Stitch

Interesting Dancinbcs, I think that there is much more scope to train puppies earlier than is normally considered acceptable - as you have proved. How do you overcome the usual response of all the litter mates having an influence on the one that is currently being trained and creating a distraction? Do you move/train away from their line of sight? The more I read about it and the more experience I get, the more I feel that I should be training much earlier. It is just getting into a routine for this early training that I am finding difficult.

Yes Keshwar I am expecting the positioning to be precise so I am thinking clicker training is going to be a must. What exercises do you use for focusing?

This is a hypothetical question so presume that we know that walking on the lead should be a happy experience and yes it would always be associated with walking on the left hand side. What I am particularly interested in is getting the dog to walk forward in a balanced state, not pulling either to the side or to the front and the starting point would be from scratch with a pup that has not been walked on a lead. Any ideas?

Yes I used it for all my dogs for several years, mixing it with minced chicken frames. Eventually I discovered it was not good for dogs with allergies to grain and I came to seriously question the vitamin and mineral content of it too. I have a Dobe that used to suffer the most terrible skin problems - when I changed him from VAN over to a prey diet, his skin problems went away and that was over 18thms ago. For my smaller show dogs, they did OK on VAN and didn't exhibit any signs of being allergic to all the grain - they did however get the occasional stomach upset. I changed them over to Dr. B's BARF (frozen) and I have found the are doing sooooo much better on it. No stomach upsets at all now! I would never go back to VAN now! I really think that they just don't need all that grain!

Does anyone have any suggestions on what they think the best way to teach a pup (that has never been on a lead) how to walk straight beside you (well balanced and not leaning) and without pulling. If I get one that pulls then I tend to stop until the pup turns around to me to find out what is happening, then I continue on until it pulls again but this method is really only for when I am in a patient mood as it can be very frustrating. Also the 'well balanced' walk is important to me but I have not discovered a good way to teach this, I really don't know if it can be 'taught' - what do you think???

I wet all dry food down with boiled chicken and it seems to make it very acceptable. I get chicken legs, boil them up in just water then strip all the meat off the bone, cut it up then put it back in the remaining juices, then freeze it in little containers. I can then microwave it when required, maybe add a little extra water depending on if it needs it - then pour it over the dry food. Normally I feed BARF but I have to feed dry to one of my older girls - it makes the dry food disappear very quickly.

From what I heard him say, I gathered his ideas came from that old chestnut - raw meat makes dogs savage, it's the blood you know! I absolutely despair when I hear things like that! Edited for spelling - oops!

Just to go back a few posts & clear this up - No it is not Bark Busters that is sprouting such rubbish. For the life of me I can't understand how a trainer could say what he has said and obviously said it on many occasions. The first time I heard it I was totally gobsmacked that a person in such a potentially influential position could say what he did. The second time I heard it, which was about 2 years later and coming from exactly the same person still in the trainers position, it was said to people who had just taken on a young mature dog who they were having hyperactive problems with walking on the lead so they thought they would do the 'right' thing and get some 'professional' advice. I tried to tell them afterwards but the problem was that by then he had gotten to them first and I was 'only a dog breeder' and not a 'professional trainer' like he was. I figure I will give it a few months and then try again to inform them.

I hear you!!! Obviously this trainer works on the theory that a dog that is as healthy as it can be is more difficult to train than one that is undernourished or one that is fed on processed food. Yes, it is a franchise and one that is fairly high profile too!

I would like to hear what you guys think about the effect of feeding a raw all natural diet has on a dogs behaviour and its trainability. The reason I ask this is because I personally have been told by a local dog training franchise owner that dog owners shouldn't feed raw food to a difficult puppy/dog because it will make them more active and more difficult to train. It's the raw meat you see!!! Makes them savage!! The same trainer told a friend of mine who had contacted them regarding lead training that they should stop feeding raw chicken necks and wings to their newly acquired puppy and feed it only dry food. To me this is the MOST ridiculous thing for anyone who knows anything about dogs to say - but I am open to everyones opinion before I formally and totally dismiss this trainer and their organisation from my list of possible trainers to recommend to my puppy buyers.

Eww, a nasty case of red line disease - humm, sorry I just couldn't resist! But seriously, if you are worried about it then you need to get the vet to take a scraping.

She needs to get out amongst other dogs in a controlled situation eg. group dog training classes. A few months of that and she will be a new dog!

IMO I would have the dog beside my bed in the crate and as a previous Doler said gradually move the dog further away over a period of weeks, eventually ending up in the laundry or wherever you are going to make his permanent crate site. For years I have always said for my puppy buyers to start as they mean to continue but I really think that you are doing that by crate training. It is no big deal to ease the pups insecurities by having it near its source of comfort (you) until it gets into a routine.

I have always judged the 'intelligence' of a puppy by how quickly they learned to retrieve. I try to introduce playing and retrieving a ball at an early age and many of my pups will naturally retrieve without being formally trained. There are definitely some though that simply do not have any urge to retrieve the ball at all and I have found they prove quite a challenge to teach. This is not to say that they are stupid, just that others are naturals and are therefore much easier going.

I guess that it would depend on what you are feeding. I have a bitch that went from tolerating food from any protein source to only tolerating 1 source of protein now. Everything has to start somewhere and you may not have noticed the early signs - presuming that that is the cause of course. The allergy/itchiness has to come from somewhere whether it is from insects, plants or food is for your detective skills to ascertain.

I presume you have looked into food related allergies??? Dogs can have reactions to say a protein source that they have been previously able to tolerate well which can cause skin problems. Another thought - around here we get little flying midges, seasonal, and they produce the same problems that you have been describing. I use Advantix which is advertised as repelling mosquitoes and that solves the problem. Don't know if what you are using does the same thing?

My OH started to play ball with her because I hurt my shoulder and couldn't throw the ball far enough. I supervised him though as I was hoping to avoid this particular problem which I have seen in other dogs every now and then. He was really good though and didn't pick the ball up unless it was brought back to right near him. I noticed that the dog then (I am presuming got impatient with the game not progressing quickly enough) grabbed the ball and started the circle thing. So I am thinking now that it might be an impatience thing on the dogs behalf. Does this make sense?? Edited to add: Talking about this problem is really good for me as I am now starting to see things more clearly.

Thanks Vicki, I will try that too. Any theories as to why they progress from retrieving well to all the naughty variations. Could it be boredom or associated possessiveness of the ball?

All these types of product have a help/information line you can phone to get more info. Why don't you ring them, after all they know their product best!

OK I will try that too. I always put the ball away at the end of the game. I thought maybe if I gave her the ball initially so she could run around with it herself then after about 10 minutes start throwing it for her, that way she could get over her initial excitement??? What do you think? Or should she play within the rules right from the start?

Yes, I will try that Keshwar. Food treats won't work with her as she is ball obsessed so I will have to buy another ball. I have also tried her with the frisbee after she started withholding the ball but she does the same thing. I wonder what makes a dog change from perfect retrieving to not wanting to give the ball up. If I could pinpoint that then I could hopefully prevent it from happening again.

My 10 month old was retrieving a ball beautifully for many months. She would come straight back and drop the ball at my feet or thereabouts and it made for great fun and good exercise for her. Now she has developed the habit of coming back then frisking away with the ball - obviously enjoying her ability to keep the ball for herself. She will do huge circles now with the ball in her mouth. I had been particularly careful to avoid this kind behaviour by not to pouncing quickly on the ball myself when she returned it but somehow she has learnt that it is fun to keep the ball just out of my reach and then play with it herself. The question is now she has learnt this bad habit how can I get her to unlearn it and part with the ball cleanly at my feet.

OK, so I have now realised that doing the microchipping myself is not an option - I really didn't want to do it myself anyway! Now I have to find someone who will do litters for a reasonable price - any ideas???

Can I ask which vet you go to Pointeeblab? I am thinking that puppy buyers should be quoted the price of a pup plus the extra cost to get the pup microchipped.

Are there any fellow breeders out there who have worked out what is the cheapest and best way to microchip a litter of pups seeing as they now have to be done prior to sale? I notice that you can now purchase microchips and do it yourself but I would think you need training to do that and I don't really breed that often that I could justify buying a scanner. Seeing as local councils sometimes have microchipping days where they charge $10 to microchip anyones dog I was wondering if there is a vet or organisation that is offering the same or similar bulk deal on litters of pups. Anyone able to help with info., etc.?