Hi All

I would like to ask you for advice!
We have recently had to have one of our dog's put to sleep and our 6 month old jack russell cross is missing him terribly he spends most of the day wondering around and crying we are finding it hard to think of things to entertaine him, he has lots of toys and a bed.
Im worried also because when he is left on his own he is getting a tendancy to chew cabels!he isnt left on his own often but i don't want this problem to get worse!.

The best thing to do like you say is to distract him with treats and games etc, and give him lots of cuddles. Another option is to get another dog, maybe not a pup a dog that is a bit older like between 2 and 4 so that he has a figure to look up to!

Help looking for advice regarding my yorkshire terrier 18 month dogs.constantly bark when we go out walking despite use of distraction methods. they work for short time.Plus the have started to wee when we go out for long periods.Previously used cage to train them when they were pups,should be use this again but have concerns that they would want to use this as their toilet permanently. thanks

Hey there.

I'm new to here, apologies if a similar posting has already been made, I couldn't find anything though

My 15 month old Dobe, Tanner, was fully house trained at about the 5 month mark, what I good, good boy I thought! On 14th August he was castrated and since then he's been peeing in the house most nights and sometimes during the day (when I'm not home). By the amount of kitchen paper I'm using it certainly isn't marking, it's a full blown pee. I've checked with my vet and he says that the castration is not responsible for this, so why has he started to do this?

When he was a pup I crate trained him and if needed the toilet he'd always ask to go out - he doesn't ask during the night now - probably doesn't want to disturb me - what a considerate boy I have! he just goes.

I'm pretty sure it's not because he's scared or lonely as I have a second dog, a Staffie, Luna.

Any ideas greatly appreciated - my husband is threatening the glue factory lol!

Thanks

I really need some help with my dog... he is mental!

I have had him for 5 years (he was about 6 months when we got him)

He is such a sweet dog but when i am in the house on my own with him (when my mum goes to out)he bites me and wont let me sit down, he continuasly barks and jumps up and nips me - i then have to throw him out in the the hall or the garden!!

I am desparete to watch telly without him attacking me!!! CAN ANYBODY HELP!!

Hi folks.
Are there any collie psychologists out there?
I have a 1 year old collie who will not give up his ball or stick until he wants to. I've tried enticing him with something better, but he ignores treats and squeaky toys. My strategy at the moment is to ignore him until he does drop it, then throw again, but it would be nice to know how to make him drop when I ask.
Thanks

Just watched the program with Benji being put down...

Why was he not muzzled in the first place?

M.

I thought they might put something on to say it might contdiain distressing scenes - fair enough the dog had to be put down but did we really have to see its final waking moments before walking, tail wagging into the vets????

I blubbed at this programme lastnight.

Damn PMT.

quote:

Originally posted by ~Tixylix~:
I thought they might put something on to say it might contdiain distressing scenes - fair enough the dog had to be put down but did we really have to see its final waking moments before walking, tail wagging into the vets????

I posted something similar elsewhere. I'm really angry that there was no warning and the amount of detail they showed- though by the end I had walked out of the room blubbing! I won't be watching it again.

That eviil woman has a website wonder how many people were on it didnt see the programme myself but my family are still jumping mad about the dog being put down.And they would like to know why the dog only picked on that one child she must have done something to it to make it do that+where were the parents at the time.

I saw the programme last night and wish I hadn't! I agree with the above posts as to why there was no warning at the start of the programme. We were extremely upset by the way poor Benji was treated and the way it was portrayed - we cried too. Just because Victoria didn't have the answer doesn't mean there wasn't one! And we all know that not all vets are behavioural experts either. I was awake most of the night thinking about him, and today at work that awful programme is on my mind all the time too. Victoria, if you are reading this, we think you are a callous and heartless person! We won't be watching again!!

Has anybody been on to Vicorias website yet she has put out a statement on what happend on last nights programme.Have read all of the messages on this forumm and her forum is there anymore out there to read.We have two cockers one pure black one pure brown.Benji was in the wrong home a suffered the ultimate penalty his life.

quote:

brown.Benji was in the wrong home a suffered the ultimate penalty his life.

I was the teenage boy on last nights programme and i am disgusted with all of your comments, nobody could have loved that Dog more than the owners, did you not see the pain on the face and the tears when the dog had to be put down?! It was the hardest decision the family had had to make we have had cocker spaniles before and they have been no trouble, however this dog(benji) had a problem in its brain, we traced it back to its previous owners, an adorable dog one minute cbecame a savage the next without warning. Its a shame but other owners had been bitten but not told us about it, so it wasnt in the wrong home(how dare you judge us on 30 minutes of film you hypocrite) It was a terrible loss but a dog cannot go around biting people. It wasnt just the one girl either it has attacked at least 4 or 5 withour reason! Also i trust a Vets opinion and Victorias opinion, people witht the indepth knowledge of the subject to provide the right decision. What you didnt see onn the Documentary was how the VET said there was no choice! So dont judge us, it was a terrible loss, but it was the only choice. So if you dont like it dont watch, i very much doubt you would have done anything differnet in this situation. If you have a problem with my family ill happily give you something to have a problem about, i cannot believe the judgemental people on here you have no idea, literally not a clue and have decided to try and prove some kind of superiority, with your views at a terrible loss.

Hi Fully agree with u, we have been asking the same questions too. Have just posted an email to Channel 4 viewer enquiries.

quote:

Originally posted by Cassiopeia04:

quote:

Originally posted by ~Tixylix~:
I thought they might put something on to say it might contdiain distressing scenes - fair enough the dog had to be put down but did we really have to see its final waking moments before walking, tail wagging into the vets????

I posted something similar elsewhere. I'm really angry that there was no warning and the amount of detail they showed- though by the end I had walked out of the room blubbing! I won't be watching it again.

I have been reading through this forum after watching last night's programme - which upset me greatly - and feel the need to respond to the comments made by the teenage boy featured on the show.

I personally am very sorry for you and the terrible decision the family had to make and I have very mixed feelings about what the outcome should have been. In my heart I feel so sad that it was decided nothing more could be done to rehabilitate Benji - but I also appreciate the fact that I wasn't there and my head tells me to try not to be judgemental over what happened.

Sadly, I think that rather than attack the posts that have already been made, or indeed the owners, perhaps the focus should be on the programme. I felt it was a very serious aspect of dog ownership that was tackled last night and that 30 minutes (where there is an ad break and much repeated commentary) was simply not long enough to tell what I am sure is a much bigger story. By the time I got to the end (in tears), I couldn't help but cynically feel that this situation was a gift for the producers of the show and something didn't feel right to me about how it had been edited and narrated. As a mere viewer I was left feeling that more could have been done and that perhaps it was the wrong home for such exhuberant dogs that do need a lot of stimulation, exercise and boundaries. Unfortunately the extremely bad behaviour shown at the start of the show does make the audience feel that the owners had not addressed a whole range of problems that should never have been allowed to get so out of hand. Is that judgement the fault of the viewer? They are, after all, only responding to what has been shown to them.

The viewer was also not made fully aware of the other incidents that are mentioned by the boy's posting, and it did not detail everything involved in the final decision. As a result it seemed that the decision was based only on a phone call to VS and the vet, which is perhaps an unfair assessment. As for the mention of the dog having physical/mental problems, again this was skirted over.

Even if we weren't shown the very private decision making process, a lot more could have been made of this opportunity to really get the point across to viewers of how every aspect of dog ownership calls for responsibility and a huge investment of time and effort. For me these messages were lost as I got very emotional at the distressing scenes of the dog being led to the vets and then the burial afterwards; and although I don't necessarily think these scenes shouldn't have been shown, I didn't feel they were fully integrated as part of a very difficult and painful process. Something did seem a bit gratuitous about it and I also worry that rather than sending a message out to owners to put time into their pets, it may lead to people giving up at the first sign of trouble. NOT because I think that's what happened to Benji, but because I don't think the programme fully covered all of the issues.

This programme should have been more thorough and fully rammed home the above messages. Instead, it got 30 minutes while we had Jodie Marsh last week getting (if my memory is correct) a full hour. She displayed a complete lack of responsibility - even getting another dog in the process - and although she was reprimanded by VS, I felt this episode trivialised what is actually a weighty and emotive issue (as we can see from what happened to Benji). Sometimes bad ownership doesn't mean mistreating or abusing a dog, it can mean loving your dog so much that you don't want to enforce your rules resulting in bad behaviour becoming ingrained. I am the owner myself of a quite highly strung cocker spaniel and I don't write from an ivory tower of perfect dog ownership. I have put in a lot of work and I know that I must take precautions in situations where she can't be trusted. If anything happens it will be my fault and not hers.

quote:

Originally posted by I beat the system:

quote:

brown.Benji was in the wrong home a suffered the ultimate penalty his life.

I was the teenage boy on last nights programme and i am disgusted with all of your comments, nobody could have loved that Dog more than the owners, did you not see the pain on the face and the tears when the dog had to be put down?! It was the hardest decision the family had had to make we have had cocker spaniles before and they have been no trouble, however this dog(benji) had a problem in its brain, we traced it back to its previous owners, an adorable dog one minute cbecame a savage the next without warning. Its a shame but other owners had been bitten but not told us about it, so it wasnt in the wrong home(how dare you judge us on 30 minutes of film you hypocrite) It was a terrible loss but a dog cannot go around biting people. It wasnt just the one girl either it has attacked at least 4 or 5 withour reason! Also i trust a Vets opinion and Victorias opinion, people witht the indepth knowledge of the subject to provide the right decision. What you didnt see onn the Documentary was how the VET said there was no choice! So dont judge us, it was a terrible loss, but it was the only choice. So if you dont like it dont watch, i very much doubt you would have done anything differnet in this situation. If you have a problem with my family ill happily give you something to have a problem about, i cannot believe the judgemental people on here you have no idea, literally not a clue and have decided to try and prove some kind of superiority, with your views at a terrible loss.

I totally agree with you how people say that when know nothing about the background etc of the dog its only a progmrame and things like that happen! if a dog has drawn blood from ANYONE they must be put down for everyones safty. My condolences go out to you"i beat the system* 1 year ago next month men my bf had to put down his collie under other circumstances! keep your chin up, i know its hard! we adoped a collie this year from manchester dogs home and are getting another next yr!!

If putting the dog down was necessary, fair enough bu it was the showing of the dog happily walking into the vet, then the scenes showing him digging his grave and carrying the dead dog to it. This was the distressing part for people, if the dog had a neurological problem fine, fair enough but we did not need 2 see the final scenes.

Hello teenage boy, did it not occur to you that none of this need not happen? Whose responsible for that? I respect the decision that you've made, but who is suffering now?

I disagree with the standards that are practiced regarding the advise for owners of dangerous dogs. Putting your dog down is only 1 option amongst others.

Look, I went against the advices that I had. I had no support and have to go through rehabilitation on my own. I got my knowledge from the internet, so come on experts, pull your socks up!

If I were to advise, anyone who is in similar situations, to muzzle their dogs to prevent potential injury and do some research on aggressive behaviour and pack instincts. You can set up an environment so that your dog can have a decent life.

All dogs deserve to live, it is the master who controls it's fate. For those who can not fully commit to owning a dog, don't get one.

M.

[/QUOTE]
I was the teenage boy on last nights programme and i am disgusted with all of your comments, nobody could have loved that Dog more than the owners, did you not see the pain on the face and the tears when the dog had to be put down?! [/QUOTE]

Sorry - pressed wrong button! I agree with what you are saying 'I beat the system' and I have no doubt sbout how distressing it was for the owners - I would hate to find myself in that situation. However, the focus on Benji being put own was far too much - it should have at least been mentioned that some viewers might find the scenes distressing, I would actually go as far to say that if we were simply told that had happened it have would sufficed. I watch the program to gain dog training tips, not to watch a dog on its way to lethal injection. If I wanted to watch that I would choose to watch animal hospital or something.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ming:
Hello teenage boy, did it not occur to you that none of this need not happen? Whose responsible for that? I respect the decision that you've made, but who is suffering now?

I disagree with the standards that are practiced regarding the advise for owners of dangerous dogs. Putting your dog down is only 1 option amongst others.

Look, I went against the advices that I had. I had no support and have to go through rehabilitation on my own. I got my knowledge from the internet, so come on experts, pull your socks up!

If I were to advise, anyone who is in similar situations, to muzzle their dogs to prevent potential injury and do some research on aggressive behaviour and pack instincts. You can set up an environment so that your dog can have a decent life.

All dogs deserve to live, it is the master who controls it's fate. For those who can not fully commit to owning a dog, don't get one.

M.[/QUOTE
Couldn't put it better, well said.

Firstly, I would not consider myself to be an expert on dog training, but I certainly am knowledgeable. I took and passed a two year instructors' course, and subsequently ran a training group in the UK for four years. During that time, regardless of behaviour problems, not a single dog was refused entry. I and my fellow instructors worked free of charge every week to help owners have well behaved pets that they were proud to own.

I share the view that, at some point during the programme, a warning of 'upsetting scenes' should have been broadcast. Whilst there are always time constraints in the making and showing of TV programmes, I feel strongly that the most serious aspects of this family situation were glossed over. This family was ill advised. They were not told strongly enough about how serious their situation was. They relied on being given the correct advice, and were sadly let down; not just by the shows presenter, but also by the ancillary 'trainers' from whom Ms Stillwell has assistance.

There was no little or no reference to pack structure, or dominance issues. It was quite clear that Benji thought he was the dominant one in the household, and the children were the lowest in his pack. Perhaps if the producer had spent more air time on the subject of advising the family correctly, and less time on promoting the presenter, they and their dogs may all have come out of their predicament in a much happier state. So much more could have been done to help.

As trainers, we know that it’s important to teach owners to train their own dogs. Only when owners have a basic understanding of dog behaviour, can they either begin to overcome this sort of problem, or prevent it from occurring in the first place. In the meantime, there should always be information available to help them find a knowledgeable trainer to advise them. Perhaps then, there would be fewer children bitten and fewer dogs taken for a one-way trip to the vets.