The Spotted Devil

Thanks x

Maybe it would be prudent to add dogs ages. Dogs at Em's age/mouth maturity we use paint rollers. Great you are having obedience fun, I expected nothing less. You rock. Yes good point LL - Em has just gone 5 months - mouth seems a bit tender today but it's not stopping her using Zig as a teething ring ;) An obedience training video of Em in the training thread for you LL

Darling Em won't take no for an answer Which is why I need to get a large crate that she and Ziggy can use alternately. Teething madly at the moment - using Zig as a chew toy so he has splodges of blood all over him. Felt so sorry for her tonight that I softened her dinner.

Oh thanks SnT - I just bit the bullet and ordered one! But, if you could check the price on a Large size (as I'll need one of those as well) that would be fantastic. I don't need the divider especially but I imagine it comes with it. Yes, I don't think Em is particularly good at reading instructions I might send a copy of the photo to the manufacturer as I'm pretty sure they donated the prize.

Thanks both of you It looks the same as one I am borrowing from a friend and looks like it will last the distance Thank you GR - I did see that one but it doesn't look quite as solid as the one from vebopets....will have to consider further. Thanks Danois. Ironically, Ziggy won their large soft crate at the 2010 Dally Nationals....although I'm not sure if this is quite how it's supposed to be used...

As per the title I'm after a metal dog crate. Doing an online search brings me to Vebo Pet Supplies. Depending on postage it looks like a pretty good product at a great price: $99.99 There is also a seller on ebay with the same crate for a slightly higher price - also in Sydney. Has anyone bought something similar in Melbourne for a comparable price? Thanks ;)

My Dally hates going outside to toilet in the rain but is much happier if he is wearing his waterproof coat. Of course he doesn't mind going for a long walk in the rain! Agree with what others have said about the pointlessness of reprimanding. Treats can help reinforce the behaviour you want as well.

Thanks Ptolomy - constructive criticism is always welcome! It's the first time I have videoed a session so it certainly opened my eyes to good and bad things that I was doing with her. I don't think I will be in a hurry to have a small dog, that's for sure! Being so tall makes it really difficult to get down and reward her quickly enough :D With regards to Zig - it's not that I'm going through the motions with him, it's just that I have to play to his strengths. He finds the sort of play and patting I do with Em quite aversive when we are training - not a touchy feel-y dog at all. He's always been like that (although he has improved quite a bit) and it took me quite a while to realise that it made him uncomfortable. It's very hard to explain and not something I would ever have understood before having Zig. That's actually SUPER animated for him and he was having an absolute blast (on the inside )

:D Yes, energy and enthusiasm and SPRING is right! Thanks for the positive comments - it's certainly a fun journey. She is very sweet and such a joy! ness, I know what you mean - with retrieving it is so important to get very strong foundations before you move too far ahead so I'm determined to enjoy the repetition of the basics.

Heh heh - how cute is The Strauss Man Well, we certainly don't have the precision or professional moves like Ptolomy and LP's dogs but I do have some enthusiasm that I'm very pleased with. I have the video camera from Uni for my research at the moment so thought I'd better take a few clips of Little Em trying her heart out. Unfortunately the dry biscuits that she prefers as treats are very difficult to hold onto so she was a bit distracted when I kept dropping them There's a snippet of Ziggy at the end because he was whinging to have a turn....you can hear Em yipping in disgust in the background!

It will be interesting to see how popular the new format will be. We are having a break from retrieving training as Em is losing teeth left, right and centre! Lots of fun obedience work however

I've still been training with Em nearly every day....otherwise she drives us all craaaaazy I think she's got the concept of heel position now although of course it needs a lot more work. She is coming along nicely with sit steadiness in the wake of exciting distractions but has really surprised me with how quickly she nailed a 'front'. Just for laughs I put together a mini heel, sit and recall last night and the little bugger just did it! She's losing teeth left, right and centre (mostly in Ziggy if the blood is anything to go by - that's one very patient chew toy) so we are not doing any proper retrieving training for a bit. Her informal recall in novel environments is really good and some things under distraction are easier than others. Most of all we are both having a blast The break has done Zig good.....not to mention a little competition

Sometimes young pups are so excited by all the novelty that they don't even notice the clicker sound - watch what the ears/head do when you click. It's like it is just part of the background noise. In the first week, I let my pup relax and gain confidence with myself, OH, older dog and cats. In the 2nd week, I carried her daily biscuit ration around so I could reinforce desirable behaviours - toilet training, 4 paws on the floor and recall. Different exercises were added as she gained confidence but she has not eaten out of a bowl since - dry food comes from me or is in a Kong. I didn't introduce the clicker for another few weeks. Also be aware of different rewards for different contexts ie if pup is jumping up for attention then use pats and praise as the reward in this instance instead of food. Every pup is different. Relax and enjoy!

Wow - thanks JulesP. I went to have a look today to introduce pup to the water but there were a lot of uncontrolled dogs swimming so gave it a miss completely. Met a lovely pair of Bernese Mountain Dogs though

Some of the foundations are similar no matter what the discipline so I tend to concentrate on those - as bedazzled said, teaching pup to love learning is the priority so focus, shaping, hand touches, human-pup play (with and without toys), give 'toy', ready signal, release, steady feet (for stays and stand for exam) and 2 food game all go across the board. With Em I am focussing on getting retrieving training right, because it's a new discipline for me - but there are lots of cross-overs with classic obedience e.g. heeling, sit (but more distance work), stay, steadiness, a neat present to front (used for retrieve or formal recall). I will probably trial her in Novice obedience before she starts retrieving because she will probably ready for it earlier. I don't tend to train agility handling until I believe the dog has a solid understanding of what a formal heel is - although some dogs and handlers might cope with that I think it's a bit much for both our brains! Her off lead control is pretty good though, so if I have the opportunity to do some puppy agility classes I shall. I have a tunnel on order so she will see that pretty soon too. Dogs seem to be pretty quick on picking up context - I use different leads/collars with Ziggy and will do the same with Em but for the moment everything is off lead. With Zig I started with showing and progressed to obedience and agility. Whilst I'm not the best handler in the show ring at least he never sits It depends a bit on the pup too - my approach with Em is much more busy in terms of training than Ziggy's was - partly because I know where I am headed with her but also because she is so damn keen. With Zig, half the battle was working out how to motivate him.

LP - did you read the tracking article in this month's Vic Dog? I liked the approach and think I'll try it with Zig.

Just a note on the breed you are working with - Dallies are notoriously hard to motivate so you really need to find out what 'floats his boat' and put a lot of effort into training motivation. I constantly rotate the types of rewards I'm using - 3- 6 different types of yummy food plus multiple soft toys. Zig never ate from his bowl - the vast majority of his dinner was delivered through clicker training and the rest went in a 'puzzle cube' so he had to work for every scrap he ate. He's really fun to work with now - super enthusiastic but I still am very careful not to push too hard. If it's about 'handling' in agility I run the course 6 times on my own and he comes out on the last run through. So, try not to practice on him but be sure in your head about what you want to achieve. He's taught me to be very patient and very creative It's only now that I have a Gundog pup that I realise how difficult he was to motivate and how far we've come over the last 4 years.

I give up. I wasn't making light of it. I was trying to read the article objectively. Dog help me if I thought anything could be learned from the situation. Of course it's bloody awful.

... Would you not scream if your dog had just been ripped from your arms and was being savaged by a pair of larger dogs? I've certainly screamed my lungs out to attract attention/help when approached by an aggressive dog trying to get at mine! Please read the posts. It's not like it's a long thread. I clarified that it was understandable just not ideal. Perhaps it may have aggravated the situation. And no, I'm not defending the dogs that attacked. Goodness! Don't read too deep people

Not saying it's not an understandable response at all given the circumstances - just not the best one. I did say it was very sad.

Original article here Some questionable reactions ("screaming") and comments ("it could be a child next time") but very sad nonetheless.

Thanks ness - just placed my order. Oh my goodness but little Em is going to be so excited about this one - will have to remember to video her as she goes at everything new at breakneck speed

Exactly! Mr TSD says I should definitely get it :D

Thanks ness That's just what I need - is it tough enough to handle a taller dog (Ziggy) as well or would it be better suited to a smaller pup that runs like the wind?

Love it!