dog cats and other pet stuff.

[JumpinMacFlash]

Akitas can be amazingly large dogs. One of my friends had an Akita. Easily one of the gentlest, friendliest dogs I've ever seen. However, he was close to 120 pounds. He was trying to play with a small sheep once and accidentally killed it. He pulled it up near my friend's dad and whimpered. It's both a sad and cute story.

[Thurston Fluff]

Akitas are very gentile to people but not recommended in groups of dogs. You can't keep two of the same sex together. They are very dog aggressive. Apparently sheep aggressive as well. They have the highest bite pressure of any dog and they don't let go. Not a surprise it killed a sheep just by playing.

[trwi7]

http://i38.tinypic.com/2ebz8g0.jpg

Thought I might as well get in on this and take an actual picture.

[Funketown]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs141.ash2/40381_1424887354646_1606620031_31252959_2037808_n.jpghttp://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs398.snc4/46087_1424887234643_1606620031_31252957_3299337_n.jpg

 

Here are a couple pictures of my guy after a run. He's 11 weeks now.

[Thurston Fluff]

That looks like two separate dogs. One coming out of the wall on top of the other. great picture.

[TooLiveBrew]

trwi7, your dog looks like he starred in Men In Black thanks to his human-like pose there

 

http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2002/06-28-frank-inside.jpg

[trwi7]

trwi7, your dog looks like he starred in Men In Black thanks to his human-like pose there

Yeah she sits like that every once in a while. I just happened to turn around while she was and had my phone with me so I could take a picture and post it.

 

My uncle's dog sits like a human all the time. It's so funny how she'll get on the couch and just sit there like a person.

 

 

[sbrylski]

Speaking of human looking dogs...

 

[theavrock]

I am glad to finally be able to post in this thread. We finally got our new french bulldog puppy Ryan LeBraun James VIII

Check him out

here

and

here

[Thurston Fluff]

A friend of mine had a french bulldog that would spit at you if you got too close to his food dish. It was hilarious. I'm sure you'll enjoy him. AS a new small dog owner please don't fall into the puppy trap. Often small dogs get away with murder as pups because they are sooo cute and harmless. Even chewing things cause so little damage as to make you want to ignore it. A woman I know let things slide with her Italian greyhound to her detriment. Now, at a year old, it's a lot harder for her to train it properly.

 

BTW anyone have any ideas on how to break a female dog from hammering other dogs. A freind of mine has a great little Sheba but it is really dog aggressive. I have never had luck breaking females from dog aggressive behaviors and I'm fresh out of ideas. She's very dog aggressive but only to certain dogs. I have no idea why only some dogs and not others. It isn't like some are bothering here and she gets annoyed with them. Some aren't even near her and she goes off on them. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Akitas are very gentile to people but not recommended in groups of dogs. You can't keep two of the same sex together. They are very dog aggressive. Apparently sheep aggressive as well. They have the highest bite pressure of any dog and they don't let go. Not a surprise it killed a sheep just by playing.

I have a Shiba-Inu (basically a miniature Akita) and was told by my vet that I need to watch him around small kids, because the Shiba has one of the highest bite pressure per square inch of all dogs that fit in the 'small' dog category (25 pounds or less). He got into a scrap when the neighbor's dog (beagle) dug a hole under MY fence and got into my yard, and tore the other dog up pretty good.

 

ANYwhoo, for the most part, he's a big baby, loves people, and won't bite when he plays. He's 100% energy though, and is a LOT of work. He doesn't get along with other animals at all though.

 

Here's almost 3 year old Argo.

 

http://thumbp1.mail.vip.gq1.yahoo.com/tn?sid=1332030709&mid=AHB8v9EAAIG9TJg%2Brgc%2FpjVkpvc&midoffset=1_18805&partid=2&f=380&fid=Inbox

 

Little Argo when he was 7 weeks old, and his legs were about 3" long......... (sorry about pic quality, this is actually a photo of a photo)

 

http://thumbp1.mail.vip.gq1.yahoo.com/tn?sid=1332030709&mid=AHB8v9EAAKaZTJhEQgqYNwsj24U&midoffset=1_19271&partid=2&f=380&fid=Inbox

[1992casey]

RoCo, your images aren't showing. I think you're linking to private pages containing the images rather than the images themselves.

 

My suggestion would be to go to the pages containing the pictures, right-clicking on the image, and choosing "Copy Image Location" (or your browser's equivalent). Use that link to post the images.

[Thurston Fluff]

I have a Shiba-Inu (basically a miniature Akita)

 

Cool. They are not basically mini Akitas. They really are mini Akitas. The way the Japanese defined the differences in the breeds was by size. Yes they do have a strong bite pressure. Akita's bite pressure is the highest of all breeds of any size. Guess when you breed a dog to fight bears strong bite pressure is a feature. They also bite and hold instead of bite let go and bite again.

I'm not optimistic that my friend's Sheba dog aggressive problems are ever going to go away. Obviously yours has some of that as well. I guess it is part of the breed no matter what size you get. Pity I can't see the picture. Though if it's a Sheba you probably could just put a picture of a fox up and be close enough to be getting on with.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I have a Shiba-Inu (basically a miniature Akita)

 

Cool. They are not basically mini Akitas. They really are mini Akitas. The way the Japanese defined the differences in the breeds was by size. Yes they do have a strong bite pressure. Akita's bite pressure is the highest of all breeds of any size. Guess when you breed a dog to fight bears strong bite pressure is a feature. They also bite and hold instead of bite let go and bite again.

I'm not optimistic that my friend's Sheba dog aggressive problems are ever going to go away. Obviously yours has some of that as well. I guess it is part of the breed no matter what size you get. Pity I can't see the picture. Though if it's a Sheba you probably could just put a picture of a fox up and be close enough to be getting on with.

Yeah, I'll work on the pictures later. The thing that's really sad to me, as the Shiba becomes a more popular breed here, is I see a LOT of FAT friggin Shiba's. People think they're SOOOOO Cute (well gosh, when they're puppies, they look like a cross between a baby polar bear and a fox) and they have to have one. They think it's a little lap dog and it's not. They're really little monsters. Heh.........I digress. They require a ton of exercise. Lucky for me, we're able to be active, and promote an active and healthy lifestyle for our shiba. He's about 23 pounds, and really, built like a brick.........craphouse. He's very very rugged, can jump nearly shoulder high on me (I'm 6'0 even) and has on occasion, knocked our couch completely over when launching into it on his many romps up and down the house. And he lets us know when we haven't walked/run/roughhoused enough, trust me. He's an awesome little dog, but not one that I would recommend for many would be dog owners, unless they understand what they're getting into right from the start.

 

Ok, just added to my yuku album.

 

Argo this summer in the backyard, looking clueless.

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/edd358a79ae7874319bb0201c677ee089a78da9.jpg

 

Baby Argo in 2008 looking extra adorable.

 

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/2d135ff294668da713620b5acf0fdf30f57e68d.jpg

 

 

I also want to add/edit this post, as I read it back, I see how it might be read that I think I'm a better/more prepared dog owner than someone else, and that's not the case. Even after a lot of research of different breeds that we thought fit what we wanted to go with, and having finally decided on a Shiba, we were somewhat unprepared for the energy this little monster would require. Not that any other dog is 'easy' to raise and train, but I've had , 2 Labs, a Samoyen(sp), and a Pintscher(sp?) and the Shiba was definitely the most demanding dog I've ever trained. I was very lucky in that I was a bricklayer at the time we decided to get this new dog, and I was laid off over the winter, so the first 2 1/2 months of his life here, I was a stay at home dad. That went a long ways towards getting him established here.

[SquirrelMaster]

Anyone know when A. Percula clownfish can become a mated pair? I have two that have paired up, and they have been that way for a couple of years, but they have still not laid eggs.

[Thurston Fluff]

People think they're SOOOOO Cute (well gosh, when they're puppies, they look like a cross between a baby polar bear and a fox) and they have to have one. They think it's a little lap dog and it's not.

 

you just described what happened with the original owners of my border collie. They were a 70 year old couple looking for a lap dog. They got a border collie. Talk about lack of research. She was a fragile looking tiny pup who was an absolute terror unless she got 2 or more hours of serious work a day. She was in the pound before she was 6 months old.

 

He's very very rugged, can jump nearly shoulder high on me (I'm 6'0 even) and has on occasion, knocked our couch completely over when launching into it on his many romps up and down the house.

 

Take that jumping ability and increase the dog's size by 150% and you have the akita. Zaphod looks like this clumsy oaf but can jump a 6' fence. If your shiba looks nearly as cool while romping as my Akita does it has to be fun to watch. Only problem with both Shibas and Akitas is they usually don't catch and retrieve more than 8 times. Hard to play skip dog with them.

 

 

 

I also want to add/edit this post, as I read it back, I see how it might be read that I think I'm a better/more prepared dog owner than someone else, and that's not the case.

 

If often felt the same way. I was hesitant to even start a thread about training and such for that very reason. Once I got over feeling apologetic about it I realized I did know quite a bit about it and wanted to share. Not that I feel like I know it all. More that I realized how poorly prepared some were for dog ownership and wanted to help. Judging by your comments you shouldn't feel bad about it. It appears you do know what it takes which would put you in the top half of owners. I get what you're saying though. You don't want to be a know it all and put others down. But sharing knowledge shouldn't have to be that way. WE all need help sometimes. For those who did get in over their heads it isn't too late. Take some time watch a few shows maybe take a dog class and soon you'll have the information you need to have a happy life with your dog. That's really what it's all about.

[mothershipconnection]

Have you guys read any of Karen Pryor's stuff? As a behaviorist, I still consider it a little too fluffy, but she's far more scientific and less into folk nonsense than almost any animal trainer you'll come across. My major beef is that there's nothing magical about a clicker, period. Second, the idea that neutral/arbitrary stimuli become conditioned reinforcers in a strictly Pavlovian stimulus-stimulus sense is not settled science (a member of our lab recently systematically replicated the latest in a series of studies that show that simple pairing often fails). Additionally, some trainers with a basis in science still get way too anthropomorphic and dive into hypothetical constructs that make a behaviorist queasy.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Take that jumping ability and increase the dog's size by 150% and you

have the akita. Zaphod looks like this clumsy oaf but can jump a 6'

fence. If your shiba looks nearly as cool while romping as my Akita

does it has to be fun to watch. Only problem with both Shibas and

Akitas is they usually don't catch and retrieve more than 8 times. Hard

to play skip dog with them.

 

We were told, and of course read that Shibas and Akitas are not 'fetch' dogs and don't have big attention spans when it comes to those types of games. But Argo's obviously the exception to the rule there. He will play fetch with the same toy for an hour if you keep throwing it for him. With my lab and other dogs, if they couldn't SEE their toys, they simply didn't exist. Now if Argo wants to play fetch and the toy he wants isn't in his basket, he'll tear the crap out of the house looking for it, so simply hiding a toy from him does no good.

[Thurston Fluff]

You got a Shiba that catches more than 8 times? Now I really am jealous.

[tyguy]

Do any of you guys know any good sturdy dog toys for bigger dogs? My brother has a lab that he brings over once in a while and we play fetch but I don't really have any good toys that she won't rip up or wreck within a few minutes of playing. thanks

[mothershipconnection]

Get a Kong My Boxer had one that ended up getting lost way before it started to come apart.

[Thurston Fluff]

I'll second the kong toys. WE have a couple that have lasted years of abuse.

 

Have you guys read any of Karen Pryor's stuff? As a behaviorist, I still consider it a little too fluffy, but she's far more scientific and less into folk nonsense than almost any animal trainer you'll come across.

 

Isn't she the one who endorses clickers as some sort of miracle tool? If she is she has some good ideas on communication but I'm not really a fan of the clicker. Well worth the read and does have good ideas but sometimes she gets a little too caught up in operant conditioning. There is something to operant conditioning but it isn't as straight forward nor as strong as she suggests. Overall a good add to the list of books to read on training though.

[mothershipconnection]

There's nothing you'd be doing in dog training that isn't operant conditioning. Any behavior we'd colloquially refer to as "non-reflexive" is operant. You may occasionally be using species-typical respondent/"instinctive" relations during training, but your attempts to increase or decrease the probability of the behavior or bring it under the control of environmental stimuli would still be operant.

 

Speaking of operant conditioning, the nerd in me is pretty jazzed that (at home and without data or experimental controls) I just replicated a study which targeted food selectivity in developmentally delayed children to get my conure to switch from seed-only to a pellet diet with less than 2 hours of my time invested. I got him 2 months ago from a couple that only fed him sunflower seed for 2+ years - dude wouldn't even look at a pellet.

[Thurston Fluff]

There's nothing you'd be doing in dog training that isn't operant conditioning. Any behavior we'd colloquially refer to as "non-reflexive" is operant. You may occasionally be using species-typical respondent/"instinctive" relations during training, but your attempts to increase or decrease the probability of the behavior or bring it under the control of environmental stimuli would still be operant.

 

I both agree and disagree. A lot of what you do in training a dog is for specific short term tasks like sit, stay and front... the usual house training type of stuff. There is a whole other type of training for jobs that require the dog to figure things out and become better without the trainers direct involvement. For instance hunting dogs often have to learn the tricks of their prey. A raccoon will jump trees and backtrack. A bear will run through swamps and water to loose the dogs. Good dogs learn without direct stimuli merely because they are doing their part in the group. A good trainer for more complex type of skills needs to get the dog more enthused with the overall job so he has the drive to get better. The only way I know of to do that is to make the dog identify with his pack and work to be a good pack member. That is not accomplished by operant conditioning.

[mothershipconnection]

But it's either conditioned, or it's innate. This is clearly operant behavior, as it's not an involuntary reflex, and is a function of its consequences. If, through interaction with a pack, a dog becomes a more adept hunter, this IS operant conditioning, it's just that the relevant antecedent and consequent stimuli were not directly presented by a human. You've simply provided exposure to the contingencies/metacontingencies that shape the behavior of individual organisms in a group setting.