Thanks again everyone! I appreciate the simpathies!!!!!!
I was just reading this again and the reponses and it dawned on me that he was the dog that shoud never have made it this long lol.
We got him he was 3.5 weeks old. His mom was hit by a car when he was just a week old. He could fit in a small shoe box with a kitchen towel for a blanket lol. The family we got him from bottle feed the puppies til they thought they could give them away. All of his brothers /sisters were dead within the next year. One was shot for attacking live stock, the rest were hit by cars. He just happened to do well with us. We did feed him with a bottle for a little while til he could eat on his own. Then he just took right off like any other dog.
I personally have no children, but Jeanne has 3, all of which are grown and doing OK. So Norton was my kid in a sence you could say. We pretty much had him from before he knew he was a dog. So I guess it would go without saying he never behaved like a dog really. lol
Funny thing was, we lived in the country when we got him and as he grew, he could run and be a dog. Til one day I caught him chasing deer. As with many puppies, its hard to break the habits they pick up as they grow. I tried to punish him in many ways before I found something that worked. Problem with that is when they come back they dont remember what they did wrong, so they dont understand why they are being punished.
What I found that worked best was anytime he just took off and didnt come when I called, I just waited til he came back, then I short chained him to the LP tank in the hot sun so he had to stand, cant sit without the leash choking him. I would leave him their for an hour and all the time I'd tell him he was naughty. I'd go about whatever I was doing til that hour was up, then I let him off again, and as soon as he wanted to take off, I'd hollar again, then do it again. But if he came back I told him he was a Good Boy! It took about a week of that and he never ever left again. He always came when I called after that.
He was about a year old then, and I never ever had to do anything again but call his name. He knew what I wanted! He got the message pretty quick and I learned that I could teach him without having to punish him in any way after that. He just responded right away from that point forward.
I taught him to play frisbee, in 10 minutes lol. Only reason it took that long was because he figured out that I had dog treats. I think he got a kick out of watching me chase the frisbee down too lol. As soon as those treats were gone and I showed him my empty hands, the next throw he ran and caught that fribee in mid air. From then on it was something I would do with him every day after work Til I realized one day he was cutting his pads running through the snow to chase that frisbee.
He would always meet me in the driveway when I pulled up after work, frisbee in mouth, and ready to go. I miss that!
They are way smarter then we give them credit for! Not to mention that they luv unconditionally!
