jesomil

My last Rotty i hand raised from birth. She also showed major signs of aggression from very young and i remember her growling when picked up at only 6 weeks of age. She lived with 3 other dogs but i think became too confident around humans because we didnt tell her off like a mother would have. I had to come down very hard on her and let her know that she was not Gods gift to the world. She ended up being the best dog i have ever and will ever own. I did everything thing with her and will never have such a close bond with a dog again. She was dog aggressive sometimes though as she seemed not to have dog communication skills. She had no learned bite unhibition and where a normal dog would tell off and nip, she would tell off and one quick bite would cause major damage. I have heard stories of hand raised dogs being very aggressive leading to euthanasia. I know of one large dog that was euthanised at 3 years of age as a direct result of being hand raised without boundaries. Hand raised pups need very strong boundaries and a knowledgeable owner who will not let them get away with ANYTHING !! Edited to make more sense!!

I have just finished watching the first series of Cesar and thought what a fantastic idea it was. You will have to tell us how you go!! I use the bike alot but i think i may have more control on the roller blades with multiple dogs. Might have to go and find some

I would be extremely careful of ever letting a young or inexperienced dog get into a situation where is can be chased or butted. Someone should always be in full control of the sheep and the sheep should be extremely quiet for a soft dog like yours. I am not all that experienced, but here is what i would suggest. Maybe let your dog watch an experienced dog moving sheep around to see if you can get some enthusiasm happening. Let your dog work on only very dogged sheep so that, as Kelpie-i said, will provide him with wins and positive experiences. Create a bit of movement with the dogged sheep to try and get your dog excited. Maybe try working another form of stock like ducks to get some confidence happening. But above all, always keep an eye on the sheep and make sure they never get a chance to have a go at your dog. Sheep can pick a weak dog very easily and will make trouble. Your dog may not be suited to sheepwork.

Well, i certainly was a dog sport whore. With my last Rotty we did obedience, agility, tracking, schutzhund, flyball, freestyle, lure coursing, tricks......i think thats all. I lived at home and had heaps of spare time. With my current dog, i only do sheepdog work. I started obedience with him but it started to mess up his sheep work so i stopped. I am not sure if you can have a really good sheepdog and do other sports. Anyway, with my new pup i only plan to do one sport as well.

Thanks guys. I have been doing alot of reading on the Leerburg website. I think a video of his might be the way to go :D .

Pauls workshops are great and i would recommend them to everyone. I would be there in a flash this weekend if it werent for the cost . I have to space out the expensive workshops.

I agree with what has been said. Obedience is only boring when the owner makes it that way. Some people say that their dogs prefer tricks but you will generally find that the owner is more "up" when doing tricks and rewards more often so the dog gets more enjoyment out of it. If the owner loves obedience and makes it alot of fun for the dog then the dog will love it too.

Hi all, I have been reading the thread all about prey drive, control and focus but i am a bit more of a visual person so wanted to know if anyone knows of any good videos or books etc that cover building drives in pups. I have Ivan Balabanovs DVDs but the ones i have only cover adult dogs. Not sure if he has one on pups. Thanks .

Wow, very impressive photos.

I completely agree with everything Cosmolo said in her post.

Well done on the hill climb. She didnt win but at least she is still the fastest and 4th is still a very good effort. You can win again next year!! And you call him all those nasty names :D . He always seems to behave really well!!

Waiting................................. not that we are really keen to hear or anything :D

Looking forward to hearing all about how the weekend goes .

Bump................ :rolleyes:

Congratulations!!! You guys are fantastic

Sorry TO, i didnt mean you directly but in general. You guys are obviously not seeing eye to eye and if the discussion is going on a downward spiral i sometimes think it is best to move on from the poster that may be affecting you. No one will learn anything unless posts are friendly and helpful.

Sorry RottnBulies that this thread has gone a bit off topic. I didnt mean to start a vaccination debate, i was just commenting on something MsJames said. MsJames - There is alot of discussion about vaccinations. There was a recent thread on child vaccs in the off topic forum and there are many good discussions regarding dog vaccs in the health forum. Worth a read. I have researched on and off the net and have made the decision that i feel is the best for my child and dogs regarding vaccinations. Hopefully everyone does their own research and does what they think is the best for them as we all have a choice and should be allowed to make that choice. Because some people choose not to vaccinate their animals or children doesnt make them full of "crazy talk", it means they have done their own research and take sufficient measures to manage their decisions. Ignore posts that are confrontational or condescending. I do . RottnBullies, i dont think anyone can give you advice on your situation regarding the domainant female as it is something that has to be seen and assessed. Calling K9 sounds like the best idea :p

I thought it was a good article with many good points. I think alot of people get away with not doing any of this stuff with their dog because their dog never pushes them for leadership, but if or when the dog does push them, thats when we see all the behaviour problems starting. Who has got forever to teach their dog how to walk out the door. Its great if you have nothing else to do in life. The way he describes closing the door on the dog would not harm the dog at all but will teach it very quickly. Have you researched the pro's and con's of yearly vaccination after puppyhood to allow you to make that comment? There are too many spoilt dogs and too many behaviour problems in the world IMO . What the article says is quite full on but the person is used to dealing with very dominant dogs. I personally wouldnt use all his techniques but would use whatever was needed for a particular dog. If i took on a very dominant adult dog then i would follow his rules.

I have been in a fair few obedience/agility trials and for me, the nerves havent got any better with time and experience. I still get very shakey, feel like throwing up and wonder why i put myself through the stress of it all. I think the problem is that you have a whole heap of people watching you and you want to do well. So i try and tell myself that we are all having fun and the outcome doesnt matter. I also try and pretend that it is a traniing session. I have a trial on tomorrow and my self talk isn't helping just yet . I was awake at 3am this morning worrying and i have butterflies in my stomach already. Ridiculous really !!!

Well, that is a shame then that he makes out in his video that he doesnt do that. He obviously uses corrections in a very motivating way though as his results seem to be pretty good. I agree although it is still very motivating to see their dogs working well. It makes me want to go outside and train .

You should have said hello But then again, i was too shy to come over to you guys as well Next time. My new pup is Capree/Futura so it will be interesting to see how she is aggression wise. ETA sorry, guys for my OT kelpie talk, i will stop now. We really need a Kelpie thread!!!!

Yes, my boy is fantastic around all dogs. He did go through a stage at around 1 year where i think his hormones kicked in and he tried to be Mr Tough guy but that passed and he mellowed out again. He is great because he will never fight even when he is getting on tip toes with another male. Completely different to his working style. Its interesting because in my experience with working line kelpies, most of them are good with other dogs. Not sure if the fact that they are actually working dogs makes a difference. I am interested as to what part upbringing and handling from their owner plays in this or if it is all genetic. ETA Kelpie-i, have we met?

Maybe we should start a Kelpie thread like all the other breed threads!!

Congratulations LP, what a fantastic effort!!!!

Hi all, I watched 2 of Ivans DVD's last week and really liked the way he trains. There were alot of info in them, so i had to watch them twice to understand more fully. I loved the footage of his dog working at a competition and how they work so well together because the dog is motivated to perform. Has anyone else watched his DVD's? Any opinions?