Michelleva

I would have loved to offer my sheltie pup as a model, but Geelong is a bit of a hike for me.... she's very pretty, but I could be a little biased.

I've been a huge fan of the dog whisperer for a while now, and watched loads and loads of episodes before our puppy came home. From day one, I always made sure the human family walked through doors first, made sure she knew I was in charge of the food etc and it just dawned on me, I actually DO feel like the pack leader in the family. Last night I had Georgia's dinner ready to give her, she eats outside. So she sat on the mat patiently waiting for me to walk through the door before she came. She knows she's not allowed on the couch unless she's invited, I'm amazed that what I've learnt from that show has enabled me to have a dog that really respects me... its just a fantastic feeling. I quite often ask my 5yo who walks through the door first, and he answers enthusiastically HUMANS!!! LOL we've gotton some strange looks from family and friends but who cares. So who else feels like they are the leader of their pack?

Thanks Aussienot, I've just emailed my local branch and see what they say. I think the volunteering at one of the testing days is a great idea.

What a shame, but totally understandable. I train at the club too, I haven't been for the last two weeks, its just a big mud pit. Georgia wouldn't even sit, let alone do a drop out there, little princess!

I think our puppies are reading this thread, and want to prove us wrong. Little brats...

Georgia is only 6 1/2 months old. So quite a while to go before she's allowed to be tested. And yes I'm in Victoria. Georgia started obedience at four months. At the last level she was one of only two dogs in the class that got put up on testing day. The trainers think Georgia's smart enough to go all the way with her obedience. I feel like a bragging Mum here. I hadn't made contact with Delta yet because of her age, but TerraNik has sent me some forms to look at via email. I don't think there is any point filling any of them in at this stage. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to put a call through to them and see what they say.

Well Georgia and I are back from visiting the 20+ very excited little kiddies. Georgia did amazingly well. I'm so proud of her. The teacher got all the kids to sit in a circle and then I took Georgia around to get a pet from them all. Then they all asked some questions and I showed them the tricks she can do. They loved it when she did her roll over. She also went and shook hands with every second kid, which they thought was fantastic. Today Georgia was confronted with a group of kids crowding around her for pets, she had her ears pulled by younger siblings, she had one little kid whack her from behind and she never reacted to any of it. Of course I did coach all the kids on the right way to approach her, and how to treat her, especially the younger ones. I'm totally impressed with her, gawd I love this girl, she's really special. I want her to share that love around, and I totally believe she can do it. Should I be getting the delta forms filled out now, or leave it till she's 12 months?

Good luck girls, I'm sure you'll pass with flying colours. As you know tlc I also want to go down this path with my sheltie pup. For extra socialisation she's coming to my sons kinder for show and tell tomorrow. It will definitely be interested to see how she copes with 20+ excited kids all wanting a pet.

Oh Nik, you have a gorgeous and FLUFFY family. Happy Birthday Ahsoka! It looks like a great party.

I think I jinxed myself, Georgia was outside for ages last night, obviously chewing a bone and having fun. Then she came back inside and peed on my sons bean bag... oops maybe not quite there yet.

She's already desexed, and was done by the breeder before we collected her. Thats why I'm hesitant to have her put under anaesthetic again. I'll keep doing what I'm doing and cross my fingers for now. If anyone has any ideas on how to get them a bit looser, I'm all ears.

I've just had Georgia at the vets because she has retained two top baby "fangs". I have no idea what they're really called. Anyway, I'd noticed it a few weeks ago and started giving her extra bones to chew on but they hadn't budged so I thought I better get it checked. The vet wants me to wait a month and see if they come out on their own before removing them for her. Does anyone have any other idea's on things I can do to get them out? So far she has been eating chicken frames, chicken necks, meaty lamb bones, as well as her puppy dry food. We're also playing a lot of tug-of-war games with her. I do try and wiggle them a bit myself when she's nice and relaxed, there is some movement, but not a lot yet.

I've been wondering the same thing about Georgia. She's 6 1/2 months old and hasn't had an accident for weeks too. Now she will bark at the back door when she wants to go out. I go and ask her what she wants and she looks me in the eye, then looks at the door, and repeats till I understand. I'm still vigilent too and take her out fairly regularly, but I think she's pretty much trained.

Lots of raw bones. My girl is 6 months, she's getting a heap of bones, they really do help.

You also might like to get in touch with Lort Smith (Vets and Shelter) Pets as therapy coordinator, Ms Lake on as she is responsible for the organising of testing and rosters for Nursing homes, hospitals ect.. I used to do it when it was attached to the Guide Dogs and then Lort Smith, but my girl passed on and my boy is now too old. pm me if you are interested and I will give you her details I did try emailing her today, but it bounced back. There is a contact number on the site, so I will give her a call tomorrow.

Way to go Zero.

Those pics are amazing, thanks for sharing them. I'm unsure whether anyone would accept me just for casual visits. This idea only popped into my head last night, and I did a bit of googling then came and asked in here. I need to be mindful of the fact that she is only a 6 month old puppy. So yes, she can be quite excitable but there's something about her, she's a bit of an old soul to me. It probably sounds strange, but she's got a calmness at times, which doesn't seem to fit the stereotype of a puppy. Ok I'm gushing, I better shut up. I'll PM you.

Thanks Fran, I've sent Terranik a PM. I was prompted by a show on TV last night which showed a dog going in and visiting elderly residents, the dog really lifted their spirits and it made me think maybe Georgia would be good at that. Its something I've always thought of doing personally, not necessarily with a dog, but I think if we can do it together it would be even better. I just need her to grow up a little bit, she's a fairly sensible puppy but like all pups she can get a bit over the top at times. I'll check out the Delta link too, thanks.

I was wondering if anyone here has a dog that they visit nursing homes, hospitals and the like with? I'm in Victoria SE suburbs and am starting to think my dog could have the potential for doing this kind of work down the track. Georgia is a 6 month old sheltie and still a bit too excitable and jumpy to actually do it now, but she LOVES all people, especially kids. We're attending dog obedience every week, which we plan to continue. Is there any other training I should be doing to groom her for this type of work. I think she'd love it, and I would too. What sort of attributes does a dog need to have to do it. Also if anyone knows any organisations in my area that organise this sort of thing, I'd love to know. I'm in the Narre Warren/Berwick area.

As the proud Mum of a barker, I'd be hesitant to encourage barking. I like the bell idea.

Well we're back from obedience, freezing cold and covered in mud, I must be mad.

I was just getting all our stuff together before Georgia and I head off to dog obedience. It dawned on me that I take a LOT of stuff with me, for a one hour lesson!!! What I've got so far... bumbag, with treats, keys, cash, doggy bags dog coat in case it rains collar and lead beanie for me gumboots for me coat for me 2x doggy treats towels to clean up wet muddy dog at the end I'm sure I never took that much stuff with me when I took my human babies out of the house.

Isn't it the best feeling when they behave when you want them to. ;)

I agree! And thanks for all the congratulations.

Georgia and I started obedience about 2 months ago and everytime we've had an assessement, we've been put up to the next level. Today we went up again, I'm so incredibly proud. It was lousy weather here in Melbourne, we had cold, wind, rain and Georgia didn't really like it but she did enough to show the instructor she knew her stuff. We've been practicing every day at home and its working. She's such a smart girl, I need to use her brains for good. Afterward training I was speaking to some of our earlier instructors, and was saying I was really surprised we went up today. She definitely wasn't at her best because of the weather conditions, but they all assured me we can go all the way with obedience. I've never done anything like this before and I'm loving every minute of it, even when the weather's crappy! It probably helps that I've got a super-smart puppy. Ooops, I could be a biased Mum there. Go Team Georgia!