Bubitty

Hi Guys Was wondering if there are any doggy dancing clubs or organisations in Sydney? I am hoping that there is something like this that I can join and have some fun with my dog.

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) I own 2 goldens, a 4 yr old boy who I adopted when he was 11 months old and a 5.5 month old girl puppy who lived with us from 8 weeks. 5. What is the general temperament/personality? Very stable, very easy going, extremely tolerant, eager to learn and very kind. They are very peaceful if left on their own (when we are not home) but if we are home they MUST be included in all the action as they are very nosey and will kick up a fuss if left out of the family action. However if you just let them hang out in the same room as you, they will just flop down somewhere and watch you attend to your tasks. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? My boy gets about 2 hours a day. This includes a jog, steady paced walking and lots of free zoomie time in the park. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? Yes I think my puppy has been very easy to raise but I think the key is putting in all the groundwork at the beginning to ensure that pup does not get up to mischief or learn bad habits. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? Yes, my boy was an only dog for 3 years. He lived inside by himself when we were at work, had full access to the house and has never caused us any grief. 9. How much grooming is required? Probably a good brushing twice a week. 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? The puppies are pretty boisterous but they learn very quickly so will develop excellent manners if taught well and taught early. However they are naturally quite “exhuberant”. My adult boy is just a saint and is uber mellow.

First time my dog tried to take something that wasn't hers I marched up to her, took it off her and said NO very loudly. I have probably repeated this a few times and she now does not touch anything that does not belong to her! I am a messy person and have my stuff strewn everywhere so there is no way I can put stuff away! She is 5 months old, all my shoes are laid out and she has never touched a pair! Doesn't steal baked goods left at nose height either!

Thanks Kelpie – I I am curious though, with you guys who do hard core training, do you really try and ponder these theories etc? Are they being brought up on Dol as a debate or are they given consideration when you teach your dogs? Reason I ask is as the average Jo, if I want to teach something, I google the trick and I teach it. Or I just do what seems vaguely ok and see if I have success. Are you all very well planned in terms of how you teach?

Thank you so much Staranais! That’s very clear and easy to understand! Hehehe I did think that “positive” was being all nice and cheerful about things and “negative” is anything that constitutes “being mean”!!! I have learned a lot from your post!!!!!

Thanks for the great summary Corvus! Now if you can summarise that quadrant thingy for me!!!! I am really curious about it!!!!

Not sure if this will help but I throw a soft toy for my pup. When she runs for it I cheer like a banshee and play tug with her when she gets back. She is very into it and will do this endlessly.

I like reading the arguments and would just like to understand the terminology and theories more! Sometimes I think I get something and then they throw in something about quadrants and pluses and minuses and then I lose track and have no idea what I was reading! I got given a book on how to manage a multi dog household when I got my pup and the ideas in the book were really good and easy to understand. Say for example the lady in the book tells the reader to teach their dogs that being pushy will not get you food first but that by being polite you get plenty of food and goodies. So I go off and do this and it works! But when I read all of these threads, it intrigues me the idea about what is a positive way to teach and what is negative way to teach.

Hi Folks I have been reading all the threads arguing about training methods etc and it has COMPLETELY confuddled me!!!!! What is really “Positive” training and what is deemed “Negative”? I have been reading all your arguments in the threads but tbh I have no idea what half the posts are about because most of the stuff is just “WHOOSH” over my head! Does it matter what technique you use? I used food rewards for training and sometimes I ask my dogs not to do stuff if I don’t want them to do it. Say this morning Bubby managed to climb up a tree! I went up to him and said “Bubby you get down right now Mister!” and he climbed down again, no big deal. Is that negative cuz I asked him to come down the tree? Is all this hard core stuff for ppl who do really complicated dog tricks and sports or do normal ppl use it too?

Thanks Guys!!!!! Its such a cheap and easy snack/training treat to give them!!! While we are on it, what do you guys think of sweet potatoes (steamed). Is it too starchy? I know they don’t need rice, wheat etc but they LOVE sweet potatoes!

Thanks Ellz! So you don’t think the sugar will be bad??? They have excellent poos and have been eating this much for about a month. I am just so worried about all the sugar!

My two have taken a severe liking to fruit and are probably eating equivalent to about 300g a day. Is this too much? They eat a mix of fruits (strawberries, pears, bananas, blueberries, oranges, apples) No ill effects but I worry that there is too much natural sugars in the fruit. Any thoughts?

Hehehe Bubby does that and all he gets for it is a ratbag puppy who gets away with murder and sits on his head!

Ohhhh I soooo know what you mean!!! I keep asking myself “When is that delightful little puppy going to turn on me and be BAD!?”

Give it a few weeks and you'll wish you had more stuff to teach! I am running out of things to train her now and need to work on the clicker again! And I am sooo bad with the clicker!

I soooo know how you feel! I have this strict schedule that I follow and basically every hour of my pup’s life is planned out. Some days I just want to say “I’m not going to train you or socialise you! I’m just going to put you in the yard and watch TV for the rest of the day”. Of course I don’t do that though because she is just so adorable and sweet I want to do the right thing by her! I also have an older boy and that means triple walks (I walk pup separately as they get different lengths of walks and older boy gets 2 walks a day). But it does get better. At 19 weeks I am actually able to trust her more so I am actually getting large chunks of my old life back! And the crazy thing is she is actually a REALLY good puppy and is probably as easy to raise as they come. After one week she was able to hold her bladder all night. She also doesn’t touch anything that does not belong to her But you know what, I miss carrying her out to the toilet trips out at night and having a puppy cuddle afterwards. I miss the crazy little fluff ball who zoomed around my house and now that she is settling down I am desperately wanting her to stay a baby for a bit longer.

Was thinking of buying my dogs some fresh mussels as part of their diet. Thing is I have been told that it could be the ground up shell which has the “good stuff” so would be no use me feeding them shelled mussels Does anyone know much about mussels and health benefits? Thanks!

I am so sorry.......... My thoughts are with you.

I would love more photos of my puppy and video footage as well!!!!!!!

She was totally fine Kirislin!!!!! Zooming around as usual and still looking very hungry! I was shocked at how fat she suddenly looked though which freaked me out!!!!!

Thanks Persephone! Will separate them now!

I gave my 18 week old pup a salmon head for dinner and now she is looking very "fat". I am a bit worried. Will she be ok? Realistically the head was about the size of a chicken frame or large chicken maryland which she has had no problems with but she does look very fat after this dinner today She is wrestling with her big brother and appears fine but just looks very plump which I find a bit distressing.

I carried mine out to toilet. After she toileted I gave praise (softly), carried her in, a few stokes and into the crate she went. We had the crate in our bedroom though (for the first week) so I think that helped her settle really well.

Umm what is an extinction burst???

Yup! That’s my down fall. Always thinking “just one more round sweetie” because she is so enthused and eager! She’s so different from my other dog (lazy lazy that one!) so its hard not to get excited and just train with her all day and night!!!!