poodlefan

Sounds like a confidence thing.. she's more confident with your OH and the other dog in the 'pack'. Confidence can be built and the better the bond between you and your dog the better. If you haven't attended any training with her, I think this would help. Otherwise, baby steps. Keep persevering. Get your OH to drop you off some distance from home and walk back there. It might help.

If my bordeaux can do it I think your lab can. He's just not used to the range of movements required so you have to start them off slowly. Is your Bordeux trialling Nekkie? How does he cope with the dog walk - I've seen one Lab at our club never conquer that obstacle. I try to picture a Dogue jumping 60cm jumps.

If he's a larger Lab he'd be jumping 60cm EVERY jump in Agility. That would mean he'd be jumping higher than his shoulder. A dog can be trained to some degree to turn tightly Mason but its the impact of his entire body weight landing on one leg, each and every jump and just the general wear and tear on his front end I'd be concerned about. A working line Lab would fare better but that rules out showing. ETA: Christine Zink (US Sports vet) has an equation she uses to give an indicator of a dog's agility potential in terms of construction. Divide a dog's weight (in lbs) by its height (in inches). Ideal agility dogs tend to come out at 1.0 or below. She'd recommend not competing with a dog thats result is much above 2.0. My last agility poodle had result of 0.8 The upshot of that is that dogs heavily built for their size are not ideal agilty prospects.. bit of no brainer I suppose. A 60lb, 22 inch Lab (big dog) would have a result of 2.75. If you wanted to do it with a Lab you'd sure want them lean.

I'll confess to being a big Spinone fan. I'm not crazy about beards either which is why the Bracco Italiano appeals greatly to me. Smooth coated, slightly lighter build (and I'm told slightly more active) but same general temperament. There are a handful of Braccos here now. I've got them down as a 'maybe' dog in the future - just have to accustom myself to drool But that doesn't help RV I suppose. So to get it back on topic, we have Irish Setters who have done well in obedience and agility at our club. Very handsome dogs, that's for sure.

Many moons ago when I was a youngster(no, dinosaurs didn't still roam the earth), a friend and I were walking with her ACD mix Brutus off lead. We were going through an underpass (very common in Canberra) when a young man wandered out from the side with his pants down round his knees and his wedding tackle exposed and grabbed me. My friend punched him hard in the face and Brutus came from nowhere and tore a fairly sizeable chunk out of the guy's bare bum. Last seen he was high tailing it for the hills while trying to pull his pants up with Brutus in hot pursuit adding more damage. Brutus got a lot of K9 Fives biscuits as treats that day. Howard my Whippet shows some indication of being protective. I hope he never has to be put to the test.

He is an Aussie Cattle Dog. So far its happened across the road from my home and at the beach. At beach a dog ran up to him and they were sniffing each other, the other dog growled and then it was on,5 minutes later another dog came up and they were happy as larry with each other!! Weird... Now i dont let him off the lead, outside until he has been introduced to other dog with me there Have a think about what ACDs were bred to do - strangers (dog or human) aren't generally something that they would be expected to tolerate. If you haven't worked on a bombproof recall, now's the time. Your dog is less likely to get into spats if you can get him to return to your side when other dogs approach. Dogs differ, their attitudes differ and clearly your dog is not going to tolerate challenges from others. I think a professional could help you not only to read your dog (and others) but to give you some strategies to manage this perfectly natural behaviour. In the meantime, keep him away from strange dogs. And call the behaviour what it is - aggression. Accepting that that's what you're dealing with is the first step to managing it. You're not alone. Plenty of dogs aren't welcoming to any and every strange dog that comes along. As I said mature entire males and other entire males definitely tend to be more explosive.

Unless he's got really visible vertebrae, he's probably fine. Ask in the Pointer thread.. I think getting weight on the youngsters is a fairly common problem. An extra small meal can often do the trick. Both my youngest poodle boy and Howie the Whippet had one while they were maturing - Howie still does sometimes.

Definitely seek professional help. And keep him onlead around other dogs. What breed/s is he and where is this behaviour occuring? If its at the dog park, I'd say his carefree days of being a social butterfly are over. He's a big boy now and some mature males simply aren't tolerant of others. For the safety of other dogs, I'd not be allowing offlead encounters with them until you talk to a professional. Don't call your local Bark Busters - tell us where you are and hopefully someone can be recommended. Is he desexed?

Did you mean beet pulp? Its a fairly common additive for fibre content.

What breed of dog are we talking about. A lot of eye staining can be due to a slighltly compromised immune system - this is why low grade antibiotcis work to fix it. Skin that's healthy doesn't allow the yeast to grow on it. Eye staining can often be a symptom of tooth, gum or ear trouble. I know my white Toy Poodle's teeth need a clean when she gets eye stains, otherwise she has none. A trip to the vet would also be in order to eliminate tear duct issues. Removing artificial colours from a dog's diet can also help. For staining around the mouth, its harder to deal with if the muzzle is shaggy. The hair holds moisture and this is what encourages yeast growth. There's a reason why the traditional poodle clip sees muzzles clipped out.

Im not sure poodles have the same rat cunning for food theft that a Viz like the Wonder Dog can demonstrate. RV if you weren't interested in showing I'd say a working English Springer would tick all the boxes. A friend here has one and she's the loveliest dog and showing plenty of appitude for retrieving apparently.

He's an adolescent gundog. A lot of them are ribby. Don't panic. He's probably best kept on the lean side as he grows. Feeding MORE is an option if he'll eat it. Otherwise, if you feed kibble, look to a "power" or "working dog" formula that tends to be higher in fat. My Whippet does well on Advance Active, and Royal Canin, Artemis etc all have higher fat foods. If you are feeding Black Hawk, the Junior formula is higher in fat. I know a Whippet breeder who always feeds Junior foods to her dog for that reason.

At the risk of incurring the collective wrath of the Labrador folk (again), Labs are not a breed I'd recommend for someone who wants to do serious agility - too solidly builit, they have to jump high for their height and its a big ask. I think they have it tougher than the Goldens do. I've seen one or two Labs in agility over the years and their attitude was great but their bodies find it hard to handle the demands of the sport. I think a dog lighter in build and higher in leg for its size is a much better bet. Sure you could have fun but the risk is that you'll make your dog unsound. That's a risk I'd not recommend folk take. Labs would be high on my list of recommendations for obedience, but not agility.

Stop feeding it? I've never had that problem. I feed it on the bone though - lamb flaps or necks.

Yes, BDOC, obedience I am in the trialling class so we do a lot of proofing but it's a pretty different environment in a training class to an actual trial. Thanks for all the comments guys, they are helping me work out what we are good at and what we might need to work on some more. Hopefully BDOC or one of the other clubs might put on some mock trials for you to try. My best advice for a first time obedience person. Breathe.. especially during stays Smile - it will relax your neck and shoulders so your dog isn't wondering why you're moving strangely. Go into the ring with the objective of making it a rewarding experience for your dog. He should come out happy no matter how you go. Get someone to video you if possible. You'll learn a lot. Have some rescue remedy - it helps the nerves!

I was going to suggest upping her fat intake too. Some raw lamb perhaps?

I have met a few that didn't fit that description! Ah, ok. Maybe I met some unique tollers I doubt they were unique but calm is not a word I associate with the Tollers I know - most are pretty full on.

I have met a few that didn't fit that description!

i don't think pups would even have balls to chop off at that age ! Some pups are born with testicles descended!

I don't want to be a winner.. just enjoy time out with friends. Would agility be too much for such a large breed? (Will google newfs also ) A Newf would have to jump 600 in ANKC agility. I'd not even try it. We had one start training at our club and she didn't fit through the tunnels or the tyre.

See my story above. I'd not be suggesting a Foxhound as an obedience and agility prospect though. How about a Flat Coated Retriever bitch? Reason I'd not recommend a Golden is most are a bit heavy to do agility easily.

Consider a Foxhound. My one and only Foxhound story. We had an exhibitor with a Foxhound next to us at Cooma the year before last. I think her name was Daisy. Anyhoo, we amused ourselves teaching Daisy to sit that weekend (not something show dogs necessarily learn to do on cue). Several months later, one of my fellow Daisy trainers met her again at a dog show. What did Daisy do when she saw my friend? She sat!

Do you belong to one of the ACT dog training clubs? If so, which one and what discipline will you be entering in? Reason I'm asking is because I might be able to direct you towards a person who can help you prepare.

So you need a dog that tends to go with the flow.. especially wrt other dogs. First thing I'd say is whatever it is, get a bitch. Probably not a dog who's sheer physical size will overpower Toby either. And I'd be starting with a pup. Probably one of the more bombproof breeds would have to be any that's been developed to work in a group and top of that list for me would be Beagles. A Foxhound might be worth considering too. A Whippet bitch would probably work too.

With the exception of creams, any wound first aid could be done from a human first aid kit. If you've got one of those you'll have saline, betadine, bandages etc. Not a bad investment. I have one in the car.