My new dog

Bella’s new harness came yesterday and we got it on her and after a couple fittings it’s fine. As I let her out of the crate this morning, I popped it over her head, held her between my legs, and managed to get the darn thing on her by myself without getting bit.

I will do this every morning while she is just waking up as I think it will be easier than after she is up and running around. Then when it’s time for her walk I only have to get the harness leash on which is very hard to do.

Tweaked my back last night so no sleep hardly at all, but still have to walk.
 

Aneeda72 said:
Bella’s new harness came yesterday and we got it on her and after a couple fittings it’s fine. As I let her out of the crate this morning, I popped it over her head, held her between my legs, and managed to get the darn thing on her by myself without getting bit.

I will do this every morning while she is just waking up as I think it will be easier than after she is up and running around. Then when it’s time for her walk I only have to get the harness leash on which is very hard to do.

Tweaked my back last night so no sleep hardly at all, but still have to walk.
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sorry about your back...that's horribly painful, it happens to me so I do know.. hope it eases with some heat applied..

As for Bellas ' new harness,that's exactly what we always had to do with our miniature labradoodle.. I nicknamed him Magawi, because he went from this cute tiny pup to a screeching wriggling biter, when we tried to get a lead on him, he just got so excited ... he's a sweet gentle dog now he's old , well in truth he became very sweet and obedient as soon as he got to about 3 months ... :love:

Sometimes before going for a walk, he'd fight so much we'd end up up top of the stairs and back down again, before I could get it on him..he'd be screaming and biting the whole time...

None of the other doodles did this...or in fact any of the other dogs... this was him around 3 months old

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Aneeda72 said:
Bella was slightly easier to leash up this morning, thank god. Only took 15 minutes, I think she is starting to acknowledge I might be her boss. 😂. The walk went well. She pulls a little but that will be solved when the new harness comes tomorrow from Amazon. Gave her old harness to a neighbor that needed one.

The correction device arrived by will wait till trainer comes on Friday to use it. I need to learn the proper use and not hurt her.

She is very alert on her walks and I have had no issues with her going in front of the walker which is always an issue with the bigger dogs. She didn’t like a trash can that had been left out and pulled away from it, but the second time around she ignored it. Also there were two piles of dirt on the sidewalk and a stroller and couple kids toys set out to give away.

She had no prob"lem with these or with moving over as I moved over. There is a large bush that intrudes and she goes under my walker to avoid it. When the new harness comes we will work on the behind command. A service dog needs to go behind the owner in tight spaces.

The trainer is sure she can become a service dog, but it will take a lot of work and time to get there. And money. I don’t mind the work, I have the time, but money is an issue as always. ☹️ Even if she does not become a service dog, she is a great pet dog, except, you know, the biting. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We also practiced her place, as we do every morning but this needs a lot of work. Have to find time to work on it more. Before we went into the house after the walk, we practice the down calming exercise. I step on her leash, say down, get my feet right up next to her neck to hold her down. As soon as she Downs, calmly for a minute, I can let her up.

She rolls, she tries to pull her face halter off, tries to bite my leg, bites my pants, and as soon as she lays flat and quiet for a minute, she’s done. I need to try and do this more often as well. But I need to get the yard done, watch my tv programs, do my house work etc.

How is it that I am so darn busy? And I never get to play my computer game. I blame it all on @hollydolly I must have caught the get up off your butt syndrome from her. Gee, thanks for nothing! 🤣.
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Love hearing updates on you and Miss Bella.
She's come a long ways, i think you're both doing great !!!!!!!!!!
She will always have her little qwirks. That's what makes her......I learned big time with "Her Highness....Micki." LOL LOL.

I'm a little concerned....IMO....the stones you chose could be hard on her paws, may be hard to keep her footing, possibly make her pads sore.
When we set up the dog run on the farm......did about 3" gravel....formed a good hard base....then on top of that.....put in pea stones....much easier on their paws......no sharp stones to make their paws sore....drying time after rain or snow is very brief....the guys stayed quite clean.....how's Bella going to dig holes with those big stones.....LOL....LOL...

Not trying to be bossy, Aneeda.
Enjoy your day, Aneeda and Miss Bella.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Bella’s new harness came yesterday and we got it on her and after a couple fittings it’s fine. As I let her out of the crate this morning, I popped it over her head, held her between my legs, and managed to get the darn thing on her by myself without getting bit.

I will do this every morning while she is just waking up as I think it will be easier than after she is up and running around. Then when it’s time for her walk I only have to get the harness leash on which is very hard to do.

Tweaked my back last night so no sleep hardly at all, but still have to walk.
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Sorry about your back....take it easy....Bella....be easy on Mom.
 
MickaC said:
Love hearing updates on you and Miss Bella.
She's come a long ways, i think you're both doing great !!!!!!!!!!
She will always have her little qwirks. That's what makes her......I learned big time with "Her Highness....Micki." LOL LOL.

I'm a little concerned....IMO....the stones you chose could be hard on her paws, may be hard to keep her footing, possibly make her pads sore.
When we set up the dog run on the farm......did about 3" gravel....formed a good hard base....then on top of that.....put in pea stones....much easier on their paws......no sharp stones to make their paws sore....drying time after rain or snow is very brief....the guys stayed quite clean.....how's Bella going to dig holes with those big stones.....LOL....LOL...

Not trying to be bossy, Aneeda.
Enjoy your day, Aneeda and Miss Bella.
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She is digging just fine 😍. Had to put some big cement places on a big hole she was digging. I don’t want her to learn that she can dig under the fence 😳. We did 5000 steps and she was not even taking a deep breath. Had to wrestle her to get her harness off.☹️ Once she is fully awake, she is a bear. I may need rubber bullets.

Then once her harness and halti leash is off we do the down and calm down exercise. Always a fight always. I am now exhausted. After 20 minutes she is finally in the down position and watching tv for 10 minutes. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The rocks are fine, I appreciate your concern. They are recommended for dogs to strengthen their toes and toughen their pads, as you know, they are not sharp. Bella would eat pea grave.

She will carry rocks in her mouth. I think bending over so much to move the cement pieces hurt my back and then I moved wrong during the 1 hour of sleep I got. Ugh.

Took a half pain pill at midnight which helped my knees but not my back. I really have problems with pain pills anymore. Wonder if I am allergic. Will take it real easy today otherwise I’ll be in a wheelchair for a couple weeks-that is the pattern with me.

Bella keeps trying to escape the down position😂 got to crate her and go do my next unfavorite thing, picking up the poop. She poops like a champion 😂
 
hollydolly said:
sorry about your back...that's horribly painful, it happens to me so I do know.. hope it eases with some heat applied..

As for Bellas ' new harness,that's exactly what we always had to do with our miniature labradoodle.. I nicknamed him Magawi, because he went from this cute tiny pup to a screeching wriggling biter, when we tried to get a lead on him, he just got so excited ... he's a sweet gentle dog now he's old , well in truth he became very sweet and obedient as soon as he got to about 3 months ... :love:

Sometimes before going for a walk, he'd fight so much we'd end up up top of the stairs and back down again, before I could get it on him..he'd be screaming and biting the whole time...

None of the other doodles did this...or in fact any of the other dogs... this was him around a month old

043.jpg
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Honestly, I have never had as stubborn a dog as Bella is. She drives me to the edge of craziness with her biting. She will be 5 months this week.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Honestly, I have never had as stubborn a dog as Bella is. She drives me to the edge of craziness with her biting. She will be 5 months this week.
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5months already..? wow!! she's a little taurean,same as Stanley... she's got the Taurean stubbornness, once she's made her mind up to do something it'll take a mountain to change her...

My daughter and ex s-i-l were both Dog trainers, so they were able to train stan quite quickly..and all the rest of their dogs in different ways
 
hollydolly said:
5months already..? wow!! she's a little taurean,same as Stanley... she's got the Taurean stubbornness, once she's made her mind up to do something it'll take a mountain to change her...

My daughter and ex s-i-l were both Dog trainers, so they were able to train stan quite quickly..and all the rest of their dogs in different ways
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Well, it took me two years to teach my son with DS that if you put two quarters in a pop machine, you could get a pop. Then they raised the price to 3 quarters 🤦🏻‍♀️. As for Bella, once she decides something she is doing it, and that is that. 😂
 
Aneeda.....it's not that i love Bella being a she devil....when i click LOVE......enjoy hearing about the happenings and the going on.....good or bad.
Try and ease up some, to tone the pain.
I know... easier said than done.
 
Aneeda72 said:
I know. I really do love Bella; but I wish she was less of a challenge. She is improving. 😍
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I know...in a perfect world.
I don't mean to give an impression i'm an expert dog trainer......nowhere near.
Micki.....have our share of challenges....have to keep check on them.....some, we just live with, because it's just who she is....many things are Corgi stubbornness.....and other things is just because she's Micki.....would never want to be without her.
Noah.......he's is a good boy, for the most part, there are challenges with him as well.....he's so highly breed, he can be high strung, getting his barking toned down.....Shelties can be very barky....his bark is very high pitched.....can be very annoying......bad behavior at meal times, we are making progress after over 4 years......but......he is very loyal and attached to me, is my shadow, he also has a jealous streak....but once again, i wouldn't want to be without him.
Shaalee......she's my sweet little girl....14 1/2 years.....i've got her barking toned down when she's looking out the window.....other traits are just who she is.

I've often thought......having Ceaser Malon, the dog whisperer? not sure i have the name right.....come to train the issues out of my guys.
 
MickaC said:
I know...in a perfect world.
I don't mean to give an impression i'm an expert dog trainer......nowhere near.
Micki.....have our share of challenges....have to keep check on them.....some, we just live with, because it's just who she is....many things are Corgi stubbornness.....and other things is just because she's Micki.....would never want to be without her.
Noah.......he's is a good boy, for the most part, there are challenges with him as well.....he's so highly breed, he can be high strung, getting his barking toned down.....Shelties can be very barky....his bark is very high pitched.....can be very annoying......bad behavior at meal times, we are making progress after over 4 years......but......he is very loyal and attached to me, is my shadow, he also has a jealous streak....but once again, i wouldn't want to be without him.
Shaalee......she's my sweet little girl....14 1/2 years.....i've got her barking toned down when she's looking out the window.....other traits are just who she is.

I've often thought......having Ceaser Malon, the dog whisperer? not sure i have the name right.....come to train the issues out of my guys.
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he's got quite a poor reputation among Dog trainers.

My ex s-i-l who had a TV show and a radio show of his own, once challenged Ceaser Milan to meet him and train some untrainable dogs, because S-I-L was furious at the wrong things CM was doing... .. CM refused...
 
We are back from our long drive to son's home.

Mac did well on the trip up, slept all the way.
Semi wreck on way back, held us up for an hour.

Put his harness on before we left,, didn't want to take chance of him getting loose at rest stops.

He didn't like the leash & harness.
When at son's would roll & roll in the lawn trying to get it off.

There is a private road we could walk on for longer walks.
When we would head back,, Mac would try to run,, I would walk faster.
Interesting to watch him change paces ,, ,, faster & back to slow.

Glad to read of how Bella is coming along.
Good work.
 
Sliverfox said:
We are back from our long drive to son's home.

Mac did well on the trip up, slept all the way.
Semi wreck on way back, held us up for an hour.

Put his harness on before we left,, didn't want to take chance of him getting loose at rest stops.

He didn't like the leash & harness.
When at son's would roll & roll in the lawn trying to get it off.

There is a private road we could walk on for longer walks.
When we would head back,, Mac would try to run,, I would walk faster.
Interesting to watch him change paces ,, ,, faster & back to slow.

Glad to read of how Bella is coming along.
Good work.
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Thanks, Bella rolls a lot still but it is getting less and less. It must be a little dog thing.
 
Bella is crated at night. She can now wait from midnight to 5:30 possibly 6 am to go potty. Hallelujah. 😂. Before I put her out, we do place and stay training. She can do it for about 30 seconds 😳 before she breaks. It’s a process. The trick is to treat her before she breaks.

I put my foot stool in front of her crate, bicycle gloves on to avoid an accidental bite, open crate door, give wait command until she actually waits, otherwise door is closed on her. I am sitting in front of the crate door give her the ok, and she rushes out.

I am holding her harness open and as she rushes out she sticks her head through the harness, and now its half way on. She ends up with her head between my legs, close my legs, her head is trapped.

As fast as possible i adjust the harness and clip on side of the waist as she finally gets loose of my legs; but now I have hold of her collar and neck. I push her back between my legs, clip the other side, and grab her collar and neck again. Clip her leash on and she is ready to practice place. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Takes about 5 minutes and I have no bites.

She also lets me pet her a bit now. YAY.

Then outside to potty, drink, and eat. Fresh water and her food are already in her dog run. All the poop is picked up. Eat drink poop, open pen, pet her a little if she is willing. She sits, waits, ok, she rushes past, grab the handle of her harness, leash on. I am exhausted.

we go into the house. She pulls, we stop, she sits rinse repeat several times. Kitchen gate, sit, wait, takes a few tries, I go through, ok Bella, Bella goes through tires to gallop off. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Practice down amd calm command, ugh, 30 seconds Bella just down for 30 seconds. Then the other leash, over the neck, twist over the mouth, tighten on the neck, click to the collar, and it’s on. Takes about 10-15 minutes of fighting biting twisting pulling wiggling ball of a bear of a dog while I alternate between holding her down by her scuff of her neck and holding her muzzle closed.

Now I get my coat on, my phone, my keys, and agressive dog spray in case of an encounter; we make it to my walker, and an hour walk for Bella around two blocks. She still pulls a bit but is doing better.

We get home, practice the down calm, for as long as it takes to get her to be down for 5 minutes which can take an hour. Take off halter leash, take her outside, take off other leash, leave harness on so husband can do his walk to the end of the block and back walk. He can wrestle the harness off. 😂. He will play fetch with her later.

There will be a couple more place and down practices. I am beginning to doubt I will live long enough to train her as a service dog, she is so stubborn. But she will be a well behaved pet dog, I hope. 😂
 
Didn’t walk Bella yesterday. My fibromyalgia flared and a long walk was not possible, I did work in the garden in the morning, slow and steady; but by afternoon I could hardly move so had to sit and watch tv. Even forgot to put my fitbit on after my shower. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I let Bella have the run of the back yard for a while and she wore herself out. Still tired this morning so no long walk again, but out to work in the garden. Bella let me put her harness on this morning with very little biting/mouth. Could it be she is starting to calm down?

However, her place/stay did not go well. Had to keep re directing her. If she was a lab, she would have this nailed by now 😂. But then she would also weight 50 pounds instead of 18 so, it’s a trade off.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Didn’t walk Bella yesterday. My fibromyalgia flared and a long walk was not possible, I did work in the garden in the morning, slow and steady; but by afternoon I could hardly move so had to sit and watch tv. Even forgot to put my fitbit on after my shower. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I let Bella have the run of the back yard for a while and she wore herself out. Still tired this morning so no long walk again, but out to work in the garden. Bella let me put her harness on this morning with very little biting/mouth. Could it be she is starting to calm down?

However, her place/stay did not go well. Had to keep re directing her. If she was a lab, she would have this nailed by now 😂. But then she would also weight 50 pounds instead of 18 so, it’s a trade off.
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Sorry you are hurting so much. Hope Bella starts to calm down for you soon. I had a friend who trains service dogs but they are all labs and you are right, they train pretty fast. Wishing you luck.
 
Bella did really well yesterday. So. many strangers in and outside of the house, yet she did not bark at all. Lots of whimpering as she wanted to be petted, but I warned them she can bite, although that is finally starting to stop due to the little air gun we bought.

Yes, she is finally enjoying being petted for a limited amount of time. Even I can pet her 😂. She has been refusing her place command training, but eventually she will behave. Doing better on wait though. She is a lot of work, but her size is perfect for us.
 
Glad to read that Bella is doing better for you.

Mac asked out twice this morning & did his business.
About an hour or so later ,, asked Hubby, has he Mac peed.???

Asked dog ,,'do you need to go p' ?

You guessed it peed on floor, in front of us!

After being up about 2 hours ,,its nap time for him.

I got some ticks on my hands yesterday dead heading flowers.
Its rainy today,, thinking of flinging some lime around that area.
 


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