Odinn is stubborn, as hell. Bite..Ow...Bite..Ow..etc etc etc...
I have the POWER!
I have never had a dog this young before, or this stubborn lol, so this is kind of new to me. But I have something powerful, something everyone has..the power of the internet! I have done lots of research and reading and watching lots of movies and videos on puppy raising and specific training techniques. Some are bad and some are good, it is up to me and my logical mind and some common sense and compassion to realize what is good training and what is bad..
Training video on correcting puppy for biting by popping it in the jaw?...Bad...
Training video and reading materials on yelping when puppy bites to teach him he's hurting you, using his own natural built in instincts.....Good!
Since I started the yelping training a couple days ago, it's been working. Odinn is still mouthy, which is normal since dogs explore with their mouths, but he is no longer hurting me anymore, and if he gets too excited, I Yelp OW and stop playing with him. Then he sulks off and goes to lay down in the corner all butt hurt, lol. But he's learning.
Bite inhibition is so important. A dog will always explore things with its mouth but a puppy will grow out of mouthing everything, but if it doesn't learn this important skill its mouth can become very dangerous. Once a puppy loses those puppy teeth and has adult teeth, the teeth aren't what are going to hurt you, it's that jaw power that can break your skin, cause lacerations, injury, crushed bones, etc... The larger the dog the worse the injury. This is why bite inhibition is SO important. Especially if you have children or if your dog will ever be around children.
A random note now about fashion..
I'm not talking about dressing Odinn up in cute clothes, he's too big for that lol. Although you bet if he was smaller and single coated I would get him some cute clothes for sure. But I'm talking about collars. One of the most important "accessories" for a dog. Not only does it label your dog as "owned" and "taken" to strangers, a collar can hold ID information to help you dog find its way home. Collars are also fun because there are so many different ones.
We learned a valuable lesson... We wanted to get Odinn a nice "tough" collar. A black leather spiked collar. Now although it looked adorable on him and made him look like a toughie, man those sharp things are pokey. I can't hug my dog and anytime he leaned on me it felt like a prodding needle or something. So needless to say we're sticking to flat collars. But it was interesting to learn. I never would've thought a spiked collar would hurt me lol. Who would've thought? Duh lol.
Here's a new thought...
I just can't let this breed thing go. I don't know why, maybe because it's a mystery to me and trying to figure out Odinn's true identity is searing a burning hole through my mind. Another breed mix idea came to my mind today as I was perusing hybrid breed sites and speaking with another dog savvy friend of mine.
Saint Dane = Saint Bernard x Great Dane
Sounds posposterous?! I think not.
The very exact markings he has on the face resemble the markings of a harlequin great dane, and the freckles are unmistakingly saint bernard.
He is slightly fluffy, but not too fluffy, an example of a smooth coated breed with a thick coated breed mix. He has the build of a larger dog, but everyday is growing and getting taller with longer legs and he has huge growth plates.
He has a thick head of a Saint bernard but the body build of a dane, not as thin and lanky, but with both breeds together it would make sense that his body build would have to meet halfway there.
So that is my thought on that. I'm convinced now after seeing many pup pictures of the same mix that look exactly like Odinn, that this the mix he is. Case Closed, for now. Although he'll still be our Saint Beast to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment