Diva

I don't drink beer (or any alcohol) much. And she knows better then to get between me and caffeine. There is risk taking, then there is plain foolishness ...but the serious answer is no, I'm careful not to let that happen. But she would if she could.

This, yes. Drug taking, no.

The list and the dogs

Borzoi (well, yes, of course ) Belgian Groenendael (have owned, still love) Belgian Tervueren (ditto) Belgian Malinois Belgian Laekenois (mmm, there is a theme developing) Pyrenean Sheepdog (rough face) Azawahk Leonberger Afghan - but only if I have a groomer on staff And if I ever decide to go small - Whippet

NO, not fair, not fair! ;) :D :p

I have one, but at 9 years of age it is not as evident as it was. Novelty has always been highly rewarding to her and noticably more so than others I have owned of the same breed. She isn't easily bored, but she used to invent new games for herself all the time. Active but not particularly high drive, just a pure excited sticky-beak for any new thing, person or place.

You're welcome :D

I'll try, even though I'm not a terrier person. The official Australian National Kennel Club name for what some people call English Staffies is Staffordshire Bull Terrier. There is also a registered breed called the American Staffordshire Terrier and of course the Bull Terrier, and Bull Terrier (miniature) The American Pit Bull Terrier is not a recognised ANKC breed. The only terrier-type breed that has "English" in its name as far as I recall is the English Toy Terrier - and that's nothing like a staffie of any sort, it's not even in the Terrier Group, it's a Toy breed. The web site www.ankc.org.au will list all the breed standards for the above, just look under 'Group 2 Terriers'. People will assert on DOL from time to time that the APBT is the same as the AST, or even the SBT. I'm not getting into those arguments, just letting you know why Staffordshire Bull Terrier registered breeders will often object to them being called English Staffies - it's not the breed's name here.

Hopefully the class will help the lady learn about such things. If she has little experience with dogs she may start off nervous but she can learn to get over it.

I agree - but reporting the incident to the rangers is the most emphatic way of pursuing that. I think tianakaesha acted very responsibly. The sad fact that the dog may be PTS shouldn't disuade people from calling the rangers for such a serious incident, anymore than the fact that a dog may end up in the pound stops me calling the local guys about the wandering dogs in my suburb. I used to just try and talk to the owners, but not anymore.

Even if it isn't the dog's fault, there is the safety of the community to consider.

Yep, the two of mine that growl furiously in play occassionally accidentally hurt each other playing. When that happens there is the most minute change in the pitch of the growl and the offender disengages and backs off instantly. The injured party usually then decides she's not that hurt after all and it all starts again, LOL, but they can undoubtably tell the difference. Maybe the lady whose puppy was frightened hasn't learnt the difference yet. It would be courteous not to let Emmy scare her with growling, but I don't think it's that Emmy is doing anything wrong.

My two youngsters growl very alarmingly when playing with each other, but don't do it as much with dogs they know less well. I don't think it has ever got them into trouble but if it's worrying the other puppies maybe just interrupt her when she gets that revved up.

Also make sure the exercise is solid outside the ring before expecting it inside. Just like obedience your body language will change with ring nerves so you want the dog to understand first that being examined is no big deal. And don't forget the big advantage of the show ring - treats allowed! (And yes I have known dogs to get what looks like a second fear stage around that age, but not sure how formally recognised it is.) Says she who is a crappy show handler.

Yep, that's exactly what my beagle owning acquaintances tell me. I even recently had a friend lose a 6 yr old beagle being walked off lead in it's usual location - got a scent and tried to follow it across a road. First time it failed to recall, and the last

If you have the choice I'd wait until the growth plates in the long bones have closed, for which 18 months should be fine.

Haha, that's getting very specific! Is anyone familiar with "matching law"? Basically, the bigger the reward for an unwanted behaviour, the more frequently you will need to reward the behaviour you want instead (or the better the rewards you will need to use). So yup, fairly appropriate for nearly any sort of hound and a lot of terriers, indigenous breeds, or lines selected for very high drive. If they've been able to chase the bunny a lot of times, or got a long way into the prey sequence, it's going to be harder than if it's something that's only happened once, or you've always got them back before they've got too far into the chase (a couple of examples in this thread of people who appear to do this and claim very strong recalls). Lots of reinforced repetition builds stronger responses (note that I have not made a distinction between + or - reinforcement here). For practical purposes, reinforcer frequency can trump reinforcer magnitude. Yep, rely on matching law a lot. Agree with all the points m-j and you have made about the 'topography' of the each individual situation too, if I can use that term as shorthand for a whole lot of variables to do with with the dog, the site, and the prey animal. I feel like the sighthounds have dominated the thread a bit, but I'd really like to hear about scent hounds too - Huski posted about Daisy, and it accorded with what I hear from other Beagle and Basset owners. They get good recalls in human-dominated landscapes but it can all disappear if the hound hits a good scent in a forest etc. No always, but often enough to be well less than 100% reliable. The other group I wonder about but know little of are the working livestock guardians, those with the original LGD temperament. Is 100% standard recall of a dog like that in the face of a threat to its pack - a similar distraction to moving prey or a scent to a hound I'd think - considered possible by their handlers? No idea myself but interested. And finally, it was a spitz handler who started the thread - I know nothing about them either but I read a lot of threads on DOL about Huskies that not only like to escape their yards, but that then take off even if their handlers are right behind them. Worst I get if my dogs accidently get out and I'm there is a few zoomies in the front yard, they wouldn't ignore my call and take off down the road - I don't really know what to make of what I read in those threads. Dogs without training, trained with the wrong methods, or more integral than that? It seems to end tragically for a lot of those dogs.

There are plenty of minor but irritating problems that can cause a dog to shake his head. I'd hope the vet is ruling out these things before suggesting very expensive investigations. If she doesn't seem to have checked out obvious issues like an infection or grass seed or hematoma I'd probably be getting a second opinion before going down the neurological route. If it is something more serious I wish you luck.

If you google it you'll find several on-line sources. Can't help with whether they work or not, but I guess they are worth a trial.

Congratulations -may there be many more

Lovely to see an IW go through

Can't answer for ssm, but on a public forum the bolded bit is what I would say, except I'd probably say highly unlikely instead of not attainable. I'd also explain the principles of how to make it more likely. But if they ever intend on letting the dog off near traffic or wild animals, I wouldn't encourage them to think they are ever going to be able to do it completely safely - unless as ssm just posted, it's in a fenced field. I would say they have a high probability of getting a perfectly acceptable recall for day to day life, training fields etc, if they remember those particular caveats and work on it.

I agree with Perse, remove the opportunity before it drives you nuts. One comment that may be completely irrelevant to your situation, but that I will throw into the mix anyway. The only dog of mine that ever did it did so not to me, but just once to the person who was housesitting her while I was overseas. I think for her it was a playing out of anxiety. Perhaps the rescue boy is feeling your stress a bit. I may be right off the point though.

I was using Diva's words not mine. She is the one who suggested that certain peole with certain opinions were coming from narrow experience. Diva Actually, I didn't say or suggest the bolded bit at all. You seem to have assumed that 'certain opinions' corollary on your own. The narrow experience can be on all sides of an argument. It was really a general comment on how experience with one dog is often held to be a universal truth by the owner, and can lead to great certainty of opinion. If I'd never had another sighthound after that bitch, I'd have a very different view of their recall under prey distraction. The comment seems to have become a red herring though, with people wanting to think I was directing it personally. Meh, it's still accurate

Thanks Cosmolo, if I ever do breed I'll have to think very hard about that. The recall issue is really the only drawback I experience with the breed (that and trying to fit 3 into a Ford Focus )