The dog musing/vent thread

Beanie

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It's a drop-in class, she doesn't actually have to instruct :D :p.
MOAR FACES


The reality is I KNOW stuff like this happens, the local club is a total disaster and these sorts of shenanigans go on aaaaall the time. I just don't take any part in it. I hear about them from my students who used to be students there and then came to us because of the disaster. But it doesn't make me any less frustrated. C'mon people. C'moooooon. x_X
 
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and this is one of the (many) reasons Hudson and I don't do agility. I don't think Mr. Friendly would be able to concentrate on the task at hand if there are FRIENDS around. And everything counts as friends, even sticks. I know from experience that, while he has no interest in fighting, he won't back down if another dog starts something.

What happened to ES's being aloof. Seriously, dude.
 

DJEtzel

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The instructor was trying to body block the dog, and started yelling at it to get back. I think she was nervous about grabbing onto him too though. After that she was really vigilant about him so I think she didn't expect him to run away from his owner that first time.
IMO, if you're teaching a class, you can't be nervous about grabbing onto a dog if something like this is happening... especially because there are ways you can do it to make sure no one gets harmed. It's our job to make sure it's a safe learning environment, it just comes with the territory.

I had to break up a pit/greater swiss dog fight at an outdoor agility class over the summer, with both dogs on leashes. :rolleyes: Did I consider the chance of being bit? Sure. Did it matter? No.

It's like a vet being afraid of dogs. I've met them. They have no business being in the business. :p
 

DJEtzel

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and this is one of the (many) reasons Hudson and I don't do agility. I don't think Mr. Friendly would be able to concentrate on the task at hand if there are FRIENDS around. And everything counts as friends, even sticks. I know from experience that, while he has no interest in fighting, he won't back down if another dog starts something.

What happened to ES's being aloof. Seriously, dude.
Haha well he's still pretty young.

Most herders don't mature until later in life in that regard. Frag didn't start getting aloof until 2+ ish. Recon's just now getting into it at 1.5 yrs.. but not with people yet.
 

Laurelin

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and this is one of the (many) reasons Hudson and I don't do agility. I don't think Mr. Friendly would be able to concentrate on the task at hand if there are FRIENDS around. And everything counts as friends, even sticks. I know from experience that, while he has no interest in fighting, he won't back down if another dog starts something.

What happened to ES's being aloof. Seriously, dude.
Summer is extra friendly and yeah, it's a thing for us to work through but she really LOVES agility. We do distractions classes and that helps though her real problem is just with people kneeling or sitting at her level. IT does take work but it's doable and actually not that hard. Much easier sometimes than Miss 'I Worry About Everything'.
 

SaraB

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IMO, if you're teaching a class, you can't be nervous about grabbing onto a dog if something like this is happening... especially because there are ways you can do it to make sure no one gets harmed. It's our job to make sure it's a safe learning environment, it just comes with the territory.
This. I always tell the handlers to back off and reach in myself. There's a right way and a wrong way to do something and I really don't need a student getting injured by someone's dog or even their own dog in one of my classes. I'll take the hit, or better yet, I'll break up the fight properly and won't have to.

And yes, while these dogs weren't in a fight, there was still tension that could have easily been redirected onto a student grabbing for them.
 

Laurelin

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Summer is extra friendly and yeah, it's a thing for us to work through but she really LOVES agility. We do distractions classes and that helps though her real problem is just with people kneeling or sitting at her level. IT does take work but it's doable and actually not that hard. Much easier sometimes than Miss 'I Worry About Everything'.
Oh and on this note, my superfriendly little dog did a sequence last week with people all over the course AND her old instructor (favorite person in the world) knelt down by the tunnel entrance. She kept focused and did GREAT. :D It can be done!
 

Beanie

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This. I always tell the handlers to back off and reach in myself. There's a right way and a wrong way to do something and I really don't need a student getting injured by someone's dog or even their own dog in one of my classes. I'll take the hit, or better yet, I'll break up the fight properly and won't have to.

And yes, while these dogs weren't in a fight, there was still tension that could have easily been redirected onto a student grabbing for them.
Yes, I agree completely with both comments. I would never want, let alone allow, a student to grab another student's dog... no no no no. Honestly, I've had dogs get loose from their handler before and usually they don't even get a chance to try to catch it, because I already have.

The reality of working with animals is that I might get bitten one day... but that's just part of my job. Nobody else should have to take that risk.
 

Elrohwen

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What happened to ES's being aloof. Seriously, dude.
Welshies were advertised to me as being reserved with strangers. Also gentle. All lies.


Also, Watson is 90% cured of his desire to run up to other dogs and people during classes. I think part of it is maturity, and part is just learning that doing agility is fun. I thought he would be way worse than he is.
 

Elrohwen

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And yes, while these dogs weren't in a fight, there was still tension that could have easily been redirected onto a student grabbing for them.
And that's why there was no way I was reaching for his collar. I know my own dog and I was comfortable picking him up and pulling him out, but I wasn't going to touch the other dog, especially since he was the instigator and seems like a generally intense dog.

I think half the reason everyone was so slow to jump in is that it seemed like social sniffing at first, no biggie. It took a little bit to be obvious that something else was going on. That dog also shows no body language. You can't see his face, and he has almost no ears or tail - he's like a black box.

I did try to help grab a standard poodle once, but that's because he was actively playing with Watson and playing catch-me-if-you-can with his owners. No tension, just playful pups. When I grabbed Watson out of that same play scenario (this was the first class with off leash time, it was a little chaotic) I just grabbed his back legs and hauled him out. I'm not afraid to grab him however I have to and that was just a play situation.
 

Laurelin

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With Summer's dstractedness a lot has been my new trainer really forcing me to notice issues. I'd get lazy at class and just let her out, march over to the start line, then call her. Or after a run Summer would go do a lap or 3 or jump on the x large crate (she loves climbing it for some reason). Or she'd go try to make friends. I just didn't pay it much mind because well... when I'd call her, she'd come, stay, and go do her agility thing.

But now I am very very aware of her when we are going to and from the crate. She is not getting to go wild and free between runs even though she was not causing any problems, it was making her think it was okay when we weren't working to be a lunatic. It was also giving her practice switching sides on me, which was coming out in our runs. So now when I get her out, the focus is 100% on her and keeping her engaged all the time and keeping her on one side of me.
 

Elrohwen

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With Summer's dstractedness a lot has been my new trainer really forcing me to notice issues. I'd get lazy at class and just let her out, march over to the start line, then call her. Or after a run Summer would go do a lap or 3 or jump on the x large crate (she loves climbing it for some reason). Or she'd go try to make friends. I just didn't pay it much mind because well... when I'd call her, she'd come, stay, and go do her agility thing.
There are dogs in my class like this, who will go and take a tunnel before or after a run, and kind of do their own thing. They always come back right away and work when they have to, but it seems like a really bad habit to get into. I'm always completely on top of Watson because he likes to cause chaos (yesterday he ran away from me and peed in like 4 places before coming back). I don't let him do anything except work and focus on me. It would be nice to have a dog I don't have to be on top of though!
 

Laurelin

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My good friend's golden just suddenly passed away this morning. :( He wasn't too old at all or anything but they think he had a stroke. He just collapsed and died suddenly. That kind of stuff just scares the crap out of me. Just gone in a minute. :(

I want to hug my dogs now.

Rest Easy, Cash.
 

Grab

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Every few years, Aesop goes through a really horrible coat blowing season where he ends up partially nekkid. This is one of those seasons. To make his life better, he's having an allergy issue to something. I hesitate to switch foods, as we have fed the current food fairly consistently for a few years. I tried a different food (as I do from time to time) a few months ago and both Aesop and Goose got a bit itchy. So I think that set it off to start with. It has also been warm, so things are blooming and blowing about. He's not constantly scratching, but he does have a hotspot or two (they're healing) and an allergy ear infection (he's never scratched his ear nor done any head shaking, so I had no idea until I was brushing ear floof :( )

So I currently have a very moth-eaten looking Chow with a bum ear.
 
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Yay for Frag!

I need someone to explain to Gimmick that shoving his entire head in another dogs mouth is a really good way to lose it. Also, he does not need to let every dog in the yard mount him
 

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