The Spotted Devil

My Dally really feels the cold so he starts wearing a light coat when it dips below about 16C. I have heavier coats for when we are trialling and camping. He's an inside dog and spends the cooler days standing over the central heating vents. His eyes are going to pop in delight when the wood fire gets installed! The Springers run warm - never wear coats unless they've been working in frigid conditions (freezing cold water) and need to be staked out or in the back of the car ie can't run around to keep warm when wet. I've seen Em's teeth literally chattering after a swim, dried her off and she's gone straight back in the water. Nuts.

Hans makes some good points. I'm an experienced handler of both companion animals and livestock. Back in November I trusted that a very experienced farmer would close a particular gate before releasing a rather cranky cow from a crush. He didn't. The 500kg animal went through the gate, hit another gate (that was broken) which hit me and sent me flying. It left me with a torn shoulder and now a badly frozen shoulder. I was fortunate to have the sense to jump up and run back at the cow or else I could well have been trampled. Sh!t happens sometimes. But it sure as hell didn't happen because I'm a positive reinforcement trainer :laugh:

I've played swapsies with pups who resource guard (eg minced chicken for a chicken frame) but I NEVER lure it, my timing is good, I have lots of experience and I have strong observational skills. I only point that out because I would never recommend someone do this UNLESS they had the aforementioned skills OR had someone right there to show them how to do it. This should be a fun, low stress GAME for pup when done correctly and you see immediate improvement within a session. The other option is just leave them in a quiet place and don't disturb them - which is what I do with my pups/dogs in the first instance. For goodness sake please don't take his meal away and give it back without understanding what you are doing. It can create way more problems than it solves. And by crikey I'd growl if you kept taking my dinner away!!!

I know he is probably a hand full at the moment but all I see in your description is loads of potential so don't panic :) I will PM you with a couple of trainers.

Nailed it.

Brilliant! Love all the long suffering models

To be honest I come across way too many dogs that should never have been adopted out "to someone who doesn't have kids"...low and behold there are kids that visit on occasion and that's when it goes pear shaped. Or the person who you tell in no uncertain terms that a dog should never have close interactions with other dogs...who continue to put the dog in those situations as they just don't understand that not all dogs need play dates to be happy.

Unfortunately it's not always that simple although I have never seen her show so don't feel qualified to comment. Certainly here in Vic there are legal obligations when advice is given, particularly if the dog has previously demonstrated aggressive behaviour. Many trainers and rescue organisations don't understand it and it will probably never come to that but those that have proper legal advice certainly are very careful with the phrasing of advice. And pretty much the only dog with a history of biting that can be guaranteed not to bite is a dead one.

The Royal is a hard slog like no other show - I've stopped going because it's incredibly expensive, the facilities are poor and dealing with the public can get a bit much. People who interrupt you when you've finally managed to sit down and eat, people who don't take a polite "no I'm sorry" for an answer, people who don't even ask before they pat your dog or try to feed it something....I'm doing the Dog Lovers Show again this year but it's easier because I'm not competing AND I'm allowed to leave the building and get out for a bit. The Royal requires exhibits to be benched all day.

Actually she was trying to explain why she put an ill judged post on FB - when under the influence of strong pain killers and in a lot of pain. She took down the post as it was full of vile comments wishing her ill but felt the need to explain why.

I take mine out before I technically should - but be smart about it. Understand the risks of parvo in your area, don't go meeting any unfamiliar dogs and certainly don't go to dog parks. Lots of car rides (fun!), quietly sitting on a bench with pup on lap watching the world go by (very good for hearing and seeing traffic, people, sliding doors at the shops, dogs, bikes, prams etc without having to interact with them directly), regular vet visits for treats and cuddles and a very, very good puppy school would be my suggestions for a start. Pups get spooked by the oddest things - my youngster loved adults and kids but an adult carrying a kid just did her head in at first!

It's a very long day for the dogs. There were times I had to stop letting people pat my Dalmatian at the Melbourne Royal as I could see he was exhausted and still had to go back in the ring (he has done showing, agility and obedience over several years). It's difficult for people to realise but literally hundreds of kids and adults want to interact with him and his welfare is my first priority. He's a very tolerant and photogenic dog but I can see in his eyes when he's had enough. The same thing happens when he is on the Club stand at events - people don't respect the "he needs a rest" comment or even follow me when I'm trying to toilet/walk him.

Oh my that's so sweet wm!!!! I think one of my crazy puppies swims at that beach so if you ever see 3 gorgeous black and white ESS (2 show, 1 working) do say hello :D

Very bizarre...managed to access article... BOSS, the “supreme grand champion” great dane, is not a happy puppy. Nor, it seems, is his owner. In a Royal Easter Show upset, Boss — who has accrued more than 1000 competition points in the run-up to the show — only scraped into second place in the intermediate dog category of the Great Dane Competition yesterday. He was beaten by a rank underdog, Rithpen Pride Not Prejudice, who only has a mere 100 points to his name and, unlike Boss, has never appeared on the Today Show with Karl Stefanovic. Boss’s owner Michael Taggart, from Maitland, made it clear he was less than impressed with the decision, gesturing towards the judges and yelling: “You’ve got to be kidding.” Showgoer Heather Vagulans, from Sydney’s Picnic Point, was among hundreds who witnessed the dummy spit by Mr Taggart, who owns several prize-winning Great Danes. “He was not happy at all. He was pointing his finger, yelling at judges and shaking his head,” Mrs Vagulans said. “We were stunned. He was extremely cross.” Rithpen Pride Not Prejudice’s owner Pip Davis said established dog owners are sick of newcomers behaving badly. “I’m not going to hold back — Michael is a bad sport,” said Ms Davis, who is the Great Dane Club of NSW show secretary. “He rolled his eyes and shook his head in disgust. A friend told me. I was going to look over at him but I was too busy cheering. “It’s a regular thing for him. Michael did not breed his dog. I’m proud of the dog I bred. “I imported his father’s semen into Australia.” The Royal Easter Show Great Dane competition is the pinnacle event for the breed. Pooches are judged on lips, coat, and if they “flow across the ground evenly and rhythmically”. It’s also big business: a drop of Rithpen Pride Not Prejudice’s semen sells for about $3000. Mr Taggart did not respond to claims he had shouted towards the judges, but earlier in the day said he was glad today’s event will not have the same judge. “It is all very subjective, unfortunately,” the 30-year-old said. “The judge is from England and we will have someone else tomorrow. “I suppose just as everyone likes a different car, so everyone likes a different dog.” On the back of their busiest day, the Royal Easter Show continued to attract massive crowds, with more than half a million guests pouring in over two days.

Yes! Face like a Pei :laugh: Ginny is in season so both ends are swollen

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Great attitude sars! Another gem for you: when you are nervous your focus is on yourself....but where does your focus need to be? On your dog :) Remind yourself how awesome she is and think of all the things you love about her as you step into the ring.

I have some beautiful video of my first born playing too rough with his Mama and getting Spaniel slammed...which would be very gentle in any dogs language but boy did he get the message after 3 days of being told off! The other pups would avoid him because he was too rough prior to that but he has grown up to be the most incredible reader of young and adult dogs alike and plays perfectly appropriately with everyone. A great reason for keeping Mum with babies for as long as possible.

Ginny was stung by a European wasp on her muzzle today whilst trying to bite at it. Ouch. She had some impressive swelling but barely registered it and has been hooning around all day. Having been stung before I know how much they hurt so I reckon she's made of some stern stuff! We put wasp traps out the back and minimise water/food where the dogs are but they are difficult to manage.

This one - Fresh Mix: http://www.artemispetfood.com.au/products/fresh-mix-adult/ Although they also do a grain free mine do fine on the brown rice and I like the rest of the ingredients.

I feed Artemis juice - really chose it for Zig's sake as Em does well on anything that doesn't contain corn. Ended up raising the pups on it (plus raw) and very happy with it.

Yes because intensively raised chickens and kibble are so natural. You do mean to say that wild pet dogs don't hunt kibbles in the wild? SSShhhhhhh! Next there will be safari parties for canned kibbles. :laugh:

the 'out' couldn't have come soon enough! that would have been one very firm and unhesitating chomp! I think - to get both legs so severely - there must have been more than one chomp. And don't they usually go for an arm? They tend to go for the limb closest...during training the person usually presents the protected limb.

Yes because intensively raised chickens and kibble are so natural.

not necessarily: ...to setup the environment to train a dog in an aroused state is tricky, however, if you can do the training while the dog is in an over-aroused state it can be very effective. E.g.: I train our dog with the flick pole: she is chasing the lure, gets over-aroused, however, it is very easy to control the environment (e.g. you can do it in your garden), timing, speed of the lure etc. etc. I started with 'TAKE-IT' and 'LEAVE-IT' commands and doing it now also with basic obedience commands (drop, recalls, stay...). If you train your dog only in a low aroused state, the dog won't hear you when he gets into an over-aroused state (triggered by a bird, rabbit, other dogs etc.)...the key is the controlled environment... ETA:...and yes, this Joseph E. LeDoux seems to be an interesting guy...will do more reading.. The whole point of having an animal "below threshold" is about having them in an aroused but controlled state. Some arousal is good and necessary for learning. Over arousal is unhelpful.