Relatives with undisciplined dogs

[Poconnor]

Is the dog a herding breed? Or is he nipping at kids from fear? Prey drive?

[camsdaddy]

The man sounds to be very intelligent. The dogs behavior and the wife’s behavior may be a reflection of his common sense.
If the dog were at my house and nipping at my kids he would no longer be welcome at my house. My family and their safety is my first priority. Hurt feelings come down the line.

[Clusterfrack]

What a pain to deal with. BIL (brother in law) has a dog that nips at kids, chases cats, and barks non stop if left outside. Also, my well behaved and well disciplined German Shepherd is gonna have a huge problem with the BIL’s dog bothering cats and not behaving around kids.

I just don’t understand people that can’t raise a dog properly.

Ugh. That sucks. I hate it when people don't train their dogs, or train them poorly. I know a guy who owns a GSD. The dog bites people's hands, and then the dude gives her a treat. It doesn't take a genius to see that he's trained his dog to bite people's hands. After I knocked the dog down 3 times with knee-to-chest, he got pissed at me. I tried to explain that I don't let dogs bite or jump on me, but he couldn't understand or didn't care.

[11B10]

I feel your pain.

It seems good dogs are few and far between, and the subject usually gets pretty touchy with people defending their useless mutt’s ill behaviour.

In my experience, one can predict what the owner's reaction will be - it will match the canine.

[Dan_S]

In my experience, one can predict what the owner's reaction will be - it will match the canine.

That’s an interesting point.

Some of the best dogs I’ve been around, were working dogs. Interestingly, their owners didn’t really view them as pets, and wouldn’t have had an issue (and didn’t, judging by the stories) shooting ill-behaved dogs either.

[willie]

Once I adopted a giant Tom Cat. When I got him, he had a neurotic habit. He would bite persons who began petting him and then stopped. I tried breaking this habit with a fly swapper. No luck. Next I borrowed a hot shot which is a cattle prod. That changed his mind. One application taught him to read. Today I would not shock a dog or cat but do fantasize about putting a shock collar on some people. I think it wood be good for them. I'm humanistic.

[Lost River]

Well, my dog is doped up, so she will behave while you’re here.

Damn dude,

Stone Cold Killer, AND an infectious disease doctor!

I am impressed!

Sorry about the divorce..

Don't worry about LL,

He is just being grouchy.

[LittleLebowski]

Well, my dog is doped up, so she will behave while you’re here.

She behaved last time too

[Borderland]

Once I adopted a giant Tom Cat. When I got him, he had a neurotic habit. He would bite persons who began petting him and then stopped. I tried breaking this habit with a fly swapper. No luck. Next I borrowed a hot shot which is a cattle prod. That changed his mind. One application taught him to read. Today I would not shock a dog or cat but do fantasize about putting a shock collar on some people. I think it wood be good for them. I'm humanistic.

Didn't they call that shock therapy years ago?

Collars are pretty common in the hunting world. Not for everyone because a lot of people won't train themselves on the proper use. They shouldn't actually be used as a training tool as the dog should be trained to whistle commands before using a collar.

They come in pretty handy tho after the dog is trained. When a dog is hunting sometimes it's hard to communicate. They get pretty focused on their job. Wind will sometimes limit the use of a whistle also. Collars now have tone alerts and trackers on them. I use my tone alert to call my dog in if she doesn't respond to a whistle command. It's also a great reinforcement tool once the dog knows the commands. Settings are many and low settings can gently remind the dog of an infraction. Kind of like a warning in a baseball game.

Hunting can be dangerous for a dog and it's best to have them in control 100% of the time. Almost everyone I've hunted with had e-collars on their dogs.

Collars should be tested on yourself before you use them. That will give you a good idea about which settings to not use. If it's too hot for you it's too hot for your buddy.

[LittleLebowski]

This has been resolved, he's boarding the damn thing.