tdierikx

No probs Tapua - I'll make sure Katdogs has one for Sammy's trip home... *grin* T.

How are you and your family looking to source this dog for your mother from? Most reputable breeders may already have their litters assigned to new homes by now... May I suggest that you look into rescue dogs as well? www.petrescue.com.au - pups also come up for adoption in rescue... and maybe an older pup or adult dog who has been in foster care may be an option? I'd also suggest strongly that whatever you decide to get your mum for christmas, that she have a very large part to play in the selection/adoption process. T.

I don't think it's just income based when the vet wants to give your dog a thorough checkup once a year. I tend to find and use vets who will listen to my wishes for my dogs' health and wellbeing, and just treat them for things above and beyond my own knowledge if I need it. Since I've been involved in rescue, my local vet has been known to ring me and ask for advice on some things... *grin*... and you should see how excited they get when I bring in a stool sample for a float to check for things like coccidia or giardia or the like - they just don't see a lot of that sort of thing in a suburban practice... lol! They are also open to prescribing suitable human grade medications that one can get from the chemist to reduce the price load on their clients... I love my vets! T.

My adult dogs are currently on Nutro, and my pup (and foster pups) is on Royal Canin. T.

You know what would be funny DD? If I lent you my Zeddy to take for a walk with your littlies... Think of the fun comments you'd get then... lol! T.

I was actually having a discussion the other night with a vet friend of mine who has actually published papers on the topic of vaccination and sustained immunity. I was asking whether my older girl would benefit from being vaccinated - bearing in mind she hasn't had a vaccination for about 8 years. Apparently as I foster rescue pups often, my dogs are most likely being exposed in small doses to a number of diseases (not only the ones we vaccinate for) on a regular basis, and thusly their immune systems are most likely to be more robust than dogs who do not come into contact with said diseases as regularly. My rescue pups are all vaccinated age appropriately. All of my own dogs were fully puppy vaccinated, and have had their first adult booster shot. However, as my old girl is now 13 years old, it may be efficacious to give her a booster shot now in order to make sure that her immunity levels are maintained properly. My other adult dogs are 2 and 7, but my vet friend said that they would most likely be fine without needing a booster shot at this point in time due to the above reasons. My current pup has just had her second puppy shot, and will have a third, then an adult booster 12 moonths after that. One of my vets years ago once told me that they were aware that annual vaccinations were most likely not completely necessary, but that they pushed the issue because they wanted to see the dog every year for a checkup... *sigh* T.

I think the main point here is that not all dogs are the same. Not all dogs will respond to the same methods or tools in training for different behaviours, etc. And not all handlers of dogs are the same either. Would that be a correct statement of fact? If I've got it right above, then it would follow that each dog and handler should be assessed as to which method or tools could be most effectively employed to achieve the desired results for both dog and handler, yes? T.

I think a lot of people are of the impression that a Labrador is just a big friendly goof ball and would never harm a fly... which I can attest isn't exactly the case. Here's a shot of my Rottie/Pittie cross after an altercation with my Lab... As you can see, the wounds are all mainly on the legs and chest. The Lab was being deadly serious and had the Rottie/Pittie cross by the front legs and was shaking her about like a rag doll. 2.5 cans of capsicum spray, boots and batons were applied by 3 police officers who heard the altercation coming from my yard and came to assist me in breaking the dogs up. When the dogs finally did stop, the police actually drew their guns on the Lab in case she decided to go them... I'm under no illusions as to the fact they would have shot her if she had made any move to approach them. So, even though altercations like this were extremely rare (only 4 fights in 2.5 years), I keep those 2 dogs completely separate at all times now... it's just not worth the consequences to try to let them run together. Funnily enough, my Lab girl is fine with the other dogs in the family - even deferring completely to my smaller disabled camp dog (who is a bossy boots) - and she loves playing with all the foster pups who come through here. Same with the Rottie/Pittie cross girl. It's only each other that they will challenge... to the death. Whatever you decide with Layla, you need to nip her challenging behaviour in the bud as soon as possible - she has shown you that she is capable of biting you if she doesn't like what you are asking of her... and you certainly don't want to be the recipient of what she could be capable of if she decides to really show you who's boss... T.

I'm the "provider of all things" therefore my dogs look to me for their needs to be met... I do my darned best to make sure that those needs are met. Call it what you will... *grin* I own dogs primarily for companionship - not to be the giver of all commands. There are certain rules that need to be followed by ALL members of my "family" or "pack" (if you want to call it that), myself included. T.

And I have no problem with you having treats for your dogs Kavik... it's really about each of us and our own dogs and what we all prefer, right? What works for me may not work for others, and vice versa - but that doesn't mean that the different methods aren't equally as valid in their own context. What I don't like is "trainers" who push ONE method ONLY for ALL dogs and their owners... T.

Sounds like Layla thinks your side of the bed is actually hers... *grin* Some very good advice has already been given here already, so I won't harp on at you by repeating it - you already have indicated that you are taking that advice. When I had a partner living with me, my dogs would look to me for acknowledgement if he gave them an order, and his dog would do the same - it was truly weird the way they had picked who they thought they could get away with things from... no-one ever got bitten though... and we had 4 Rotties at the time. I must say that my Labrador is way more likely to push the boundaries than any of my Rotties ever did... she's not named Trouble for nothing you know... ... and if you think Layla has perfected the butter wouldn't melt look, check out my Trouble... I hope Kathy can help you sort out your relationship with Layla... T.

OK - I think he's another one of those very rare and highly sought after Cuddlehounds... and a stunning example of the "breed" may I add... *grin* T.

I think Stevie may sit on him if he travels in there while he's a young'un - not to mention that he might want to play with her all the way home... Pauline will be able to let you know which size travel crate he will need, and I'm happy to appropriate one for you to use, OK? To give you an idea of sizes, Harper is using a PP30 travel crate when I take her in my car at the moment, and she has a bit of room for growth in there... but she may need a PP40 in a few weeks time if she keeps growing at the rate she is currently... T.

Clarifying my earlier statements - my dogs ARE rewarded for good behaviour - just not with food. They are not "punished" for inappropriate behaviour, but they are aware of my disapproval by a growly tone (read "uh uh") when being corrected. It is actually amazing how much a dog will do just for the praise or positive attention (pat/scratch and happy tone of voice) of their human. That said, my dogs aren't "perfect", and neither am I - but I truly value the bond that I have with each of them. They are all different and want different types of attention when they do what I've asked of them - so I accommodate that for each individual dog. Training is MUCH more than just having a dog do things on command reliably - it is also an amazing opportunity to form a stronger bond with each individual dog. I love the fact that I can take my dogs out in public and know that no matter what, their desire to please me is still paramount, regardless of external stimuli. (and I don't need to stuff my pockets with treats to enforce that desire) I won't say that I've never used treats during training, but I work towards not needing to... T.

OMG!!! He's stunning!! Katdogs - you is gonna have the best looking dog in the whole suburb! I have a cage crate here that might be just right for bringing him home in if you want to borrow it - it's a 30" one from memory, a bit smaller than the normal size I have in use on a regular basis. Or I may be able to borrow a plastic airline crate from my rescue friend - we have PP20, PP30, and PP40 ones. It all depends on how big he is when it's time to come home. T.

but cause they are smaller and their owners don't think they are a problem they are often not contained properly. ... and they can fit through much smaller gaps than the bigger breeds... *grin* T.

Success is ending up with a method that works well for both dog and owner - and results in the dog behaving in a responsive manner to said owner... *grin* As you are a trainer of some note, and have indicated that you will work with both dog and owner to find a training method or tools that work for both towards the common goal, I'd say you would have more success than the weekend group training clubs who prescribe to "my way or the highway" methods/tools. Say for example, you were faced with my scenario of an owner who knows how to use a check chain, and preferred not to feed their dog at every turn - I'd say you'd probably start with working within those basic guidelines if it appeared to be working for the dog and me, yes? The group training club I was referring to totally disregarded my input with regards to the food issue and decided that they knew my dog better than I did... then "expelled" us when the dog became unruly due to being fed all the bloody time... So I found another training club when it was time to try some obedience with my disabled dog - one that listened to why she was going to train in a harness and no collar, etc... they also used food rewards a lot, but were flexible enough to let me only reward with food at irregular intervals so the dog learned that praise was more often going to be the reward. Quite frankly, I'm not always going to make sure my pockets are stuffed full of treats when I take my dogs out in public just to make them respond to my commands - they need to learn voice only command/reward IMHO... the only thing I want to have to remember is poo bags... *grin* T.

My Lab beats up my Pittie... can someone tell her that she's supposed to be this big vicious killer please? *grin* My Pittie loves kids and all new friends - I think she missed the memo about eating them... T.

Why is it always the "pitbulls" or larger breed types that get such a bagging in these sort of threads? Seriously - if there were one or more swfs in an inadequately fenced yard threatening to get out and do me or my dogs harm, I'd be just as narked off as if the dogs were of a larger breed. Funnily enough, around our way, it's more likely that it will be the swfs that will have a go... not the larger breeds... ... and don't give me that malarkey about smaller dogs doing less damage so it's more acceptable for them to be nasty... it's not! T.

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.