wuffles

Another option, if anyone is interested, is on leash walking in a group :) All the lakes are a nice place to start.

If it protects them, it isn't wrong at all. People who will tell you that picking up a small dog that's under threat will make it "dominant" are full of it. Invariably, they don't own small dogs. The risk is real that a dog will jump up on you to get to them but they'd have to get past my boot first. If there is a car bonnet/roof nearby? Use that. And yell your head off at the oncoming dog. If it doesn't stop it, it may attract some help. There is something to be said for carrying a big umbrella or one of those groovy aluminium hiking poles.. it can be a barrier or a weapon if required. I have always maintained that folk who have never seen a serious incident in a public dog park are lucky.. and its only a matter of time. I was told not pick up as it transmits my anxiety to the dog . In a recent incident with another Jack Russell. The guy was walking along with the dog off lead, it spotted Charlie, charged at us and was jumping up my legs trying to get Charlie. When the owner finally arrived he sais "sorry about that". I said a bit more. I am terrified by these events and walk home with my whole body shaking. I was bitten as a child and am terrified of all dogs. If one is standing outside its place I will cross the road. Or sometimes turn round and go back the other way. If your dog is already stressed and scared, picking them up does nothing except protect them.

You know what we all have to remember? That none of our dogs are perfect. Yes, we are all protective of our own dogs and rightfully so, but despite the attitude in many DOL posts, dogs are not robots... they are living, breathing, thinking beings. If someone else's dog growls at mine because she's being annoying, so be it. If someone else's dog growls at mine simply for being in the vicinity, I'm outta there. If someone else's dog humps mine, and the owner is quick to act and apologises, so be it. If someone else's dog humps mine, and the owner doesn't care, or it happens time and time again, I'm outta there. If my dog is running and she gets chased and bowled over, so be it. If she is standing minding her own business and gets bowled over, I'm outta there. Get the point I'm trying to make? :) My dogs are far from perfect and they are still allowed to interact with other dogs. But it's all about managing their behaviour. There's no right or wrong way to do that, it's all about judgement.

Buy or borrow Susan Salo's Foundation Jumping DVDs (set of 4). They contain lots of different grids to teach the dog to use its body correctly over jumps and judge it's stride. She was a jumping rider and has now used her knowledge of teaching horses to jump correctly to teaching dogs. It is common for inexperienced horses to take off too early too. I already have them They are just very time consuming and it's hard to get the right equipment. But I already know I need to rewatch them :laugh: Time consuming?? ...watching the DVDs or doing the grids? I just set up the first exercise and work on that, just a few runs at a time, when the dog can do that one, I move on to the next one. You can buy pre-cut pvc and joiners to make a few jumps, at Bunnings, and get the cups from Clean Run. Taking the time to do the grids is well worth it as if the dog jumps incorrectly it puts a lot more strain on its body. Doing the grids. I have 4 homemade jumps but they don't fit in the backyard so I have to lug them to the local oval to practice. Yes I know I am making excuses. I will get out there and do it!

I've picked up my 18kg dog when she's being subjected to antisocial behaviour from other dogs. My boy would let a puppy hang off his jowls, pull his tail and yap in his face. My girl isn't so tolerant and will tell them in no uncertain terms that they're being rude.

Hard to avoid them when they slip their collar and make a beeline for your dog There was a baby whippet at one of the dog parks last weekend!

I took my girl to dog parks as a pup, but I have always been very, VERY cautious. I don't go when it's busy and I have always avoided certain dogs and breeds. She ended up being attacked a few times, strangely enough NOT at dog parks, but at obedience and agility training/trials. She started exhibiting some different behaviours indicating that she didn't want to interact with lots of unknown dogs, so I rarely go to dog parks anymore. I do go with known, friendly dogs and it's a treat if there is no-one else there! If I see certain breeds or body language before I get in the park, I don't go in. Early on weekends is the best time as they are usually empty or have one or two regulars That being said, my nerves have been rattled and I don't know if I'd be able to stomach it with a new pup.

Unquestionably... but I still find it highly stylised, mostly a breach of the rules (contact between dog and handler occurs frequently) and not in the interests of the dog, chiropracticly speaking. But it's here to stay and obedience will go the way of agility with it being less about something everyone can try with a dog and more and more about 'dogs for the job'. That's if it ain't already. Mine doesn't really wrap so doesn't touch me. She does watch me though. Or she's meant to. I prefer the stylised heelwork but I like that there are different ways you can do it (at least in Australia), keeps it interesting for all types of handlers and dogs I have no problem with dogs heeling who look straight ahead, or are a slight distance away from their handler, or even the ones that target the leg. I just hate lagging, slow responses and dogs that look tortured in the ring.

Testing for function requires time and access to the right envirionment - challenging for many people. Testing for INSTINCT on the other hand may be more practical and certainly some instinct tests are available. Mary Roslin Williams (Espinay's second quote) - what an inspirational breeder. Nice to see it acknowledged by someone of that ilk that it's not only the show ring that shapes the direction of breeds and not always in the direction of orginal function. Even dog sports themselves are changing.. and as they change the dogs that excell in them are changing too. Kavik competition obedience had its origins in the tests for working gundogs. I try to imagine someone walking across a paddock with a shotgun broken over their right arm and a dog wrapped around their leg staring into their face and it just doesn't work for me. ;) My dog's not a gundog and apart from a nice formal dumbbell retrieve she doesn't know the meaning of the word... does that mean a wrap heel is acceptable?

Buy or borrow Susan Salo's Foundation Jumping DVDs (set of 4). They contain lots of different grids to teach the dog to use its body correctly over jumps and judge it's stride. She was a jumping rider and has now used her knowledge of teaching horses to jump correctly to teaching dogs. It is common for inexperienced horses to take off too early too. I already have them They are just very time consuming and it's hard to get the right equipment. But I already know I need to rewatch them :laugh:

Thanks those that have given advice, I will try find some time to go do more jumping exercises with her. Aussienot, it is obvious when she does a few jumps in a row at different distances apart that her jumping style is pretty average I call it the "Superman". The first time she runs an exercise like this, she often finds it difficult. The second time she generally has no issues and by the third she does it perfectly. So more of this is definitely required, then I will try translate it to a solid jump then a retrieve. She has a clear eye certificate from when she was a pup, and I have asked a vet who sees no problems with her eyes. She can spot a cat in the distance from 100m away, and shows no problems in any other exercise including distance control. She picks up items and fetches fine. It is of course possible that she is long sighted, but seeing as we can't get her glasses, I'd prefer if she just learnt to jump a bit later :laugh: She has been checked by a vet and regularly goes to the chiro. Yes she understands what is required. It is possible she is stressed by the jump. However, she appears to love it, and will willingly jump over obstacles without being told (even if at the park play with other dogs, for example, she will take a detour just to jump over a log).

I guess we also have to remember that when using the dogs for their original function they would generally have been taught those behaviours when they were young, rather than the cotton wool lives they often lead in society today. I think that at least the current dog sports titles can be a good start for some breeds. I will definitely be looking for titles at the end of a dog's name when I get a new puppy.

If they aren't having a go at the dogs on their team, I'd not consider it an issue. A strong pack dog doesn't necessarily welcome strangers to the pack. When we were recently in Finland, we did a "husky safari". The dogs are used for racing. They definitely had some arguments even within teams :laugh: Nothing serious though.

A lady near us once commented on how well behaved our dogs were as we were walking past with them. I almost choked :laugh: She didn't see the mattress Mo ate :laugh: And they never had to come home to a backyard with trees stripped of bark, plants stripped of leaves, a kennel in a million pieces, the front of a shelf ripped off, the insulation pulled off the hot water system, a mangled clothesline handle... um... no need to continue.

It may be something deeper, or it may not. If the behaviourist tells you that it's normal behaviour, are you going to be argumentative, or accept it that you are going to have to put in place some of these "bandaid" solutions? When training my dog on the local oval, the amount of people who have approached me and said "wow, she's so well behaved..." or "I wish mine was like that" astounds me. If only they knew how much work went into her training

We are currently competing in Open obedience. My girl jumps really early when going over the solid jump. She's making my instructors (and judges) cringe because she always looks like she's going to hit it. Sometimes she does, but it doesn't appear to bother her (but of course I am worried that she could hurt herself). We also do agility and she jumps early then as well, but has been improving with some jump grids and knocks bars a lot less often than she used to. The consensus at agility is not that she has a mental problem working out the distance, it's that she seems to think that jumping earlier will get her over the jump faster ;) It appears this way with the dumbbell too. Has anyone encountered this, or have any suggestions to help her jump at the right time for the retrieve? It makes no difference where I set her up in front of the jump.

I think that some Australian obedience judges object to swinging arms, so you'll find that most people have their hand on their hip. I also find that, having a young dog who can be prone to the occasional stickybeak or sniff in trials (yep working on it), the hand on the hip is a good fallback for when they look away then look back again (to remember what they are meant to be doing without a verbal command). Yes you are allowed to switch the leash in trials, as long as your signals are clear :) I really struggled handling the leash and for CCD eventually switched to holding it in the middle of my body, with both hands (on advice from some people on DOL). The right hand was most comfortable for me, signalling everything with my left hand, but I was hitting the leash with my knees when walking and inadvertantly giving my dog mixed signals. Then after the glee of getting rid of the leash after CCD, I had to work it out again for Novice Rally :laugh: Gone again now though, good riddance.

Might be a bit off topic, but does anyone know why some dogs' teeth seem to get plaque much worse and faster than other dogs? My 7 year old rescue rarely eats bones as they upset his tummy, yet his teeth are almost perfect. My 2 year old Aussie gets bones 3 or 4x weekly plus I brush her teeth as often as I remember, but her teeth are horrible.

One of my dogs is 7 and is only just getting "inside the house alone" privileges and only for a few hours at a time. When he was about 4 he was still chewing things (cords, remotes, DVDs). So we put him outside if he was unsupervised, even if we were just having a shower.

Are we banned from visiting your house now? :rofl:

It sounds like a behaviourist would be a good idea just to get you on the right track with her :)

My young girl had to be taught how to relax and chill. She's never been allowed to endlessly wander around the house (and she will, if you let her) and of an evening is expected to spend her time in largely one spot. When she started wandering as a pup (trying to hoover the kitchen floor, staring out the front window or back door, etc) she was either crated with a toy/food or called into the lounge room and settled on her bed. We even closed the doors to the lounge room to stop it. She was rewarded with praise, pats, food or short games for being calm. She turned 2 in December and now falls asleep straight after her dinner, around 6:30pm. That's her routine and she knows what's expected. ETA: Also think about the type of exercise she's getting. For example, a 30 minute off leash walk with other dogs is more tiring than an hour on leash around the suburb. We had an agility trial last night and even though we only had one run (60 seconds worth) she was absolutely pooped afterwards... yet after a one hour walk she's still wanting more.

Well done, RS! :) Your dogs are so versatile, it's great.

My brag for the long weekend is that on Saturday night, Ava got her first Rally Advanced pass, scoring 98 and getting 1st place. She was on fire! Then tonight she managed a Novice Gamblers Q (just a gamblers trial so only got one run for the night which is always a bit hit and miss). It was really messy, we only just made the points and just made the time for the gamble but it was still a Q :laugh: We were overseas for most of February so not much training has been done, I'm very proud of her!

I can, it's at the top of her leg