The Spotted Devil

Good luck Huski - I like using a drop rather than a sit as I think as it's perceived to be a more 'stable' position. I take Zig to an off leash oval that is close to shops, schools and a walking path. I often see mothers walking their young children in prams or toddling along or school kids on bikes. Put yourself in their shoes and all they see is this crazy Spotty dog sprinting flat out from one end of the oval to the other with (apparently) little regard for me. I will often use the opportunity to practice his drop on recall training or something equally spectacular to the untrained eye and the smile of acknowledgement and relief on the parents/kids faces is priceless.....and I get to fit in some distraction training so it's a win-win It's also a lovely way to start conversations about choosing/training dogs with kids who say "Wow! Can you come and train our dog?" or parents/grandparents who say: "Can you train my kids/grandkids?"

A good dry food that a friend of mine uses for her EXTREMELY active retrieving Labs is Artemis Maximal. I feed Ziggy a combination of the regular adult food and chicken frames but the Maximal is very high protein and a combination of that and some lamb flaps/chicken wings might help. Damn male hormones

What a shame - I normally ask people/kids what would make them more comfortable - tends to give them back a sense of control over the situation, particularly when the dog does as asked If it were me, I would step off the path and ask my dog to drop - demonstrate that you have perfect control over the situation. And smile, nod and say hello. Small things......

I was going to ask the same question. I tried desperately to put weight on my young Dally (there are threads to prove it ) but he was simply a very late maturing dog and, at 3 years of age, is finally filling out a bit more and not looking half starved. I don't like to feed too much fat as you can trigger pancreatitis so higher protein would be my suggestion. A search for "satin balls" would also give you a few recipes

Hi Sandgrubber Sadly I would beg to differ - yes, there are many perfectly healthy kittens that are euthanased due to uncontrolled strays breeding but there are SO many surrendered and euthanased cats that are perfectly healthy (or they are until they experience the stress of being dumped) and friendly.....for reasons as varied as "moving house", "moving interstate", "divorce", "allergic" etc etc. Some of the excuses are flimsy and see through. There are numerous cases I know of where adults and University students purchase a cute kitten and dump it when they go on holidays because it's too inconvenient to pay for boarding kennels or return to their country of origin. I know of one particular case where someone would buy a kitten every February and then dump it in December when he went overseas for a holiday of several months. At the same time, I'm tired of excuses from people who don't desex their female cats because they "can't afford it" but guess what? They can afford a holiday no problem! It's about priorities and, unfortunately, the humble family pet is often way down the line. The waste of life is just disgraceful....53,000 cats and kittens are admitted to Victorian shelters every year. Nearly 35,000 are euthanased. The figures for dogs have improved over the years but there are still many who will discard the old in favour of the exciting new puppy. The rest seem to expect their pup/dog to require no effort on their part in terms of training. There are a few genuine surrenders but not as many as their former owners would have us believe. All I ask is that somewhere, somehow in my years of research and education to come I can help make just the slightest difference. To that end, I'm off to write up a paper and prepare to give a free seminar on cat behaviour tonight

Or goldfish *sigh*

Thanks spottychick Any more ideas please?

Now that we are renovating and decorating the house, the old sheet on Zig's crate is looking rather shabby. Can anyone suggest websites or shops that sell good quality slip covers? It may require a custom made one as it's an older airline plastic crate as opposed to a wire one. Oh, I'm useless with a sewing machine although I'd love to have the skills and time to make one myself! Thanks

Stop worrying and do some baking Bub She will be fine Ziggy hit 18 months and I was amazed at how much he settled down and grew a brain! I actually missed the madness for a while but every ounce of training and effort I had put into him suddenly appeared. He's inside most of the time - never chews, digs, destroys anything except the odd cat toy OT but many trainers recommend no weavers at all until dogs are fully grown as it puts too much strain on growing joints

Actually my dogs would be traumatised for a very long time - or at least have their relationship to me and to training severely impacted - by one big physical correction (P+ I mean) from me or even by a lot of smaller ill-judged ones. As you say, you need to know your dog - and a lot of trainers and novice owners don't know much at all once you get into some of the less mainstream breeds/temperaments. Agreed Diva. Dog training principles might be the same everywhere but there are breed and individual differences. My first obedience/agility dog was an ACD and she did very well to achieve her CDX despite my best efforts to stuff her training up with very poorly timed corrections in the old 'jag and tag' days. There is NO WAY that my Dally could cope with that sort of pressure in structured training, even if it was well timed and executed. I'm not saying I never raise an eyebrow or sternly say "Oi!" to my dogs (and cats) at home - but structured obedience/agility etc is a completely different matter IMO. ETA: I don't think it is a matter of "weak nerve" with my dog - it's a breed that was bred to trot by a carriage with the horses and sleep in the stables at night. Most had little contact with their owners and were not bred to herd sheep or be a guard dog or be a companion. I suspect it would be the same with breeds such as Salukis and other hounds.

This is why I try never, ever to use punishment in obedience or agility. It is just too much of a risk to take with a dog that is both incredibly sensitive and very independent in the same breath. Too much or too little and Zig would give me the doggy equivalent of the finger. I've had a trainer from a well known establishment approach me at the Pet Expo and tell me my dog is "having a lend of me" and needs a correction when he is simply just tired and "over it" after a day of being mobbed. Oh and he also told anyone who would listen at the Dalmatian Club stand that Dallies were stupid Of course I'm sure I manage to punish the poor dog with my rubbish handling sometimes Some interesting points about shaping, withholding rewards and frustration as Ziggy does not learn well when frustrated. When shaping for the retrieve, for example, I would always click/treat with one biscuit if he did something standard such as touching the dumbbell and jack-potted him if he took it a step further until that was a standard move. It was a really fun way for him to learn. I have cut my use of the NRM too and only ever use it in a bright cheery voice as if to say "oh well, I'll give you another shot to earn a reward". Most of the time it is either my handling or the criteria I have previously set. I prefer to cut my reward value down instead - so if his "front" is crooked or a bit far out, I'll ask him to come in closer and just reward with a scratch under the chin which is pretty low on the pleasure scale if we're training. We repeat the exercise and he always comes bounding in nice and close with even more enthusiasm in the hope that I say "good", which means a treat is coming.

All that tongue and ears - adorable!!!

I have one thing to say, Bub! Check out my user name

How wonderful on all counts Bub Apart from Bit Bit growing up too soon...happens to all of us you know What a gorgeous pair

Oh goodness Again I'm so dreadfully sorry.

ness, I remember Sue saying that even retrieve driven dogs should be trained with food so that the reward is coming back to you, not the retrieve itself if that makes sense. Even for retrieving trials, and you can't get any more driven than those dogs!!!

Oh crap. What a dreadful start to 2010 for your friend. Run free little one and best wishes to your poor owner.

I am not smart enough to put my concerns into complete sentences!! My "concern" is really a general feeling of uneasiness about using DNA to scientifically "prove" which breed (cross or otherwise) is most "suitable for Australian society". The media could have a BALL with the results. I beg to differ! I think you are more than capable...maybe do it via email so you can choose your words carefully. And yes, I do see where you are coming from.

I know both Pauleen and Linda. I would suggest that you contact them and voice your concerns. I get a lot of questions asked by participants about what I do and am always happy to explain. In my case I am restricted by human ethics and animal ethics and participants must sign an informed consent to take part.

Just to play devil's advocate.....maybe they don't but we feel the need to give it to them

I'd have a word to the judge if they tried that! Ziggy is quite aloof with strangers and I suspect he would be very uncomortable as it would be out of context for him. If I trained him for it he would be fine.

Argh the old release word hey What do you do if he moves before the release word? and do you still do this even if he has completed the SFE and you walking around him? With my OC dog (which stands for Occassionally Clever) I have been returning to him and reaching into my pocket for food and he has been moving a foot - so I have been giving a NRM "wrong" and taking my hand out of my pocket and then a few seconds later - trying it again. Am I creating a bad habit or is this going to turn into a mountain further down the track???? In terms of SFE, the exercise doesn't finish until I release - end of story. In a trial I don't release but simply praise profusely as Zig would probably switch off permanently. Ptolomy, I would probably go back to doing steady feet with the dog - doesn't matter how many times you put your hand in your pocket or bring food out the dog will soon remember that moving a paw = no treat The other thing I do on returning sometimes is give a verbal reward marker, treat (don't release) and immediately step off into some heel work. Keep the buggers guessing! I think steady feet is also a great exercise for building confidence and communicating the exercise in the sit stay We had a fun day of distractions on Sunday at Dogs Victoria's Dog's Day Out. Zig and I had been asked to do an obedience and agility demo plus a crash course for all the Dal showie owners and newbie Dally owners alike. I chose to take Zig straight from his crate into the ring so he WAS highly distracted (think entire bitches everywhere ) and then I could demonstrate how to get him back from the brink. It was a heap of fun and he went from a strong, hormone driven male to a "damn, why is my Mum giving that puppy my food" ;) He did some lovely, enthusiastic work in muggy, hot weather.

Agreed - I'd love a poodle (mini or standard) but I just don't have the time to keep the coat in tip-top condition. Fortunately my Dalmatian only sheds twice a year........6 months in the Autumn and 6 months in the Spring

I've taken Ziggy to see Christian and he's great - a bit full on for Zig, though, who is uncomfortable being handled quite so much by a stranger - he's just a very 'hands off' dog if that makes sense. I can also recommend Elizabeth Mitchell in Emerald who probably suits us better as she is closer and takes more time to do less - she doesn't push Zig if he's uncomfortable and he's happier about the whole hands on thing. Please PM if you'd like contact details.

Another tip I picked up is to NOT switch to food if the dog shows no interest in the tug......all you are doing is reinforcing no interest in the tug!!!