Calling all Fur-parents!

[Renaendel]

I had never known the breed until we found our Ashelia. She had come from a troubled home and I am so glad we have her here now. Her favorite nightime position other than stretching and searching for food is laying flat on her back with her arms and legs spread wide. Always the dainty kitty *snicker*. To think these giant cats also have such a tiny meow for their size. Like listening to mike Tyson.

 

[LillyTame]

melann13 - Hi! Thanks for joining us and sharing your photos! My big girl is my ragdoll....14lbs...pretty big compared to our 9lbs persian mix and siamese mix

 

[melann13]

Our Maine Coon is pretty loud, but especially his motor! He can be heard from rooms away! We actually recorded him to make a "white noise" track because it's the most pleasant sound in the world to fall asleep to!
Our Simaese is mixed with something, we think maybe ragdoll, he's a very lean 14lbs. He's great at plastering himself to your chest and just staring into your eyes with his big blue ones!

 

[LillyTame]

Those eyes are gorgeous! Reminds me of my ragdoll. My Siamese-mix's eyes are way more subtle and a bit more slanted (maybe) so makes it hard to see. I really don't know what it is...the color of her eyes are just harder to see. Whereas the Ragdoll has these big round, open eyes. (That's my OH in the background, he was home sick that day and hates this pic but I really like it lol)

 

[tl5953]

I am totally worried about my relationship with my fur boy when a baby comes ... He IS my baby and we are inseparable ... He already has separation anxiety so I wonder how a baby will change things ... However, he is at my mil's every day and she is a daycare provider so he has lots of experience with I Santa and toddlers ...

 

[GingerPanda]

Cute!

 

[clynn11]

Thought you all would enjoy the pics of my newest kitty rescues! I'm helping a woman in town who sent out a plea, she had begun taking care of the neighborhood cats out of the kindness of her heart and it just turned into much more. I took in 4 kittens today. There's about 2 more 5 month olds, about 5 8ish month olds, and a few adult kitties too. None spayed/neutered and will just become breeding machines if I don't step in and do something!!

Say hello to April, May, and June

 

[LillyTame]

OMG! I would love for June to come live with me! So fluffy!

 

[GingerPanda]

Cuuuuute!

 

[Hotbump]

So I know that Pitbulls have a bad rep and unfortunately I was raised thinking that. FOB's cousin has a pitbull and we all live in the same address different houses (hard to explain) He is a sweety but I'm still abit nervous and dont trust him tbh. I'm trying to get over it. FOB's cousin does not feed him enough and I just can't leave him like that so I usually just tell him to sit and then I feed him but today he barked at me not in a bad way as his tail was wagging but it took me all the way to square number one...being scared of him again. Any tips or ideas for me to lose this fear? He is a big, unvaccinated dog who is never on a leash but FOB's cousin wont listen!! I was starting to trust him to be around my boys (supervised of course) but now my fear has returned


Also I have told FOB that Percy is showing signs of thinking he is the alpha and that we have to trained him so he knows that he isnt but he says that he doesnt have time to research anything. So I do but when I talk to him about it he says he doesnt have time for that or falls asleep...what am I to do? I'm training percy the best I can but then FOB confuses him by letting go inside the house first when I have told him not to do that countless times..

On a positive note..will be putting up pictures of Percy soon (maybe on Sunday)

 

[theraphosidae]

In terms of Percy, when it comes to training a dog, consistency is KEY. If there isn't consistency, you're not going to get anywhere with the dog. In order to establish dominance, you and FOB have to be on the same page and both consistent with the training, punishing, rewarding, etc. Because, like you said, the dog will just get confused. It's super important to establish dominance, you can't have a german shepherd thinking it's dominant over you and your children, because that will create problems. Puppies aren't just all fun and cute and cuddles, they require training, and FOB has to understand that. They are a lot of work and don't just learn submissiveness and proper actions themselves. I've seen firsthand the dangers of a dog who hasn't learned its place and was trained inconsistently...it almost cost my dog her life. German shepherds are large, powerful dogs and the last thing you want is Percy biting one of your children because they took a toy away from him or something.

No advice really for the pitbull fear situation, unfortunately. I can't even figure out how to get over my own fears let alone help someone else Just make sure you act confident when you're around the dog and like you're the dominant one.

 

[Hotbump]

I showed FOB videos of dogs who attack other dogs because they werent trained to be submissive by their owners and FOB responds with "I would of killed the other dog if it had attacked my dog" :facepalm: So the I went and showed him the dog whisperer videos and he says "Oh you already told me everything that guy is saying" and falls asleep 10 minutes into the video...argh! If he doesnt listen unfortunately I will have no choice but to sell Percy who can actually have the time to be trained because I dont want him to be a bad dog all because FOB *doesnt have time*

Will take pictures today and post them of my baby boy

 

[theraphosidae]

My mom had a boxer (who is 70lbs) who was never consistently trained, she wasn't mentally sound but consistent training and dominance establishment would have considerably helped that. Anyway, one day (when we were still living with my mom, it was almost 2 years ago) she was asleep on the couch and my 20lb german pinscher came in from outside, was all rowdy and she went and tried to play with the boxer. Well, my mom's dog flipped, grabbed my dog by the throat, wouldn't let go and started shaking her. She let go for a second to get a better grip and I was able to push my dog away and hold my mom's dog back. My dog had to get 8 stitches: she had a long tear on the side of her neck and two puncture wounds in her throat that went through the muscle. The vet bill was very high because it happened at 8pm so we had to call an emergency vet.

I was seconds away from running to the kitchen to grab a knife. If my mom's dog hadn't let go when she did, I'm positive I would have killed her. I've never had that thought about a dog before EVER but when something you love more than anything (this was before Callum ) is being killed (and my mom's dog was attacking to kill), thoughts go through your mind that you never thought possible. I'm glad my OH wasn't home because he would have killed my mom's dog, no question about it.

What I'm going about the long way of saying is, FOB can say that he would kill a dog that attacked Percy, but what if Percy was the aggressor? What if Percy killed someone else's dog...or hurt them badly? What if someone reacted like my OH would have and kills Percy to save their own dog? A dog that thinks it's dominant can be a very dangerous animal. It's not responsible pet ownership to get a dog and then not work to establish dominance or train it. It's not fair to the dog, either.

Good luck, hope you can talk some sense into FOB and I'm looking forward to seeing the new pictures of Percy.

 

[Bibliophile]

Hi! Jumping in.
We have a black German Shepherd (yes, full German Shepherds can be black- or white!) and 3 cats.
11 yo black kitty who I raised from about 3 weeks old.
4 yo Tortie who is ...strong willed, how's that?
1 1/2 yo Siamese mix who is the dog's kitty cat. They're just about inseparable.
I'm not really actually worried about any of them with a baby except cat #2. She's very easily stressed & is a pretty anxious girl overall. Plus, she's.... Vindictive is a nice word. LOL. Not in a mean way. But if you accidentally bump her off the bed at night, prepare to be woken up.

Sorry you're dealing with that, Hotbump. Personally, I've never met a pit bull who wasn't sweet and wonderful. But training is definitely a must. And I hope you can get FOB on board training your dog!

 

[GingerPanda]

I had a dog who was half pit bull. We trained her, sent her to obedience training, etc etc etc. Had her from the time she was a tiny puppy. She was SUCH a good dog. Smart, great with babies and children, loved doing tricks... But she never got over other animals being food. She would escape, get into fights with other dogs in the neighborhood, try to eat my other dog, so on.

Unfortunately, sometimes you just can't train the predatory instinct out of a dog. Doesn't make them a bad dog, it just means you can't trust them with whatever their problem is. In Duchess's case, we had to make her a long cable run and keep her on it at all times... per police orders.

I miss that dog though.

 

[Hotbump]

My mom had a boxer (who is 70lbs) who was never consistently trained, she wasn't mentally sound but consistent training and dominance establishment would have considerably helped that. Anyway, one day (when we were still living with my mom, it was almost 2 years ago) she was asleep on the couch and my 20lb german pinscher came in from outside, was all rowdy and she went and tried to play with the boxer. Well, my mom's dog flipped, grabbed my dog by the throat, wouldn't let go and started shaking her. She let go for a second to get a better grip and I was able to push my dog away and hold my mom's dog back. My dog had to get 8 stitches: she had a long tear on the side of her neck and two puncture wounds in her throat that went through the muscle. The vet bill was very high because it happened at 8pm so we had to call an emergency vet.

I was seconds away from running to the kitchen to grab a knife. If my mom's dog hadn't let go when she did, I'm positive I would have killed her. I've never had that thought about a dog before EVER but when something you love more than anything (this was before Callum ) is being killed (and my mom's dog was attacking to kill), thoughts go through your mind that you never thought possible. I'm glad my OH wasn't home because he would have killed my mom's dog, no question about it.

What I'm going about the long way of saying is, FOB can say that he would kill a dog that attacked Percy, but what if Percy was the aggressor? What if Percy killed someone else's dog...or hurt them badly? What if someone reacted like my OH would have and kills Percy to save their own dog? A dog that thinks it's dominant can be a very dangerous animal. It's not responsible pet ownership to get a dog and then not work to establish dominance or train it. It's not fair to the dog, either.

Good luck, hope you can talk some sense into FOB and I'm looking forward to seeing the new pictures of Percy.

This is what I told him Percy loves to pull on his leash but I started to take advice on what Cesar said about not letting him lead the way and pulling on the leash sideways to catch his attention...well we are there yet I pull to the side and Percy tries to bite the leash But I'm working on it...FOB finally said he will help train him, fingers crossed he will keep his word!

 

[Hotbump]

Another question...how can I stop Percy from biting? He doesnt bite hard but I want to let him know that is not acceptable. He already has enough chew toys but prefers to bite us

 

[GingerPanda]

Another question...how can I stop Percy from biting? He doesnt bite hard but I want to let him know that is not acceptable. He already has enough chew toys but prefers to bite us

Immediately stop playing with him. Just get up and walk away, then ignore him. Every time.

Eventually he will learn that biting means no more fun time.

 

[Hotbump]

I ignore him but he keeps on biting my feet or legs.

 

[GingerPanda]

Okay, so another thing you can do is make biting uncomfortable.

If he bites your hand or arm, push back into his mouth. It will cause him discomfort, and he'll associate biting with feeling that. DH's uncle is a well-known dog trainer, and this is what he does to train his dogs not to bite.