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14 years ago @ http://theylendmetheir... - Potty Training Little Man · 1 reply · +1 points

Congratulations! Sounds like he's made a solid start. It's always so exciting!

14 years ago @ http://theylendmetheir... - Our Little Mary Lou Re... · 2 replies · +1 points

"Can you tell she's excited?" you ask... Oh, not so much, except for the ear-to-ear grin, the hands clutching the shorts, the bouncy knees, and the fact that, even in a picture, she appears to be VIBRATING with excitement.

Very cute!

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - Dodman vs Dunbar: The ... · 1 reply · +1 points

There was a show on the CBC (radio) a month or two ago which described a new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, purportedly hugely successful in eliminating flashbacks and allowing people to move on in their lives. It -- imagine! -- uses a COMBINATION of drugs and therapy.

Drugs and therapy are both effective, and can both be used to heal. It's strange to me that something so damned obvious needs to be said. But it does.

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - Dog Eats Toe · 0 replies · +1 points

Oh, good lord.

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - martingale-collars-lea... · 1 reply · +1 points

I like your advice at the end -- stop pulling back, change direction, click/treat for loose leash. I can and will do that.

But.

If I'm standing there with my dog on the leash, contemplating the beauty of the morning while dog sniffs other dogs' stale pee on the tree beside which we stand... and then dog suddenly sees something she wants (usually a squirrel) and LUNGES like hell after it... um... *I'm* not the one choking my dog. My dog is choking herself. All dog need to do is sit the hell back down again where she was, since *I* haven't done anything but stay where *I* was.

Is my dog really so stupid that she can't figure that one out? And if it's that awful for a dog to be choked, why doesn't she stop?

And if she doesn't stop (because I have a hard time believing she's really that stupid) that suggests that being mildly choked isn't such a helluva bad thing, from the dog's perspective.

Okay, MoFo. Fire away!

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - Crate Train Your Dog O... · 1 reply · +1 points

We got our first dog when she was nine months old, and didn't have use the crate at first. We got it out and set it up in a high-traffic area, just as you suggest, when she started to show signs of anxiety/aggression. With a safe, comfy place to retreat to whenever she needed it, and lots of anxiety-calming chewy things in it, she calmed down pretty much instantly.

We now use a crate with our new puppy, and thank you SO MUCH, MoFo, for the GREAT advice on how to use it to help us with the house-breaking. She's as much of an (adorable) idiot as ever, but I'M way more relaxed!!!

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - Dominance Theory Is Un... · 0 replies · +1 points

Mwah-ha. That dog has the PERFECT face to illustrate your point. He looks so innocent and pleading. "Who, me???" (Of course, we all know that is the spaniel ruse to wrap you around his little fing... er, his silky ears... and a very powerful ruse it is, too!)

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - Don\'t Reward Your Dog... · 1 reply · +1 points

Heh. This is exactly what I tell the daycare parents when their child displays reluctance to enter my home: Don't soothe, SMILE! Exude confidence that "Yes! This is a GOOD place, and I know you will have FUN!" Cooing and soothing only confirms that "yes, there really IS something to be afraid of"; instead of comforting, it only compounds the problem. More confirmation of my growing conviction that toddlers and dogs have a lot in common...

14 years ago @ http://ctmofo.com/ - Don\'t Reward Your Dog... · 0 replies · +1 points

It works on people, too. My mother said it was having kids that got her over her fear of thunderstorms. Even though she was afraid of storms, she didn't want to infect the three of us with her fear, so, starting when we were babies, she pretended not to be afraid. After pretending for a couple of years, guess what? She wasn't pretending any more.

I have a smart momma. :)

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