# New dog vs. OLD tortoise



## Tazman (May 21, 2010)

I have had Mr. T for several years, but right before hibernation, we got a new dog. She didn't pay any mind to Mr. T because she was young and scared. Well, now that hibernation is over and the dog is a little older, she has developed a keen interest in Mr. T. 
She plays with him like a toy. She continually flips him over. The good thing is, she barks histerically when this happens, so we know right away what has happened. The dog is an inside dog so they only share the backyard when she needs to go out to do her business. 

Is there anything I can do(besides watching her constantly, which we now do) to get her to stop playing with my tortoise? Maybe a spray that isn't harmful to Mr. T but will make the dog back off?

I told my wife when we got the dog that if this happened, the dog was gone. Well, because of hibernation, the dog has been around long enough that it will upset the children now if we get rid of her so I need a different solution.

PLEASE HELP.


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## Stephanie Logan (May 21, 2010)

How about a fence down the middle of the yard so they don't cross paths?


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## Tazman (May 21, 2010)

Changing the landscaping at this time is not an option


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## DeanS (May 21, 2010)

'Bye Dog


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## APBT_Fanatic (May 21, 2010)

No, you don't have to get rid of the dog, you just have to train her not to mess with the tortoise.

When she is sniffing or looking at the tortoise (or if she's not, then call her over and allow her to see the tortoise) then once she focuses in on the tortoise, clap your hands, say "ahh!!", walk towards her, and tell her "leave it!" in a stern voice. Then make sure she walks away from the tortoise.

Do this every time she becomes interested (in a bad way) to the tortoise, and of course continue to watch her carefully. If you catch her with the tortoise in her mouth, or playing with it, you can use the same commands. And don't forget to praise her when she listens. You can also use one of her toys as a replacement too.

Eventually, she should be able to smell it, then walk away a few seconds later, and not treat it as a toy.


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## Shelly (May 21, 2010)

How about screaming "NO!!!" and smacking the dog with a rolled up newspaper?


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## webskipper (May 21, 2010)

Shock Collar? Bitter Apple on the shell?

I learned a lot of tricks with a girlfriends mini-weiner hound.

Chewing shoes/leather - solution is to add salt to the food.

Digging - - solution is to add garlic to the food.

Tort licking - solution is to figure out and let us know.


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## dmmj (May 21, 2010)

I personally believe that dogs and torts should not mix unsupervised, but since you asked, how about spraying the dog with water ( hose, bottle, high powered water gun) until the dog stops.


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## Floof (May 21, 2010)

I've had great luck with three of my family's four dogs using the "leave it" command. The three in question were already very well trained in the "leave it" command before being conditioned away from the herps, and it still took some work to get them to reliably, 100% ignore scaly things... But it's definitely worth it!

The gist of my training was pretty much "leave it" whenever the dog showed interest; praise when the dog obeyed; snap/clap/other startling noise and loud, sharp "NO" if they disobey.

Good luck! I hope things work out and the dog and tort can learn to get along.


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## Tom (May 22, 2010)

NEVER, I repeat NEVER leave this dog alone with your tortoise. There is nothing wrong with the above suggestions, but it really depends on your dogs level of sensitivity and drive. You need professional help with this. The consequences, if the above advice doesn't work for you for any reason are too dire to even consider. I would treat this like rattlesnake avoidance, although, in this case, you are protecting the reptile, not the dog. Same basic premise as far as the dog is concerned.

Where are you? If you are in SoCal, I'll be happy to help you with this, no charge. If not, I know competent trainers all over the country. PM me with your number either way. I'm happy to help whatever way I can.



Shelly said:


> How about screaming "NO!!!" and smacking the dog with a rolled up newspaper?



Ha! You make me laugh!


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## ChiKat (May 22, 2010)

I would never leave my tortoise unattended with any dog- even my little chihuahua who would never dream of touching him. 

Even if you teach him not to touch the tortoise in your presence, he might go over to your tortoise the minute you leave. 
This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Does your tortoise have free reign of the backyard? Can you block off an area for either your tortoise or your dog? 



Shelly said:


> How about screaming "NO!!!" and smacking the dog with a rolled up newspaper?



Be careful, people might actually take this advice seriously!


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## Angi (May 22, 2010)

I would use the same method they use to train dogs to stay away from rattle snakes. You need a shock collar with a remote. let the dog get near the tort and every time he touches it shock him. It only take a couple of shocks and the dog is done with the bad behavior.


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## tortoisenerd (May 22, 2010)

Even if you were able to see than 99 times your dog was safe with the tortoise, than 100th or 1,000th time could be the time the dog kills or mangles the tortoise. Please do not allow them together for any length of time, under any level of supervision. If your landscaping is more important than your tort's life, then I think you may have to make a decision. I have seen too many stories on here about dogs and torts. Inform yourself and do a forum search to see some graphic stuff. These owners thought their dog and tort got along great, until the one time they didn't...


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## terryo (May 22, 2010)

If the children are old enough, why not let them take the dog for a walk, instead of letting him out in the yard, and if they're not, you or your wife will have to do it. Even a trained dog is unpredictable, IMO.


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## Tom (May 22, 2010)

ChiKat said:


> Shelly said:
> 
> 
> > How about screaming "NO!!!" and smacking the dog with a rolled up newspaper?
> ...



No, he is serious, that's why its so funny.



Angi said:


> I would use the same method they use to train dogs to stay away from rattle snakes. You need a shock collar with a remote. let the dog get near the tort and every time he touches it shock him. It only take a couple of shocks and the dog is done with the bad behavior.



Angi, you've got the right general idea here, but what you've just said is the equivalent of telling someone how to excise a brain tumor in a few sentences. There are an infinite number of things that could go wrong and only a very experienced trainer should even attempt the techniques you've described. Electric collars are a VERY powerful training tool and its really easy to misuse (unintentionally) that power. I've seen some really bad stuff out there, and unfortunately, I don't get called until AFTER the bad stuff has already happened. I'm usually the last ditch effort before dogs get put down. I've got no problem with private people using e-collars, but common sense should dictate that one needs some help from an experienced trainer first. They are not to be taken lightly and they are the solution for very few dog training problems.


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## APBT_Fanatic (May 22, 2010)

I run a dog rescue, and all of the dogs we have had fostered here (as well as our own dogs) have done great (of course still under supervision) with what I suggested above. However, I also know how to handle the dogs correctly, and watch for things the average dog owner may not be able to see.

Tom is right though, if you can aford it, calling a GOOD, reputable trainer out is a good idea as well.


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## Shelly (May 22, 2010)

How about screaming NO!!! and smacking them with a rolled up shock collar?


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## Kristina (May 22, 2010)

Shelly said:


> How about screaming NO!!! and smacking them with a rolled up shock collar?


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