rooster78

Hi Just wondering if anyone knows of flyball operating in Perth. I know that it runs in Esperance and Kalgoorlie however am hoping to find some contacts for Perth. If it is not already operating, is anyone interested in getting it going?

Hi I bought a brush on the suggestion that most animals like it as it is like a massage - it is a wire bristled brush in a rectangular shape. I think it is called a slicker brush - the wire bristles have the ends bent at a 45 degree angle. I've tried it on Bronson but he wont tolerate it for a second. I then tried a comb - which happens to be a human comb - just to see and at first he arked up but eventually he laid down to rest and let me comb him but not for very long. He has started shedding a lot more hair and I just want to give him a good brush / comb to get rid of the loose hair. Any suggestions on how to get dogs used to being brushed? or the type of brush to use? Thanks Jodie

Whenever I rake or sweep our 5 1/2 month Labrador wants to jump on / attack / bite / run away with the broom or rake. It is literally impossible to do this work with him around. He doesn't bark at it though. Also when I vaccum he will swap between chasing and barking at the main section (where the filter and motor is) and barking and biting at the sucker bit that is running a long the floor. I just continue vaccuming and ignore him - this is achievable because the vaccum is loud and occassionally he gets a fright and eases up. Can you suggest anything to combat this behaviour? Thanks

Our dog training club in Perth has Beginners Class for any dog, regardless of age, who hasn't had training before. We assumed that our pup would be with pups but there are dogs of all ages in the class with him. He also attended puppy pre-school.

That is so exciting! I love it when Bronson 'gets it' how do you teach Bang...you're dead? And for that matter, what about paw? Every time I touch Bronson's paw he puts his mouth down to my hand and wants to nip / smell / lick me thanks

I don't think a puppy would associate a surprise squirt to the face with a water gun with a pool or the ocean. Are you at obedience training? If not you should be. It's a good way of establishing leadership and having him follow commands. They will teach you a lot of the basic stuff you need to know. RE the biting. Have you tried just telling him "No" in a firm voice? sure have! he just ignores it - on occasion when he does stop and take note he only stops for a short time. We will be at obedience shortly - he just finished off with puppy pre-school and had his 16 week vaccination today. I tried the water squirt thing and it stops him momentarily before continuing...

We visited a friend tonight who said she used to squirt their staffy with a water bottle when he was biting. Her OH reckons she has scared him for life though as when ever they pull out a water bottle, like for ironing, he bolts... my guy is a lab and loves water - if i squirt him will it not put him off water?

We have a real variety of play items several soft teddies - i tried to get the eyes and noses off but couldn't. Bronson managed to almost get a nose off and then i spoiled his fun and took it off myself. That teddy's insides are now exposed yet Bronson still hasn't bothered to 'destroy' it. As for the others, he mostly likes to hump them rather than tear them about. I got the teddies from the op shop... empty drink bottles including cordial bottle - he loves the cordial bottle because he can carry the bottle around by the handle. the bottles also much a great noise as he chases them so they are all the more entertaining. he really got stuck into the bottle and it started to have sharp edges so I just swapped it for a new one old thongs - not sure if this is a good thing as he doesn't seem to realise which are his and which are ours (that we want to wear!). At times he tends not to want anything he is actually allowed to have! squeaky toys - i've bought some from city farmers and they seem to be good quality (but weren't that expensive) and are still in great condition... empty boxes / toilet rolls / hankies / pigs ears (they don't last long!) / rope toy ....

We ended up taking Bronson to the Huntingdale Vet classes. My partner took him for the first 3 sessions and I joined them for the last. The OH says it was great. Bronson was a bit of a leader - he made friends with a tiny jack russell but evidently he was a lot gentler with him than us as the jack didn't yelp once. If the dogs were agressive at all the leader put them in time out. She guided through puppy stages and helped with some basic commands as well as a weekly weigh-in, puppy play and a once over in the consult room. Now it is time for obediance classes... any recommendations for Perth, south of the river?

Our puppy is growing at about 1kg a week. He is getting quite tall and just today discovered he is big enough to jump up on the couch what is the best way to stop this? I have been telling him to get down - which he doesn't, so I lift him down. I did see him jump off one time but because we have tiling throughout the house he skidded along and I think hurt himself a bit. He is a lab and I don't want to encourage to much jumping at this age... Also, he is doing my head in with his biting. Ignoring doesn't work - he will just follow me and keep doing it. Distraction - with treats usually works unless he is having a manic episode. However if I used treats to distract him he would be treated ALL day - because he bites almost all day! Alternatives - such as teddies and squeakies toys are usually pretty successful but only for a while. Time out - I put him outside for a bit and then let him in after a while and if he does it again I put him out...I am wondering if this is avoiding the problem rather than addressing it? Any suggestions to help? Or is it really that he is a 16 week old pup with teething pain and he will grow out of it??

Bronson did this as soon as we got him home - it looked cute but I was worried that it would be his habit and that we'd go out one day and he'd tip his water out and be without any water until we got home. Some very wise DOLer suggested a bucket and a brick in it - this way he can't get his paws in and he can't tip it over with his mouth. I think my guy just wanted to run around with the container in his mouth - when we visit people and they put down a water bowl, he stills digs out the water and runs away with the bowl. Inside we have a metal water bowl - shallow and large diameter with a rubber lip to stop it moving and he doesn't dig at that. Outside we have the bucket.

Thanks for your comments. It is a difficult situation to be in as they are the in-laws dogs who we see often. Bob (the bitsa) is not agressive all the time - he settles down after a while but he is too much for a 12 week old pup so we'll keep him away. Perhaps if Holly (the staffy) gets to know Bronson and they play, it may signal to Bob that he is ok. I think Bob left his mother too early.

Being the owner of my first puppy - that is fantastic!

We haven't taken them for a walk because Bronson is still too young. We were hesitant about introducing them in the first place but I was told that if you KNOW the history of the other dogs you can introduce them. Yep I guess we'll not go down that path yet. Thanks

We tried to introduce our 11 week old male labrador to my OHs parent's adult dogs - a female staffy and a male bitsa - both about 5 years old. The staffy was tolerant but the bitsa got agro straight away and snapped which saw our puppy run away and wait with us. He tried again to play and rolled over to his back immediately and let himself be sniffed. But still the bitsa showed his teeth, growled and then snapped. We didn't want our pup to be put off so the in'laws took their dogs away. We spend a lot of time together as a family so the dogs will also be spending a lot of time together so we wanted to get them acquainted. The bitsa is a bit of an old ball anyway - very protective of his male owner (it was the female owner who brought them to visit) and not tolerant of another family member's dog. We are planning to have the two dogs over again and introduce them again so they can start to get used to each other. Do you think this is a good idea? When the bitsa snaps is it 'good' for the puppy as it tells him who is boss? We thought it best to introduce them at our place because then it is on our puppy's ground but that made no difference to the bitsa.