Post pictures of your pets!

[jinkazama]

We don't have crates but our house does have a sectioned off kitchen. We feed the Aussie on one side and the corgi on the other side out of each other line of sight and I do stand by the Aussie. Seems to be helping some. Will prolly just take some time and training I guess

[miokomioko]

We don't have crates but our house does have a sectioned off kitchen.

This was our situation as well. A simple baby gate and the kitchen became our puppy's 'crate' and all the same concepts definitely apply and work.

Luckily our dog rarely jump or chewed on anything at all (very odd for her breed) or else the kitchen could have easily been a really dangerous zone.

[Amelya]

As noted above, socialization is a common misused term by high dollar trainers to make it sound like you didn't do shit for the dog when it was young. (Feel bad and pay me money).

Ermm..no. It's pretty common knowledge that puppies need socialization during a critical time frame. Once that age has passed, the dog is much less likely to be accepting of new experiences. If she's already barking like a maniac at strange dogs, chances are she's never going to be completely friendly to new dogs.

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct08/081001c.asp

http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonli...ialization.pdf

http://www.akc.org/enewsletter/youra...arch/puppy.cfm

http://www.aspcabehavior.org/article...our-Puppy.aspx

Use harnesses, not a leash, not even a collar. A harness surrounds the dog and controls all their weight at one tugging point. The dog will learn and feel as if you were holding them back. (Remember, in an alpha mindset the feel of you personally holding, touching/etc. to the dog make it learn its place). I can't stress enough using a harness. Choke chains are useless in 99% of scenarios since most people don't understand the purpose, or how to use them effectively (even though as the harness does, it teaches the dog its place of what it can and cant do when the leader of the pack tells it so).

Again...I don't agree. Think for a second...what does a sled dog wear...what does a weight pulling dog wear...that's right, a harness. Harnesses encourage a dog to pull - a regular flat buckle or martingale (which I prefer) are fine for walking. The only harness I would ever recommend is an easy walk harness, but it's a band-aid fix IMO. I don't have anything against choke chains but I wouldn't recommend them to someone who hasn't been taught how to properly use one.

[Pikarya]

Ermm..no. It's pretty common knowledge that puppies need socialization during a critical time frame. Once that age has passed, the dog is much less likely to be accepting of new experiences. If she's already barking like a maniac at strange dogs, chances are she's never going to be completely friendly to new dogs.

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct08/081001c.asp

http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonli...ialization.pdf

http://www.akc.org/enewsletter/youra...arch/puppy.cfm

http://www.aspcabehavior.org/article...our-Puppy.aspx




Again...I don't agree. Think for a second...what does a sled dog wear...what does a weight pulling dog wear...that's right, a harness. Harnesses encourage a dog to pull - a regular flat buckle or martingale (which I prefer) are fine for walking. The only harness I would ever recommend is an easy walk harness, but it's a band-aid fix IMO. I don't have anything against choke chains but I wouldn't recommend them to someone who hasn't been taught how to properly use one.

Don't even know where the hell that first line I posted came from. I even go on to explain how important socialization is just for the first few weeks in a dogs life a few lines down. I'm still not sober yet n_n

As for the harness. I understand your logic for the tugging. But that's for a specific breed type. Not all dogs are meant for pulling mass amounts of weight. We use a Thundershirt with a skeleton chest harness. If you've ever seen an Argentinian mastiff you'd understand immediately they can pull 3 people with their power. Our dog in question since a puppy hasn't tried it with that combination, alongside training.

[miokomioko]

The only harness I would ever recommend is an easy walk harness, but it's a band-aid fix IMO. I don't have anything against choke chains but I wouldn't recommend them to someone who hasn't been taught how to properly use one.

This is what we have used since day-1 on our dog that was specifically bred to pull massive amounts of weight over long distances (Alaskan Malamute) and it worked great. The lead connects to a martingale-style loop in front of the chest. Not only does it tighten if they walk/run too fast or too far ahead, extreme cases of pulling/jumping will swing them 180 degrees.

Worked like a fuckin' charm and I would recommend it over anything else I have seen so far. I would never ever recommend any harness that connects anywhere but the front because, while you may be able to control the dog (assuming it's not massive), it's still comfortable for them to pull and often have no problem constantly putting all their weight on harness where a simple collar would have worked better.

[TacoTaru]

With our other dog the back harness is fine, a stern no to her and she'll pretty much stop anything; the shepherd is another story. I will definitely have to look into the easy walk harness due to the fact that the back harness on the shepherd isn't working out when she does get...excited(?), I'm not sure what the right word to use is.

I think I may have spoke a little to soon about her temperament. I had completely forgot we had taken her to Petsmart last Saturday where she did fine and didn't bark at all or make any kind of fuss. In the grooming section she was around a lot of other dogs and never made peep nor did she act timid or threatened with the groomer or around those dogs. Last night's walk she start barking as soon as we hit the street with nothing around us; no people, no rabbits, no dogs or cats, nothing and it wasn't until the very end of the walk that a little Yorki got her going like she did with the Pit the day before and we encountered several dogs on leads and runners along the way.

Thanks for all the help guys! :D

[Warudo Ecksu]

Uh oh watch out, Liam.


Arya has superrrrrrrrrrr soft fur. I was wondering will her fur stay the same or is this like "kitten fur?" Probably a silly question but I honestly have no idea if a cat's fur changes as they grow up. None of my grandma's million cats ever had super soft fur like this.

[Pikarya]

Thought that was bong/glassware for a minute.

[Warudo Ecksu]

yeah everyone that comes over thinks Liam's habitat is a bong bc of all the tubing. Then they see an obese hamster inside.

[miokomioko]

Does Liam get freaked out by the larger animal glaring at him or is he 99% blind like every other hamster I've known?

Mine always came out and climbed up to check things out when I woke him up, and sometimes I'd give him a kiss on the nose and I guess he wasn't expecting the mouth of a large mammal to be up in his grill for some reason one day and he fucking bit my lip so hard and hung on (was the only time he ever bit). Reminded me how shitty their eyesight really can be. Then again, mine ended up living to the hammy equivalent of 100 yrs old or so.

[Celestialstrife]

Arya has superrrrrrrrrrr soft fur. I was wondering will her fur stay the same or is this like "kitten fur?" Probably a silly question but I honestly have no idea if a cat's fur changes as they grow up. None of my grandma's million cats ever had super soft fur like this.

It should stay pretty soft, just keep up on brushing her maybe like once or twice a week and she will still be nice and soft!

[Warudo Ecksu]

Does Liam get freaked out by the larger animal glaring at him or is he 99% blind like every other hamster I've known?

Mine always came out and climbed up to check things out when I woke him up, and sometimes I'd give him a kiss on the nose and I guess he wasn't expecting the mouth of a large mammal to be up in his grill for some reason one day and he fucking bit my lip so hard and hung on (was the only time he ever bit). Reminded me how shitty their eyesight really can be. Then again, mine ended up living to the hammy equivalent of 100 yrs old or so.

Pretty much the same as your hamster. Liam gives no fucks but it could be because he has a particular set of skills. When he rolls around in his ball the cats watch him and he doesn't really freak out. The guinea pigs are actually afraid of him, idk why, but I guess our pigs are afraid of everything.

Liam bit me a couple times when I moved into this apartment b/c I just randomly tried to fix something on his cage which woke him up. I bled a little so lesson learned. Don't wake up a hamster.

[Angeleus]

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/DSC01263.jpg
Suga

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/DSC01262.jpg
Suga

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/DSC01372.jpg
Marlmo

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/DSC01369.jpg
Chip & Suga Chilling

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/DSC01250.jpg
Street friends.

[Vandole]

Uh oh watch out, Liam.

did no one stop you from making tube city?

[miokomioko]

My dad really wanted to make tube city when I was staying with him a few years ago... but after actually being the one taking care of a hamster... the idea of having that many tubes to clean makes me shudder.

Too bad the only good looking (not shitty ass rainbow plastic) hamster accessories you can find are the habitrail modular kits... and those aren't cheap.

[Warudo Ecksu]

My roommate's sister just donated a whole bunch of habitrail shit to me cuz kitty kitty (our black cat) killed her hamster before he moved in with us. I gotta clean all of those tubes but once I do man oh man. Well..... I want to either add on to Liam's crazy set up or get a long hair teddy bear hamster, cant decide.



pigs were moved to the floor. Arya tries to hunt them.

[Pikarya]

Always wondered what our 4 cats and dog would do if we got a ferret or hampster

[Warudo Ecksu]

Arya is just super curious and watches them, sometimes pats at them but doesn't pounce or anything. Kitty kitty (13 year old cat) ignores the pigs completely and only comes around Liam's cage if he sees me opening it cuz he's like LUNCH TIME. Ferret prob wouldn't make too much of a difference since they're larger.

[Manako]

Arya is just super curious and watches them, sometimes pats at them but doesn't pounce or anything. Kitty kitty (13 year old cat) ignores the pigs completely and only comes around Liam's cage if he sees me opening it cuz he's like LUNCH TIME. Ferret prob wouldn't make too much of a difference since they're larger.

We used to have a similar cage for my rabbit until we moved. How responsive are the piggies? Do they interact with you at all? I guess they can't be litter-trained though, that is probably a dealbreaker for me.

[Warudo Ecksu]

pigs squeak like hell in the morning when someone wakes up cuz they want food. My roommate's pigs haven't been super socialized so they're scared of most ppl. Her sister's pigs are all really good though. They let people hold them and make cute pig noises a lot. Guinea pig urine doesn't smell (I got peed on once, didn't smell a thing) and boys have bigger poop than girls. It's just like.. having an oversized hamster that squeaks all the time and can be held more.