k9phoenix

thanks sas, will look into it

Hi all, just curious to see some opions of people. Phoenix is my 4mth old working line GSD, he is from excellent breeding and health/elbow/hip tested parents. I have been very carefull about diet and exercise and he is very healthy otherwise. Last week I noticed him begining to limp on his front legs - some days worse than others. I immediately took him to the vet and he was xrayed the next day. The vet has given me a few possible reasons for the problem - early OCD , problem with the fusing of one of the growth plates (not the elbow itself but the small triangular on near it - but that doesnt fuse until 5mths anyway) , or he said it could be growing pains due to how fast phoenix is growing and how big his joints are. Hes crated and on anti-infams until further notice. Has any other large breeds people had a similar problem?? I am freaking out over this, the xrays have been sent to the specialist and I should hear back by wednesday next week but I was hoping someone on here might have been through it before and be able to shed some light. Thanks, Sarah

you beat me to it Cosmolo!!!!! I have most of them - Im a self confessed Leerburg addict :D

I use a piece of sticky tape to encourage it, you get the dog to sit, put a small piece of tape just below the dogs eye, they automatically use their paw to wipe it off, you eventually phase it out and extend the time the dog has to have its paw their to get the reward. Hope that helps!

Cosmolo, I dont work her in the wet season, just the dry - we havent been up for a couple of months now (although recently I had a purchase offer but shes NOT for sale!!!) I was hoping to get up there in the next month of so again but after yesterday she may be out of action for a while :D I cant really go into much more detail right now as we are currently in the process of negotiations :wink: ETA : Dont you get on a real high after your first distraction training session goes off better than expected!!!!! - Well done!

Ok, as I stated cane toad detection is lot different to non-moving scent work. I often work her in strange areas and a "show me" (whilst not all that particularly useful in other areas of SD) is useful in this area. For example, dried creek beds - there are so many places for the odor to escape that it is possible for her to indicate several metres from the source - so, she is verbally rewarded and razzed up, then asked to "show me" the point of strongest odor, I do still reward if nothing is found as I trust my dog and my training - just because there is no toad doesnt mean there wasnt (and in areas where there shouldnt be toads, this information is very useful), also, the toad may be there but be inaccessable (ie: when they hide in the banks of creeks up under large tree roots). There are times when a show me isnt required - like if Im simply asking her to verify to me its a toad, not a native frog (sometimes its hard to tell in the dark :D) or if she finds one that is visable apon investigation. The main use "show me" is when I am unable to locate the toad. Hope that made sense - my mind is in another place today!

I always reward verbally for a positive response, then ask for a "show me" to locate exact odor. Buffys "show me" (for example) consists of a pinpoint with her nose, then a flip finish to recieve full reward whilst I or someone else goes in to investigate - I need her out of the way of those nasty toads!!! Good luck - scent training is sooo much fun, Im not sure exactly where you are in your training but I remember having a similar problem towards the end of the training phase, it was my own fault as I was second guessing her, I spoke to a very experience detection trainer who had one simple question for me, he asked "dont you trust your training sarah??"

perth sucks

How rude!! Ive had a similar thing happen with a member of the general public whilst walking a dog who was wearing one. Ha, I was taught that method also - and got in trouble for using it!!!!

I'll keep my ears/eyes open over here for you as well. Rotten pigs, that gears not cheap to replace

Hmmm... from the sounds of it, maybe its high time our dingo puppy preschool classes were opened up to allow all breeds.....

I like to build the foundations for the dogs future work/sport at an early age. I also like to give them breaks, time to be just a pet, a dog and so forth, it also forces the handler to step back observe and interact with the dog on its level - not your own expectations/ego, which aids in moving the training to the next level. Training puppies is fine, as long as you make time to allow the dog to be a puppy, adjust your methods to the puppies ever changing personality and use puppy training to build a nice foundation for furture tasks. For example, assistance dogs start their training at 8 weeks, they learn that slippery floors, lifts etc are not scarey and that "gift giving" gets rewarded. My detection dogs start training as pups, they learn that by showing interest in the scented article recieves a big fuss, a game and turns mum into a vending machine!!!!!! Agility dogs can start early too (not with the jumping stuff) Tie flappy things up in the yard/training area (tarps, tin cans, balloons etc) get them to walk on different surfaces(tin,plastic,planks etc) - basically all the little things that later on on you wish youd speant more time on rather than rushing the dog to master the next obsticle. ETA They WILL burn out if training is not fun, and they are pushed to hard, each dog has his/her own limits - learn your own dogs thresholds and no matter how tempting, dont push too far - let your dogs mental and physical abilities set the pace and have fun - if its stressful - stop, and go play at the beach!

Ahhh, I see

What does MDT stand for? I was always under the impression that it stood for master dog trainer - at such a young age??! WOW (someone please correct me if this is not what that stands for)

exactly what nekhbet said - dont expect the biting to stop until you teach your dog that that kind of behaviour is not ok.