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 Training Annie
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jun 04 2016 :  06:13:13 AM  Show Profile
Sometimes I wonder whose training who. She does something I tell her to and she gets a 'Pup-Peroni training treat. Sometimes I think she barks just so I will tell her to stop and she gets her treat. Oh, well, at least it's quiet for a while.

The training treats do help with teaching her to come to my side when I say "come" and slap my thigh. They also come in handy when I am walking her and she does her business. Housebreaking is proving to be slower than I want. All the rain we have been getting hasn't helped plus she's only allowed in backyard when the chickens are in their coop which is before 8a.m and after 3p.m. Annie's doing better but she's not there yet.

Yesterday we were in my front yard and I was talking with my neighbor. He said "Annie was a good dog". As we talked she stayed by side and did not bark at him. If someone new approaches me while we are walking Annie will get in front of me and bark at the person. She stops when I tell her to but stays in front of me. She is at my side only with people she knows and accepts. I'm 5'2" and at five months Annie's back is at my knees, so when she stands her ground, with head held high and back legs spread apart she does look imposing.



Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.

churunga
True Blue Farmgirl

3919 Posts

Marie
Minneapolis MN
USA
3919 Posts

Posted - Jun 04 2016 :  08:29:25 AM  Show Profile
You have a very good dog. Your Annie has chosen the job of protecting you and it sounds as if she is good at it.

I have trained a few dogs (not professionally) and know some ways. Try to get the dog on a feeding peeing schedule. Take her out at these same times everyday without fail and walk with her. She obviously likes to be with you.

Begin replacing treats with scratches, pets and encouraging words. She will make the transition. Save the treats for really special times like before bedtime or for getting through a stressful situation. You may also allow a person you want her to trust to give her a treat.

I believe she will do what you tell her and protect anything you hold dear. Take her out with you when you care for the chickens on a lead. While you interact with them, secure Annie to a post where she can watch you lavish attention on the chickens. She will get the idea that they are precious to you and will want to protect them also. Move her closer and watch her behavior. If she acts aggressively in anyway, walk purposefully over to her and rap her on the nose somewhere between the tip and the eyes. I use just two fingers. She will straighten up fast and pretty some all you have to do is hold up those two fingers and she will get in line.

This works for me. Please contact a professional trainer before using any of my methods you are uncomfortable with. I believe this dog will become a great guard dog for you and the chickens.

Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014

Try everything once and the fun things twice.

Edited by - churunga on Jun 04 2016 08:32:08 AM
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jun 04 2016 :  10:06:15 AM  Show Profile
Thanks Marie for your good info. Part of the trouble with training Annie is me. Because of MS fatigue it's hard for me to keep her on a schedule. I'm not on a schedule. I get up between 3:30a.m. to 8a.m. and go to bed anytime after 4p.m to 10p.m. I'm up when I feel good and down when the fatigue gets heavy. Naps during the day.

Annie has adapted pretty well to my chaotic life style except for the housebreaking. Sometimes when I nap in my rocker she crawls up in my lap and sleeps with me. Don't know how much longer she will be able to fit.

I will definitively try having her on a leach around the chickens. Hope that works - it would simplify things around here.

Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl

6488 Posts

Winnie
Gainesville Fl
USA
6488 Posts

Posted - Jun 04 2016 :  1:58:29 PM  Show Profile
Sara, your Annie sounds like she is learning quickly and going to be such a wonderful dog for you too! Congratulations on all of your good and hard work with her. I bet she is a sweetie!!

Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl

13055 Posts


Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts

Posted - Jun 05 2016 :  4:36:18 PM  Show Profile
Annie sounds like she's taking you for a walk. How cute. Would love to see a picture of Annie.
Marly

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jun 12 2016 :  12:20:31 PM  Show Profile
Things are coming together around here. Annie has been doing her business outside for the last couple of days. No accidents inside.

Annie is now going into the bathroom where she stays when I leave home without a struggle. Before I would have to put her leash on to get her to go into it. When I start getting ready she will go back and forth to the bathroom. She has figured it out and seems to be okay with it.

The one big thing left is getting along with the chickens and that's going to take some doing and a lot of time. Chickens are just too much fun for her to leave them alone.

She does something cute when I go to bed either for the night. She will stand up on her hind legs, by the side of my bed, and look to make sure I am really in it. After I pat her and tell her goodnight she goes to her bed. It has become our nightly routine.



Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl

3919 Posts

Marie
Minneapolis MN
USA
3919 Posts

Posted - Jun 12 2016 :  1:21:19 PM  Show Profile
I had a dog who used to poke me on the leg if I was still up after 10:30.

Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014

Try everything once and the fun things twice.
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jun 12 2016 :  1:26:55 PM  Show Profile
They do have their own ways of letting us know what they want. It has always fascinated me how animals are able to tell time.

Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jul 27 2016 :  06:10:15 AM  Show Profile
Annie is coming along with her training with highs & lows. Last night after a good rain I put her out in the back yard and when I brought her in she was a muddy little piggy. I cleaned her up and it helped she doesn't mind her paws being touched.

I have one thing to tell y'all which should give you a good laugh. Annie is not a yellow lab & English mastiff mix after all. I never did see much mastiff in her and since I have never been around labs I wasn't sure what a lab mixed with something else should look like. The more she grew the more I knew Annie was neither.

I found her on-line last night. A fawn Great Dane with black face, 4 white paws, and white chest & belly. Annie's coloring & build is the same as the picture of the fawn Great Dane. I have learned the breeders who bred Annie also have GDs along with English Mastiffs and yellow labs. I guess when they brought the four puppies to the shelter the workers just assume they were all mastiff & lab mix.

I never wanted a Great Dane, never ever thought about having one, but I now love and want Annie so I guess having a GD in the house is a good thing.

Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl

3919 Posts

Marie
Minneapolis MN
USA
3919 Posts

Posted - Jul 27 2016 :  07:19:38 AM  Show Profile
All dogs are good. I was used to having 60 pounders - a lab/basset and a pit bull. Then we got Little Guy a 10 pound poodle mix - the kind I dog I like to call "bite sized". He was such a joy and just small enough to carry and to snuggle in tight spaces. He was the perfect bed dog.

Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014

Try everything once and the fun things twice.
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jul 27 2016 :  09:40:09 AM  Show Profile
Marie, sounds like you got the perfect dog for you. Still smiling over your description of "bite size".

Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl

3919 Posts

Marie
Minneapolis MN
USA
3919 Posts

Posted - Jul 28 2016 :  07:39:13 AM  Show Profile
Unfortunately, apartment management found out about us having two dogs and demanded we remove one of them. My dog had to go. Luckily, I found a very good rescue organization and I am certain he has a happy home again.



Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014

Try everything once and the fun things twice.
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl

6746 Posts

Sara
Paris TX
USA
6746 Posts

Posted - Jul 28 2016 :  08:00:56 AM  Show Profile
I'm so sorry you had to give him up.

Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.

Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl

13055 Posts


Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts

Posted - Sep 01 2016 :  12:38:26 PM  Show Profile
Very sorry you had to give up your dog.
Marly

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross
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