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Lethargic dog



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 2nd 07, 01:34 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
[email protected]
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Posts: 1
Default Lethargic dog

Hi all,

I just got a new dog, and I have a few questions. Here is a little
background on the pup in general. She is a toy Aussie shepherd who was
born with a small mouth. The breeder wanted to do away with her
because he didn't want anyone to know that his dogs produced a puppy
with a "genetic defect". So she and her sister (her sister is deaf)
were rescued by a foster family. My dog, Lambchop, was bullied by her
sister, who would nip her and steal her food. She was severely
underweight. The foster family found a home for her sister and got her
back to a normal weight. She is still a bit timid but not as bad as
before. She's now a year old.

Here are the issues I am having:

1. Lambchop has never been on a leash, nor has she been taken for
walks. She is house trained and will go to the bathroom in the yard
but she's never gotten any exercise. When I put her in a harness and
on a leash, she just sits there. How can I train her to take walks
with me?

2. She is very lethargic. She isn't skittish, but would much rather
sit in her crate or on someone's lap than run around and explore. Is
this just her personality or could this be indicative of a deeper
problem? Will she come out of her shell as she bonds to me and my
husband?

I ordered Cesar Millan's book and I am going to the first dog training
class tomorrow.

TIA!
--Erica

  #2  
Old August 2nd 07, 01:43 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
diddy[_2_]
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Posts: 3,108
Default Lethargic dog

spoke these words of wisdom in
ups.com:

Here are the issues I am having:

1. Lambchop has never been on a leash, nor has she been taken for
walks. She is house trained and will go to the bathroom in the yard
but she's never gotten any exercise. When I put her in a harness and
on a leash, she just sits there. How can I train her to take walks
with me?


i would allow her to drag a leash around the house.

2. She is very lethargic. She isn't skittish, but would much rather
sit in her crate or on someone's lap than run around and explore. Is
this just her personality or could this be indicative of a deeper
problem?


What has the vet said?

Will she come out of her shell as she bonds to me and my
husband?

I'm sure this will take time, but as you socialize her and work with
her, she will improve (but possibly might not ever be normal) the more
you do to get her out there untraumatically, the more she will adjust.
Do not overload her all at once.


I ordered Cesar Millan's book and I am going to the first dog training
class tomorrow.


Hmmm.. Good luck with that. The obedience is a great idea. And this is
totally contrary to anything I've ever said, and it goes against my
grain to say so, but I would enroll this dog in a petsmart obedience
school, simply because of the low key training that takes place there
(but not necessarily GOOD training) you are still guaranteed a very low
key confidence building type of training methods.

I have never EVER EVER reccommended PETSMART training to anyone before,
so this is a first.

The reason I did so, is there are no standardized methods of trainer
methods. Without knowing your location and training resources, a
Petsmart should come the closest to the training style that I would
recommend for this dog.

(I can't believe I just recommended this, excuse me while I go get sick)

TIA!
--Erica



  #3  
Old August 2nd 07, 02:47 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Kimber[_2_]
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Posts: 18
Default Lethargic dog

spoke these words of wisdom in
ups.com:


1. Lambchop has never been on a leash, nor has she been taken for
walks. She is house trained and will go to the bathroom in the yard
but she's never gotten any exercise. When I put her in a harness and
on a leash, she just sits there. How can I train her to take walks
with me?


I think a lot of people believe that there's something instinctive about
walking on a leash because most dogs love it so much. But it's not
instinctive - they have to be taught. I got a 6-year old dog this year
who had never been walked on a leash either. When I first put the
harness on her, she just stared up at me because she had no idea what
she was supposed to do, and I imagine your dog does the same. I had to
train my dog, but it only took a few days. There's a few websites out
there that talk about this that you could Google for. But I basically
coaxed my dog with treats. It also helped when my husband came along
because I could hold the leash and he could walk several steps ahead of
her and call her to come to him. Whenever she took a few steps, we
praised her and gave her a treat. Then, my husband moved farther and
farther away so she would have to take more steps. Before I knew it she
could walk around a short block. It took a few more days for her to
actually seem like she was enjoying it, but now she loves it just like
any other dog.

Gradually, she has taken to running around the backyard sometimes too,
but this only lasts for a minute or two and then she's done. My dog
mostly likes to lay around too, but I think some dogs are just like
that. I make sure to walk her twice a day and the afternoon walk is at
least 40 minutes, so she gets enough exercise.

Amy

 




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