What amazing things have you seen your pet or someone else's pet do?

[Rocky998]

I'll start...
One day we were at this dog park. It's a private one (pay to enter) and you're dogs have to be neutered/spayed and vaccinated. They also go through a temperament check before being approved.

Anyways, one day we went to the park and there was this HUUUUGE all black mountain dog that made our dog Luna look like a pomeranian. At this time Luna was very young and unwise, also very energetic. So she goes up to this dog all excited wanting to play and that mountain dog jumped on top of our dog and put her in her place. He stood over Luna barking and Luna stared at him belly up and let out a small little "arr woof" back. But then the mountain dog just got off and went to his owner.
I was actually glad that happened. Because after that incident, Luna was a bit more respectful and cautious to other dogs and didn't just rush up...

But now I'm not so happy about it because a few months later the unthinkable happened...
We were at the dog park and there was that same mountain dog. At the time Luna's best bud (a black lab) was there and they were just chasing eachother and having fun. We are on very good terms with their owner as well and chat while they play.... But here comes the mountain dog rounding the corner and they all started cautiously sniffing eachother.
Then Luna and the black lab started playing but the mountain dog wasn't having it and pounced on Luna very aggressively. That dog was biting and taking snaps. So the lab's owner rushes over as well as me and my dad. I was trying to find the dogs collar under all the fur/hair but couldn't. Soon the lab's owner took a tennis racket and hit the mountain dog with it. All this was happening while the mountain dogs owner was watching from a distance which was very very upsetting.
Then Luna's dog friend (the lab) actually jumped ON TOP of the mountain dog and was trying to save Luna. I have never seen a dog trying to protect a fellow dog that they only really meet at the dog park. It was pretty amazing. But Luna got no injuries except for being a bit sore. Which was a miracle.

Your turn now!

 

[Colin_T]

I'm amazed nobody else has responded to this.
First off the big black dog (not the lab) should be reported to the owners of the park and the council for a dog attack. It should not be jumping on any dog and pinning them down. That dog has attacked your dog 2 times now in as many months and it is a dog attack. And the fact the dog's owner stood by doing nothing shows a complete lack of respect for other park users. They need to be reported.

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I had 2 dogs years back and one was a Papillon, the other was a Kelpie x. When we first got the Papillon, she wouldn't walk on anything except concrete because that is all she had ever known. We used to go walking every day at the park and she would stay on the path while everyone else ran around on the grass. Over time she gradually came onto the grass but not when it was long or wet. It took several years before we could get her to walk on wet grass.

During the time she wouldn't walk on grass, she was grabbed by strangers walking along the path. People would pick her up and take off with her. She was kidnapped from our house a few times too. Most of the time when I was out walking and people grabbed her, I would yell at them to put her down and leave her alone, and they did. Sometimes they didn't and I would say to the Kelpie "where's Snuffy, go get Snuffy". Snuffy was the Papillon's name. The Kelpie would take off across the park and go straight to the Papillon and bark and carry on. This stopped people stealing the little dog and then both dogs came back to me. The Kelpie would round up the Papillon and herd her to me.

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Later on when the dogs were a bit older we had issues with people up the road. They would let their 2 Golden retriever dogs out to roam the streets unattended. They denied it when the council was called but we had plenty of photos and video of the dogs threatening and attacking us and other dogs and people in the area. The council never did anything about the dogs or their owners and that led me to accusing the council rangers of a cover up and failing to treat everyone the same.

A few years later these 2 retrievers had a go at me as I was crossing the road at my house. It was the third attack against me from these dogs in a couple of weeks. I had a water bottle and was trying to fend one of the dogs off when the owners drove up to the intersection and saw what was going on. They abused me and threatened me before driving off down the road with the 2 dogs running along the road behind their car. I went home and called the council and reported a dog attack.

I then went back out and as I crossed the road, the scumbag owner and his mates came out of their street and were running towards me. I turned around and went back onto my property and these 5 aholes came onto my property threatening to kill me and my dogs for kicking their dog and bashing it with a bottle. I turned and told them what really happened and said they should keep their dogs on their property instead of letting them out to attack whoever they want. The guys started waving bottles about and threatening to kill me and burn my house down so I went to my front door to unlock it.

As I was unlocking the front door, the guys started running towards me and my Kelpie turned and ran straight at them. She stopped about 6 feet in front of them, bared her teeth and let out a deep growl. The guys stopped dead in their tracks and stood completely still while I unlocked the door and let the Papillon in. I went in and held the door open and called the Kelpie who turned and ran inside. I locked the security and front doors and called the cops.

While I was on the phone to the operator, I heard the guys outside yelling and carrying on like they did. Then there was glass being smashed and the operator heard it all. She asked what the noise was and I said it sounded like a window being smashed. She said go lock yourself in a room and wait for police. I said fuplie that, I have a sword and know how to use it. If they come in here I will kill them. The operator said don't do that, just go lock yourself in a room and wait for police. I hung up, went and got my sword and waited in the hall. Nobody came in but about 10 minutes later the cops rocked up.

The broken glass was from bottles being thrown at the house and there was broken glass everywhere.

I told the cops what happened and where the offenders lived. I gave them descriptions of each offender. The cops said go back inside and lock the door, we will go have a chat and come back and let you know what's going on after.

The cops come back about 15 minutes later saying they believe my side of events but the bad guys were backing each other up and said they didn't know anything. However, I had told the cops one of the guys had said something and when the cops were talking to them, the guy said the same thing I said he had. The cops knew it was them and gave them an official warning as well as taking down their details. The cops said if they come back or cause anymore problems, call them immediately and they will arrest the lot of them.

A few months later the people put their house on the market and moved. Everyone in the neighbourhood was glad to see them go.

Kelpie to the rescue I never saw 5 guys poop themselves that fast when 1 dog faces them. And I didn't have to tell the dog to do anything, she simply realised there was trouble and confronted the offenders while I got the door open.

The Kelpie was such a smart dog and could pretty much read my mind. I didn't have to teach her anything and she was just a great dog. The Papillon was great too but not quite as smart. But she made up for it with looks and being super cute

 

[Rocky998]

I'm amazed nobody else has responded to this.
First off the big black dog (not the lab) should be reported to the owners of the park and the council for a dog attack. It should not be jumping on any dog and pinning them down. That dog has attacked your dog 2 times now in as many months and it is a dog attack. And the fact the dog's owner stood by doing nothing shows a complete lack of respect for other park users. They need to be reported.

----------------------
I had 2 dogs years back and one was a Papillon, the other was a Kelpie x. When we first got the Papillon, she wouldn't walk on anything except concrete because that is all she had ever known. We used to go walking every day at the park and she would stay on the path while everyone else ran around on the grass. Over time she gradually came onto the grass but not when it was long or wet. It took several years before we could get her to walk on wet grass.

During the time she wouldn't walk on grass, she was grabbed by strangers walking along the path. People would pick her up and take off with her. She was kidnapped from our house a few times too. Most of the time when I was out walking and people grabbed her, I would yell at them to put her down and leave her alone, and they did. Sometimes they didn't and I would say to the Kelpie "where's Snuffy, go get Snuffy". Snuffy was the Papillon's name. The Kelpie would take off across the park and go straight to the Papillon and bark and carry on. This stopped people stealing the little dog and then both dogs came back to me. The Kelpie would round up the Papillon and herd her to me.

----------
Later on when the dogs were a bit older we had issues with people up the road. They would let their 2 Golden retriever dogs out to roam the streets unattended. They denied it when the council was called but we had plenty of photos and video of the dogs threatening and attacking us and other dogs and people in the area. The council never did anything about the dogs or their owners and that led me to accusing the council rangers of a cover up and failing to treat everyone the same.

A few years later these 2 retrievers had a go at me as I was crossing the road at my house. It was the third attack against me from these dogs in a couple of weeks. I had a water bottle and was trying to fend one of the dogs off when the owners drove up to the intersection and saw what was going on. They abused me and threatened me before driving off down the road with the 2 dogs running along the road behind their car. I went home and called the council and reported a dog attack.

I then went back out and as I crossed the road, the scumbag owner and his mates came out of their street and were running towards me. I turned around and went back onto my property and these 5 aholes came onto my property threatening to kill me and my dogs for kicking their dog and bashing it with a bottle. I turned and told them what really happened and said they should keep their dogs on their property instead of letting them out to attack whoever they want. The guys started waving bottles about and threatening to kill me and burn my house down so I went to my front door to unlock it.

As I was unlocking the front door, the guys started running towards me and my Kelpie turned and ran straight at them. She stopped about 6 feet in front of them, bared her teeth and let out a deep growl. The guys stopped dead in their tracks and stood completely still while I unlocked the door and let the Papillon in. I went in and held the door open and called the Kelpie who turned and ran inside. I locked the security and front doors and called the cops.

While I was on the phone to the operator, I heard the guys outside yelling and carrying on like they did. Then there was glass being smashed and the operator heard it all. She asked what the noise was and I said it sounded like a window being smashed. She said go lock yourself in a room and wait for police. I said fuplie that, I have a sword and know how to use it. If they come in here I will kill them. The operator said don't do that, just go lock yourself in a room and wait for police. I hung up, went and got my sword and waited in the hall. Nobody came in but about 10 minutes later the cops rocked up.

The broken glass was from bottles being thrown at the house and there was broken glass everywhere.

I told the cops what happened and where the offenders lived. I gave them descriptions of each offender. The cops said go back inside and lock the door, we will go have a chat and come back and let you know what's going on after.

The cops come back about 15 minutes later saying they believe my side of events but the bad guys were backing each other up and said they didn't know anything. However, I had told the cops one of the guys had said something and when the cops were talking to them, the guy said the same thing I said he had. The cops knew it was them and gave them an official warning as well as taking down their details. The cops said if they come back or cause anymore problems, call them immediately and they will arrest the lot of them.

A few months later the people put their house on the market and moved. Everyone in the neighbourhood was glad to see them go.

Kelpie to the rescue I never saw 5 guys poop themselves that fast when 1 dog faces them. And I didn't have to tell the dog to do anything, she simply realised there was trouble and confronted the offenders while I got the door open.

The Kelpie was such a smart dog and could pretty much read my mind. I didn't have to teach her anything and she was just a great dog. The Papillon was great too but not quite as smart. But she made up for it with looks and being super cute

We reported them the second time and the owners and staff took immediate action trying to get a hold of the lady but she never got back after a week so they disabled her key card and took away her privileges. Then she called back saying she had been really busy.
They required her to do another temperament test and the dog passed... They gave her a warning and said if it happened again she may be banned from the park.


That is INSANE! Sounds like you live in a very rough neighborhood. You got psychopath neighbors for sure.
Why would those guys even try to do that? They knew they were in the wrong!!

 

[Rocky998]

. And the fact the dog's owner stood by doing nothing shows a complete lack of respect for other park users

She was all the way on the other side of the park with her other dog talking on the phone but saw what was happening. She just started to... idk... Briskly walking over after 20-30 seconds of seeing it

 

[Colin_T]

She was all the way on the other side of the park with her other dog talking on the phone but saw what was happening. She just started to... idk... Briskly walking over after 20-30 seconds of seeing it

All she had to do was call her dog and it should have responded.

My dogs would respond to quiet or loud whistles. If we were out in the bush and they wandered off, I give a long loud whistle and they would return. If we were out walking at night and they were getting too far ahead, I gave a quiet whistle that sounded like a bird.

That is INSANE! Sounds like you live in a very rough neighborhood. You got psychopath neighbors for sure.
Why would those guys even try to do that? They knew they were in the wrong!!

It wasn't a bad neighbourhood, just a couple of drunken morons that used to have their mates over so they could drink on the street while their dogs wandered off. There was a hubby & wife living there (no kids thankfully) and they were real lower class scum. I don't like saying lower class trailer trash because I have met a lot of people that live on low incomes and can't afford anything else, and those people were nice people just stuck in a bad situation. But these 2 would be described as bad trailer trash folk. The sort of people that swear at you when walking down the street, throw bottles on their lawn and have raging parties that go all night. And they both had nice jobs, lived in a 2 story house, had 2 new cars, and worked 9-5 so there was no reason for it. They were just scum.

I met the wife's mother once. The wife and 3 of her sisters and her mum came to the park looking for their dogs. I hadn't seen them and they didn't recognise me even though the wife and I had previous run ins. They came over to see if I had seen there dogs because I was the only person on the dog park. I asked what sort of dogs and they said 2 big golden retrievers. I said nope but apparently the rangers were hanging around about an hour ago. One of the other people in the area told me that. Then the wife recognised me and did her nut, swearing, waving her arms about, threatening me, the whole lot. She accused me of calling the rangers and I said I only just got home and haven't called anyone. Then her mum joins in and goes off at me threatening me. A complete stranger going off at me for something she knows nothing about, that's what her mum was like. I just let my Kelpie off the lead and said fuplie off or she will kill you. They all backed off and left.

About half an hour later one of the sisters comes back to the park and walks over to me and apologizes for her sister and mum's behaviour and said the dogs were with the guy (husband). I just said whatever, and waved her off (I wasn't interested). The sisters seem like normal people but the mum and dog's owner were a pair of female dogs. Those people should be sterilised or put down to stop them passing on their issues. They were really awful people.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

One of my favourite moments with my girl, Pixie;

Isn't that amazing and incredible, she didn't save my life or anything. It was just a moment when I realised all our training and hard work had paid off.

Just a normal walk in the park, and Pixie found some takeaway bones that someone had dumped in the grass, and had a large, juicy looking bone in her mouth. I said "drop" and "leave it", and immediately, she dropped the bone and came bounding up to me for her reward. All I had to give her was some low value, typical dog food treats, not the higher value fresh chicken or cheese she was trained with in learning this command, and I was asking her to give up a juicy bone! I don't think many dogs would do it, and I was stunned when she happily complied, and stayed a respectful distance away while I used an unused poop bag to clear up the bones when I reminded her to leave it. I was so proud of her! Praised her like mad, and she was delighted just with that.

Pixie is a very smart Springer Spaniel/Border Collie cross. Smartest dog I've ever owned, and while keen to work and use her brain and train, it also meant she was challenging. Didn't just obey straight away the way my sweet but dumber older Springer/Cocker did, but had to think about whether she should or not! What was in it for her. Would get up to mischief if not mentally stimulated enough, could work out puzzle toys or how to open a door within minutes. When she was young, I worked very hard on teaching her recall while she still had that puppy elastic, where they want to be close to you all the time anyway, and her recall is 100% bomb proof. Taught her to "freeze" and stay in place, for any occasion where I wanted her to stay where she was rather than run back to me, say if she wound up on the other side of the road from me. Hasn't been a command I've needed often, but it's useful one to have and to reinforce now and again.
Had I done proper agility or obedience competitions with her, I'm sure she would have done extremely well. She's incredibly agile and can clear 6 feet in height (or she could when she was younger, anyway), but is also respectful of the fence boundary in the garden and never tried to escape, even though I'm sure she could clear the garden gate.

I guess this sounds like more of a brag about my training abilities, lol. While I am proud of those, this isn't that. It's pride in her, how smart, sweet and willing she is, but also that spark of challenge and naughty streak in her that shows her brain and her character. She is so sensitive to facial expressions, body language and voice. When I began training her as a pup, I paired voice commands with specific hand gestures. After a while, I realised she relies more on the hand gestures and even my mouth movements to tell what I'm asking of her, more than the words. She'll become unsure and less reliable if I say the word without the hand gesture, but is 100% if I use the gesture without the word. Dogs read our faces and body language all the time, constantly, especially highly sensitive and bright breeds like collies. She has a collie brain that requires work, stimulation and kindness in order to thrive. I've never had to shout at her, and she'd be devastated if I did. A sharp tone has her look upset and immediately try to suck up, worried that she's in trouble, so anything harsher would really hurt her. She knows from training that "ah ah" means no, stop what you're doing", and that's all I've needed to prevent her running into trouble, or eating a splintered chicken bone she found. If I'm wary of something, so is she. If I'm upset, she cuddles up against me immediately, seeking closeness and either providing or seeking comfort, but it's certainly comforting to me.

In sum, I just find dogs amazing. Their ability to read us, willingness to work with us, diversity in every area, while still having the same basic structure and needs, and their sweet, endlessly loving natures. They're unique in the animal kingdom, even compared to other domesticated animals, and we don't deserve them. But I'm very glad we have them.

 

[Rocky998]

One of my favourite moments with my girl, Pixie;
View attachment 164574


Isn't that amazing and incredible, she didn't save my life or anything. It was just a moment when I realised all our training and hard work had paid off.

Just a normal walk in the park, and Pixie found some takeaway bones that someone had dumped in the grass, and had a large, juicy looking bone in her mouth. I said "drop" and "leave it", and immediately, she dropped the bone and came bounding up to me for her reward. All I had to give her was some low value, typical dog food treats, not the higher value fresh chicken or cheese she was trained with in learning this command, and I was asking her to give up a juicy bone! I don't think many dogs would do it, and I was stunned when she happily complied, and stayed a respectful distance away while I used an unused poop bag to clear up the bones when I reminded her to leave it. I was so proud of her! Praised her like mad, and she was delighted just with that.

Pixie is a very smart Springer Spaniel/Border Collie cross. Smartest dog I've ever owned, and while keen to work and use her brain and train, it also meant she was challenging. Didn't just obey straight away the way my sweet but dumber older Springer/Cocker did, but had to think about whether she should or not! What was in it for her. Would get up to mischief if not mentally stimulated enough, could work out puzzle toys or how to open a door within minutes. When she was young, I worked very hard on teaching her recall while she still had that puppy elastic, where they want to be close to you all the time anyway, and her recall is 100% bomb proof. Taught her to "freeze" and stay in place, for any occasion where I wanted her to stay where she was rather than run back to me, say if she wound up on the other side of the road from me. Hasn't been a command I've needed often, but it's useful one to have and to reinforce now and again.
Had I done proper agility or obedience competitions with her, I'm sure she would have done extremely well. She's incredibly agile and can clear 6 feet in height (or she could when she was younger, anyway), but is also respectful of the fence boundary in the garden and never tried to escape, even though I'm sure she could clear the garden gate.

I guess this sounds like more of a brag about my training abilities, lol. While I am proud of those, this isn't that. It's pride in her, how smart, sweet and willing she is, but also that spark of challenge and naughty streak in her that shows her brain and her character. She is so sensitive to facial expressions, body language and voice. When I began training her as a pup, I paired voice commands with specific hand gestures. After a while, I realised she relies more on the hand gestures and even my mouth movements to tell what I'm asking of her, more than the words. She'll become unsure and less reliable if I say the word without the hand gesture, but is 100% if I use the gesture without the word. Dogs read our faces and body language all the time, constantly, especially highly sensitive and bright breeds like collies. She has a collie brain that requires work, stimulation and kindness in order to thrive. I've never had to shout at her, and she'd be devastated if I did. A sharp tone has her look upset and immediately try to suck up, worried that she's in trouble, so anything harsher would really hurt her. She knows from training that "ah ah" means no, stop what you're doing", and that's all I've needed to prevent her running into trouble, or eating a splintered chicken bone she found. If I'm wary of something, so is she. If I'm upset, she cuddles up against me immediately, seeking closeness and either providing or seeking comfort, but it's certainly comforting to me.

In sum, I just find dogs amazing. Their ability to read us, willingness to work with us, diversity in every area, while still having the same basic structure and needs, and their sweet, endlessly loving natures. They're unique in the animal kingdom, even compared to other domesticated animals, and we don't deserve them. But I'm very glad we have them.

WOW!
I soooo wish Luna would listen to "drop it" ....

Your dog just sounds incredible! You've obviously done an amazing job at training pixie.



When I was really young and we lived in Kentucky we had two amazing dogs. Bear and Tasha.
Tasha was a husky/German shepherd mix and most likely a few other breeds mixed in.
She was a people person and loved meeting new folks but she was also very protective of her family. One time my friend, Tasha, and myself were in the front yard playing. People walk by all the time and Tasha does nothing but watch them closely. She doesn't do anything else but just watch to see if their friend or foe.
But one time this man dressed in all black with a hoodie walked by and just kinda eyed us.
Tasha immediately started to circle me and my friend keeping us close and then she got between us and the sidewalk and growled.
The guy just walked faster .
I was very amazed at what she had done cause she NEVER does that to any person so obviously she felt a suspicion about that guy... After he left the area Tasha just went back to having some fun and that was that

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

WOW!
I soooo wish Luna would listen to "drop it" ....

Your dog just sounds incredible! You've obviously done an amazing job at training pixie.



When I was really young and we lived in Kentucky we had two amazing dogs. Bear and Tasha.
Tasha was a husky/German shepherd mix and most likely a few other breeds mixed in.
She was a people person and loved meeting new folks but she was also very protective of her family. One time my friend, Tasha, and myself were in the front yard playing. People walk by all the time and Tasha does nothing but watch them closely. She doesn't do anything else but just watch to see if their friend or foe.
But one time this man dressed in all black with a hoodie walked by and just kinda eyed us.
Tasha immediately started to circle me and my friend keeping us close and then she got between us and the sidewalk and growled.
The guy just walked faster .
I was very amazed at what she had done cause she NEVER does that to any person so obviously she felt a suspicion about that guy... After he left the area Tasha just went back to having some fun and that was that

Tasha was a good dog, doing as she knew in her bones to do, and protecting her family! What a good girl That's a scary thing, that the man may have meant you harm, but I'm glad that he never got close to you to be able to, and that you felt safe and have a nice memory of her herding you away and protecting you!

Just sparked a memory for me too. Our back garden is long, and at the end outside the fence lies a small stream that runs along the back of all the houses on my street. One afternoon I let Pixie into the garden and heard her go mad, barking and snarling in a way I've never heard her act before. I went to look and there were some teens walking along the stream and right at the foot of our garden. Pixie was a few feet back from them, a safe distance, but stood in a way that said "you won't get past me" and truly aggressively barking at them, hackles raised. They ran, looking actually scared of my usually sweet spaniel, and ran out and away across my neighbours property. That's the only time I've heard Pixie sound quite like that. She got lots of praise and a special treat for that! She's a better guard dog than she is a retriever, funnily enough.

That time of day is prime time for burglaries, 3pm ish, when a lot of housewives are picking up the kids from school and houses are empty. So they could have been burglars, or just teens messing about exploring, but either way, she wasn't gonna let them into our garden. It was the way they ran away that amused me though! Like they were facing a mastiff, not a spaniel/collie.


If you want to teach Luna how to drop something, and it's definitely a very useful command to have, follow the directions in this video below. Victoria Stilwell isn't perfect, but a good deal of my dog training techniques are like hers - positive reinforcement, I even use the same "ah ah" noise she uses to discourage a behaviour! So I do recommend following her methods for many of the basics like drop it, recall, sit/stay/heel etc. The key for "drop it" is to keep a positive tone not an angry/demanding one, and make it game for her. She's much more likely to drop something boring if you're offering her something better. She's a smart dog, very capable of learning these things, just keep the sessions short and frequent, be consistent, and she'll pick it up!

 

[Rocky998]

Tasha was a good dog, doing as she knew in her bones to do, and protecting her family! What a good girl That's a scary thing, that the man may have meant you harm, but I'm glad that he never got close to you to be able to, and that you felt safe and have a nice memory of her herding you away and protecting you!

Just sparked a memory for me too. Our back garden is long, and at the end outside the fence lies a small stream that runs along the back of all the houses on my street. One afternoon I let Pixie into the garden and heard her go mad, barking and snarling in a way I've never heard her act before. I went to look and there were some teens walking along the stream and right at the foot of our garden. Pixie was a few feet back from them, a safe distance, but stood in a way that said "you won't get past me" and truly aggressively barking at them, hackles raised. They ran, looking actually scared of my usually sweet spaniel, and ran out and away across my neighbours property. That's the only time I've heard Pixie sound quite like that. She got lots of praise and a special treat for that! She's a better guard dog than she is a retriever, funnily enough.

That time of day is prime time for burglaries, 3pm ish, when a lot of housewives are picking up the kids from school and houses are empty. So they could have been burglars, or just teens messing about exploring, but either way, she wasn't gonna let them into our garden. It was the way they ran away that amused me though! Like they were facing a mastiff, not a spaniel/collie.


If you want to teach Luna how to drop something, and it's definitely a very useful command to have, follow the directions in this video below. Victoria Stilwell isn't perfect, but a good deal of my dog training techniques are like hers - positive reinforcement, I even use the same "ah ah" noise she uses to discourage a behaviour! So I do recommend following her methods for many of the basics like drop it, recall, sit/stay/heel etc. The key for "drop it" is to keep a positive tone not an angry/demanding one, and make it game for her. She's much more likely to drop something boring if you're offering her something better. She's a smart dog, very capable of learning these things, just keep the sessions short and frequent, be consistent, and she'll pick it up!

Yah... That's one of the strongest memories I have of her.
She was a wonderful dog. And there is another story my dad always tells that is amazing.

Man, your spaniel went NUTS on em!
Obviously she didn't like the guys back in her neck of the woods
Glad she was able to possibly protect your home.

And thank you SOOO much for that! I will definitely watch it!
She growls if we try to forcefully take it or sometimes even get close.
She is a really good dog but she wasn't trained much when a puppy so it's hard.
She's also the most stubborn dog I've ever tried training

Thor, who was DEAF was easier to train!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

And thank you SOOO much for that! I will definitely watch it!
She growls if we try to forcefully take it or sometimes even get close.
She is a really good dog but she wasn't trained much when a puppy so it's hard.
She's also the most stubborn dog I've ever tried training

It can be tough when a dog wasn't trained as a pup, but certainly not impossible at all. The key is to change up your training methods and once you've found a good one, be consistent with it.

That makes perfect sense though, for her to do that - think of it from a dog's point of view. They don't own much, but in dog world, what's in their mouth is theirs. Imagine you're sitting down to the most delicious pizza or something you really like to eat, and someone comes up and snatches the slice out of your hand and mouth as you're eating it. Rude! And it would make you mad.

The trick when she has something you want her to drop and she hasn't learned the command yet, is to act completely uninterested in it. Unless it's something truly hazardous to her, but usually, it's not something crucial like that, just something you'd prefer she not damage! The more you act like you want it, the more high-value it will appear to be to her, the less she'll want to give it up. Grabbing it away can either to lead to what she thinks is a great game of tug, or can cause an aggressive response and encourage guarding behaviour, which you really don't want, especially in a large dog. Act like you don't care at all. Grab one of her favourite toys, or a toy you keep out of her reach in a cupboard and she only gets to play with sometimes, so it's more high value to her. Play with the toy yourself, act like you're having a great time with it! Very likely, she will be watching, and she will want to play with what you're having a great time with! Use a pile of toys if necessary, or grab a snack of some small chunks of fresh chicken or cheese, if she's very food motivated. The MOMENT she drops the item you didn't want her to have, say "drop it" in a light tone and then praise her like mad. Give her the toy or food she wanted that you were playing with/eating, and praise her like she just solved world hunger. Casually move the item you didn't want her to have out of reach, keep playing with and praising her.

Same method as teaching her to drop in the video, you're swapping a lesser valued item for something even better, in her mind. Now dropping something leads to her getting something even better! That's gonna motivate her to be willing to drop something even high value, like Pixie did with the bone, because we'd built trust that I never just snatch something from her, and that when she's dropped items when I've asked her in the past, it's led to something even better and lots of praise. Much better from the dog's point of view than snatching items away, like if someone asked you to give up a boring bowl of gruel and they'll give you a delicious pizza, rather than someone snatching a slice of pizza out of your mouth and giving you nothing.

 

[Rocky998]

It can be tough when a dog wasn't trained as a pup, but certainly not impossible at all. The key is to change up your training methods and once you've found a good one, be consistent with it.

That makes perfect sense though, for her to do that - think of it from a dog's point of view. They don't own much, but in dog world, what's in their mouth is theirs. Imagine you're sitting down to the most delicious pizza or something you really like to eat, and someone comes up and snatches the slice out of your hand and mouth as you're eating it. Rude! And it would make you mad.

The trick when she has something you want her to drop and she hasn't learned the command yet, is to act completely uninterested in it. Unless it's something truly hazardous to her, but usually, it's not something crucial like that, just something you'd prefer she not damage! The more you act like you want it, the more high-value it will appear to be to her, the less she'll want to give it up. Grabbing it away can either to lead to what she thinks is a great game of tug, or can cause an aggressive response and encourage guarding behaviour, which you really don't want, especially in a large dog. Act like you don't care at all. Grab one of her favourite toys, or a toy you keep out of her reach in a cupboard and she only gets to play with sometimes, so it's more high value to her. Play with the toy yourself, act like you're having a great time with it! Very likely, she will be watching, and she will want to play with what you're having a great time with! Use a pile of toys if necessary, or grab a snack of some small chunks of fresh chicken or cheese, if she's very food motivated. The MOMENT she drops the item you didn't want her to have, say "drop it" in a light tone and then praise her like mad. Give her the toy or food she wanted that you were playing with/eating, and praise her like she just solved world hunger. Casually move the item you didn't want her to have out of reach, keep playing with and praising her.

Same method as teaching her to drop in the video, you're swapping a lesser valued item for something even better, in her mind. Now dropping something leads to her getting something even better! That's gonna motivate her to be willing to drop something even high value, like Pixie did with the bone, because we'd built trust that I never just snatch something from her, and that when she's dropped items when I've asked her in the past, it's led to something even better and lots of praise. Much better from the dog's point of view than snatching items away, like if someone asked you to give up a boring bowl of gruel and they'll give you a delicious pizza, rather than someone snatching a slice of pizza out of your mouth and giving you nothing.

That sounds brilliant!!! I will definitely try that!
Maybe I'll give her my old slippers or something to drop
Thank you VERY VERY much for that!

Yah if someone took my pizza they'd be begging for mercy.
Don't mess with my dang pizza!!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

She growls if we try to forcefully take it or sometimes even get close.

Please be very careful if she's growling or guarding something. The growl is a good thing - that's communication, saying "back off", so don't punish a growl (dogs punished for growling will learn not to growl, but then they just skip that step in dog communication and go straight to the next step instead, which is a snap). Respect the growl and back off. I don't want to teach you training stuff that puts you at risk. But also would like to help you learn to train her so that you're safe and Luna learns she doesn't need to guard and growl, and you guys can train her well. It's so important to train her, she's a very large dog, likely has guarding breeds in her DNA, and it's even more crucial in large breeds to be the leader and have them well trained to keep them and others safe.

Have a look at these articles, they could really help when learning how to train Luna

Resource Guarding | Positively.com

Does your dog get defensive or aggressive if anyone interferes with his access to an item, resource, or individual? That’s called resource guarding and should be addressed with care.

positively.com

Learning to Love A Growl Starts With Understanding It | Tails of Success Training

tailsofsuccesstraining.com

This next one is an excellent PDF about aggression (I'm including things like growling, air-snapping and lip curling here under the word aggression, just for simplicities sake) in dogs and what factors eventually lead to a bite. It goes into detail about dog body language, and what it means the dog is trying to communicate. There are a lot of signs most dogs give to signal fear, frustration or an intent to bite, and a lot of people miss them or misinterpret them. Stiff body language, ear position, whale eyes, a lip curl, growling, snarling are just some of the signals that a dog is escalating towards feeling backed into biting, if those warnings aren't heeded. So it's well worth knowing those signs.

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/wp-post-to-pdf-enhanced-cache/1/do-dogs-bite-without-warning-or-should-we-see-it-coming.pdf

 

[Rocky998]

Please be very careful if she's growling or guarding something. The growl is a good thing - that's communication, saying "back off", so don't punish a growl (dogs punished for growling will learn not to growl, but then they just skip that step in dog communication and go straight to the next step instead, which is a snap). Respect the growl and back off. I don't want to teach you training stuff that puts you at risk. But also would like to help you learn to train her so that you're safe and Luna learns she doesn't need to guard and growl, and you guys can train her well. It's so important to train her, she's a very large dog, likely has guarding breeds in her DNA, and it's even more crucial in large breeds to be the leader and have them well trained to keep them and others safe.

Have a look at these articles, they could really help when learning how to train Luna

Resource Guarding | Positively.com

Does your dog get defensive or aggressive if anyone interferes with his access to an item, resource, or individual? That’s called resource guarding and should be addressed with care.

positively.com

Learning to Love A Growl Starts With Understanding It | Tails of Success Training

tailsofsuccesstraining.com

This next one is an excellent PDF about aggression (I'm including things like growling, air-snapping and lip curling here under the word aggression, just for simplicities sake) in dogs and what factors eventually lead to a bite. It goes into detail about dog body language, and what it means the dog is trying to communicate. There are a lot of signs most dogs give to signal fear, frustration or an intent to bite, and a lot of people miss them or misinterpret them. Stiff body language, ear position, whale eyes, a lip curl, growling, snarling are just some of the signals that a dog is escalating towards feeling backed into biting, if those warnings aren't heeded. So it's well worth knowing those signs.

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/wp-post-to-pdf-enhanced-cache/1/do-dogs-bite-without-warning-or-should-we-see-it-coming.pdf

Thank you! I will definitely check those out!

 

[Rocky998]

Just read through both and they make a ton of sense!! Thank you very much!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Just read through both and they make a ton of sense!! Thank you very much!

You're so welcome I love dog training and have a decent amount of experience, added to a lot of research and reading, so if you have any questions or concerns, always welcome to hit me up for some advice