luvsdogs

Positive dog training classes at Western Suburbs Dog Training Club at Homebush Bay on Saturday afternoons. Werriwa Dog Training Club at Warick Farm on Sunday mornings.

QUESTIONS 1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) I have owned a border collie since 1993 when I bought April. After she passed away I bought Tilba in 2008. 2. Where and why was the breed first developed? As stated above, the border regions of England & Scotland. 3. How common is it in Australia? Quite common. 4. What is the average lifespan? April lived to 7 weeks short of 15 yrs. I think the average is 13 yrs. I did hear of one 17 yrs. 5. What is the general temperament/personality? I have found my 2 to be friendly, willing to please & loveable, although April was weary of some people & dogs. Tilba is totally different & I put this down to age of purchase & socialisation. From what I've heard of some other bcs my 2 were/are calm in comparison & not over the top. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? They need a quite a lot of exercise & more importantly exercise the mind. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? If they were willing to give the dog a job to do such as agility, flyball, obedience etc. Learn all they can about the breed before purchase & socialise well to all the dog is likely to experience as an adult. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? As long as the dog has something to do at other times. 9. How much grooming is required? Ive found they only need a good brushing once a week & every day or so while molting. For a long coated breed it's easy care most of the time. 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? While they are young yes. They would need to be watched at all times as with any breed of dog. 11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? Breeding stock should be tested & clear of CL, CEA & TNS on at least one side. Elbows & hips of the parents should also be x-rayed with low scores. 12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be) Ask about the above tests & to see the results. What is the temperament of the parents like? Have they been socialised to all types & ages people/children, other dogs, kitchen & household sounds, traffic noise, the lawn mower & vacuum cleaner? Are their lines healthy & long lived? Do I get a diet sheet & puppy pack? Have the puppies been wormed, vaccinated & microchipped?

Back in 2000 my son brought home a puppy that was 5 weeks 5 days old. A work collegue brought the whole litter to his work & they were all given away. I was told that the parents were mother & son with pit bull mixes. She has been a delight to live with & I don't remember any trouble with nipping as a pup. I wasn't allowed to take her to my obedience club until she was about 6-8 mths old. I feel I could have done a lot more with her because she learned things easily. I stopped taking her after she had a run in with a doberman of the same age. She was ok up until then with other dogs so I stopped taking her. The only dog she had anything to do with after that was my bc April & now Tilba. She has also had a dislike of children because they tease her going to & from school so have been aware of this & taken precautions with our own grandchildren. My youngest son was 14 when she came to live with us. I got Tilba at 11 weeks 5 days old, about the age of Jazzie now, & as she was with a couple of her litter mates up until then she has never had a problem with nipping. I did have to teach her that it was ok for me to be around when she has raw bones because the 1st time I gave her one she snatched it & ran off to eat it. With help from the net we soon overcame this problem. by me holding on to the bone while she nibbled on the end of it. At my obedience club we teach members to stay with their dogs at least 3-4 times a week while they eat. Once they are comfortable with you standing there it's time to add some tastier treats to the bowl while they are eating. It's not a good idea to take the food bowl away. Dogs don't generalise so you have to train them be it obedience or food bowl manners in all situations not only the one way in the one place. This will help with bite inhibition. And Socialisation. " If things don't improve soon I would find a good positive behaviourist. You can't take chances with puppy nipping children. She needs to learn manners & the rules of the house.

Your puppy is still young & you will find the time lines suggested by Dunbar in bold type. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teach...ibitionTeaching Bite Inhibition Please read this section extremely carefully. I shall repeat over and over: teaching bite inhibition is the most important aspect of your puppy's entire education. Certainly puppy biting behavior must eventually be eliminated. We cannot have an adult dog playfully mauling family, friends, and strangers in the manner of a young puppy. However, it is essential that this be done gradually and progressively via a systematic two-step process: first, to inhibit the force of puppy bites and second, to lessen the frequency of puppy mouthing. Ideally, the two phases should be taught in sequence, but with more active puppy biters you may wish to work on both stages at the same time. In either case, you must teach your puppy to bite or mouth gently before puppy biting behavior is eliminated altogether Inhibiting the Force of Bites The first step is to stop your puppy from hurting people: to teach him to inhibit the force of his play-bites. Physical punishments are certainly not called for. But it is essential to let your puppy know that bites can hurt. A simple "Ouch!" is usually sufficient. When the puppy backs off, take a short time-out to "lick your wounds," instruct your pup to come, sit, and lie down to apologize and make up and then, resume playing. If your puppy does not respond to your yelp by easing up or backing off, an effective technique is to call the puppy a "Bully!" and then leave the room and shut the door. Allow the pup a minute or two time-out to reflect on the association between his painful bite and the immediate departure of his favorite human playmate. Then return to make up. It is important to show that you still love your puppy, only that his painful bites are objectionable. Have your pup come and sit and then resume playing once more. It is much better for you to walk away from the pup than to physically restrain him or remove him to his confinement area at a time when he is biting too hard. So make a habit of playing with your puppy in his long-term confinement area. This technique is remarkably effective with lead-headed dogs, since it is precisely the way puppies learn to inhibit the force of their bites when playing with each other. If one puppy bites another too hard, the bitee yelps and playing is postponed while he licks his wounds. The biter soon learns that hard bites interrupt an otherwise enjoyable play session. He learns to bite more softly once play resumes. The next step is to eliminate bite pressure entirely, even though the "bites" no longer hurt. While your puppy is chewing his human chewtoy, wait for a bite that is harder than the rest and respond as if it really hurt, even though it didn't: "Ouch, you worm! Gennntly! That really hurt me, you bully!" Your puppy begins to think, "Good Heavens! These humans are soooooo sensitive. I'll have to be really careful when mouthing their delicate skin." And that's precisely what you want your pup to think: that he needs to be extremely careful and gentle when playing with people. Your pup should learn not to hurt people well before he is three months old. Ideally, by the time he is four-and-a-half months old — before he develops strong jaws and adult canine teeth — he should no longer be exerting any pressure when mouthing. Decreasing the Frequency of Mouthing Once your puppy has been taught to mouth gently, it is time to reduce the frequency of mouthing. Your pup must learn that mouthing is okay, but he must stop when requested. Why? Because it is inconvenient to drink a cup of tea or to answer the telephone with fifty pounds of wriggling pup dangling from your wrist. That's why. It is better to first teach "Off" using food as both a distraction and a reward. The deal is this: once I say "Off," if you don't touch the food treat in my hand for just one second, I'll say, "Take it" and you can have it. Once your pup has mastered this simple task, up the ante to two or three seconds of non-contact, and then to five, eight, twelve, twenty, and so on. Count out the seconds and praise the dog with each second: "Good dog one, good dog two, good dog three," and so forth. If the pup touches the treat before you are ready to give it, simply start the count from zero again. Your pup quickly learns that once you say "Off," he can not have the treat until he has not touched it, for, say, eight seconds, so the quickest way to get the treat is not to touch it for the first eight seconds. In addition, regular hand-feeding during this exercise encourages your pup's soft mouth. Once your pup understands the "Off" request, use food as a lure and a reward to teach it to let go when mouthing. Say, "Off" and waggle some food as a lure to entice your pup to let go and sit. Then praise the pup and give the food as a reward when he does so. The main point of this exercise is to practice stopping the pup from mouthing, and so each time your puppy obediently ceases and desists, resume playing once more. Stop and start the session many times over. Also, since the puppy wants to mouth, the best reward for stopping mouthing is to allow him to mouth again. When you decide to stop the mouthing session altogether, say, "Off" and then offer your puppy a Kong stuffed with kibble. If ever your pup refuses to release your hand when requested, say, "Bully!" rapidly extricate your hand from his mouth, and storm out of the room mumbling, "Right. That's done it! You've ruined it! Finished! Over! No more!" and shut the door in his face. Give the pup a couple of minutes on his own to reflect on his loss and then go back to call him to come and sit and make up before continuing the mouthing game. By the time your pup is five months old, he must have a mouth as soft and reliable as a fourteen-year-old working Labrador Retriever: your puppy should never initiate mouthing unless requested; he should never exert any pressure when mouthing; and he should stop mouthing and calm down immediately upon request by any family member. Whether or not you allow your adult dog to mouth on request is up to you. For most owners, I recommend that they teach their dog to discontinue mouthing people altogether by the time he is six to eight months old. However, it is essential to continue bite inhibition exercises. Otherwise, your dog's bite will begin to drift and become harder as he grows older. It is important to regularly handfeed your dog and clean his teeth each day, since these exercises involve a human hand in his mouth. For owners who have good control over their dog, there is no better way to maintain the dog's soft mouth than by regular play-fighting. However, to prevent your puppy from getting out of control and to fully realize the many benefits of play-fighting, you must play by the rules and teach your dog to play by the rules. Play-fighting teaches your puppy to mouth only hands, which are extremely sensitive to pressure, but never clothing. Shoelaces, ties, trousers, and hair have no nerves and cannot feel. Therefore you cannot provide the necessary feedback when your pup begins to mouth too hard and too close to your skin. The play-fighting game also teaches your dog that he must adhere to rules regarding his jaws, regardless of how worked up he may be. Basically, play-fighting gives you the opportunity to practice controlling your puppy when he is excited. It is important to establish such control in a structured setting before real-life situations occur. Adapted from AFTER You Get Your Puppy by Dr. Ian Dunbar

A 2 -3 y/o mini poodle in my obedience club sleeps on folded newspaper because he always chewed his soft beds/sheepskin.

Thank you.

Being a large breed it's also important to grow the pup slowly to avoid joint problems. I have always had puppies inside to sleep until older & outside during the day if weather permits. Enrolling in a good positive puppy pre school will help with a lot of the questions & show you how to look after pup & train. Socialisation is also very important in the 1st 16 weeks of life.

That's sad news. I also send condolences to her family & friends.

I was getting all excited until I realised it's the same weekend as the APDT conference.

At my obedience club we use Chunkers. The dogs love them & Tilba is happy to work for a minute amount. They are small meat balls & I can get about 20 bits out of one. They are available from the pet fridge section of Woolies & Coles.

Will have to wait until my broadband is up & running again to view all the videos. Looks like The Sydney Royal is sadly lacking in the dog events calendar. :p

April had hers when I got her. He breeder said he forgot to take them off when the pups were born. I had them taken off when she was spayed. They took a while to heal up.

I didn't say they are the same.

A similar thing happened to April's breeder many years ago with one of their previous dogs. After being told this & reading a book by a behaviourist just after I got April, the author can't remember who he was, used to make house visits to problem dogs & one of the 1st questions he would ask clients was - do the dogs sleep on the bed?, I have never let my dogs sleep on the bed or in the bedroom. They have their own room in the back of the house.

I use a martingale collar.

When my obedience club used to do traditional training we were taught to do turns by pivoting on the toes of the foot we were turning into. So left turns were pivot left on left foot. Right pivot for right turns. When doing about turns it was important to follow the same track once you had turned about. Always leave on left foot for heeling by taking 1 short step in normal pace to give dog a chance to keep up then walk as requested. Don't look down at your dog, look straight ahead & keep your hands in the one position.

Chicken livers & heart are best as they don't have hydatids. I would cut down on the mince & give whole pieces of meat to encourage chewing.

Ask the advice of the shelter staff. They should know the personality of the dogs.

I too just found this thread. The puppy looked chi to me too except for the big feet. I wouldn't be too worried about waiting for a puppy up to 12 weeks old. My border was 11w 5d's when I picked her up & there was such a difference to the previous 2 dogs we got in the past at 6 w/o. Puppy pre schools usually take puppies from 8 - 16 weeks old. Good luck in your search.

Someone came to my obedience club on Sat with a young puppy. At 1st I thought it was a boxer cross but the owner said it was a pit bull X ? I can't remember what he said. I thought it sounded like one of the restricted breeds not allowed into the country. The puppy had a slight brindle pattern. It looked a bit like a mastif. It was 9.5 w/o & had long legs. He said the X was an Aussie breed, bred to hunt pigs & there were 2 words in the name. What breed do you think it could be?

This is what I would have done. Many years ago a similar thing happened at my dog club when I had my son's dog with me. Another dog the same age & with a behaviour problem. When I saw him coming towards us, I tried to get away but he was off lead & too quick. There was a lot of air snapping & both dogs were showing their teeth. Sooty lunged at ppl & dogs on the way back to the car. I never took her back. My dog April had a problem with a lot of dogs & would lunge at some of them & if she was off lead during training & another dog was running she would run towards them but come back to me b4 making contact. I used to always go to the end of the line & away from the dogs she liked the least.

I would not follow this advice. You do not want to stop growling. It's a warning & if you take that warning away the pup will go straight to a bite. Teach your children that when a dog growls it's not comfortable with what's going on & is telling you it wants you to stop what you're doing. Mind you at this age it may be play growling. I don't think it would be dangerous. Puppies play growl with their litter mates & bite. The pup that gets bitten stops play. If a puppy wants to play it soon learns not to bite, or play ends. http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/why-growl-good http://www.dogstardaily.com/files/DogsChildren.pdf

I wouldn't give these either after reading the article in Urban Animal about dog treats. You can scatter his dry food around your yard b4 going to work. Takes time to find all the bits & time for a nap when he's finished. Also buster cubes & frozen kongs. I'm seriously thinking of getting a dehydrator & dry my own meat/fruits/vegies for treats.

I have found that a lot of rescues are like this too when I am training them. I have found that when I get home, if I actually go outside and sit with them for 10 -20 minutes they will go to the toilet and then we go inside. Most will sleep while you are not there, and after sleep is a prime time for wanting to toilet. When you come home the wake up and are excited about you being home and wanting to greet you so they don't go to the toilet. Staying with them outside gives them a chance to greet you, get over the excitement and then go to the toilet. Great advice.

Not too late for new puppy owners as it goes to the 1st couple of weeks at the new home.