Dogs4Fun

I only use my hydrobath on my own dogs, but would like to run some sort of disinfectant through it every now and again. Any recommendations on something I can get in relatively small volume for occasional home use? The only stuff I have seen was in 4 litre bottles that would last me till the end of time! Or can I use something I already have in my cupboard?

Hi, Its 6 months for obedience, 18 months for agility.

Hey there Jules, I feel your frustration. It took me 6 months to teach my totally non-interested, incredibly soft, Cairn to retrieve a dumbell (DB). This was a dog that never did (and still doesn't) put anything in is mouth that isn't food or a live small furry animal (only temporarily live in the latter case). We just kept going with clicker in the most TINY steps. We started with not actively walking away from the DB, worked up to little eye flicks toward the DB etc etc. Once he could stand to look at it I taught the release first, as this was most rewarding to him initially. Getting him to hold with mouth pressure on the DB rather than just accept it in his mouth was a really important step. When we tried to move on to ground pickups etc without him volunteering pressure on the DB, things just stopped as they have for you. Getting this pressure took the most time, and enormous patience and very careful watching. I spend many hours lying on the ground on the oval watching his jaw muscles! Must have looked deranged. But hey, I train dogs, I'm used to that! However, once he would put pressure on it, we could then start to play games where I could touch the DB and eventually tug on the DB while it was in his mouth, and he didn't release until asked. Then suddenly the DB had value to him. The rest of the retrieve: getting a ground pickup, leaving him holding the DB and doing short retrieves etc fell into place quiet quickly. From memory, he never failed a retrieve in the ring, and eventually learnt how to do scent descrimination for UD without passing out For what it is worth, I didn't ever succeed in getting a play retrieve with him. He still will just stare at you if you throw a toy around. He just knows his job when he is training or trialling. It was never be his favourite exercise, but he was accurate and reliable.

Great work and fabulous attitude! ;)

Hi, I have had two dogs that have had both intradermal skin testing and blood testing for allergies. This was only done after they were trialed on elimination diets to exclude food allergies contributing to their issues. These results were then used to produce desensitising vaccines. I have been fortunate enough that these vaccines plus use of antihistamines and medicated washes, as well as the elimination of any known allergens from their immediate environment (ie my block) has allowed good control. Both are now on the vaccines and shampoos only with occasional use of antihistamines when their particular plant allergens are in flower. Don't dispair! With patience in the workup, to make sure the diagnosis is accurate, diligence in therapy and lots of good advice, you can end up with a dog that no-one else would know has a problem.

Just use some warm water if your want to warm up his brekkie. I'm sure he'll enjoy it just as much. And no chance of it giving him diarrhoea!! Hi Dogs4Fun, this is why I started this topic. I did not know if there were any potential issues with it?? I wanted to ensure it was ok before I gave it too him so as not to cause him any problems. I haven't had a dog for 10 years and alot of information has changed in that time. I just thought he might like some warm milk on his dry food in the morning as it is cold here. Thanks

Why would you wish to give your dog milk, given the potential issues with it? There is no real benefit to the dog that can't be met by other means.

Good on you! My Cairn used to commonly be the shortest dog in the trial at 290 mm, yours will beat that!

Remember that it is a fun sport that you do with your dog. The WORST thing that can happen is that you don't pass, and get to try again another time. So try to remember to BREATHE!!, relax as best you can and have fun playing the game with your dog.

I don't do any retrieving until the dog can do a gentle hold of the item. The retrieve bit can otherwise be just too exciting and you can get a very mouthy dog. Work in tiny stages. A quiet hold first. Learning to reach for the item, gradually progressing to picking the item up from the floor. Short (initially one step) recalls with the item in the mouth. Finally moving away one step to get the item, then gradually increasing. Remember what your final criteria are all the way along - don't let bad habits creep in. And training each type of item will require you to start the process again, but progress will usually be much faster each time (until you try gloves ).

I've never seen it, but found this: Snakes N' Ladders - Snakes N’ ladders is a strategic game that has tunnels, contact equipment, 1 set of 10-12 weaves, and 2 sets of 5-6 weave poles (3 sets of 5-6 weaves at the beginner level). The handler strategically plans their course, with the goal being to complete all the contact and weave obstacles and cross the finish line as quickly as possible.

Thanks!!

Looking to buy a competition sized agility tunnel. Needs to be of good quality as it will live outside in all weather. Does anyone have recommendations? I am in NSW if that affects things.

I admit to mainly shampooing my standard poodle in human shampoo (mainly Pantene), and he comes up a treat. Looks and smells great, and it seems to help reduced the matts (going through coat change ). I use a whitening shampoo every now and again, and this cleans up the grotty hocks and elbows, but leaves his coat drier and more inclined to matt up.

Definately the hydrobath. Standard poodles in the bath are way too hasrd on your back. I have had to resort to bathing in the bath the last two weeks while the hydrobath is temporarily out of action, and its killing me!

Yes it can be poisonous to all dogs, but it is all about the dose. Dark chocolate is much more toxic than milk chocolate. As an example, estimated toxic doses on the web are: 7 g dark chocolate per kilogram of dog (eg 35 g for a 5 kg dog, 140 g for a 20 kg dog) 60 g milk chocolate per kilogram of dog (eg 300 g for a 5 kg dog, 1200 g for a 20 kg dog). In our house we play safe and ensure ALL chocolate is safely consumed by the humans as soon as possible :rolleyes:

Is this for obedience? You only need to use a lead in the ring if you are doing CCD, so if you have real issues with the lead, perhaps skip CCD and go straight to CD. Depending on how you are teaching heel etc, a lead may be more of a hindrance than anything else. If you want / need to use a lead for training, make sure it is not too long. Length beyond what you need is just lead that can get tangled and that you have to control. If you need a long lead for stays or recalls, then have a separate one for those exercises. I hold my lead by the loop with my left hand with my hand near my waist. I do heel signals with the lead in my hand, and only swap it to my right for stand or stay commands. I do drop signals with my right hand. You may find things easier to get the lead out of your hand by tucking it into your waistband. Dog still on lead, acts as a safety line, but not in your way.

Soo Cool

Well done. A huge achievement for any dog and handler, but to be the first for your breed. It doesn't get much better than that!

My dogs were very reliable with food refusal, regardless of the food offered (mince, cheese, hotdogs, chocolate cake etc). The only time one failed under "mock" trial conditions was when water was offered as the fluid and it was damn hot. He drank. He had never touched milk, and I am not sure he recognise water as something he had to refuse under working conditions. What if the dog enjoys the lower value food as well ..... ANY food for that matter? I am presuming it is a case of the dog not being able to have any of either? ETA: What's the success rate (ie reliability) of this training when: (a) There is no higher value food option available; and/or (b) The food being offered (but which is to be refused) is a high value food?

Well there is just a whole lot more positive training in WA. I have seen dogs happily do gloves and dogs do gloves with a sense of dread hanging over them. I haven't seen a dog do "speak" that has looked worried yet, but rarely get to see this in the ring.

Food refusal is only "stressful" and "negative" if that is how it is taught. It can be taught positively. My cairn wagged his tail madly the whole way through food refusal in the ring or in training because he knew he ALWAYS got a jackpot at the end of it. It is simply an extension of stay with distraction training. ie "stay" means keep in the position you were left in and don't go after that dog, toy ... or food ... until you are released to it. I have seen plenty of stressed dogs doing gloves. It is commonly trained in a negative manner.

It's not just dogs who are gross, so are some people. TMI. Wow, you're easily grossed out!! Thats a benign part of my life!!

Pick it off and feed it to them. Mine won't let me get away with throwing it in the bin. They MUG me for it. Dogs are gross sometimes!

Has he been assessed by a veterinarian yet?