spottychick

THanks TN - that's definitely what I was picturing in my mind when I posted this. I want something like that for when I don't want the dog to be aware of being on a lead too much. But the lunge lead type, or wider lead, I can see would also be useful for different reasons!! Being a psychic I see myself spending lots of money on this lovely adoptee in the very near future!!!

Ah that k9force rubbery one sounds good SK. Oh yes, the good old rope burns. I remember years ago I bought a really long thin nylon line attached to a block of wood. I have no idea where I got it from but it may have been from a dog "school" I went to. Anyway - I used it on my rescue dally at the time, an 18 month old 35 kilo monster who suddenly thought he was free and bolted, whipped the lead through my hand and then whacked the wooden block into my knuckles for good measure. I ended up with a massive rope burn, bruised fingers and a dog screaming through the suburbs with a long line and a hunk a wood flapping dangerously behind him. LMAO. I learnt my lesson very fast!

Brilliant! THanks Tilly Sometimes it's just a matter of knowing the right word eh! FOund lots of them. And good idea re the knots!

Hi I've been googling away and getting nowhere just to find some basic equipment for training my dog. Perhaps I'm just being a bit thick or something At the moment I'm particularly interested in getting hold of a long leash/lead/line or whatever you call them. Something thinnish and very long that i can use to train my dog safely while he is learning not to bolt off into the wild blue yonder. But when I search for them in search engines all sorts of odd things come up except somewhere to buy them! Can someone tell me where I can find somewhere that sells these kins of things - preferably online. Where do you buy all your training equipment from?

Persephone - I think you're right about people SEEING what can be done with a dog and what a joy it can be. The reason I think this lady is so willing to listen to me is that she has seen my dalmatians over the past 3 years that I've lived here and she is stunned by how well behaved they are (well.... most of the time LOL) She thought it was because of their breed (ROFLMAO if only she KNEW) but I think she's realising it's about how they're treated. And I suspect she wants a dog that will do what my dogs do (this is of course not including the mad beast we've just adopted!!!). But more importantly, I think she finally gets it that the way my dogs behave takes a lot of WORK! She used to come round to see my other dog when he was sick to see how he was, I think it's the first time she's really related to a dog as a feeling, sensitive being. My boy had that effect on people, he was very gentle and sort of connected with people. She was genuinely devastated and cried her heart out when he died. Yesterday she saw how the new dog is already starting to be as calm and cool round the house as my others have been and she said "OMG he's just like your other boy". He's nothing like him of course LOL but I knew what she meant. So I really think she feels hope that Buddy might be able to get to something like my dogs one day and that MIGHT make the difference here.

awwww shucks Erny

Just a quick update THe lady who owns Buddy dropped by today - I think she was lured more by wanting to see my new dog than by the fact that I've been leaving messages for her to talk to me about Buddy!!! - but anyway, I made her a coffee and sat down for a chat. I was pretty blunt (but friendly if that makes sense) with her about how badly she's treating Buddy and she agreed. I set out some options for her about Buddy which were basically - you either need to do these things or find him a new home! Anyway, long story short - I will be going around there tomorrow to look at her yard and work out if there's somwhere that would be suitable to set up a proper run for him. I told her I would try and work out if she can do it without costing a bundle. She has also agreed that she must work on training him and that he needs to be moved from way down the bottom of the block where he can't see anything and has absolutely ZERO stimulus to somewhere where he can see the house and people and interact with everyone while he's chained up or in a run or whatever. Now this lady is not reliable so it may not work out but it's worth a try. Meanwhile she said she will buy him a more expensive leather collar for the chaining up and asked me what sort of treats would be best to get him for training. So, fingers crossed that she really will follow through this time.

I've never had a dog who played fetch either. Not a priority and besides most of my dogs have been dalmatians who just seem to think the whole idea of racing after something you threw just to bring it back to you so you can throw it again is a complete waste of their time. I have a similar situation to yours alexandrite. But I taught the new boy to "come" while walking him on lead by carrying treats in a top pocket, letting him get to the end of the lead and then calling his name and "come" - with the treat in my hand! WHen he comes to me I say "sit", he does, and then I give him the treat. I did this several times randomly during the walk. Once or twice I didn't have a treat in my hand and called "come" and gave him a pat instead. THis is only a start tho and when he was off-lead in a fenced area and I called "come" he completely ignored me LOL IT will take time.

What an amazing story. Sad about the cougar but there was no other way and the ranger tried not to kill it. That dog is fantastic!!

Awww what a loverly pic! She's gorgeous - congratulations!

Wierdly my dalmatian girl does it all the time. She doesn't drool but she does have that espresso froth Persephone so eloquently referred to She looks like she has a funny white bubbly beard on her face, it's quite hilarious. I've never known or heard of a dally doing that before LOL and I sympathise with the OP - the first time I saw her do it (when she was an adolescent) I thought she'd swallowed poison or something - but no, she's just happy.

Yep, thanks cosmolo I'm going to PM him.

Hi gillbear - no actually I was squatting next to the bed sort of at his eye level. And yes, there are SO MANY unknowns, even tho I have questioned his previous owners extensively a lot of stuff isn't matching what they told me so far. I have absolutely NO experience with muzzles - better go look that up too LOL I'm spending so much time researching stuff for this dog!!!! I have to say he's pretty good at being handled usually. He arrived with some sort of eye problem, lots of gunk in his eye and he keeps rubbing it. I have some vet formulated eye wash that I used to use on my old dog and I've been washing his eye out since he got here and he is absolutely fine with it. I also noticed his claws are well clipped short so he also is clearly fine with having his nails trimmed which says a lot about him. I've also checked his teeth and ears - just to see if he handles it all and no problems with that either. In fact he moaned and looked all gooshy when I gently wiped his ears with a cloth.

Aiden - that website is quite inspirational - nice to know I'm not the only mad woman trying to help other people's dogs on chains. There are another 10 households that I know of within a couple of blocks of my house with dogs permanently chained on short leads - It's like a local freakin tradition. I probably can't help all of them but I'll do my best for at least this one - at least I have an inroad with his owner. There is one other, a little Fox Terrier that I might be able to convince the owners to improve his run (with a bit of caution and diplomacy). He is stuck in a flat bare yard with very little shade, a small kennel (that gets rain in it from certain directions) and no-one actually lives in the house attached to the yard so he's never got company, even at a distance. Someone local feeds him - but I have no idea how often. Several times I have had to go in there and untwist his chain because he can't move or reach his kennel/water/food and I'm constantly putting his one little blanket back in the kennel for him. He is such a nice little dog and I have occassionally convinced the people who feed him (relatives of the absent owner) to let me take him for a walk with my dogs. The poor little thing obviously has damaged his trachea from standing on his back legs at the extreme of the chains reach and leaping up and down barking when people go by. So I bought him a little harness and he walks on that beautifully.

Ah yes, I used to have one of those! Darned if I know where it is tho - trouble is they're so tiny they're easy to misplace if you're disorganised - which I am!

A prong collar is the only thing that gave me any control over my big bad boy. I use it with a martingale and a good quality leather leash. All bought from K9 Force. None of this has broken, which was always my fear with everything else i tried. I also have plenty of choke chains i don't need if the OP wants one. Hi rottylover!! Thanks for your comments - I'm a little unsure about the harness too except that it clips on at the front and I'll be interested to see how much difference that makes. I certainly wouldn't bother trying an ordinary harness to walk him LOL. I will see how I go with the harness and if that's not successful - will use choke chains (and thanks for your offer but I am already getting some choke chains in the mail next week - from another rotty lover!!! ) but my main concern is whether I'm strong enough to work him on his own (if I can't the owner can't) using any of these tools. I'm not a weakling but I'm also not very big and I know he can pull me off my feet very easily. If I cant hold him then I'll certainly look at the prong collar. Interesting website at k9 force Maybe I should buy him a present of a nice strong tethering collar or harness or something.....

Oh okay! That site was very helpful and I get the picture now. I think he would be best off if I (and/or THEY) could set up something like the ones on that site - with the run line up high. They have a couple of strong trees around his yard and I reckon the owners brother would be able to put in a post properly if needed. One of the trees is a bit close to the fence tho so I can see where a stopper would be needed. I wonder if they'd be able to use a slightly lighter chain for him with this set up, or a strong rope? What are shackles??? Meanwhile I'm having problems with my own dog as the dalmatian I just rescued has attacked my other dog a couple of times and bit me this morning. Someone suggested I PM you about it - would that be okay?

THanks Deb THe tricky thing is there was no warning. He's never even growled at me before. The no warning does suggest to me that it was some kind of fear reaction but I'm not experienced eith this. I had another dog who was aggressive towards me when I got him. But he was only 12 months old (not 8 years like this boy) and he mostly lunged and growled - he never actually bit me. I did a lot of work on him to reassure him that he was in a safe place and nothing bad was ever going to happen to him (apart from being put outside which apparently was the end of the world!!!) and kept a lead handy to loop around his neck and put him outside when he got aggro. He was mostly passive tho and in a matter of months the aggression was completely gone. I think Tango actually has no idea about teeth, biting and people as I've noticed he has accidentally bitten my fingers when I hand feed him something, even when I hold the food inside a closed hand. The other dog was a snatcher too but when he felt your skin under his teeth he'd stop!!! I tend to agree about the insecurity being the cause. Sheesh! He is a problem child!!

Hi all Sorry but I need some more feedback on this troublesome boy. Today I put my newly adopted dalmatian, now named Tango, on his bed with a lead attached to him because he'd just had a slight go at my other dog. I didn't get angry with him and it was done very calmly. I went to move the lead a little so he wouldn't get tangled in it and he snarled, lunged and bit my hand. I've never had a dog of my own bite me before. And yes he drew blood. Just a little on my finger. He is otherwise a really friendly and lovable fellow. I havent seen any sign of aggression towards me before in the last couple of days since I got him. I've put him outside on a tether for a few minutes while both of us calm down. I yelled at him when he bit me - just a reaction but then I was very calm and aloof when I took him outside. Has anyone come across this behaviour in an adopted pet before? What did you do about it?

Oh that's great! I havent finalised the purchase yet so I'll do a quick search. THanks hee hee

$40 isn't bad for that!! I can't get anything delivered to my town. They drop things off in a nearby town on the main East Coast road - fortunately the local IGA is happy to act as a drop off point. But it's only a 20 min drive to go pick things up. I did once have furniture delivered and to get it to my door they actually sent it up with the beer delivery truck hahahaha Same with the Dell computer I bought A rain cover is a good idea!

Brilliant! Thanks VC. I just went there and added it to the cart then calculated postage to my remote bit of Tassie - just $21!!! I can't thank you enough for that! Nice price on the large dog bed too.

Oh glad I saw this thread. I'm in the same boat. I had already checked out vebo, great prices, but the freight to rural tassie is almost as much as the crate itself. The DD ones are slightly cheaper in price and probably quality but only $15 postage. Has anyone bought the XLarge DD crate? Is it really useless or okay? I would prefer the vebo one but that frieght cost is a killer!

bwahahahaha this thread is hiliarious!! My dogs seem to be very polite about drinking water in comparison. Tho they do like to hang onto enough so that they can leave a trail of dribble in your lap as they go by. I used to have a dog that did this tho - then he'd dig all the water out of the bucket and if it was big enough he'd stick his front legs in and stand there in the water for a while - guess he just loved water. I ended up buying a wading pool for him!!!

thanks to both you and Persephone for that! I've never had to tie up any dog so it's unfamiliar territory for me. This is great info. I'll check out that site! They have got him in a spot with lots of trees around him which is the good thing and he has shelter. Access to water is iffy but I checked just a few minutes ago and he had some. I can't give you a lot of details as it's pretty junky out there and I can't stand spending any more time there than necessary - I hate seeing him in there. But I'll try and get a better look when the weather's a bit cooler. But think country folk with lots and lots of junk that "might come in useful some day" and you get the idea - they would have lots of posts, pickets, fencing (chicken wire etc), general metal things and so on. Anyway - I'll get more details as soon as I can. Oh that's great! I'll definitely call them when everything's open again and chat with them about him. He needs a home that is experienced with dogs like him. I am sure Buddy's owner would give Buddy up immediately if I could find a good home for him - she just wont give him to the RSPCA because she's sure they'd put him to sleep. She is a funny mix of stuff really. I think she cares about him, but she's just bone lazy and possibly has some sort of disability - along the lines of ADD.