On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 15:21:18 -0500, "Jen R."
wrote:

Oh my gosh thank you so much. I had them show me at the pet store how to
put it on her and she pulls so much less now. Do you think it will be ok
for her to wear it to the class? I'm sure the other dogs will distract
her :\

I think that will depend on the trainer. There are clicker/'pure
positive' trainers that consider prong collars punishment devices and
will not want you to use one. If possible, look for a balanced
trainer who attempts to fit his/her methods to the dog's individual
temperament and behavior. I have used prong collars on my dogs in
class, at least until they started to get the hang of heeling.
Ideally, a prong collar is a management tool, to be used until the
problem behavior is changed. You want to teach her not to pull, and
to heel on command, before doing biking with her, or she may drag you
all over town.

She has two collars anyway. I keep one on her with tags and the other for
walking - just in case it breaks or comes off or something. She does not
come to me when I call her and would be gone in the blink of an eye if she
got loose.

Yep, that's a Siberian. Make sure the collar with tags is also on her
when you're walking her, in case she does get loose. Tags are
invaluable. My female husky is an accomplished escape artist, and I
can't tell you how many times someone has caught her and called us.
Fortunately, we live in a smallish town where people will hold on to a
lost dog and don't seem to mind too much.

She is doing *so* good with it. She'll watch them but she has not run at
their cage at all today (sorry I forgot to say she's new here I just got
her a few days ago).

That's excellent. Maybe after the novelty of seeing them wears off,
you won't have to worry about her.

How old is your Sibe?

I don't know. At the dog pound they guessed her age to be around 1 year.

Good for you for adopting a shelter dog. Not that there's anything
wrong with buying a pup from a responsible breeder; there certainly
isn't. Anyway, you have some people's worst nightmare - - an
adolescent Siberian. Which is probably why she was in the pound.

ate my first pair of guinea pigs when we weren't home - - she knocked
over the cage, opened it somehow, and all I found were a few spots of
blood.

That's awful!!

It was disturbing, but I got over it and we moved on from there. It
really was my fault, for not making it impossible for Tasha to get
into the room where the guinea pigs were until she understood that
they were off limits.

Yeah maybe that will come in time. She doesn't even know me yet or for
that matter have a name - that I know of anyway. She was a stray dog
that no one claimed. I wouldn't be surprised if she got away from someone
and ran many miles to end up here. Well I don't feel too bad anyway
because she's hand shy like she's been abused so it's probably better
she's got a new home.

DH and I used to do Siberian rescue, and we saw quite a few dogs that
were hand/head shy. Sibes can be frustrating, but nothing justifies
hitting them to the point that they cower.

A little. I was familiar with the breed being a high energy working dog.
It wouldn't have been my first choice breed, but I thought about it a
couple days, read a book from the library about the breed, then went
back to the shelter to adopt her.

Some research is better than no research. At least you knew that
much; I suspect that most people who buy a cute fuzzy Siberian puppy
don't have any idea what they're getting, which is why so many end up
in shelters around a year old.

Boy do I feel like a complete idiot!! I learned the hard way today that
pacing, crying and scratching the door means "I have to go out and go
potty right now". It's been many years since I had a dog so young and she
started this not more than a couple hours after she'd been out and went
both poo and pee. Well, she went again on my carpet. Serves me right, lol,
I didn't understand her! I took her out then took her running with the
bike just holding the leash. Good god she can run fast! Now she's
lying on the couch sleeping.

Heh. Don't feel like an idiot, you're training other. Sibes are
smart smart smart and IME easy to housebreak. The best thing, of
course, is for her to never have an accident, but failing that, to
catch her in the act, so that you can calmly tell her "no" and take
her outside to where you want her to potty. IME it takes a Sibe about
once to catch on. When you take her out to potty, tell her "go potty"
or whatever cue you'd like to use, praise her and give her a treat
when she goes. Oh yeah, they can run fast.

Oops sorry. She's new here like I said so this is all new to her. It was
the first time she'd been alone in the house and she was only alone about
15 minutes. Either I or my spouse are here pretty much all the time so she
isn't going to need to be alone much at all. However, she does follow me
around the house like she's glued to me. If I leave the room she follows.
If I go in the bathroom and close the door before she gets there she sits
outside the door and cries until I come out. Maybe it's just because this
place is new?

Could very well be general anxiety about being in a new place. If
this behavior persists after a week or two, pick up McConnell's book.
In the meantime, don't make a big deal of telling her goodbye when you
leave, or hello when you come home. Try to vary your routine when
leaving so that she doesn't have cues to pick up on: "human puts
clothes on, turns lights off, picks up keys and OH NO SHE'S LEAVING".
Buy a Kong toy, stuff it with something (kibble mixed with peanut
butter), freeze it, and give it to her in her crate when you leave.
Even if she doesn't have SA, that will keep her occupied.

Well thank you for all your info. I'm sure we can make it work somehow. I
really like this dog a lot. She's so neat. Great personality and
temperment. The funny thing is I thought she was kinda ugly when I first
saw her - especially with the different colored eyes. But now that I know
her more I think she's beautiful

You have some plans that, if you follow through, will go a long way to
making it work. Give her an oppportunity for ample exercise, keep her
mind busy, and train. Now to the important stuff. You mentioned
different colored eyes, and I'm a fool for bi-eyed Siberians. I must
know what color she is. What are you calling her?

Mustang Sally