Vehs

pgm: yup Dieter is heavily food motivated, I should have structured that better as I meant other dogs. When it's available I can motivated D with a toy or a game... but it's when we are out and about that I want him to perform and he is at best slow about it.

pgm - I can see what you are saying, I would get annoyed when instructors would tell me that I needed to have better treats and even their 'best' treats wouldn't work. If a dog isn't food motivated then that's that. I started to have problems with Dieter when I stopped bringing tidbits on our walks.. he would only work if he knew the food was there.

Gorgeous painting I saw it on another post and got all teary even then... ;)

Yes! Definately can get angry and lose my temper when training - luckily I haven't done anything damaging to Dieter like yell at him... because frankly if he can't perform what I want him to then I'm doing something wrong. He didn't want to learn 'bow' - I did! He didn't want to sit in the sun for an hour with an incompetant instructor - I did! Wait, no I didn't, that's why we stopped that! Currently trying to learn bow and he's so enthusiastic when the clicker and treats come out that he turns himself inside out trying to provide what I want and I sometimes wish he'd just do things slowly and ease off a little - that gets me angry an enthusiastic dog (my biggest problem ) If I feel myself getting frustrated I get Dieter to do a few tricks he knows really well to end on a positive note and then we have a bit of a play. Oh I got so angry with Dieter and disappointed in myself when we didn't pass an obedience level. My training friend asked me if I was ok and I just broke down - meanwhile Dieter continued to carry on like a d!ckhead. (Angry with Dieter because we knew all the exercises, I was as confident as I had been going into a test and he decided that day that his lead was the most fun toy to ever play with and started to pull on it and chew it -- never had done this before)

Glad to hear that bow is difficult! I said in another thread that he's never performed the behaviour before (he recognises it in other dogs though) but just to prove me wrong after practising bow earlier in the day he came down and did one... while presenting a stolen shoe to me. Coits - excellent - I've been teaching Dieter to 'tidy' up his toys, put one in a bucket.

Mel looks like we are doing the same thing! As for cats I had some success getting Nubble to target - this is helpful for building up to other tricks. Hrm, how about jumping through a hoop? playing piano (if you have one or a keyboard) strumming a guitar, patting a drum?

Good to hear that it's not too serious Will they walk him on a harness now? Or is he exempt from the muzzle law and can be walked with a halti? :D

I suppose that is an option you could try - but I wouldn't like walking a dog with a muzzle on - I understand they can still breath comfortably, but I don't like it. Why would the dog get lose? are you living with other people? With my sook of a cat we would have him on someones lap - dog would come and sniff, sniff we'd be all 'yes good boy' and then we'd call him away praise praise. And if my bad tempered cat scratches him - we let it go, but I am aware she likes to egg him on (will slyly walk just out of reach, throws food at him, will make the strangest noises when he is no where near her just to make us think she is getting hurt)

Firstly I'd make sure your mice are up nice and high or even better in a different room to where she usually hangs out. Cats could at least jump on a table or bench to get out of the way - mice not so. My dog is getting better with cats - as long as ours sit still he sniffs them and then we tell him 'enough' and generally he'll leave them alone. He was also excellent last night when we went for a walk - I keep an eye out for cats, and I know where the neighbours ones like to hang out (so does my dog!) so when we are approaching an area I'll subtly shorten the leash, get a treat out of my pocket (I started carrying them about 3 weeks ago when cats and offlead dogs started to become an issue) and say 'look at me' when he does he gets a treat/praise, then I keep him in a nice heel with the treat and if he's being really good he'll sit for a few seconds in the general area of the cat, praise praise continue on the walk. I try to make sure I see the cat before he does so I can be prepared for it - but I still let him know the cat is around. When we first started he would lunge after them, and he's on a limited slip collar so he'd "correct himself" and I'd try to gain his attention back towards me. Drawing his attention has worked for me on our walks - my friend used to put her puppy in a 'sin bin' (bathroom) for 2min when he annoyed the cats and he caught on pretty quickly that if he wanted to spend time with the family he had to behave with the cats.

Positive reinforcement is only an element of training, not a training method check out this link: http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/ocguide.htm

There's been a lot of talk of kelp lately - I will have to try it, is it a daily additive or just every now and then (I add apple cider vinegar every now and then...)

Not sure how it would go on a lab's coat - but we get a few sunbleached cockers and we strip the hair out/off with a coat king. They are a bit pricey so I'd ask a groomer if you could just try theirs out once to see if it worked.

I always thought apple seeds had cyanide in them - I remember mum telling me they didn't grow apples at mental institutes in case people collected the seeds to kill themselves Cyanide deprives the blood of oxygen - whether or not the dog is on a commerical or natural diet Still you need to eat a hell off a lot to get sick and the shell of the seed protects it - I cut the seeds out of the apples I give Dieter, but if he ever ate one or even a hole apple with seeds I wouldn't panic -- actually we have a apple tree in the backyard.

Thanks Sam I will start moving away from him to stop him dropping I think bowing at your dog is a cute signal! I'll try and build up for that - I suppose if I ever demo'd any tricks we could both end with a bow like that

I'm having a bit of trouble teaching D the bow. He's never offered the behaviour (well maybe once when he was a little pup) so there is no point capturing it. I lure him into a bow and have my arm/hand under his tummy so he can't drop, click reward, but then just after the click he tends to go down into a drop. I will keep this up slowly taking my hand away and trying to only treat before he drops. Any advice? The other problem is the hand signal that I will eventually use, I don't want it to be close to the one I use for a drop - what are other people using when they want a bow? Today we were able to stop using a food lure and he just follows my hand into a bow - but this is a similar hand movement to my drop one.

Wow I remember that little puppy photo! How cute!

You can clip your dog, but be aware the coat can grow back different - often it grows faster, curlier and thicker and actually requires more maintenance. I'd take to her with some sissors and trim down the feathers on the hocks (back of the back feet) and the back of the front legs as well as the bottom of the feet and between the toes. If your taking her in for grooming let them know what you are worried about and they could clean her up for you if you aren't confident. You could also try a spray on conditioner for the feathers - it may help with the brushing out of the foliage

omg! What a complete little cutie!

I feel a little sick reading that convo I'd obviously like to see more bones, no calcium and wider veggie selection, less pasta and just mention small pinches of the additives fatty chicken and lamb flaps for now..... did you ask why he didn't stick with your diet sheet?

:p Hope she recovers quickly and that the analysis doesn't find anything too nasty

ahh yup now I remember - no paralysis ticks Hope he's alright!

hmm I always thought we didn't have ticks in Canberra either maybe he has a swollen tastebud --- from lying!!! how would it get in his mouth?!

We used to do obedience and agility -- obedience we both became very bored with and agility had to take a back seat to uni studies and transport issues. Definately want to get back into agility next year, just for fun - no trials, because it keeps us both fit. However may have to do some obedience as well as his recall is getting slack I only heard about endurance the other day when someone at work asked me if I wanted to train and compete in the middle of the year with her -- still looking into it. I'd like Dieter to gain titles or at least compete in agility (I think he may be too slow...) and obedience, but I'm not the type of person to do it. I get very shy and nervous when I have to perform.. I've gotten over public speaking, because I had to, but I don't have to take Dieter to trials so don't feel the need to place myself under the pressure. Then again he doesn't know what he missing out on and wouldn't understand anyway! Oh I also like making up little tricks at home that never see the light of day

LOL I love how he was parading! Uhm, Dog World sells a meat and veggie loaf that is similar to 'spam for dogs' but is all natural and supposedly promoted by BARF dieters -- it isn't a Billinghurst loaf and I think is sold for about $7 which might last your dog 2 weeks? Although I say I feed D a natural diet he does get a lot of variety (dry and wet cat food, rare tin of dog food, spam for dogs, human sandwich....)

My friends heavily recommend these classes to me for my little girl -- I didn't know they had puppy preschool (at vets) when I got my boy, but he attended puppy classes (at obedience club) after his final vaccination. Every vet differs, but she assures me the money was well spent and the extensive information pack she was given she still refers to. She doubled up with her two dogs -- infact I met her at my boy's puppy class and we have been friends since (some 2years on), and you will want to continue training and socialising your dog through their lives not just the first few months