tdierikx

All of my dogs learn very early on what "uh uh" or "leave it" mean... and I'm not going to go all lala over them for doing what they are told in scenarios when I use the command either. Their "reward" for obeying those commands is me not growling at them any more... *grin* Thusly, when we decide to venture out to a group training environment, if they are acting up, then an "uh uh" from me will usually settle them back into focus - and they don't need a bloody treat then either... tone of voice when they are doing something good or bad can sometimes be all that a particular dog "needs" in order to respond appropriately. Then again, I'm not wanting to have my dogs obedience trained to a trialing level, so as long as they do the basics reliably (including recall), I'm happy and so are they... T.

Yep - the trainers were feeding my Labrahoover from their bumbags - and not just when we were training either... even after I expressly asked them not to... If my dog is doing what is asked of it, and enjoying the praise and/or pat when doing it well, why persist in insisting that it needs to be fed as well? Needless to say, we stopped going to group training because my Labrahoover would have eyes only for bumbags and refused to work unless there was food on offer. Not my idea of a decently trained dog - and it took ages to break her of that mercenary idea of working only for food. Now she will do as asked when she's asked, no thanks to those particular trainers' pushing of their own methods/agendas. My disabled dog went to a different training group, and she needs to be on harness due both to her occasional stumbling (I can make sure she doesn't fall), and the fact that she has a couple of hypersensitive spots on her neck right where a collar sits - anything even lightly touching those spots sets off her back leg scratching, which then makes her fall over. The training group I took her to was appraised of her issues, and accommodated them with adjusting our training techniques to suit the actual dog... as a result, my crazy spastic camp dog now can sit, drop, and heel on command - all on her harness... *grin* T.

My Labrahoover was responding well to praise only in training - until she was continuously fed treats from the trainers bumbags. Quite frankly it wasn't necessary to feed her for getting the command right... T.

I prefer to train in a check chain... much to the chagrin of most of the training groups around my area. Once I show them that I know how to use one, they usually concede the point and let me use it. The trick to check chains is getting the right size link for the dog you are working with - too large or too small can cause pinching, which isn't desirable. The one thing that I really hate is the groups who insist on food reward training. That was a complete nightmare with my food obsessed Labrahoover. The only thing she learned with 100% reliability is that bumbags contain yummy treats... grrr! T.

Not only are my dogs contained in my back yard, it's also double gated... but come to my front door and 2 of my dogs will give you a "greeting" that looks pretty unfriendly. I know they aren't likely to bite anyone, but a stranger doesn't know that... As for dogs in front yards... I'll admit it's a bit offputting to have them going off every time someone passes by... must really nark off their neighbours... T.

Always been known as check chains as far back as I can remember... only the ignorant and the activists refer to them as choke chains. Think about it - what good does it do to choke the crap out of your dog? Whereas a check and release is very effective when done correctly... I only have to apply gentle tension to my girls' leads and just the noise of the links moving has them corrected quickly. T.

Having seen Danny's Darling with her boy Danny... I reckon her DOL name fits to a tee... *grin* I still have that pic I took of him staring up at you adoringly DD/MM... you truly are his one and only... T.

To be fair, the OP is usually one of the first people to engage others in talk about dogs - in a positive way... You must have been having a rough one for whatever reason DD... I think you can be forgiven this time... *grin* I could lend you Pickles for an afternoon's walk - she gets all sorts of comments about her crazy walk... lol! T.

Ummm - the "choke collars" are actually called "CHECK chains"... the idea is not to choke the dog with them, but check them with a tighten/release motion. All types of collar can cause injury to a dog if not used correctly. Let's completely ban all of them... *grin* T.

Well written, covers all of the basics - and doesn't force one option as "better" than any other... AWESOME!!! T.

I do the poo patrol morning and afternoon/evening... yet they still will go out for a midnight snack while it's dark... I have 3 poo-eaters here, but they only eat each others - not stranger poo outside of our yard. I'm pretty sure that the older girl has taught the younger ones the habit... T.

Those figures are only for those that were registered with the ANKC, yes? There is at least one "breeder" who is crossing them with other breeds... who knows how many they may be producing that just aren't registered with the ANKC... T.

Annandale vets are brilliant... I'll also second Ayman at Narwee and Green Cross at Mortdale. If you want to go further west, Rossmore Vet Clinic is excellent. T.

Are there many reputable breeders out there that knowingly use a "blue" stud or dam? T.

No way is the dog a full anything. I'd go for Shar Pei cross. Stranger things have happened - I've seen some quite leggy pure Peis... pure but not well bred... T.

Could be a badly bred bone mouth Shar Pei too... Fling some pics to Ams - she'll have a better idea than most as to whether he's a full bred or cross Pei. T.

I don't know any vet that will give a 3 week old pup a C3 vaccination - and even if the vacc given is only a Parvac, the pup is still at risk from Hepatitis and Distemper at the very least. I have seen dogs with both Parvo and Distemper over the years - and can attest to the fact that any pet owner would NOT want to see their pup suffer from either. Honestly, I would be advising your friend in the strongest terms possible that they do not want to adopt any dog from this particular breeder. T.

You really couldn't ever take a bad shot of Lottie, could you? She is stunning! Loving the bird shots - brilliant photos indeed! wish I'd taken them... T.

Not a chance the little man can stay at Katdogs' place straight out of the pound - she's getting a not fully vaccinated new pup in a few weeks time... can't have any possibility of any nasties getting into her yard. I've met him and can back up everything Katdogs has said about him. He's a lovely little chap, gets on well with others, and is quiet. He will make someone a very nice little companion for sure. T.

OK - I reckon an official name change to "Buddha" is in order... lol! Seriously though - those are some incredibly nice looking pups... and Lara is divine! T.

Thanks Shmoo! T.

May I reiterate... I'm not even bothered to respond to the allegations any more - because it doesn't matter what is said or done, these people are hell bent on believing what they will anyways. T.

Believe whatever you like Ruby Jewel, but also be aware that your accusations on a public forum could be construed as being very close to libel/defamation... Obviously no amount of actual truth is going to change the minds of those who are hell bent on believing the worst about others. The people spreading the current lot of rumours haven't been within cooee of the place in well over 15 months - and the most vocal were actually asked to leave for causing the issues they are screaming so loudly about. I'll give you a particular truth about a working kennel - when you feed dogs, funnily enough, they will produce poo... and equally funny enough, they will do it a number of times in a 24 hour period. First thing in the morning there will invariably be poo and wee in most kennels - and also funnily enough, someone has to clean that poo and wee up. That takes a bit of time when you have more than a handful of dogs. And it's a longer process when the weather outside is nasty and you can't put all the dogs out in the exercise areas - on those sort of days you are rotaing dogs into clean kennels as you clean their "used" ones. Also, once you've cleaned the kennels on days when the weather is nasty, you still have to get each dog out individually to spend some one-on-one time with them and give them some exercise. Whe you have volunteers who are allergic to a poo scoop, or won't walk a dog in inclement weather, and just want to sit around having coffee and bemoaning that others haven't done all of the hard work with the dogs before they arrive for their feel good "I'm 'helping' at a dog rescue" day... then sorry, we don't need that sort of volunteer at our rescue... What is wrong with making appointments for people to come and see dogs they are interested in adopting? I challenge you to find many rescues who just fling open their doors to have the general public wandering in willy nilly. We are not a pound, and our premises are private property - so we reserve the right to dictate who can visit and when. We had well over 30 people visit this past weekend, and they didn't seem to mind that we made specific appointment times for them so that we could give each the time needed to make sure the dogs they came to see were right for them... and give US time to make sure that ALL of the dogs in care were attended to properly (read kennels cleaned, dogs put out in the exercise runs, etc). But please still feel free to perpetuate the ugly rumours that have no basis in fact... I'm over giving a rats about them... T.

Actually... it sounds a bit like some freaky Halloween toy noise... T.

Thank you mita... It's amazing how much vitriol and untruth a few disgruntled ex-volunteers can spout to all who will listen... and equally amazing how many people will believe things without bothering to check the facts for themselves. Just get out the pitchforks and torches and go on a crusade... *sigh* Honestly - less Facebook and more reality would be a better course of action for quite a few people... *grin* T.