laffi

I returned Nutro without any problems.

I think from the beginning you should stick to where you want him to be permanently. If you want him in the bedroom, stick to it. If you want him in the laundry, stick to it. The more you change the more he will get confused. I know you said you don't want to crate. I didn't crate my golden when she was little and she still was house trained within a week. But I am crating her now and really recommend it. Makes life much easier (when we travel and have to leave her with a carer, when she is sick (injured, or after desexing) etc etc). Even my husband who was against the crate loves it now.

I totally agree.

I was about to tell you where to buy it if you were interested (pricelesspets rock!) Some people do Drontal, heartworm yearly vaccination and flea collar. I don't do it because some dogs have adverse reaction to the heartworm vaccinations.

Mmm good point, I re-checked the Drontal website and it doesn't do heartworm. Is there any worming tablet which covers them all including heart worm? Canex doesn't it appears. My dog is currently still using Revolution & Drontal so he is covered, it just would nice to find an effective but cheaper alternative to it I use Sentinel Spectrum. From the website http://www.pets.novartis.com.au/dogs/sentinelspectrum.html : SENTINEL® SPECTRUM is the most convenient way to get 3-in-1 parasite protection against heartworm, intestinal worms - including tapeworm - and fleas. One delicious beefy flavoured tablet given once a month with a full meal, all year round is all it takes to give your dog a lifetime of protection against the most dangerous worms and fleas

What about heartworm?

I am not sure what you mean but will answer anyway My dogs are unsure when they don't know what I mean. For example a very slow drop from a distance. The way I see it is that dogs don't generalize very well and for them it's almost like a new command when you are in a different location and so you have almost start from the beginning sometimes. So they try to take their best guess but are slow because are unsure what I mean.

Have you tried teaching retrieving with a clicker?

I know exactly what you mean. It's it ironic that when they are fine we obsess about them chewing, digging, barking etc and when they get sick we dream about them getting better to chew some more. Go Jak, chew come cords, make us proud LOL

For some reason I always thought it's not Australian! Great to know!

Please check the URL. My server says "site not found" so I suspect there's an error somewhere. I think it's probably http://www.holisticanimalmedicines.com/ (Although it's an American website it has good info and once you know what you are after you can find it in Australia)

That sounds great! Kisses for Jak when she comes back Good for you for asking to talk to the vet!

:cool:

Have you called the vet? How is Jak?

I have a very limited experience with dog drive I can only say from my own experience with my two dogs. I high drive dog is basically eager to do stuff but it does not mean he needs to be fast. I consider Midge a really high drive dog, but she is not very fast. I was training her for frisbee competitions and at the beginning she was just a tad too slow to get there so I started running with her more (short fast intervals) and play chuckit much more. She got much faster really quickly. With agility (only from what I have been reading and mostly "Shaping success") even a very high drive dog can be slow but there are ways to increase the speed with each is the exercises. I think a low drive dog is a dog that is not interested in working with you (neither food, nor toys). It's a dog that is very very hard to train because you need first build up the drive and than use it as the reinforcement in training.

I will have to think about this one. In the meantime, why do you think Ness is a low drive dog?

Some great advice here already. I just wanted to add that a lot of dogs are not into toys, retrieving or tugging. The owners have to "work a little" in order to build up a drive in these dogs. I am teaching my dogs how to tug now and they are only slowly growing to like it. Just practice and make it fun!

Could anyone send me a website about this workshop? (I am probably too late )

:D ;) :p

yeah I know that ;) but does it mean that cod oil is more potent for overdose than 'fish' oil when Rappie says: ETA it's exactly because cod is a type of fish that I am confused but Rappie's statement

sorry I am intrigued: why do you add grains to your dog's diet? I always thought dogs can't digest grains very well and that's why commercial food (rich in grains to make it cheap source of proteins) is bad for them ;) ?

Does it mean that it's easier to overdose cod liver oil compared to fish oil? I have been giving my dogs 1-2 capsules of fish oil/day (they are both around 20kg), would that be considered as a high dose?

Do you use treats and positive reinforcement? I found that my dogs become much more confident when they learn how to get a treat ;) Clicker training is great for that because there is no such a thing as a bad behavior so you never have to correct. You just shape the good behavior. ETA: How have you been training your dog so far? Have you used any corrections (verbal and/or physical)?

If you do use Apple Cider Vinegar (internally or externally) what do you use it for? Does it really work?

I think in general it's advisable for a dog (esp bigger ones) to be at least 1yo for agility.