You just have to be firm with puppies. And then they get used to you and will protect you.

Go to a spa and pamper yourself!!! That's what I'm saving up my 'loonies' for!

As much as Spas are great(for other people), for me it is not my idea of fun. Besides, I am supposed to be using it to help Plan A my kids. I may one day go to a spa, I am just not sure I would do so any time soon

Go to a movie and spend a night out doing something with the kids. Or maybe do a movie night at home!

I was thinking about a movie. I was also thinking about taking them to the arcade. I have $20 in tokens from last year when I was supposed to take them. Also, since we live in Niagara Falls and it is becoming tourist season there is a lot of fun things to do on Clifton Hill. Hmmmmmm decisions decisions.

Hi Scotty,

Oh my, the note from your son broke my heart! How can a wayward read something like that and still believe that what they are doing is ok for anyone? What sweet boys you have.

In a way, I wish that my DDs were in contact with my WH and telling him things like that. On the other hand, I can hear WH telling them that D is better for all of us in the long run. Waywards are such idiots!

Niagara Falls is so beautiful. I haven't been there for about 20 years now, but I would love to bring my DDs there. They have never been there. I almost took them last summer because there are Irish Step dance competitions there and I thought it would be cool to go to a Canadian competition.

Do your boys like zoos and if so, are there any near you? How about a waterpark? I know that both of those options might require saving more loonies than you currently have, but just some thoughts. Skating is an option, too.

Oh I forgot to mention on the puppy front:

When we got our lab 2 years ago, my older daughter was 9 and very ready for the puppy. My younger daughter was 6 and had no idea how rough puppies could be (not to mention how sharp their teeth are). As a result, DD11 is much closer to the dog than DD8, but DD8 is bonding more with the dog now (especially since her sister is away at a camp right now with her class until tomorrow).

We are just now starting to exit the puppy stage with our dog (and she's 76 pounds of puppy now).

Hope Friday is a better day for you and DS's.

I don't know if they have any in your area, but I took my boys to an indoor rock climbing place. They had a 100 ft. climbing wall and it was fairly cheap and the boys loved it. Just an idea for something different.

Cool ideas. Waterpark and indoor rock climbing. See that's why I asked for ideas from you.

Well, my teeth aren't hurting as bad so today is getting better already

So, I forgot to mention what happened at my niece's Bday party on Wednesday. DS9 has been having some anger issues again. DS7, DN8 and DN6 were all calling Scooch stupid. DS9 was getting angry and even hitting them. He wasn't acting like his normal happy self. My mom mentioned something about how he was angrier than she had ever seen. I said, "Yea and parents think that when they have an affair it doesn't effect their children." My mom looked at my sister and I and said, "Did it affect you?" I said, "Not in the same way but YES." She didn't say anything after that. She picked up SAA after that and continued reading.

As far as the Scooch sitch and DS7, he is scared of her every morning. He screams and wants us to take her somewhere else because he is afraid that she is going to bite his fingers off. I try really hard to get him to understand that if he shows fear that she is going to jump on him more. She actually grabs his clothes out of the hamper and she steals his blanket and toys. I know once we get through training her, it will be much better. She really is a good little pup.

Scotland,

I don't know that I've ever posted to you, but I check your thread every day. I keep waiting for your WH to wake up!

Anyway, we vacation in Canada every summer (Muskoka area) and head home through Niagara Falls. When I saw that you were willing to go to Clifton Hill with your boys I thought I should nominate you for mother of the year! Our kids are getting older (15 and 12 next month) and we keep waiting for them to lose interest, but every year they want to go.

Your most recent puppy comment caused me to leave lurkdom. There's a great book about raising puppies by an order of monks (yes, I'm serious). Their order takes in German Shepherd pups and trains them. The whole philosophy stems from the knowledge that dogs are descended from wolves. Dogs have that same pack mentality that they apply to the family since they don�t have a pack of their own. It sounds like your puppy may be trying to establish himself over your DS7 in the pack order (the aggressive play and stealing of personal items). According to the book, part of your training involves sending the message to the puppy that he is the low man on the family totem pole. It�s been years since I read it, but it involves things like feeding the puppy after you and the kids eat, not letting the puppy go before you through doorways and various other things. It�s all the things wolves do to establish a higher place in their pack. Once your puppy gets the message, he�ll stop being so aggressive with your son. Having your DS7 participate in the training might help him overcome his fear.

The book is called: The Monks of New Skete: The Art of Raising a Puppy. It�s a classic, so your library should have it.

I used these techniques to great effect on our dog. Mind you, she�s a 4.5 pound teacup poodle and very timid, so it didn�t really matter what I did training-wise.

Bea

{{{{{Scottie}}}}},

awwwwwww honey. I'm sorry you are having a rotten day/week. I'm sure a lot of that stems from your teeth. I know for me, when I am physically I'll, it tends to bring my emotional state down.....hope those teef heal soon....

About the puppy.... Are you crate training him? I strongly advise you to check into that. I did with our dog/horse, and it saved us and her much aggravation.

Anywho, to echo your sentiments.....WAYWARDS SUCK A$$.....

Not2fun

I totally agree on the puppy training philosophy Bea. I believe the book that I got on labs basically said the same things that you did. Our lab instantly knew that WH was the lead dog in our house (how I don't know because he was never home). She somehow knew that DD11 and I were ahead of her, too, but she did try to put herself before DD8 for a long time. And DD8 was not the greatest about enforcing her rank. Once DD8 got the hang of how dogs learn and the pack order idea, everything fell into place.

I am now the lead dog, by the way! I sort of like being in charge (although some days, our dog listens to DD11 better than me).

Something on the puppy side of things to train your DS7 on -

He's about to enter "Young Man" training which is essential to learning how to be a good dad some day.

Teach him how to never show his fear to the dog, but his natural tendency if he's trying not to show fear is to be mean or be a bully.

My husband's sister showed our son how to do a "dominance down" on our dog when she was a puppy. Every time she tried to jump on DS without invitation he was to "touch nice" but firmly push her to the ground onto her side while saying "Down" slowly and repeatedly and then hold her there until she stopped struggling. Then he'd pet her and sooth her with his words then let her get up. If she jumped right back up on him, she'd get the same treatment. The trick is to have your younger son do this training.

He has to teach her that in the scheme of the family structure she's going to be safe and okay being the low man on the totem pole!

Our son was four when he learned how to do this, so your son gets to learn how to do it with a size and age advantage over a similar breed puppy.

The trick is that he has to be firm, but loving, not bullying. She has to feel safe not being dominant anymore.

I'm the leader of the pack to the poodle, but my DD14 has a rank all to herself. She's queen of the house to all the animals. The dog and our two cats worship her. The lizard would too, but he's always stuck in his cage.

Cesar Milan's books or videos are great too. Again, it is not allowing the dog to be the pack leader but become part of the pack (your family). What Cesar does is train people, not dogs really.

Scotty, I am sending hugs and prayers to your family...especially DS9.

I think my 5-yo Pekinese realizes that my DH is the alpha dog. However... we sleep with our door closed and she's usually left downstairs. Most of the time I get up first and I will go downstairs to get a drink or whatever. Then, I'll go back upstairs to get ready. "Luvey" races me up the stairs and waits for me to open our bedroom door. Then she will jump on our bed (where DH is still sleeping) and go CRAZY barking, and whining (and snapping if I get too close) at me to stay away from him.

There's no longer an OW in our life but I guess you could say there is an OD. She's nuts!

She's really playing though because when I grab her and tell her to hush she's licking me and wagging her tail. She thinks it's a game.

Two 8x8's for two waywards = two good!

God is blessing your DS for his courage and honesty to his dad. God is also blessing you for your courage and honesty to your mom. Whammo!

Thanx about all of the talk about our Scooch. I have been teaching him to do that and I watch Dog Whisperer all of the time. I know that Scooch knows that I am pack leader because she waits for me to go through doors. I do get the kids to feed her after we have all eaten. I even got DS9 to start holding her down until she stopped struggling. The funny thing is that she did struggle really badly at first until I put my hand on her too to show him. He did it a few more times. I have tried to explain it to DS7, I guess when he sees the change Scooch makes through DS9's training he will get it.

So I saw the response that WH gave DS9 to his email and it really makes me want to kick him. Here it is(remember my WH is a man of few words)


What an AZZ. It is full of HIM HIM HIM.

Good golly......of course it's easy.....GET RID OF OW!!!!!

See, it's stupid garbage like that that keeps me from posting (most of the time...) to the new wayward on here. My emotions are just not seasoned enough......

{{{{{ Scottie}}}}}}

I know this had to hurt.....

Not2fun


What an AZZ. It is full of HIM HIM HIM. [/quote]