poodlefan

For every wee he does inside, expect five more. Unless you discipline yourself to take him outside (I suggest every 20-30 minutes), wait till he pees and reward him for doing it, perseverence is simply going to get you more of the same. You simply cannot afford to take your eyes off him long enough to allow him to reinforce that peeing inside is OK. What do you do if you catch him in the act. I'd be saying noooooo in firm voice and picking him up to take him outside. I would be investigating crate training. If you cannot supervise him constantly, then crating him may buy you some breathing space. You don't have forever to get this right. You need to increase your level of vigilence, and the amount of time you are spending outside with him. Definitely carry him outside to avoid that first accident after waking. Only once he has better bladder control would I be swiftly encouraging him to follow you, using a lead if necessary.

Too right Anita. Advice given in the manner of "have you thought about" or "one method you might try" or "I notice when you do X dog does Y" is a lot more easy to stomach that "with my OC I do x" or "you should..". Don't get too hung up on breed Squeak and don't pay too much credence to breed specific advice. A good trainer can train any dog because they make no assumptions, they observe the dog in front of them and they have a lot of training tools in their tool box. I'd say body language, timing and failure to encourage/reward enough are areas a lot of trainers can help you improve on. Some dogs can be drilled and others need to be motivated far more. Have you read "So Your Dog's Not Lassie"?

My personal theory is that a lot of people who believe that their dogs act to protect them haven't grasped the fact that the dog may simply be acting to protect itself. Dogs barking their heads off at strangers would be one such example.

Can I just add: Find a dog training club whose training philosophies align with yours and join. There is no better shoulder to cry on and voice to encourage as that of a fellow dog trainer who has walked the same path as you. Sometimes it helps to see people have success with dogs who have come from similar backgrounds and overcome the issues you confront.

I'll give you the advice I give anyone dealing with frustration/feelings of failure. Don't compare you and your dogs with other handlers and dogs. Look how far you've come. You didn't start with blank slates, you started with dogs that require some habits to be untrained - and that takes longer. If you really feel like you need a booster, book a couple of private sessions with a really shit hot pro - and they are out there. Sometimes a bit of one on one training can really boost your confidence and success. ETA: And remember that no one knows your dogs better than you.

1. Smile sweetly 2. Thank them for their input. 3. Sift through it to see if there's any good stuff there. 4. If there ain't, ignore it. Training is always way easier as an observer than as a particpant. But every now and again, you'll pick up some gems.

ALB: So you don't let him run up to dogs but yet he growls and runs at larger dogs?? Why do you want him to meet large dogs when it encourages this behaviour and may end up getting him bitten? I'd suggest you keep him on lead and away from larger dogs for his own safety unless you're prepared to seek professional help.

The best exponents of DWD I've seen came from Brisbane.. the VIP pet food sponsored training club.

Bugger the RallyO.. what about the ?? :p Seriously my club (ACT Companion Dog Club) would probably be interested in hosting something and we have good facilities. And then we can

There have been a couple of thread on this product recently. Opinions are, not surprisingly, divided. I don't use it as it's mostly indigestible grains.

Nekbet: Flyball dogs don't chase anything. I expect that flyballers are not being persecuted because they don't encourage their dogs to "attack" people. Rest assured that THAT is the perception that would have motivated this. Once again, trying to drag other targets into the firing line is NOT the way to encourage support here.

Keep them separate and never allow her to chase the goat. She does bite - now. She'll be big enough to maul before you know it. Herding behaviour is modified prey drive.. this is just asking for trouble, not to mention stressful for a prey animal. I'd not allow her unsupervised access to the goat - ever.

Persephone: If you do it correctly, you don't need to be trundling around with a bag of food all the time. You fade the lure and then you make the reward intermittant so you don't do it all the time. You build consistent responses to your cues whether or not a reward is given. The reason a lot of dog clubs (including mine) advocate food is that most dogs like it and will work for it and the worst a handler can do is make their dog gain weight. If done correctly, its not bribery. Good trainers will use the reward they know their dogs value most. For one of mine that's definitely food but most of the others work better for toys.

but it is... that's the point... on the sports front.. other countries are expanding AND successful YET here in oz our clubs are shutting down... why?? and Victoria.. better i shudup and Partially because laws are changing to restrict the activity but I gather this has never really been a mainsteam dog sport for a lot of people. The fact that the ANKC don't support it would also be a factor. You'd be in a far better position than I to establish why owners of these kind of breeds don't want to do the sport but I think to some degree it might be because the breeds themselves are also changing in terms of temperament.

Australia isn't. Victoria changed their laws. The stink is being kicked up because the IPO community just realised what happened. In some countries you can still course your dogs on live game, hunt foxes using hounds and crop dogs ears. Should we follow those leads also? Or should we follow the German lead and ban more breeds? What's happening elsewhere isn't relevant I'm afraid. Concentrate on Victoria.

You can find the offence proven but, in some circumstances, not record a conviction. No sentence is given. You tend to see it here for first time low range PCA offences for where the driver has an otherwise good driving record.

First night last night at my vets. There is a fair bit of talking but practical stuff too and all the info covered is given in handouts. Play time was initally between matched pups but more were allowed offlead when things were going well. I have the class hooligan. Howie loves a game of Boxer smackdown. Fortunately, so did the boxer pups

I think the first thing we reallly need to know is what the charges are. Are they criminal or breaches of council regs or both?? All guilty means is that the elements of the offence are proven to the degree required by law. If I do 160kph (is that possible in a Magna?) in a 60 zone taking a seriously injured person to casualty, then I'm as guilty as hell of speeding. It doesn't mean what I was doing was wrong. That's where sentencing and not recording a conviction give the court the ability to make the punishment fit the "crime".

I'm not a personal fan of IPO. By the same token I'm not a fan of flyball.. no real issues with either - just not my thing. However, responsibly conducted, I don't think IPO poses any danger to society. If it causes no harm, why ban it. The trick to winning hearts and minds is to demonstrate just how well trained and how controlled these dogs are. The problem for Victorians is that the ban is on the books. Overturning it will require some serious lobbying to win the support of the groups influential in shaping animal welfare law in that State. You know who the major one is. The other option is for every IPO trainer to get themselves that security license.

Ahh .... I thought you were making reference to things I've written here. Oops. Definitely not.

Courts determine laws, they don't make them. If the offence is on the books and the elements of the offence are made out, then any arguments as to the tradition, morality or philosophy of the offence or the offender are moot. The court won't give a damn I'm afraid. If IPO enthusiasts missed the change in the law, that won't matter either I'm afraid. Ignorance of the law is not usually a defence. Frankly they may be better off with a guilty plea and some shit hot mitigation/character references. Suggesting that the ANKC is one of the conspirators against IPO clubs is heading in that direction IMO. We all know the ANKC doesn't support IPO. To suggest that the ANKC has actually taken action to see it outlawed is a very long bow that requires substantiation. Otherwise, its going to piss members off.

If you want to argue that these laws are frivolous and fruitless Erny then you have to play that ball, not the man (or woman). Consider that your average community member (dog owner or not) will need to be convinced that training a dog to target a person (yes, its the sleeve but a person is wearing it) does not encourage such dogs to attack. Fight that belief with facts and data. Don't make insulting comments about bureaucracies, animal rights groups, the ANKC and conspiracies because you will be alienating the very groups with the numbers to assist or derail your campaign.

Really erny? The Government stoops to such levels! The most shocking points to note is that they make it sound like their doing us a favour. Fear is such a reliable motivator in political circles The best time to fight laws is when they are being introduced. What you have to consider now is that fighting a charge that on the face of it WILL be proven, is completely pointless. As I said, the Court isn't going to get into whether or not this is a good law. Its on the books so if the elements of the offence are proven, then the result is inevitable. Votes are the best motivator in political circles. There is absolutely no way a small group of dog sports enthusiasts will motivate a change in the law without finding a way to broaden their issue. Pissing off other dog folk and the lawmakers (as the BSL folk found out) is not the way to do that.

If the activity is now illegal, I'd not be making any such assumption Erny. I'm not making an assumption PF. I'm not the expert but I think it might be being deemed illegal because of more recently introduced regulation. As I understand it, for decades and until recently it hasn't been illegal. If the defendants have continued with a practice that is now illegal and have been charged with breaching the newly introduced law, then their chances of beating the charges are slim. It then comes down to real legal argument about the letter/spirit of the law AND good mitigation. BTW, I checked the Victorian Domestic Animals act.. any IPO trained dog IS considered a "dangerous dog" under Victorian law. That invokes all the dangerous dog keeping requirements.

PF .... you often have good ideas. Any suggestions (bearing in mind the urgency)? Yes. Find the highest priced barrister you can afford to defend this.. And check to see if the defendants HAVE broken the law. If the law has changed, has this made a previously lawful activity unlawful. You can claim to have done nothing wrong and you can believe it - but that doesn't make the claim stand up in court.