poodlefan

I'm 50 today Monah.. :D I suthpect I'm a fair bit older than you? Yes you are!!! Actually, no, I was 50 on Jan 6th. Tell anyone and the poodle gets it! Happy Birthday Kendall OMG, we really are twins!!

Very happy to share Kendall - we Capricorns gotta stick together.

I have a had a lab named Warren and a Rotti named Neville. I have a Whippet named Howard. Nuff said.

oooh Happy Birthday too Kendall.

:) Just gorgeous. I love the oldies. :D ETA: Just visited the seniors website - wonderful job on the oldies.

Thanks BB. I shall try and find you at some Gippsland shows this year.

I'm 50 today Monah.. I suthpect I'm a fair bit older than you?

I'm at work..

Don't panic - as Sway says, its HOT. Lots of animals will want to eat less in this heat. Thanks poodlefan, hopefully with the change coming through this afternoon, he'll be more interested in the next couple of days Provided animals are drinking well, a few days of small or even no meals isn't going to hurt them. A stomach full of food generates heat in the body as it's digested..

Thanks Chewie and Ruthless! Troy will bar OT for you if you ask. I got sick of sifting through all the OT posts when I hit "view new posts".

You don't see too many JRTs competing in obedience.. they tend to be independent and easily distracted and it can be difficult to maintain their focus. Agility you'd have more luck. If you have your heart set on dog sports and want a smaller dog, there are probably 'easier' breeds to consider. A Toy Poodle, a Papillon or a Sheltie would still be very active but be more people focussed than a terrier.

Don't panic - as Sway says, its HOT. Lots of animals will want to eat less in this heat.

Thanks Poodlemum! You'll never see me in Offtopic because I have it barred.

Lurcher.. usually Whippet/BC mixes. Yep, pretty much confined to the UK. Huntaway. NZ Herding breed. Bergamasco.. that's a corded breed I think.

I think it can be misleading to try and characterise a dog in drive with a specific kind of body language. Breed features will play a part as will what the dog is reacting to. All of these dogs are "in drive". They are not all in the same drive though.

Woolworths is your friend. They have roast chooks. You can have some and make up some treat bags. Store them in the freezer. My dogs also enjoy devon, cabanossi and cheese.

I can only speak for my dogs but I find it relatively easy to retain their focus when I have a handful of roast chicken.

Exactly what does that entail? How tolerant of abuse should a dog have to be? How will this protect them from strange kids? I don't expect my dogs to have to tolerate being teased or abused. They all have good bite inhibition but I regard is as my job to keep them safe, regardless of what the threat to them is. Fear aggressive dogs and resource guarders know they're dogs, not children. I don't think its only "spoilt" dogs that can have issues with kids. Put a dog in a room with a kid, remove the ability for it to leave and push it hard enough and most WILL at least snap in defence. Good bite inhibition is the most important part of dog safety around kids IMO.

Deleted. Double post

Double post

The first thing to remember is never to reward this behaviour by allowing your dog to pull you towards the others.. change direction if you have to. As Erny says, teaching a focus word is important.. "watch me" or even reward the dog for looking at you when you say his name. When you walk, insist that puppy goes where you go, not vice versa.. and never let him tow you to anything. And work on that loose lead without distractions, getting slowly closer to dogs. Frankly, I find it easier never to allow my dogs to greet others on lead when I'm out walking if I can avoid it. They don't look for encounters then.

One thing I will add is that the idea that dogs are "self exercising" in a back yard is a myth.. .. unless you include the barking, clothesline hanging, fence running and digging behaviours most owners seek to avoid.

You should be flattered!

Thanks JudyG, I think we really do want him to toilet outside in the longterm, but as we are in a unit he won't be able to get outside when we are not here. I guess I can still take him outside when we are here, and when I go back to work I can bring the toilet inside for when he is alone? I am afraid I will confuse him as we're only just getting him to used the play pen one at the moment and even then there are accidents. Then again, I do have this whole week and weekend off work to get him used to the new routine! Thanks again Can't you install a dog door? You can get them for sliding glass doors. If a dog cannot have access outside to toilet when it needs to, it will go inside. Its way easier to have one rule, one place and stick to it.

Lots of the major pet food manufacturers make a light food. Obesity is a real issue for dogs these days. It IS possible to have a trim Pug. Check out this agility pug.. While Pugs are loose skinned, they don't need rolls of fat under it.