Tassie

Definitely different for everyone. It's good if you can be with people who 'get' what you're feeling. That's one of the wonderful things about the DOL community .. we all 'get' it, and as you've seen, many of us have had recent losses, some gentle, some traumatic. Some people find comfort in making a memory book celebrating the lovely memories the dog has left. My lovely 15+ year old retired agility Border Collie girl passed gently 2 weeks ago 6 weeks after being diagnosed with terminal lymphoma. I am one of those who thinks that getting a new dog is a way of honouring the place the previous dog had in my life, so the Universe (and maybe my dear old Kirra) had already prompted me to organise a new puppy ... for me, and also for my sooky lala 8.5 year old BC boy who has never been an only dog, and who was quite lost for the week after Kirra died. I can tell you that your Mum's new JRT will bring joy into your lives the way my new puppy has brought joy to me, but more importantly, to my BC boy. As others have said, a new dog is never a replacement, but a new adventure.

So very sorry, Perse and Rozzie.

Is it possible for you to have a crate or xpen in the shed, so that she could have her bone there if you're there for a time, or just a couple treats if you're just there for a short time. So you would just set up a habit that when you go to the shed, she goes into her pen (which has value for her) and can watch safely.

Pretty much the same here. Mine get used to variable meal times, poor things.

In Tasmania, the law is clear that offlead dogs must be under effective control, and there are notices to this effect in off leash areas in most municipalities ... some actually explain what the phrase means. The Department of Premier and Cabinet site explains. .... Keeping your dog under effective control You have an obligation to keep your dog under effective control. This means that, when your dog is in a public place, such as on a road or in a road related area, it must be held on a lead not more than two metres long by a person able to control the dog. For example, a small child should not be put in control of a large dog. When your dog is off-lead in other areas, including off-lead exercise areas, you must still keep it under effective control. This means that it must be close to you and in sight at all times and respond to your commands. You may not have in your charge more than two dogs on a lead on a footpath, or more than four dogs in a public place. And what a pain that the "lady" is apparently in the same area. Jules P.

Another worry wort here . You know, if she were mine, I think I'd be booking her in for a consult with a canine physio or rehab specialist .. Depending where you are in Vic, you may be able to try someone like Michelle Monk. That will be an overall body check, but also hopefully a program of body awareness and proprioception exercises which might help.

Poor little guy .. he's lucky to have found a kind hearted human who is prepared to do so much to help him. Other more knowledgeable people will be along, hopefully, but when you said about having no off switch, I wonder if it would be worth trying something like Karen Overall's Relaxation protocol .. if you just put that into your search engine, you will get lots of hits.

Scottsmum .. hope you don't mind me continuing to piggyback on your thread .. but it's still appropriate. Just wanted to let people know that my dear old Kirra girl let me know yesterday morning that it was time .. she wasn't in pain, but just very tired, and taking longer to recover from the collapse/mini seizures which were associated with the lymphoma. Her interest in food had diminished over the past day or two .. although BBQ chook was still relished, and yesterday morning, she just wanted to rest. The stars aligned, when I rang my vet clinic, and 'our' vet (the owner) was on and had an appointment available at 12. (He had done Kirra's puppy wellness check when she first arrived 15 years ago.) So I took Rory's crate out of the back of the Rav,and put a crate mat there to put the old girl on .. with a blanket on her, and propped so she wouldn't roll around. Rory was sitting in the front with me. The stars further aligned, as the girl from the pet cremation people was there for another errand, and came down to talk to me when the receptionist told her that I wanted Kirra cremated. After commiserating with me, she said she would be coming back to collect Kirra. My lovely vet came out to the carpark, and was able to very peacefully assist her on her way He was so empathetic .. and after all he'd known her almost all her life. He took his gear inside, and then came out to pick her up and carry her back inside. So grateful to the lovely DOLers who shared their experiences, and to my lovely vet .. and most of all to my lovely old girl for telling me so gently and peacefully that it was time. Vale Miss Kirra ... T.Ch Khayoz Sweet Soul Music RAE TSD ADM3 ADO6 JDM3 JDO6 GD SD SPDX DWDF.S HTM.S ET 27/2/2002 - 13/5/2017

That's such good news, Perse! Fingers and paws crossed for a continued great outcome.

You folk are so helpful. I've done this before .. although for 2 of the 3 dogs I've lost, I didn't have to .. not sure which is worse. So my dear old Kirra girl (15 years 2 months, retired agility and tracking BC) is fading bit by bit. But fortunately, she does not seem to have pain, although she has had a few little collapse/seizure episodes .. only partial seizure, not the full thing, and she recovers within a couple of minutes, although is quite confused and wobbly for a while after, so she just sleeps it off. They seem to happen in the mornings, and by the afternoon, she can be 'demanding' to join in training with my boy .. though it's a bit hard to bounce up and down when your legs are getting a bit wobbly. Also fortunately, the cortisone is keeping her appetite up, and hasn't made her incontinent, although there have been a few times we haven't made it out the house in time... though she does try. We travelled up to the north end of the island for an agility trial weekend .. she's always loved the car, and is comfortable in her crate, and used to being in her crate in ouir set up at the trial. In spite of a collapse episode on the Sunday morning, she had a lovely weekend, toddling round with me in between my runs, and mugging friends for treats and/or pats. Very pleased with herself. I am blessed in that I am retired, so I can be with her all the time. We just seem to be progressing peacefully ... I just hope that we keep going like that, until she no longer seems to be coping. A week ago, our lovely vet gave us 3 more weeks worth of cortisone - which would take us to 2 months post lymphoma diagnosis. (Average survival according to Dr Google for untreated lymphoma is 1-2 months. ) Not sure we'll need the full 3 weeks .. but we'll see. Just want to say again, how good it is to have this community have our back. ETA - Kirra is the old girl sleeping on the bed on the floor Rory and Bonnie often join her in a post breakfast nap.

No experiences to add, but there's a FB group which might be useful .. called Orthodogs. Supportive and informative.

Good idea to go look at the club first, before jumping in. There are pros and cons of training at club .. probably the biggest pro, as you've noted, is having the dog focus when you would like it, in the presence of other dogs ... but I do it in short bursts .. I tend to take a brain break for me and the dog .. just sit out for a little while, take the dog for a wee .. then come back in. Most instructors won't mind .. they'll know you're advocating for your dog. How interesting that you saw the pup's sibling. And about teaching the really formal 'heel' position .. personally I lure to start with, because I'm impatient .. but I do try to fade the lure fairly quickly .. but keep up a high rate of reinforcement, to encourage good choices. Nose touch to hand is useful too. Oh, and if you do get interested in competition later, you can always use a different word for the precise position. I use 'close' for heel on the left, side for heel on the right (for heelwork to music.

I'm an obedience and Rally O person (as well as agility, and tracking) and I've dabbled in Dances with Dogs ..Heelwork to Music and Freestyle ... so this is the perspective I'm commenting from. One of the disservices we do to people who might some day want to compete with their dogs, is to let them think that 'heel' is anything other than a very specific kind of performance which will normally only be used and is only required, in a performance context. I don't usually combine 'heeling' as I define it, with normal walking, which is done primarily for the dog's mental and physical satisfaction .. which will mean loose lead walking .. not the precise heeling which properly done, means the dog maintains position and head position .. often involving eye contact with the handler. To me this is totally inconsistent with 'going for a pleasure/exercise walk.' Certainly there are times when you want somewhat closer position from the dog on a walk .. for instance when going along a crowded footpath, but the really correct heel position is not required. So if I'm going to train 'heeling', I actually start by building huge value for correct position, and then setting up situations where the dog can demonstrate understanding and value by choosing to heel .. either to come to the position while I'm stationary, or to come into the position while I'm moving. (And I train this off lead, at home or in a safe, no distraction situation to start with.) I really like the last bit of what you're saying in this paragraph I've quoted ... that's perfect for loose leash walking, and having her under effective control .. which for me, is all I would require from a walk. And you can include, as TSD says, permission to spend some time sniffing. I would rethink what you're doing with the 'heeling' training, and maybe do that at home .. in short bursts, with a high reward rate .. and obviously, using a different cue than one you use for loose leash walking. Are you looking towards some performance competition work with her ?.. She reminds me of a beautiful dog I've seen competing who is a beautiful worker in obedience and Rally O, and has done wonderfully in tracking and track and search.

Whatever she is, she's lovely. Thanks for sharing her.

Oh sorry .. I misunderstood. Yes, the controlled off lead with your parent's dog should be fine, as you're describing. And I'd say you're definitely on the right track with your other training. I guess you're adding in new bits and pieces, including 'silly' tricks .. at this age they're lovely little sponges, so it's a great time to introduce new things, within their physical capabilities .. but just as a game .. a thing to do, not expecting perfection. And yes ... we totally need photos .

Sounds like you're making lots of progress, and I really like the way you're analysing what's going on. I guess my main comment would be .. at 6 months, you're quite right .. she is still a puppy, and heading into that delightful adolescent period when in some cases, biddability and learned behaviours can go out the window. So you may find you will actually be needing to take several steps back and "teaching" stuff all over again .. so building more value into the behaviours you want, even when you think she "knows" them and should do them without food rewards. What you probably could do, rather than removing food from the picture altogether, is have several stashes of food (with lids on) around the place, and some concealed around your pockets. So then you ask for a simple behaviour, that she's likely to get right without thinking, mark it (clicker or marker word) and then race her to one of the stashes to reward her. So it can become a real game, which will hopefully involve her more in doing the behaviour ready for the race, rather than just looking to you for the reward. I personally would not at this stage be letting her self-reinforce by inappropriate behaviour round off leash dogs. This will only increase the impulse control problems, IMO. The problem is that in that situation, you are not in control of the rewards that she finds valuable .. so not a good learning situation. I can't remember if the Control Unleashed book and DVD have been recommended already, but I think they'd be worth a look. And there are some really good alternatives in The Glasgow Dog Trainer YouTube channel (and the plus about those for you is that the trainer is a man .. and you're right, it does make a difference..

It is disappointing, but another example of "You can't fix stupid/ignorant/arrogant ... insert appropriate label." We had an example at dog club on Sunday .. on an unfenced oval, with public area and walking tracks around. Guy ambles through with his off leash medium mix .. follows it at a good distance as it comes down off the walking track and onto the oval, among instructors' cars .. right up near a car in which the dogs were barking at it. Then near other cars. One of the other instructors politely asked him not to let his dog just wander up to other people's cars, and because he was on the oval where classes were going on, to either move back to the track about 15 metres away, or put his dog on lead. Copped a mouthful of abuse about why he didn't need to do that .. he and his dog could go where he liked .... yadda yadda. . Oh and the normal addition to that sort of thing .. the owners of the other dogs are paranoid, or should train their dogs!

Love those photos. What a lucky boy he was to have your family .. and you to have him.

That's great news. Big congratulations!!! Fringies and shortlisting are always good, but especially in the circumstance! And I do know how relieved you are ... I actually still can't believe how lucky I was with Rory.

I so remember the first tentative stages .. walking the bikes with the dogs on a friend's long flat driveway, then tentatively riding ..(she hadn't been on a bike at all for many, many years ) ... but you're right .. its amazing how quickly they settle down. Had to laugh at Boost chasing the lawnmower wheels ... my Rory does that when the mower starts .. wants to dive in and grab the wheels. Thankfully, he's learning not to, and once the mower is going for a minute or so, he's fine with it. Riding with the two dogs together came fairly quickly too .. once they sorted out the running order. That saved quite a lot of time in training.

Yes, PK. For anyone that might be interested, this is what the rules say about equipment (1) The dog must wear a fixed collar or suitable harness. No neck chains, slip collars, spiked collars, muzzles or head control collars shall be permitted. (2) The leash must be long enough to be held in either hand so that the dog may adjust itself to the cyclist or runner. The dog shall travel at a suitable pace on the leash on the left hand side of the handler or bicycle. (3) The handler may jog the distance, ride a bicycle or use any other form of non motorised mechanical vehicle with the dog, provided the required speed is maintained. Motor cycles or cars will not be permitted. Should the handler ride a bicycle, a helmet must be worn. The Springer device for attachment to a bicycle is not permitted. (4) No protective clothing shall be worn by the dog. @DeltaCharlie Good on you for doing the ET .. it's great fun getting ready for it, and if it's nice weather like it was for Rory, and for thel ET in Tasmania on Monday, it's a heap of fun. (Not so much when it's blowing a gale with sleeting horizontal rain, like it was for Kirra . ) Think it's definitely worth getting Boost on to the left asap, even if it means a shorter leash on a harness.

Coming in late with another vote for K9 crates. Owner is a DOLer, and service is great. Build is sturdy, set up and knock down is easy (at least when you get used to it ), and theyre light and easy to carry (mine are BC sized so about the same size as for an ESS.) They can be hot, but have roll up blinds on 3 sides, leaving mesh free. I use mine when travelling and using dog friendly accommodation, too .. so easy to carry in and set up. And you can get your dog's name embroidered on the crate ... if you're silly like me. A friend had Chloe's Cubby embroidered on her Cavalier's crate. My BC boy obviously couldn't read that the day at a trial when he curled himself up to sleep in Chloe's Cubby, since Chloe wasn't in residence at the time. .

Phew!!!! That is such good news.

A lot of the Victorians may probably away or doing dog stuff. It might be useful if you said what breed/size, age and what activities you do with your dog, as that would influence the kind of repair you would be looking for. With a young to middle aged, active dog, medium to large, it's probably not worth fiddling round with anything other than a major surgery, which would probably be best done by an orthopaedic specialist , As has been said above, those sorts of facilities have experience of what can be technically challenging surgeries, and have good imaging facilities to be sure what they're dealing with, along with links to rehab facilities. On the other hand with an older, inactive, and/or smaller dog, the simpler lateral suture repair may be sufficient. Hope that helps a bit. ETA ... Karly101's post further up makes a recommendation for a specialist at Advanced Vetcare, which is in Kensongton. Might be worth following up.

I know we have ummm "spats" from time to time on DOL, but particularly before FB, and still now, I'm convinced that DOL plays a hugely important social function by providing a safe and sympathetic place for bereaved, or about to be bereaved, dog and cat owners to grieve, and be supported by a community that truly understands what they're feeling. So thank you Troy and wonderful DOLer community.