Luke GSP

My male has a deep rooted love of Snakes and so I thought it wise to get pet insurance for him and Molly before his luck runs out and one bites him before he bites it! Thankfully I haven't needed to claim yet and in all honesty I hope I don't have to!

I thought that angels wings were supposed t be at the back not between their toes? maybe you should change her name to wolverine? :D Seriously best of luck at the vets and keep us updated. p.s maybe you could open a "flea circus" sorry that was very paw taste

Are these legal in NSW though? I'm at my wits end with Darcy. He barks to warn whatever is "out" there - especially since a few years ago the bratty grandkids next door threw rocks at him. A Little off topic but the reason I ask is very much ON topic. as far as I can see there are three types of E-collar Anti Bark= Audio trigger Remote= radio controled Perimeter= triggered when crossing a perimeter loop Are they all illegal in NSW? I thought that perimeter loop triggered collars were legal in NSW?

So when I go shopping for lunch and I am hungry and give in to all the marketting and buy far more than any human should eat in one sitting, should that be called "shopping in drive"

I would bring the dogs in and crate them at night if that is the problem time or if this is not an option, Why not use one of the e-collar style fences? It is not the fence that is electric it is the collar the fence is a visual indicator for the dog and also the antenna that triggers the e-collar. As far as I am aware they trigger a warning tone first and then a stim. you will find that usually after a couple of times the dog backs off as soon as they hear the tone and then eventually learns to avoid the visual. I believe that you can also bury the wire if you need it to be unobtrusive from land lords etc I also believe that they are legal in most states even if e-collars are not as most e collar legislation states that the dog cannot be fitted with an electonic device that they cannot move away from ie that once they move away the stim stops so the dog is in control as opposed to a non fence triggered e-collar in the wrong hands where an idiot could just stim the dog until the hand set shut off. I know a couple of people that have them and reckon they are great.

I currently feed my dogs 1/3 of their daily food in the AM and then the rest in the evening. I am considering going to once a day so as to keep them hungry and hence a little more "motivated" whilst training what do you guys think? Most of the gun dog handlers I used to work with in the UK fed only in the evening but used regular substantial treats whilst the dogs worked. 1.5cm cubes of chicken for instance. It is quite feasable that the dog may consume 20-25 of these pieces at a minimum during a day. Please comment and discuss!

A B C - all excellent points. Are they entire, different sexes? I pen two of my youngsters at night, when leaving them for periods of time, or when visitors who - may not be aware of how gates need closing. From time to time one may have an upset stomach, rare - all the same, it is good to know who may be feeling not quite right, by results in the enclosures. They are both desexed one male, one female they love goofing around chasing round the garden etc with each other but obviously they are also self serving when it comes to fulfilling their drives. Other than the escaping issue they are very happy together. I was just wondering 1, if my theory was on the money and would truly benefit there training 2, if there was a possible downside and 3 how big a run I would need for the two of them? Due to space issues it is looking like seperate pens may be out of the question but I will have to see. At least it will give the local wildlife a break from my two's over zealous noses!

K9: I would pen them separate for two reasons, 1 being that if the play in the pen, some drive used up 2. Dogs that spend more time together than with the human can become too doggy Thanks K9, I'll look in to making two 2.5M X 5M runs. I assume that these would be big enough? They are adult GSP's. Luke

K9: Yes of course it will, if they can satisfy their drives or even part of their drives that leaves none or less for your training. K9: we sell an inexpensive Large Dog Run for under $550.00 that is 2.3 (wide) x 3.8m (long) that is fine for two large dogs to be penned or one dog per run, these have proven very successful for a number of people training through my methods. My own dogs currently are not penned any longer, they are retired now. They are penned when I am in a lesson, they are crated when inside with us. Steve, If they were in together would/could that affect there drives as opposed to seperate runs side by side or would the differance probably be minimal? Luke

This thread is really aimed at Steve from K9 Force but I am interested in anybodies views as to the idea? In an earlier thread K9 Force mentioned that his dogs are mainly kept in pens when not interacting with him the thread was "Socialisation & Neutralisation, K9's view." I have been wondering about the positives/negatives of penning your dog during the day for a couple of reasons. A, if they are in a run during the day rather than running round our garden chasing birds, lizards and snakes etc you/I would be the key to all things interesting as when I am not there they would be in a run and with the absence of the aforementioned stimuli should be really up for training etc when I am with them. B, Our male has become a bit of an escape artist of late and obviously a secure run would be harder to get out of than our garden. C, One of my dogs has a contact allergy that we feel is plant based so a concrete floored run should hopefully mean less alergic reaction as his time on grass etc would be much less. If I were to go down this road should my two be put in a 5M X 5M run together or in two 2.5M X 5M runs?

personally I would have gone with the setter as although they are not a small breed thay aren't as BOOFY as a GD around a child that will be about 4YO once the dog is fully grown. Saying that several people have told me that GD's are less active than a lot of breeds especially the hunting breeds. I would still have to go for the setter though. Then again you could stop messing about with these other breeds and get a pointer of course? similar size to a setter. similar coat to a GD, great with kids. Just wanted to "point" you in the right direction.

do you know what he is crossed with?

already had tests done and they were inconclusive. All they could say is that it appeared to be contact driven ie grass pollen etc. we did have wandering jew but I have sorted that out. I have also been looking for a canine/plant expert to look at our garden to see if there is anything else that may be an obvious one. But have not found one yet.

We have had tests done and it is some sort of contact allergy. They can't pin it down to an exact. He almost scratched a nipple of and was bleeding from his mouth and armpit through scratching last night. So out of desperation I read up on telfast as an antihistamine as I knew the vet gives him antihistamines when he has an outbreak. The only thing I had was Telfast which is an antihistamine but also has another ingredient that reduces/constricts blood vessels or something, but I had no choice as it was even starting to sound like he was having problems breathing. HAppy to say that once the Telfast kicked in he stopped breathing funny and shaking and stopped using himself as a chew toy. Honestly I thought only teenagers with funny haircuts listening to EMO music were supposed to be in to self mutilation! The problem is that when he is severe like last night the antihistamine makes him comfortable but doesn't seem to get him on top of it without cortisone. Out of frustration today I went to see another vet, what a breath of fresh air. $56 for the consult including some antihistamine/cortisone tablets plus was happy to write a script for prednisole (spelling from Memory) for long term use to try and manage the skin rather than wait for another serious outbreak. They also said that should the human prednisole not be enough on its own to manage the condition, they have put a note on the system, so if I call them and ask for it they will write me a script for a tablet containing cortisone as well so that we can alternate. They also said that to get another script all I need do is call. which will not incur another consult fee. What a differance. Don,t get me wrong I do not mind paying $100 that we can ill afford, for medical care for my dog if it is all for care but I do have a problem paying $90 every month for a vet to say "oh yes it has flared up again hasn't it, here have some more of the same tablets that will sort it out in the short term and I will see you in another month to do the same again,ker ching that's another $90 thanks" Hopefully we will now be able to put a long term management program in to place so that we will not have to wait until it is this bad in the future for the vet to give himsomething for the short term.

I go to the vets with Monte probably once a month with a new sore patch somewhere or other and every time they give me Antihistamines and cortisone. It costs me about $90-110 every time to get $20 worth of medication. I have asked them if I could buy them in bulk to save the constant visits and consultation fees but they will not do it. I have been told that you can use telfast as an antihistamine at a dose of 2MG per KG of dog but I am not aware of an over the counter non prescription cortisone option. Does anyone here know of one?

We held it open and took it in turns calling inside and out with my wife and I on opposite sides (sounds familier?) Once he was walking through happily we started to let the door lay on his back once his head was past it so he got used to that sensation. we then started to release the door earlier and earlier until it was only open by an inch or so which he would have to open with his muzzle. Once he was at this stage we started calling him with a gold treat such as chicken breast. It took about 20 minutes or so in one hit but he is a pointer and so far more inteligent than your average dog :D Is he crateing? Why not put his crate door open up to the doggie door so that his space is confined and he has the choice of soiling his crate or using the door. I am pretty sure the door will be the choice he takes!

We are in for the weekend i will be booking our cabin tommorrow.

I have her series and it did not last long as IMO it is a little basic. Fundamentally the answer for all the dogs is the same. On the other hand it is not sensationalised she deals with seperation anxiety, how to greet your dogs etc rather than a sensational one on one with a canine alligator. Hence why the program probably didn't last long.

I need new glasses I can't find the prices?

I would crate them or what we did with our laundry was to line the walls and doors up to about 1.2M high with clear Perspex. It's not cheap but it wipes off easily (should your dog vomit or fire unspeakable from the other end) it also stops your dogs claws or teeth eating/scraping the walls, doors or woodwork. Several people have commented on what a good idea they thought it was as you hardly notice it and it does keep your walls clean and tidy. BUT! ABOVE ALL. exercise, exercise, exercise! Tired dogs don't chew, bark or hastle you. On another note, I noticed that you mentioned that you ate as if when you eat your dogs are left outside. Personally I believe that it is a good thing for you to eat in front of your dog and they must behave then once you are finnihed then they can have their dinner IMO.

I hope that if it is true the posters that started throwing troll accusations will be big enough to say sorry!

We applied amichien bonding with our two and I have to say that for general "pack leader" assertion it's great. It may help head of basic Dominance issues but I fear that it would do very little if you had a very aggresive dog for instance. on the whole

I have never dealt with really small breeds so I would suggest getting the all clear from someone that has before trying this but it worked a treat for us. Both my dogs used to be chronic pullers and I tried chain slips and martingales (spelling) and they sort of worked but only for a short period. I then changed our leads to a rope type that turns through a loop on itself but has a leather gromit so that you can keep it at a constant tension. Not for pressure but purely to stop the collar from moving further down the dogs neck to an undesireable position. this is the lead I use [/img] this is it in a loop in position unchecked lead hand position checked hand position [/img] As you can imagine the check is very small once it reaches the end of the lead but, the amazing thing was that once I started making sure that the lead was in that position on my dogs neck ie very high behind the skull with the lead coming directly up fom the neck to my hand my dogs were instantly pulling less even without a check. It also gave me far better control over them in general. In fact we had such good control that my five year old daughter could very quickly walk with our 25KG male right next to her. IN short I believe that the collar position not the check made the differance (IMO) so even if this type of lead does not suit your dog or personal beliefs at least try changing the collar position and see how that goes? It worked a treat for us.

As a bit of a side note my family and I are thinking of making a weekend of it and possibly staying there on the friday and Saturday nights. Would anybody else be interested? If there was a few of us maybe we could hit them up for a (group discount) The accomodation we are considering is below.(from the dogzonline web site) Dog Friendly Accommodation Madison's Mountain Retreat, NSW Accommodation Name - Madison's Mountain Retreat Location - Kurrajong Heights, NSW (1880 Bells Line of Road) Contact Details - 0245677398 Type of Accommodation - Self Contained Unit/Cottage Details - Madison's is set on acreage, with 8 cabins and 2 refurbished train carriages. Space, peace and quiet. Swimming pool, tennis court, games room, library, farm animals (alpacas, chooks), massage available by appointment. Lots to do, or just relax in the cabin with a cosy log fire, spa bath, kitchenette, DVDs, and huge breakfast hamper. Each cabin can sleep up to 5, and there is a common room, gorgeous gazebo, and huge shed for get togethers. Ideal for couples, families, weddings and larger groups. Rating - (Out of a possible 5 ... 5 being excellent) This review was submitted on 12-Jun-06 by D converted TRAIN CARRIAGE $380 STANDARD CABIN $485 SPA CABIN $565 These prices are the total for the TWO nights (Fri and Sat) including a breakfast hamper and including a $60 excess for the two kids which obviously you can remove if you are not taking children.

I am well aware that my mental attitude will need to be adjusted as at the moment, I am pretty scared of venturing out into the streets as well - I don't need my stress to pass to Chelsea. Spot on! I would suggest that you spend a while walking the route yourself to rebuild your own confidence and emotional placement. You can also try and mentally heal by visualization at home. What you need to do is think of all the memorable "good" walks you have had on that route. You could hold the lead whilst doing this if you like as this will hopefully end up as a physical trigger for the calmer "good time" mental state. You need to recall an entire walk not just snapshots. The more detail you go in to the better. fetching the lead, putting the lead on, walking to the door, the sound of the door opening, the noise of the path below your feet, the beautiful tree that you can smell the blossom of as you walk by, right through to the sound of your key in the doors lock, walking in to the house and taking the lead off. Once you feel self confident that is the time to take the dog. Remember that the attack was an anomaly it is not the norm! As to your chelsea you probably need to see how she reacts on the first walk ie body language etc before gauging what you should do. For now I believe that you should do nothing more than you usually do. Play it exactly the same as you would have if the attack had never happened. At least that way you will then only have to deal with the dogs true emotions and feelings rather than a possible projected fear from you.