we are thinking of adopting a dog

[recycling goddess]

she didn't jump up on us today, as she's sore from her spaying... but i guess she does do this. not hard to break them of that habit though... at least not in my experience.

a firm no and knee to the chest works great.

[catawhat75]

Aleesha, honestly it sounds like the dog was meant for you and you her. The issues you brought up are easily conquered and it already sounds like you know how to handle them. There is nothing like a rescue dog, they seem to know you have saved them and they give you back 10fold. Also, there is no pic there but so many shelters say pit mix when there is no pit at all. Check out this site: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

I adore pits, I think they are one of the smartest most loyal breeds out there.

[recycling goddess]

wow, it just took us forever to find the pit!

thanks for your words cat!

[recycling goddess]

cat,

how are they for potty training?

[catawhat75]

They usually learn any command pretty quickly, including potty training. Pits are an awesome breed, but make sure she knows that you are the alpha or she will take advantage of you. As an older dog (not a young puppy anymore), they learn even quicker when it comes to potty. I have several things I do for potty training and it usually only takes a few days at most. One, make sure she goes outside after every meal and after waking up. Use a consistent word, like outside or potty when you are taking her out. Praise her praise her praise her when she does go outside. Try not to let her too far away from you when potty training, that way if an accident does happen, you can tell her no in a firm voice and them take her out. Sometimes I have them on leash with me until training is completed. I highly recommend a crate, they provide security plus they don't usually mess in their "den". Overall, try to have some type of routine if at all possible until she is housebroken. It really sounds like she already knows commands or is extremely intelligent (if not both) so I am sure she will fit right in and learn new things quickly.

[catawhat75]

Ohh and Jessie is another great person to talk to about dogs, I know she fosters and should be a wealth of info.

[Sunny1]

That dog, Whitney, does sound perfect for you, if she is already acting like she has been trained by you already. I hope things go well with her meeting your other dog!!

As far as your/the shelter's concerns, here's my :

1. If they are really concerned by your cat, then see if you can't bring your cat by if she does okay with your dog.... If not, definately let them meet in a neutral territory first when/if you bring "Whitney" home.

2. I think that she will calm down too, once she gets used to things at your house. Like you said, her being cooped up in a yard and then being at a shelter, I would be super excited for attention too.

4. As far as house training, I have only ever really trained puppies, but I can't imagine training an older dog to be much different. Normally I crate train puppies, but since she is older and larger, using baby gates can work just as well in order to prevent free run of the house. I would first limit her area in the house (not necessarily all the time, but when you aren't working with her or watching her), the kitchen works really well, easy clean up if any accidents occur. I know she has been confined most of her life so far, but this would be jsut until she got used to things. Then all the basic housetraining would follow, take out at regular intervals to same spot outside with a command to potty, feed at the same times everyday so can basically know when she is going to have to go after eating, take her out after playing, training, and definately after giving treats. Personally from what you have said so far, she seems really eager to please so in my mind it shouldn't take long at all to house train her. Gradually increase her free run of the house until she is reliably going outside to potty.

5. I would just be open and honest with your neighbors and friends, maybe see what they would say in advance. I am sure that if they are given fair "warning" they would appreciate it and be more willing to meet/get to know her. I am not sure what people's reactions are to pitt mixes, and I am not sure what "whitney" looks like since there is no picture, but I am sure that things will work out just fine, especially if she is as sweet as you make her out to be!!

Anyway,those are just my opinions and what I would do, good luck with everything, and let us know how it goes with the doggies meeting!! I am hoping things will work out great!!

[recycling goddess]

well we've decided to go ahead with this adoption. from all the posts here and a nice conversation with a friend who works at the surrey spca (on hour away from here) (didn't know he worked there )

so, tomorrow we'll take our dog to meet her... bring the kids as well... and depending on how well the two dogs do together... they said they may release her to us sooner than saturday... so we'll play it by ear.

i'll keep you all posted!!!

[rabernet]

I would definitely get her a crate. Get one that's large enough for her to stand up in that's about a foot longer than she is. You don't want one too large where they can defecate at one end and lay down away from it at the other end. If she can't "get away" from it, she's less likely to go potty in the crate.


You still may have a few accidents in the crate, but it's much easier to clean than the carpet.

Never, ever use the crate as punishment - it should be a safe place to go. We got Diamond used to the crate by chucking treats into the back, and making a big "to-do" about it when she went in to get her treat. "Yaaaaayyyy Diamond! You are soooo smart!". We started to add the command "Load" to her as she was doing this, and now that's all we have to say to her (although her crate only comes out now when we have Canine Assistant guests, and she's quite happy to let them use it"). What's funny is that the CA's command is "kennel" and some were a little hesitant to enter it (her's has a lip in the front, theirs do not - so it's a little different). You'd see Diamond go "for god's sake, move out of the way - THIS is what she's asking you to do!". So now Diamond knows that both load and kennel mean the same thing.

Whitney's probably not seen a crate, so it may take her a few days to get used to it. Do NOT let her out of her crate when she's crying. Only when she's quiet. You don't want her to train you that when she cries she gets to come out. Diamond does have a different "whimper" when she has to go potty - that allowed her to come out - go straight outside, no fuss, no muss, and straight back to the crate. That let her know - if you really need us, we'll come get you, but don't start "crying wolf" because it gets you out of the crate.

Most of the Canine Assistants are not potty trained - we keep them on a leash at all times - you can tell the circling/sniffing behavior right before going potty - you can catch them and hustle them outside and make them think they hung the moon when they go potty outside - they'll start to make the connection. I rarely have accidents in the home with the non-potty trained dogs, and if I do - it's my fault, not theirs - because I wasn't paying attention.

I don't believe in rubbing noses in accidents, they honestly don't make the connection as to why you are doing that. Chalk it up to not paying attention and clean it up well and move on.

With Diamond - we started giving her "test runs" on being out of the crate without our supervision. We'd leave her out for 1/2 hour to 1 hour errand runs, come back, no accidents, nothing torn up - and then started letting her stay out all night. Eventually, she "graduated" from her crate and we don't crate her any longer. No accidents from her ever - unless she has an upset tummy and we can't blame her for that - she simply can't hold it. Although - knock on wood, it's been several years since that's happened - and if she has an upset tummy in the middle of the night, she comes to the bedroom door and does the persistent "I really need to go potty" whimper. She's such a good girl!

I'm an advocate of crate training. Diamond is so soft, I really believe that if we had not crate trained her, we would have had a dog with separation anxiety issues. The crate made us have a better relationship with her during her teenage years. She was not allowed to fail. If she couldn't be supervised she was crated, so that she could not tear up things, when she was out of her crate, she was supervised, so if she started to chew on something inappropriate (like a shoe), we were there immediately to give a sharp no, then offer her an appropriate toy to chew instead and praise for chewing on that instead. Don't give them old shoes as toys - a shoe is a shoe, they can't discern the difference between an old beat up one and a nice, brand new one.

Sorry so wordy! Also, I'm a huge fan of clicker training. Diamond is a clicker trained dog. Here's one of my favorite sites: http://www.clickersolutions.com

Good luck with your new best friend!

[recycling goddess]

we have access to a nice sized crate for her... so all should be good - i can follow your advice robin. we've decided to name her Erin. i'm taking my son and annabella to meet her today. if all goes well, i'll go back again on wed. if all goes well, then saturday we'll bring her home. i don't want to rush this, as i don't want to hurt the kids by bringing in a dog who doesn't 'fit/work'.

that said, we really aren't going to know until we do it, so things may change and we may bring her home on wed.