Sing Song

I am so sorry Di. This is one of the hardest parts of rescue. Her sufferring is over and there is comfort and dignity in that. Take care Di. A quiet understanding ear is here if you need one Sing Song

Hi guys we are looking for someone to foster a cattle boy in the next 3 weeks. Its a great way in and opportunity to take advantage of a great deal of experience and contacts. Training provided, mentoring if you are in the Mornington, Sth East Vict area. Anyone interested please dont hesitate to contact me - [email protected] or 0410 136 802. Good luck everyone:) cheers Sing Song

god she is beautiful cant wait to see more pics Sing SOng

I would second some of the comments on the thread and add - dont focus on what the dog looks like pay attention to how much time you actually have a day to give it and how active you actually are every day and when you have written your schedule down and been honest about your activity levels then go looking for your companion. Make your choice based on activity levels and mutual interests ie playing games, training or ball play etc Look ahead - what will I be doing in 5 - 10 years? The dog you choose will be entirely dependent on you for all its needs make sure you can meet those obligations for its entire life. If you are unsure what you will be doing in 10 years consider offerring a home to one of the many beautiful mature dogs who are without homes. If you "love dogs" but dont know what you will be doing in 5 years then consider fostering a rescue dog or volunteering at a shelter or offerring a temporary home to a guide dog puppy. Sing Song

Hi Erny thanks for your post. The dogs have good obedience the problem is largely when I am not home. They dont require food reward to perform basic obedience tasks. I havent taught them not to bark though. They will stop when I shush them but it depends on what they are barking at they are most animated when someone arrives at the home or they hear the neighbours. As we have just moved and they seem to be hypersensitive to the new neighbourhood sounds I have decided to increase their daily exercise and whereas I normally run them through the bush I have switched to taking them along a cycle path so they are getting constant exposure to people and other dogs and as there is alot of commercial mowing of public spaces going on I have had the opportunity where I am walking them to walk past and behind the mowers too. So far this seems to be working well, perhaps the move has made them anxious and they more nervous energy to burn. Anti static collars are illegal in the ACT. I know nothing about htem not having used one before but citronella collars are allowable and I have purchased one which I plan to use only if I am out for a long period of time. In the meantime I am going to set up a controlled situation and get friends to walk past the courtyard coming to the house while I teach them how to respond. I apply dog behaviour principles when dealing with dogs as I rescue but I dont have a training background at all. I would be interested in feedback on how I should approach teaching them what to do when someon does come to the house. For example with re to when and how to bark if someone comes would I teach them to bark a certain number of times and then stop or is the idea to stop them altogether? thanks in advance forgot to add - would i do this with each dog one at a time? cheers Sing Song

Hi Erny thanks for your advice. Originally we had problems when we discovered that some kids were taunting our dogs at our previous house as we lived near a lane. I think that seemed to trigger them to be hypersensitive about people coming down the lane. Now that we have moved they are bascialy barking at the neighbours when they hear them get in and out of their house and when people come to the house. I am home studying most the time so I am in position to teach them what to do but I think i have made it worse by reprimanding them when they bark. If I had an alternative strategy I would be happy to apply it but I would appreciate something specific with steps so I can make sure I am implementing it properly and determine if it is working. Are you saying that there is the barking now which is a habit and then there is the reason they were barking in the first place like anxiety or being territorial or watever and I need to desensitise them to the noises theya re reacting to and also do something to interrupt the habit? Sing SOng

Hi guys We have moved recently and when our dogs hear anything they go crazy similarly they go nuts when someone comes to the door. I was wondering if anyone had some training suggestions i can apply. I have put off getting a citronella collar would that be the better option? cheers Sing Song

assuming the information posted here is correct I hope whoever has knowledge of where these people are can make arrangements formal or informal to make sure this is not a hoarding situation. It would be very sad if it were and nothing concrete was done to assist any animals in need. Sing Song

Hi I rescued a BC who is fear agressive and have since adopted him. I have had him for 8 mths. He began trusting me after the first couple of weeks and I have implemented several pack leader techniques which have worked well. However although he has made progress he is still vulnerable to change and when he becomes anxious over something he tends to revert to some of his old behaviours. I have a particular interest in anyone who has sought professional assistance and found that the reccomended strategies have worked well or any additional literature in the area of dog psychology which could be reccomend. cheers Sing Song