Henrietta

I agree, and they would be at a disadvantage in the fight too being tied up. Having been attacked previously, I know mine would not hold in a stay without me and only metres from a dog fight. Maybe that's a training issue, but I don't blame them, they have been through it and remember. With other people to help already there I'd have done what the OP did - get them out of there. If no-one else had turned up it would be different. It's very unfair to try and second guess what people decide in those circumstances, you do the best you can at the time. Oh yes, I agree. I think the OP did the right thing in these circumstances. There were other people to help. I didn't mean for it to sound like I think she should've done things any differently. It certainly would've been a much more tricky situation if she were the only person around. I was more responding to Akayla's suggestion to tie the dog up, moreso than what the OP did or didn't do, I should've used the quote function. I have no doubt that my dogs wouldn't stay in a stay/wait if being threatened either. But I don't mind that at all, I'd rather give them a chance to get away from the attacking dog. Worst case scenario, I would hope because I wouldn't leave them unless absolutely necessary.

Tying a dog to a tree in this situation would not be a good idea I think. If the attacking dogs did decide to target yours, yours would have no opportunity for a flight response and would have to fight to defend themselves. If you had to leave your dog, I'd be putting them in a stay/wait and getting back to them asap. One day I was walking my girl and someone was lying face down on the footpath about 15 metres away. I tied her to a fence. She would not have liked this strange situation and I would need to concentrate on what I had to do in the event of an emergency. I still managed to keep an eye out for her whilst I ran over to the guy (turned out to be a teenager sleeping outside his house - he was fine, but very startled because I woke him up. ) and assessed the situation, but there was no imminent danger to her at this time.

I saw a Shih Tzu x Beagle the other day. He seemed vaguely similar to a somewhat clipped Tibetan Terrier to me or a very small bearded collie (the colour probably helped with the latter though). He was beautifully groomed.

I really loved this book too!

How awesome for you! You must be so excited. I gotta say, I love reading about TSD's little Em.

Unfortunately I come across many of those stupid dog owners. There was a silly over the top pup who used to go to my regular park. Her owner on many occasions lamented her silliness and wished she was better behaved (I directed him our nearby dog club ). Imagine my horror when seeing them both crossing a major 4 lane city street and the dog OFFLEAD! I just don't understand. Around my parts you have people who cannot contain their dogs in their own yard... even on busy roads. You feel that these dogs' days are numbered.

So sorry. :rolleyes:

So sorry. :rolleyes:

Oh crap, I completely understand where you are coming from Megan. It's taken a while to find some good places for me and my dog, but every now and again some selfish bastard ruins it. I'm nowhere near you, so I cannot help with location ideas. I tend to choose places where you can see people coming, it gives me a bit of warning, but I do venture out to nicer areas where the risks are minimal or sometimes I get a family member to come with me (just makes it easier when it all goes to shit) I do tend to choose open spaces, rather than suburban streets, but I have few tried and tested street routes when we feel like it. I have often thought how wonderful it would be to hire someones empty, private field/paddock for an hour or two. Just to go exploring on a long line in a new environment. It's my idea of heaven. As for fights, I had a doozy with a women once. I asked her to call her dog back, my dog doesn't like other dogs. No response. I asked with more urgency and volume, my dog will have a go at your dog. Nothing. Dog was well and truly on it's way over to us. I step in front of my dog ready to try and scare it back to the owner. I get accused of 'trying to kick' her dog. And get called a bitch. :rolleyes: I'm sure I would've been popular if my dog had decided to latch on to hers. Under some circumstances I would bloody well kick too. At the time, I would've like to kick the silly lady. One thing is for sure. I'm not very polite anymore - I gave up being polite. I ask once and it's pretty direct. And then I yell. Most of the time it is something along the the lines of 'Bullshit, put your dog on a lead!!!' in response to, 'it's ok, my dog's friendly.' 'he just wants to say hi', 'my dog will sort out your dog', 'oh, yours is only small, it's ok' ... blah, blah, blah. And then there are other times where you don't even bother because the owners are hundreds of metres away and seemingly completely oblivious to the drama unfolding.

This is my favourite pic. There is just something about Ralph's expression. You can see him smiling, you know those big close-mouthed grins when you shut your eyes at the same time? Edit for poorly written post.

Well, if you have the time to devote to a new pup, you'd have to seriously consider rethinking your plans I would say. Plans are only plans afterall, they don't always work out as planned. It is time for a pro and con list I think!

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! Sounds like it was a great night.

This is what I was trying to get at I think, by my description of my older dog. What she does is simply a learned behaviour that has certainly worked in the past and still does at times! It doesn't mean that she trying to take over the world, far from the truth actually. My younger dog on the other hand, she needs quite clear cut boundaries to be at her best and this is what she is provided. Although, I originally just wanted to discourage whining at dinner time if I could, because I'm not a fan of whining lol. She likes barking instead, especially in play, but rarely uses this in a pushy fashion because I try not to let her be pushy. But anyway, as it turned out, she needs a stricter set of rules than my older girl, whose life is a lot simpler.

My older dog is quite bad mannered in this way because we let it happen. She doesn't whine on constantly either, she stops when she realises it hasn't worked and finds something else to do. I will confess that sometimes it is just easier to feed her. I do try and wait until she is quiet and surprise her, but I'm not actively trying to change the behaviour. My reasoning? She is getting on and she is not pushy in other ways. Seriously, this is her worst behaviour issue... I can actually live with it quite ok. Compare that to my younger dog... She wouldn't dream of whinging for food, but that's because my experience with the older dog meant that I took steps to prevent the behaviour happening. She also had a very nice loose-lead walk almost from the beginning (something I had to re-teach the older dog because I fluffed it up to begin with). She has some wonderful polite behaviours with us, yet she is much more trouble than the older dog (aggression issues). So I spend a lot more time trying to deal with these issues and a little bit of a whinge from an older dog who is thinking it's past bedtime is not going to bother me so much.

The dog will look back if you're late delivering the reward. It has to be there as the dog arrives after a correct run. If you're late, they will turn back to you looking for it. It's almost better to occasionally reward early by accident for a slighty incorrect run than to be late with a correct run. If you "place" a reward before you send the dog on the run, it's hard to remove it if the run is not correct. Part of the DVD instruction involves getting the trainer to practice throwing the reward at a target until there is a reasonably reliable placement and timing. Sorry, that was really bad phrasing on my part. I have been throwing the reward with correct placement (well, I hope), not just placing it. Again, bad choice of words. I do believe I might be late with my reward timing. I'll have a look at the DVD again for that section on throwing the reward. Edit - Thank you! I wouldn't be too concerned with that, Geordie does it too b/c he's just too bloody fast for me! I have to ensure he does get the correct entry because a couple of times I accidentally rewarded - he learned he could miss the first 2 poles and now I have to go back to the beginning and build more value. I videod him and he does drive forward head down but also looks back at exit, he still learned the method and is single stepping 6 poles so as long as the accuracy is there I wouldn't be worried about it. Thanks SnT, I will get someone to video us so I can understand what's going on and make sure it's all ok before I decide what to do next.

The dog will look back if you're late delivering the reward. It has to be there as the dog arrives after a correct run. If you're late, they will turn back to you looking for it. It's almost better to occasionally reward early by accident for a slighty incorrect run than to be late with a correct run. If you "place" a reward before you send the dog on the run, it's hard to remove it if the run is not correct. Part of the DVD instruction involves getting the trainer to practice throwing the reward at a target until there is a reasonably reliable placement and timing. Sorry, that was really bad phrasing on my part. I have been throwing the reward with correct placement (well, I hope), not just placing it. Again, bad choice of words. I do believe I might be late with my reward timing. I'll have a look at the DVD again for that section on throwing the reward. Edit - Thank you!

The food or toy is meant to be thrown AFTER she has gone through the set, not used as a lure. You throw the food/toy along the line of travel so that she learns to keep going in that direction....does that make sense :D sort of throw it as she is coming out of the weave & if she goes forward to get the food, then she wont be looking back at you. Yes, that does make sense. I have been throwing a toy after she has gone through, but maybe I have been doing it a tad late. I even have a marker for the middle (won't be any use to me when we start at different angles). I do have the 2x2 dvd, and I've watched it a few times and taken notes, but I'll have to watch it again. Maybe some remedial toy throwing work for the handler. Edit - Thank you!

Mmmm, I have a noob question about 2 x 2s. I'm teaching my girl to weave for fun and I've decided I'd like to give the 2 x 2 a crack. But I've fallen at the first hurdle. When I go place a reward in the correct reward position, she has started to look back at me whilst she is going through the 2 x 2. Waiting for me to throw the toy/food I suppose. Shaping her through it wasn't a problem. What can I do to encourage her to just drive straight through without looking at me? I figure I will have to practice this exercise separate to the 2 x 2. Edit - She is happy to focus on a toy that is ahead of her after a jump... perhaps if I practice throwing it after a jump, she will get the hang of what I am after for the weaves? I am liking how this seems to be building value for the weaves - she is just so excited.

I am still trying to figure this out. But there are a few breeds that just keep standing out for me, so I think I'll end up with one of them. Miniature Poodle Tibetan Terrier and most recently - Whippet I did think a lot about the gundog group. I do like many of the breeds in there a lot. But I think I'm a more suitable owner for the above.

Breeding is not for me. I am very grateful for those that do it and do it well. I don't have the temperament for breeding. All my dog's are keepers and I just couldn't see me making any contributions to improve a breed. I'd have to have a limit as to how many dogs I could keep without comprimising on quality of care. And then I wouldn't be able to move dogs on. A few others have said they are not 'tough' enough - that's me too. I also do not have the knowledge or experience, and to be honest I have no desire to become a breeder. I will be very happy to become a breed enthusiast one day... one or two breeds that I love and adore that I will continue to learn about for the rest of my dog owning days. Once I had this knowledge I would be happy to help out anyone interested in my breed. I will be hopefully competing in agility and/or obedience with my dogs and anything else that comes our way. But breeding will never be on the cards for me.

Shelties would have to be the most common small dog trialling in WA. Your medium dogs would be your tollers and BC's. Thank you Ptolomy. I realised after I posted that I was thinking more along the lines of toy/small. When I stop and think about it, Tollers/BC's are medium dogs!

I thought I'd ask in here (I love lurking in this thread btw - very interesting! ) What are common or popular smaller to medium breeds you see in the obedience ring?

That bought a tear to my eyes and a smile. That is just lovely.

I'm torn... on one hand I want a baby puppy and I want to do everything right from day dot. I'd like to dabble in competition (I train just for fun currently.) On the other hand, from my past experience with my current girl, sometimes I think a young adult may be better for me. I'm still a little worried I'll bugger up puppyhood again. Who knows how I'll feel by the time the next dog comes around? I'm only confident that I'll make the right choice for me at the right time. On the topic of bonding - I only really strongly bonded with my girl after about 15 months I think. I always loved her as a pup, but she was trying. When she became an adult... well, that's when I starting adoring her. And she is still trying at times, but I have a much better handle on it all. I just enjoy the adult dog more I think.

I hope Daisy is feeling better very soon, Huski. What a tough couple of days for her and for you!