In my long absence from home, my wife got my 12-year old daughter a
Pekingese, whose is long on love and short on responsibility. That will
change as she, my wife and I get all the facts and info on proper Pekingese
care.

I need a web sites that give lots of information about care and maintenance
of this what appears to me to be a very hands-on, high-maintenance breed.
Information that shows video clips are preferable, especially with respect
to:

* animal handling...proper support of back and body of the Pekingese when
picking up animal...I am getting the idea that this breed is subject to
more back problems if not handled exquisitely

* grooming by human care-giver of the face and ears, and rest of body.
Should include trimming of the fur, and how long the fur should be
seasonally (slightly longer in winter? shorter in summer?)

* toilet training and reward for training, including setting up of the
toilet area (easily traversible box with litter?)

* bathing: all about it, including frequency. One of the major faults I
have found is that this animal has not been bathed as it should be.

* how to administer discipline/assert dominance: this dog is strong-
willed, and will growl and nip when training attempts are more physical.

Video clips on Pekingese care and handling are more informative, but well-
written (properly descriptive) text will serve just as well.

For those interested in or requiring more background and detail of this
animal and his human care-givers, read below.


BACKGROUND:

Luca is a male now 16 months old, born May 2007 in some household, I have
been told, and sold through a pet store probably after weaning. My wife
bought it at the end of Aug 2007. I am betting the animal was abused while
caged in the pet store by a public in a culture/country that truly has a
misunderstanding and fear of dogs (Turkey). I have seen people (typically
unruly children) tease and torment caged pet-store dogs...at least that's
my own impression of what happens.

The dog has been kept in a flat (the family residence, a typical suburban
home in this part of the planet) for 13 months. It has a leash but it has
probably has never been walked. Walking a dog is not easy here, since we
are on the edge of the city, and in past years, this part of the city has
been plagued by roaming feral dog packs which will also attack humans.
Walking a domesticated dog could create an instant problem. I have to
carry a baseball bat---which surprises the locals here, who know nothing of
baseball really----as a means of threatening aggressive dogs in the pack.

Now, my experience as a human whose had pets in the household is limited to
30 or more years ago as a child, when there were Dachshunds in the house.
I tend to be the kind of person who worries more about the responsibility
and needs and maintenance of animals than those who just by them and keep
them around the house without really worrying about proper attention, time,
and care. I prefer to own a house with yard for purposes of having
something like a dog, not really possible in this part of the planet.

My short reading of the information of the Pekingese indicates that its
owners will have more responsibilities for this dog because its grooming
requirements are virtually daily.

I need to know how to wash this dog's face and ears. It has a brush that
has been used, but when my wife applied it, the dog was growling and
attempting to bite. I don't know if this is just general moodiness of a
temperamental breed, or something specific to this individual dog, or an
incorrect application of the brush causing discomfort/pain/hurt. This dog
has long fur, but it is not like a thick pile carpet, and the dog's body is
easily visualized.

Luca is also an unneutered male. He is urinating at certain parts of the
house. But this is largely because no real proper attempt at toilet
training was done. He had no box with a special litter in which to do his
business, and there was no reward/treat at all for encouraging (positively
reinforcing) good behavior. I have been unable to start from day 2 since
returning home any toilet training with the absence of these materials (how
to reward good behavior without a treat for trying **** on newspapers?).

As a pup, Luca was biting, but that behavior has stopped. He jumps on
visitors to the house though, and also I have been told engages in leg
humping. He is scheduled for neutering, but since he's in late
adolescence, permanent changes to the behaviorial parts of the brain may
have occurred. I don't tolerate AT ALL a dog jumping on visitors to the
house or to the owners. He's also begging at the dinner table, another
behavior I absolutely do not tolerate. Of course these behaviors developed
in my absence.

As the American in this house, most people around here look to me to be the
expert in dog behavior and handling. I am not that short of experience
especially when it comes to never letting a dog dominate a human (people
around here are amazed at my apparent fearlessness of the pack of vicious
wild dogs around here), but I always defer to the peerless experts whose
knowledge of breeds is not part of my experience.

I would like the short course in training Luca, especially in toilet
matters. The dog does not even respond to hand or vocal gestures to come
to me. It now knows not to jump up on my arm and to paw it down.

Thanks for your attention and concern in replying.

On 2008-09-27 06:12:00 -0400, Patient Guy
m said:

I need a web sites

Start with the breed club.

Take your dog to training classes - with your family, if possible.