Hip Checking
He's very bouncy. He's always using his butt to push me or the airedale out of the way. Are these actions normal for a sheepdog. I've never owned one before. Also, he has no interest in balls, frisbees, or playing fetch. He almost seems to be afraid of them. Is there a way to teach a dog how to fetch? I always thought it was innate. |
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That does sound like normal oes behaviour, how old is your oes? Re fetching... they're not a retrieving breed, some do, some don't, but with training I think you could teach him.... |
| Sounds like an OES to me. Obe will fetch a couple of times and then done. No interest at all. |
| I have two OES - one hip checks and retrieves, one does neither. he stops like a horse, another typical behavior. |
My husband is teaching Bumble to fetch... he's taught a few of the others too. He sits at the kitchen table in the morning with a stuffed toy and tosses it a short distance. Makes a big fuss when Bumble brings it back. He said he was doing great this morning until he got up to get him some treats... the game immediately stopped  So much for rewarding the "carry" at this point. |
| At 11 months old I found a ball that Tiggy will chase, every other throw toy she ignores but she likes a solid rubber ball a bit smaller than a tennis ball. I think its because it bounces a lot so she chases and pounces on it as if its a lttle critter which makes it bounce some more, eventually she brings it back but not straight away, it needs a bit of killing first. And like Obe she wont play for ever, gets too boring. |
| When Zeke sees the ball or frisbee on the floor, he is completely uninterested in them. He'll watch me pick one of them up but as soon as I get ready to throw, he runs in the opposite direction.
It's almost like he's afraid of them. |
we found that Henry prefers to fetch fluffy toys and certain balls only so maybe just start with one of your puppers favorite toys and give lots of praise when he shows an interest in it, praise them and reward with treats (not necessarily food) it won't happen overnight ... but it can happen  |
| I've registered now.
I'll have to try that with a soft toy. The hip checking, using his butt to push me or the other dog around, and him smashing sideways into me; is that all part of his herding instict? |
CamVal1 wrote: I've registered now.
I'll have to try that with a soft toy. The hip checking, using his butt to push me or the other dog around, and him smashing sideways into me; is that all part of his herding instict? Yes, but it's still rude. Make him stop if you value your joints .
My foster likes to "herd" me down stairs by slamming into me. I started side-stepping to get out of her way thinking she was just not paying attention, but she started moving with me to get in a good bodyslam, at which point I realized it was quite deliberate and so we had a "chat" about the issue. She's getting better. I generally give her a verbal reminder when I see (anticipate) her barreling my way and worst case will turn and stare her down with a sharp growl and a big frown on my face which apparently takes the fun out of the game. She's soft, it seems to work for her, your milage may vary. As for fetching - how old is Zeke? Kristine |
6Girls wrote: My husband is teaching Bumble to fetch... he's taught a few of the others too. He sits at the kitchen table in the morning with a stuffed toy and tosses it a short distance. Makes a big fuss when Bumble brings it back. He said he was doing great this morning until he got up to get him some treats... the game immediately stopped
So much for rewarding the "carry" at this point.
Tell him to put the food away. Does he like to tug? I taught my eight year old to fetch by starting with tuggable toys (carefully, with a puppy), I'd toss it, she'd get it because she learned that when she brought it back I'd tug with her before throwing it again. Some dogs just like the chase, but can be convinced to bring it back to you so you'll throw it again. Foster dog would do this all day with a tennis ball if I let her, but probably not fetch much else UNLESS I made tossing the tennis ball contingent upon her fetching something else for me (goes like this: pick up dumb bell, bring back to me, give and I immediately toss your ball) It can take a little while for them to get the picture so you may need to start with small steps. And, finally, for dogs who just don't like fetch, find another game. Belle likes chase me games. A lot. I've also spent a lot of time on all fours playbowing to her (yes, I have NO dignity whatsoever) and "hip-checking" and, even, head butting her which she finds amusing. To each his own.
I taught her a formal retrieve predominatly with a clicker. It took A LONG TIME in her case. Well, one she was my first dog that I worked with but also because in her world anything that goes into her mouth had best be edible. So we compromised and, oh, probably a hundred pounds of beef and cheese later (well...), at age 11 fetch is actually her favorite "game". But only because (a) it means she's working with me which means I can't be working with one of the upstarts and (b) she still gets fed for her efforts. When she's really, really excited she'll forget herself and tug, something I also taught her to do with the help of a clicker, so again, not really her game, but she knows she can wheedle a few more cookies out of me that way. Oddly enough this is the same gentle dog who turned into a raving lunatic around sheep. That's her game. Some times it's just easiest to let the dog show you what his game is. In Zeke's case, he is, in a way, with the body checking. Question is how can you channel that into something that's fun for BOTH of you?
Though some times dogs lacking in confidence actually can be natural retrievers, or at least like the game, but it can take time for them to feel comfortable enough to play it with the human. Kristine |
| Zeke just turned 2. He's a rescue. It seems he had bad life until we adopted him. He was a bit skittish around me at first, but now he runs & jumps on me.
He likes to hug. I don't mind the hip checking at all. I was just curious as I've never seen another dog do this. Because he won't fetch, that's how I play with him. We hip check each other. I like to fake him out, too. Get him running, he jumps & turns sideways, and then I step out of the way. He goes blowing by me in the air and sometimes tumbles when he lands. He really seems to like that. I've never tried tugging with him. I may try that. |
| Tugging can be a real confidence builder. You may need to tease him with the toy a bit first t grab his attention and then praise him when he grabs it and maybe pulls a little. Little by little they learn to enjoy it. My foster was a bit tentative at first. Kept glancing at me: "are you sure this is OK???" I'd assure her by giggling and praising her that, yes, this is just fine.
Just because he's a rescue doesn't mean he necessarily had a rough start. Most originate with questionable breeders who don't put a lot of thought into temperament, who then often sell them to not the most dog savvy people on the planet, which can compund issues. We've gotten some in with seriously peculiar hardwiring: a lot of fear issues even when raised right; more so if not (people didn't bother to invest any time or effort into training or socializing the dog) He sounds darling in comparison. It can take up to a year for a dog to truly make himself fully at home in a new situation. He may yet surprise you and become a maniac retriever or frisbee dog - you never quite know. Anway, most puppies will naturally fetch to varying degrees and the best time is to encourage it in them is as babies and cultivate it as they grow. In an adult who has never been encouraged to fetch it can easily have been extinguished. Much less likely to happen in a natural retriever, so probably not a terribly strong urge in a given dog to begin with. OES vary widely on that count and that's OK, they're not bred to be sporting dogs, though some can be completely ball obsessed like my current foster. I love that because it gives me something to work with and if you can withstand being body slammed by an OES, more power to you because it's obviously something he enjoys. Just make sure he knows who it's OK to do this with and who not. Nothing like somebody's 92 year old grandmother stopping by for a visit just to be flattened by the resident fluff ball
Kristine |
Fetching - hmm in the home and the garden fine, no problem, he even clouts us with his raggy toy to play tug and fetch, as for his squeeky toy, I am surprised we haven't gone deaf 
Outside of the home - he'll initially chase, then sort of lose interest (like there is to much else to sniff see or listen to) but if you go to get his stick he then darts in grabs it circling around you held held high with a cocky smile in his eyes, who is playing fetch/chase with who?
As for the body checking WWF has nothing on this hound |
| Kristine,
He did have a rough start, according to the person who rescued him and from what I found out about his history. He was bred by a breeder in the Memphis, TN area. I don't know if she was reputable or not. I never tried to find out anything about the breeder. But Zeke was then sold to a dog broker. I didn't even know such a thing existed. At some point, the broker sold him to a pet store in the Memphis area. The woman who rescued (and subsequently fostered) him, found him stuffed in a small crate in the back of the store. He was a year old when she found him. She went to the manager, told him she worked for the ASPCA (which she did), and told him she was taking the dog. And they let him go. They told her they couldn't sell him because he was "bad stock". Whatever that meant. She said he was a mess. They had to shave him down. Finish all of his shots. He had ear mites. She fostered him from 11/07-3/08, when we adopted him. And although she was not part of the OES rescue network, she was able to contact them and they did all of the leg work to get him adopted. When he was apprehensive about me, we wondered if he had been beat or hurt by a man. He's OK now. So he did have a rough start but I'm glad we're able to give him a good home. |
| Suzanne Clothier asked, at a seminar I went to, if Rescue dog was a new breed. She made a point of saying - you have the dog you have, where he/she came from doesn't matter. what caused the issues really doesn't matter. I think she was trying to say you need to use your energy to fix the issues, not dwell on the past, which many people romanticize anyway.
I had a pet store dog - she was a nut, but we never treated her any different that we did the other three in the house, which was indivually expecting them to play by the rules. The other three of those dogs were rehomings. Other than the one that came from my sister, I never really cared about their pasts. from day one they were my dogs and regardless of their baggage (or apparent lack there of) they needed to blend in and behave. Actually I just now realized as I was writing this that that was the make up of the house when the kids were younger - I never really realized before we had three rehomed dogs and a pet store dog. wow, odd. I say that because right now I have four dogs from various show breeders (three breeds) and I spend way more time training them than I ever did the rehomes - or the crazy eskie from the pet store. |
| He sure did have a rough start, but at least he's got a good home now. My dog loves to play fetch. He will play with any toys but stuffed animals are his favorite. Jake even sleeps with a stuffed sheepdog every night and props it under his chin like a pillow. Sometimes he even takes it outside when he goes potty!! I never played tug with him because I heard it causes aggression in some dogs. |
OES Lover X2 wrote: He sure did have a rough start, but at least he's got a good home now. My dog loves to play fetch. He will play with any toys but stuffed animals are his favorite. Jake even sleeps with a stuffed sheepdog every night and props it under his chin like a pillow. Sometimes he even takes it outside when he goes potty!! I never played tug with him because I heard it causes aggression in some dogs.
that is an old school thought that has been discarded by some of the top trainers and behaviorists. Tugging can even be used to channel aggressive behavior - if done right. If you aren't comfortable with it by all means don't, but there is no real reason not to. tou do need to train a reliable out though. |
CamVal1 wrote: So he did have a rough start but I'm glad we're able to give him a good home.
I'm glad you were too. Most of the rescues we see locally with anxieties and have a good history on are especially fearful of men with no good reason except men are scarier. Lack of exposure may play some part in that, but rarely without underlying basic fearfulness. So many times we assume abuse when it's just basic temperament and lack of socialization. The girl I'm fostering right now had a pretty good upbringing until her owner was forced to give her up at about ten months old due to her escalating separation and other anxieties. And though she's fearful of new people in general (and she was socialized, taken to doggie day care, taken to work with the woman) she literally lost control of all bodily functions when my dad visited me a few months ago and she found herself in the same room with him. Men are just scarier. I see it time and time again and so often people assume some bad man beat the dog, but, nope, doesn't need to be the case. What you describe is very typical: a commercial breeder sells litters of puppies to brokers who in turn sells them to pet stores. They have a relatively short shelf-life in the cute department. I've never heard of a store hanging on to one they couldn't sell until the dog was a year old, though. That's truly odd. What were they planning on doing? Leaving him in a crate till he died of old age or boredom? Very peculiar. Usually as the puppies start to get older the store will start discounting them so they can move them out and generally that works. Chances are this store never repeated the mistake of stocking an OES since it was such a costly mistake for them (  ). Feeding the puppy for ten months makes absolutely no economic sense. I'm really surprised they didn't find a way to unload the poor dude earlier.  
Kristine |
kerry wrote: Suzanne Clothier asked, at a seminar I went to, if Rescue dog was a new breed. She made a point of saying - you have the dog you have, where he/she came from doesn't matter. what caused the issues really doesn't matter. I think she was trying to say you need to use your energy to fix the issues, not dwell on the past, which many people romanticize anyway.
' I always knew there was a reason I love her writing... Finally someone with some common sense and the guts to say it out loud 
Did you get a lot out of her seminar otherwise? Kristine  |
| she is truly amazing |
| Genny does the hip check thing too. Sometimes to me, but mostly to other dogs she's playing with. I have taken exception to it enough and told her so, that she rarely trys it on me any more.
She also loves to fetch. But only certain toys. Beau will fetch a time or two and then he's finished with that game. He'd much rather play tug. They're all different. You could probably teach Zeke to fetch, though. |
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