Reddii

Last night was better, but not perfect. he yapped at 11:30pm, as agreed OH got up, went out to the crate, put the lead on him (no eye contact, no voice), took him outside where he sat on the grass/toilet for 15min (still ignored and on lead), no toilet, no drink, was taken back inside, let off the lead and he ran straight beck in to his crate, not another sound until morning - go figure. Malina thinks he got the message that it was not time for a pat or play and was disappointed that they both didn't get outside. We'll have to wait and see what happens tonight.......

I'm not going to agree that the bathroom is a bad place for the dog to sleep - that's where mine used to sleep. That said crate training your dogs is a great idea. both mine are crate trained and (with the exception of the last couple of nights - see my other post) has been the best decision we have made with the dogs. Ours sleep in their crates in the laundry and love their homes (i'm working on them coming closer to us, but give it time ). They are side by side and know that night time is sleep time - not time for play. The crate also helps with toilet training. Tony

Our dogs used to eat the front door and the railing to on the deck. Citronella spray worked a treat. Came in a big container from bunnings, complete with a spray nozel and hose. It doesn't stain, but you still have to wipe off the oil.

;) you've made my day!

Clam shell wont work for me, i fill it, she drags it around and flips it over OMG that must be one big dog! I can't imagine both mine doing that even if they learned to work together and had thumbs!

nah....we live in Brissy, Tuesday night was a bit cool, but last night was pretty mild again. They are sleeping inside and we are still sleeping with only a sheet and the windows open.

mmmmm......maybe, but i'm not sure. He went out side, had a drink, went to the toilet, then back inside. Maybe too much detail, but it was a LOOOOOOOONG pee as well. Will keep a bleary eye on it and see how it all goes. Cheers. T

We did go away for the weekend just gone and they spent a lot of time in their crates at the 'dog friendly' accomodation, but without a problem Hormones and teething could be the problem - I hope. Diet has changed a litle as well, but it's always fairly varied. Perhaps a change back and then see. Cheers. Tony

It had to come....after night 1 in his new home CK the perfect dog had been a delight up until the last two nights. He is now 18 weeks old and has been with us for about 6 weeks. Both CK and our little girl Xena (10.5 months & both BC's) have been sleeping in their crates (inside for the last 3 weeks) pretty much since he arrived and I got sick of telling them to stop barking at possums. Every couple of nights he has yapped early in the morning when he needed to go outside for a pit stop, which is fine at his age I guess. Two nights ago though he had a yap and I got up and let the two of them out for a few minutes. CK had a big drink, then did a pee so I brought them back inside and they went back to bed - both know the command and happily go to their crates, they even come to the back door when it is bed time (they go outside after we come home from our evening walk for 20 mins before they go to bed.) This was when the trouble started - he began to yap and cry after he went back to his crate I left him for about 5 mins and then went to see what was wrong - no more noise - then after another couple of minutes he began to whimper, but stopped it shortly after. When I got up in the morning he had peed in his crate - It was dry when I got up to him, I know this because it is the first thing I check. Last night we had 2 repeat performances of the above - less the pee in the crate. When do I begin to consider this a problem (2 nights, 3 nights........??????) or have I just been spoiled and have to let it run its course? If it is a problem what can I do about it? Thanks in advance. Tony

Not sure if this is going to help, but at least it might give you hope. My little girl (BC) did exactly what you are describing for a number of months and then two things happened. 1. We started taking her to the beach. 2. We bought a swimming pool for her (just one of those clam shell thingies for about $15). She now loves to splash about in that one and pretty much leaves the bucket alone (even drinks out of the clam shell - YUCK - after she has been running through the garden all morning it's a science experiment about 1/2 the time! ;) ) She does seem to have 'grown out' of the water bucket phase though. Oh yeah - please don't tell the council about the clam shell, I'm sure it's wasting water. Tony BTW - your little one is gorgeous. We are just going through the joy of another BC puppy at 18 weeks, he's beginning to look like a dog, but I'm beginning to wonder if the breeder has been crossing elephants with BC's , he's going to be a much bigger boy than our petite little girl!

We used to have a BC who would bark at planes and used exactly this theory - if we could get to him before he could see or hear the plane then we could stop the barking. Eventually he calmed down and didn't bark at the planes. Planes = good experience. If he barked at the plane we ignored him.

Really good point PF, I was trying to give my point of view/(in)experiences - as with all this sort of stuff best to speak with an expert who can assess your dog, or at the very least get involved with some people with a bit of experience who can help first hand. T

Again, I'm no expert in all this and it's only my experiences (with the help of a very experienced friend) so hopefully someone else can add in their knowledge. By positive reinforcement training I mean only rewarding good behaviour and not acknowledging/correcting undesirable behaviour - clicker training is one good example. You 'click' (with a clicker like the frogs that used to come in a show bag when I was a kid) whenever the dog does something right or makes more progress towards the behaviour than they have made before and then treat straight afterwards, that way the dog begins to relate the click to a nice treat and will be more inclined to do the right thing when you ask them to. In the initial stages it is quite time consuming to get the dog to do the right thing, but as they get it right the process is very solid because the dog wants to do the right thing. initally we trained our dog with a check chain and while she didn't shut down completely she did retreat in to her shell, by using this method she has really begun to enoy life a lot more and is more obedient overall, if not quite as sharp on some specific exercises. WRT the agility thing - you won't necessarily begin with Ski leaping through the air or doing advanced stuff, but it's all about having fun with your dog and your dog having fun with you - building a bond. Simple stuff like runniing together, targetting your hand - hold out your hand and have him 'touch' it with his nose. Once he has mastered that get him to follow your hand around in a circle and reward that, then get him over a small jump following your hand and reward that - all about baby steps building your confidence and his. (probably best to get him to a solid off lead obedience standard before going down this track - I'm not sure where he is on that front) I'm having a ball watching Xena come out of her shell and on Tuesday night we actually got through a small run and then she decided to keep going and did another tunnel on her own. It's a DQ in a competition, but I was SOOOOO excited just seeing her having fun and turned on to it all I didn't care. The other big thing I have found is not to overload Xena with too much new stuff all at once. Do it slowly - just because you understand what you want and it makes sense to you don't assume you are communicating effectively with your dog. Little steps will build trust and confidence on both sides - it is a two way thing. Oh yeah, I've learned to NEVER let your dog know you are frustrated, it can be hell when they just decide to stop mid session, but that means you've over done it and need to give the dog a rest and not go for so long next time or that you have tried to take too big a step. Very frustrating in the middle of a class and not all instructors are happy to hear it, but let the dog stop on your/their terms, not the timetable the instructor has in mind. hope that helps. T

Hey Grace, I feel for you on this one as we have a very soft dog (10 month old BC) who is also scared of so many things (although perhaps not as scared as your little boy.) EG: Walk past a pram sitting on the side of the road for the first time, stop and cower - she saw a bike helmet swinging on the handle bars of a bike just this weekend gone and hid behind me, we walked past an empty wheelie bin the other day - I'm sure there was a boogie man in it. She also has a problem with Men she doesn't know, especially when I am with her, if we are with the little guy (4mth BC) she is fine and quite protective (just gets in front of CKand is quite happy to be patted instead of hiding behind me like she normally does) - bizarre. Any way we have been working on positive reinforcement training and socialising her with as many PEOPLE as possible - she's fine with other dogs as well. She is really beginning to come out of her shell with this - the other thing I've found works well is to ignore the fearful reactions and remove her from the situation with a minimum of fuss. eg: Just keep walking past the wheelie bin and pretend not to notice it or say in a neutral voice "don't be silly, it's only a ..........." This way she doesn't feel like she is in trouble, but neither have I rewarded the fearful response with praise and pats. I know she hasn't been abused as we've had her since she was 6 weeks and is in no way hand shy, it's just she doesn't like strangers or foreign situations. The more training she gets the more she trusts me and the better she is getting at her training - viscious circle only a cool way - this way when we come across something she's not sure of I can tell her it's not a problem and she is OK with it because there is trust. as a result she is becoming more confident in herself and so it goes. We are getting in to agility and flyball where other people have to handle her (for recalls etc) which is really building her confidence as well (just make sure the others are handling your dog in a way YOU are happy with and make sure they know you have a soft dog. I'm not an expert at all so please don't take what I have to say as gospel or a guaranteed solution. I thought it might be worthwhile to share the experiences of another novice. cheers. tony

Hey Tonymc...gotta say, I treat my dog as I always have my children...never let anything I'm not prepared to "put up with" in 10 years time take hold... Having said that...why grab the snout to get attention? Not too sure that would be necessary...considering he's such a well behaved dog...surely just getting his attention (making a noise if calling him doesn't work) would be enough to get him to acknowledge you and get your point across? Maybe I'm just over reacting a bit, Barking is something I'm a bit paranoid about - especially undesirable barking. We had a run in with a neighbour who took it upon himself to write us a lovely message about a pup we used to have on our footpath. I'm not too concerned about discussing an issue with a neighbour who is rational, but when they are not it just makes me worry about the dogs who stay in the yard during the day. I'll give it a go for a while w/o the grabbing thing and see how it goes. I've had the day to calm down and think it through a bit more too - one bark and then quiet on command is hardly a capital crime. Like you say he is well behaved and his attention I can hold his attention pretty well for a pup of his age. We just went down to the dog park and had a run around with the other dogs down there - not a problem.

Hey all, CK went to his first obedience class last night (he is 16 weeks and missed out on Puppy Pre-school because we got him at 12 weeks). He was the STAR of the class. He is mat trained, can sit and shape a drop as well as focus on me and walks pretty well on a lead. All good you say. There were 3 other older dogs in the class last night and two of the three were yappy swf's that both barked at him consistently through the lesson and the other was a sour cattle dog who growled and barked a couple of times. CK wasn't concerned by all the commotion, but my one concern is that when we got home he heard another dog barking while he was eating and growled and then barked. I told him to be quiet and no more noise, then this morning he growled at another BC barking at him from behind a fence and did the barking with the food thing again when I fed him. Each time it was only one bark and a bit of a growl, but I don't want him to get in to the habit of thinking it is OK to bark at other dogs. He is very well socialised and sits comfortably in his crate while our other BC does her agility class or has a run at fly ball. (he even has a bit of a run around with the other dogs to get used to the whole idea.) They don't bark unless they are playing in the back yard and then it is only the usual puppy playing type bark. To date I've told him to be quiet and all has been fine, but if it continues I'll begin grabbing his snout and telling him that it is not on. My question is this - do you think I'm over reacting given that he is such a well behaved young boy or should I really jump on this one before it gets out of hand. Thanks in advance. Tony

I'm lucky to have the same soft dog 'problem'. I have never lost my temper with Xena, but sometimes when she barks at me for not getting it 'right' I have to end the session or take it back to something we both know and then end it so that I can go away and think for a while. Sometimes the best thing to do is :D . Xena thinks it's funny and it resets the whole situation. I have seen a guy training a crazy young dobey totally 'lose it' - poor dog broke on a stay and wouldn't come back. the way it was treated when he (actually I caught the dog and gave it back to him) caught it I wouldn't have come back either. temper + dog = bad

Thanks for your thoughts - that's the new rule. As I type this thought I'm looking at them and they've found a pigs ear from the back yard and are rolling around playing - she's actually encouraging him to take it. Oh well, better go and take it from them. I will never fully understand the psyche of these wonderful animals!

I'm not sure about the use of a check chain and really can't suggest I have anything other than a very limited understanding of my own dog's behaviours. The one thing I would like to offer is that the single best piece of advice anyone has given me is to take responsibility for your own dog's welfare - physical and EMOTIONAL. You are undeniably doing the right thing by getting Bella in to training, but unless the trainer is making you feel comfortable or at least can demonstrate/convince you that an uncomfortable situation will improve with perserverance then you should get your dog out of there. You said as much yourself - you aren't happy with the physical nature of the training and feel it is not in the best interest of your dog - find somewhere you are comfortable and stick with that. I'm not saying avoid the issue, just find a way/club/trainer to deal with it that you agree with - if you are not confident in the methods being taught you won't embrace them and they won't work. Most of all look after your dog - if you don't want your dog treated in a certain way then don't let someone else subject her to it. It took me a while to get the confidence to tell others with more experience that I wasn't happy with the way they handled my dog, but I now won't take a backward step until I either understand what they have done and why or I have resolved the issue. Hope this helps.

Yeah, leaning towards this - you know when you want someone to tell you it's all OK, just do it and it will be all right, but really you know it won't be.....that's where I'm at unless someone can come up with a really good reason not to go there.

Hi All, Wondering if someone can give me some direction or thoughts on this one. I've got two BC pups - one nine months, one 4 months. They get on famously and she is very protective of him and loves him etc etc. They walk well on a dual lead and play all morning and evening without incident. At this point she is definitely top dog although there is not a lot of size difference between them. They wrestle a lot and mouth a bit and I leave them to it for the most part (unless they are in the house). When they eat I feed them seperately and have to make sure that she doesn't lord over him and not let him have his food, but if I do happen to get distracted all that happens is that she eats the 'good stuff' and leaves the rest for him when she is finished - no noise, no fuss. The only problem I have arises when I give them each a bone, or frozen chicken wings (freeze them in a block of water - they love it!) or pigs ears. Unless I supervise them all hell breaks loose. It is the one time that CK (little guy) will stand up to Xena (still little, but older girl), she won't stand for his petulant nonsense and a lot of noise and wrestling ensues. (Nothing really serious, but still enough to be unpleasant.) Should I: Refrain from giving them treats altogether? (not preferred) Only treat them when they are in their individual crates and cannot get at each other (not preferred either as I want to be able to give them their treats on my way out the door). Only treat them when I have a spare hour or so to supervise - because I have so much spare time that is not spent training or walking the dogs. Is there another way I can manage/shape their behaviour? Oh, by treat I'm only talking about bones etc. they are fine with training treats and are working well side by side on the simple stuff that CK has learned. thanks to anyone who has any ideas. Tony

you won't be sorry. I've just had my second full night's sleep in a row - LOVING CRATES!!!

Agreed. We had a bad experience with Xena in the dog park ther other week. (Before we stopped taking her because CK came along - only two more weeks and they can both go back.) There is a young lab that shows up in the park where we go a couple of mornings a week. Gorgeous friendly dog, but out of control and likes to jump on the other dogs and wrestle - all good fun and Xena was having a ball until he caught her unawares. lesson learned for us - keep an eye out and as soon as anything untoward or an unknown dog shows up it's time to go.

Experiences of a very inexperienced dog owner: I can feel your pain wrt the night time barking. With our two v. young puppies we went through hell for the best part of 4 months with one of the dogs that barked all night (and all day for that matter). Sady the little guy is no longer with us as along with all his beahvioural issues he had some major health problems as well. BLOODY BYB's AND PET SHOPS!! ;) . That said when we (finally) began locking them in a small area they were quiet - it was their den and they liked it and felt comfortable. We then had our little girl only for a few months and tried tying her on the back deck for a week which also worked a treat, except she tended to get tangled up. After that she stayed on the deck all night unless something in the yard wasn't right, then three warning barks and back on the deck to wait for us to check out the problem. (happened about 1 night a fortnight so it wasn't for attention.) Now with a new puppy and our little girl starting dog sports (agility and fly ball) we have been introduced to crates by necessity. Both dogs are crated on our back deck every night and don't make a noise all night. I often go out during the day to find Xena (girl dog) in her crate and CK is that cruisey (puppy) that he doesn't mind either way - just treat him in and all is fine. All my dogs will be crated from now on. For those who don't like crating outside - our back deck is covered and is right outside out bedroom window - they are closer to us there than if they were inside (none of our animals come in to our bedroom). Also, don't forget, most of you on here are HARDCORE doggy people. Not everyone has the affinity with their dogs that you/we (I'm getting there) do. To put it in perspective - how many marriages do you know have been impacted by one partner or the other being SO involved with their dogs? Most people are not that committed to their dog and hence won't have them inside all the time. (Flame suit at the ready, but I've seen this happen in three sports and another pursuit that I'm involved in. I'm just lucky to have the most understanding partner in the world - only she and border collies understand obsession well enough to cope with me! ;) Cheers. Tony

My little BC girl was sick every second or third trip in the car until she was six months or so - at this age she could see out of the car. Hasn't been sick since. Our little boy has just started the trick with us, (4 months), but has always had a tendancy towards it. Hopefully it will go away in time as well.