28 replies to this topic

[keporter]

The Wolfer family made the journey over to make Tatoo a very happy boy. Congrads on your new addition and we look forward to updates and pictures.

Attached Files

•  Picture_114.jpg   162.65KB   122 downloads

[oreo5129]

Awesome. So many new homes.

Way to go.

[CAB]

Congratulations Tattoo and the Wolfer family!

[LStevens]

Yea, Tattoo The kids are estactic! Tattoo resembles the "Little Rascals" dog, in that he looks like he's been with them forever and is ready for lots of fun. A very happy ending for all. The little girl in the middle seems like she's about to burst she's so excited!


Great photo!



Linda

[KellyB]

Congrats Tatoo you got a family of your own

[Karen A]

The Wolfer family made my day when they decided to give Tatoo a try! All the kids loved him right off the bat, but little Kaylen was so proud to show off her new dog, she is going to take a picture of him to take to school You can see from the picture how pleased Tatoo was with his choice of family. Thank you Wolfers, and keep us updated!

Karen

[RUSTYSMOM]

Tatoo.....I am so happy for you. Look how many kids are going to be taking care of you. Congrats on your forever home

Michelle & Rusty

[brownsmom]

Hooray!

[mihalik1413]

Congratulations everyone looks so happy together!

Larry

[Pam]

Great looking group & they all look so proud! Congrats

[keporter]

Thank you once again for all your help and information. Tattoo did really well on the drive home and when introducing him to all the neighborhood dogs and children. My kids are just in love with him! He seems to have a great temperment around everyone. We will continue to watch and observe tatoo and give you feedback. I did have one question, we have not heard Tattoo bark(which is not necessarily a bad thing). Did you notice if he ever barked during his stay at 2nd chance dobes?
Well, we are off to the dog wash. After the wash will be a good brushing. We want to get a good feel for how much he will shed.

Thanks again,

The Wolfers

[ella]

Congratulation to Tatoo and the Wolfer family. You all look so happy. keep us posted with stories and pictures.




Ella

[CAB]

I did have one question, we have not heard Tattoo bark(which is not necessarily a bad thing).  Did you notice if he ever barked during his stay at 2nd chance dobes? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I didn't know Tatoo at all but I do remember Arda calling his name to quiet him down the day the jastubbs family came out. But then again, all the dogs were barking so what do I know! It was very loud inside the kennel if you can just imagine! No really, I think he was barking. Swamp Mama (Arda) will know for sure if he is a barker or not.

Edited by CAB, 16 May 2005 - 10:03 PM.

[dobeluvr]

I'm so happy for Tatoo. Such a dollface and loves to play!! What a happy ending this is!! Thanks for the update. I'm glad he is doing so well already!!

Jane

[Karen A]

Wolfers,
Just give Tatoo a little time to get adjusted and you'll probably start to hear some barking. One consideration is that his previous people made him wear a de-bark collar, which would shock him if he barked (ugly thought, I know) and that would make him not want to bark now. Just a thought, but give him time. In regard to shedding, try brushing him out with the shedding blade I explained about. You can always take him to a groomer and have them blow out his coat to remove all the dead hairs and even trim him up a little. He doesn't appear to be a big shedder even though he probably hasn't been groomed at all in a long time. Please keep us posted on his progress! You've made my day!

Karen

[CAB]

OMG! I debark collar? I don't want to hear anymore. Only the good stuff. So glad that Tatoo has found the loving family that he deserves.

[tatoo]

Board,

Thank you for all the good wishes and support. Tatoo is adjusting to his new home. Our kids just love him. He has been on many walks, to the dog wash and has fetched many balls! He is great with our kids.

We did have an incident today with some of the neighborhood kids. An adult is always observing Tatoo when playing in our yard. When a neighbor kid comes into the yard he is on a leash wih one of us. Today, he nipped at a little girl who tried to pet him while I was holding the leash and he growled when two other boys came into the yard to see him. I explained to the girl that she had to let him sniff her hand before petting him, but she did not want to pet him again.

I am concerned about the growling. Not really knowing his past, I am looking for suggestions on how to handle this growling. Our plans are to incorporate electric fence training once he is adjusted to the yard(and when we feel comfortable letting him in the yard by himself). An electric fence is a barrier for the dog but not for the neighbor kids and I am concerned that this might turn into some type of aggression.

We would appreciate any input. We really want this to work.

The Wolfers

[jmnodwell]

FIRST LET ME CONGRATULATE YOU!!! You are doing a wonderful job supervising and it is wonderful to hear!!! So many times we hear about their problems but no one was helping the dog to succeed and then they get returned. Doesn't sound like this will happen with Tatoo and I commend you!!! And keep asking questions!!! We all love to help out!!!

It sounds like Tatoo is excited to be meeting some new people and is expressing this in the way dogs do, with their teeth... Sometimes it's just because they feeling a little insecure in their new environment especially if it's very active and with 3 children I'm sure it is. This doesn't mean he can't adjust but it may take some time... These are two very different problems but can, hopefully, be easily worked through with a little time and effort on your part.

You can start working with the nipping very easily and that is to hand feed him, one piece of kibble at a time. OMG, dinner will take forever, you're thinking!!! and it will for a few days at least. But the only way he gets to eat anything is directly from one of the family. If he gets over-enthusiastic and nips you, then yip at him or loudly say "Ouch"! let him settle down, and go back to feeding by hand. This is a time commitment, in the beginning. And you will want each member of the family to go through the process so he learns that "all members of the family have the control". But you will be able to go back to dish feeding, I promise. It will all depend on how he is progressing, if he starts to get excited and nips, then back to hand feeding. He has to learn (and probably was never taught) that you "don't bite the hand that feeds you". As he settles down and starts taking the pieces nicely, then make it a little harder, make him lick it out of your finger, and then when he does well, jackpot him and give him a handful of food... If you clicker train, you can even click him when he is particularly gentle. He will get the idea that the food will come faster if he is gentle about it. The last two fosters before Harley (chocolate lab 8 m.o. puppy; and 2 y.o. Weim/Visla mix puppy) had this problem and I got them both through it with relative few problems (one in a couple of days), no missing fingers on my part, and just good bonding time spent with the dogs.

The growling is a different matter but also is somewhat easily addressed. You know he likes kids because he is doing well with yours... You can recruit all the kids in the neighborhood for this even the little girl who didn't want to get close to him again. Have the kids approach him quietly (kids running up and yelling etc can also be very frightening to any dog) but have them stop outside his current "growl" range whether that 5 ft, 10 ft, or 2 ft. Have the kids throw (easy underhand throws; not pitching) treats at him for a few minutes and have them turn around and walk away. Make sure he knows the treats are coming from the kids and make them good ones like chunks of hot dog. Don't give him any treats as they are walking away, you want him to associate their approach with good things. You can move to another part of the yard and do something different before you click/treat (c/t) him... The next day try a little closer but don't rush it. You can also c/t when he looks at the kids and doesn't bark/growl. Eventually the kids will be able to approach and give him the treat directly.

Playing the attention game (see the post under Training) is also a great way to shift his attention from the kids (or anything approaching that may look scary) to you. You could modify it so that when you say the family member's name he looks at THAT person so you could eventually shift his attention to whomever you like...

[jmnodwell]

Also a quick lesson in "how to approach a new dog" may be necessary for the kids in the neighborhood.

[tatoo]

Thank you for the suggestions and support. Keep them coming, this board is such a great thing. Well, we have started on working on Tatoo's growling and nipping issues (with the neighborhood kids) with your suggestions.
Tatoo is starting to show more confidence in our house as his tail is starting to wag when walking around. He continues to be very good around our kids but he is VERY skiddish around the neighbor kids. Even when they are just playing in the back yard and ignoring Tatoo. Hopefully, over time, he will make this adjustment to our neighborhood.
Up to this point, we have accompanied Tatoo out in our back yard on a leash or on a 50 ft. rope. Also, during the day when no neighborhood kids are around, we have played with Tatoo without the leash or rope. My question is a what point should we begin electric fence training. We were thinking that he should become comfortable with the yard before starting this training. Any suggestions as to when we should start this training?

Thanks to all board participants,

The Wolfers