New Foster Dog - Haggard

[dewey]

Nothing cuter than a speckled pup! What a big boy he is. I hope everything works out great!

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

OK, so now what do I do … my wife can’t stand Hagrid.

He’s very big, playful and barkful. All of these traits are increased when I’m not home. The strange thing that happens at my home is when I’m not home is several of the dogs behave badly; mostly they bark more, in and outside of the house. She’s so, fed up with him that I find her sending him outside with the chicken roaming around because she can’t deal with him. He’s not ready to be alone with the chickens but, fortunately all he’s done to the chickens is chase them and molest them a bit (feathers are tasty). In short she doesn’t like him and probably never will, no matter what.

I love the dog. Sure, he’s a big and goofy and we need to work on training him to minimize the barking. But, he’s coming along with the chicken training and he’s getting better at learning the house rules. If you don’t mind a little slobber, he’ll gladly lay on your lap and lick your face.

So, do I redouble my efforts to work on his training to make him a better companion and adopt him? Or, do I redouble my effort to work on his training to make him a better companion and have the shelter adopt him out to another family where everyone will love him?

Yah, I know the second option is the right choice.

Jim

 

[Baymule]

What about an outside chain link kennel for him when you are not home?

 

[Baymule]

Looked up Landseer. Have never heard of this breed, he sure is a good looking dog. Sounds like he would be ok once he gets past the big puppy stage. Maybe the florist could deliver flowers from Hagrid??

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Flowers! That's a great idea!

We have a small kennel for him. It actually caused a fence battle with him and one of the other dogs. Hagrid had some pretty nice treat inside the kennel and Bella wanted them. We don't use the kennel anymore.

Jim

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

New development with the Grid. At 4 PM to about 6 PM Hagrid becomes a play bully with my wife. Conveniently, I’m not home at this time. I suspect he’s acting out for two reasons, 1) He has been cooped up in the house for too long and needs to play, 2) He’s working on a dominance ploy with my little wife.

Note, he doesn’t need to go potty; she takes him out to do that. But, he’s separated from the four other dogs and he likes to play and wrestle a lot. Unfortunately, he’s not 100% with the chickens yet, so he can’t be left outside until sundown when the chickens go night, night. So, I think he’s trying to play with Jen but, he’s playing too hard. Today he nipped he on the arm way too hard and when she yelped, he didn’t apologize. Typically he would apologize if you cried out he would say he was sorry by being submissive and licking you. Today, nothing.

It seems that he’s getting worse, which makes me think that he’s pushing the boundaries and testing to see if he can dominant my wife. Seeing that he weights as much and she’s a girl, he probable can. It’s a classic problem and happens a lot that a dog become dominant over the female human and even the male human. I don’t plan on being one of those households.

He tried this with me on Sunday. Right on time, 4 PM, he gets up and starts to bark at us. The bark was halfway between his play bark and his bark across the canyon at other dogs. I confronted him and commanded him to be quiet. He laid down disgruntled but, quiet. I then petted him for obeying. The thing is for me, he quieted down and after a little petting he was fine until dinnertime an hour later.

So, how do I help my wife gain control over the situation and for Hagrid to learn that NO means NO.

Jim

 

[Peaches Lee]

Sounds like you are in a tough situation. I don't blame your wife for becoming frustrated, a four dog household with one still in puppy stage is a lot of work. I think this dog needs a job--most dogs do, and most undesirable behaviour stems from boredom. Perhaps re-homing is the best option, to someone who could devote more time to "working" him. From your story you appear to be a great home for dogs but maybe this dog is just too much right now. If you (as in both and your wife) want to keep him then she needs to devote time with working him or have a more leadership role in his day-to-day. Maybe, if she's up to it, take him to some obedience classes. These are just suggestions and I hope everything works out for you, good luck...

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

So, Haggy was outside all day with the chickens ranging free today. There were no losses or slobbered feathers to report. I did see one chicken running out of Hagrid’s way, but he broke off the run when I called him.

Life with Hagrid outside was far more bearable for my wife. He’s was a different dog today. The 105 lb. Puppy was able to play with the other dogs and simply lay on the deck in the sun. He was much happier and so were we. We may be jumping the gun a bit, but we are hoping that if we don’t have any chicken molestation tomorrow that he can be outside when we are at work from now on. He really is showing little to no interest in the chickens currently.

Wish us luck. If he passes the test tomorrow, he might just be staying with us permanently.

Jim

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Hagrid Update: Haggy has been out with the chickens without supervision for 4 days in a row. Looks like you have ourselves a winner

Jim

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Hey all, here are some shots with Hagrid, click to enlarge.

Being good with the chickens:





Learning to play nice with the horses:





Jim