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Tardy vibes for Soleil from Grant, Kelly, Audrey, Mason and myself!

I am so happy Soleil is better. We (ctn'ers) do love our dogs and cats.

Very happy to hear Soleil is on the mend. Hopefully Soleil is smarter than my childhood sheltie and one bite will be enough to teach her to leave snakes alone.

As an aside, in certain areas of the country snake aversion training is a life saver for dogs. I generally abhor shock collars as a training tool, but in life and death situations I make an exception.

Should you have the opportunity to dispatch another snake to the great beyond, before you dispose of the remains you can use them to teach any resident canines that snakes are a bad thing.

So glad Soleil is getting better! Now are you and Kelly recovering? More vibes and hugs for all of you!

windsor wrote:Very happy to hear Soleil is on the mend. Hopefully Soleil is smarter than my childhood sheltie and one bite will be enough to teach her to leave snakes alone.

As an aside, in certain areas of the country snake aversion training is a life saver for dogs. I generally abhor shock collars as a training tool, but in life and death situations I make an exception.

Should you have the opportunity to dispatch another snake to the great beyond, before you dispose of the remains you can use them to teach any resident canines that snakes are a bad thing.

Great advice windsor, thanks! I'm sure I'll encounter another snake. We took great measure to eliminate their natural habitats inside our fence line, but there is still an old fire pit filled with lumber and rocks that I need to address, and our next door neighbor doesn't care for their lawn in the back yard because she is worried about snakes. Moron just doesn't understand that the tall grass and dead leaves are attracting the snakes!

What type of "bad thing" training would you recommend? Bringing the (headless, I assume) remains over, letting them sniff them and then...?

These are my first two dogs, so I'm a bit new to training and discipline. However, Kelly has done an amazing job raising Rider (Australian Shepherd) and Soleil (Shiloh - Australian Shepherd Mix), they are obedient (wait at doors for permission to enter) and playful, and respond to most of our commands except when the mailman slams the mailbox door shut.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again everybody!

Kelly and I are both feeling much better too. After a fairly normal, light day of activity Soleil was back in good spirits. That makes all the difference in the world. I'm still more than a littler peeved when I think about it, but I have a planning meeting soon so I'll be talking and listening for the next eight hours. I've got the windows open, birds are singing and there's a lot to be thankful for so I'm doing pretty good.

Miles wrote:

windsor wrote:Very happy to hear Soleil is on the mend. Hopefully Soleil is smarter than my childhood sheltie and one bite will be enough to teach her to leave snakes alone.

As an aside, in certain areas of the country snake aversion training is a life saver for dogs. I generally abhor shock collars as a training tool, but in life and death situations I make an exception.

Should you have the opportunity to dispatch another snake to the great beyond, before you dispose of the remains you can use them to teach any resident canines that snakes are a bad thing.

These are my first two dogs, so I'm a bit new to training and discipline. However, Kelly has done an amazing job raising Rider (Australian Shepherd) and Soleil (Shiloh - Australian Shepherd Mix), they are obedient (wait at doors for permission to enter) and playful, and respond to most of our commands except when the mailman slams the mailbox door shut.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This needs to be aversion training...a kind which under normal circumstances I never recommend. Given that they are both Aussie (or part aussie) are they sound senstiive? You need to find something they dislike which is not harmful to them. I like boat airhorns (hint: your neighbors won't love you if you do this at 5 am). One dog at a time (the other one inside) let the dog wander about in the vicinity of the snake. As soon as they get withing a few feet....you give them a "NO" that should rock the heavens. If they go one stop closer to the snake, or continue to be engage by it, blast the air horn. It should scare the crap out of them. That is the idea...scare the crap out of them. You will need to repeat this a few times over a few days (assuming snake doesn't get too ripe ) they must NOT encounter the snake without the NO and/or airhorn you can repeat the process with a snake skin if (when) you find one....rubber snakes work too. We gator train with a 3 ft. rubber alligator because real ones for training are in short supply. If during this they look at the snake then come back to you or Kelly heap on the rewards - food - praise - toy whatever works. It is a mater of imprinting in their brands snake = BAD STUFF. Luckily Aussies are smart dogs, they should catch on quick!

windsor wrote:

Miles wrote:

windsor wrote:Very happy to hear Soleil is on the mend. Hopefully Soleil is smarter than my childhood sheltie and one bite will be enough to teach her to leave snakes alone.

As an aside, in certain areas of the country snake aversion training is a life saver for dogs. I generally abhor shock collars as a training tool, but in life and death situations I make an exception.

Should you have the opportunity to dispatch another snake to the great beyond, before you dispose of the remains you can use them to teach any resident canines that snakes are a bad thing.

These are my first two dogs, so I'm a bit new to training and discipline. However, Kelly has done an amazing job raising Rider (Australian Shepherd) and Soleil (Shiloh - Australian Shepherd Mix), they are obedient (wait at doors for permission to enter) and playful, and respond to most of our commands except when the mailman slams the mailbox door shut.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This needs to be aversion training...a kind which under normal circumstances I never recommend. Given that they are both Aussie (or part aussie) are they sound senstiive? You need to find something they dislike which is not harmful to them. I like boat airhorns (hint: your neighbors won't love you if you do this at 5 am). One dog at a time (the other one inside) let the dog wander about in the vicinity of the snake. As soon as they get withing a few feet....you give them a "NO" that should rock the heavens. If they go one stop closer to the snake, or continue to be engage by it, blast the air horn. It should scare the crap out of them. That is the idea...scare the crap out of them. You will need to repeat this a few times over a few days (assuming snake doesn't get too ripe ) they must NOT encounter the snake without the NO and/or airhorn you can repeat the process with a snake skin if (when) you find one....rubber snakes work too. We gator train with a 3 ft. rubber alligator because real ones for training are in short supply. If during this they look at the snake then come back to you or Kelly heap on the rewards - food - praise - toy whatever works. It is a mater of imprinting in their brands snake = BAD STUFF. Luckily Aussies are smart dogs, they should catch on quick!

Thanks so much Windsor. Kelly was just home for lunch and she really appreciated your advice.

Wow! Thanks for the lesson, Windsor. It was a good one. My only problem with dog training is getting the alpha male we live with to follow the training rules. He undercuts most efforts by being so wishy washy about it all. What a hard head. When analyzing mishaps one always must come to the realization that it's never the dog's fault.
Love, Ima

Ima Facultiwyfe wrote:Wow! Thanks for the lesson, Windsor. It was a good one. My only problem with dog training is getting the alpha male we live with to follow the training rules. He undercuts most efforts by being so wishy washy about it all. What a hard head. When analyzing mishaps one always must come to the realization that it's never the dog's fault.
Love, Ima

It's a lab right? Food. Lab's generally will work for FOOD. (standing joke...to a Lab home is where the food dish is)
The trick to FOOD is being a slot machine not a soda machine. (random reinforcement with random reward - if you put money in a slot machine and don't win, you put more in because you know there could be a big payoff...if you put money in a soda machine and no soda comes out you get ticked off)

windsor wrote:

Ima Facultiwyfe wrote:Wow! Thanks for the lesson, Windsor. It was a good one. My only problem with dog training is getting the alpha male we live with to follow the training rules. He undercuts most efforts by being so wishy washy about it all. What a hard head. When analyzing mishaps one always must come to the realization that it's never the dog's fault.
Love, Ima

It's a lab right? Food. Lab's generally will work for FOOD. (standing joke...to a Lab home is where the food dish is)
The trick to FOOD is being a slot machine not a soda machine. (random reinforcement with random reward - if you put money in a slot machine and don't win, you put more in because you know there could be a big payoff...if you put money in a soda machine and no soda comes out you get ticked off)

No. The alpha dog of which I speak happens to be the OP. The labs would be a piece of cake to teach if it weren't for HIM! The dogs are SO smart. He's the one who is impossible to train.
Love, Ima

Ima Facultiwyfe wrote:

windsor wrote:

Ima Facultiwyfe wrote:Wow! Thanks for the lesson, Windsor. It was a good one. My only problem with dog training is getting the alpha male we live with to follow the training rules. He undercuts most efforts by being so wishy washy about it all. What a hard head. When analyzing mishaps one always must come to the realization that it's never the dog's fault.
Love, Ima

It's a lab right? Food. Lab's generally will work for FOOD. (standing joke...to a Lab home is where the food dish is)
The trick to FOOD is being a slot machine not a soda machine. (random reinforcement with random reward - if you put money in a slot machine and don't win, you put more in because you know there could be a big payoff...if you put money in a soda machine and no soda comes out you get ticked off)

No. The alpha dog of which I speak happens to be the OP. The labs would be a piece of cake to teach if it weren't for HIM! The dogs are SO smart. He's the one who is impossible to train.
Love, Ima

Well in that case, a shock collar is in order

windsor wrote:

Ima Facultiwyfe wrote: No. The alpha dog of which I speak happens to be the OP. The labs would be a piece of cake to teach if it weren't for HIM! The dogs are SO smart. He's the one who is impossible to train.
Love, Ima

Well in that case, a shock collar is in order

Hey! I hadn't thought of that. I'm definitely slipping.

Love, Ima