poodlefan

One further point: Upon hearing that a dog is a bit timid, some folks will say "he needs to meet Rover, Rover LOVES other dogs". Interpet this to mean that Rover is possibly extremely exhuberant with other dogs and doesn't read them all that well. What a timid dog/pup needs to build confidence at first is not a "friendly dog" but an INDIFFERENT dog. Not one that's going to rush up, bowl it over or pounce on it but one that will go "a puppy? Great - now what else is happening". A dog that will give distance but not react aversively to attempts to initiate contact/play is the best confidence builder you can get. Add to that the importance of building a bond of trust and confidence in the handler. A handler that has built that will give confidence to a dog in new and unusual situations. This is why I always recommend a program of formal training for new dog owners - not just for the skills and manners taught but for the process of creating a bond between dog and handler. I hope you find some non-reactive dogs Lambo - and your local dog club is the place to look. I know plenty of folk who've volunteered non-reactive dogs to help socialise pups, yours truely included. Below is a pic of controlled puppy socialisation in action - the moment my friend's working ESS puppy saw her first poodle - check out the look of uncertainty on the pup's face. (Lets call this the "WTF moment" at which point the experience can go either way) She was really quite worried. Big Ted really wasn't at all interested. He was headed for the treats. Nothing bad happened and the pup gained confidence as a result. ETA: This wasn't a timid pup by the way - just a baby experiencing dogs unlike herself for the first time. After a few minutes she was completely relaxed.

I think its got every possibility of convincing Joe Public not to desex at all. Or register entire dogs.. but that's nothing new.

Is the vet talking about the cost of registering the pup with council? If not, find another vet. LISTEN TO YOUR BREEDER. They know what's best for the breed they love.

Yes. I'd expect breeds without exaggerated skeletal features to cope better with prolonged exercise.

I'm going to disagree with that. I see an alarming trend of unsound dogs receiving regular " adjustments" in NSW & ACT. No one can tell me that some of these "adjustments" are not creating many of the problems. Agility dogs should not have their back & neck "out" every other week! If my dogs backs & necks were out as often as some dogs I would never do agility again. Now if we could guarantee the competancy of the "adjustors" I might agree with you. I agree there is quackery around but I have heard from a number of chiropractic qualified vets (not quacks IMO) that a monthly adjustment is the "gold standard" of treatment for dogs. That's what mine get and if you want to see the difference it makes to older dogs in particular I think I could provide a few interesting comparisons. A monthly visit shouldn't mean mean there's something "out" with a dog every month but that monthly checks that allow small adjustments sure beat only seeing a dog when there's something "wrong" with it. Ligaments and muscles can start to change to adust for misalignments long before some folk identify a problem. There are people adjusting dogs around here that I'd NEVER allow near mine. I think that more agility folk would benefit from learning about gait analysis and spotting unsoundness. It's clear some folk simply can't see that.

I agree. Fitness to me also relates to soundness. I think all agility dogs should receive regular chiropractic treatment - the sport can be hard on dogs. Sports dog husbandry lags well behind sports horse husbandry. We can learn from the greyhound folk and from the horse folk in that regard. No show jumping stable would compete their horses as often and as hard as some agility competitors do. Personally I'd like to see random drug testing for pain killers and anti-inflammatories - you can compete a horse on them and IMO nor should you compete with dogs on such medications.

Lots of kms at a reasonable pace with the dog onlead. What greyhound folk did before treadmills basically ( about 5km a day) The quieter paths around the lakes and between the suburban areas are good. With a longish lead the dog can be beside the path rather than on it. Jumping fitness IMO is only built by jumping. That's why I favour lots of bush walks .. they run and jump a lot.

I favour a combination of road work and offlead running on uneven ground. If she won't run, then maybe you could gait her off a bike? Then you can get your ET too.

By knowing that you did everything you could to get to the bottom of his health issues and that, when the time comes, you'll give him a merciful release. Not every dog gets that kind of tender loving care. You'll never forget him but slowly the painful memories will be replaced by those that make you smile in remembrance.

One spot of white on an otherwise black and tan dog says "mismark" to me, not tri-colour. If you want to know for sure, his papers should give his colour. Its funny, you can actually grow to love these little "individual markings" on a dog. It makes them unique!

There were quite a few dogs in the Titanic.. some survived.

agreed. And really if you haven't built an extremely strong reward history for training (harder in some breeds than others), who can blame the dogs? They just want to do what they are used to doing in an open space with other dogs around. Some of the most distracted dogs in agility seem also to be the ones who have playtime before and/or after training. I advise against play time before training for some dogs but I sure do recommend individual play between handler and dog DURING it!! If you raise a dog's adrenalin levels too high with stimulating play with other dogs beforehand, its hardly to be unexpected if the dog has trouble focussing. The thing about offlead dog parks is they build a lot of value for dogs/play for some individual dogs. That play is often dog initiated and completely without handler direction/intervention. The message becomes "other dogs equals super exciting things I can do when I please" to some dogs. When handlers release dogs, stand in a group until the dogs have had enough and then leave, that message is very strong. I've had one Kelpie in class that simply never took its eyes off the other dogs and took any chance to run with one it could get. It does seem to be "only" dogs that get the most hyped up IMO. Sounds like the OP is doing all the right things at the dog park.. but raise those excitement levels for play with other dogs and it can become challenging to control them in other situations. You can teach a dog to chill out around other dogs but consistent reinforcing of the value of other dogs via free play in a very stimulating environment doesn't help.

No it wont fade, and if you are interested in showing then this is not the breed standard colour, there should be NO white on a black and tan. If you were only buying pet quality then its a personal decision. If it were me, and I were purchasing the dog at a high price with pedigree papers then I would not buy. If I were only paying a few hundred with no papers then I would go for it. I guess it just depends on what you are using the dog for. Go to the Cavalier club of Vic website, they have the breed standard colours listed there I'd be thinking twice before recommending that someone buy a pup from a back yard breeder. The odds of it being from health tested parents are next to nothing and that sort of breeding hardly fits well with the aims of this forum. Melstar, if this pup is for a pet home only, comes from a responsible registered breeder and has health tested parents what you need to know is that its a mismark and the mark may or may not disappear. It's a cosmetic fault and will have no impact whatsoever on the dog's ability to become a great pet. If you liked the pup's temperament and its a sound healthy pup then I'd not be concerned if I were a pet buyer. If you were looking for show prosepct I'd not be taking the pup.

Yep, I went to a discount plumbing supplies place. I spent a bit more to get a metal, rather than a plastic handshower. Howie doesn't like it on "massage" mode though. Just explain what you want to do and I'm sure they'll show you what's needed. A hand shower sure makes rinsing the bath easy! I had a two way tap on the laundry tap at my last place. This place I upgraded to a veggie spray tap in the laundry when I renovated.

Yep, a bit of plumbers tape on the new tap and screw it on where the other one came off. Here's something similar to what I have. I just don't have a wall mount for the hand shower attachment.

Sorry poodlefan, my post must've crossed with yours. I'm a little new to all this, so I apologise for my ignorance in advance - but what do you mean by controlled socialisation exactly? Introduction to safe, non-reactive dogs in an environment where you control all the variables. That rules out dog parks and dogs owned by people who can't read or control them. Desexed males and good natured bitches are probably your safest starting point. Smaller dogs might be best (ie not bigger than your boy) They don't have to put up with bratty behaviour from a pup but their reactiosn should be appropriate. Your boy's not far off his second fear period. Its a good time to tread carefully, especially if he tends to be timid. Another option would be to investigate training him in his original dog.. gundog work. Time consuming but a great way to connect with knowledgeable gundog people.

What sort of training is called for? I mean, do I look for a general course in "obedience training" or some specialist course designed to produce a guard dog? Any pointers to courses or course providers would be appreciated. I'm in Brisbane; Southside. Normal obedience training. If you wanted a guard dog, you've got the wrong breed.

Yep. Get a tap with both a normal spout and a spot to take a handshower - a two way tap. Change the tap over, add a screw on hand shower and voila! I've got this in my bath.

As has been said before, by embarking on a program of CONTROLLED socialisation. I would also recommend formal obedience training. Build a bond of trust and focus with him and give him controlled opportunities to meet safe and reliable dogs. Best place for that is at a dog club. Besides, he's a gundog. Give him a job and he'll thrive. And as for the testosterone related behaviour... if you start to experience it, then you can have him desexed at any time.

Training and exercise is a better and more reliable option in that regard. I can think of plenty of desexed dogs with no manners. I would desex him when the time comes. If nothing else, it considerably lowers the risk of him being stolen.

Awwww crap. So sorry to hear this.

Set him up so that he can't ignore you. Feed him on a long line and call him off if he heads towards her bones.. and if he doesnt' come you reel him in - no need to jerk. just pull him quietly back to where he should be. Or feed them in their crates as suggested.

You'd be better off insisting he leaves her bones alone. I don't allow my dogs to monster each other for food and they know it.

Christine Zink said the same. And still it falls on deaf ears. Do you know if she is referring to the American show gsd or German showline ? Both types look very different from the original dogs but also from each other, still showing structural extremes. American show lines. However the problems she identified are here too.

He looks pretty thin to me. I'd be starting with a visit to the vet to eliminate a physical cause for the loss of appetite. I'd also be cutting the exercise back a fair bit until he's eating again. Dogs can suffer from depression so it the vet can't identify anything physically wrong, I'd be looking down the path of some anti-depressants to see if that would help. What were his favourite foods before?