh, ahaha, do not talk to the dog and say for example good boy, go away etc, as pack leaders in the wild do not negogiate, the dog then will stop and wont approach you if you do it correctly, you are effectively creating a 6 foot invisible boundary around you, with dogs its all about territory and ownership, you are telling the dog this is my space keep out of it.

On rare occasions the dog may enter your space in a non-aggressive mode even though it was aggressive to start with, this may be a time to re-asses the situation, if they enter your space and a short sharp noise wont stop them that is because your timing is wrong or you have done it to many times and the dog can block and ignore it, if the dog enters your space with his head lowered this can mean respect as they do this when approaching a pack leader in the wild or it can mean the start of an attack as they also do this when going for preys legs, if it in attack mode you will notice the hairs on the dog stand up (they do this to make themselves look bigger like a blow fish does), which ever it is make your hand in a cup shape (so your hand becomes a mouth and teeth effectively) and prod with medium force (not to hurt just to get their attention) around the high neck area and the dog should run off, a pack leader in the wild do this with their mouth on other dogs to discipline.

If the dog is completely non aggressive you can still do the above if you dont want the dog to approach you, if you dont mind then just stand your ground, give no eye contact, no touch and no sound, the dog will then sniff you, its important that you dont disturb the dog when it is sniffing you as this is impolite in the dog world, once the dog has sniffed you he will prob just lose interest and walk off.

Another thing you can do is hold an object by your side...ie a box or anything handy, and hold your head high and your chest out and if you have nothing to pick up and hold by your side put your hands on your hips, all of these tips will make you look like a bigger animal to the dog.

If you have an umbrella or a walking stick, wait till the dog is 6 foot away and stamp the ground with the umbrella or walking stick, this is very effective at claiming the space as mentioned earlier, this is what shepherds do with their crook to tell the cattle I own this space go into that space.

Never hit a dog as you are more likely just to intensify his aggression towards you.

If your facing a pack of dogs do the above with the pack leader and the rest will just follow the pack leader as they do in the wild, to identify the pack leader it will nearly always be the dog out in front of the others, it will also have its tail in an upright posture and the other dogs tail will be lower as only the pack leader allowed to have the tail high as that is a sign of dominance.

You may find that one dog will go to the front and one to the back of you, this is typical 'pack attack' modes, you must keep turning to face the dogs and keep claiming your space, as i have mentioned once you have dealt with the pack leader the other dogs will follow.

During all this just ignore the owner, if they say don't worry my dog is friendly just totally ignore that and do the above, most people who get bitten is when they have taken that advice from the owner, the owner has no control of the dog if the owner cannot stop his dog approaching you, ie his or her dog is the pack leader not the owner if they cant stop the dog.

Or you could just get back in the car!

[jamesp]

Or you could just get back in the car!

That would work, but would mean you have lost the physiological battle with the dog and the next time you come across it you will have the same problem.

Its nearly always a physiological battle with a dog as they don't really want to risk injury and if you win that battle you wont have a problem with that dog again as he will remember your scent.

[kirsty b]

OK.Went to visit my kids today,got out of the car and walked down the road to be confronted by a big black dog growling at me.The owners just kept telling Harry[stoopid name]to get back in without any attempt to retrive him,assuming that I was a DOG LOVER[not]
Why is it that dog owners assume that everyone loves dogs!!!!!?

I have 2 boxers and even though I KNOW that they are big soppy buggers, I don't take it for granted that everbody will feel the same, I never would. They are big dogs and can move pretty fast and thats pretty intimidating for a child or another dog walker.
When approaching another walker up the field, they get put back on the lead until we are past.
James, I'll be printing your posts out and reading them at home cos brain not functioning too well at this ridiculous hour!!
Snadger, Max the 11 mth old does the tail thing, although not as much now, he much prefers his genitalia . We thought it was a 'puppy' thing.

[squashysu]

james, are you a dog physcologist????? and if not, why not?? and if you are, wow, i bet you never back down in a fight lol?

[jamesp]

I have 2 boxers and even though I KNOW that they are big soppy buggers, I don't take it for granted that everbody will feel the same, I never would. They are big dogs and can move pretty fast and thats pretty intimidating for a child or another dog walker.
When approaching another walker up the field, they get put back on the lead until we are past.
James, I'll be printing your posts out and reading them at home cos brain not functioning too well at this ridiculous hour!!
Snadger, Max the 11 mth old does the tail thing, although not as much now, he much prefers his genitalia . We thought it was a 'puppy' thing.

Hi Kirsty,

No problem, a bit late...lol, just let me know if i can help in anyway.

[jamesp]

james, are you a dog physcologist????? and if not, why not?? and if you are, wow, i bet you never back down in a fight lol?

I don't do it for a living its just a passion of mine.

I have been studying animal behaviour for a long time and in particular dogs, wolf dogs and wolves.

I have offered my services free of charge to the local dog rescue centres, but they are not interested unless I have a formal qualification even though that the formal stuff they use on dogs in this country simple does not work on dogs with real behaviour issues, they would rather put a healthy dog down than let me rehabilitate the dog, what they have to lose in this scenario is totally beyond me, but there you go.

In any given situation you have 4 choices, run, flight, ignore or submit, I will choose the one that bests suits the situation.