COVERITLIVE.COM

11:25

Philly.com - We are pleased to welcome dog trainer and member of the Pa. Dog Law Advisory Board, Mary Remer, back to chat on philly.com. Mary chatted with us on May 7th (Read the transcript), and we had such a great time that we invited her back.

11:32

Philly.com - The chat doesn't start until 1pm, but get your questions in early!

If you're looking to pass some time, why not check out our Philly Dawg blog or our Animals in the News photo gallery?

12:56

Mary Remer - Hi Everyone, it's Mary Remer from What a Good Dog. I'm here LIVE and look forward to your questions.

12:57

[Comment From Libby]
I have a 13 year old Gordon Setter I adopted 3 years ago from Brandywine Gordon Setter Rescue. My girl spent 10 years in a small (35 dog), albeit dirty, PA English Setter breeding kennel although she never had puppies. She lived in a bank barn kennel her whole life. She is extremely shy and quiet but very bonded to me but, even after 3 years, she never has eye contact with me. I need help in that area. She also resists being kissed on her snout, she turns her head away. How can I get her to look me in the eyes when I’m petting or talking to her? She also does not interact AT ALL with my other Gordon, a 10 year old, adopted at the same time from PA and he really wants to play with her but she ignores him completely. And last, she has severe thunderstorm phobia (heavy panting, digging in dog beds, blankets, etc) and my vet prescribed Acepromazine, which I administer rarely because it knocks her out completely.

1:05

Mary Remer - Hi Libby, how wonderful of you to rescue two seniors. Years of kennel life leads to entrenched behaviors. From a social perspective, these dogs often have little stimulation and so their lives are very narrow. I would suggest an even more gentle approach for eye contact. You can turn this into a bit of a game by taking a food treat and having her follow the treat with her eyes. As she's following it with her eyes, give her the treat as a reward. Slowly, taking several sessions to get there raise the treat to your eyes for a second. And, then lower it again. Give her a yes or a good when her eyes meet yours. And, reward. Very, very slowly you can increase the time. As far as being kissed, the life of a kennel dog often does not get involved in a lot of human contact. And, it sounds as if your girl is very kinesthetically sensitive. She is probably turning her head away because it is too much pressure. I would try to introduce her to massage so she can learn the love that can come from a human hand. She probably doesn't know how to interact with another dog. I would recommend that you find someone professional who can teach you about parallel walking. As for the thunderstorms, you might want to try some Benadryl and or Melatonin.

1:06	[Comment From Sarah] do you know any thing about puppy mills

1:08

Mary Remer - Hi Sarah, Yes. I serve on Gov Rendell's Dog Law Advisory Board. A large focus of our work has been and continues to be to try and improve the conditions of the mill dogs and to educate the public about the practices of responsible breeders. Is there anything else you would like to know?

1:08	[Comment From George] I have a 1.5 year old Beagle who loves to dig holes in my backyard. Is there anything I can do to discourage that type of behavior? Thanks in advance!

1:13

Mary Remer - Hi George, I have grown up with a pack of hunting beagles and one of the characteristics about the breed is that they like to dig. Many of the hunting breeds have what we call 'go to ground' behaviors. We need to find them a release so that they have an outlet for this genetically hard wired behavior. One of the things that we like to do is create a digging pit for these dogs. This can be done by either using a sandbox or by taking a baby pool and drilling drainage holes and then filling it with sand, dirt or a combination. We introduce the dogs by taking treats and hiding them just below the surface and asking the dog to dig. So, it's a game. As the dog becomes excited and successful in the game. We make it harder by hiding the treats, favorite toys, stuffed kong's, deeper and deeper. This way they can have multiple finds. Put their stool in the holes in your yard to deter them from digging there again. Try not to leave them unsupervised in the yard until they have an understanding of where to do their digging. I would recommend two to three digging sessions a day.

1:14	[Comment From Rick] Hello Mary, do you know of any Philadelphia area trainers that will full train a dog for you. We have had no luck with training an airedale and would like the dog to ga and be trained by a professional.

Page 1 Next >