Hubble update/pics and a few questions!
Small updates on Hubble!
For people who didn't see my introduction thread and so my dogs aren't mixed up, Hubble is a nearly 5 month JA pup and Apollo is a 10 month Boerboel X Rottweiler/German Shepherd
Hubble has settled in well and play fights a lot with my other dog - (which consists of Apollo rolling on the floor/on Hubble and kicking Hubble in the face and Hubble biting the loose skin around Apollo's neck and chest) I'm not sure if this is just play fighting and should be stopped when it gets too rough or if it is dominance in which case I should let them sort it out? How am I meant to tell the difference?
Hubble is pretty much housetrained though now and eats happily from his anti-gulp bowl and both dogs don't seem bothered around each other at meal times, though they are kept separated by a baby gate to prevent any possible aggro. When I give them a treat they aren't interested in their own and will just want each others, usually resulting in neither of them eating it and just sitting next to it until the other one moves away, this happens if the treats are different or the exact same thing, is there any way to stop this and make them eat the bloody thing? xD this happens even when in different rooms from each other, but only if treats are bones/rawhide/pig ears/something long lasting, any normal chews are eaten normally.
On walks I've been letting Hubble off lead in secure areas and he just seems to follow Apollo around, though he seems to like trying to squeeze into small, dark places, such as under bushes or crawling through the undergrowth. This also happens in the garden, there is a patch of long grass/nettles at the back and this is the only place that he will do a poo! Making it very challenging to pick up afterwards haha.
He is losing baby teeth at the minute but doesn't seem bothered on chewing on anything, he has treats, toys, ice cubes, cold towels and he won't chew on anything, but he does carry things very gently around the house in his mouth a lot, socks, letters, phones, tv remote, basically anything that he can pick up but he doesn't do anything other than carry it and keep it in his mouth like a weirdo!
His ears are also a bit floppy still and not 100% up unless he is excited, is this normal or they still have a bit more growing to do to become more sturdy? Last question (this is turning into more of a questions thread than updates haha), he has a rolled nylon collar at the moment because I was scared to get a flat one out of fear of ruining his fur, but I eventually want to walk him on a collar instead of a harness and was wondering what the best collar would be for this? My dogs have their collars on all the time with ID tags attached, so maybe I could use a chain collar/lightweight one for their ID and then a stronger one that is just for walking or something? Or is that collar overload? Apollo just has a wide collar as he is a very strong puller and I thought if it was wider it would help to distribute some weight along his neck rather than choking him being a thin one, and of course thought a wider/bigger collar would be stronger as he weighs 45kg. I wanted one of these for Hubble but am scared it will squish all his fur and he seems to have a smaller neck so I don't want him to be uncomfortable in it - but saying that maybe Apollo is uncomfortable too though he accepted the collar as soon as he got it and can still move easily in it.
Few pictures now, though I am usually too busy chasing him around or training him to be able to take any! There should be a video too but I have no idea if I've attached that properly for it to work!
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
For people who didn't see my introduction thread and so my dogs aren't mixed up, Hubble is a nearly 5 month JA pup and Apollo is a 10 month Boerboel X Rottweiler/German Shepherd
Hubble has settled in well and play fights a lot with my other dog - (which consists of Apollo rolling on the floor/on Hubble and kicking Hubble in the face and Hubble biting the loose skin around Apollo's neck and chest) I'm not sure if this is just play fighting and should be stopped when it gets too rough or if it is dominance in which case I should let them sort it out? How am I meant to tell the difference?
Hubble is pretty much housetrained though now and eats happily from his anti-gulp bowl and both dogs don't seem bothered around each other at meal times, though they are kept separated by a baby gate to prevent any possible aggro. When I give them a treat they aren't interested in their own and will just want each others, usually resulting in neither of them eating it and just sitting next to it until the other one moves away, this happens if the treats are different or the exact same thing, is there any way to stop this and make them eat the bloody thing? xD this happens even when in different rooms from each other, but only if treats are bones/rawhide/pig ears/something long lasting, any normal chews are eaten normally.
On walks I've been letting Hubble off lead in secure areas and he just seems to follow Apollo around, though he seems to like trying to squeeze into small, dark places, such as under bushes or crawling through the undergrowth. This also happens in the garden, there is a patch of long grass/nettles at the back and this is the only place that he will do a poo! Making it very challenging to pick up afterwards haha.
He is losing baby teeth at the minute but doesn't seem bothered on chewing on anything, he has treats, toys, ice cubes, cold towels and he won't chew on anything, but he does carry things very gently around the house in his mouth a lot, socks, letters, phones, tv remote, basically anything that he can pick up but he doesn't do anything other than carry it and keep it in his mouth like a weirdo!
His ears are also a bit floppy still and not 100% up unless he is excited, is this normal or they still have a bit more growing to do to become more sturdy? Last question (this is turning into more of a questions thread than updates haha), he has a rolled nylon collar at the moment because I was scared to get a flat one out of fear of ruining his fur, but I eventually want to walk him on a collar instead of a harness and was wondering what the best collar would be for this? My dogs have their collars on all the time with ID tags attached, so maybe I could use a chain collar/lightweight one for their ID and then a stronger one that is just for walking or something? Or is that collar overload? Apollo just has a wide collar as he is a very strong puller and I thought if it was wider it would help to distribute some weight along his neck rather than choking him being a thin one, and of course thought a wider/bigger collar would be stronger as he weighs 45kg. I wanted one of these for Hubble but am scared it will squish all his fur and he seems to have a smaller neck so I don't want him to be uncomfortable in it - but saying that maybe Apollo is uncomfortable too though he accepted the collar as soon as he got it and can still move easily in it.
Few pictures now, though I am usually too busy chasing him around or training him to be able to take any! There should be a video too but I have no idea if I've attached that properly for it to work!
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
Comments
For collars, I went with a suggestion from @poeticdragon on a previous post - the Thin Mountain Rope ID Collar. It's just for IDs, but works great since it's so thin - no fur damage. We use regular flat collars with an old harness design that we got from a dog trainer 13+ yrs ago. They work well since they tighten up around the shoulder / chest secrion when the dog pulls & also puts some pressure on the flat collar since it's attached to that as well. Made of thin rope material, so it doesn't seem to damage the fur either.
Enjoy puppyhood !