Tassie

Yes! My dear old Kirra was very much a foody girl ... didn't learn to tug (or about crates much) till she was several years old. However I was able to transfer value to the tug and she became a fearsome tugger, even if she knew there were treats around. Mind you .. I had to use a long tug with her, as she was slow to learn to be careful with her teeth! Small price to pay.

Slightly OT .. but I was just reading the August issue of Clean Run magazine (agility magazine from the US, and there's an interesting article in which the author argues that VR strengthening behaviours to resist extinction is arguably an experimental construct, arrived at in controlled lab experiments, and therefore maybe not best suited to real life with all its uncontrolled variable and distractions. If I read it correctly, the argument was in favour of continuous reinforcement (but with an emphasis on building and strengthening secondary rinforcers .. e.g. that you can take into a competition ring .. like personal play, verbal excitement etc. etc. So it's not just the treat for example that's the reward .. but the whole performance the Nadler puts on between the behaviour and the treat .. that excitement in itself become a reinforcer. @The Spotted Devil - - don't know if you read the article or if I've interpreted it correctly.

@Verve What TSD said . And there will be backward steps .. like a couple of failures that I had with Pippa puppy this evening ... we've been playing IYCVC when I open the door to the cat room for Bonnie to come out for house time .. last minute lapse of impulse control ... luckily I was able to manage a response cost. And that followed a day of brilliant recalls from who knows where in my acre + .. and then a complete failure when she was about 5 metres from me, in plain sight .. but focussed entirely on something in a different direction (I think she was looking at a bird that might have dared to use the bird bath Pippa was standing right near.) .. and she then having ignored my call, started off in the direction of said bird. I must say I cheated, and praised and treated Rory for paying attention

I was wondering how your shoulder and hand were coping with the puppies.

Just got to watch it now ... that was super, TSD. Couldn't watch live as Rory had hydrotherapy, and then I was growing IYC on Pippa's walk on busy streets - sitting on a bench right near a busy intersection, with buses and trucks thundering by, and playing IYC with the treats, and major distractions .. people walking by (all of whom she believes need to be greeted by her.) We had some great impulse control . Her best reward was permission to go see the postmen in his hi-vis wet weather gear, with his postie bike .. all parked on a narrow footpath. (Turns out he's a Border Collie owner ... win!)

These ones seem to be more on the theory of why she emphasises dog's choice as such a powerful training method .. though in the first one, she was showing how it contrasts with other techniques. The second one is showing the speed with which a naïve dog can be trained with the Hot Zone game using shaping and choice (with setting the scenario up so it's more likely the dog will make 'good' choices.

I have one of these K9 Cruiser bowl. My puppy loves to empty normal water bowls by digging the water out ..so far this is pretty resistant. Don't know if it would suit your needs though. I also have one of these Road Refresher bowl, but I find them really awkward to get the top bit off. (And it's not puppy paddling proof and momster puppy can actually tip it over .. it's in her crate in the car.

All sounds good @KobiD.. I do the same sort of thing with my youngster, though I don't try to close the distance .. I'm usually doing the reverse. cause she's a bit over-enthusiastic! And if it's something she's worried about, I just let her find her safe distance and have a think, if it's safe. She saw her first horse (in a neighbouring paddock) while we were on the mainland last month. We were in a neighbouring paddock, so I just let her choose her own distance to watch from as she was behaving thoughtfully. Over a couple of days, she ended up a few metres from the fence - young horse, so I wasn't going to push it. Her urban/narrow footpath street walks are getting better each week .. she's able to be more attentive and keep a respectful distance if I ask her. I did release her on a shortish lead, to a polite greeting with a leashed dog we met this morning .. checked with ownder first .. quick polite greeting, then they were both done .. thanked him, and walked on. Good puppy. Oh and she had a little startle about a noisy truck coming towards us in the left lane .. she watched it suspiciously after backing off from the road edge which she'd been nearer to, then relaxed as it went on by, and ignored the big bus in the next lane.

Not sure how long your fence is, but I would have thought a much better option would be something like chicken wire, bent so that you can bury part of it in the ground, and the rest going up the fence. The Poms should not be able to get through or over or under that, and it would be so much kinder and safer. It would also help to discourage snakes from coming in. .. although they could still come over.

Does sound dodgy .. especially if it's a domestic flight. Definitely needs checking out .. unless it was said to try to calm down a potentially hysterical buyer, (Thinking of my dear Dad who told me as a frightened kid in a big thunderstorm, that the house was safe cos it had a lightning rod.) But not a good start.

Just checked mine this morning .. Large for Border Collie .. and she wasn't a big BC ..my big BC boy wouldn't be comfortable with the cushion in. Mind you, the old girl liked it with the cushion out too ..so I would just put the Cuddler bed on another soft base .. that way she could make a nice back supporting nest for herself.

@Jess. I was just watching Zee's awesome demonstration of IYC just now, and Miss Pippa puppy was MOST interested .. hope she was taking notes. She's getting heaps better, but nowhere near that awesome level of control. But she is only 6 months old.

You may not have had any problems with him doing this, but you would have a major problem with me if you let your puppy run up to my fear reactive (but highly trained and managed) adult dog. Last thing he needs is rude dogs "just wanting to say Hi". And I spend a lot of time trying to teach my highly social now 6 months old BC pup that not every person and dog needs to meet her .. so she stays on leash unless we're having a carefully planned off lead play date one on one with a known dog and owner in an enclosed area ..or has some on leash play one on one with a known willing participant .. owner and dog. Yes!!! Yes, yes, yes!!!!!

What a great update! Don't you love it when they take what seem to be quantum leaps in their understanding. A tribute to the foundations you've been patiently laying..

Can only imagine how stressed you are. Sending good wishes for a great outcome. .

Precious babies .. and such a good mum, Em. Very sad about the two girls that didn't make it.

And you know what, she'll still be learning when she's well and truly an adult. says the voice of experience. Great reminder @corvus about training the dog in front of you, and adjust your plan according to that ... but also to the physical and emotional state of the handler on the day, as that will be felt by the dog. So that may mean abandoning any pre-set plan, or usual things, and just going with what you feel you can cope with on the day. So there'll be days when I'll deliberately avoid parks or places where there will be major distractions or concerns, if I'm not in a mood to deal with it. @KobiD .. I commend you for being able to contain yourself in dealing with the idiot woman. I doubt I would have been as restrained in the circumstance.

Isn't there some rule on Gumtree about needing to quote registered breeder number to advertise a dog for more than $500. Can you report it? And it could also be a phishing thing. Wrong on any level.

It is, isn't it. My puppy spooked at a metal irrigation connection when we were walking in an old orchard while we were away ... same deal .. my grown dog and I went to investigate it and talk to it and touch it .. and she came over in her own time .... we passed it on the next walk, and she went straight over to check it out.

Been away .. sorry. What I'm doing with my social butterfly/over-enthusiastic greeter of both people and dogs, is just keeping her leashed (unless it's for a planned and organised play date in a confined space with pone other known and tolerant dog.) If she's being right OTT, we just turn and go .. oh dear, so sad. If she's only part way OTT, I'll use treats to help her make good decisions, then depending on the situation, she may be allowed to greet. I'll usually remind her to be gentle, and polite, and verbally reward her and give her permission to continue It's a long slow process . But it does work. Pippa's almost 6 months now, and after being away travelling and attending agility trials and staying in dog friendly accommodation for a couple of weeks, she seems to have done some growing up. Took her a walk this morning in a fairly busy shopping area and she was so much better than she was the last time we walked there 4 weeks ago. She probably made her own decisions not to approach people about 50% of the time, and with only a little bit of encouragement most of the rest of the time. She was also fpretty happy about waiting to the side a few times when the footpath was too narrow to pass. Progress! Of course, when she hits that teenage age, which your pup is now, it could all need doing over.

Serial offender here too .. I think it's my fifth year in Recallers, lucky enough to have kept renewing Puppy Peaks, and in H360 and Agility Nation as well. Yes it's $$$, but it gets relatively cheaper as you stay in, and the goodness keeps increasing exponentially .. so that the major problem you have is actually finding time to watch all the goodies and train the dogs. Lovely supportive faculty and community, both online and IRL. As TSD and Jess have said, it's the dog training science .. presented In a clearly understandable way, as well as the specific exercises, that make it such a great programme IMHO. And it's progressing all the time. I love the emphasis on building confidence and joy .. it's all about the joy!

So sorry to hear of Friskie's passing ... but what a long life she had, thanks to your care.

It seems to be doing fine in general .. just posted there.

It was only in the last few months of her life that my BC girl who passed earlier in the year, was routinely examined and treated o the table. My lovely vet, who had been her vet since her first well puppy visit, routinely worked from the floor, to make her more comfortable. She was never freaking out, but was mildly stressed. His thoughtfulness continued when he came out to the car to do her PTS, and was so thoughtful of her comfort even then. Now I think about it, our holistic vet, who is very tall, routinely examines the dogs while they're on the floor, and acupuncture and laser and PEMF treatments are given at that level. Love my vets.

Hope you've just been doing rollers with the Frisbee, rather than throws ... and limiting the number of times she gets it in one session. As has been said, you ideally need to limit and stage the amount of hard exercise a young dog gets. If your Kelpie pup is anything like my BC (similar age) , self preservation is not part of their vocabulary. Until their growth plates have closed, it's safer to follow the principle of "just because they can do something, doesn't mean they should do it", and become the play police, limiting and varying the exercise routine, and ensuring plenty of down time. (Coming from an agility viewpoint - I want my dogs in the game for a long time, and as injury free as possible.) I'd be adding in a lot of varied trick training to exercise her brain while giving her body some different activities. That will tire her our more quickly than repetitive physical exercise. And second the physical check up.