poodlefan

so do you ever whistle for a recall anywhere else? around the house, at training, at a trial etc...and do you always have a similar value reward for each of those situations? No, I only use the whistle off lead walking in the bush. They have a "come" cue for other situations where the reward is more variable. When I use the whistle, every dog is rewarded regardless of how far away they are when called.

I don't use either method, but if you are using a reward based system, isn't it inevitable that the rewards & rates are varied at some point? I don't vary the reward schedule on recalls when walking offlead.. they get rewarded every time. When they are looking at the kangaroo and hear the whistle, I don't want them weighing up whether they'll be rewarded or not for coming.

I feed turkey wing pieces, chicken wings and legs, lamb flaps(ribs), necks or shankds and larger beef bones for recreation. I do feed the odd meal of gravy beef or lamb without bone just to up the red meat component of their diet. I used to make up my own "barf mix" with fruit/veg pulp and offal but haven't lately. One of my boys doesn't handle lamb all well and another gets the runs if fed too much beef. I just manage that. I feed two days raw, one day kibble. The Whippet is still on 2 meals a day so he gets more kibble. Yes, chicken pet mince is a good substitute nutrionally but without something to chew on in their pup's diet, they'll have ongoing dental issues and I suspect destructive chewing around the home also. If they are phobic the answer is simple - feed bones too large to swallow in a gulp and supervise the meal. They can also feed chewable dog treats like kangaroo or beef tendon but these also could be choked on. Dogs can choke on kibble too!

A good quality kibble balanced with some RMBs would be a well balanced diet for a dog. If the dog is not getting offal etc then a balanced kibble will be required. I'd keep the processed and raw meals separate. This is basically how I feed these days.

I would and have opted for the former. I can't express it in training-speak other than to say the bigger the payoff (and the more frequent), the greater the motivation for the dog to obey. The more rewarding a behaviour, the greater the frequency of response. It's the WIFM principle at work.

Yep, open flaps makes yours a den I guess The crate in my lounge room has the door open unless Howard is being fed in it. My oldest boy (not crate trained as a pup) can often be found in there when younger visiting dogs are creating a ruckus. He clearly feels more secure in there. All of my dogs will sleep in their crates at trials. Having a place where dogs will relax regardless of surroundings is wonderful - it means they stay fresher. It also means they are safe from fools who allow dogs to approach tethered dogs at trials - something I see all too frequently.

Possibly. I'd not allow it. It's the fastest way I know to make your older dog put on weight too!

Aim high! Open the bidding at $35 per hour. If you have scissoring skills or clipping skills, negotiate your way around the hack washing and drying work that anyone can do.. that way they'll get more bang for their bucks.

Toilet puppy. Take her inside and put her collar on. Ignore her. My guess is she'll start to realise she's not going to die pretty quickly. Once she's got the collar sorted, buy a cheapie lead from the Reject shop or similar, cut about 30cm from the clip and let her drag that around. I think you're being played. Incidentally, as Dachsies are prone to disc issues, walking her on a good harness isn't a bad idea. Lure and reward can be used for lead training in the initial stages.

X-Rays to start (to check position of vertebrae) and potentially an MRI. It's a wait and see proposition. If it happens again, I'd be wanting x-rays. If it is a disc, then avoidance of high stress activity like jumping and ball chasing are important.

Could be many things but I'd not rule out a disc issue. The hunching in pain and paralysis would be consistent with that.

Could be mild entropian. Can you post a headshot? I don't know why vets think it is "normal" for dogs to have weepy eyes. They may see a lot of it but that makes it "common" not "normal".

At the risk of getting slammed by all the regular bloggers, "crating" is a fairly recent fad. For thousands of years people have succesfully housetrained their dogs the traditional way, which is what I still do (very successfully without any dramas.) I think keeping a dog in a small cage is very cruel. My personal view. Obviously contary to many on these forums The idea of crating as a training aid is not about "keeping your dog in a small cage". It's about providing a secure place for a pup to use as a den (hardly a new idea for dogs) and to provide a safe place for when a pup cannot be supervised. That's very useful in a house with children. It's also useful for establishing toilet training. Most folk I know who use crates sleep their pups in one and feed it there as well. Sleeping and eating in a space trigger a dog's natural inhibtion not to eliminate there. It's that natural inhibition we can use to assist toilet training. Leave the dog in the crate too long and it will eliminate and lose the inhibtion. Crate training is not for the lazy or inattentive owner. When your pup stirs in the middle of the night you get up each and every time. It requires effort to do correctly. the crate must be where you can hear the pup and get up to take it out for toilet breaks. Add crate games to your use of the crate and you can have the basics of sit, wait and release established very quickly - a base line for teaching a pup focus and self control. I agree that there is a line at which a crate DOES become a cage. Crates, like all training aids are a tool. There are always ways for any training tool to be abused but the tool itself is not at fault there. If you want to show your dog, travel frequently or do dog sports, a dog that is accustomed and comfortable in a crate is a godsend. For others - its optional. Either do it properly or don't do it all IMO My lastest pup slept in a crate and was fed in it. He went in there while I had a shower but otherwise he was not crated. He doesn't sleep in one now but I still feed him in there as he is a slow eater and the others would hassle him.

I do Howie's nails at least once a fortnight and have since I got him. I think I might have detected the teeniest bit of acceptance when I did them last night. He's not standing though.. he's upside down in a vice like grip.

If used properly and it works for you, I'd say you're looking at the latter.

Yes, that was him.

The sporn is not a standard walking harness but has straps that go under the legs and tighten if the dog pulls... it's specifically designed to prevent pulling but a really motivated dog can pull on one. A really motivated dog can pull on anything though.

I'd suggest another trainer. This dog doesn't need games IMO, he needs effective discipline. In the meantime a Sporn or other brand "no pull" harness might assist you. Your boy clearly finds head halters highly aversive. He's only going to get stronger.. you really need a trainer who can get loose lead walking sorted but bear in mind that if he pulls unexpectantly at something, you'll need to be able to hold him. This boy is sounding like a candidate for a prong collar and a some advice from K9Force. There's an SA trainer a lot of people recommend.. hopefully his name will be mentioned here.

I recently discovered a packet of Clinkers opened and systematically tasted by the Whippet of Mass Destruction. He'd been left unattended in the car for 5 minutes at a recent show while I packed up. It became rapidly apparent that he didn't like the pink Clinkers. I think the half chewed ones all over my drivers seat were the giveway. However yellow and green were consumed. Howie isn't my only dog with discerning tastes. Lily the Toy Poodle is not shy about her food at at the best of times but loves olives. No idea why but she just loves it if I have to pick off the offending bits that migrate across a shared pizza while it's cooking. Ditto for those horrid anchovies. So what wild and whacky foods do your dogs like? This thread's for fun. No need to mention McDonalds.. all dogs like that don't they?

The short answer is I'd probably be wondering about the relationship overall. As I've said before, conflict is a symptom of something not being right. A dog that "talks back" as opposed to just a vocal dog is probably not clear on its position in the household. That said, some dogs do seem to be more reactive to rough physical handling than others. What I do know is that I'd never intentionally engage in behaviour that would encourage a dog to bite me. You've got the shithead pup now Corvus.. give him an inch and he's going take a mile. My guess is that he will be the dominant dog of your pair. Your challenge will be to make sure that's where his dominance stops.

Depends on the pup but for a while. You've chosen a very cold part of the house to sleep him in and that won't be helping. A nice covered crate in a warmer part of the house might improve things.

As far as the difference between what an urban vet in a major city sees and the situation in some outback communities, some of those outback communites might as well be on Mars. You are talking about essentially third world conditions. You don't see a lot of things in the big smokes. That doesn't mean they don't occur. There used to be a DOLer that helped in the vet outreach program that visited remote communities. It was pretty tough work.

This is resource guarding. If you do a search here you'll find lots of information about it. You can train him to give and take items and reward him for giving. But there's plenty of information in the threads. Take particular note of the advice from the dog training professionals.

Discussion about early desexing and links to articles are in this thread

Yes, they can. I said as much. Perhaps the more important question is whether they should. It's a big ask on them to jump top height and not a recipe for longevity in some cases. If you don't care about competiveness and you are prepared to keep your dog way leaner than most Labs are (one lean chocolate Lab owner at our club was told his agility dog was a GSP) then its doable. But I'd not consider them a particularly suitable breed.