Stinking dog!

reina__ · June 2010

LOL, literally. Well, my dog is almost 12 years old, and I was just thinking how funny it was that 12 years ago when my Mom bought her, we basically knew nothing about dog behavior. Momma just wanted a dog for protection as my parents were going through a separation/divorce type thing, I don't really know what it was. I was only 8! Throughout her entire life, she has been a teacher to me. I was given the reins at around 10 or 11 years old, can't remember now, but I was big enough and strong enough to handle her, or so I thought. I was like.. freakishly tall at that age so everyone thought I was older than I really was. lol. Not my dog! During the first couple years of her life she lived with us at a farm in Saskatchewan. (I don't expect you to know how to pronounce that. It's just a province in Canada.) Mistake! With everything going on I guess it was the last thing on our mind to get our dog socialized.. I guess at that time it was Mom's dog. ANYWAY. The minute we come back to Alberta and I start caring for her I found out her "real" side. She was like.. an Alaskan Malamute, pulling me everywhere, so hard that I'd have blisters on my hands and bodybuilder biceps from trying to keep her from running off. When she'd see a dog (picture this), she'd stand up on her hind legs, hackles up, tail up, ears up, and turn into literally a demon and just bark and growl and gnash and every other term one could find. I would be soooo embarrassed, because I knew she looked like a demon from hell, and probably scared everyone. During this time I became interested in breeding dogs. So yes, it's been a while! Rottweilers.. so on my Internet researches somehow I came across Leerburg's website, and began reading about dog training. I found out Keilah was a dominant female. (Of course!!!! Why me.. why me!) Explained her barking, her inability to listen, her "macho, I'm the leader of the house" ordeal, and why she humped my friend's female Shih Tzu/Maltese cross... and other reasons, lol. So, throughout about 7 years we tried nearly everything with her, and still she was the same, pulling like a gooner, barking at every dog. I always had to cross the street when people came towards us on the sidewalk because she was so unpredictable, there was no question we could let her off leash because she would run towards or after people (she wasn't aggressive towards people, just playful, but.. I'm sure if a big black dog ran towards you with its owners running after it and calling it, you wouldn't be very inviting). *sigh* Keilah was a handful. My parents threatened to put her down, sell her, give her away, everything, but I always wanted to keep her. lol. After I moved to British Columbia, Mom picked up a book "becoming the pack leader" by Cesar Millan. That was the first time I heard of "pack leadership." Can you believe it? We got a choke chain and started doing exercises and popping and all that stuff. It actually worked. 9 years of embarrassment and stress and work and barking, and all we needed was confidence and a choke collar? :? Okay, now that was about 3 years ago. She still has a mind of her own, and she still is a handful, even in her senior years. She knows she's not allowed in my room or in specific parts of the house, but when she's unsupervised, she goes in there, sneaks around, and runs out the minute she hears someone come downstairs. (It's funny now, but it's sooo annoying.) We shut off places for her because she's dominant, and she requires boundaries in the home. It is MY home, not hers. lol. I will shut my room door and if the little metal thing isn't clicked into place, Keilah will nose the door open and go in there. She knows she's not supposed to be in there. When I'm in there and I hear her open the door and walk in, I say a sharp NO and she quickly goes out. We've been in this house for almost 3 years and every time I come down stairs I hear her run out of my room. *sigh* I started a few days ago putting the cat's dishes underneath the desk in my office so I could keep them around here at night (it's attached to my bedroom). After I feed Keilah upstairs, she knows to go downstairs where her bed is, but she has to pass my office. For the past few days she's been finishing off the last bit of cat's food AND water when she just ate and is going downstairs. She KNOWS! I caught her once and said no and a "finger bite" on the ribs and she goes downstairs. I do exercises with her like dropping food on the floor. She knows that food on the floor is mine and she's not allowed to take it. It's just that when no one's watching, she sneaks around and eats it anyway. *sigh* I love her, and she's taught me a lot, but honestly... I could beat her.

I wouldn't obviously. If I was a more violent person, I'd hate to know what I would do. So a few days ago I read the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test and figured out that Keilah rates about a 1.75. Can you believe it? Note how on the test ( <a href="http://www.volhard.com/pages/pat.php"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.volhard.com/pages/pat.php</a>; ) it says "stay away from puppies with mostly 1s or 2s". So I just wanted to let you know about this test and how AWESOME it is that it exists.. because if we were to do it on Keilah in the SPCA we probably would not have gotten her. Thing is people usually go by the looks of the puppy and feeling sorry for it, but buying a puppy is a lifelong committment and can spell happiness or stress, especially if it's a "number" that you're not ready to care for. Now I know that a 1.75 Volhard dog is like owning a lion or something. Even now, I just brought her bed up into my office to sleep and she's just farting like a garbage rat. It's so hard to be around a dog with her temperament, her farts, and the fact she constantly smells like a sewer, even after her bath. I love her but I would never ever get another dog like her, or recommend another dog like her, unless the person was willing to exercise her minute in and minute out and have her as an outside dog in a sheltered indoor/outdoor kennel. Because this sort of dog is not made to be an indoor family dog with one or two 30-minute walks a day. Okay, I think I'm done. Sorry for the novel.

reina__ · June 2010

The weird thing is, she's a Great Dane/Lab cross.. two of the generally most friendliest dog breeds in the world. :?

Kazuko · June 2010

Actually, I've known a LOT of aggressive labs. xD But that is a funny story. And Milan =

My husband trained and bred German Shepherd imports for protection, the military, and schutzhund, and he and I watched Milan's show, and Vincent was like "8D I approve." and bought me two of his books. xD

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

Great story! I can definitely remember times where that test would have been VERY useful for friends, and family.Years ago my grandmother had gotten a young german shepard from the humane society, and unfortunately she took the word of the employees that she was "a well behaved, gentle dog."

Kazuko wrote:

Actually, I've known a LOT of aggressive labs. xD

Same here. I don't know if it's always aggression, but I've met lots of labs that are completely out of control when not trained correctly. I got attacked by one of the labs my cousin owns. She was the only dog to ever really hurt me.

Troglin · June 2010

reina__ wrote:

The weird thing is, she's a Great Dane/Lab cross..

My lab mix stinks really badly after baths, sprays, etc. It used to be a really rotten smell, and she does fart badly. Her farts have actually driven me out of my own room or back inside the house, depending upon where she's at. I'm used to terrible smells too. What type of skin does your dog have? Is it really oily, greasy, thick, etc. or is it normal? My dog has disgusting skin - easy to peel off, greasy, thick.. just nasty. I have her on two grape seed extract, two fish oil pills, one vitamin E daily. She also gets a bit of lemon juice and/or apple cider vinegar in her food. It has to be one or the other, since they'd otherwise cancel each other out. The lemon juice/vinegar goes inside the stomach and helps destroy bad bacteria and such. You can also try giving yogurt, an organic one if possible, as the normal ones contain chemicals and really nasty junk in them. I've also met a bunch of aggressive labs and other allegedly "friendly", "family" dogs. I've been bitten by a wide variety of dog breeds, but as long as they don't go for my neck, and as long as it's not a loose dog, I don't mind the bite. It's a learning experience for me. I can usually learn to what extent the dog will go before biting, what ticks it off, and maybe how I can go about fixing it. It does sound like your dog is testing your boundaries. She knows that she can still get through the door, and since there's nothing there to stop her immediately, she'll continue to do it. You could try getting an alarm that goes off if she walks past - she just has to wear a collar. You could try scat mats, which deliver a small electrical charge to her paws, and place it right outside the door. She needs to think that you're there, always, and the outcome will always be the same. When you look away from the food on the floor, does she go for it? Or is it when she doesn't think you're physically there that she goes for it? How often do you mentally/physically exercise her, and how often does that exercise change? I think she'd probably need about 2-3 hours of exercise a day, maybe more, maybe less. Realistically your schedule probably doesn't allow for all of that. ^^ It's good that you found a way to control part of her. With dominant dogs it can feel like a struggle 24/7 to maintain control, especially when they're super intelligent. Intelligent dogs think of new ways to get around stuff, new things to try, and put dominance + intelligence and you'll get a dog who will think of new ways to test your boundaries. I like working with dominant/difficult dogs and fixing aggression issues. It's not easy but it's fun to me. I like watching them think of ways to outsmart me. XD

reina__ · June 2010

She needs to think that you're there, always, and the outcome will always be the same. When you look away from the food on the floor, does she go for it? Or is it when she doesn't think you're physically there that she goes for it? How often do you mentally/physically exercise her, and how often does that exercise change? I think she'd probably need about 2-3 hours of exercise a day, maybe more, maybe less. Realistically your schedule probably doesn't allow for all of that. ^^

1) As long as I'm in the kitchen or where I've dropped food, regardless if I'm not looking at it or paying attention to it, she doesn't go for it. So I know she respects me when I'm around, but not so much when I'm not. 2) I don't exercise her a lot. This is probably the core of the problem. I have ankle issues and where I live is just steep hills all the time so I don't walk a lot.. and no one else will take her. In an optimal situation, I would have access to a vehicle and take her around town, to the lake, etc. but my situation isn't like that right now. She is an old lady and on our short/slow long walks she trails behind me so slowly that she's pulling on the leash. A great thing though, is that she's teachable, and maybe I'm expecting too much of her.. or maybe I just have no idea. Like.. she continues over and over and over and over to do what I have disciplined her over and over and over not to do.. maybe I'm just doing something wrong.

reina__ · June 2010

Actually, I've known a LOT of aggressive labs. xD

Yeah but, she's also part Dane, not just Lab.

What type of skin does your dog have? Is it really oily, greasy, thick, etc. or is it normal?

It's actually not that bad, but her coat can get pretty greasy. She just constantly stinks.. I'm not too too worried about it but my mother is. Ugh I can't go into that right now.

Kazuko · June 2010

I've only met a single nice dane. xD And he was HUGE. But a sweet puppy. Then again, maybe I've just had horrible experiences with dogs. The other danes I've met have all been snappy and snarly and possessive and dominant. One dog, Pixie da Moose, would try to sit on your lap. She would literally back up to you and sit, and if you tried to move or push her away, she'd growl. Also, I love when puppies charge me with their owners shouting their name. xD It's happened to me before. And by puppies I don't mean... Puppy puppies. I mean adult dogs. I was charged by an English bulldog and I was like "8D HOW CUTE!" and the owners were all "D8 WE'RE SO SORRY! She won't bite! She's never run off like that before!" However, admittedly, if it were a big black dog, I'd freak, just because I have a fear of medium/large black dogs. S'long story.

SylverWyndIV · June 2010

Hmm, I had the same sort of problems with my dog Champer when he was younger; he was mostly husky, maybe shepherd/retriever. Who knows? Two Cesar Milan books and a pinch collar later, and he's the perfect dog

Except, he was attacked by a Malamute; it ripped his left ear.

and now he doesn't like big dogs.

reina__ · June 2010

Kazuko wrote:

I've only met a single nice dane. xD And he was HUGE. But a sweet puppy. Then again, maybe I've just had horrible experiences with dogs. The other danes I've met have all been snappy and snarly and possessive and dominant. One dog, Pixie da Moose, would try to sit on your lap. She would literally back up to you and sit, and if you tried to move or push her away, she'd growl. Also, I love when puppies charge me with their owners shouting their name. xD It's happened to me before. And by puppies I don't mean... Puppy puppies. I mean adult dogs. I was charged by an English bulldog and I was like "8D HOW CUTE!" and the owners were all "D8 WE'RE SO SORRY! She won't bite! She's never run off like that before!" However, admittedly, if it were a big black dog, I'd freak, just because I have a fear of medium/large black dogs. S'long story.

Strange.. I mean about the Dane; I understand about the fear of big black dogs. I probably would be if it was unfamiliar to me.. I guess I can be thankful that she's not aggressive to people, except children when I'm around. When I'm not around she's perfectly fine with kids. Jealousy/dominance again... *rolls eyes* <img src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs449.ash1/24734_1305097521869_1663440906_683554_4337954_n.jpg"; alt="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs449.ash1/24734_1305097521869_1663440906_683554_4337954_n.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> Just for kicks. She actually used to be ALL black except the patch on her chest and toes.

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Stinking dog!

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