[nagdu] dog problems

[Littlefield, Tyler]

Hello all:
First, for the one-liner "leave the dog alone," thanks but no thanks for 
the advice. Minh was looking for some thought and feedback. For those of 
you who responded (raven, nicole et al), thanks also for your responses.
I have a few comments I want to add because I'm interested in people's 
actual feedback regarding them.

first, O'Mally and Minh got to know each other when Viva was not 
around--I had O'Mally before Minh got Viva. It seems that his behavior 
has changed a bit after Viva came around and she started getting 
attention from both of us. We do pretty much give them equal 
attention--sometimes O'Mally more than Viva or Viva more than O'Mally, 
but it sort of all equals out. I have no problem what-so-ever with Minh 
calling O'Mally or me calling Viva. I think they are both comfortable 
enough with us to trust us. I guess others prefer to keep their dogs 
separate, but this seems like mostly personal preference. Regardless, 
here's what I'm thinking with O'Mally.

First, I understand yelling is a bit of an issue. Neither of us scream 
at either of our guides, but a raised voice sometimes seems like it's 
useful for getting attention. It's much preferable to grabbing their 
collar or something, so I'd like to use that if it works. It doesn't 
seem to scare them, it's just like a way to get them to actually focus 
or pay attention.

Second, I think part of this is stemming from a bit of jealousy on both 
viva and O'mally's parts. I've noticed they tend to get irritated at 
each other sometimes, which I generally try to take care of, but I'm not 
really sure how to do much with that. I assume it'll happen regardless, 
but it seems to be a contributing factor.

Finally, I appreciate all the advice given thus far on alternative ways 
for us to get O'mally to come when she calls. There have been times when 
I have to leave O'Mally with Minh or Viva has stayed with me. I believe 
if I am going to do that, O'mally needs to be comfortable with her and 
she needs to be able to call him, knowing 100% sure or at least as close 
to 100% as you can get with a dog that he will come. It may be that she 
actually really needs O'Mally to come to her, which leads me into 
another point. I have also noticed that sometimes when I call O'mally he 
thumps his tail at me rather than coming. I don't know if it is his way 
of saying "I'm right here," but I'd much prefer he just came. It's not 
all that often, but it happens sometimes. Any advice on how to work that 
out would be awesome.

Thanks,

-- 
Take care,
Ty
http://tds-solutions.net
He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.