silentchild

I get you Staffyluv... I feel the same way very often, frustration is my absolute weak point. Oh, the hours spent with my head in my hands in frustration.... I've had to abruptly cut many training sessions short the moment I feel even the slightest frustration building and just play and have fun instead. :D Breeze is the same, super super smart, and so quick at learning new things, but I am just stupid and bad in communicating to her what I want. At the moment we are struggling with getting her to hold things in her mouth - not great for dumbbell work! When she does get it tho she is excellent and just constantly blows me away with her intelligence. In the right trainer's hands she could probably solve physics equations! I just have to work on becoming that trainer. It took a while but I think (hope) I am much better at controlling my frustration now and learnt to laugh it off - not easy! I guess I just wanted to say you are not alone. :)

That was how we started, the original way I was shown to teach it and it didn't work. That is why I changed to treating with the hand that he actually touched.. I keep going back to this trick and have tried to teach it so many times since he came home with me. I keep giving up out of frustration and I think this time, I am going to give it up for good. I really do appreciate the suggestions and advice. We have tried every way of teaching this that has been suggested, I've watched videos on how to teach it. Maybe he doesn't like to touch something with his nose or muzzle? He won't shake paws or give you a paw either.. Every dog I have ever owned, this was the first trick ever taught but Zig simply won't do it.. Maybe he is the same with the touch as he is with shake or give paw. Bummer Staffyluv. That must be frustrating. Maybe you can substitute the touches with something else, like a jump to your hand, from what I've seen of Fenzi courses she mainly uses the touch as a reward while heeling, like she will hold her hand up high and get the dog to jump up to touch it to build motivation. I wonder if you could do the same just without the touching. My girl is not keen on touching either, she will do it but it's not one of her favourites, and she certainly won't jump to touch, so I just don't do it much. That's the great thing about online courses, you can take and apply what works for you and leave what doesn't. You will be fine. :) With the shake paw, Breeze wouldn't do it at the start too, I was going out of my mind with frustration why she wouldn't do it, I spent ages on it, watching videos, clicking and treating for the slightest movement of the paw, lifting her paw with my hand and rewarding - everything. I spent months agonizing over it, and nothing worked. All the dogs in the videos seemed to understand immediately, except my dog! In the end I decided to just give up on it and moved to teaching something else - I went to teach her 'Stinky' - aka covering her muzzle with her paw, and when I taught that I used sticky tape on her head to reward when she lifted her paw to go and remove it.... and lo and behold when I captured the paw lift a lightbulb magically went off in her head when she realized I wanted her to lift her paw - and now shake paws is her most favourite trick ever! "Oh you wanted me to do THIS?! Well why didn't you SAY SO??" Funny and challenging creatures dogs are, makes training them so rewarding. :D

Hmm.... just a wild thought and it may not even work, but how about trying exactly what you are doing, having the treat in your fingers and he touches your hand - but when you say 'Yes', have hidden treats in your other hand or pocket or something and give him the treat from the other hand? So essentially the treat in your 'touch' hand is the lure to still get him to touch it, but the reward comes from the other hand - and once he is really strong on the understanding of how it works, try fading the treat lure in the 'touch' hand, and he should be conditioned to touch the hand, then get the treat? I hope I explained myself clearly, if not I can try taking a video of what I have in my head, lol. I totally understand being frustrated when they just don't seem to get it... have been there many times! Sometimes taking a break works wonders too! You will get there! :) Edit : Oops Georgia beat me to it! :laugh: Yeah, what she said, lol.

Staffyluv, if he will sniff your hand, why don't you try clicking and treating for the sniff, and gradually build it up to a touch? Someone on the canine body awareness facebook group posted this today, some good tips in there too:

Teams of highly trained dogs will be deployed as “bodyguards” for bandicoots threatened by feral cats and foxes, in an initiative which could help reverse the precipitous decline in several other Australian native species. Zoos Victoria is to run an extensive trial to determine whether groups of Maremma dogs can become trusted allies to the eastern barred bandicoot, which has been virtually wiped out in Australia. The small marsupial is extinct in the wild on mainland Australia, with a modest population remaining in Tasmania. A captive population of around 400 bandicoots is spread across four breeding sites in Australia. Feral cats and foxes have preyed upon the bandicoots with disastrous results. Previous attempts to breed them in fenced areas have had limited success. Zoos Victoria will take on a full-time dog trainer to work with seven Maremma puppies. The dogs, which like to work in pairs, will be sent to three different test sites in Victoria to see if they can effectively protect bandicoots without the need for fences. The spare Maremma puppy will be used by Zoos Victoria as a fundraising ambassador. Maremma dogs, a type of sheepdog that originated in Italy, have been used for centuries to guard livestock. But they have also recently been used in more unusual conservation efforts. In 2006, the dogs were introduced to Middle Island in Victoria, to help protect a colony of little penguins. Foxes had wreaked havoc on the island, reducing the 1,500-strong colony to less than 10 by killing swaths of the penguins. However, the introduction of Oddball, a Maremma dog that previously guarded chickens, provided the penguins with some canine muscle. Oddball, who was later joined by other dogs, chased away the foxes and penguin numbers subsequently revived. Maremma dogs are considered ideal for conservation work because they can bond to an array of other creatures while also viewing feral pests as mortal enemies. The dogs have formed friendships with sheep, goats, chickens and gannets in the past. In controlled experiments, sheep that heard dingo calls instinctively ran behind the dogs for protection. In the first trial in Tiverton in western Victoria, bandicoots will be bred in a fenced area while a further 50 will be bred in an unfenced area guarded by a pair of dogs. Zoos Victoria will socialise the dogs with the bandicoots and teach them to guard the area, over an intensive two-year training period. If successful, further dogs will be dragooned to create the fighting extinction dog squad, which will bravely battle feral pests that threaten an array of native species. Animals that could benefit from this approach include wallabies, mice and even the kiwi in New Zealand. Rachel Lowry, director of wildlife conservation at Zoos Victoria, told Guardian Australia that the dogs could prove crucial in helping preserve bandicoot numbers. “We really want to get the numbers up to 2,500 in the next five years and if this works we will well and truly be able to do that,” she said. “Maremmas are a beautiful dog breed, very intelligent. I’d expect them to protect the bandicoots as they did with the penguins. I think they will get on well, but I’ve been advised they like the company of a flock, so we’ll be putting in some sheep with them. Bandicoots are small, run fast and are active at night, so they aren’t as good company.” Lowry said there was an “endless list” of species that could benefit from guardian dogs if the trials proved fruitful. “We are desperate for apex predators in Australia because at the moment feral cats and foxes are dominant,” she said. “At the moment, if someone leaves a gate open or a fence is damaged by a kangaroo, foxes can get in and all our breeding work is lost. “But if you put in a dog, it puts fear into the feral predator because they sense the presence of another apex predator. The potential for this is really exciting. “The other benefit is that this apex predator is a dog, which we love and are used to having in our homes. It would be a bit more politically difficult to do this with dingoes.” Beate Sexton, a Maremma owner and dog trainer, said: ‘Maremma aren’t antagonistic to other animals at all. Predators will stalk an animal and fixate on it, whereas a Maremma will avert its gaze, even with people. “I think they can make a fantastic guardian for animals in need of their protection. This trial is a very good step, I think.” The initiative will cost $580,000 over five years, and Zoos Victoria is seeking external donations to help fully fund the project. Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/zoos-victoria-trains-maremma-bodyguards-save-bandicoots

What issues do you encounter when you try teaching touch, Staffyluv? Nooooo.... I should've bought them on the spot when I first saw them! Oh well, it's a sign that I should just focus on one course at a time! :D

GeorgieB I took Nosework101 last semester but I didn't have any scents or anything to do it with so sort of dropped it. Today I found a place that sells a full nosework kit for the Fenzi course!!!!! I am so excited I think I will get back into it!! How are you going with Reggie in it? Um I'm taking too many courses right now, somebody needs to hold an intervention.

Pulled a hind leg muscle real bad after suffering a nasty fall from an unpleasant encounter with a psycho off leash dog and its moron owner in a clearly signed on leash area. ETA: we probably won't be able to come to the catch up either. sigh.

Awesome stuff Sue & Waldo! You must be stoked - congratulations! Looks like Breeze and I will be falling even more behind and missing in action again - she has pulled up very sore and is on strict bed rest for at least a week. Bummer.

I'm a chronic Fenzi-er. :D Have taken many many of their courses in the past. Her building 'relationship through play' course helped me a lot to bond with my dog, and she is the saviour of our heelwork. I looooooove Fenzi. Thia time round I'm doing K9 Conditioning, Obility, FCI Heeling and Bridging The Gap. All bronze of course.

OMG grumpette did it snow where you live?? So jealous! Looks beautiful.

I think it's interesting. If we were categorizing them in terms of optimist and pessimist I would say Breeze is leaning more towards the pessimist side. I hope there will be a more in-depth follow up.

All these stories are making me . I've been very fortunate(?) that all my dogs have been goody goodies and have never done anything as bad as what some of you have described... the worst extent they have gone to is probably just raiding the bin? The naughtiest thing I can think of is probably when my pomeranian stole a chicken wing clean out of my hands as I was eating and ran away with it to the garden and hid under a bush to eat it where I couldn't get her. One minute I was about to chomp in, the next, 'pop' it was gone with a fluff of a pom tail. That was well over 10 years ago now.

Very nice, Reggie. :D For that trick I use 'Step up' for Breeze to get up on my feet and she is to stay there while I walk until I release her with 'OK'. 'Paws up' is for when I want her to sit pretty and put her paws up on something like my knee. I use 'Beg' for begging / sit pretty (paws not resting on anything).

This was just from me patting my Aussie for ten minutes..... :laugh: edit: oops, that came out huge, sorry!

I don't have much breed advice but um, I really don't know how true this is. I think as a whole the Australian Shepherd is a fairly healthy breed and I haven't heard of many serious health issues with NBTs. My girl is a NBT so if this is true can someone please PM me cause I'd like to know more! I know merle to merle breedings can produce serious health issues but have not heard that about NBTs??? As a side note, my Aussie shepherd sheds a LOT. :laugh: Especially during seasonal coat blows, holy mackerel. You may want to consider that aspect if you are seriously thinking about an Aussie. Just to clarify, as far as I am aware, the only problem with NBTs is possibly when they are an embryo. A dog born with an NBT is at no greater risk of problems than one born with a full tail. I think some of the confusion comes from the health problem in Manx cats. Aussie NBTs are just as healthy as their fully tailed counter parts. Here is a link explaining in more detail http://www.animalnet...x.php?testid=14 Just as I thought as I had never come up with any serious problems with NBTs when I was researching the breed.. :) Thank you very much for the information and clarification, teekay.

I don't have much breed advice but um, I really don't know how true this is. I think as a whole the Australian Shepherd is a fairly healthy breed and I haven't heard of many serious health issues with NBTs. My girl is a NBT so if this is true can someone please PM me cause I'd like to know more! I know merle to merle breedings can produce serious health issues but have not heard that about NBTs??? As a side note, my Aussie shepherd sheds a LOT. :laugh: Especially during seasonal coat blows, holy mackerel. You may want to consider that aspect if you are seriously thinking about an Aussie.

My dog goes on holidays with me. If not, I won't go. If I have to go overseas, I find someone to look after, like a house sitter, or sometimes my breeder is happy to babysit. :laugh: But those type of holidays are rare and few.. Basically I have changed my lifestyle to fit my dog, no more impulsive getaways - but I enjoy the getaways I do take with my dog much much more!

I'd second this. We had one for the GooberDog and it was great, looked really comfy. One thing though.. don't put things on top of them. Ours ended up breaking after the little plastic bits that basically hold the whole roof up cracked and split under the weight of some junk that was sitting on top of the crate. We ended up going back to a wire crate for the lounge room because the temptation to pile junk on top was too great Do you mean like this…? :laugh: This is a familiar sight in my house... only replace Em with a cat!!!

I use soft crates from http://www.k9softdogcrates.com.au/ The owner of the business is also a DOLer and has Rottweilers so the crates definitely stand up to hard use! I have a large one and love it, easy to transport, super sturdy and high quality. Mine has lasted me the lifespan of one Rottie and now being used by my Aussie Shepherd - still no signs of wear and tear!

Ugh the photos..... struck my weak spot... my love for Dalmatians! Soooo gorgeous. Someday, someday...

Oh so sorry to hear about Dougal Run free gorgeous. x Hugs to you persephone.

If sniffer dogs can track lost humans surely they can be trained to track dogs? It would be very useful indeed and I know if my dog ever got lost (touch wood) I would definitely employ the services of a bloodhound or something to track her down.

Gorgeous, I love Flynn! Cute cats too. :)

Done :)