The Spotted Devil

Love a productive poo :laugh:

Yes I will be separating them when I am not at home..today had to go to Dr's and left her in the crate with a pigs ear..when I let her out she hadn't eaten the pigs ear, as the intent ion seemed to be to parade it and tease the poor old dog on the special diet who thinks he is being starved. It is a circus at my house at the moment, well it has been a bit of a circus since she came to live with us, but now it is a 3 ringed circus! This is Em in season...she runs hard anyway but just never stops when the hormones hit!

Ha! It gets easier with experience but surgery is definitely easier again. I have asked a lot of people if their bitches (of any breed and lots of Gundogs) do this and not had one person say "yes" so will be interested to hear if anyone on here has had a similar experience. Can you separate the dogs when you are out? Shut off half the house...at least then you could leave your girl with lots of enrichment toys. My girl also turns food possessive in season - kind of handy though because I give her a marrowbone in her crate and she tells off my male good and proper - obviously I am right there to supervise. Normally she's incredibly tolerant of him.

Hey dollygirl I've got a field bred ESS and you've just described her perfectly when she's in season. Up early and runs and runs and runs and hunts like a thing possessed. Normally she is a very intense little worker but has the most delightful off switch in the house. However for the first 10-11 days in season she goes quite crackers! I have a well fenced and steep bush block (normally houses chooks) that I let her just run like crazy on. Twice a year, when she is in season, I take the opportunity to weed and maintain it no matter what the weather so I can supervise "just in case." I have an entire male so some juggling inside with crates is necessary. I do as much if not more training as usual and every meal is worked for - stuffed Kongs, scattered dry, reward for QUIET in crate etc etc. She normally gets chicken frames alternated with dry food but this is the only time I give her marrow bones. Keeps her occupied through the worst of it. As Em starts to settle down a little she's actually at her most fertile. About day 15-16 she starts to sleep in again and, by day 21, you can't drag her out of bed early to toilet unless it's with the promise of some training. I hope that helps!

Hopefully you see "something" soon. I, too, would be beyond furious. Liver (or anything other than chicken) for my Dally could spell serious bladder stone issues. I watch him like a hawk as some folk don't believe one liver treat will hurt him.

I imagine long grass would invite the snakes. Lemon balm grows like mint - even Mr TSD can't kill it off.

Love it! I hide toys for my cats in their enclosure and Diz is all like "No freaking way!!!!! Where did that come from????!!" What about a few potted plants for scent? Tough things like lemon balm (watch as it spreads like wildfire) my cats go nuts for - I wonder if dogs would enjoy it as a novelty?

Funny! Mr TSD really wants a whippet - I said he could absolutely have one. IF he did all the training. I think he would rather just spoil our dogs stupid and leave the training to me so I still make the decisions :laugh: Every dog we know spots him for a soft touch a mile away :)

Bury suitable toys in the sandpit and put floating ones in the clam shells - the looks of surprise and delight when they discover hidden toys amongst structural enrichment is all kinds of awesome.

Definitely real ones VM :laugh: Would keep Miss E occupied for hours! See your point about the water Oso. If you're going to spend the $ on Dokkens make sure you get small ones. Em will retrieve pheasant size ones but most dogs would only do it with training. I think grass and sand is plenty - you don't want dogs skidding on aggregate. Toys wise - stuff that SQUEAKS

Water? Digging sand? Oh and some duckies and bunnies maybe :D

Brilliant! So leave the cue for now and get him confident about touching your hand (there are varying thoughts on whether to be consistent with hand position or to vary it). When he's really got the idea, don't reward when he touches it once. If he understands the hand touch he is likely to get frustrated with you for not rewarding his brilliant hand touch and whack you again - suddenly you've rewarded multiple hand touches Then you can only reward firm touches vs soft and variable numbers. Good on you Staffyluv!

You will have a ball! Unfortunately I'm away with the dogs.

silentchild - that is not an unusual response if they don't understand free shaping. And clicking/treating the same behaviour repeatedly will also make it worse. Try doing it in the bathroom where she can't give you the finger and leave the training area. Make sure the dog is SUPER hungry and the treats are AMAZING. The other way I got Zig through this training hump was to give one treat for every behaviour but a jackpot (handful or 2 minutes of treats etc) and a PARTY for every new behaviour. It was a nice way to say "that was ok but not great" without the dog giving up :) A little frustration is good because they will often whack something with their paw in disgust but a lack of persistence sees them give up. Some dogs need to be taught persistence.

Have a look on google for 101 things to do with a box. I still pull out a box and free shape ANYTHING the dogs offer. Builds confidence (good for my Dally) and helps with frustration (my Springer :laugh: ) Also good for me!!!! Personally I love to settle into a comfy chair with a glass of wine or a cuppa and a bag of treats for the dogs. Place the box in front of you and reward anything but never the same thing more than twice. Relax. Laugh. Enjoy.

Staffyluv - have you done much free shaping with Zig? It's a very nice, no pressure way to teach the dog to offer new behaviours and deal with frustration.

Updates for the next few weeks can be found in my Road Trip thread for the State, National and lead up trials in SA: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/258813-ready-set-fetch/page__pid__6541900#entry6541900

Nice little training session yesterday. Worked on remote entries using a pond that had lots of sedge grass etc around it. A pile of dummies on the other side. Lots of distracting bird life too. Started short and gradually increased distance - alternated between sending as a blind and setting her up in a sit fairly close the the pond and handling back to the water entry. Finally managed to replicate a problem we've had in trials when I am a long way away - she ran parallel to the bank when cast back. I called her in, set her up again and walked back to my starting point. Much better that time and I followed it up by sending from my side and then sending, stopping and casting back. Did a few marks on the small hill and finished with a lining drill over water - think I made that too hard as she was a bit confused. Still keen as mustard though which is the main thing, particularly as the water is still cold.

Thanks gila - at least I know where to focus my search!

Hi Stitch I recently purchased this one: Puppy Socialization - An Insider's Guide to Dog Behavioral Fitness by Caryl Wolff It covers from birth to 16 weeks. From Amazon as a digital version downloaded to my iPad Kindle app it was super cheap. I haven't read it in depth but it looks fantastic. You can also buy it as a hard copy book. Photos and feedback essential :D

Love it :laugh:

I am overly cautious and take my phone just in case too.

Oh Stan you heart stealer! Dare we say NOT skinny but still slightly nuts HW? :laugh: Happy Gotcha Day Handsome Man

I am guessing this info came from a well known scientific journal article…..but I'll give you one guess who the author/s were employed by :D in some countries , this may well be true I have had friends from teh Netherlands astounded at how we ate rare meat .. handled /ate eggs ....for that very reason. Funnily enough, this article specifically referred to the rising tendency of Australian dog owners to feed raw. Yes, there is always a risk if you eat undercooked anything.

I am guessing this info came from a well known scientific journal article…..but I'll give you one guess who the author/s were employed by :D