nin wrote on Apr 7, 2010, 16:55:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/BlurParklife.jpg ?

Yep, that is the sort of thing I am thinking of. Some of the muzzles have even deeper hollows than that. They are fairly easy to get for english whippet hounds, greyhounds and salukis but other breeds can be a bit more bothersome. You might even have to have one custom made. Well worth the effort though, we had one made for the Afghan hounds we had at the time.

Cutter wrote on Apr 7, 2010, 19:59:
That means there's either a problem with the dog or you, and it's generally the latter as has been my experience.

-EDIT-
I should comment, my family has never used electric fences, shock collars, or muzzles. We use the leash as needed but that's about it. Then again we rarely take him far from the neighborhood.

-----------------------------

Others will disagree, but I believe there are varying levels of "trained," and thus more than 1 acceptable training "state." The dog you describe definitely sounds very well trained, I see these in the cities sometimes (saw them a lot in Europe).

We live in a Suburb, our dogs over the years have always been allowed to roam the un-fenced yard free of leash (or supervision) without any incident. Though for the first few months we try to make sure they learn the property borders first: starting with only walking them with leash, then tying them to a central tree with a long rope, then only supervised, then free to do what they want.

My dad will also sometimes take him off-leash to across the street to see our neighbors and their dog (if they have one).

However when we took them on walks or car rides we always leash them, though they might walk with us just fine for most of the part they've also tended to be overly friendly and want to meet people nearby (which some people don't like).

Plus, I wouldn't trust them to not run across the street to meet another dog and either get hit by a car or into a fight (if it came to it).

So, to some our dogs might seem poorly trained and I'll concede that they could be trained better than they are. Heck, taking my dog to a city filled with people would probably freak him out, and it would probably take him a while to adjust and just ignore being around so many strangers.

However our dogs are trained well enough for our standards.

This comment was edited on Apr 8, 2010, 18:35.

You can get racing muzzles which have a deeper hollow that allows the mouth to open and the dog to pant but still keeps them from biting other animals.

That's an excellent suggestion - I am looking into that.

And Cutter, you are going to have to stop comparing your experience with German Shepherds to my experience with my Airedale Terrier - these are two breeds that could not be more opposite in terms of trainability.

I've had a few big dogs over the years and they knew who the boss was. If they were attacked, they'd take care of business in short-order, but otherwise if they even dreamed of starting some shit they knew they'd have to wake up and apologize.

I'd hate to be your kid, Cutter.

... it's amazing to see - with the right training - how these "out of control" dogs can easily be brought into line.

Indeed. The only problem we have with our dogs is not aggression, but stupidity. We have a 4yr German Shepard, a 6yr old Pomeranian, and an all brown 13yr old Poodle/Lapso mix named Snickers. They're all a royal pain in their own ways. The Pom thinks he's god's gift and spoiled to the max (must be an inferior complex), the German Shepard is just plain naive (I'm sorry, she's a beautiful dog, but she doesn't move for cars and doesn't listen to the screaming to get the hell out of the way even though you can tell she hears you just fine) and the oldest is getting very senile and will bark at everything and anything. That's my biggest complaint about all of them though, is th incessant barking! Day and night, constant. A car goes up the road - bark bark bark. Someone across the street goes to get their mail or has a visitor - bark bark bark. One thinks they hear something outside, they bark once and then the other two start in immediately - bark bark bark. The worst is when someone visits. Holy Crap! It sounds like a freakin' kennel. I've been staying with my parents for a few years to help them out and after my father passed away in October, it's looking like I'll be here for a while longer helping my mother. But I swear I'll go insane before my departure if we don't find something to stop them from barking all the time! It's really gotten ridiculous to the extreme...

As for your problem, Blue, I think those racing muzzles look like your answer...We tried that with ours but we'd have to keep them on them all the time and really, they're not aggressive in a negative sense, just over-reactive and hyper and mouthy...


=-Rigs-=

Shock collars? Really? That's insane. So long as your dog knows you're the alpha and the dog is trained properly you should never need leashes, muzzles, shock collars, etc. That means there's either a problem with the dog or you, and it's generally the latter as has been my experience.

I've had a few big dogs over the years and they knew who the boss was. If they were attacked, they'd take care of business in short-order, but otherwise if they even dreamed of starting some shit they knew they'd have to wake up and apologize. I could walk anywhere with my dogs without a leash and never, ever have to worry about them taking off after a cat, squirrel, what have you. I walk into the store and they park themselves outside, quietly awaiting my return. There will be no barking! Of the barking there will be none! I never had to worry about people patting them or kids roughhousing with them a bit.

So I find it when *very* strange when people talk about problems with their dogs. And again, most often - at least with people I know and see how they interact with their dogs, it ain't the dog's fault 9 times out of 10. And if you ever watch the Dog Whisperer - gay as it is - the guy knows what the hell he's doing and it's amazing to see - with the right training - how these "out of control" dogs can easily be brought into line.

Shit, just watch any good wolf documentary, and you see how it works.

kxmode wrote on Apr 7, 2010, 15:08:
Pick it up yesterday. Is it me or is dying, a lot, common place in this game? I remember being much better at FPS games. I'm shooting at enemies at point-blank range, and leading my shots, and sniping enemies in the head. When the kill-cam shows the target their health is 9%, 22%, 54% and so forth so I know I'm hitting them, but why aren't they dying? Do they have some sort of armor buff?!

Aside from that the fully destructible maps are AWESOME! It's amazing to watch your base get completely owned by tank artillery and aerial bombardments. Even mortar blasts leave "holes" in the terrain.

Well, problem is, the "noob" weapons for lack of a better word is like bringing a knife to a gun fight when you are going up against some of the later unlocks. And yes, there are bullet and armor upgrades as well. Just keep plugging away, have fun as a combat medic or something and the unlocks come quickly.

You can get racing muzzles which have a deeper hollow that allows the mouth to open and the dog to pant but still keeps them from biting other animals. Normal vetinary supply stores often don't carry them - you should contact the local dog racing enthusiasts and they will probably be happy to point to a local supplier. Checking on something like the American Kennel Clubs web pages might be a good start.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/BlurParklife.jpg ?

You can get racing muzzles which have a deeper hollow that allows the mouth to open and the dog to pant but still keeps them from biting other animals. Normal vetinary supply stores often don't carry them - you should contact the local dog racing enthusiasts and they will probably be happy to point to a local supplier. Checking on something like the American Kennel Clubs web pages might be a good start.

Pick it up yesterday. Is it me or is dying, a lot, common place in this game? I remember being much better at FPS games. I'm shooting at enemies at point-blank range, and leading my shots, and sniping enemies in the head. When the kill-cam shows the target their health is 9%, 22%, 54% and so forth so I know I'm hitting them, but why aren't they dying? Do they have some sort of armor buff?!

Aside from that the fully destructible maps are AWESOME! It's amazing to watch your base get completely owned by tank artillery and aerial bombardments. Even mortar blasts leave "holes" in the terrain.

For those interested in Chernobyl, touring the area is something worth doing in your lifetime.

get out of here, Stalker.. shakey breaky donkey! chiki briki ivdamke

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=-Rigs-=

I use shock collars on my pooches ("Training Collars" if you want to be PC) and they work great. I rarely ever have to use the shock button, and then only at a low level. Most of the time the "beeps" correct the pooch after they learn the collar.

If you see other dogs approaching and call Hudson back, and she doesn't come, the collars offer additional incentive....which is then rewarded when they get back with a treat... Fairly soon they just listen without a beep or shock needed.

http://www.sportdog.com/Gear/E-Collars/WetlandHunter.aspx

Those are the ones I use since I've got 2 labs and they tend to find ANY water they can. Nice part is that they can control up to 2 collars with 1 remote.

Treadmill? I'm running out of ideas here!

I don't think a leash is the end of the world, Blue.

Certainly not... but one of the goals of taking them out to the doggie trail is to get exercise, and she would certainly get more of that trying to keep up with the Gunnar-man's pace, which can reach well above 30 mph, versus walking with me at 4 MPH. And worse, Gunnar, who needs no such restraint, will not leave our sides if Huddy and I are walking together, so it impedes each of their exercise.

I'd like to be able to take them out after dusk on hot days, but two hunting dogs off the leash around the time that all the good prey become active seems like a recipe for a different form of disaster.

I was all ready to get out my "at least she is in the right place" joke after seeing her fall on her face.

I was strangely disappointed that I mistook the word "trip".

I don't think a leash is the end of the world, Blue.