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Messages - lulu

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1
Groans, Gripes, Brags & Boasts / Re: Sometimes I hate having animals
« on: April 07, 2007, 07:39:32 am »
 that really sucks! sorry that happened. i know how you feel...some days i think that life would just be so much simpler without pets! i hope your baby's head feels better!
Leah

2
Rare Breed Mastiff Pictures / Re: Lucian and his "sister" (photos)
« on: April 05, 2007, 08:15:02 am »
 omigod, that is the cutest friggn' puppy i have ever seen! i LOVE his little t-shirt. he is absolutely adorable. definitely on the dognap list! ;D

3
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Hiccups
« on: April 05, 2007, 08:12:58 am »
 oh, i absolutely LOVE the squeak they make when they yawn. lol that has got to be the cutest thing ever. my Dasher is a huge squeaker everytime he yawns. cooper still does it too, every once and a while. i love it, it always makes me laugh
Leah

4
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Is it impossible...?
« on: March 30, 2007, 04:35:17 am »
 hahahaa, im glad to know im not the only one dealing with this issue ;D i wouldnt mind the lack of grass so much if it never rained and i didnt have to deal with the mud. i have probably 10 towels that are 'dog towels', that i use to wipe muddy feet, but somehow i still end up getting muddy paw prints in the house. it drives me mad!
 i dont expect a perfect yard, i would be THRILLED with a yard full of weeds, just so long as it is not dirt! i am determinded to find a solution to this problem. i love to sit outside on the deck in our backyard, but i hate to look at such an ugly yard. i am still trying to convince hubby that we need to re-sod. and then maybe we could add a little sand place where they can dig.
 thanks for all your replies!
  Leah

5
Saint Bernard General Discussions / Re: Wow, Time Flies!
« on: March 29, 2007, 02:51:45 pm »
  Lola sure is a looker! beautiful girl.
  Leah

6
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Is it impossible...?
« on: March 29, 2007, 11:34:32 am »
 okay, all you dog owners out there, is it utterly impossible to have a nice yard (GRASS!) and also have big paws? Because if there is someway to have both, i have yet to find it. after seeding every spring/fall for several years, hubby and i decided to sod the backyard last fall. it was pretty expensive, but it was WONDERFUL to have pretty, green grass and not just dirt/mud. unfortunately, and not to anyones surprise, it did not last long. first, all the dogs peeing burned up the grass, and their running and trampling killed the rest.
 we have gotten so much rain here lately and our backyard is a disgusting and embarrassing mess. the mud problem is totally stressing me out and i am constantly trying to clean up their mess when they come inside.
  so, has anyone here managed to have both a nice yard with grass and also big paws? if so, whats your secret? and if not, then how do you all deal with the mud problem when it rains?????
 im trying to talk hubby into sodding the yard again, but he thinks it would just be a waste of money. but i dont care, im desperate!
 Leah

7
Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: I am seriously considering...
« on: March 28, 2007, 09:27:59 am »
thanks guys for all your input. it is REALLY appreciated. i think i have gotten WAAAAY too frustrated with the dogs lately. hubby considers the dogs to be mine and doesnt want to bother much with them, except to love on them when hes in the mood to. so, that leaves everything to me and i will be the first to say that i am in over my head. way over. i think for now, i am going to make a trip, one by one, with all the dogs to petsmart and get some good walking collars, whether that be choke or prong, i dont know. i will start walking them one by one and working with them on training, one by one. also, i think i will go ahead and sign dasher and sophie up for some group classes. i love all my dogs dearly and i want whats best for them. and i want to be happy with them, and not just exhausted and frustrated with them all the time! i will sit down with hubby tonight and get him to agree to go to the classes with me so that we can take sophie and dasher together. i never thought i'd have so many ill-behaved dogs! BUT...not for much longer though, I HOPE!!!
 someone asked if my dogs have any aggression issues...nope. im lucky in that. they get along great with each other. and are not aggressive with any people. the biggest issues are jumping on people, chasing cats, not coming when called, and walking nice on a leash. cooper knows 'sit' and 'down' and 'shake' and he knows 'stay' but wont do it with other dogs or big distratctions around. sophie knows 'sit' and 'down' but wont do it with distractions. none of them will 'come' unless they feel like it. dasher is still young, hes only 5 months but hes learning the others (mostly sophies) bad habits.
 but anyway, sorry for the long winded posts. its nice to be able to talk to people who understand and empathize though...
 thanks.
 Leah

8
Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: I am seriously considering...
« on: March 28, 2007, 07:12:23 am »
 i think maybe you misread my statement --i DO want to be involved in their training. but they are so out of control right now that i need something to be done NOW. and from the group obedience classes ive seen and been in, it is not enough. and it takes longer than i think hubby is willing to wait. if i send them to the in-house training,they will come back knowing the commands and i will work them all daily on the commands. i would not just expect them to come home fully trained and not need to ever work with them on obedience. i work with them now on obeience, but it is just not enough

9
Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: I am seriously considering...
« on: March 28, 2007, 06:47:47 am »
 thanks for the input. i agree that it is important for dog owners to be involved in the training of their dogs. i was hoping that this "in-house" training would speed up their training, and the when they got home, i would enroll them in more advanced group training.
 we got cooper off to a good start with training, and then sophie unexpectedly came along, and you know how it goes, we were busy working and going to school, and training just kinda got put on the back burner. and then dasher came along...and now its just craziness in the house, lol. im not looking at the in-house training bcos i dont want to be involved or put the effort in to train the dogs, its just that at this point they are so out of control (my fault,i know, for lack of training)
 but anyway...we'll see. thanks for the reply

10
Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / I am seriously considering...
« on: March 28, 2007, 06:30:57 am »
  okay, well, ive written previously about the problems i am having with my puppers. me and hubby tried to take all 3 dogs on a walk last night and it was a disaster. it reminded me why we dont take them on walks more often. they are h*ll on leashes. even cooper with his no-pull harness manages to drag my butt down the block.
  has anyone ever sent their dog off to a trainer for a couple weeks to be trained??? we have this place here in town that offers all kinds of training options and one of them is "in-house" training where you send your dog there for 2-3 weeks. here is the link to their website

http://www.chisholmcreekkennels.com/obedience_training.html

it is a very well known place here, and is very highly recommened by vets, by the woman who owns the petshop where i buy dog food, and by multiple strangers i have met while walking my unruly pups. i am starting to SERIOUSLY consider it for sophie and dasher. cooper has had 2 levels of obedience at petsmart, and though he is far from where i want him to be, i dont believe that he needs something quite so intensive. the same place offers regular group obedience classes, which is all i think cooper needs.
 the "in- house" training  is pretty expensive but in the long run i think it would be well worth it. sophie is a stray that i found about 6 or so months ago and has no training and is probably a couple years old and she has NO manners whatsoever. i think i know why she was on the street!
  so...what do you guys think?
 Leah

11
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: multiple dog drama
« on: March 27, 2007, 07:53:34 am »
 Thanks for the replies! I will DEFINITELY get some of that critter cord stuff. its exactly what i need. i didnt even know there was anything like that. thanks so much for the link.
  i do confine my dogs when im not home, but sophie, my problem canine, will chew stuff when we are home but in a different room. and i just cant imagine trying to confine her every single time i step out of her sight, ya know. my other dogs seem to do okay when left alone for short times. but sophie will get into and chew everything. we do keep a lot of bones around. we cant really keep toys out when they are alone because that chew them up and eat them.
 i will definitely start upping the ammount of training though.
 thanks again

12
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / multiple dog drama
« on: March 27, 2007, 07:17:34 am »
 I posted the other day about having a "bad dog day", well, im sorry to say that it is turning into a bad dog WEEK. for one thing, it has been soooo dreadfully rainy for the last week, and thanks to the dogs endless digging, our back yard is a muddy mess. and everytime they come inside from going potty, that muddy mess gets into the house no matter how much i clean their feet. Also, sophie ate hubbies computer wire and he is less than thrilled. he really got super mad and was talking about wanting to get rid of her,and how he has never liked her, blah blah blah. and she is also still tearing wallpaper offin our kitchen every second our eyes are turned.
 i am feeling very frustrated and think i might strangle all 3 dogs and hubby too at any moment.
 there are some things that i know my dogs need :
 more exercise. longer, more frequent walks.
 and more more more training.
i am finding it very difficult to train multiples though. do you guys try to train all your dogs together or do you do it seperately? my dogs listen pretty well when they are alone but when they are all together it is just a mess and they dont listen. if one of them is in a room and tries to chase a cat,we can get them to "leave it" but if its all three in a room, it is just out of control. same thing for jumping up on people.  i am just feeling overwhelmed and i feel like i am doing everything wrong with these dogs.
 so, any advice, encouragement, anything??? im desperate!
  Leah

13
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / my smart little man
« on: March 23, 2007, 05:42:04 am »
 Im so proud of Dasher. he has done amazingly well with potty training ever since we got him. he is soooo smart. he hasnt had any accidents in the house in a long time, but he just recently started going to the door and sitting and whining when he needs out. yay!
i havent posted any pics for a while but he is getting so big. last time i weighed him he was 45 pounds. bigger than my girl sophie, but sophie doesnt seem to notice or care. lol
all the puppers are getting a long very well. Dasher seems to think cooper is his daddy. he always wants to be right with him and cuddle him. and he still walks all over cooper, laying on top of him and everything even though now hes a bit big to do that but cooper doesnt seem to mind.
i'll try to take some new pics this weekend of the gang
Leah

14
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Bad Dog day
« on: March 21, 2007, 10:10:11 am »
 thanks guys! i do really love my pups and would never REALLY want to be dogless, but ya know, there are days that it sounds nice, lol. my dogs always have tons of bones and stuff to chew on, thats one of the reasons i get so frustrated when they chew something they arent supposed to! the weather here has been not so great lately, so i think maybe they are just bored and are probably feeling cramped up in the house. so...i definitely think that some nice looooong walks are must.

15
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Bad Dog day
« on: March 21, 2007, 09:40:10 am »
 Sorry, but I just need to vent a bit. my dogs are driving me mad lately! i walked into the kitchen and saw that they were chewing on some paper. and then i realized that it was the wallpaper they had chewed off the wall!!! i have my suspicions about who the instigator was *ahem Sophie*. it seems like all they have been doing lately is tearing things up. and hubby has about had it. and so have i! i thought confining them in the kitchen was a good idea bcos i didnt think there was anything they could tear up, i never even dreamed that they would go after the wallpaper!  i love love love all my puppers but sometimes...i daydream about what a dogless life would be like -- nothing torn up, no holes covering the yard, no dog hair...
Leah

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