Janba

A westie isn't a toy breed. It isn't so much the asking of the breed but the insinuations that something is fishy. The OP hasn't even got the pup home so may not have photos yet. There are numerous reasons why the OP may keep the breed quiet till it is safely home, like people abilities to work out the breeder etc from the information she has given already.

Her other dog is a mini poodle which is what the OP states in her last post and in the genetic health thread and also that she has been given the third degree by a breeder that did sound a bit over the top. Deb08 I would love to see a picture of your new boy when you get him home. Goodluck with him.

Can you train if you are a member even if the dog is unregistered? Here in NSW at the clubs I belong to we let people train if they are club members or in one case pay a day membership. Planty of dogs aren't put on the AS or SR registry here till they are ready to trial. I would try to find somewhere to train that understands GSD and how they work as it is different from BCs and kelpies.

Cavandra I assume this was a typo you ment "the more shots the more immunity." If a dog already has immunity the vaccinating does nothing and can in fact lower immunity. It does not boost the immunity unless the antibody titres are low. ATE

Plus the risk of the dog slipping its collar and escaping. I wouldn't leave my dogs tethered at a vets either, but then all mine are crate trained. I also leave then there for the short a time as possible unless they are really sick.

It depends on what you mean supress with drugs. If he is barking because he is stressed a mild sedative could make the stay at the vets a lot easier for him. If he is barking because he isn't getting his own way or wants attention I would start to crate training him now and getting him used to being in his crate. There are plenty of threads on here about how to crate train. If my dogs have to stay at the vets for xrays or an op I find out what time the vet is going to do them and drop them off about 1/2 hour before that. With the boy in my signature I stayed with him tilll they gave him the anaesthetic for his hip xrays because he is a whoos. He wouldn't bark but does stress when left at the vets.

I had a vet who refused to have one of my dogs left there because of the noise she made If he was going to be xrayed they would sedate him anyway so maybe give him something a little early. I can't imagine it is pleasant for a vet to be tying to work with a screaming dog in the background.

I just googled it and found the training instructions. By beeping and treating you are conditioning the dog that the sound means a reward very like the clicker where the dog also comes to you for the reward, but in this case you are using it as a cue for just this one action. The sound is also always the same, unlike our voices which will vary in tone no matter how hard we try to keep it the same. Once the dog has learnt to run to you for the treat, the recall itself can also becomes self rewarding, particularly from a distance as most dogs love to run.

Testosterone is also produced by the adrenal gland and he may have been castrated properly but the adrenal gland still produces more than normal. I had this happen with a horse who acted very like a stallion but we knew he was properly castrated. Blood tests showed he was producing enough testosterone to still have one testi.

I wouldn't rule out fear aggression in a dog based on their reaction top a pup. Most dogs let a puppy get away with things they would not tolerate in an older dog. Puppies smell differently and their body language on the whole says "I'm a baby" and illicits a different reaction to an adult dog. Her reaction to Beryl could be very different in a couple of months.

She looks like she wants to play to me too. When she is leaning against the crate she has her back to the pup or her body side on which is non threatening body language. She is also at one point lying with her body as low as the pup. At 4 months the puppy still has some "puppy licence" so would be less threatening than an adult and a dog usually won't attack a puppy. Only you know if you can trust her.

No suggestions but maybe he gets too hot in the coat if he has acclimatised to being in the cold.

No minimum age so long as they are vacinated. Not all dogs turn on the first time they see sheep so be prepared to come a few times to see if he is interested. The boy in my signature didn't turn on till just over 6 months but his sister worked from 3 months. It is very hard to teach most of the commands without sheep as they react totally differently when the sheep are around. You could work on his stays and a drop or sit command as the start of the stop. Also work on his recall, but it doesn't have to be formal like obedience

There are no set days for beginners. There is training for the next 2 weekends but non on the 30/31 Aug due to trials.

You could start with your keeshund - they are an eligable breed. Training at EP is at the DogsNSW grounds starting at 9 and going to 3 Sat and 4 Sun. Hawkesbury is 9-11 for beginnings.

Where abouts in NSW are you? There is herding training at Erkine Park most weekends and next to Hawkesbury Showground every Sat. If these are a possibility I will give you more details.

I used a modified Volhard test on both my boys and they turned out to be pretty much what they tested as. Then what's the point of testing them? They are all gorgeous, sensible, even-tempered, easy-going, adoring, adorable and enormously intelligent! Not George who is a dog of little brain

Are the pup and rescue dog desexed? If not he would be reaching puberty and could have given off some body language you missed. When your rescue dog was sniffing the pup was he relaxed or shiffing from above with dominant body language? It is really hard the reasons to tell without being there.

Who are the judges?

Couldn't a GA on a bulldog with their shortened nose potential be a greater risk than doing it under a local.

I find that an interesting comment. I find it the norm to do a full heeling routine so a short pattern is a bonus.

You need to make the reward at the end of the track very high value - higher thn the wallabies. A toy she loves that she gets a game with only at the track, or breakfast or dinner. One of my dogs had to track for her dinner to get her over hunting. Also everytime she leaves the track and follows wallaby scent stop and command track. Don't let her follow the wallaby track. If she won't pick up the track take her further down and see if she picks it up if only for the last few metres. She has to always get to the end.

My dally had the tiniest blue fleck in her eye as a pup - you could hardly see it and now at 6 it is more than half the eye. It is just the pigmentation going and nothing can be done about it.

I use a metal shepherd a lip whistle that took ages to learn to blow. I am only using it over trial distances and at the moment just for the "stop", but now that I can make more different sounds from it I will put the sides, walk up etc on whistle command.

Does any know anything other than it seems Colin Webster did very well winning a lot of the classes :D .