jaybeece

My goal is just to socialise him in a controlled environment, that's really about it :D His obedience isn't bad (he's been in advanced obedience for a long time), but it's not perfect and one day I'd love to train him in agility as he's really good at the basics. When we started back at obedience last year he struggled to hold it together in class, but after a few months he was at the point of having a sniff with all but a couple of dogs (he hates boxers for some reason) in the class which was incredible progress. This is really all I want to keep up as if we don't go each week he takes a noticeable step backwards. So the socialising aspect is absolutely crucial and I'd really like to go to a club where they can respect that I already have the training methods down (from K9 Force), so don't need a whole lot of input in that respect. Advice is fine, but I've had instructors get offended when I've told them thanks, but we're doing it differently. One that has some kind of visual indication (like yellow bandannas) to say he needs some space would be lovely too, doesn't seem that the system works in most clubs though.

Thanks Haven, I really appreciate it :D What you've said here is exactly the problem I've encountered with my current club, the instructor put my dog into a situation he should NOT have and upset a lot of people (me especially). All I really want out of an obedience club is the ability to safely socialise my dog without any drama. Something we were getting a lot of before, but a couple of instructors have shaken my confidence and faith in the club and I don't think going back will be a positive thing. Might start a new thread to see if anyone has any recommendations.

Hmm that'd be a big concern for me. If a club's going to introduce a system like that I would have thought they'd do more to enforce/encourage it amongst club members. Most obedience clubs need vaccination certs anyway so that's ok and the cost of membership isn't any higher than where I've been in the past. I'm less concerned with the membership fees and more about the quality of the training and club in general. And that's an even big concern No way would I leave my dog tied up anywhere if I was more than a metre away and if anyone told me that "vicious" dogs weren't allowed I'd leave (probably in tears) and never go back. It's hard enough dealing with my pup's issues without being judged or made to feel unwelcome. How long ago was it that this happened Haven? Is is possible things have changed since then?

I'm considering a change of clubs now my membership is up at the current one. We had a not so fun experience there with one of the instructors and we outgrew the training there some time ago. Croydon seems to be pretty highly recommended and I like the sound of it based on their website, plus with the new freeway in it's not that far from me anymore So I have a couple of questions: What's the attitude towards dog aggressive dogs? Are they welcome and are the instructors able to deal with them? What are the muzzling requirements for dog aggressive dogs? I couldn't find anything in the rules about it, at the moment I muzzle my boy for offlead work, but onlead it's off as it annoys the bejeezus out of him (looking at a new one when finances improve). The yellow bandanna system for less approachable dogs sounds like a great idea, but do club members actually adhere to it? Is it made clear to them what their purpose is? Thanks EDIT: changed the title

Well they came round last night and things were pretty ok. Dad's worried that the JRT will be more likely to snap/growl at my dog now and is concerned that my dog will reciprocate more easily as well. He brought the JRT by last night and he did growl at my dog once while sitting on dad's lap (which he never used to do), but I'm now stepping in and telling him off for it. My dog just ignored him and acted like the happy retard he usually is He seems totally over it and isn't any more likely to act up than he was prior to the tiff so I'm happy with how he's handled it. I am concerned that the JRT will definitely act up again in the future though as he learned that there are no consequences and that he gets his way in doing so. If I'm around then this ain't going to happen and I'm going to push dad to follow suit. I told him last night that if he allows and effectively encourages the JRT to continue like this then he may end up with bigger problem on his hands, ie. like what's happened with my dog. I think that scared him enough to think I may have a point :D

Definitely visual with mine. I taught hand signals a long time ago and he still works better for them than verbal any day. Handy for showing off

Thanks Erny, that's pretty much what I figured. I think there have been a couple of times when I could have stepped in faster to stop the JRT being a jerk and in the future I won't hesitate to tell him off for it either. He needs to understand that it's not on and my dog needs to know that he can leave it to me to sort out.

My folks have a 9 year old JRT who's a bit of a jerk. He's extremely rude to other dogs, gets in their faces a lot, growls, humps them and is generally a rude little bugger. He has the largest pair of invisible testicles I've ever encountered on a dog. My dog's been really tolerant of him all the way, even put up with having his leg humped (JRT couldn't reach any higher). I always make sure to call him away from the JRT if he's being a jerk as I don't want my dog being harassed by him. Normally they settle really well, my dog in front of the heater, the JRT on the couch with dad. The other night I was over there my dog went outside for a bit of a snuffle around and the JRT got hold of a tennis ball, which he has NEVER shown any interest in, but has witnessed my dog playing with it. Mine came back in and the JRT started parading back and forth with the ball, deliberately getting right in my dog's face with it. I called mine to me and told dad it'd be best if the tennis ball was put away. The JRT got up on the couch afterwards and I guess he eyeballed my dog wrong as mine just lurched at him barking. Dad got between them, I dragged my boy away and no harm done, my dog was all noise thankfully. Now there are 2 different perspectives on this, mine and my parents. Mum said that the JRT deserved it because he was being a wanker (I don't think she likes him much), dad agrees and said this little guy does antagonise other dogs all the time on walks. He spent the rest of the night outside. They both thought my dog was incredibly patient, has been all along and that obviously he'd just had enough of the JRT's attitude. My perspective however is that the reaction from my dog was over the top and not appropriate, especially given the huge size and strength difference between them. It's true that he was handling it well for a while and has done in the past, but he didn't need to launch so dramatically at the JRT to put him back in his place. I told them that in the future I'll do a sweep of the room first to ensure there's no toys/balls around and also keep my dog onlead around the JRT. He has one more (minor) strike and he's out, no more visits to my parent's place unless the dogs are kept apart (one inside, one outside). They think I'm being harsh, but I don't know if the JRT got the message or not and may try it on again and since it's his house I'd think he takes priority. I'm also thinking of the safety of both dogs, the JRT in particular as he could get himself very badly injured or killed by antagonising my dog and I don't trust that he'll change his attitude over just one incidence, especially when dad protected him so quickly (ie. no real consequences to his actions). I think a big part of the JRT's behaviour stems from him being boss of the house, being spoiled by dad, not having any training and very little discipline. He's really very well behaved so there hasn't been much need for training or discipline though, it's just his attitude towards other dogs is a bit off. What's thoughts? Is there something I can do to sort things out with these 2 or would it be best to just play it safe indefinitely? Mum and dad would be willing to help out (mum in particular) as they want my dog to keep coming over and don't blame him at all. Not sure if I could get NILIF or TOT happening over there as dad's a bit too laid back with dogs, but mum might be able to convince him as she'd like to see the JRT's manners improve. ETA: not sure if this is relevant, but they've only had the JRT for 6 months or so, he's a shelter dog

Doesn't everyone have to start somewhere Why isn't he allowed to start protection training if he doesn't have much knowledge? I would have thought that's the best way to learn, when I enquired about Schutzhund some time ago it seemed pretty standard to BYO dog and learn that way.

Think I'm missing something too, what on earth did Midol say that was so terrible? Everything he's said sounds pretty reasonable to me.

They allow e-collars from Australian suppliers? If the listings are overseas you can buy them but they'll get confiscated by customs on the way in. Same with e-bark collars. According to a bloke I spoke to in customs if they're dismantled and shipped in pieces they'll go through fine as you're allowed to import parts for them. It was interesting talking to him actually, they're educated about restricted items, but the training on e-collars seems to date back to the 80's. He told me how cruel and horrible they are and no-one should electrocute their dog to train them so we had a 15-20 minute discussion about it I think he did learn something out of it too, seemed a lot less anti e-collar and a little more open minded

Same here! I can't imagine the looks of sheer misery I'd be subjected to if I dared to pour cold/tepid water over him in winter

Can I ask what was wrong with the sizing. I'm asking 'cause I'm trying to figure out what size to get for my Goldie (rather go too big that too small) I had a feeling the 40" would be just a bit too small length and height wise. The next size up (47" I think) would have been nice and roomy, but way too big to fit in the house or the car. The wire crates I have are 42" and the perfect size for the house and car, they fit perfectly behind the front seats when folded up. It was a hard decision to make as I REALLY wanted one of the soft ones, especially given how lovely the lady selling them is.

I was looking at one of them for a while, but the sizing wasn't quite right unfortunately so I went for another metal crate. I spoke to the lady who sells them on the phone though and she's absolutely lovely, very helpful and the crates seem to be great quality.

I'd agree with that Erny and wouldn't want a dog involved that would fly off the handle and continue to do so even if the other dog isn't reciprocating. That wouldn't be productive for anyone. I'm not sure if my dog would be "mild" enough still to be honest, but he has calmed down a lot and I think offlead would be a lot different to onlead so maybe he'd really benefit from something like this. I got the feeling that, like you, none of the dogs in the video were particularly bad and it did seem they were reasonably familiar with each other. So a pretty favourable situation.

Yup, I'm serious It would depend on the dogs involved and the reason why they're aggressive, but if it was a small group or one on one I reakon it could work really well. I'd need to get a plastic muzzle though as his metal basket one would still hurt another dog, leaves bruises on me if he whacks me on the legs.

If you're serious I wouldn't mind participating in it Looks interesting and I think it could work really well with fearful or defensive dogs. They don't always need their teeth to win a fight though so I guess it could also backfire a bit, must depend on the dog.

I had no idea you could buy these, are they easy enough to learn how to use? My boy has a bit of tartar on his canines too and I've been putting off getting it removed until I can really justify the $300 odd it'll cost.

I've been training a foster dog (or at least trying to) and find it's easiest to just have my dog outside, even if he sooks about it. I made the mistake of trying to have him in his crate last night and he was very verbal about being about to hear the clicker, but not getting anything for it.

Same here. Is there something that your dog is actually afraid of? Or is it just the act of getting a bath? Is he afraid of water? I wouldn't reward my dog for being afraid, but I will respect that some things are scary for him and then address how to overcome that so he becomes more comfortable before proceeding and risking making him more fearful. Once that's sorted then I can just get on with it and show him there's nothing else to be worried about and he gets it pretty quickly. I realised that my dog was scared of the bathtub because the bottom was slippery and he doesn't like unstable ground below him. No amount of coaxing with a tennis ball or treats would get him in voluntarily and I had to chase him around the bathroom to be able to heave him into the tub. So he got a rubber mat in the bottom of the bath and learned that it wasn't so bad afterall, especially when he got a good massage and it was definitely worth the towel dry afterwards which he adores. He gets in all on his own now if the mat is pulled up to where he can touch it, which my back is very grateful for :D

I just bought some sardines in bulk for the dog and reading the ingredients it says they're in Soya Bean Oil. A quick google didn't really give me a whole lot to go on so I'm wondering if anyone here knows if they're ok for dogs?

Hehe thanks It was funny how the bugger just couldn't stop wagging his tail when Steve took him, just goes to show how well he responds to a strong, confident handler. I hope I can get the same out of him some day.

Aw thanks :D It was nice to meet a few DOL people, even though I'm a bit shy and didn't talk much. The dogs were really adorable (despite the snoring ). Also forgot to say thanks to Steve and Judi for doing such a great job

I have a very tired brown dog passed out on the couch now, even though he napped his way through most of the day. I think he wore himself out barking at other dogs

BOM says: Saturday Showers. Possible hail. Min 10 Max 15 Sunday A few showers. Min 8 Max 16 Crossing fingers for at least a little bit of sunshine on Sunday.