Lab/Great Dane Puppy!

[baymule]

Carson has a new trick. He catches birds and eats them. He stalks, freezes absolutely still, then leaps. DH feeds the birds and is upset that Carson is catching them. At least he doesn't go after the chickens. If left unsupervised with loose "squeaky toys" running around, he probably would. But I keep that controlled so that he knows they are off limits.

Right now he is at the burn pile, tugging on dead giant ragweed skeletons with the rootball attached. They make great tug toys.

Crazy dog!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

My dog has caught several birds. I frown on such activity. Her behavior with chickens is variable. She pays no attention to them unless I am talking to them, verbally correcting them, or herding them. Then, she feels that she must get in on the action. Last time I processed chickens, I was bringing them in to process them in the laundry room. Of course she wanted to hold one. So, I took the bird and smacked her with it... several times, while telling her to leave it. She's paid no attention to them since then.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Gracie is terrible. Anything little critter moves fast is fair game in her book. Bigger chickens she ignores - UNLESS they come into her yard. She won't look at them twice in the barnyard or in the pasture. But, if they're in HER yard she doles out the ultimate punishment.... sigh. Good thing I like that dog.

 

[baymule]

I have a great story for y'all. Carson has been coming into his own, growing up and becoming a good farm dog. When he was younger, the other dogs would bark and run towards danger, Carson would bark over his shoulder as he ran towards the house. Gradually he gained confidence and joined Paris and Trip running up and down the fence line barking at trucks and other elements of danger.

We went out of town for Christmas, we left Christmas eve morning and came back the day after Christmas. Our neighbor Robert was taking care of the animals. At 8:30 Christmas Eve, Neighbor Jimmy called me and said that our dogs were going nuts, he walked over to the fence, didn't see anything. His home and 2 acres backs up to our fence. I thanked him for watching out for us while we were gone. I called Neighbor Ron and asked if his dogs were barking and upset. He said no, and promised to watch out for us while we were gone. Around 10 that night, Neighbor Robert heard our dogs raising a ruckus and drove over to our house. All the dogs were upset, but he didn't see anything. He told me this the next day, Christmas. Sentry the puppy was in Pasture #1 and could go in a section of the barn. Trip and Paris had the run of the back yard, side pasture and could go up to the back of the sheep barn. Carson had the run of the front yard, about an acre, fenced. Even though none of the dogs were in the barn with the sheep, they were on all sides of the barn.

Neighbor Ron called Christmas morning to tell me that at 1:00 AM our dogs were barking like mad, so he got up and drove up to our gate and walked inside. Carson had bayed a bobcat up against the stock trailer! As Ron walked up the driveway, Carson turned his head towards Ron and the bobcat took off. We had a one week old lamb that would have made the bobcat a nice meal. Ron looked around to make sure that everything was ok. He said that Carson acted like he didn't want him on our property (and normally they are friends) so he kept his distance while he checked things out, then left.

So it seems the bobcat was on our place the first time the dogs made a lot of noise, when Jimmy walked to the fence, the bobcat ran off. Likewise when Robert came over to see what was wrong, the bobcat saw him and left. When Ron came over, Carson had the bobcat bayed and Ron saw it.

We are grateful to our good neighbors for looking out for us while we were gone. We are proud of our dogs for keeping the bobcat away from the sheep. We are impressed beyond words with Carson and how he patrolled the yard and stopped the bobcat. Our puppy has grown up. He ain't a scaredy baby any more!
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[YourRabbitGirl]

Carson is soooo adorable! I like big dogs too! My Belgian Malinois-Lab mix is such a big baby!!! He's already 3 years old, but still playful like a puppy. He still chews on shoes, though. LOL What can you guys recommend? It's painful for me to discipline him, especially when he looks guilty!

 

[baymule]

Dicipline dog style. When caught chewing a shoe, growl horribly, take the shoe and alternate with NO! MINE! Loud growls and walk into him, making him back up. When he gives ground, go soft in your posture, call him to you and give him an approved toy to play with. Play with him a moment, praise and pet him.

 

[tortoise]

Carson is soooo adorable! I like big dogs too! My Belgian Malinois-Lab mix is such a big baby!!! He's already 3 years old, but still playful like a puppy. He still chews on shoes, though. LOL What can you guys recommend? It's painful for me to discipline him, especially when he looks guilty!

Malinois are a special sort of intense! Put your shoes away someplace dog-proof and start some basic dog training or relationship classes. If you're more a DIY type, check out leerburg.com for training videos. Small somewhat-local-to-me business. I worked there back when they had a breeding kennel, so Malinois hold a special soft spot in my heart. Their training is spot-on - not too intense, not too permissive.