Should we get a dog out at work till 4pm each day

hethmar

Ive had many different breeds, including 3 JR. To be honest, each dog has its own personality just as people do. Some will be happy to be couch potatoes, some will want to join a gym and go line dancing (people that is, not dogs, LOL). But obviously early experiences will influence a personality as it does with people also.

My JRT's have all been different. One, Beau who came to us at 12 years old, was an aggressive little sod (his neck was sewn up when we adopted him after he attacked a Doberman in the rescue) but only with dogs as big as a house - he loved people and playing with a ball, so a ball taken every where stopped the problem. Lucy was an ex breeding !!!!! who took ages to learn you dont have to pee or poo in the house and she was a nervy girl with other people or dogs until she knew them. Ralph, dear disabled Ralph, well he thinks he is a rottweiller and expects that sort of respect from all dogs he meets now but since having laid back Diggs as a companion, he has lost all his nervous aggression. And he adores people, loves people to bits. None of them chewed much, except Lucy who had the "ears" off every cushion in the house and a bit of the leg of a table.

Cant generalise with people, cant do it with dogs either. Of course there are "types" as there are with people. Germans arent noted for their sense of humour though Im sure some must be the life and soul, Italians are noted for their over exhuberence when there are probably quite a few miserable ones. Same with dog breeds

merlin68

I would not have a puppy with kids that young, ours is 4 month old and even my 18 year old is scared of her. They lunge and nip and hang on to your trouser legs growling. We are at home all day and she still barks for attention, toilet training is a nightmare even if you are at home. You have to watch them constantly and be ready to go outside.

hethmar

Is the 18 year old really scared?

Cissi

merlin68 wrote: »

I would not have a puppy with kids that young, ours is 4 month old and even my 18 year old is scared of her. They lunge and nip and hang on to your trouser legs growling. We are at home all day and she still barks for attention, toilet training is a nightmare even if you are at home. You have to watch them constantly and be ready to go outside.

I find that pretty bizarre, and to be honest I think you've been very unlucky with your puppy, or else your family perhaps isn't really all that keen on dogs? I have a hard time imagining a 4-month-old JR that would scare an 18-year-old??? My children are 5 and 3 and they (and their friends) love our puppy to bits. Yes, he did mouthe a fair bit in the beginning but he was so small he couldn't do any real damage. With some firm, consistent training puppies should get over this around 4-5 months anyway. Even now, at 7 months, ours couldn't knock a toddler over if he tried, and as we've worked hard on the "off" command (as shown in the puppy training class we attended - I'd definitely recommend one of these) we can now pretty much stop him from jumping up on people. I do this consistently, even with people who love dogs and say "oh no, it's ok" because I don't want him to learn that it's ok to jump up - and please don't undermine me by encouraging him :rolleyes:

In the park, if he goes charging towards a group (usually because they have a dog), I shout "OFF" at the top of my voice and sometimes can't help laughing as they turn round with a frightened look, wondering what enormous, vicious beast is about to attack them - and then see them laugh as they spot a friendly little puppy, tail wagging. I certainly don't mean to frighten anyone, but I do want to train him to leave people he doesn't know alone!

merlin68

I thought she was aggressive maybe, but apparently on the labrador forums they say this is normal for labrador puppies.
I have always had dogs but never a puppy, so don't know if this is normal or not, she goes to dog training.

foreign_correspondent

merlin68 wrote: »

I thought she was aggressive maybe, but apparently on the labrador forums they say this is normal for labrador puppies.
I have always had dogs but never a puppy, so don't know if this is normal or not, she goes to dog training.

...when my mum got her dog (collie lurcher) she was still quite puppy-like and excitable in her ways, but about ten months old and quite big. When she got over excited, she would sometimes mouth - of course, being big, she could reach far more of whoever she was mouthing, and flapping arms were just something to grab at! Folding our arms and turning away every time she started this 'game' soon made it much less fun, and now she is a lovely dog!

hethmar

I rather enjoyed our only puppy for years hanging on my trousers leg and growling as he played Why does she bark for attention when you are home? My pup just played with me all day and then dropped asleep in mid play sometimes. Toilet training is a lot easier with dogs than kids - just take the pup out every half an hour - they soon get the hang of it as they want to please you.

Does the dog have plenty of toys and companionship/interaction with the family?

Fire_Fox

sandy71 wrote: »

How do you figure that If they left at 8 and returned at 4 the dog would be left for 8 hours, if they leave at 11 and return at 4 the dog would be left for 5 hours.

Because I was assuming their boss might be amenable to them starting work a few hours late, but might be less impressed if they still went home at the same time. You didn't say anything about returning at four in your earlier post ...

merlin68

The puppy barks everytime my husband goes out of the room or if we are on the phone or hoovering and mopping. She has plenty of toys but jobs need to be done, she has 3 walks a day, goes everywhere with us and does dog training classes.
I don't know what to do about the barking as don't want to upset the neighbours.

sandy71

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Because I was assuming their boss might be amenable to them starting work a few hours late, but might be less impressed if they still went home at the same time. You didn't say anything about returning at four in your earlier post ...

The title said out at work til 4pm each day and I was too lazy to type that:p