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Awesome, thanks heaps for your help!

Thankyou!!

Thanks, this is really useful advice. We do all of the usual things that would otherwise contribute to boredom barking - walking, stimulation, time with family, food, plenty of toys. I think the idea of a buffer zone is useful, or having ctv cameras to observe Harvey's behaviour when we're not home. The other dogs surrounding us have resumed their usual noisy barking, and Harvey has barked maybe 3 times in the last fortnight (two of which were today, both times he was crated in response). I'm not convinced he is the problem, however, a diary to essentially 'prove' (or disprove') this to the council/complaining neighbour may be necessary. Gah. Neighbours!

I apologise, I haven't read the entire thread - but has anyone had any issues with Aussies barking? Our (very aggressive) neighbour complained that he barks constantly when we're out - while I am dubious as to the accuracy of her claims (she aggressively told me we'd done absolutely nothing since she first complained to us 3 months ago, which is completely untrue) the reality is, I have to do something. The council's website was unhelpful - suggested all the things we do already, he is walked regularly, fed twice a day, we play with him, has plenty of toys to play with and a bed to sleep on. He is completely quiet when we are home, and has been taught (via crate training) not to bark, so that at worst, we get a single bark, and then stops. The neighbourhood is full of barking dogs - there is one near us (next to the complaining neighbour) who yaps constantly, however it has been eerily quiet the last couple of days, so I suspect she's complaining/threatening everyone, however this helps me not. I also suspect that because Harvey has a rather loud, robust bark that he gets a greater proportion of the blame. Irrespective, the issue needs dealing with! I considered that it was separation anxiety - he can be quiet clingy - but he doesn't whine to come inside if we're home and he's outside unless we've been out all day. And even then, his whining is ignored (because I don't want to reinforce the behaviour). Anyway, here is a picture of the lovely Harvey. He very helpfully sat himself and his toy on top of a pile of crocheted squares I was about to post off to a charity.

Cherry is adorable!!! Look at the facials in the second picture!!

YES!! All I had to do was *think* about taking Scrimp and Lil with me the other day, for Scrimp to later (as I was about to leave) bark at me as if to say, "well? Aren't we coming?"... gah!

Not my post I'm afraid. You still haven't answered the question Rhaps.. what sort of "work" do people who want APBTs want them to perform. Last time I checked we were talking about a particular case and a particular dog.. the one most people posting in this thread are concerned about. My background is dog sports, not much showing until now. I know some owners of working bred herding breeds and I know how seriously they take the responsiblity for owning a dog like that in suburbia. I don't know how you've concluded I think APBT owners no nothing about working dogs, I just don't know what "work" their owners expect them to perform. How many of them do any kind of "work" at all? Not your post? Who said it was? I wasn't responding to a post of yours, I was responding to Warley. As for what work pit bulls can perform. Wait, your background is dog sports and you have no idea what work pit bulls can be expected to perform? ... Pit bulls are deployed in many official fields from drug detection to tracking and trailing. They have been known to work as assistance dogs, also. Aside from that, think of any dog sport you can. Pit bulls are versatile enough to do just about all of them. Weight pulling, high jump, agility, flyball, obedience, frisbee, dock jumping - they can also excel at complex tricks. Do a little you-tubing perhaps. Absolutely, but nobody is disputing this. What I understood to be poodlefan's point, was that the onus of having a working breed, or a breed with a very high intelligence and activity requirements (poodles included!) is the high demand the dogs have for socialisation, activity, stimulation and exercise. BSL doesn't enable this to occur. Sucks, but that's simply the law, and to not abide by it is to risk the dog's life. Not providing this stimulation leads to frustrated, bored and destructive dogs. Poodlefan doesn't appear to be disputing the fact that pitbulls can do any of the above activities you described, but rather-- all of the above is pretty difficult with BSL. At least, that's what it seems like to me.

Canine Interaction is where I took my dogs. They're in Croydon Park, so not terribly close unfortunately, but Megan is fantastic and is definitely worth a phone call or email - if for nothing else but to recommend another trainer for a private consult (and the trainer she recommends is awesome as well). Megan has a beautiful BC as well.

I misread the title as having something to do with hit-dogs as well. ;) My dogs do the same, the trainer said it is a good idea to take them out seperately so that they're accustomed to it. I must admit, easier said than done, as I had completely forgotten this instruction till I read this thread. I don't see the harm in giving Ruger a bone while you take Fly out.

Well, I tried trimming it and she yipped in pain. It's sitting at a funny angle (like, right out from her leg) and it hurts to touch. So, I dunno.

Hey all, Last night Lil tore her dew claw when running through some bushes (or something) while we were out walking. It's not torn off, but is hanging at a funny angle and appears to be quite sore- she yipped when she lay on it funny last night and has been limping a little (though it hasn't stopped her jumping all over Scrimp, unsuprisingly). It's not bleeding, so I'm in two minds as to whether I should leave it, bandage it, trim it or...? I thought if I bandaged it it might sit flatter and reduce the risk of catching on something- having said that she may just pull the bandage off, so that'd be kinda pointless. I could trim it, but I was also concerned about giving the nail an edge that might catch on something? Any thoughts?

Slightly OT, but what's the deal with the harmony harnesses? We have an easy walk, but I reckon it's too big for Lil, particularly across the chest. I was looking at the kumalong (it's fairly cheap) because the design looks the same. I tried to get in touch with Jenny but no luck.

Which is a good sign for Scrimp! I was going to order a new martingale for Lil, may as well order a plain old martingale for Scrimp too, see how the little fella handles it.

Yeah... It occured to me when I was writing these posts that I tend to think that it is as much for my peace of mind than anything else. My partner walks him on a flat collar, I just worry that I can't control him if he has some kind of altercation with another dog (and even still, last time that happened, before the dog got to him he was trying to turn me to leave).

So the leverage isn't the same as for a martingale, fitted high on the neck? I *think* the instructions recommend fitting the nose strap very loosely (ours is very loose) so the pressure on the nose band is minimal, if at all (I mean, Scrimp doesn't pull anyway). Sorry, I'm straying off topic, it's just an interesting topic.