Reptile & Amphibian Forums

dr. suess saw the future when he wrote that book. its about my dog. i have 2 german shepherds and a wolf/husky mix. the wolf/husky is Dreamer. you cannot walk through my backyard without falling in a hole. my GSD's never went through a training class and they're great dogs. Dreamer is 8 months old. she's potty trained, leash trained, knows her name and a few basic commands (sortof, shes getting better)> how do i talk her into NOT digging up my house and the rest of the yard? at first i thought she was digging to lay on the cool dirt. not the case. i set up a camera to watch her for a few days, then i had to watch the stupid tape. she just digs and walks off. she has probably 200 $ of toys that she does play with and for gods sake she has 2 other dogs to play with. i took her to 2 obedience classes, with no result, they said she was bored...(she didnt catch onto 'sit' 'stay' very well either) and yes i work with her at home all the time for the sit, stay, blah blah blah so im not expecting her to just 'get it' i just need some tips for helping it along a bit. i couldn't really care right now if she sits, i want her to stop turning my yard into a mine field. any suggestions?
Beth

It's a husky thing to dig. My shibas dig as well and I always say that they are trying to get back to their native country of Japan.

You have an incredibly smart independent dog on your hands. You also have a dog that needs to get out and do at least an hour of intense physical activity a day to be happy. When oyu are walkig your GSDs maybe you can put a backpack on the huskyX and make the dog work harder for the distance?

Still, a husky will dig. I'm sure there are others on the board with more husky experience that can give you a few other pointers.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

i will probably get a back pack for her. she's still not really good at walking on a leash. walking all 3 at once is hopeless. the 2 gsd's can walk together but they're older and know how it works. we did go get her own pinch collar for walks. usually the walks are just around the block or just to the end of the street. we went farther once and had to carry her a block back to the house. (shes a good 50-60 lbs i think). we're slowly working up to longer and longer distances. (*rolls eyes*) shes just so dang stubborn. if she's done walking, she rolls over on her back, we cant really drag her b/c of the collars we use (the pinch collars) b/c she yalps bloody murder and gets the neighbors outside. when we get her to walk farther, we'll get her a backpack.
do the husky's outgrow the digging phase? (please god say yes)
Beth

Huskies to my knowledge do not grow out of the digging phase- sadly. It's so self-rewarding to them, even if you try punitive/corrective measures they still find a way to do it- just when you aren't watching.

I'm concerned that you say your dog isn't able to walk long distances yet. I guess I didn't pay attention to how old it was, but even young once should be able to handle long walks on grass. Pavement can hurt and sometimes when the subn is out burn tender puppy feet, but on grass there should not be an issue. If you are ending up having to carry your puppy after only short distances you may want to have it checked by the vet and/or you need to work on your training. A stubborn husky can and will test you.

Also, a pinch collar really isn't a great tool for a puppy- especially one that is apparently showing very dominant behavior traits. If you want to encourage the puppy to walk and get rid of the excess energy to attempt to save your lawn you need to set these walks up for success- reward lavishly for good behavior and walking nice on a leash. It so much easier to work with an independent breed by showing it what you want instead of correcting once it's made a mistake. Passive resistence (the laying down and not budging) is just the start of a host of behaviors that you just don't want see in a young dog. These dogs need clear communication and big rewards for doing what you tell them to do.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

I dont think her not walking is a health/foot problem. Shes 8 months now and we didn't start working with her until recently which is due to moving 2 or 3 times and my son's been really sick recently but its still no excuse, just something had to be put on hold, and thats what it had to be. we've been walking with her for 3 months, going on 4 months. we tried just a regular collar/leash and she did manage to get out of it once. we tightened it up more for the rest of the walk home and she seemed to be gagging, although i didnt think it was too tight. We have to use the pinch collars with our 2 GSD's or they'll pull my 350 lb husband down the street. the regular chain collars didn't have any affect on the GSD's other than making them gag. I haven't thought about trying a regular chain collar with this one, but i'll do that tonight and see how it goes. I also don't think she's showing dominant traits, could you explain (please) what all the 'dominant traits' are that youre referring too? i probably know, im just a little stupid on benadryl right now. We do reward her when we walk. about every 25 steps or so if shes doing good, she gets a little treat. we found some Milkbone brand ones that are for tiny dogs like poms or scotties, so they're really easy to carry and they dont require laying down to chew up. she likes em too. and it does seem to work really well. We've also had a submissive peeing problem for a while that seems to be going away pretty good. The day we brought her home, she peed the whole time in the car and when my husband set her down on the floor in the living room, she just puddled everywhere. i didnt know they had bladders that big. I'm thinking that may be the wolf part of her. I know younger dogs pee so the older dominant ones don't kill them. when she does pee, we don't make a big deal of it, we take her outside and play with her a bit and pet her. then we go in and clean up. The peeing isn't really a big issue anymore. I bought a swifer wet jet and we have hard wood floors throughout so its not a crisis. here recently its just been a few little drops as shes aproaching us. she also pees when she approaches our other dogs when shes outside, but never inside. (i dont get it, but it seems to be getting better so i'll just let it run its course).
when we walk our dogs, we usually dont let them get in the grass and all over peoples yards. i have to pick up poo from where my trash can sits on trashday from other dogs and it drives me nuts. before we put up the gate, there was poo in my yard all the time. (i do carry bags and pick up after my dogs, b/c thats rude if you dont) anyway. we dont usually walk during the day b/c it gets too hot for me and i know its too hot for her so we go in the evening, just before the mosquitos and before dark. as for the passive resistance (i think is what you called it). how do i get her to stop. (*rolls eyes*) I've noticed that the main time she does it is if i try to push for a little farther before i give her another treat. I had someone tell me to 'just drag her' but thats not good. its pavement and when i use the pinch collar, im afraid it'll hurt her and make her afraid of walking so i dont do that. but like i said, im going to try a regular chain collar tonight and see what happens. Is there another 'reward' i could give her or maybe a 'bribe' to get her back up. shes not a skinny or small dog so if she decides she doesnt want to walk home, its not fun anymore. she is very stubborn. You say her name and she'll look at you and then turn around and sit down. drives me nuts. you say her name again and she'll come to you. we've not gotten her to just come the first time which is the other thing we've been working on. if she comes with the 2nd try, she gets a treat and pet on if it takes more than 3 times saying her name, she just gets pet, no treat. She has started looking for the treat if it takes more that 3 times so i think shes getting the hang of things. she does sit and lay down most of the time. i think she's doing pretty good for being 8 months. (although i'd like her to be further along but we're taking it one day at a time)The distances are getting longer, it bothers me as well but like i said i think its her being stubborn, not a health problem. I do agree that she should walk farther by now but we're getting there, slowly but surely. im just afraid im going to end up 5 blocks from home with a limp dog that doesnt want to walk anymore. I've thought that maybe shes just gets tired and needs a break so a few times we've stopped and i've sat down with her and gave her a drink and she did roll to her tummy but didnt get up, we carried her a bit and then put her down and she was fine. (the only reason i carry her is b/c we dont live in the most... friendly neighborhood and i dont like to be out when it starts getting dark, and i hate bugs.) anyway. do you think i'm doing ok with the treats ever so often? how do i talk her into moving again when she decides to flop over? is there another method for walking instead of the pinch or chain? i also haven't tried a harness for her. I just know they dont work for the GSD's (or my moms bassets) they just drag harder, but if you think it would work, i'll try it. I'll try a regular chain tonight and post again and tell you how that went. thank you.
beth

INdependent dogs at ~9 months really start testing boundries- kind of like human teenagers. They also pick their battles and try to figure out the new rules and what they are capable of getting away with. The stopping and refusing ot go further is just one way to test things.

I'd be very hesitant to think a dog of this mix would continue to act submissive and will test the boundries more. You can get a whole host of behavioral issues showing up at this point in time- the list is too long to write out.

I know I would personally try to train to prevent some of the behavior issues by using a Nothing in Life is Free program along with extensive training using positive reinforcement methods. The reason I like positive reinforcement for independent breeds is because when they ask the inevitable question, "What's in it for me?" They know the answer is "something worth my while." The basic answer of "because I said so" doesn't cut it with these guys.

The "wolf" side of this dog is your "wildcard." The wolf is not domesticated and doesn't follow all the same rules of the domesticated dog. I have no experience with wolves and how they learn, but from what I've read it takes a lot of work to gain the trust of these animals and it's got to be a partnership with a true pack and strong leadership. Also, my limited experience with these mixes is they tend to respect only one individual and everyone else well, they choose what works.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles