Bastard Dog Club

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Roll up, roll up! Anyone who has a Bastard Dog sign in here! Does your dog hate other dogs? Does he or she bark, lunge, growl or actually want to eat other canines? Are you regularly stressed, embarassed or rocking in a corner by your Bastard Dog's antics? Then this is your safe zone. Come hither and share your tales of woe, and also hopefully your successes.

Give us some background, thus:

BD breed: Spaniel cross
BD age: 18 months
BD behaviour: Jumps at approaching dogs and tells them to fuck off in a very vocal way.
BD training attempts: We're working on BAT, using tons of treats and actively avoiding interactions.
Frequency of BD incidents: Probably some kind of reaction every month or so, usually my fault.

Now, who's for gin?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Hello, just found this thread.

I got a bastard dog last weekend. Six months old, totally unsocialised.

Attacks me, Dh and the cats, other people and dogs. Howls most of the night. Growls and snarls at everything in the house from the kettle, boxes, reflections.

He is besotted with dd though and plays beautifully with her.

We're seeing a behaviourist on Thursday.

[Allfurcoatandnoknickers]

My lovely BD was being unusually good yesterday in the woods. Unbeknown to me there were two large horses right behind us. Cue gnashing of teeth and ludicrous attempts to eat horses tails. My dh heroically rugby tackled BD whilst I put the puppy on the lead. BD escaped, whilst dh flailed around on the floor into the path of said horses....
Why oh why do terriers feel the need to pretend they are ferocious bears??

[moogalicious]

Another newby happy to find other BD's who hate visitors

BD breed: collie/staffie x
BD age: 17 months
BD behaviour: REALLY hates visitors, steals other dogs balls, recall intermittent (usually at it's worst when I need to get somewhere), hates puppies
BD training attempts: currently trying him on a house line when we have visitors, seems to be working so far...

I just want my life back - dinner parties, people round for coffee

[MelanieCheeks]

Oh, hello! I'm new here, so still finding wonderful threads like these


BD breed: Weimaraner
BD age: 6 years
BD behaviour: Barking when it's feeding time, barking when I arrive home from work (thought dogs were supposed to recognise their owners footsteps, eh?), retrieving any smelly food wrappings from the bin and relocating them on the stairs, taking up half the sofa, and emitting smelly farts.
BD training attempts: He's got his bronze award, but wont get his silver till he can walk in a straight line on a lead, a seemingly impossible task.
Frequency of BD incidents: Twice a day, min.

Redeeming features: He's gorgeous, and loves a snuggle.

[3kids2cats2dogs]

oh and BD 2 has a liking for bras, even ones being worn at the time now down to one rather grey looking white one :( and spends most of my day looking like something nf the cover of national geographic magazine!!! just love my BD's :)

[3kids2cats2dogs]

love this thread I have 2 Rescue BD

BD 1 jack Russell
BD age 19 months with us 1 year
BD behaviour barks at dogs, barks at cats, barks at people, barks at birds barks at the wind, barks at himself in the window, barks at things in the garden that are not there

BD 2 Rottweiler
BD age 13 months with us 4 weeks
BD behaviour thinks everything is his to eat totally believes he is a cat and even though he weighs 48kg manages to jump on the work top sending everything flying off just so he can sit and watch BD 1 barking at the things in the garden that are not there
sits when he wants to
lays down when he wants to
comes back when he wants to
unless sausages are involved
other than that they are a delight!!!...

[Lucyellensmum95]

I have two bastard dogs :) for different reasons

Bastard 1: No recall whatsoever, is 10" high and will take on all comers (well no, thats not true, he is fussy - he likes most dogs actually but will randomly attack others).

Bastard 2: Thinks he owns the house - sleeps in our bed, moans at us if we disturb him, eats everything, constantly down the bin, eaten - my glasses, two phone charges, the lap top cable!, my bed!! other random stuff - the good thing is, DD less likely to leave her toys around. Will growl and whine at us when HE thinks its bedtime and we have to go to bed with him.

[BastardDog]

Oh hello. A thread named after me (goes on ego trip).

My name came about because of my first dog who was a bastard. He was a Patterdale / Lakeland cross that ate the plaster off my walls, the frames from the doors, the table legs and more. He was also an escape artist and almost killed my husband one holiday in Scotland when he jumped out of the car and headed into the mountains with my unfit dh giving chase. The dog introduced himself whenever we went to a house he'd not been to before by peeing against the fireplace or poohing under the table. His many misdemeanours are too many to mention, but I loved him so much and was devastated when he died last year.

I then had a Collie puppy which was mad and hyper. Sadly he developed a neurological problem soon after we had him and was PTS at only 5 months old.

We now have a rescue Patterdale who was picked up as a stray. He's about 2. He's lovely in most respects, apart from anything to do with food. He scavenges, begs and steals if given the chance, but I guess that's understandable given his history.

[Floralnomad]

Don't stress these things happen . I just had mine out in the local nature reserve so on his extender lead to stop him eating the wildlife and we met a lady with 2 off lead border collies . She called one of them back to her and it sat whilst she waved treats at it and then just as we were going past on the fairly narrow path it lunged at poor Floraldog with its teeth bared . Such a shame as she'd tried really hard ,poor Floraldog was just shocked and poor woman apologised and then proceeded to tell the dog that it wouldn't be getting its treat !

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Hello, old thread. How I love thee

Things have been good lately. We've even met dogs off lead in the woods and had a polite sniff before carrying on our way. He did hump his mate's head a few weeks ago, but that seemed more out of confusion than malice. Of course, I cocked up today. I let him off at our usual spot, even though DS said there was a lady with a dog coming behind us. Jas ran ahead, happily rummaging. The other dog was then released from its lead and rocketed past us and approached Jas. Jas turned around, froze, then chased it jumping at its face and making lots of noise. The other dog was squealing and crying, which was bloody awful, and returned to its owner. I called Jas back and apologised. The owner was fine about it, and the dog wasn't hurt. Lovely black cocker :( So, I know this was my fault. I should have told the other owner Jas wasn't friendly and leaded him, thus avoiding the whole situation. Bugger

[Floralnomad]

I'd like to say that mine ( touching lots of wood) has been really good of late and I've even started letting him off in some new places . Now I've said it he will probably let me down tomorrow !

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Too true, Floral. It's just....blah

[Floralnomad]

Never mind chickens , one step forward and two back !

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Meh. A bad day. Recall gone to pot and a reaction to another dog running up to sniff him while he was in a down waiting for the ball to be thrown. Disheartening. Sigh.

[gymmummy64]

oh nogood how lovely that you've given your BD such a brilliant home. What an horrific history

I'm sure I can speak for chickens when I say you;re absolutely in! And maybe we can learn a lot from you? Tell us more..

[nogoodusernamesleft]

Oh my. This is definitely the thread for me!

I have a BD, he is a Mastiff Staffy Cross who is approx 4 years old (going by teeth). My elderly staff died the summer before last, and I was devastated. Swore I wouldn't get another dog, then Valhalla linked to a picture of a dog who needed a home on this very board roughly around Christmas 2011.

He was in rescue, he was believed to have been used for fighting, then he had been set on fire and abandoned and tied to some railings. . I was completely in love when I saw his picture, and thought "oh I've had a rescue Staffy before, how hard can it be?"

Picked him up Valentines Day 2012 so he has been with us a year now - BD is probably the best description I can think of for him!

He is MASSIVELY dog aggressive, I tried to take him to specific classes designed for aggressive dogs, but he is so strong and so bad tempered when he sees another dog that I was getting into a complete state every time we went. I'm now resigned to him never coming off the lead, harness, muzzle etc, but I hate how people look at him when we're walking.

He eats anything he can get his teeth on, coat hangers, washing, bed sheets, bottle, you name it! I guess this is probably because he's not getting enough exercise to wear him out and he's probably bored.

BUT... he is the softest, stupidest, most loving dog I've ever known. He loves to cuddle more than anything and thinks he's a lap dog. His idea of heaven is to sleep under our quilt in between the two of us! I've not seen any aggression towards people at all in the year that we've had him, which surprises me given his previous ill treatment. But still a BD!!

Blimey, that got long, think I must have needed to get that off my chest! So can I join the BD gang?

[Twattybollocks]

Ha ha ha I have the angelcare version of that, it takes me 5 minutes to open it let alone the dog. Nonetheless she gets in it! She seems to knock it over and stand on it and it opens in the middle. Then she rips open the bag and shreds the nappies all over the nursery floor. And then takes one back to her crate in our room and shreds it on her bed in there. My bedroom now smells of shitty nappy.

[foolonthehill]

yeugh...too clever for her own good....perhaps one of these is necessary (could never see the point of them before!)www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/nappy-disposal-system/

[Twattybollocks]

Please can I join bastard dog club?
Mine has an annoying habit of bin raiding. Not the kitchen bin, that would be annoying. The nappy bin! She also delights in removing and ripping up soiled sanitary towels and tissues used to blow noses all over my bedroom floor. This is gross beyond all grossness and I can't seem to stop her. The bathroom bin has a lid but she's worked out how to get into it, same with the nappy bin, and will even rip open scented nappy bags to get her fix.

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Yes, we avoid nesting season. Just to be sure. Tricky when you have a water loving spaniel, but necessary.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

We avoid all water from May to October because of baby stuff, and also because waterfowl moult their flight feathers after their chicks have fledged so cannot fly for a couple of weeks, which I learnt to my cost a few years ago.

[Floralnomad]

I'm not sure mine will ever meet an animal or bird that he doesn't think he can take on ,the only thing that scares him is vacuum cleaners ( of any size or shape) . At least he is good with people .

[Pandemoniaa]

Can I join? Only while my BD is much improved (age seems to have induced sloth) he was an Utter Git at his worst. He's a JRT who behaved very well (if noisily) until teenage hit. At which point he discovered hunting and developed selective hearing. The three hours spent on open downland in the freezing cold, pelting rain and pitch dark while he "hunted" round a series of bushes is burnt into the memory. As is the day that he suddenly decided to go rabbiting in a nature reserve, wouldn't be caught and then disappeared from view only to emerge on a mercifully quiet road where he walked up someone's garden path and invited himself in. After a pleasant sleep on their sofa, shamefully, he was collected by the Dog Warden. Oh, and the time he walked himself into a well known card shop where they gave him biscuits. The day that our neighbour insisted on introducing him to their chickens didn't end well either.

I did huge amounts of recall training but terriers are rarely interested in food if the alternative is hours spent under a hedge hunting for invisible prey. For some long time he was walked on a lead and even now (at nearly 8) I don't trust him in open country although he's fine in town. He's very good with children and other dogs too but completely untrustworthy with sofa cushions. For some reason they have to be rogered within an inch of their lives.

I'm now about to rehome a beautiful Collie X/Blue Heeler pup. I am probably bonkers.

[gymmummy64]

Exit I have to confess to feeling a certain admiration for your spaniel..

[gymmummy64]

Exit perhaps cormorants? pelicans?

Oh dear it does sound as if there's a whole world of waterfowl experiences waiting for me. I've largely avoided water since October because of the absconding risk but Gymdog hadn't really got focussed on water birds back then. He was more at a squirrel stage..

However, he's now highly interested. Moorhens seem to get him going the most but he heard a couple of geese flying overhead last week and was transfixed. I'm just hoping his ability lags behind his interest, he's no spaniel after all.