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I am still at a loss for words to explain what this little dog meant to me and I am still so devastated by her loss. Steve wrote a lovely tribute for Daisy that some of you may have seen on the K9 Pro Facebook page so I thought I'd share it here.

Hi JHunt Bec from K9 Pro here, I do all the puppy training, so you'd be coming to see me if you book in for a puppy raising consult. I don't get on DOL much these days but I just wanted to address the question you had about what age to bring your pup home. Steve also breeds dogs, and recommends they go to their new home at 8 weeks for a number of reasons. There are a couple of blog posts Steve has written that I think may really help give you some insight into why we recommend this, and also some insight into how we approach raising pups. http://www.k9protraining.com.au/socialisation-what-is-it-exactly/ http://blog.k9pro.com.au/distraction-proof-your-pup/ http://blog.k9pro.com.au/so-you-want-a-german-shepherd/ Feel free to email me directly bec @ k9pro.com.au (just take out the spaces) if you have any other questions. PS thanks guys for the recs, I really love working with you and your pups, they are awesome

I’m not sure who you spoke to Juice but as I said all of our hardware has a lifetime guarantee and we don’t and never have had a 12 month warranty on any of our leashes. If it is faulty we can definitely assist you. As I said pop me an email and I’m happy to look into it for you.

There is a DOL discount code Gau, it is DOLERSSAVE and gives you a 5% discount. Syn Tek is great as a long line as it is stronger than leather but lighter, and non-absorbent unlike nylon.

Hi Juice Not sure who you spoke to at the time, but happy to look into this for you, just shoot me an email to [email protected] We still have brass snaps on all of our leather leashes, the only reason we switched to stainless steel with Syn Tek is because we wanted them to match the collars which have stainless steel fittings. All of our leather leashes and long lines are still made with brass snaps, they are great and all of our hardware has a life time guarantee. I don't check into DOL much these days but anyone can contact me via K9 Pro and I am happy to help

It's not so much about which dogs aren't suitable for beginners but getting a dog that suits your life style and needs. The more drive a dog has the more potential it has to go right or wrong. The two biggest issues I see with dog owners are those that get dogs with either weak nerve or too much drive for their life style or skill level. You can upskill of course, but it's hard if that's not what you wanted to do. Novice owners I work with who get high drive dogs for sport for eg do very well with them as they have a purpose and need for a dog with more drive.

Hey Zoeh! I do puppy raising consults at K9 Pro from our training facility in Richmond/Londonderry which I know is a bit more of a drive than you are looking for, but our program is tailored to your needs, we design a puppy raising program for you and help you implement it at home via email support. Most of my owners then come back for follow up lessons every 4 weeks or so. You can read more about our services here http://k9protraining.com.au/getting-a-puppy/

We have all remaining stock of the old style harnesses on clearance now http://k9pro.com.au/front-range-harness-old-stock/ We got the new style in a few weeks ago, I love the new colours! http://k9pro.com.au/new-front-range-harness-by-ruffwear/

Definitely a buddy bowl http://k9pro.com.au/buddy-bowl-spill-proof-bowl/

I'm not surprised by that. I've seen Steves videos, cant image there'd be too many better places to leave your dog. Thanks SM! :)

We only have a small number of kennels but are booked out 3-4 months ahead of time all year round.

It's not trauma lol, but adrenaline as he's going into drive for food. When this happens it can cause an adrenaline quiver, you will often see the dog start to jaw chatter too. Totally normal response.

I wouldn't buy a pup from a breeder that didn't do a lot of work with the litter between 0-8 weeks. Genetics are the foundation you build on with training. I wouldn't underestimate the importance of early imprinting. We see a huge difference between pups that have had next to nothing done with the breeder to develop/imprint them, vs breeders who do development and imprinting.

Yes, if you bought the packs with it, however you do need to gradually work your dog up to carrying that much weight. We have a back pack conditioning program we can send you if you purchase the EQ.

Hi Pepperotti The max size for girth is actually 105cm (the size chart shows this as 'around waist'). It goes to a max of 73cm around their neck. Have another look at the size guide pic in the comments :)

The Webmaster would be my choice over the Front range, it's a really great harness. EQ Dog is a new brand we bought into Australia. It's made in Europe and is a relatively new company.

I really like them as they are very versatile and I like that you can choose to add the saddlebags to make it a back pack later, as the other harness/backpack combos have to be bought as one product.

We just bought in a new harness from EQDog called the Pro Harness, and I really like it. It has 4 different attachment points including a front clip. It's a Y front harness which IMO is good for running/jogging also http://k9pro.com.au/eqdog-pro-harness/

If you aren't sure, the dog has zero chance of getting it either ;) Can she maintain the position if you step side ways? or backwards? or turn left or right? This clip of young puppy Blaze a few month ago might give you some insight into what I mean when I ask for a really solid understanding of position;

When you say staying in heel after receiving a reward, wouldn't the reward terminate the exercise? Wondering if you mean getting the dog back into heel position after rewarding them? Assuming you are talking about competition heel work, if the dog is lagging behind and forging in front it sounds like they don't have a solid understanding of heel position. I don't add forward motion until my dogs can execute heel position precisely and consistently. That may be one area where you are going wrong.

Yes, my dogs are always crated when visitors arrive. They don't bark or carry on and accept it's ok if I bring someone in the house and have put them in their crates. If I had a knock on the door I wasn't expecting I might bring one of the girls with me to see who it was and that's a signal to them that I wasn't expecting someone.

More Malinois. That is all :D :D

!!!!! Oh Dear ;) Yep, doberman cops the same as well. But funny enough, it was also while we had a greyhound, and they would be standing side by side. ???? Yeah LOL! "What's that crossed with" or "What kind of GSD or GSD x is that" is pretty common and I can't blame people for not recognizing what is a pretty uncommon breed but Greyhound does make me giggle.

I have had the Mals called Greyhounds on a number of occasions

A couple of things I consider when talking about socialisation: 1) Socialisation isn't just about giving a pup a new experience - but assigning that experience a value AND teaching them how to behave in new environments. Every time I take a puppy out it is a chance for me to test what value they have for things they experience and come across and how well they engage with me in different environments and around different distractions. 2) In regards to the vacuum cleaner example, being neutral or having a low positive value for something isn't an issue, it IS an issue when the dog is so driven by a specific distraction like other dogs or people or a particular item that they can't control themselves or engage with you around it. 3) Easily one of the biggest mistakes I see owners make is taking pups out and letting them confidently pull on the leash engaging everything in the environment except for them (the owners). This develops a pup that starts to think you are the fun police by slowing them down to get where they want to go, and you are teaching them to disengage from and ignore you in favour of other things in the environment. I always want to make sure that no matter the environment or distraction my pup can engage with me. That doesn't mean I want them to ignore everything, but that no matter what they are doing I can easily get their focus and attention back on me. 4) As we start to teach pups more things, you need to assign the correct arousal level to each exercise. Walking nicely on the leash = low level arousal. Competition heel work = high level arousal. etc