The Spotted Devil

Enabler! They look fantastic - particularly if they are as easy to shake out as they sound. I think my Dally would love one but I won't bother with the Springer as she would get too warm.

Fantastic raineth! The spark is everything :)

Nooooooooooooo! Not listening!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laugh:

Brilliant! Make sure you come and find us all on there :) Just played some crate games with my two - using a wire crate for Em and the soft crate for Zig. I will swap over once they start to get it. Em has done crate games as a demo dog in one of my classes where she never puts a paw wrong. But at home with all the distractions of her normal life she was quite awful :laugh: I helped her out too much at the beginning and then she was throwing behaviours in the crate like you wouldn't believe - drop, spin and play dead after which she just BARKED in frustration. It was nice to say "ah well" and switch to Zig who has done very little but picked it up fairly quickly. She finally got it but I had to watch what I was rewarding as she would spin, then sit, then shuffle backwards. Zig and I started playing "you're out, you're in" although I'm not sure where that comes into the levels. Did a bit more IYC (cheese on paws) with Zig whilst Em was barking and he was a Spotted star.

Fixed fbaudry - it snuck up on me!

Yes! This happened to us when one of our cats came to live with us from a breeder. The breeder was very quiet around her cats and they definitely weren't used to men. Poor Lilly was horrified when she arrived in our busy household and wouldn't go near Mr TSD. I had Mr TSD walk very quietly around the house for a week and speak in a falsetto. Yes, seriously :laugh: It worked a treat! Lilly was soon all over him like a rash and he is her loyal servant to this day :)

The problem is that most people don't know how to read a journal article critically and correctly. Nor do most people understand the scientific research process. Hence we end up with wild generalisations on the internet. About HD, desexing, behaviour etc. Stuff that's bloody hard to measure!

In general SG controls access to the resource rather than the dog. But for some dogs - including the GR - staring at the resource was enough to be rewarding. I suspect that's why she is using the halti to control where the dog can look. Ignore the resource and you'll get it.

fbaudry I agree with you to the extent that I don't even have a flat collar on my dogs during training. I certainly won't be using a halti anytime soon. There has to be a balance in training between dealing with the emotional response of the dog vs the learning component and I don't like to push a dog through that emotional side so forcefully. I suspect that the dog's owner has been dealing with the emotional response of the dog to its detriment and SG felt the need to push him over the hump. The dog wasn't fearful but was so obsessed by the balls that he became anxious when he couldn't access them. The question is: is the acute stress that SG imposed justified if it breaks the pattern on anxiety that leads to chronic stress? I think there is a bit each way on this one. This is why I like the idea of on-line course though rather than an intense workshop as SG conducts - no system is perfect - I take what works with me and apply it to my dogs.

fbaudry - re the whining/barking - with mine it's because they are so keen to play with me that they get frustrated because it's not their turn. One of my goals for the course is now to ensure I reward good choices (quiet) and teach them to wait with self control. I'd like another pup towards the end of the year and if it inherits Em's voice I don't think I could cope

Great. Now I feel itchy. :laugh:

Yuk :laugh: Mine do not hesitate to demolish frozen frames. I think they are worried one of the cats might nick it. But yes - wipe ya face is a nightly occurrence in this house *insert rolly eye man*

Heh heh. Love it. One thing I have picked up on.....when I walk Em out the front door or from the car to do retrieving I ask her to walk "with me." This is not a formal heel - she needs to walk in a relaxed manner by my side but look forward in case a bird flushes. However, because she knows that she will do some sort of retrieve (even a drill) at the end she can't help but dance half a body length in front. Normally I say "ah well" and stop. She flies back into position but she continues to dance forward. Thought about this.....then decided to change the approach. When she danced forward I said "ah well" but walked right back to our starting point (top of the stairs). Wow, but what a difference. She hasn't danced forward in several days. Turns out I was helping her too much :)

I also mix a little raw mince with dry food and stuff it (hard) into Kongs. Brilliant :D

Good idea - I will set the world clock on my iPhone! Oh I had so much fun today with IYC. I have done it before but I really pushed the two of them today - cheese on paws, dropping cheese from on high. They also both know the collar grab game but Em never wears a collar so I reviewed that as well. Have realised I really need to work on crate games - the frustrated BARKING from Em when it wasn't her turn She was really, really feral and this from a dog that rarely barks. I have it all on tape too I will get the metal crate out tomorrow.

Very sorry you are having to make this decision at all raineth but I agree that daily tablets are the way to go. Quality is everything

Way to drive a Lab insane! Food plus BALL :laugh:

Could pls someone explain what 'weight bearing bones' and 'chicken marylands' are? My English-German dictionary is here not helpful at all..... :D I've started raw feeding as well and I'm always keen on reading what others are feeding. BTW: Did someone find tripe in WA/Perth? Checked with my butcher and he told me that tripe is being exported overseas, they hardly see any.... Is that possibly true? Cheers Birgit Weight bearing bones are bones that function to support the animal as they walk/run - so legs (e.g. drumsticks, marrow bone, kangaroo tail). Chicken Maryland is a quarter of a chicken with the drumstick attached. If my dogs are a bit light I will feed them 1/4 chicken but the quarter with the wing attached. I hope that helps :)

I think JulesP has one.

Looking forward to some pics too! Have fun all! This year was never going to happen for us with the Retrieving Nationals in SA - another year perhaps!

I feed part raw part dry but the main things I use are frozen whole chicken frames for both dogs plus lamb necks for Em. When turkey wings are on special I'll pick up a couple of those as well. I only feed chicken necks to my cats and foster kittens :D

Hi Boronia - this is the advice given to ALL Dalmatian owners as Dals are all genetically prone to developing urate stones. What you have been given is a low purine diet - I'm not sure if you are aware but high purine foods also include tuna and organ meat, particularly liver, Brewers yeast and, would you believe it, oysters :laugh: Some vegetables are moderate in purines. I am glad Penny has had no more recurrences. Just to fill in the blanks for the OP as there are several different types of urinary stones so it's important to have the right treatment. Some treatments change the pH of the urine and can cause problems in the other direction i.e. acid vs basic

Pretty norty as Mr TSD would say :D

The "feral one" has a polyurethane (fake leather) slip leash - nice collars and Em don't mix

And to follow on from that, whatever you decide you still need to take the pup to the toilet area at regular intervals for a while yet. If things are going backwards simply take pup to the area more often.