Sorry that has happened. Things happened you saw Oskar going to pee and opened the door I probably would have done the same thing.. I'm glad no one got hurt too badly.
Oh that is a scary incident. I'm so glad that everyone is ok, and I just wanted to say that I admire you. You are doing a great job with managing your dogs. Most people couldn't or I should say wouldn't do it. They would just give up. I think what you are doing keeping everyone together and at home is awesome! (Yep I threw out awesome.)
First off... Can I say I told you so about the mud puppy?
Secondly, you are doing an amazing job managing your dogs. There will be set back and incidents, no matter how vigilant and careful you are. Learn from it. And keep doing the great job that you are doing.
And thirdly... I agree with Jessika... SPAM! hehe.
Ok, here we go with some Oskar spam! He's even bigger now--most of these were from two weeks ago. Someone just called him my "megapuppy" and I guess he kind of is, he's growing so fast!
In the pool:
Out of the pool:
At the gate:
Profile:
Under the propane tank with Bel (Oskar no longer fits under there--this was two weeks ago!):
Curlytails (Oskar and Bel)
the under the propane tank was a favorite game between oskar and bel until oskar grew....
Yes, he and Bel are partners in crime for sure! They are crazy about each other and though she tries to encourage behavior I'm not thrilled about (C'mon! You can get on the sofa! or C'mon, let's run along the fence and bark like crazy at passing dogs!) there is also the added benefit that if I call one, both of them come.
It's been such a pleasant surprise that Bel's behavior has improved like crazy, because she is so invested in him, has to be with him, etc. So she's practicing a lot of basic obedience with him, and is loving the clicker, etc. It's really great for them both!
Today we went to his first "big boy" class. I'm not sure what I think. What happened was that the clicker class I wanted to get in was full. So I called around, and found a bunch of places I wouldn't take him no matter what. I found a possible trainer near where I live who didn't have a class. I found a highly recommended clicker trainer (Karen Pryor academy trainer) with an adult dog class would would let Oskar in. And I found a positive training (lure and reward, no clicker) puppy class.
I went back and forth, because I wasn't sure what to do, and finally decided I really wanted to do clicker training, so settled on that class. Now I kind of wish I'd gone for the puppy class--I should have thought he his will have plenty of time to go to adult classes, but this is last chance for puppy class, but I didn't think that way. The puppy class was mostly off leash too....
This class has a trainer who obviously knows her stuff, and was quite nice. I already learned some things! For Oskar, though, I'm not sure it's that fun. There are supposed to be 8 dogs in the class, but there were only 6, which seemed quite enough. It is all adult dogs, and all appear to range from mildy to very dog reactive. We had plenty of room, but it was kind of hard to bring my not quite 4 month old puppy into a room with all these other dogs that wanted to attack him right away. He doesn't get it at all....he's a big baby and wants to play, and doesn't understand why all the other dogs were so growly, and were lunging at him. The trainer had to tell me to make sure Oskar wasn't staring at one of the GSDs (most of the dogs were GSDs) because it was getting young male dog very worked up....So it was useful for me to learn how to distract him, but it made me kind of sad to trying everything to be friendly....head tosses, then play bows, then jumping in place, then high-pitched play bark....
Also, he already knows how to do everything in the class. His attention span, obviously, isn't good (and my god an hour seemed really LONG with those other dogs!) and so it's good practice for him to have to learn to focus on me in the face of distractions (he wasn't that great at that). But he already sits well on command and sits for greetings. He understand "watch me" even if he doesn't always do it yet. He is soft-mouthed anyway, and since we'd begun puppy zen with him already, he did the first stage of the "leave it" (ie. not mouthing the hand) very easily. And then? He was bored, and just kind of puzzled, I think. I mean, it's the first time in my life I've ever had the best behaved dog in the class (and such a young one too), but I'm just kind of wondering if I made a mistake in choosing the class....(And I'm SO aware his good behavior is only a small part me--he's just such a good boy, and so easy to work with)
And I'm hoping being with all these reactive dogs won't freak him out, or make him start to act like them. It wouldn't would it? I mean just being around reactive dogs shouldn't make him start too would it? As long as he has no contact with them he should be ok, shouldn't he?
He's a pretty calm boy, so I can't imagine it would.
I do wish I'd done the puppy class instead, so at least he'd get the play time, but on the other hand, I expect he'll go to many classes in his life, and if this one isn't an ideal group for us, we'll still both learn things. And it was funny to see how impatient he became with the trainer when she was using him for an example of the sit for a greeting, but stopped to talk to everyone else. He sat, got a click and a treat, and then he didn't want to move, because hey, he knew he was suppposed to be sitting. Then she began talking, and was not looking at him, so I watched him squirm a bit, and do the trick he does with me: he lifts his butt off the ground then sits again, expectantly. This did not get him a click and treat, so he did it again, and when it still didn't work (as she was explaining something) he finally put one paw on her foot to get her attention.
@shibamistress, "And I'm hoping being with all these reactive dogs won't freak him out, or make him start to act like them. It wouldn't would it? I mean just being around reactive dogs shouldn't make him start too would it? As long as he has no contact with them he should be ok, shouldn't he?"
Honestly Lisa, & this is just my opinion, & I know this sucks, but I wouldn't take him if there are that many reactive dogs, especially since he's still a puppy.
One of the most important aspects of socializing a puppy is to socialize them with well-mannered dogs. Since he's still super young, he's more impressionable then an adult dog. & if he sees these dogs consistently over the next course of 4-8 weeks, they'll be more likely to leave an impression. He might think, "Hey! They greet me like that, so that must be how I'm suppose to greet other dogs too!"
Or, I try to think of...what if one of those other dogs got away from the trainer / owner & came after Oskar? What kind of impression would that leave? Are these dogs really "reactive?" Or are they just loud attention seekers? Would Oskar be safe if one of these dogs slipped away & got to him?
But, I might just be being overcautious...I don't know. We paid $120 for that puppyclass to take Wraith to, & it sucked to waist that money when the trainer started using force on him, but it wasn't worth having my social butterfly ruined for 120bucks.
I hate to say it but I think I agree with Osy. The big concern with that class is that you can't control what the other dogs are doing and that may end up in a bad experience for Oskar. I agree it sucks to waste money but you should think of it as cheap insurance for him getting properly socialized. If it's not too late you may want to try to get into that lure reward class. Ian Dunbar is a big proponent of lure reward, so I imagine there is plenty of good to be had by attending that class.
Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear, but I figured you came here because you expect our honest opinions. Maybe someone else will think of an angle that Osy and I haven't thought of. I'll also qualify my remarks by saying that I'm a bad puppy parent and have never taken any of my dogs to a formal training class. The jury is still out on the effects of that decision.
Actually, I really DO appreciate it....It may be the wrong class for him. I think I'll talk to the trainer a bit more. One of the things I might be able to do is ask if I can just bring him to another (later) class when they'll have different dogs and he'll be a little older....Ask if I can transfer the payment to another class, so to speak.
And there was one male GSD who I think would hurt Oskar if he got loose.....
It's really just an odd unfortunate thing that we ended up in a class with so many reactive dogs....it's not meant for them--just what ended up happening.
eta: I knew I liked the trainer! I emailed her about my concerns and she said she understood, and that someone else had stopped coming because their young dog was too intimidated by the reactive adult dogs, so she asked if I could come earlier, and do a separate class with the young dogs. I know that's double the work and time for her, so I really appreciated this offer, and it sounds like it will be MUCH better for us!
Just wanted to say that today Oskar's class went better--it was only him and two young schnauzers. (Which barked in the most high-pitched voice pretty much constantly). Oskar was good, but he was much more distracted than the first time we went!
He's HUGE btw....He weighs 48 pounds now and is not quite 4 months old. Need to get some new spam up.
I wondered about something: when he gets up after a nap,he seems to have a hard time getting up, esp. on the back legs. He walks fine, and he doesn't seem to be in pain. Do you think this is just him being tired? Growing? I notice he also has a hard time getting up and down the stairs, but I do think that is because he's growing so much, he can't quite tell where his back legs are--I see him looking back on the stairs like, huh, where do I put my feet? Where are my feet?
But both my husband I noticed he takes a long time to get up and to get his back legs under him--and it is kind of worrisome....
I'm so glad to hear that class went so much better this time! He may be more distracted in this class because he is more comfortable. It's actually a good thing. Plus, when you train him with all of those distractions he will be easier to handle in the real world. Sounds like a win-win to me.
As for the rear end.... If it makes you uncomfortable then you should keep an eye on it at the minimum, or take him to the vet. I suspect it is just puppy issues though. When your puppy is already 48 pounds out is easy to forget how young they are. A 4 month old puppy us going to be awkward and gangly and have some issues locating their rear end. Hell, my almost 9 month puppy us still learning the fine details of rear end placement and he's 43 pounds.
48 pounds at 4 months is pretty big! For Akita I usually expect their weight to be (the number of months old they are) x 10lbs, until they get to about 8 months, then it slows. So, assuming he isn't fat, he is big for 4 months!
The back-end thing is totally normal for a large breed puppy at that age. I would expect it to continue until he is around 8 months too. Even Masha, who is not huge for the breed (26" 120lbs), and who has impeccable orthopedics, had some delay in getting up and down from a sitting position as a pup.
Remember, a dog puts 70% of their weight on their front end, so it takes longer for the back-end to strengthen and catch up. Kodi is 5 months now and about 80lb and is going through this too, and his movement is pretty nice (like Oskar's), I'm sure both their hips are fine. Zeta too, she is 4 months now, is slow to get up but she can jump like 4 feet in the air.
In a large breed pup like yours (or Kodi or Zeta), I would be more concerned if I saw that his hips were looking more narrow than what I would consider to be typical of the breed. Narrow hips are a sign of poor muscle growth and development (or atrophy) which is a sign the dog is not using their hips 100% which is a sign of HD. Also a rickety gate, where the rear legs appear to move back and forth from both sides as they walk, is another red-flag (as well as bunny hopping, tho some large breed pups will do this around Oskar's age as it is easier for them while their back-end strengthens).
Please don't take him to the vet for his back-end unless it is clear he is in pain. The vet will just look for an issue and it will end up making you more worried than you need to be. He's a BIG young pup, let him mature and to at least 1 year or so before you worry about his ortho. If you give a vet a ticket to find an issue they WILL find an issue.
Also, IMHO, keep in mind for the future, if he does end up having some hip issues only peruse a surgical option if he is in enough pain to where it slows him down. I know dogs that have lived long happy lives with HD and it never slowed them down (and never had a surgery). HD is only an issue in a pet if it is causing pain and atrophy - some dogs are strong enough to compensate and do it so well they are better off not going through a procedure.
Thanks for your thoughts.....It makes me feel better about all this. It's just been so long since I had a big dog as a puppy that I couldn't remember any more what it was like! I was watching Oskar this morning and realized I was probably being paranoid, because part of the thing is he sleeps hard too, and it usually happens when he's been really asleep....he sits up, tries to get up, then collapses back towards sleep.....And he is in general pretty clumsy....
He's not fat. He's pretty lean...I need to get some pics up. And our weighing method is....not terribly accurate....it's my husband weighing himself on the home scale then adding Oskar. It's probably off by about 3-5 pounds (what I've noticed when we weighed Toby once then took him into the vet not long after). But yes, he is a big boy. I wonder, sometimes, if feeding raw speeds up their growth....My breeder was against it, but since I've raised all my pups on raw, I'm sticking with it.
What I also need to get a pic of,just because it's funny, is this MONSTROUS crate I bought at the thrift store for $5. Oskar has outgrown all but one of the crates we have, and he's not at all reliably housetrained, so I needed another one. The people at the thrift store weren't sure they had all the parts for this thing, so they sold it to me cheap. It did have all the parts, and we put it together, and now it looks like we have a cage for a pony in our living room! Apparently it is the biggest crate Midwest crates makes, and is very tall too! I blocked off part of it so he can't just move to another part of it and pee, but it will fit him as a grown up dog too, and he loves that it is wire and he can see everything that is going on.
Glad that Oskar is doing well. And I would not worry about the rear end clumsiness either. Most puppies (especially large breeds) have that klutziness for a bit.
And yes... You do need to post some pictures. Especially of the pony crate.
I'm glad Oskar is doing well he sounds normal in his class Saya was a bit distracted she got a little better though.
I've read feeding a raw diet helps even the growth or something like that. I never raised a pup on raw wanted to with Saya, but I had to do tons of research and show my mom the bones weren't going to kill her.
New Oskar spam: sorry it's just phone pics, though. Gotta get my husband to send me some of the newer pix from his camera.
Oskar's big (you can see his giant crate in the background):
Here is his giant cage that I got at the thrift store for $5. You can see a somewhat demonic looking Toby in the background--he's outside, staring in the window (lousy pic, but you can see how giant the cage is!) :
Here he is with a toy:
Now in terms of his progress--he's doing well. He's got six big boy teeth and between that and his testicles dropping, he thinks he's a big boy! *lol* He's started growling at some other dogs, which I'm not thrilled with. He's good with them unless they get pushy. Mostly patient, but today at the pet store, a Neapolitan Mastiff about his age and size put a paw on him, and Oskar growled. He also did it to a pushy adult rottie who moved a bit too fast towards him, and got up in his face. I don't think his behavior is out of line--neither of these dogs were polite--but I'd prefer he didn't do it. Luckily, I'm able to call him back and redirect him really fast.
He's also started a bit of resource guarding with Bel. He growls if she comes near his food. I asked the behavioralist about it (when she was out to work with Toby and Bel) and she didn't seem too worried about it--she said it's hard to stop them from doing that with other dogs.
But he also sits well, loves the "touch" command, and his recall is good. He's doing decently with leave it, too. And he's generally just calm as can be. Also, he went to the vet earlier this week and weighed in at just under 60 pounds. The vet thinks he may weigh in at 130 by the time he's an adult.
And he hasn't peed in the house for nearly 2 weeks! and today at his class, I suddenly realized he had to pee (he was beginning to pace) and he waited til we got outside the door and then peed a lot, so I think he's beginning to understand that he needs to be outside to pee! Yay! Now if we can only get success with him getting in the car on his own, because damn, he's BIG to have to pick up and put in there (I try putting his front paws in, then lifting his back end, which seems to help him, but he doesn't like getting in or out of the car).
Comments
Secondly, you are doing an amazing job managing your dogs. There will be set back and incidents, no matter how vigilant and careful you are. Learn from it. And keep doing the great job that you are doing.
And thirdly... I agree with Jessika... SPAM! hehe.
And of course, Spam! We haven't seen any new pics of Oskar in a while!!
In the pool:
Out of the pool:
At the gate:
Profile:
Under the propane tank with Bel (Oskar no longer fits under there--this was two weeks ago!):
Curlytails (Oskar and Bel)
the under the propane tank was a favorite game between oskar and bel until oskar grew....
Love the muddy puppy picture... He reminds me of Nola in that one.
It's been such a pleasant surprise that Bel's behavior has improved like crazy, because she is so invested in him, has to be with him, etc. So she's practicing a lot of basic obedience with him, and is loving the clicker, etc. It's really great for them both!
I'll second Chrys' sentiments too. Great update!
Today we went to his first "big boy" class. I'm not sure what I think. What happened was that the clicker class I wanted to get in was full. So I called around, and found a bunch of places I wouldn't take him no matter what. I found a possible trainer near where I live who didn't have a class. I found a highly recommended clicker trainer (Karen Pryor academy trainer) with an adult dog class would would let Oskar in. And I found a positive training (lure and reward, no clicker) puppy class.
I went back and forth, because I wasn't sure what to do, and finally decided I really wanted to do clicker training, so settled on that class. Now I kind of wish I'd gone for the puppy class--I should have thought he his will have plenty of time to go to adult classes, but this is last chance for puppy class, but I didn't think that way. The puppy class was mostly off leash too....
This class has a trainer who obviously knows her stuff, and was quite nice. I already learned some things! For Oskar, though, I'm not sure it's that fun. There are supposed to be 8 dogs in the class, but there were only 6, which seemed quite enough. It is all adult dogs, and all appear to range from mildy to very dog reactive. We had plenty of room, but it was kind of hard to bring my not quite 4 month old puppy into a room with all these other dogs that wanted to attack him right away. He doesn't get it at all....he's a big baby and wants to play, and doesn't understand why all the other dogs were so growly, and were lunging at him. The trainer had to tell me to make sure Oskar wasn't staring at one of the GSDs (most of the dogs were GSDs) because it was getting young male dog very worked up....So it was useful for me to learn how to distract him, but it made me kind of sad to trying everything to be friendly....head tosses, then play bows, then jumping in place, then high-pitched play bark....
Also, he already knows how to do everything in the class. His attention span, obviously, isn't good (and my god an hour seemed really LONG with those other dogs!) and so it's good practice for him to have to learn to focus on me in the face of distractions (he wasn't that great at that). But he already sits well on command and sits for greetings. He understand "watch me" even if he doesn't always do it yet. He is soft-mouthed anyway, and since we'd begun puppy zen with him already, he did the first stage of the "leave it" (ie. not mouthing the hand) very easily. And then? He was bored, and just kind of puzzled, I think. I mean, it's the first time in my life I've ever had the best behaved dog in the class (and such a young one too), but I'm just kind of wondering if I made a mistake in choosing the class....(And I'm SO aware his good behavior is only a small part me--he's just such a good boy, and so easy to work with)
And I'm hoping being with all these reactive dogs won't freak him out, or make him start to act like them. It wouldn't would it? I mean just being around reactive dogs shouldn't make him start too would it? As long as he has no contact with them he should be ok, shouldn't he?
He's a pretty calm boy, so I can't imagine it would.
I do wish I'd done the puppy class instead, so at least he'd get the play time, but on the other hand, I expect he'll go to many classes in his life, and if this one isn't an ideal group for us, we'll still both learn things. And it was funny to see how impatient he became with the trainer when she was using him for an example of the sit for a greeting, but stopped to talk to everyone else. He sat, got a click and a treat, and then he didn't want to move, because hey, he knew he was suppposed to be sitting. Then she began talking, and was not looking at him, so I watched him squirm a bit, and do the trick he does with me: he lifts his butt off the ground then sits again, expectantly. This did not get him a click and treat, so he did it again, and when it still didn't work (as she was explaining something) he finally put one paw on her foot to get her attention.
Honestly Lisa, & this is just my opinion, & I know this sucks, but I wouldn't take him if there are that many reactive dogs, especially since he's still a puppy.
One of the most important aspects of socializing a puppy is to socialize them with well-mannered dogs. Since he's still super young, he's more impressionable then an adult dog. & if he sees these dogs consistently over the next course of 4-8 weeks, they'll be more likely to leave an impression. He might think, "Hey! They greet me like that, so that must be how I'm suppose to greet other dogs too!"
Or, I try to think of...what if one of those other dogs got away from the trainer / owner & came after Oskar? What kind of impression would that leave? Are these dogs really "reactive?" Or are they just loud attention seekers? Would Oskar be safe if one of these dogs slipped away & got to him?
But, I might just be being overcautious...I don't know. We paid $120 for that puppyclass to take Wraith to, & it sucked to waist that money when the trainer started using force on him, but it wasn't worth having my social butterfly ruined for 120bucks.
JMHO ~
Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear, but I figured you came here because you expect our honest opinions. Maybe someone else will think of an angle that Osy and I haven't thought of. I'll also qualify my remarks by saying that I'm a bad puppy parent and have never taken any of my dogs to a formal training class. The jury is still out on the effects of that decision.
And there was one male GSD who I think would hurt Oskar if he got loose.....
It's really just an odd unfortunate thing that we ended up in a class with so many reactive dogs....it's not meant for them--just what ended up happening.
eta: I knew I liked the trainer! I emailed her about my concerns and she said she understood, and that someone else had stopped coming because their young dog was too intimidated by the reactive adult dogs, so she asked if I could come earlier, and do a separate class with the young dogs. I know that's double the work and time for her, so I really appreciated this offer, and it sounds like it will be MUCH better for us!
I am sure this will turn out to be an amazingly positive experience for both you and Oskar.
Good things come to those who make careful decisions. :-)
He's HUGE btw....He weighs 48 pounds now and is not quite 4 months old. Need to get some new spam up.
I wondered about something: when he gets up after a nap,he seems to have a hard time getting up, esp. on the back legs. He walks fine, and he doesn't seem to be in pain. Do you think this is just him being tired? Growing? I notice he also has a hard time getting up and down the stairs, but I do think that is because he's growing so much, he can't quite tell where his back legs are--I see him looking back on the stairs like, huh, where do I put my feet? Where are my feet?
But both my husband I noticed he takes a long time to get up and to get his back legs under him--and it is kind of worrisome....
As for the rear end.... If it makes you uncomfortable then you should keep an eye on it at the minimum, or take him to the vet. I suspect it is just puppy issues though. When your puppy is already 48 pounds out is easy to forget how young they are. A 4 month old puppy us going to be awkward and gangly and have some issues locating their rear end. Hell, my almost 9 month puppy us still learning the fine details of rear end placement and he's 43 pounds.
The back-end thing is totally normal for a large breed puppy at that age. I would expect it to continue until he is around 8 months too. Even Masha, who is not huge for the breed (26" 120lbs), and who has impeccable orthopedics, had some delay in getting up and down from a sitting position as a pup.
Remember, a dog puts 70% of their weight on their front end, so it takes longer for the back-end to strengthen and catch up. Kodi is 5 months now and about 80lb and is going through this too, and his movement is pretty nice (like Oskar's), I'm sure both their hips are fine. Zeta too, she is 4 months now, is slow to get up but she can jump like 4 feet in the air.
In a large breed pup like yours (or Kodi or Zeta), I would be more concerned if I saw that his hips were looking more narrow than what I would consider to be typical of the breed. Narrow hips are a sign of poor muscle growth and development (or atrophy) which is a sign the dog is not using their hips 100% which is a sign of HD. Also a rickety gate, where the rear legs appear to move back and forth from both sides as they walk, is another red-flag (as well as bunny hopping, tho some large breed pups will do this around Oskar's age as it is easier for them while their back-end strengthens).
Please don't take him to the vet for his back-end unless it is clear he is in pain. The vet will just look for an issue and it will end up making you more worried than you need to be. He's a BIG young pup, let him mature and to at least 1 year or so before you worry about his ortho. If you give a vet a ticket to find an issue they WILL find an issue.
Also, IMHO, keep in mind for the future, if he does end up having some hip issues only peruse a surgical option if he is in enough pain to where it slows him down. I know dogs that have lived long happy lives with HD and it never slowed them down (and never had a surgery). HD is only an issue in a pet if it is causing pain and atrophy - some dogs are strong enough to compensate and do it so well they are better off not going through a procedure.
----
He's not fat. He's pretty lean...I need to get some pics up. And our weighing method is....not terribly accurate....it's my husband weighing himself on the home scale then adding Oskar. It's probably off by about 3-5 pounds (what I've noticed when we weighed Toby once then took him into the vet not long after). But yes, he is a big boy. I wonder, sometimes, if feeding raw speeds up their growth....My breeder was against it, but since I've raised all my pups on raw, I'm sticking with it.
What I also need to get a pic of,just because it's funny, is this MONSTROUS crate I bought at the thrift store for $5. Oskar has outgrown all but one of the crates we have, and he's not at all reliably housetrained, so I needed another one. The people at the thrift store weren't sure they had all the parts for this thing, so they sold it to me cheap. It did have all the parts, and we put it together, and now it looks like we have a cage for a pony in our living room! Apparently it is the biggest crate Midwest crates makes, and is very tall too! I blocked off part of it so he can't just move to another part of it and pee, but it will fit him as a grown up dog too, and he loves that it is wire and he can see everything that is going on.
And yes... You do need to post some pictures. Especially of the pony crate.
I've read feeding a raw diet helps even the growth or something like that. I never raised a pup on raw wanted to with Saya, but I had to do tons of research and show my mom the bones weren't going to kill her.
Oskar's big (you can see his giant crate in the background):
Here is his giant cage that I got at the thrift store for $5. You can see a somewhat demonic looking Toby in the background--he's outside, staring in the window (lousy pic, but you can see how giant the cage is!) :
Here he is with a toy:
Now in terms of his progress--he's doing well. He's got six big boy teeth and between that and his testicles dropping, he thinks he's a big boy! *lol* He's started growling at some other dogs, which I'm not thrilled with. He's good with them unless they get pushy. Mostly patient, but today at the pet store, a Neapolitan Mastiff about his age and size put a paw on him, and Oskar growled. He also did it to a pushy adult rottie who moved a bit too fast towards him, and got up in his face. I don't think his behavior is out of line--neither of these dogs were polite--but I'd prefer he didn't do it. Luckily, I'm able to call him back and redirect him really fast.
He's also started a bit of resource guarding with Bel. He growls if she comes near his food. I asked the behavioralist about it (when she was out to work with Toby and Bel) and she didn't seem too worried about it--she said it's hard to stop them from doing that with other dogs.
But he also sits well, loves the "touch" command, and his recall is good. He's doing decently with leave it, too. And he's generally just calm as can be. Also, he went to the vet earlier this week and weighed in at just under 60 pounds. The vet thinks he may weigh in at 130 by the time he's an adult.
And he hasn't peed in the house for nearly 2 weeks! and today at his class, I suddenly realized he had to pee (he was beginning to pace) and he waited til we got outside the door and then peed a lot, so I think he's beginning to understand that he needs to be outside to pee! Yay! Now if we can only get success with him getting in the car on his own, because damn, he's BIG to have to pick up and put in there (I try putting his front paws in, then lifting his back end, which seems to help him, but he doesn't like getting in or out of the car).