Useful commands

[stephanieb]

I think most of you know Ren our Bull/English cross is CRAZY!!!!! - i.e. last week we left a dinning room chair to close to a bar stool and she used one to get to the other to get on the kitchen counter and rearrange my plants

Friday, after a lot of thought and research, we had Ren's hyster rected (Spayed). Everything I read said most puppies would be a little under the weather for at least the first 48 hours. Not Ren the goat mastiff hybrid! We picked her up at 1:30 and by 5:00 she was back to trying to lay the boots to Stonewall (who spent the morning crying when she was at the vets and then the afternoon giving her kisses and sleeping beside her).

So trying to keep her quiet for 10 days is pretty much a lost cause but we are trying. Maybe a testament to our vet but Ren has had no real down time and hasn't touched the incision. Tonight while walking them my husband brought her home told me she was CRAZY (knew that) and that I should check her incision as she had started to play wrestle with Stonewall on the sidewalk and he was worried she might have opened something. Useful command.... Side. I had Ren lay down and told her side, which is a seemlingly useless command but was amazingly useful when having to check her stomach. Of course being Ren the Wonder Dog. She was fine.

Do you have any commands aside from the usual that have come in handy?

 

[ruby55]

Ruby has a snaggle tooth; her lower jaw is just a tad off from her upper so her lower canine (I think that's what it's called) will occasionally stick out. No big deal but it bugs me when her lip gets stuck on it. I had a lab/golden mix with a similar problem & taught him "fix your lip". He would lick his lips & "fix it". I inadvertently did the same thing to Ruby. It cam in handy last weekend at the dog show; she was in the ring on a stack with her tooth sticking out; & her handler said "Ruby fix your lip". Sure enough she gave a big slurp just in time before the judge came over.

 

[seeknoxrun]

"Give Space" has been a lifesaver. Knox knows (and Roux is learning) that when I say "give space," I want him to back away from whatever has his interest (someone eating, kids or dogs playing, me opening a gate, etc) or if he is in the way. And he's not allowed to approach that interesting thing until I say so.

"Place" is more common, but also couldn't imagine not using it. For us, "place" means get onto and stay on this mat/cot/scale/table/whatever I want until I say so. Comes in handy especially at the vet's and when we have visitors.