The Spotted Devil

She does indeed!

KLB - it depends who my puppy buyers are, their level of knowledge and how often they visit. But I spend soooo much time with my puppies that I know them inside out until they leave. I know if they are outgoing, relaxed, high drive, determined, how they get on with other puppies...all the traits that make for a good sports or family dog or both. If you visit once you only get a snapshot of that puppy at that particular time. Even I'm surprised at how accurate I have been although there's no science to it. From 5 weeks of age I was saying "thank goodness I'm keeping the only bitch. Way too much for anyone else". And 15 months later I'd say the same thing :laugh: My friend fell in love with the "first born" - fortunately she is an awesome trainer and he has turned out beautifully and the whole family love him. But I would not have sold him to an average pet home. When I've purchased interstate it was on recommendation by a work colleague, I established a relationship with the breeder over 2 years, I visited pups when they were 5 weeks old and stayed for several days. Personally I actually want to see people interacting with my adult dogs - puppies are easy but I need to see how they deal with adult dogs bouncing around. I would be unlikely to sell interstate without meeting the potential owner.

One of Em's pups, Murphy, just passed his Odour Recognition Test - first event held in Vic! He is flying through it of course but it is great for worried dogs. If anyone is interested I can put you in touch with Noseworks folk in Victoria.

Great! Thank you!

Attention Gundog owners! I'm considering running some online Gundog Retriever Training courses and this survey is designed to get a feel for what people are looking for. For those who aren't aware I run my field-bred ESS, Em, in both ANKC retrieving and agility trials. She has 6 finishes in All Age and is the 2016 Novice Agility 400 National Champion. All with positive reinforcement based training. Her daughter, Ginny, is my wild child and is currently doing a lot of foundation work in both sports. In addition, my Ziggy is Australia's first and only Agility Champion Dalmatian so I have certainly earned my stripes with atypical breeds. I am an animal welfare/behaviour scientist and my learning theory mentors include Susan Garrett (Recallers and Puppy Peaks Alumni, H360, Agility Nation) and Bob Bailey. In terms of retrieving, I could not have made it this far without the input of a number of triallers, particularly from Victoria. But I know how hard it is to compete in this challenging sport without access to clubs and lesson plans. Please complete the survey and feel free to share. The more feedback you give me the more able I am to create the course you need. Thank you! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z78NB59

I met a Leonburger adolescent in Salzburg. The owner nearly fainted when I knew what it was. Or maybe that was my stumbling German :laugh: Stunning creature and I have a great photo on my blog.

Survey is done. Three dogs took a while :laugh: I think there were some good points raised in this thread. Good on you, Clare, for taking them on board. PhD research ain't easy at the best of times.

Just want to say well done for taking all the advice on board :) Best of luck finding the right dog for your family!

Ha! Nailed it Tor! Our dogs figured out the learning part thousands of years ago :laugh:

And some puppies are too busy to eat - mine is like that and has been since 5 weeks of age. Only now at 15 months is she really seeing value in food. 3 cups a day plus training treats and she's still a skinny whip of a thing. She will fill out eventually...possibly when she stops running lol

Hey Tor! Sounds great! Re the drop...dogs tend to respond better to physical rather than verbal cues but they are brilliant at predicting so here's a little trick. If you use your right hand for the physical cue I want the treat in your left hand. Stand up relaxed and tall and give your verbal cue eg "drop". Make sure there's a slight gap (1-2 seconds), then give your physical cue and reward. I guarantee your dog will start responding to the verbal cue...unless your timing is out.

Great news!!!! Just spent a weekend retrieving trialling with one of Em's pups and his owner for company. Was such a sight to see Mama, daughter and son running flat out together.

I'm just in the early process of building my website so am following this with interest. asal you raise a darn good point. I certainly don't guarantee dogs for life but I do support my puppy buyers every step of the way. I do the best I can - health test, select sire and dam for attributes and work my @rse off so the litter has the best start to life possible. Recommendations on diet, training, exercise, vaccination etc

Some great words of advice already. Both my Dalmatian and field bred ESS were bought after being recommended to speak with particular breeders - funnily enough it wasn't a pick the breed first scenario with my Dally and with my Springer I didn't even know there was a difference between field and show bred dogs But I've bred my first litter and the first thing I will tell an interested person is all the worst things about my breeds. Because if you can deal with that then you'll be fine :)

RSPCA stats are publicly available. RSPCA euth'd just under 15% of dogs received in 2014/15. Nationally. Greyhound Australasia estimates that 58% of Greyhounds are euth'd. GRNSW informed the commission that the figure of 3000 was largely speculative and confidence on its accuracy was low (all from Volume 2 of the report).

Adorable! Is your Mum pleased?

:laugh: ok so for biting just calm, calm, calm. Stop playing. I do this as a separate game actually with a tug toy - lots of play and the minute they nip just freeze. When they stop then play again. Much more controlled way to teach it. As for being alone, make sure he's tired - both physically and mentally - then put him in his pen with stuffed food toys or half a chicken frame and he will hopefully eat and then pass out.

Thanks for posting Redsonic. I have also been trawling through the report and the detail is incredible. So many people keep telling me about the "misinformation" yet they clearly haven't bothered to read the report. I've actually approached this from a fairly objective angle.

Hey and what also helps is to plan and write notes about your training AND video. Amazing what you can pick up!

Whereas the girl I kept is just plain crackers

One of the pups I bred lives down that way - he's a cracking dog.

I love how it changes...it's so exciting finding a new spot ha ha

I hear you! It's super tough when you've had a special individual. I can't recall if you're in Melbourne? If so you are welcome to meet my Spotty dog and Springer dogs. We are often out and about competing. Training is THE BEST!!!

Good choice then Tor - glad to hear you are planning ahead too. Much easier to have a pup with a 3 year old dog with basic training!

I have working Springers and they play really well with my Dally - although the youngster is still overwhelmed with respect for him :laugh: My girls are soft and sweet and love to cuddle but are very intense little workers that bubble over with joy and enthusiasm and energy. Need plenty of mental stimulation - running and exercise is great but not sufficient on its own.