Brother - Heavy handed with his puppy

[scamperfarms]

huksys are wonderfully smart dogs. just keep in mind they have a high prey drive. make suere you give her a command for not chaseing the cats. for our husky we use a firm NO CHASE and have since she was a pup..and it works great.

 

[rosiemac]

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

he hit the puppy with a broom handle because she went potty all over his bed.

Oh God my stomach just flipped when i read that

I'm proud of you for calling them

Oh and maybe your uncle needs a visit from them as well

Get proof by having a camera on you.

 

[lsulover]

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

Thanks for the help! I ended up calling the humane society this evening after I found out he hit the puppy with a broom handle because she went potty all over his bed. I have her in my custody now and have renamed her Shorty. Joe is now seriously peeved because the officer came out with me in tow and had a looong talk with him. Basically scared the crap out of Joe. After the officer made sure Shorty had a home with me, he left and, yes, I smacked Joe with the broom handle.

I was just so upset it's unreal. He seemed to find it funny that he smacked her everywhere he could reach with the broom then put her in a kennel with his already grown Shepherd. (The shepherd was left to him by a friend, but, he's already grown and won't put up with Joes tricks) Now I'm having the fun of training her to not chase the kitties. She's shut in my bathroom when nobody is in the house then she's in my bedroom with me. Joe's taught her to chase cats so that's going to stop. I have her somewhat leash trained now after walking her for awhile today. Shorty is a smart little girl! When I told her "come home" she ran right to my car and didn't even look back.

Thanks again gang! And one last request, keep your fingers crossed that I can break her of the kitty chase habit soon or I'll have to hand her over to the pound.

I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad that you now have this puppy. I know that she will quit chasing the little kitties. You sound like a very caring and patient person. If I could see you in person I would give you a great big hug.

 

[chrissyr]

We made strides last night/this morning with Shorty and the cats. We have a "high-strung" fearless cat named Puff. She darted past Shorty last night when we went for our walk and she jerked the leash. I held her still and said "No cat." Shorty whined at me but didn't try to chase Puff. This morning, Puff raced by again and Shorty tried to go after her. I held on and said "No cat." She gave me a look, sorta like I was withholding her food. So, we went out for our afternoon walk, she saw Puff run by and just sat down and looked at me. I know the look too. It was the "Please let me go play with the kitty" look. I told her she was a good girl and petted her all over. I even got her tummy out of the deal. Shorty loves being praised! She'll about turn herself inside out to hear she's a good girl.

 

[lsulover]

You are doing a great job with Shorty, she will learn that it is better to be loved and praised then what was happening to her before. She already sound like she is thriving on what you are doing for her.

 

[KitEKats4Eva!]

Chrissy that is fantastic news and I can tell you as a trainer that what you are doing is PERFECT. Well done to you - Shorty must have been destined to have your as her Mummy!

 

[babywukong]

That is a wonderful rescue story, I'm glad that you had the courage to call the authorities on your own brother and rescue sweet lil Shorty. I've always heard that huskies are VERY wilful and are terribly difficult to train. On top of having a high prey drive and the tendency to run away and never look back, I was skeptical about you being able to train Shorty not to run after your kitties.. .But it seems you have proven my doubts wrong, kudos to you! Perhaps Shorty knows she's been rescued by you and is trying to be a very good girl for your sake because she wants to continue living with you

 

[lsulover]

Originally Posted by BabyWukong

That is a wonderful rescue story, I'm glad that you had the courage to call the authorities on your own brother and rescue sweet lil Shorty. I've always heard that huskies are VERY wilful and are terribly difficult to train. On top of having a high prey drive and the tendency to run away and never look back, I was skeptical about you being able to train Shorty not to run after your kitties.. .But it seems you have proven my doubts wrong, kudos to you! Perhaps Shorty knows she's been rescued by you and is trying to be a very good girl for your sake because she wants to continue living with you

What a great post, I do think Shorty is trying very hard to. I think she just wants to be loved.

 

[wookie130]

I just wanted to jump in and offer my praises on a job well done! You absolutely did the right thing by rescuing Shorty, and giving her a chance to prove to the world what a great companion she can be. And it did take a lot of courage to confront your brother with the authorities...perhaps this will help him take the first few steps in examining what type of pet owner he SHOULD be. Even if he doesn't, at least you can sleep well knowing that Shorty is now in good hands, and that you saved her from a puppyhood of abuse and maltreatment. Good for you!

 

[lsulover]

Originally Posted by wookie130

I just wanted to jump in and offer my praises on a job well done! You absolutely did the right thing by rescuing Shorty, and giving her a chance to prove to the world what a great companion she can be. And it did take a lot of courage to confront your brother with the authorities...perhaps this will help him take the first few steps in examining what type of pet owner he SHOULD be. Even if he doesn't, at least you can sleep well knowing that Shorty is now in good hands, and that you saved her from a puppyhood of abuse and maltreatment. Good for you!

I agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pushylady]

Thank you for rescuing Shorty! sounds like you're doing wonderfully well with her.

I walk a husky regularly. She has the high prey drive and will chase birds, squirrels, etc and hunt for mice. But she was raised with a cat and taught not to chase them. She's even good with cats we meet outside, although she's obviously very interested in them, she'll just stare and not chase them.

 

[KitEKats4Eva!]

Just to be a bit of a bore

I just wanted to dispel the myth that Shorty is doing what she is doing to try to please you. Dogs don't behave in this way - it's action vs consequence for doggies. If it's works for them, they'll keep doing it. By association, if pleasing you works for them, they'll do it. If it doesn't, they could care less whether they please you or not!!

I'm only saying this, Chrissy, because I don't want you to make the mistake of thinking that Shorty is learning to please you - because it will make your training fall down somewhat. Basically, the instinct she has to chase cats gives her a MAJOR pay-off, so you need to not only train her to obey you, but also initially give her something better than chasing cats to distract her. A toy, a treat, something else to chase. That's the way to train her and train her for good.

 

[chrissyr]

Thanks everyone! I love having her in my life. She's a ball of energy that just doesn't stop.

I distract her with a ball. When Puff runs by, I still hold the leash, say "no cat" then "sit". She'll sit then I tell her she's a good girl and as reward we play ball in the yard. (Fenced in so Puff doesn't try her luck.) I have visions of her getting ahold of Puff. I almost considered spraying Puff with bitter apple spray, just in case, but then she wouldn't want to groom herself, so that wouldn't work out.

Shorty has had some minor set-backs. Not anything that I wasn't expecting or waiting for. Our oldest dog is turning 12 years in a few months and he's a pitt/husky. He had a strong desire to chase anything that moved. (Yes, he used to be my brothers first dog. I got him when Butch was about 3 months old) I found with him he loved toys and that's what he was distracted with. Although, his favorite toy is my shoe....with my foot still inside of it. LOL

I'm hoping Shorty still continues to improve. I realize we're going to have our issues and butt heads because she's shown a stubborn streak about ten miles wide. I have a trap set for Puff so I hope to trap her, again, soon and get her back into the fence with the rest of the colony so she won't distract Shorty too much. On one hand I know the interactions between Shorty and Puff are good for Shorty because I can teach her what "no cat" means. On the other hand, I have visions of Shorty not listening and getting away from me when she's bigger and it's be bye bye Puff.

 

[KitEKats4Eva!]

Chrissy - you're a natural. Honestly, every post of yours I read just warms my heart

 

[chrissyr]

Thanks Sarah. I just keep trying my best with Shorty. I realized today that my youngest dog will be 5 years old in a few months. I knew I was getting rusty, but geez! LOL

Short update on Shorty. She's still doing well with not chasing the cats. But, she's sad right now. We were playing earlier yesterday with the ball and she got the ball before I could move my hand and she clamped down. Tore part of my hand up. I yelled, screamed, cursed and Shorty hid. I coaxed her out after I got my hand to stop bleeding and made sure she was alright. She was scared of me and belly crawled to me. I got her up and sat down with her so she could sniff my hand. She somewhat shied away from my hand like she was afraid I was going to slap her a shot. I petted her instead. Told her she was a good girl and it was an accident. Showed her, I hope, that I wasn't mad at her. She keeps looking at me with sad eyes now, though. I know she "knows" I got hurt somehow and thinks she was bad. She looks like she's expecting the beating of a lifetime and I could gladly go hurt my brother for her reaction to me now. This is going to take some time to work through.

 

[KitEKats4Eva!]

Yes it will, but as time goes by and she learns that not all shouting and yelling = Shorty getting beaten, she will come around. There will be times in your life when you get angry and frustrated and cry and shout and she needs to learn that these episodes don't have anything to do with her.

There is nothing that equals unconditional love and affection. Dogs need it the same as humans do - probably even more, and if you keep showing her that times when you are angry do not automatically mean that she is going to be punished - or even has anything to do with it - she will gain confidence. She has been damaged by your brother's treatment of her, sadly, but she's a young puppy and she is in a loving home and good hands now, and she will soon gain confidence and be responsive to love and not so afraid. It's still under the surface with her, and you're treating her well - and you know, your reaction will probably teach her more about being careful where she puts her teeth than she knew before.

Obviously, it's not the desired response, but you couldn't help it - you were in pain! An aversive reaction like that can be scary for your dog, but bite inhibition is really an important lesson to learn, and if she understands more about when to bite and when not to bite, then perhaps that's the silver lining in this incident, even though I know you would change things if you could.

Don't stress about it - she'll be ok, and you're doing a great job

 

[lsulover]

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

Thanks Sarah. I just keep trying my best with Shorty. I realized today that my youngest dog will be 5 years old in a few months. I knew I was getting rusty, but geez! LOL

Short update on Shorty. She's still doing well with not chasing the cats. But, she's sad right now. We were playing earlier yesterday with the ball and she got the ball before I could move my hand and she clamped down. Tore part of my hand up. I yelled, screamed, cursed and Shorty hid. I coaxed her out after I got my hand to stop bleeding and made sure she was alright. She was scared of me and belly crawled to me. I got her up and sat down with her so she could sniff my hand. She somewhat shied away from my hand like she was afraid I was going to slap her a shot. I petted her instead. Told her she was a good girl and it was an accident. Showed her, I hope, that I wasn't mad at her. She keeps looking at me with sad eyes now, though. I know she "knows" I got hurt somehow and thinks she was bad. She looks like she's expecting the beating of a lifetime and I could gladly go hurt my brother for her reaction to me now. This is going to take some time to work through.

You are doing a wonder job with Shorty, and it does sound like she was scared, she probably has gotten slapped or something in her lifetime. Keep doing what you are doing, I am so happy that you are in her life.