Big mistake we made

Archived Message

Big mistake we made
by Jo
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
After 17 months,we finally found out one of the mistakes,we made with our baby. Don't know why I was not informed about this at training school. Do not pick your puppy up, when another dog, comes to him.{I sure would keep them apart on leases, until I was sure he was safe.??} Do not carry him,in places,but make him walk. I usally hold him, so he is protecting me, and barking, and snarling,when strangers come close to him. Also, you should get Down to their height,with any strange dog.They react, so much better. Maybe most of you ,already knew all of this, but I sure didn't. Now we have alot of correcting to do. We will be getting,another baby the 24th of this month,so we will try not yo be so protective of him or her. Any comments on this???

DISCUSSION:

Yes, yes. I used to pick up my furbaby every time a big dog came at her and now she does not like to interact with other dogs as much as i'd like her to. Now I make her stand her own ground but i do get down to the dogs' level and encourage moxy verbally. It seems to be working.
patricia and moxy

Hi Jo - I agree with the whole "getting down to their level", etc. but, last Saturday I had Bailey in the park. My city does have leash laws, and Bailey is always on his. Well, some other huge, huge dog was not on a leash. He seemed to come out of nowhere, the other dogs owner was off in La-La land as this dog leaped & barked towards my Bailey, my first reaction (which I believe to be the correct one) was to pick Bailey off the ground, the dog started to come after me. It was around 50 degrees, so I was not wearing a jacket, which if I was, would have stuffed bailey under. His owner finally called him LAUGHING!!!! I was so angry, but in a case like that, had I left Bailey on the ground, I don't even want to think about what would have happened to him. I think it's a judgement call.
Mary & Bailey

yea, I have a comment. I did not know this either, but I'm really glad someone said something! Chloe is still not really used to her leash yet, but now that the weather is getting warmer, I can take her out and work on this problem.By the way, I was informed by the woman who sold her to me that she only needed a cat sized collar, but yesterday as we began outdoor exploring her collar snapped when she got a little too far from me(leash is only four feet long)you should have seen me diving into a snowbank(more ice than snow) to grab her before she realized freedom was hers! Any way, what kind of collar is best for a six pound Mlatese? Thanks.
Anne

I agree if both dogs are on a leash. However, if I am out and I see a big stray dog coming, yes, I am going to pick up my baby. So far, it has not been a problem. He still likes other dogs. As far as getting on their level, one would have to lie or sit down on the ground. My Maltese feels less threatened when I am holding him. It moves him UP to the other person's level.
April B

Boris has not met the outside world yet. He is 14 weeks old and it is cold in New York City. When he finally does, it will be in an adjustable harness.
vita

Jo - thank you so much for mentioning this. I had never heard it, and hadn't even thought about it. I will be getting our first baby probably next week, and I will remember what you said. Thank you!
Julia

When I am out walking the dogs I always take Bella's retractible leash and Baxter (Bichon) is handled by his daddy. One night when we were walking the dogs two girls with big lumbering size dogs were yaking on the embankment the dogs running at large as this is off leash area. Well the big scampering dogs came galloping up to us and I immediately reeled in Bella as she only weighs 3 pounds(we call it flying Bella) so they crashed landed into Baxter who was yelping - he is big woosie but at 13 pounds very sturdy. These girls had same reaction come on doggie - yea right but by that time it would have been too late - they just yelled sorry - well sorry doesnt cut it if your dog is maimed. ***A comment for Anne*** - I use a kitten harness for Bella with retractible leash - the harnesses are not as sturdy as the doggie ones - her little D-ring that you attach leash to wore away the material so we had to buy her another - good thing about kitten harness is it has two clasps which make it easy to put on and off. My dogs are never off leash - Baxter would just keep running and perhaps into path of a car - we had a couple of panics when he yanked retractible leash from Mike's hand now Mike takes a small cloth leash and wraps it around the handle of retractibe leash and then around his wrist so if it gets yanked out of hand there is the cloth one on his wrist. On the rare occasions when I have dropped the leash the noise of it scared Bella and she just sat in place until I could pick it up.
Shirley

I don't know which collars are best for a 6-lb Maltese, but my 7-lb dog wears a harness when he goes out. It's... I think it's canvas (it's like the strap of a hiking bag)... and it's secured with a clip-on lock. These harnesses come in adjustable sizes. I don't foresee it snapping under pressure from my dog, and I believe that it doesn't cause a choking motion on his neck if he happens to tug at it.
Chuin

Jo, its good to pass along information. This is absolutely correct about letting your pet learn on the ground when the other animals are under control too!Mary, that happened to us too when the puppies were very young. As we quickly scooped up our babies, two off-leash pointers had their paws on our shoulders trying to nip at our pups!!! You can be sure I blasted the owner when he came around the corner!!!!

And, Anne, trainers are now recommending the nylon non-slip collar for our puppies. PetsMart for under $10. They work beautifully. Read the archives & some books on heeling to healp your furbaby learn to walk properly beside you :)
BeeGee

Evryone,please, if you feel danger for your baby, then do pick him up. I certainly would. But I did it if a big dog on a lease,came near us. Then to find out that usally, they were big babies, and wanted to play. But the top trainer,groomers, and vets all said the same thing,about this matter.So again I say, Protect,that baby,whenever you think he's in real danger.,but not because the other dog is large.For my dogs sake.I have got to let him be a dog,and that will be hard,for me, but his distrust for strangers, isn't enjoyable for anyone,either.
JO

If another dog is on a leash and under control, I let Taffy stay down. But I do not take any chances when a big dog comes running up to us, out of control, and the owner is too far away to do anything! It makes me so mad when that happens! Let's face it...we don't know how this "other" dog is, and a mishap could happen and then it would be too late! I am not taking any chances! As far as collars, I use a light, nylon harness on Taffy, she never gets choked and it cannot hurt her. I would not use anything else and she has never gotten it off. I only keep her in it when we are out somewhere. I also use a retractable leash and love it!
Robin M. & Taffy

I can scoop Phoebe up faster than a speeding bullet and will continue to do so! I will not risk her to the unknown dogs playfullness or aggression. PERIOD! I also will not walk her on lead when we are in a very crowded area because I do not want her getting kicked or stepped on. She has no fear of large dogs or strangers, does beautifully wherever we go - but her saftey is of the utmost importance to me.
Leslie R

Jo, its a hard one to do with Malts because they are so small and such a part of our hearts. I have raised dogs all my life & know full well what you mean by that part of training & letting your baby be a "dog". :) When I first took my young furbabies to day school (9a-5p) my little Gizmo was so weak & timid that I would cradle him on the way there then carry him into the trainer's. His little sister would bound & hop on her leash, always excited to go anywhere! LOL The behavorist, every time, would give me a lecture & tell me to bring his leash tomorrow!!! LOL I knew all the good reasons but they went for two weeks the first time & I never once even put a collar on him! LOL I think it is important for us to understand "why" our puppies must learn to be confident & social, BUT we also have to be wise enough to know when we must protect them!

I'm glad you passed along the information. I agree this should have been discussed in training class. It is a good practice when ALL dogs concerned are under control! Good luck with your new puppy. Let us know when he is with you :)
BeeGee

We too have had bad experiences with careless neighbours and their dogs, with both a big Kelpie and a Cocker Spaniel running (off-leash!) towards us and trying to attack our little guy. Both times the owners didn't care. When confronting one of them about the whereabouts of the leash, the owner became furious (this was NOT in an off-leash area). Wouldn't it be great if we could enforce all dog owners to keep their rude, aggressive dogs on leashes or making sure those dogs are very well trained to rid them of this dangerous behaviour?! As for the leashing, ours (at about 12 pounds) goes out in a harness, the type made out of seatbelt material, which you can also use with the car's seatbelts for safety on car trips.
D.

When Heidi and I go walking (which she loves to do at 4-1/2 months old), I use an adjustable harness. I used a collar the first couple of times, but didn't like the idea of something around her neck. The harness is wonderful. It's adjustable enough to fit "someone" as small as she is (3 lbs.), and I feel more comfortable knowing that if something happened while she was on leash, the pressure would be distributed evenly and not just around her throat. She seems to like the harness better than the collar, as well, so it was basically her choice! As far as picking her up when we are out walking, if another dog is on leash, then I will watch her reaction and act accordingly. Sometimes she will just bark at the other dog. Sometimes she'll just stop and refuse to go any further. When that happens, I interpret it to mean she feels threatened, and I pick her up. As far as seeing another dog off leash come towards us, you can bet I scoop her up as quickly as possible. Call me paranoid, but I can only imagine what could happen if the off leash dog was aggressive!! Better safe than sorry! I feel the same way about Heidi that I did about my daughter when she was an infant - it's fine to let them explore and develop their own personalities and traits, but their safety has to be #1! :)
Bev & Heidi

We have had some frightening confrontations with other dogs on the loose. Fortunately the most that has happened physically was a nip on the neck that did not break the skin, just left drool on the fur. But that dog's owner had assured me she was friendly. Trust no one! The owners can be even more threatening than the dogs if I confront them. Now I try to limit myself to giving them the dirtiest looks possible, even though it's hard when I've just been scared out of my wits. As to harness versus collar, I have not found harnesses to be very effective for walks. If I try to give my dogs a correction, or change direction, they just stumble and look confused. Also one of them discovered she could slip out of the harness by walking away from me backwards! Maybe if she were more slender that wouldn't happen.
Margy S

Thanks for all the advice on collars for Chloe. I am going to look around at PetSmart when I get back thata way! I will be working with her soon on heeling. The weather turned nasty again so we are indoors for now. I had allowed her to move around on her own(on the leash) because I was trying to get her to use the bathroom. Can a dog do this while heeling? How do you know when to stop for them? Anyway, I was all prepared to try letting Chloe stand her own at the vets. Until a woman came in with a 100 pound dog! He looked okay, but compared to Chloe's five pounds, I went straight into protective Mommy mode! The receptionist told me that sometimes that is the smartest thing you can do(pick 'em up), because you don't know if the other dog has a health problem. So I felt much better and a little justified about picking her up!
Anne

I bought a harness for Lilly but unfortunately they didn't come with instructions so the first time I had it on her ..she walked right out of it. Any suggestions? KAren M
Karen Morin

Karen, was the harness adjustable - you have to slide the straps to make it smaller - if it was as small as it will go and still too big get a kitten one - Bella weighs 3 pounds and the smallest doggie one looks too big also once they are snugged it is more difficult to get off. The cat one has to snap clasps and the contraption goes in front of her front paws and over her rib cage. Baxter weighs 13 pounds and wears the doggie one but Bella's is easy to get off and on.
Shirley

Thanks Shirley I'll try again it is the adjustable. It is the through the front legs I think I messed up on. Karen M.
Karen Morin

I know what you all mean about being scared when big dogs come running at our tiny ones. Cricket is fortunate here in FL because most dogs in our area are on leash. I'm only in Florida in the winter, and I find when I am back in the midwest that I seldom see a dog off leash either. I guess we're just lucky. If I were in an area that had lots of off-leash dogs who are ill mannered and threatening, I'd be tempted to take "Halt" or some other pepper spray with me and defend my "baby" to the hilt. Maybe if some of these inconsiderate owners had their wild beasts hit with some pepper spray they'd be more apt to keep them safely on a leash! ;-)
Peg and Cricket

I put Boris' harness on for the first time today. Took me a moment to realize what part went where. reminded me of when my daughter was born and they had those little undershirt vests with the snaps. Took me a moment to see how that garment was gonna go on the baby. Same experience with the puppy. made me laugh.
vita

Try to use a harness with a "V" in the front. Collars and harnesses that are like regular collars can put pressure on the trachae, causing damage that may not show up until the dog is older. Collapsing trachaes are a problem for small dogs. My dog would choke with a regular harness, and she is 13 pounds. I took her to the vet, and they told me that sometimes the trachae can get so damaged by a collar that the dog needs surgery. When the dog is older, they may not be in good enough condition for surgery. Sometimes the damage is in an area that is not amenable to surgery. The "V" in the from usually has a ring where the two sides of the front part of the harness meet. The ring falls over the breast bone, not over the trachae.
sue

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