Luke W

I do both - External HDs and DVDs. 2GB a week isn't much :-) ...that's only 100GB/year :-) I've got more than 2TB of HD space currently connected.

Hi Anne Thanks heaps for the reply. I've given up on the clicker over the last week or so - I do plan on going back to it soon. Barkly already mostly reponds to his name, comes and sits in front of me. He also comes of his own accord a lot when out in the garden. I've been treating him and praising him when he does. He'll mostly run as fast as his little legs will take him straight for me whenever I call him. Unsless distraction levels are really high. I was following the video here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4384744371279416582 to 'charge' the clicker. I wasn't using the clicker to get his attention as such, just occasionally clicking when he wasn't paying attention to see if he DID react to try to determine if he'd associated it with a treat coming his way. I guess I'm hearing from you that I should ignore that whole 'charging' thing and just leap straight in and immediately get the clicking working as a marker.

I caught my pup trying to eat mushrooms he found outside...it is the time of year for some poisonous mushrooms...

In general, I just buy more storage. I *sometimes* cull the stuff that's absolutely never going to be of any use (flash didn't fire, completely out of focus, etc). I'm lazy though. And storage is cheap.

Mine has just discovered mushrooms growing in the garden bed. I've removed them all but he still had one in his mouth for a few seconds - but he didn't swallow. I'm trying not to be too paranoid. I'm lucky he comes reasonably readily and was willing to give up the mushroom for a treat.

My guess (and I'm a novice) is that it's only those things he won't let you get because he treats it like a game and wants you to chase him. My only suggestion (and this is what I'm doing with my 10 week old pup)... Let him have it. If it's on the floor, consider it his. Never chase him for it. When he settles down, quitely walk up to him, without him realising why you are approaching him. Don't call him, don't talk to him, just quitely remove it from his mouth. What ever you do, don't YOU do anything that he might consider 'fun' this includes getting excited/anxious over what he's got, yelling, growling, chasing, playing tug, etc etc. Apart from that - keep everything out of his reach! I'm all ears for better approaches, my pup is just starting tyo go through this stage too. I try to keep everything ut of his reach. That means no socks on the floor

I'm too scared to give my pup what he'd REALLY want. Clods of grass. Bras. Socks. Slippers. Bottle tops. Sticks. Cables.

http://www.ozpetshop.com.au/advanced_searc...amp;x=0&y=0 http://www.petsonthepark.com.au/webcontent-2.htm?wubba http://vetnpetdirect.com.au/_search.php?page=1&q=wubba I think part of the alure for my pup is my constant chanting...'wubba, wubba, get your wubba, wubba, wubba"

hehe - as someone who's used to the 24-70 f/2.8 L and the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS... the 100mm is light as a feather

Camera?

Thanks!! Camera was a Canon 20D. The indoor shots are shot with an Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L. The outdoor shots are with a Canon 70-200 F/2.8 L IS Flashes are a 580EX and a 550EX plus ST-E2 transmitter. I'm glad you said it's not the camera that's talented :-)

My pups newest, favorite toy is a Wubba. An orange water Wubba to be precise. Wubbaworld

Thanks Jigsaw and others fo rthe kind words about the photos - he's quite a photogenic model! For what it's worth, his pants/shoe/leg/feet biting is nearly cured! He hardly does it at all now and usually after a quick 'ah ah' and he stops. His bite inhibition is getting much better too! He has a much softer mouth when I let him mouth my hand.

Well said. I also like the way Jean Donaldson (The Culture Clash) puts it. To paraphrase: Dogs don't know right and wrong. They only know safe and dangerous.

That's what I did too. I put the collar on when my pup was tired and sleepy (in the car on the way home from the breeder's actually). By the time he woke up, I think he forgot that dogs don't naturally have collars around their necks The next day (he was eight weeks old), I attached a very light lead and had intense playtime, interspersed with treats for coming when called, dragging the lead behind. My pup got used to the lead almost immediately. I was careful to not have any tension on the lead at the start. At 10 weeks, he drags a lead, attached to a long piece of twine behind him whenever he's outside. I don't have a fenced in yard and he's not fully vaccinated yet so I can't take him to parks. The long lead gives me a bit of assurance he's not going to run out of the yard. I'm always ready to stand on the long lead if I need too. He's now learning to walk at heel. I'm a novice, but for me, they key was making lead time a happy time and distracted him with games and treats.

You also need to consider what happens to puppy after he's banished outside. What happens when he starts barking? Digging? Tearing washing off the line? Being over-exuberant everytime he comes into contact with people? When all the socialisation he's undergone starts being reversed? What's hubby going to suggest then?

Download and read this: http://www.siriuspup.com/beforebook.html When I first brought my pup home - I started with crate training. He still spends most of his day inside his pen. His pen has an airline carrier inside and he loves it in there. I leave his carrier open during the night and when I'm not home (long term confinement) in case he does need to go to the toilet and alternate periods of carrier open and carrier closed when I am home (which is most of the time). He got small supervised periods of access to the house. Then back in his crate. If you pup is anything like mine - you'll hear him when he wants to go outside. I lined my pen with plastic sheeting - it's easy to clean and cheap. I started with newspaper - but he likes to tear it to shreds. I leave mine with various toys in his pen and carrier - kongs, ropes, treat balls, hide chews. Oh you'll need some treats - dried liver, cheese, etc...especially for toilet training. Nail clippers - get puppy used to them. Shampoo for bath time (start early and often). A hair drier if you don't already own one. Congratulations!!!!!!

I think I exaggerated about the 10 minutes. Probably less than 5...but the message is loud and clear...Much shorter periods. Thanks for the hints everyone.

"Normal" dog food isn't going to inspire most dogs. Try tiny pieces of chicken, cheese, devon, cabonossi or the like. The smaller and the smellier the better. Dried liver doesn't seem to inspire him much either. He takes it, but he's not real enthusiastic. I might try something else when he's a bit hungrier.

I think it's a combination of him being too well fed and the treats just not being particularly interesting - I think he gets too many. For his everyday training (toilet training, sit, come etc) prior to clicker training I used his normal kibble, plus dried liver and pal puppy treats. How does he respond to treats generally?? He's become a bit blase about them really, he'll occasionally even sniff and refuse (eg...kibble after toileting).

I've decided to start with clicker training for my 10 week old cocker spaniel. I started 'charging' the clicker last night, before dinner. He doesn't seem to get it. After about 10 minutes and lots of treats (click, treat, click treat), the click doesn't seem to cause him to anticipate a treat. I've read that after a click he should look to me (or my hand) in anticipation of the treat. I tried it again this morning before breakfast, same thing. A couple of minutes of click treat, click, treat and I pause. He wanders off to sniff around the room. A click doesn't even draw his attention, he continues wandering around sniffing at stuff in the room. I'm wondering if he's just not food focused. Maybe I've been using treats too heavily without a clicker in the preceeding 2 weeks. Maybe he's being overfed and just isn't hungry enough. Maybe I just need to be more patient. Suggestions?

Arghhhh...too much stuff I want to buy. Good site! I'm like a kid in a candy store. My other half is going to kill me when she sees the credit card statement.

It' my obsessive personality. My middle name is "Nothing By Halves" I bought the Dunbar DVDs from Amazon and watch them on my computer. I use VLC Media Player to play them and they work fine. I just tried one in my lounge DVD player - worked fine there too. It's a Pioneer DV-393. Added - I'm in Australia too.

I'm a new puppy owner and I've been reading up a lot. These would be my recommendations. Keep in mind that I'm a bit of a newby too, but I did a lot of research and think my choices are pretty sound. Start with Ian Dunbar - Before You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar - you can download a PDF version here: http://www.siriuspup.com/beforebook.html Then buy the full Before and After series: Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog by Dr. Ian Dunbar - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=s...ds=ian%20dunbar Gwen Bailey is very, very good: The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey - http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Puppy-Gwen-B...9291&sr=8-1 I'm currently reading Jean Donaldson , not just a training book but an insight into dog psychology and our relationship with dogs: The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs (Paperback) by Jean Donaldson - http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Clash-Revolu...9397&sr=8-2 Here's some more from my collection. - How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks by Ian Dunbar - http://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-New-Dog-Tr...9508&sr=8-2 - Doctor Dunbar's Good Little Dog Book by Ian Dunbar - http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Dunbars-Good-...9508&sr=8-4 - The Other End of the Leash (Paperback) by Patricia McConnell - http://www.amazon.com/Other-End-Leash-Patr...d_sim_b_title_4 - Positive Puppy Training Works by Joel Walton - http://www.amazon.com/Positive-Puppy-Train...9844&sr=8-1 - Dog-Friendly Dog Training by Andrea Arden - http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Friendly-Dog-Tra...9985&sr=8-1 - Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs by Suzanne Clothier - http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Would-Rain-Sky...0028&sr=8-1 I've also read: The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation by Jan Fennel - http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Listener-Communi...0724&sr=8-1 BUT - I'd take what she says with a grain of salt - she has some interesting and useful thoughts but personally I think some of what she says is a bit black and white and simplistic. It seems her answer for everything is that the dog thinks it's the leader of the pack. I started with these, in this order: Ian Dunbar - Before Getting You Puppy Gwen Baily - The Perfect Puppy Joel Walton - Positive Puppy Training Works Ian Dunbar - Before and After Getting Your Puppy Also, there's a series of DVDs by Ian Dunbar. I've watched the first one and enjoyed it immensely Sirius Puppy Training by Dr. Ian Dunbar - http://www.amazon.com/Sirius-Puppy-Trainin...0452&sr=8-3 I've got this one, yet to watch: Training Dogs With Dunbar by Dr. Ian Dunbar - http://www.amazon.com/Training-Dogs-Dunbar...0452&sr=8-7 The 4 DVD collection is on my shelf waiting for me to get to it: Training The Companion Dog (Set of 4 DVDs) by Dr. Ian Dunbar - http://www.amazon.com/Training-Companion-D...0452&sr=8-6 If, like me, it's been a long time since you've trained a dog, things have changed a bit Finally, on a personal note, I'm avoiding Cesar Millan - I'm not too sure about his methods Hope this helps!

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