My dog is weird

a reply to: nugget1

i wish he was a maine coon, i want a big cat, like a lynx or a Serval, love the ears!
his nickname used to be "the trumpkin" because he is orange and has small hands...
but seriously he has super stubby legs don't know if you can really tell in the pics

a reply to: FlyersFan

Sounds bonkers, I’ve had a few weird dogs in my time, defo difference between breeds. I had a shiba cross about 10 years ago, very affectionate little bitch, not a bad bone in her body but she too had some weird behaviours. Couldn’t control her bladder when excited and would sing for like an hour if I’d been away a few days to welcome me home. Also would go absolutely mental after a Bath, zip around the house at 100mph rubbing her coat on every carpet.

Some of those behaviours you mention should have been trained out of your dog as a pup. You can teach ANY dog to walk beside you without a lead and return when called, even older dogs can learn. Sounds a lot like he thinks he’s the alpha and makes the decisions. Still as long as you don’t mind having the piss taken out of you and there’s no aggression it’s all good.

originally posted by: Grenade
Some of those behaviours you mention should have been trained out of your dog as a pup.

We took him to dog school when he was young. He didn't do too well.
They passed him because they felt sorry for him I'm sure.

a reply to: FlyersFan

If it helps, i would always take treats and use positive enforcement of behaviors. Its a prerequisite of training a dog for me that it will walk by my side without a leash and will stop for roads etc. From the day i get them till the day they learn it's my main focus. Once a dog learns to follow you and obey return commands, anything else is easy.

It's best learned in a secure garden, have him follow you and everytime they return it's a reward. If they try to get away then they must be controlled, if you have a slip leash then pull them back everytime they move away more than 2m it wont take long. You'll be amazed how quick a dog can learn stay, follow and stop commands when there's some dried beef on offer. There's a strange kid on youtube called the dogdaddy and despite his appearance he understands the psychology of a K9 very well.

EDIT: My Dad was a dog breeder of Samoyeds and then Rottweilers. When i was a kid i trained upward of 30 dogs without a single failure. Except one dog called Billy, he was the runt and totally retarded. Still, i loved the little guy. Amazingly he outlived all his siblings and only died at the age of 18. If you ever need any advice i'll be happy to help. I spent the first 13 years of my life smelling like a litter of pups. Even now i prefer the company of Dogs to humans.

There are many people that no longer enjoy going outside the house either.

Let's face it even with all the VOC indoors the air is still probably cleaner and healthier than outside.

And, going out means being susceptible to more risks over all, for people and dogs. If we were to do a risk/enjoyment analysis we'd all stay home.

For dogs:
- chance of getting run over
- having to be restrained (controlled) on a leash, often pulling and hurting the body
- coming across aggressive dogs
- hurt by dangerous objects, e.g., broken bottles, thorns and tacs
- getting sick from sniffing vegetation, walking on vegetation and eating grass that is often sprayed with pesticides and herbicides
- inhaling the toxic air (their sense of smell and analysing it is far better than ours)
- dealing with the horrible weather that is now the norm
- walking on hot asphelt
- getting yelled at by owners when wanting to be free to do as it pleases.
Etc.

Really, what's to get excited about? Your dog is smart not weird. It appears to be more aware of the reality of this World than many people.

Plus, dogs, like most humans, are unique and have different personalities. How boring if they were all the same.

IMHO.

SPAM

So ... Dusty is in a shed cycle now. I don't know if any of you have seen a Shiba Inu, but they are all fur. Layers of it. He always sheds a big cycle in Feb/Mar which is weird. Why shed in the winter? I would think late spring to get ready for the heat of summer. But anyways ... tons of fur everywhere. Having to clean every day. This'll last for weeks ..

Well .... Dusty now has an ear infection. Both ears. Left is really bad.
Some kind of fungal infection.
Not sure how he got it. We didn't do anything differently.
I have to wash his ears out every morning now,
and apply medication twice a day.
He gets retested in three weeks.
Poor guy is walking with his head tilted left and shaking his head.