Tapferhund

Spot on Gillbear !!!!!

Bugga....didn't know it was on and Paul's Herding clinics are fantastic too. Hope it's a great weekend and someone posts all the details of it here!

jess 95, Sorry about your dog having this dreaded problem and hopefully the antibiotics will do the trick. Some years ago friends of mine had a Sheppie with this problem and their Vet suggested they have the tail removed to allow air flow through the area. They went ahead and had the surgery and it did seem to work for the dog. I don't know if Vets are still recommending such drastic action these days ?

weisnjac, That's fantastic !!!! Congratulations to you and your Jack !!!!!

Shellybegs...good topic ! I like my dogs to focus but not to the point of continually watching my face during the heeling. Apart from the fact it doesn't look natural, it must be bl**dy uncomfortable for the dog to maintain that type of position all of the time. As long as my dog looks up occasionally and is listening and aware of my position and body language for him to stay close , I'm happy.

I have just been reading her site and my eyeballs nearly popped out when I read this sentence...."As a general rule of thumb, each step takes one to three training sessions to complete (a training session being 150 clicks or so)" Does this mean what I think it means?........you repeat the step you are at 150 times per session????? :shakehead: .....WHY??? I don't use a clicker and when I am training dumbell, I only repeat each step I am at no more than three or four times per session and within 3 to 4 weeks my dogs are retrieving well.....so I am just interested to know 'why' when using a clicker you have to repeat it so many times??

weisenjac.........don't worry about it and don't let ONE persons opinion ,even if they are a judge , ruin your watching your Mum in the ring. As long as you are not doing anything wrong and just watching......stay and continue to watch.......as many others do with their family members , spouses and friends.

For your interest Reddog....... Visit the following site for all the information on the two Aussie German Shepherds competing overseas....you will also find a great write up in the latest issue of National Dog Ringleader. http://www.schutzhundaustralia.com/ and the following is some news on the Belgian Shepherd...... Bryan Haus Mecki, a Malinois and his handler Reg Worth, Queensland Policeman did well at the World Championships in France - scored 253 in IPO. This was against the top SchH handlers. Bryan Haus Mecki was supported by the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club of Queensland and the CCCQ ... and, believe it or not, had the approval of the ANKC to compete! So Reddog.......it's time the Rottie clubs got their act together and send someone to compete overseas!!

Reddog21.........another huge fan of Schutzhund here and I did participate in the sport for many years.....AND I was at the time and still am a member of the ANKC. *"but I do know the GSD people went through a lot of heartache over the issue. " Only a loyal few to the breed being a working dog first ,went through the heartache......the majority being in FULL support of the sport NEVER being recognised in this country ! *"Is it fair that an Australian can't enter a Trial in Germany, using a German dog, without fear of sanction from the ANKC or Dogs NSW if he was in NSW? There are 3 competitors overseas at the moment and as far as I know all are ANKC members. Two have taken their German Shepherds and are taking out the trials over the Germans They had the blessing of the Queensland GSD club. The other person over there has a Belgian Shepherd and he too went with the blessing of the Belgian Club and the ANKC,so I have been told. *"cowboys will exist, the macho, bullshit people will try." These fools will always exist and it is not right that the majority of responsible dogsport enthusiasts can't have the sport recognised or even accepted because of the idiot few. (We miss out but the idiot few are still in existance aren't they !?) If we could get Schutzhund recognised as a legitimate sport and if regulations, thru Govt , could be brought in that would shut the cowboys down and only allow registered clubs with rules and regs for the sport and membership,then the sport would be better off IMO.

Erny, Maybe things have changed in recent years but it was my understanding that ,under Vet advice, prong collars CAN be used for dogs with medical conditions, ie spinal injuries etc , because these collars are the safest to use. I am all for the prong collar and would like to see all restrictions dropped in their use. Somewhere I have a letter by the late Dr.Alex Hauler , who was very much in favour of prong collars. If I can find it I will post it here for you.

LP, I think I know what you mean by the "poking" (LOL).....my boy Bobbie does that and a few of his litter mates have the habit too.........I think it's genetic (?) I know Leo is related....but what about Kinta? Is she related to spotlight? If she is .......well there's your answer to the poking...it's a family thing

Yep, I have used Thrive-D.....found the stuff quite good too.

No I didn't enter either but have friends who did. Good luck everyone, hope you all get a pass !!

Yes, I had a Shepherd who suffered two bouts of Gastric Torsion.....first time he was 4 years old and then it happened again at aged 5. He survived both bouts and lived until he was 13 years old..........but bloat is something I hope I NEVER have again for any of my dogs as it is a SHOCKING thing for the dog to go through and not too good for the owners either. Once you have had a dog suffer this dreaded problem, it stays with you for life......always in the back of your mind every time you feed them.

Geeez my dogs would LOVE a pigs head !! I have an Uncle who,once a week , would throw his dogs a sheep head each to munch on............they loved it !!

Scientists will ALWAYS agree to disagree on research findings. I read Dr. Zinks paper and no, he didn't mention pyometra......but then why should he....he wasn't saying dogs should 'never' be speyed/castrated , he was saying, due to research findings, that it shouldn't be done too early. This Lisa Howe can dispute all the findings she likes.........it's not going to change my feelings on early desexing of baby puppies.....that being it is disgusting and just another act of human arrogance against other animals...all to solve a human problem.

Erny, Two weeks ago I had one of my dogs implanted because he suffers prostate problems and I have not noticed any changes in his behaviour. My Vets knew quite a bit about the effects of the implant and made no mention of Testosterone levels 'rising' (?)........they just said it takes about one to two weeks before the testosterone levels start to diminish.

Well, for me, heeling is the easiest thing to teach and there are many methods to get the same result, but my method is to have short successful lessons in heeling daily . I don't believe in teaching heel on a loose lead, as this creates too many oportunities for the dog to be out of place, so I have the slip chain up high on the neck of the dog with me holding a very short slightly loose lead low and across my body. This keeps the dog in correct position from the very beginning, so he/she learns nothing else but "where" I want him/her to be. I use food as a reward and reward on a continual schedule of reinforcement for closeness of work and focusing on me. When my dogs understand what to do I then reward intermittently ....but always on lead. When I know that my dogs know and understand EXACT position, then I will remove the lead and because they know 'position', I never have trouble with lagging or forging. Hope this helps!

Brooke, you are not alone in this problem...........a problem that is typical Shepherd , a problem that MOST Shepherd owners have !! None like thier owners out of sight. I have had some who whinge loudly through stress and others who fidget with stress ,which is what one of mine does at the moment. All you can do is train in LITTLE steps over a long period of time......a second at a time and try and build confidence in the dog that you WILL be back. I would not be correcting him for it either as it will only make him more anxious about the whole exercise. Take it one second at a time and if he is quiet return and reward him. I would be doing this from the drop stay only at this stage too......and when you return (after one or two seconds) gently and firmly stroke him from head to tail telling him that he is a good boy. This should help to calm him and when he is calm, walk away again for another couple of seconds.....build it slowly over time.

Leopuppy, good topic......but , I have to agree with what MrsD said in post #8 I also get a bit fed up with people downing what they call "traditional" methods of training as if it is something to be shunned. (By 'traditional, I take it you mean physically placing the dog in to position(compulsion)....and only using voice/pats as praise and nothing else?) If this is the case Leopuppy....then there is nothing wrong with using this method of training........it is only another method afterall...and one that has stood the test of time in working for many years for many people. I also don't understand how you believe "traditional" training involves correcting the dog when it is still learning? If this is what you have witnessed in your few short years in dog training, then you have witnessed bad training by a bad trainer. Traditional (as you call it) trainers use just as much encouragement and praise in the teaching phase of their dogs training as anyone else does. Also, you really need to experience different types of dogs with their different types of temperament before you can start questioning others or their methods of training. I have an example here , an example I would like to know 'how' YOU would approach and deal with the situation. What would you do if faced with a dog like this (and PTS is not an option) A guy I know , Tom ,who is in security, has had GSD's for many years...all fully trained for the work that he does with them. Some years ago he was given a GSD called Wolf, a dog that nobody else wanted because the dog was so hard , dominant and beligerant no one else could do a thing with the dog.....I mean this dog was TOUGH.......not even the Police wanted him...........so the dog ended up with Tom.(Even Tom's other dogs had great respect for this dog) Over time Tom , who BTW was an excellent trainer (traditional), did everything possible to train this dog as his new top security dog.....and everyday the dog would put up a fight challenging him in every way shape and form........even in the truck when Tom tried to get in , the dog would have a go at him......it would eventually let him in but always not without a fight first. Anyway, to make a long story short, this went on for months, Tom ended up correcting the dog, he thumped the dog,used e-collars etc ........he literally tried everything to get this dogs compliance and respect but nothing worked.........and then one day the dog was sitting in the truck and once again it flew at Tom when he tried to get in................and Tom finally lost it, he had enough........he picked up a shovel and as hard as he could he whacked the dog over the head and thinking he had killed the dog he opened up the truck door, dragged the body out and threw it on the pile of horse sh*t near by. Ten minutes later the dog came to ,staggered to it's feet .........and from that moment on WORSHIPPED the ground Tom walked on .....'Wolf' became his best working dog and closest companion.........AND it didn't do it out of fear either but out of respect . So LP......do you think R+ and P- would work on a dog like this? Would walking inside and taking the 'game' away work in this situation with a dog like this? What "method" would you implement for a dog like this?

Lablover, Arya and I have trained together every week for the past year and I can tell you Arya's girl is quick to pick up on everything she is taught , she loves learning and has a huge range of skills . She knows all the Open and UD exercises WELL ,plus she can do dozens of complex tricks. She works well in our training sessions without distractions and with distractions(people,kids, footballs etc)............hence why it is so frustrating for Arya when she and her dog hit the Trial ring. I am not kidding here but the dog is capable of getting in the high 190's at every trial if we could just work out and rectify what her problem is .

"I have held food within a few inches of her nose and dropped it, she lets is fall on the floor and then gets it!" There's your answer Saltwood...........why should she catch it when she is going to get it anyway !! Try tease throwing (moving extremely quickly in your actions) a few times, so that the fast movement heightens her enthusiasm .......following closly with a slower "upwards" throw towards her with the food.......and if she misses it whatever you do don't let her pick it up from the floor. Play this game no more than half a dozen times ,leaving her on a high but missing out on the reward, don't wait until she starts losing interest in the game............and within a few days she SHOULD(?) start trying to catch it. This is what I did for one of mine and I found it worked.

Great post Arya !! Feher....careful with the salt......there are other mineral salts to consider that are not common table salt.

"if it is done correctly and consistently and the dog fully understands what's going on, I am thinking it probably reinforces in the dog's mind a sense of security in a way, because their leader is a strong leader who will not put up with any mucking around and as such, can provide safety and security in stressful situations. A leader who never offers any sort of consequence for not doing something isn't really a leader at all, are they." Yep ! I would agree with that !!

Erny, couldn't agree with you more ,I am not a head collar fan either and I am yet to see a dog 'happy' in having one on let alone being trained in one..........the poor dogs just can't concentrate at all. Most Chiro Vets don't recommend them either due to the spinal damage they can cause if used incorrectly.