corvus

She may not be grabbing the leash to "save" another dog, but as a redirection of her own distress. I would assume the leash grabbing is a warning that she is too close to another dog and move her away. Don't let the other dogs complicate the issue needlessly. First assume a simpler cause and if she's still leash grabbing if she gets more distance consider again the protective hypothesis.

Long lines in dog parks require a fair bit of vigilance and pro-active management. You're probably going to be in more trouble if your dog ties someone up and trips them over and they break a bone than if your dog annoys another dog and gets told off. It's also quite easy for innocent bystanders to cop a rope burn on their legs/ankles. Honestly, there are minor altercations in the dog park all the time and the vast majority of the time both dogs learn something and everything settles down fine. My dogs have been on both ends and I apologise to the other owner regardless of whose dog approached whom. It's just basic good manners to acknowledge that your dog may have upset them or their dog.

FYI, there's also Pet Buckle. http://waggle.com.au/petbuckle-b18 This is what we use. They are easy enough to put on as they have a buckle on both sides, but the weight of the buckles on the top mean you have to have it really tight or when the dogs put their heads down the buckles fall forward. It's pretty clear to me neither of my dogs finds the harness very comfortable when it's on that tight, and I certainly can't walk them very far if I take them out of the car, but it might fit other dog shapes better. We usually put them on over the top of their Ruff Wear harnesses, now.

IME (of explaining my PhD to lots of people who know next to nothing about dogs), people are very interested in learning about the reasons why dogs do what they do, especially their own dog, and when we talk about personality and the dogs' emotional lives they nod a lot and what I might say about their dog aligns with what they think as well. But the next step from "This is who my dog is and how he feels" to "I could change that" is a real big one. For many it seems overwhelming in of itself, let alone when you start to talk about how they could change it. It's pretty straight forward for those of us that do train and have changed problem behaviour with basic principles like classical conditioning, but for others whose only sense of their dog is this furry little creature they feed and throw a ball for and kind of enjoy patting, there are a lot of big mysteries and unchartered territory and their ability to apply even a little learning theory is hampered by how little they understand about dog body language. They don't notice when their dog is saying "This is freaking me out" until he tries to bite someone. This is why I love the cartoon charts that show what dogs look like when they are experiencing different emotions. I think it's a big step in the right direction. If people can understand their dog can feel emotions they can relate to that is one step, that is a great start. If they can identify them, they are well ahead of the game even if they don't know how to change the behaviour, because they can successfully manage. And hopefully this makes the behaviour modification side of things seem less overwhelming. Doggie behaviour chart: A BAT one describing reactivity:

Obviously it is not, because if nothing else aggressive behaviour is most of the time indicative of the animal being in some state of distress. Probably quite extreme distress. That is clearly not funny if you love dogs. Thankfully I have really only seen this once and I don't think it was necessarily because the dog was small. I asked the owners if it was the dog's first time on the beach and they said it was. I suggested it was very busy and could be overwhelming for her and perhaps she was trying to attack every dog she saw and then bolting because she was frightened. They looked at me like I'd just grown horns and my hair had turned purple in front of their eyes. Just completely flummoxed by the very notion that their dog might not love the beach the very first time she went. I think this is the real problem rather than what people think of as acceptable behaviour or not. If they realised their dog was probably extremely anxious or frightened and were trying to protect themselves they would maybe take it more seriously. I've had people with small dogs ask me about budding aggression problems. One park regular has a very light, small dog who can run like the wind, but he used to be quite tolerant of other dogs and now he's not so much. The owner is concerned about this but doesn't really understand the problem, which is mostly that when he chases his ball the bigger dogs often chase him and he doesn't like it. The owner does his best, and lets his dog use him as a safe haven. I think that a lot of people don't realise how easy it is for small dogs to feel threatened. They are SMALL. Most of the world is bigger than they are. It's not hard for them to be accidentally hurt. It's not their fault they don't understand. Their dog learns to control the situation the best they can over time. I think some people kind of know this on some level but don't realise they can change things so the dog doesn't have to feel scared. Incidentally, we know lots of really great little dogs from the dog park, and we meet others on the beach as well. It's pretty cool when the SWF trots up to your big black fluffy and confidently introduces himself and invites a game. Here's one that made friends with Erik one day. They had a great time together. E likes SWFs. He's only had a couple turn nasty on him and he ran away and they left him alone. All good.

Yeah, I think you are spot on. It's the same as the principles behind Control Unleashed. By all means do what your dog loves. Erik certainly seems to benefit from getting as high as a kite under controlled circumstances where he can just do what he loves and not worry about anything else. I just keep it in mind that it does tend to get him pretty aroused and it's something that has to be managed, sometimes carefully. When he's super aroused he's also more likely to fly off the handle if something surprises him. And trigger stacking becomes a much bigger deal.

I know some species that maybe should rest 2 days between sex. Why doesn't someone ask if offal is considered the same as organs before people get too excited? Can you imagine someone getting fined for feeding liver treats? I'm sure that sounds absurd even to animal rights activists and is not the intention at all. If it was challenged in court that would be the end of that.

Here are a few tricks Kivi and Erik know:

There's a reason Erik doesn't go to formal classes! When he was about 9 months old we did some beginners agility and the second we stopped doing something he'd be up and barking at things. He was WAY over-stimulated. I did lots of tricks in down time because it was about the only thing I could do to keep him occupied. By the end of the hour long class he was just about calmed down enough to work decently. The instructor encouraged us to have them in down-stays during down time, and Erik could do this only if I stood on his leash and treated him pretty much constantly. I would advise against tricks if the problem is he is getting too excited to concentrate. Stays are a better idea if he can do them. Just because tricks are fun and exciting, so if your dog is already excited it's not going to help them calm down, which is what they need to do to give you their best work. I do tricks in down time at class with Kivi sometimes, because he has the opposite problem. If I don't keep him engaged he will drift off and lose motivation. Erik now offers automatic downs when I switch from training him to training Kivi, which is really handy and perfect for keeping his head screwed on. These days if he gets over-stimulated I find a quiet place to sit on the ground with him and we do some quiet tricks from there. Like putting his paws on my hands, using his nose to find which hand has a treat in it, rolling onto his back and staying there for a moment, crawling forwards and backwards, and CU things like LAT and take a breath if he really needs to calm down. I still think the Give Me A Break game would be great for you guys. I always find it terribly amusing that the clicker class instructor often says things like "Kivi is so focused on you and switched on. Have you thought about doing agility with him?" Er, Kivi is my slow and slightly retarded dog. You haven't met my other dog.

Dogs are experts at details. But that doesn't mean they always read them correctly. My Erik for example used to bark at people that came to the dog park without a dog. He has also barked at people sitting in cars not driving, and cars that are running but there is no one in them, and although people running laps or 100m sprints on the athletics field are fine, apparently people who run 20m sprints between two markers on the long jump run-up are highly suspicious. People who come into his house and make no eye contact with any of us are the devil, but people who we chat with when they come are obviously friends. One time my parents dogs came home late at night smelling strange and he seemed convinced the bodysnatchers had stolen the dogs he has known all his life and now they were in the house with him. He was extremely disturbed. He also barks at waves in the river but not waves in the ocean, and this week he found a dead mouse floating in the pool and felt the entire neighbourhood should know about this. He knows about mice, and they don't float motionless in swimming pools. So everyone needs to know there is something masquerading as a mouse in the pool. Through experience dogs learn to categorise things using a variety of signals. Like a mouse is small, moves in a particular way, and smells a particular way. If only some of the signals that define it as a mouse are there, it can leave the dog in this strange situation where the thing is mostly like a mouse yet not entirely like a mouse, which is more disturbing than if it was unlike anything the dog knows. The more familiar it is while still being different, maybe the more disturbing it is, which in humans is known as the uncanny valley. So a person who obviously looks and smells like a person, but has, say, an odd gait the dog has never seen before suddenly becomes something disturbing because it's familiar yet there is a detail that is all wrong. Some dogs notice details more than others, or maybe some just don't act on it as much as others. So in conclusion, when dogs react poorly to a particular person on a first meeting/sighting, they probably are picking up on something people don't notice, but it's not necessarily something that indicates the person is suspicious or dangerous to us. They are to the dog, because the dog doesn't quite know if they are normal, but that quality in the person they are reacting to could be as harmless as an almost imperceptible limp or a glass eye or a habit to lick their lips a lot or something.

They wont be shy, will they? That paper I wrote on timid sighthounds has been published, now. Just came out in unedited proof a couple of weeks ago.

Yes and no. It took about 12 months to get a reliable recall on the Lappie, but we never really actually trained one for the Vall. He just doesn't stray far. Mostly we just reward him as well when he comes to Kivi's recall. He does have one of his own, but it's never been intensively trained like Kivi's and it is not maintained like Kivi's. Both dogs are great off leash in the bush. They run ahead and stop on the path and wait for us to catch up. We never taught either of them to do that. I know dogs who just don't have that inherent need to know where the pack is. The corgi I had as a kid never really left my sight when she was off leash. I didn't teach her a recall at all. All I ever did was say "good girl" if I called her and she came back. I don't remember ever having her run off to do her own thing. Like the Vall, she was not comfortable not knowing where I was. She took it upon herself to keep track of me.

My Lapphund is basically the perfect dog. :D He is a particularly big one at around 25kg, but he also has a very big coat. The coat is the hardest thing about him. I should really brush it a couple of times a week. When he's shedding (twice a year), it takes me hours to strip the undercoat out. If I don't do that it felts up. Also, he loves to roll in stinky things and if we have to wash him it takes all day for him to dry. If we take him out in the rain for a walk he's wet for the rest of the day. He needs a raincoat. The girls are smaller and usually have less coat. My boy is about as non-reactive as a dog can be. He is very chilled and easy-going. Generally the breed is pretty chilled, but I haven't met many that approach him in sheer laid-backedness. He's very easy to manage. He's kind of trainable, but nothing compared to my Vallhund. The Vall is a whole different beast. They are both spitz herders, but the Lappie is more spitz than herder and the Vall is more herder than spitz. The Lappie's recall took a lot more work to train and takes a lot more work to maintain than the Vall's. My Lappie is not one for "vigorous" exercise. He plays hard with the Vall for about 5 minutes and he's done. He can keep up on a long hike (5 hours is the longest we've done with him), but a long road walk is something else. He drags the chain after about an hour. He likes to stop and smell the roses. He is extremely friendly and sweet-natured and is very gentle and affectionate. Everybody loves him. He is not as cuddly as the Vall, but the Vall is a cuddle machine. The Lappie likes to be close to you, but not on top of you. He is fine if you come and cuddle him, but we usually only get him coming to us for the morning cuddles in bed. He has been known to sneak onto the bed in the dead of night and somehow insert himself into my arms without me waking up. In the morning I open my eyes to find I'm spooning with a Lapphund. Generally speaking, though, he's more of a passive cuddler. I'd also consider a corgi. They are short and stocky, but so cute! And they are a bit easier to train and care for than a Lappie IMO. A Japanese Spitz might work for you, but some of them can be a bit reactive. ETA, he also woo-woos and howls to greet people he is especially fond of. It's adorable. The other day we were having a greeting love-in and I dropped something and said "Nooooo!" and Kivi howled with me. Exactly, Kivi!

There are some dogs puppies should be exposed to and allowed to make mistakes with and some dogs that should not be expected to tell off puppies. To me it is very important that the older dog's consent be tested on a regular basis. You do this by taking the puppy away and seeing if the older dog will approach them again or move away. It's a good test for all sorts of things, and can prevent dogs from finding themselves in a situation where they are being mildly bothered repeatedly. Sooner or later, the mild bother reaches a threshold and becomes a major bother. This is why people are often surprised by their dog who 'likes' puppies suddenly going off at one. Tolerance is not the same as enjoyment.

I was trying to find some related information for someone and I stumbled across this page about the study this thread is about. http://rng.org.au/dogs-cells-trial-cell-therapy-for-the-reversal-of-canine-cognitive-dysfunction/ So there you go. It might have been convenient if I'd known that page existed a couple of days ago!

My parents use Lakes Canine Lodge and Spa in Mandalong. I believe it's quite small and the dogs get some individual treatment. Is it worth me talking to my partner about possibly taking Stella at least? I'm not sure if we have room for two extras, but we could probably do one. We are southern Sydney, but could probably meet you halfway. I'm video coding at the moment, so at home pretty much all the time.

It's nothing new. People were asking me to consider adopting instead of buying years ago. And they have been asking me why I'd spent lots of money on a pedigree dog when I could have adopted a dog from the pound and saved a life years before the current movement. It has come up on a regular basis particularly with Kivi because he LOOKS expensive. He's beautiful and has a big coat that looks like lots of work and people (correctly) assume that I'm vain about it and wanted a pretty dog. It immediately puts me in this category of dog owners that can afford a nice dog as if he's the Bentley of dogs. When I tell them I was looking for a particular temperament and just happened to find it in a very attractive dog they either accept it or start asking me what he's like to live with. No one has ever told me my choice of dogs was unethical. I don't talk to the kinds of people who think that is an appropriate way to talk to a friend or stranger. A hardened shelter worker once kind of scowled and muttered when I said my dogs came from a breeder, but seemed to think there was hope for me seeing as they were well bred and well cared for.

I think the mandatory advertisement of licence numbers and microchip numbers are part of attempting to better enforce current chipping laws. I imagine they have realised there is no real way to be able to enforce the current laws as the situation stands. Certainly, people could make up bogus chip numbers, but they are going to get found out as soon as the new puppy owner takes the puppy to the vet. If they also have a bogus licence number, presumably the puppy buyer has some way to contact them that can be passed on to the council, whether that be phone or an address. They had to have something to get the puppy in the first place. If the puppy has come through a broker, the broker will be in trouble as well. I honestly think there is little harm in the "Adopt, don't shop" slogan being sloshed around. There ARE undeniably a lot of dogs that don't have a home and many of them can make great pets for someone who just wants a generic dog. The arguments used to push the slogan might be inaccurate, but I highly doubt having figures to refute them will make much of difference. Confirmation bias and all that.

I am assuming they would have to come into the University of Sydney vet clinic in Camperdown, but I really don't know. Better to ask the person running the study. I have her e-mail address, so PM me if you would like to ask her for more information.

One of the recommendations by the task force is that sellers would have to advertise the microchip numbers of puppies in their ads, and pet stores would also need to have these displayed. The onus would be on them to make sure they had microchip numbers from the people they got their puppies from before they sell them on. I guess the expectation is that this would make it much harder for people to dodge microchipping. Unless they don't need to advertise the dogs they want to sell.

How very dare they be at a relevant event pushing their relevant agendas. Why, I couldn't bear to be in the same exhibition hall with them. Someone might think I supported them!

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My Erik has pretty low tolerance for puppy behaviour. He is not one for contact sports with dogs he doesn't know. He is fine playing rough with them later when they are good friends, but it's all built on trust. He MUST be able to trust that when he says "please stop it" the other dog will stop. Puppies are generally not terrific at this. Particularly bully and retriever puppies. Erik is quite happy to mix with herding breed puppies who tend to be more sensitive to his signals, but bouncy, super friendly puppies that jump on his head will get driven off if I don't intervene quickly enough. It is quite difficult at times because people seem less understanding of this behaviour directed towards puppies. I have heard him called vicious before because he shouted at a puppy after about the fourth time it ran over and jumped on him. It was bigger than him and I expect it hurt. He said "Leave me alone" nicely a bunch of times before he said it more forcefully. I should have moved farther away before he got pushed too far. I try to explain to puppy owners that he doesn't like them jumping on his head. It does help sometimes, but it seems better to just limit his contact. If he yells at a puppy he will scare them. We don't know what lasting impact that might have on the puppy, but I'm pretty confident it just makes Erik less tolerant of them over time. Erik is rewarded for turning away from the puppy or making big, obvious, "leave me alone" signals that are non-aggressive. We use organic socialisation principles from BAT. I also encourage him to shelter between my legs or come behind me. It's easier to keep them off his head that way.

I think the muzzle would do crap all except maybe make it marginally less dangerous to intervene. Either way it's conjecture, but I can say that I would be mightily pissed off if someone knew their dog might injure other dogs but chose not to muzzle them in case they had to "defend" themselves. My dogs don't even use their mouths in defence 99% of the time, and when they do they only leave slobber. If someone's dog injured one of them because the owner felt a muzzle compromised their safety I would be absolutely ropable. How selfish and irresponsible. If you have a known biter who may do serious damage you have an obligation to manage that very real risk before you manage a perceived potential risk to your own dog's safety. If that's unacceptable to someone then they should keep their potentially dangerous dog out of public places period. We don't know whether these dogs have that history. If they don't I still wouldn't be particularly concerned about their need for their teeth as defence. Like I said, mine barely even use theirs and they certainly haven't ever seemed to need them.

If she is the one that muzzled her dogs maybe despite what she says she actually knows deep down that they are the ones likely to cause problems. In which case, don't offer her advice! She is probably deep in cognitive dissonance and will be super defensive. Anything you say will probably cause her to dig herself in deeper. I prefer to lead by example. My dogs aren't perfect, and even if they are engaging in some very minor misdemeanour I can say "Hey, boys, she doesn't like that. Leave her alone." and it's a way to open a conversation about it. The owner of the other dog often says something like "Oh, don't worry, she has to learn." and I get to say "I don't want them to frighten her. She'll just learn that some dogs are scary. She's trying to get away from you, Kivi. Just be gentle with her." I'm not framing it as a problem with their dog, but as a problem with mine. They sometimes look at me like I'm nuts and that's fine. Other times they start asking me questions. Praising them for doing something sensible also helps. I saw someone at the dog park once off to the side sitting with their dog and letting her meet one dog at a time in controlled circumstances, lots of support. I just smiled and said "Keep at it!" and they flooded me with questions. As far as muzzles go, I don't think it's the big deal other people seem to think it is. I have never ever broken up a dog fight and thought "Gee, I'm glad that dog didn't have a muzzle on because he would not have been able to defend himself." One somewhat disabled set of jaws in a confrontation is fine and dandy with me. I think there's every chance altercations escalate with pain. If one dog is not in as much pain, I think that is a safer situation than two dogs raining pain down on each other. Having said that, muzzles and off leash running is not a combination I'm especially comfortable with for the more practical reason that I'd be worried about them getting the muzzle caught on something. I'm sure just being there is the most upsetting thing for the whippets, muzzles or no.