Streams of Consciousness & Thoughts~~~

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blueorchidjd

Guest
God is a God of Depth.
I have yet to learn. lol
 
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skylove7

Guest
Yay it's dawn!
Good morning everyone! :)
 
Jul 25, 2015
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I love dogs and fully admit I am terrible at dog training. I firmly believe that if you choose to own a larger dog you need to be responsible and have control over your dog. Please don't read into control I am not talking about abusive control. My boxer is redonkulously adorable and as all boxers is so lovable but is 80+ pounds. Most boxers are jumpers you can google it...someone comes to my house to visit and Ruger thinks they are there to play with him so they walk in and he is jumping on them and being a pest. The doorbell rings and lord have mercy he is at the door barking (sounding like he will rip your head off) and I can't get him to back away. I know this is my fault. But as a single mom I have always felt safer with my boxers ...statistics prove that if you have a larger dog most burglars will move on to the next house because they don't want to deal with your dog.

Well recently an incident showed me I have to seriously train him. We were on a road trip going to my parents lake house and stopped at a rest area. While walking Ruger to do his business he saw another pit bull type dog. Please note Ruger has gotten out of our yard on accident and ran around the neighborhood visiting everyone and playing with people and other dogs ..he is not aggressive. But while restrained by the leash he was so mad at me that I wouldn't let him go. So Ruger went NUTS trying to get at this dog and I could barely get him back to the car. I'm no weak stick and it took all my strength to get Ruger into the car and while he is going ballistic the owner of the pit bull just held up one finger to his dog who sat quietly at his owners feet and just watched Ruger.

Once Ruger was in the car the owner gave me that look...that disgusted you are a poor excuse for a dog owner look. I don't blame him...I was mortified. I agree with him.

Previously about a year ago I paid for two different training sessions with dog trainers who worked with Ruger because I wanted to get him to stop jumping on people and wanted to be able to answer my door. Hanging my head in shame I didn't keep up with it. According to trainers I can't have him on my bed or couch, Etc...(this post is already too long)

This incident showed me I need to seriously work with him but I keep putting it off. I'm afraid I'm gonna fail him...He is very trainable and responds so if it fails it is on me and Ruger could get hurt one day.

Ruger knows Im a pushover and I need to establish that I am alpha in my home. Lol...sounds ridiculous to me.

Sorry for for the long post just feeling stressed because I need to start a very long journey with my dog and feel very ill equipped.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
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The only thing you need is to teach the dog that "No" means "No." This is different for every dog. Some dogs are very sensitive and a pop on the head will break their spirit (which you don't want to do.) Other dogs, a rap on the nose is necessary to reinforce "No" until the dog gets the idea that you mean it, at which point the "No" alone will be sufficient.

Also develop a command tone of voice. Dogs hear your tone and will respond to "No" if you use a commanding tone. It's not yelling and it's not pleading, it's just... a command.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,908
8,162
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Also, three points for having a boxer. My grandparents always had a boxer. They are an intelligent breed.

If you're strong enough you might get a short, thick piece of rope and play tug of war with him. Every boxer I've ever known has liked to play that.
 
Jul 25, 2015
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Also, three points for having a boxer. My grandparents always had a boxer. They are an intelligent breed.

If you're strong enough you might get a short, thick piece of rope and play tug of war with him. Every boxer I've ever known has liked to play that.
thanks Lynx for the suggestions. I really appreciate. Ruger LOVES tug of war but a trainer told me that if your having alpha issues never play that game because as owner you have to win or Ruger thinks he is in control. I have no idea if that is true but I do know that Ruger thinks he owns me. Lol.

Example...he used to stand next to me and put his paw on top of my foot while leaning in to me. I always thought it was cute and he was giving me hug. The trainer blasted me saying that it was Rugers way of saying he was in control and I was never to allow him to do that. Ughhhh
 
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MissCris

Guest
My grandma-in-law (who owns this house) came out to visit for the first time in several months the other day...she hadn't seen any of the projects I've done yet. She likes the driveway being uncovered, she likes our garden, she likes the antique cabinet and was able to tell me more about it. The kitchen cabinets, however...with the doors off, and painted red...she didn't have anything nice to say about that, so she didn't say anything except "That...is...really interesting."

Can't win 'em all :D
 
Jul 25, 2015
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The little imp in question ...Ruger is on the right next to my nephews german shepard. How adorable is that face!!!

20141126_104023.jpg
 
Jul 25, 2015
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My grandma-in-law (who owns this house) came out to visit for the first time in several months the other day...she hadn't seen any of the projects I've done yet. She likes the driveway being uncovered, she likes our garden, she likes the antique cabinet and was able to tell me more about it. The kitchen cabinets, however...with the doors off, and painted red...she didn't have anything nice to say about that, so she didn't say anything except "That...is...really interesting."

Can't win 'em all :D
i remember that pic of your cabinets and they look fantastic!
 

melita916

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2011
10,418
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when you're trying to live right, but you work across the street from TWO donut shops and can smell all the goodness when you arrive to work in the mornings.

the struggle is real.
 
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Siberian_Khatru

Guest
That's it... I wanna move to the Florida Keys... I wanna live there... until the Lord calls me to be with him... what a beautiful and wonderful place... :) *sigh*
I take it you've been enjoying your vacation. :cool:
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
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Speaking of dogs. My dog doesn't know when to stop begging for food...I typically don't even feed him while I'm eating.
 
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MollyConnor

Guest
Lil, my dogs do that too. It's quite annoying! LOL Here are some pictures of them because I wanna share how cute they are ;)
They are actually 9 and 6 years old respectively. Everyone always asks me if they are puppies. They're just small dogs.

Fifi.jpg Bebe.jpg
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,908
8,162
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thanks Lynx for the suggestions. I really appreciate. Ruger LOVES tug of war but a trainer told me that if your having alpha issues never play that game because as owner you have to win or Ruger thinks he is in control. I have no idea if that is true but I do know that Ruger thinks he owns me. Lol.

Example...he used to stand next to me and put his paw on top of my foot while leaning in to me. I always thought it was cute and he was giving me hug. The trainer blasted me saying that it was Rugers way of saying he was in control and I was never to allow him to do that. Ughhhh
Yes the paw on your foot is a way of asserting control. Many dog owners have never encountered this because boxers are more assertive than some other breeds. If you learn to read his language you can avoid miscommunications that could cause behavioral problems.
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
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0228151317.jpg

0228151318a.jpg

This is my baby boy. He's 13 years old. We kinda grew up together. He's my buddy. He's a brat, though. And has personality. He talks back to me at times (sometimes to sass me, sometimes to tell me he wants something).


He's also VERY LOUD when he barks.
 
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JeniBean

Guest
That's it... I wanna move to the Florida Keys... I wanna live there... until the Lord calls me to be with him... what a beautiful and wonderful place... :) *sigh*
It is beautiful, however you get a bit stir crazy since it is mostly bars and hotels there! And once you have done all the dives a few times, then you're like...I've done it all. Now what????
 

BruceWayne

Senior Member
Aug 7, 2013
3,694
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Gotham City
Lil, my dogs do that too. It's quite annoying! LOL Here are some pictures of them because I wanna share how cute they are ;)
They are actually 9 and 6 years old respectively. Everyone always asks me if they are puppies. They're just small dogs.
View attachment 137245
This one kind of looks like my dog :p

 

melita916

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2011
10,418
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the billing program has finally updated to ICD-10. i'm going through files i can enter so i can submit claims.

me: yay!! i can finally send some of these!
boss: excellent.
me: you know... it's sad that i'm excited about this.