Tunsafun Boxers

Thanks Leo, It does help lots. I cant maintain eye contact with charlie because it will cause her to sit. Are you anywhere near me, location wise? Im in Cockatoo. Jenna

Hi guys, Im in the process of training Charlie for an obedience trial. She's doing really well on automatic sits, her drops have straightened up a little but she is still inclined to roll onto a hip which makes her slow to get to her feet, and she's going well on her stays, although we haven't done much of this. The trouble i am having is with her stands and her stand for examination. She has always been taught to sit when you stop walking, never to stand. I had to do a lot of work with her regarding showing, but it wasn't enough. She still wants to sit every time we stop, even if i guide her with my hand under her belly. I cant afford to have formal instruction, nor can i afford to attend obedience classes at this stage, so i am very much working on my own, which is why i thought i'd ask you guys. lots of knowledge floating around here lol Also, once we get the stand organised, how can i encourage her to stand still for the examination? she's inclined to turn to lick, greet whatever. This girl you cannot raise your voice to, growl at or show any sort of displeasure. she absolutely goes to pieces if you do, or gets offended and does her donkey impersonation. however cute, not the desired result. any tips would be greatly appreciated Jenna PS. She is two years old. knows sit, drop, stay and heel. knows come for recall (very slow doing that at this stage). we haven't worked too much on her stays at this stage as im trying to get other things organised first.

I think i'd better start saving my pennies so i can join the club and train them there. i can still work on them at home, but maybe it'd be better if i went to a club so i dont end up having to undo something i've stuffed up eh? As for agility, thats something i doubt i'll attempt with charlie. if it means she has to break out of a slow jog it just isn't going to happen lmao

Im really not sure which dog to trial to be honest. Charlie is very laid back and really quiet obedient. i dont think she'd move from a stay because it would be hard work to do that lol but is very happy to please me. Poppy is still nervy but full of energy. and at this stage is doing well on recalls. have been working on that (not for obedience) but because the little bugger keeps escaping and i have to call her back lol Sarge is out cos he's not great around other dogs, and Cooper, well he's only 3 months old so no idea with him yet lol Im going to work with them over the next few weeks, whether i trial one or all, they all need some more work so i'll see how we go. thanks for the info though!

Hi guys Just wondering if you consider it a necessity to be a member of, and train at an obedience club in order to be successful with trialing? Also, do you have to complete your obedience titles with your dog before you can compete in agility? Sorry guys, weird questions i know. I trialled many years ago but was a member of an obedience club and the instructor was a friend so we used to train daily together anyway. Not that it helped us a great deal due to the temperament and disposition of my dog :D 'Can it be done without attending a club weekly', i guess is my question.......... i want to start formal training but will have to do so at home and at the local oval until i can afford the membership fee for Berwick Obed Club. im up on the basics but will definitely need help polishing off before trialing. Any thoughts would be appreciated Jenna edited cos of my spelling stuff-ups

Is your vet just going to xray the hips, or further up the spine as well? Many years ago my mums Basenji hurt herself, we got her hips and back legs xrayed but couldn't find anything wrong. We took her back a week later and found that she'd actually injured in between her shoulder blades on her spine. She wasn't reacting to pressure in that area, but her back, tail and back legs seemed sore. she was very stilted when she walked, so we thought hips. It might be worth asking the vet to check that area out as well. Hopefully he'll have just strained a muscle and with rest and a little time he'll be back to his old self. Good luck! Jenna

I lost my temper once years ago with my schipperke when training. I got bitten (she was very quick at telling me when i'd stuffed up lol) and learnt that if i was in a 'touchy' mood, or even slightly grumpy, steer clear of training. i'd go read a book instead nowadays, Nope. if im getting angry, its usually because ive stuffed up, so i change to a play session and then start again. Jenna

I started cooper the day her arrived, so 9 weeks old. but the training is only done for about 2 minutes at a time. if he gets it right, even if we've only been working for a minute, his reward is to go play. with my girl poppy, we train for about 10 minutes at a time, but a lot of that is playing and doing things to build up her confidence. as for crating, they learn that as soon as i can start teaching them.

Thanks tollers, I really want to be there for the first saturday in April, hopefully we'll see you there! Jenna

Hi Guys, Just wondering if any of you train two dogs? Im hoping to take my girl Charlie, plus Cooper when i join. Cooper more for socialising at the start and Charlie i would like to get to trail stage (may be dreaming but hey, its worth a shot lol). How do you do it? and does anyone know if it costs extra to train two dogs there? Hope to hear from you all soon Jenna

Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sounds like real progress is being made. Good luck with your trial and post to let us know how you go eh? Jenna

Im hoping to join in April for my little cooper. i think it'll do us both a lot of good! glad you had a good time, maybe i can look you up when i join eh? Jenna

Ive got 3 here that do it, and they are absolutely dynamite on it, to the point where the other dogs cant even finish doing it before one of these has started feasting! we're very quick to pick it up, but sometimes they sneak it in. If anyone has a solution out there, i'd be very interested to hear it. our old dog does it, at 10, my 2yo bitch and my 9mo bitch. i think they learnt it off him, the other two dont bother thank god. sorry, that was very helpful, was it? Jenna

It sounds like you had a fantastic day..........im so jealous lol actually, i wonder, could Boxers be trained to round up sheep? ahh forget that thought lmao well done to you and your dogs, now as Hesapandabear suggested, kick back, relax and enjoy reliving your day ! Jenna

I usually wait 10 days before i start taking them on walks. ask your vet about what he thinks, some say a week, some say straight away, some say ten days. me personally, i'd wait the ten days. Jenna

we've been really lucky, we haven't had a flea problem since i hit a puppy on the road........ (quick explanation, was going through a roundabout, clipped the pup, checked her out [bump on the head] and brought her home. she was fine, just dazed but had, i think we counted almost 900 fleas on her during her bath) after she went to her new home, i flea bombed the house, and treated all the other dogs with advantage. I use advantage from august to march and we dont have a flea problem here. maybe try that........ Jenna

If someone was was 'bagging' my methods of training, and causing me emotional stress, i'd certainly want to defend myself and methods (especially if i believed in them enough to use them in my business) and to clear up any misunderstandings. You stated that your 'trainer doesn't have to defend herself', but you never said whether you had invited her to come in here. If she was so upset and concerned by 'DOL'ers' then she should get in contact with the forum members/site owners to sort it out. JMO

Andoria........... Why dont you suggest she gets her butt in here and clears things up a bit? she's obviously heard all about us, and if i were her, i'd want to clear my name and not bury my head in the sand.

First things first......... Did you get permission to post her website on the forum? (I have learnt to ask first, from experience!) Does she ever get any other emails from outsiders saying that they dont agree with her methods? I have been on the receiving end of 'hate mail' emails, had my website listed as spam and had a few people who left nasty messages on my guestbook (not going into why it was done). These people, whoever they are, are probably a hell of a lot more confident hiding behind their computer screens than they would be in actually approaching the person these emails are aimed at. I find the people on this forum to be pretty understanding, incredibly helpful, and hey, they've put up with me for god only knows how many posts! so they cant be all bad. Ive gotten my fair share of slamming and have posted things that i probably shouldn't have done, but if you put yourself out to the public by way of a website, and/or forums, you HAVE to be prepared to take the good with the bad. While I dont agree with her methods at all, it is, unfortunately her decision to train as she wishes. All we can do is hope that she's willing to take advice from the many experienced trainers there are out there and adopt different training methods that are more dog friendly. Please dont go slamming guys on here and calling them rotten names, there are too many people on here that are genuine contributors and all around nice guys. plus, unless there is proof it was from a member on here, you'd just be jumping to conclusions. also, if a newbie was to read nasty posts about us as members, it wouldn't do a great deal for our reputation. just my two cents. if i've overstepped the boundaries anyone, i apologise, not my intention. Regards Jenna edited so it made sense

Im so sorry for your loss Rozzie. its so hard losing a loved one. rest in peace doc.

For the time being, i've separated them. They've still got playmates, but they aren't together. Poppy has a show in a couple of weeks and pippa has some nasty scratches and bites on her that need to heal. Its obviously Poppy doing all the biting because she has very little in the way of marks or sratches on her, pippa is however covered in bites. i'll put them back together this afternoon for a supervised play session, and do that daily, hopefully i can teach them that they can play, but that hanging off each others necks, ears and tails isn't acceptable! thanks again guys Jenna

My old dog still eats gravel (now about 10yrs old) and luckily enough he always throws them up again. im not sure you will be able to stop him, but maybe provide him with something else to chew/eat. a nice chunky beef shank bone from the butcher will most likely take his mind off it. either that, of if you catch him in the act, say no to him in a firm voice, take him away from the area and offer him something safe to play with. this worked for one of mine, didn't work with the old dog tho good luck! sorry i cant be of more help.

Sounds like they had an absolute ball ! My mother had a basenji years ago that was locked in the bottom (wet area) of the house whilst she went up the street. Gone for no more than half an hour. when she opened the front door, kim met her. it seems Kim didn't want to be in the bathroom/laundry and ATE the bathroom door ! Gotta love puppies!

Ive tried the tug toys, but have found that if Pippa gets one that Poppy wants, poppy starts tugging on her. I even bought 3 of each toy to stop arguments lol I guess pups will be pups eh? lol

My guys get bathed on average once a month, unless we're off to a show. they get hosed down quite a bit on the really hot days, and pippa gets a bath by sitting in the water container. I was told martha gardners was too harsh because it strips too much oil out and isnt' good for the skin, although i still use it from time to time. If my guys get really grubby and smelly, i wash them in the shower, no soap and brush them whilst wet. it doens't seem to damage the coat, im not using chemicals etc all the time and they appreciate it. they usually smell lots better afterwards, well after the 'wet dog' smell has gone lol hope this helps Jenna