I just uploaded a couple more video clips to You Tube:

MowingMuttley49: I took this clip while mowing the high grass, weeds, and
even small trees that have grown up in the three weeks or so since I last
did that. Muttley really helped a lot by pulling the mower up the hill while
I pushed behind. I had finished mowing the area around the fence and then I
tied Muttley outside the area to mow inside. About halfway through the job I
got the camera out and held it in one hand while I controlled the mower with
the other. A noisy, shaky clip, but a nice smile from Muttley when I was
finished!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNOLgALlZuY

MuttleyStream50: Today I led a Sierra Club hike on the NCR Trail, and I took
Muttley down a side trail to a stream where he promply plopped himself in
the cool water and he really seemed to enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-DNP24TtqY

We encountered lots of people (and other dogs) on the trail today. One
family had three young children who asked if they could pet him, and he was
very good about that. Later a young woman remarked "Aren't you beautiful",
and I said, "Me or my dog?", and she said "OK, Both!" She didn't know that
my last name means "beautiful" or "handsome" in german.

Toward the end of the hike Muttley was exchanging greetings with a dog when
a bicyclist approached us at high speed and yelled at us, and I just barely
got Muttley out of the way when he zoomed by and almost hit the other dog.
Some people are just selfish, rude, and dangerous.

Paul and Muttley
www.youtube.com/user/PaulAndMuttley

We drove through Funkstown on the old National Road (Alt Rt 40), and pulled
over to have a look at some interesting houses. This is essentially a suburb
of Hagerstown and there are many antique shops and pubs. It started to rain
as we got there. The country music on the radio says: "Rain makes corn, corn
makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby - mighty frisky!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lbbhQ7FUCI

A little further down the road is the old stone bridge over Antietam Creek.
This is a very scenic and historic area. And then just a little further up
the road is more modern civilization, with a shopping center featuring a
Food Lion where I got beef hearts and a marrow bone for Muttley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDtA9DyOel8

Driving down Kemps Mill Road toward the KOA, in the rain. Muttley is taking
a snooze after a busy day of driving around and looking at houses in the
Hagerstown area. I have a bag full of McDonalds goodies on the floor, and
I'm sure Muttley can't wait to get some. But I also have about a pound of
beef heart meat and a big marrow bone for him to eat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spH_K37aaV4

Riding with Muttley to the KOA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyUDt61qapk

When I went to the Bluesfest on Sunday I had to leave Muttley locked in the
Kabin for a few hours, It's air conditioned, and I left him with a bone and
some water. I knew I could trust him. When I returned and opened the door,
this is what happened...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkTDZHBXMMY

Muttley always enjoys a beef marrow bone. He's pretty excited but I try to
calm him down and have him sit and take it nicely. I used treats like this
to teach him to lie down and not just sit, but now he has combined the
commands. He'll do almost anything for a big meaty bone!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrC-rIoQOr4

Paul and Muttley
www.youtube.com/user/PaulAndMuttley

More video clips:

[6/5/2010] Muttley enjoying a big marrow bone. He also had nearly a pound of
raw beef heart meat a few minutes earlier. He's a powerful and dedicated
chewer and a bone like this will keep him busy for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e6aDgJyP4Q

[6/6/2010] (See previous post for clips leading up to this one) After
chewing his bone, Muttley enjoys rolling around and checking out things at
the KOA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtDRQh9aAAE

[6/7/2010] Muttley and I visit a dog rescue in Frederick County. Muttley is
enjoying some off-leash time with a variety of dogs, including a mellow
Black Lab, a bouncy young Yellow Lab, a Rottie mix, a wolf hybrid, and the
most dangerous of all, a nippy Yorkie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQKHBs47jBo

More video of Muttley and the dogs interacting and having a good time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnxYeZtZHIg

More video of the dogs. Some of them, including Muttley, are lying down
together in the shade of a tree near the fenced area where more feral dogs
are kept in their own pack. I am "attacked" by the bouncy Yellow Lab and a
furry little white dog. Muttley has a canine conversation with his new
friends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXfHHTDe_Z8

A final short (and not very good) clip of the dogs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11-0nySaIUM

Paul and Muttley
www.youtube.com/user/PaulAndMuttley

On Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:41:46 -0400, Paul E. Schoen wrote:

More video clips:


[6/7/2010] Muttley and I visit a dog rescue in Frederick County. Muttley
is enjoying some off-leash time with a variety of dogs, including a
mellow Black Lab, a bouncy young Yellow Lab, a Rottie mix, a wolf
hybrid, and the most dangerous of all, a nippy Yorkie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQKHBs47jBo

More video of Muttley and the dogs interacting and having a good time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnxYeZtZHIg



Paul and Muttley
www.youtube.com/user/PaulAndMuttley

Paul, congratulations, you have done a superior work rehabilitating
Muttley !

"Dogman" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Jun 2010 16:32:14 +0000 (UTC), sonofdog
wrote:

[...]
Paul, congratulations, you have done a superior work rehabilitating
Muttley !

You're what? Grading on the curve?

There is a big difference between training (obedience) and rehabilitation
(behavior modification). The former is simply offering certain behaviors in
response to specific commands. The latter, which is where I deserve credit,
is changing a dog's disposition and temperament so as to be able to behave
appropriately in new situations without direct supervision, guidance, and
intervention.

Remember, this is a dog who was labeled as dangerous by a professional
trainer who stated that it would take an immense amount of time, effort, and
money, as well as extreme management, to be safe enough to be considered for
rehoming.

This gives new meaning to the concept of "no child left behind."

I think it should be "no child's behind left unspanked".

"ASSume the position"

Paul and Muttley

"Paul E. Schoen" wrote

More video clips:

[6/5/2010] Muttley enjoying a big marrow bone. He also had nearly a pound
of raw beef heart meat a few minutes earlier. He's a powerful and
dedicated chewer and a bone like this will keep him busy for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e6aDgJyP4Q

Thats my favorite!

Cash gets ones a little bigger and cut by the butcher to about 1 inch thick.
He'll eat the first half in about 15-20 mins (bone and all) then comeback to
the other half in a few hours and disappear it in his tummy. I think with
that one, he'd eat about 2 inches a day? Then again, he might eat the
whole thing in a day nibbling as it struck his fancy (grin).

At first I was worried that raw marrow bones might not be a good idea, but
Char and others patiently lead me to understand it was no risk if the dog
has the jaws to handle it. When the vet totally agreed Cash was the right
size and not to worry, we just paced them to what seemed right for a dieting
dog. (Marrow has lots of extra calories so we have to adjust his other food
to match).

"sonofdog" wrote

Paul, congratulations, you have done a superior work rehabilitating
Muttley !

I agree! He's apparently very good at socializing a previously aggressive
dog. The success is clear in the pictures of the camp.

"Paul E. Schoen" wrote
"Dogman" wrote
sonofdog wrote:

Paul, congratulations, you have done a superior work rehabilitating
Muttley !

You're what? Grading on the curve?

There is a big difference between training (obedience) and rehabilitation
(behavior modification). The former is simply offering certain behaviors
in response to specific commands. The latter, which is where I deserve
credit, is changing a dog's disposition and temperament so as to be able
to behave appropriately in new situations without direct supervision,
guidance, and intervention.

Agreed. Although I don't know what he 'was' like, I've heard from you that
he was a difficult case. Credit where credit is due!

I've a vicarious experience with 'trainer says this one is too dangerous'
although in this case, they probably were right. MIL at age 78 adopted a
Mastiff puppy and kept him apparently in a cage except for pee/poop breaks.
She died while he was on a pee break. No one could get close to him
apparently. They did try but he was almost 7 and had lived all his life in
a small cage.

Muttley is lucky he could be 'fixed up' and found someone willing to do it.
It's not an easy task.

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
"Paul E. Schoen" wrote
"Dogman" wrote
sonofdog wrote:

Paul, congratulations, you have done a superior work rehabilitating
Muttley !

You're what? Grading on the curve?

There is a big difference between training (obedience) and rehabilitation
(behavior modification). The former is simply offering certain behaviors
in response to specific commands. The latter, which is where I deserve
credit, is changing a dog's disposition and temperament so as to be able
to behave appropriately in new situations without direct supervision,
guidance, and intervention.

Agreed. Although I don't know what he 'was' like, I've heard from you
that he was a difficult case. Credit where credit is due!

I've a vicarious experience with 'trainer says this one is too dangerous'
although in this case, they probably were right. MIL at age 78 adopted a
Mastiff puppy and kept him apparently in a cage except for pee/poop
breaks. She died while he was on a pee break. No one could get close to
him apparently. They did try but he was almost 7 and had lived all his
life in a small cage.

Muttley is lucky he could be 'fixed up' and found someone willing to do
it. It's not an easy task.

Muttley was never what I would term dangerous or aggressive, even when I
first met him and he was still intact and I had very little experience with
dogs. But he was (and still is) very aloof and independent, which I actually
admire, but it's not a good foundation for obedience training. He still
shows signs of fearfulness when he first meets people, but he does not show
aggressive behavior such as growling. The one time he bit someone was an
extreme case where he was very agitated and had not been properly socialized
with my friend, who made the mistake of turning his back to Muttley and
offering his butt as a convenient target.

At least now I feel that I have socialized him enough that I can trust him
with meeting new people, including young children, and now I also have seen
that he is fine in the company of a pack of well-balanced dogs. I think his
apparent aggression toward some dogs was because of their energy and body
language which Muttley may have reacted to in an overly strong manner as an
attempt at "correction". He may not appreciate the playfulness of young
Labs.

Lucky was probably even more fearful than Muttley, and she cowered and
quivered and shook with fear when touched, especially when someone
approached from behind. She was a fairly big dog with indications of being
part Rottweiler and perhaps some PBT, but she was very docile and
well-behaved in most circumstances. However, I did see her more aggressive
side when I took her to an adoption event at a PetSmart and she very
abruptly "corrected" the advances of some dogs with an impressive display of
large teeth and an intimidating growl, with little warning. On the last
night I had her, she lay next to me in bed all night and seemed to be
finally perfectly relaxed as I stroked her, with no more quivering. It was a
moment of pure trust, and it was difficult for me to give her up for
adoption, but I felt it was in the best interests of her, me, and Muttley.

I've had other experiences with dogs that make me feel that I have some of
the right energy and communication skills. Even though I was a bit nervous
when I let Muttley off leash at the dog rescue yesterday, I think I was able
to read and communicate with the other dogs so that they did not see me as a
threat and they each welcomed me in their own unique ways. I think I was
actually more comfortable with the wolf hybrid than the bouncy and mouthy
yellow Lab. I would have enjoyed spending more time with all those wonderful
dogs.

Paul and Muttley

"Dogman" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Jun 2010 18:12:43 -0400, "cshenk" wrote:


Agreed. Although I don't know what he 'was' like, I've heard from you
that
he was a difficult case.

You'd get a far more knowledgeable opinion from Janet.

Even I know enough about Muttley to know that Muttley wasn't/isn't a
difficult or dangerous dog, just by watching the videos.

The reason it may have been a "difficult case" (in Schoen's mind)
is/was due to Schoen's inexperience, stubborness, laziness, and
refusal to get with the program (any program!).

All of which continues to this day.

I'd like to hear Janet's opinion. After all, she is the only other person
who was actually there and also here on RPDB. I never considered him
dangerous, but Janet said he was. And it's just a matter of opinion as to
how difficult he was/is to train, but other people with more experience than
I have agree with my assessment that he is rather hard-headed and
independent rather than a dog who is naturally inclined to please his master
or willingly cede his former status as an alpha pack leader.

There is no way you can accurately determine that Muttley was not much
different four years ago, or that I have not had a beneficial influence on
his behavior by socializing him and giving him various opportunities to
interact with people and other dogs. I have combined the raw video I took of
him interacting well with a pack of dogs at the CASA rescue, and put it into
an edited form that I think is reasonably good considering the raw material
I am working with and the fact that this is my first attempt at video
editing using Windows Live Movie Maker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YjI1RJ3vfY

Show me where you can take one of your dogs and toss him into a pack of dogs
rescued from various situations of abuse and neglect, and have a perfectly
good outcome as is demonstrated here.

BTW, I may try fostering a small young female Lab mix, Cici, as a
"girlfriend" for Muttley, and if things work out I am amenable to adopting
another dog. She appears briefly on my video, and here is her specific
information:
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/15570539

I am really fascinated by the wolf hybrid also shown in the video, but he
would probably be too much of a challenge for me. It's important to find a
dog with the right energy to complement Muttley's, and possibly help with
training, as sometimes dogs teach each other. Of course, they may teach
either desired or unwanted behavior. But it would be nice to have a backup
dog in reserve

Paul and Muttley and Maybe Cici