Both I and the neighbor have bichon dogs:

ours is cute, gentle, protests at nothing (except trying
to take off-street-food from him), a WONDERFUL little dog.

theirs is, well, difficult. Seems to be the boss in
their house.

And BITES -- bites guests, mailmen, sometimes even his (female) owner.

And goes REALLY wild if you try to touch, hold, or even
squirt with water, any of his 4 feet.

(You *can* do it with heavy work gloves, while
wearing (for me) my us army "field jacket" --
with sweaters on underneath -- and while
griping his collar TIGHTLY (via leash) with
the other hand. But this way is a real
pain, and you (I) might still get bitten
even with all this -- not yet, but I've
done it that way only once so far.)

Now, while the neighbors are off for a week I'm the
babysitter -- he's staying over here (the two dogs
are good friends, and he even tolerates me -- just
as long as I stay away from those feet!).

But it's been raining, the ground is muddy, and of course
he has to be walked -- with feet getting muddy.

Now, with MY dog, when we get back, I just set him
into the kitchen sink (grid removed), pick up
each foot, and squirt it with the sink-hose-spray.

EASY -- he even holds his foot up for me!

But this OTHER dog -- you know, I surely don't want
him trapseing (sp?) around the house, on rugs, etc,
with muddy feet.

(so far I've confined him to the kitchen -- no rug on floor)

But it'd sure be better if I didn't have to do that!

-------

When I was a kid spending summertimes out on a west texas ranch,
we had something called a "squeeze chute", which let us
safely handle large cattle, for shots, preg-testing, etc.

Any idea of how to concoct something that'd accomplish
the same immobilization (and keeping head and teeth away)
for a smallish dog?

Obviously, something that couldn't *damage* the dog!)

Or muzzle -- although his snout is pretty short (even
for a bichon -- ie shorter than my dog's).

Or could that be dangerous for the dog, assuming that
at least at first he'd be mad as hell that I could
wash his feet and he (hopefully!) couldn't bite me --
wouldn't want it to interfere with his breathing!

-----

Cowboys can "break" a never-been-ridden horse.

What about dogs?

Or even though this dog is boss of his house,
he's not boss here -- and he seems to know that.

Any way, while he is staying with us (each dog
stays with the other family for a week or so
several times a year), he can have a different
well, not personality, maybe, but be made to
understand that he cannot act here as he
does in his home?

(There's already some of that -- in his house,
he barks CONSTANTLY, well almost constantly,
and is pretty quiet over here.)

---------

Anyway, I'm open to ideas.

THANKS!

David

On 27 Dec 2006 00:00:35 -0500, (David Combs) wrote:

Anyway, I'm open to ideas.

Tell the neighbor that you won't babysit her dog until she gets some
training along with her dog.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

Paula wrote:

On 27 Dec 2006 00:00:35 -0500, (David Combs) wrote:


Anyway, I'm open to ideas.


Tell the neighbor that you won't babysit her dog until she gets some
training along with her dog.


Or you could put him a wire crate, run a few inches of water into the
tub and dip him up and down like a tea bag.

Kathleen

Paula wrote:
On 27 Dec 2006 00:00:35 -0500, (David Combs) wrote:

Anyway, I'm open to ideas.

Tell the neighbor that you won't babysit her dog until she gets some
training along with her dog.

And for the week that he has the dog...

Can you hold the dog around the chest without getting bit?

If so, try this...

Before you leave for the walk, wet a thick, heavy towel and leave
it at the entry. When you're ready to come in, pick up the dog,
and drag his paws back and forth on the towel. This won't do a
thorough job of cleaning his feet, but it should get the worst
off - if he will let you do it.

HTH -

FurPaw


--
Better dead than Red.

To reply, unleash the dog.

On 27 Dec 2006 00:00:35 -0500, (David Combs) wrote:

...Both I and the neighbor have bichon dogs:

...theirs is, well, difficult. Seems to be the boss in their house.

And BITES -- bites guests, mailmen, sometimes even his (female) owner...

{Defend your dog from outside food.}

Now, "Desensitizing" is the one-word prescription for your neighbor's
dog. Intervention by Animal Control, and civil litigation being of no
apparent concern, there's no rush; so, I'd try to avoid using a muzzle,
until I had no choice.

I'd try massaging the dog's back, shoulders and hips. Each day, I'd try
to move a tiny bit farther down his legs, toward his feet. He has to
discover that having his feet touched is not a bad thing. Adding earned
treats would help him see that having his feet touched can be a good
thing.

Your neighbors dog also needs to learn "bite inhibition." I'm not an
expert, but I'd put on my gloves, and when fido decided to bite my hand,
I'd calmly let him have all the fingers he could handle. I'd use my
thumb across his muzzle (bridge of his nose) to keep my fingers in his
mouth for as long as possible. And I'd repeat, until he decided biting
me was no fun. I might have to go through this more than once, but that
will be up the dog.

Dogs don't like having their mouth restrained because it is a major
defense weapon. You can actually condition such dogs to actively avoid
your hand.

I favor establishing bite inhibition before working on the feet-touching
problem. Refresher sessions in bite inhibition might be necessary.

ASAP, I'd check dog's nails. I suspect they are over due for trimming.



________________________
Whatever it takes.

On 27 Dec 2006 00:00:35 -0500, (David Combs),
clicked their heels and said:

And BITES -- bites guests, mailmen, sometimes even his (female) owner.

That's the problem, Nothing to do with feet!

And goes REALLY wild if you try to touch, hold, or even
squirt with water, any of his 4 feet.

They need to fix that. wish they could go back in time, but there's
still hope. They should seek in-person help.

Now, while the neighbors are off for a week I'm the
babysitter -- he's staying over here (the two dogs
are good friends, and he even tolerates me -- just
as long as I stay away from those feet!).

But it's been raining, the ground is muddy, and of course
he has to be walked -- with feet getting muddy.

Get a nice thick towel and walk him around on it, or even tether him
over it, until the mud is off. Heck (pay attention Sandy ;-D), toss
him in a crate until he's dried off. He's temporary after all and
you're not going to fix everything that's wrong with him in a week.

(so far I've confined him to the kitchen -- no rug on floor)

But it'd sure be better if I didn't have to do that!

Why? He's with you for a very short time. Manage him. And tell his
owners that they need some serious help before they have a serious
lawsuit and dead dog.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Janet B said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Get a nice thick towel and walk him around on it, or even
tether him over it, until the mud is off.

I use that method (supersized) when I've got a bunch of dogs
here and they come back inside muddy. I babygate the kitchen
and throw a few dog blankets into the mix. It doesn't take long
before they're all clean and dry.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

On 27 Dec 2006 17:35:43 GMT, Rocky , clicked
their heels and said:


I use that method (supersized) when I've got a bunch of dogs
here and they come back inside muddy. I babygate the kitchen
and throw a few dog blankets into the mix. It doesn't take long
before they're all clean and dry.

Do you HAVE mud up there in the frozen north? ;-D

I buy inexpensive but attractive rubber-backed rugs, 5x8, for inside
the back door. Most of the paw grunge hits that and I can vacuum it
off. The rest of that level's floor is Pergo, which stuff just
disappears on, so I never worry about muddy paws too much.

I just saw a magazine article with a house that had doors that opened
right to the pool. Not the pool are, but literally the pool. The
article said that the family's lab would take a running leap into the
pool and come back into the house. I just can't fathom it - the house
looked lovely and I didn't see any drains!


--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Janet B wrote:

I buy inexpensive but attractive rubber-backed rugs, 5x8, for inside
the back door. Most of the paw grunge hits that and I can vacuum it
off. The rest of that level's floor is Pergo, which stuff just
disappears on, so I never worry about muddy paws too much.

You need a Boxer (haw!). They prefer not to get their precious
feets muddy in the first place, thankyouverymuch.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 08:37:02 -0500, shelly ,
clicked their heels and said:


You need a Boxer (haw!). They prefer not to get their precious
feets muddy in the first place, thankyouverymuch.

That's Lucy. Loves to be IN WATER, hates it coming down on top of
her, and mud is just gross. Then I have Wild Thing #1 and Wild Thing
#2, who are apparently part pig. And feathered tails collect things,
making them Swamp Thing #1 and Swapm Thing #2.


--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com