The Spotted Devil

Oooh! That's a brilliant idea that it will make it much easier to do the rest. Thank you!! Editing to add that I'm excited about this challenge now as it seems a lot more doable. :D Set no limits PK! Just break down the task...be a splitter not a lumper!

Go back a step further to restrained recalls - if you've got no one to help, wrap a line around a pole to restrain or push her away playfully and RUN! Go crazy with tug or have her chase food rewards. Find the joy again and just put the formal recall aside for a few days.

You're doing great! I would record it on my phone and then play it with the volume down. I would use it as a CUE to do something ie go to crate. Then I would slowly increase the volume. Then I would get someone to help me ring the real bell whilst I focussed on the dog. In the meantime I would cover the button up so no one uses it and undoes your hard work.

I NEVER train DOR with my Dally....as he does the same thing. Random drops when running and playing tug and thats it.

Do consider the Fenzi courses too - Ptolemy and Tassie know these better. Typing with one hand after 10 stitches so sorry for brevity. Set up some distractions in training...food on ground, toy, you limping, working near sports ground or kids playing or down the street....? Helps generalise.

Yes, because animal welfare scientists work closely with industry, government AND groups such as RSPCA and AA. None of these groups work in isolation. Not having a go at you Oso - really respect your input. Just want to illustrate how the process works. Plus, typing one handed after 10 stitches is problematic.

Ok - can you break it down a bit? What is his response when you ring the door bell? And is he required to hold his sit? You can probably modify this a little.

And as for calf roping - do you not think doing it as a SPORT is quite different morally from doing it as a necessary part of animal management? The science is crystal clear that calm and quiet handling results in improved productivity, morbidity and mortality rates. Not to mention improved welfare.

so you are unaware that wool buyers were told to refuse to buy wool from mulesed sheep? they even got the industry to promise to phase it out, trouble is flies have no mercy. http://www.animalsau...es/mulesing.php http://www.theaustra...6-1226557807686 the pressure did bring one interesting thing to light, there are some sheep with a naturally mulesed gene. selecting for that seems to be a good idea Still doesn't make it "banned". Public pressure is exactly that. And without that pressure their would have been zero motivation for industry to support research that FOUND that gene or identified methods of pain relief. And yeah, I grew up on sheep farms so do get the blowfly problem. We never mulesed but it did require additional management. Well to be fair I didn't read where any one said it was banned in Australia just that sheep were suffering due to the push to have it seen as cruel and the fact is due to the pressure many are experimenting with alternatives many of which dont work very well or wont make much difference to the risk of being fly struck. Not all sheep and sheep farms are equal much depends on the breed type and location and the weather . Finding pain relief sounds good except mulesing with pain relief is still mulesing and I doubt thats going to keep em happy. See above. Responding to asal. 1/3 of the wool clip bought last season was from sheep mulesed with pain relief.

Yes! Fenzi! Definitely.

so you are unaware that wool buyers were told to refuse to buy wool from mulesed sheep? they even got the industry to promise to phase it out, trouble is flies have no mercy. http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/mulesing.php http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/sheep-farmers-flocking-back-to-mulesing/story-e6frg8y6-1226557807686 the pressure did bring one interesting thing to light, there are some sheep with a naturally mulesed gene. selecting for that seems to be a good idea Still doesn't make it "banned". Public pressure is exactly that. And without that pressure there would have been zero motivation for industry to support research that FOUND that gene or identified methods of pain relief. And yeah, I grew up on sheep farms so do get the blowfly problem. We never mulesed but it did require additional management.

FYI mulesing is not banned in Australia. Industry backed alternatives or alternative methods are being developed that take into account pain management. But hey, nothing like a bit of hysteria.

Where are you based Bridget? There are some awesome competition trainers I can recommend in Vic and WA. One of the things I focus on with my Dally is duration heeling. You want them to be able to focus for MUCH longer in training (with JOY) than they'll ever need to in competition. I do big and small circles, inside and outside, vary when I reward - 3 steps, 10 steps, 7 steps, 15 steps, then it's out to seconds and minutes - and how I reward - treat from the hand, throw forward/sideways/backwards or run to a jackpot hidden behind a tree. Mix it up, build their confidence. Once they really understand this and have been heavily reinforced if they get distracted in training then I just stop and break off. But this should be part of the game and you can see them saying "oh no, I'm not going to fall for it this time!" And VIDEO your training - what does that look like for your dog? I love my dogs being ring wise whatever the sport - because they know this is where it's at. Where the best fun is to be had.

We have a gulper, but the best advice we had was to do away with the food bowl if you're feeding kibble. We either use a Kong wobbler with a tennis ball inside to slow down the rate the food falls out or I throw his food all over the yard and make him work for it! Completely agree!

I don't crate young pups with adults - adults need a break, pups need food toys to keep them busy and I've seen too many accidents and injuries to youngsters.

A little depends on what you can fit in your car, what size dog/puppy and whether they will travel together. My Spotty dog prefers a crate to himself but will bunk with Em. Once pup matured I would put her and Em together - so far that's working well. In the built in crates in the car they are all together but pups travel separately. Any chance of borrowing a spare from someone for a while until you work out your set up? Wire crates from Vebopet - tough and well priced. I think they sell airline crates too.

Hi Rozzie - as a general rule I try not to use wire crates in the car as they may collapse in an accident. I have built in crates and otherwise use an airline crate. So that could be an option?

A couple of things.... What behaviours do you want to clicker train? Love that he's got great toy drive. Regardless it's also handy to build food drive so use Premack....find the best quality treat (try cooked blood sausage!!!), feed one piece and then have a game of tug. To play tug he has to take the treat. But don't worry about training a behaviour with the food yet. No point if he doesn't perceive food as rewarding! I do this with all my dogs and the various things they love or don't love...retrieving, running, food, tug and even leg lifting eh Zig :laugh:

Yep definitely tell the vet about the poo. Good luck!

Black? Could it be blood? Did you let the vet know that? To be honest I'd be wary of switching foods if there is an intestinal or other problem. Certainly not without consulting with your vet.

The research around dogs at the front of the pen getting adopted more readily has been around for a while. But not jumping up is a nice thing to have too. An easier way to do it in shelters is to have containers of food/treats attached to individual pens - with a big sign saying please give me a treat if I have "4 paws on the floor" etc - then you ensure treats are rationed to prevent obesity and dogs that you don't want folk treating aren't. It seems to work pretty well.

Snowys are awesome. Great service - buy a good bit of camping equipment from them.

Think I answered my own question by the way - a Springer focusses on scent much more than sight so that's also going to be a factor in discriminating species.

I have to admit.. I have actually tried socialising in an attempt to at least lessen the issues up close with small dogs but the outcome seems to be much the same as the questionable groups who use things like punishment to "rehabilitate" greyhounds- what you end up with is greyhounds who know they can't express their drive in front of people, which ends up being more dangerous than an openly drivey dog. About two years ago, I was testing a lovely blue brindle girl and although she was doing everything right, the test dog was worried. He was skirting her widely, slinking around her and generally not behaving like his usual outgoing self at all. I gave the grey a bit more leash and began a casual conversation with test dog's owner, looking away from the grey. A few moments later, the test dog got within range of the grey and the extra bit of leash she had and she struck with the speed of a snake. Prior to the pounce, the leash was loose and she appeared totally relaxed and disinterested in the test dog. Unfortunately for the grey, this is why I use UK yard muzzles for testing- stool-guard is moulded in and the strap can be looped around the collar before buckling, just to make it harder for the extra sneaky ones to pop the muzzle off. This particular grey had come from a woman who likes to "help" rescues by taking dogs in, punishing them when they express their prey drive and then palming them off to anyone willing to take one. I suspected this girl wouldn't be safe with small dogs anyway (found out who her breeder was before we even collected her) so I knew not to take her drive at face value but.. someone less experience might have taken the muzzle and leash off to let the two play together and the story would've had a very different ending. The grey in question was very lucky in that her trainer was the only trainer to ever take a dog back from me, after a polite suggestion he not give her away again. Yes, I'm not surprised Maddy. Punishment suppresses behaviour which is why I don't use it. You don't know under what circumstances the behaviour will rear it's ugly head again and it's not something I feel comfortable in either doing or being responsible for. My dogs are all taught a brilliant recall and the Springers are taught a whistle sit. I use a lot of Premack principle in my training and I think that really helps. A pet rabbit appeared out of nowhere at dog club. Em was after it in an instant across the car park but one whistle and she immediately sat waiting for the next command - tail wagging madly and my heart pounding even faster.

Maddy and SG this is such an interesting conversation. My Springers are absolutely nuts about rabbits. And ducks - I've had one delivered live to hand. But there is no way in hell that Em would mistake a small dog for a rabbit. The Springers are bred to be pretty much disinterested in other dogs so the focus is on game. I am fascinated by the genetic component here. I have trained her to do beautiful retrieves but what she does in the field is just poetry in motion and not something you can train. Sorry - rambling. Pain killers :laugh: