New part of my family..

pwilson5

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
well ive been wanting a dog for a long time.. i love shepherds and my g/f had a shep mix...

soooo i went down to the pound and rescued this big guy.. They say hes Shep/lab.. but with his coloring i think hes got Rottie in him... hes 1 year old (i wanted a full grown and not a puppy) and he had been returned to the pound once before because he was too strong for the previous owner.. so i gotta break him of the pulling.. he is also fixed

his name is Bruce (not sure if i will change it) and he is very loving and has a lot of energy..






right now he is calming down from the ride home and sleeping on my bed on top of his new rope toy
 

Kathy

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
852
He's beautiful Paul!!!!! What a wonderful person you are to save a little life today from living in a pound. You will have sooooo many years of joy and love together. :)
 

pwilson5

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
got a question for the dog gurus..

my new dog is awesome.. hasnt had a single accident in the house in the close to 24 hours ive had him (which is awesome) but when i take him out to pee.. his stream is so powerfull that he ends up peeing on the back of his front paws.. any tips on preventing this?
its ususually when he doesnt have an object to pee on and is just standing there
 

Crysta

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
1,475
haha never had that problem before hehe good thing hes fixed baha

anyways
....im not sure. You could carry around a mini firehydrant to make sure he always has something to pee on ?

great looking dog by the way :)
 

pwilson5

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
seems to be adjusting well.. lol

*warning video contains EXTREME animal cruelty!*

 

pwilson5

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
ok i have another question for either pittbulllady or any other dog experts..

i love to rough house with dogs... bruce is no exception and loves to rough house too.. is there any harm playing rough with him? whenever he grabs my arm too hard i go "ahh! easy" and he relieves pressure.. and i make sure that im always in the dominate position (he always ends up on his back, either by my doing, or voluntarily)

ive also started giving him the "sit" command during intense play (which he does) my thinking is that if he ends up getting a little too rough with someone else/or another play mate i can give the command and he will sit and calm down..

also.. i noticed that whenever im at the dog park with him.. and i chase him around, he puffs up and his hackles raise... he doesnt get angry or growl, and seems to enjoy it.. why is he doing this?? if i run and he chases me, he doesnt do it
 

8by8

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
233
Well, I know that when you chase him, the reason he "puffs up" is definatly aggression. He doesn't growl or anything, because this is fear aggression. He sees you chasing hin, and he runs , but he is saying to you " You're scareing me, so I'm going to run, but if you catch me, I might attack you!".
He may have had a traumatic experience with being chased, so I would definatly avoid this kind of play, at least for a good amount of time, while he's getting used to you.
I would also avoid any rough play with him for the time being as well, since he is showing aggression towards you (in any form).
He just met you, and you're giving him a lot of mixed signals (unknowingly).
I think you should let him get used to being with a brand new person in a new enviornments first, IMO.
But I'm sure he will come around sooner than later.
 

Sunset

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
183
do not change his name if hes over a year old.
 

Teal

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
4,096
What a cutie! :)

In response to some of your questions... raised hackles only indicate fear if his tail is also tucked. A lot of dogs raise their hackles when they are really excited and having a good time - look at his tail set to decipher what his hackles mean. If his tail is low and tucked and he is crouching, that is fear. His tail raised high, head held high... that is dominance/aggression. But if he's just being happy, carefree, with hackles... then he is having a GREAT time!

It sounds like he is good about knowing when rough play needs to stop, so I would say there is no harm in it. He isn't getting carried away, or escalating to aggression (from what you outlined, anyways) so there is no need to stop.

And not changing his name because he is over a year old is RIDICULOUS. Dogs adapt VERY well to new names and there is no reason to not change it if the fancy strikes you :)
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
419
Very handsome fella. I can see the Rottie, too.

I can't give any advice on the behavior problems, since I'm a kitty person. :p
 

pwilson5

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
What a cutie! :)

In response to some of your questions... raised hackles only indicate fear if his tail is also tucked. A lot of dogs raise their hackles when they are really excited and having a good time - look at his tail set to decipher what his hackles mean. If his tail is low and tucked and he is crouching, that is fear. His tail raised high, head held high... that is dominance/aggression. But if he's just being happy, carefree, with hackles... then he is having a GREAT time!
thanks... yeah his tail stays normal.. he just gets excited and puffs up like crazy.. looks like a grizzly bear.. lol

my roommate came home last night at like 1am.. and bruce got off the bed... walked over to the door... sniffed under it.. then came back and layed back down without barking at all..

hes a great dog
 

sharpfang

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Messages
909
He sounds and looks great

Looks like a Dog I once had :eek: "Penny".

GL w/ your new Family Member :p - J
 

B8709

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 25, 2009
Messages
194
Very good lookin' dog. I vote for you to keep the name Bruce.
 

pwilson5

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
had a momentary brain fart this morning.. he was running back and forth.. and sorta whining.. and i was like "look at him go!!! hahaha" and then he peed all over the floor.. lol


oops!
 
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