wuffles

My entire yard is smaller than that and houses two dogs just fine.

Hi all, newbie alert My pup is still registered in his breeder's name (will be getting changed, just had to wait for DNA results etc) and I want to enter him in a show on Ozentries. I have all the details. On Ozentries do I need to enter the breeder's details on both the first page AND confirmation page (where it asks for Exhibitor details)? I think my brain is going to explode :laugh: TIA

I've been putting off looking at the link as my loss is still a bit raw but I finally did and I cried. Here's one of mine :)

I think the behaviour in that first video is completely normal dog behaviour. It doesn't mean that it is appropriate behaviour, depending on the situation. The dogs in the video are just trying to work each other out. With dogs that know each other, I think they learn to cope with each other's different play and interaction styles. But in dog parks or when meeting new dogs, you have to be a lot more careful about your dog's body language and how it may be portrayed. Edit: I have Aussie Shepherds, they can be completely rude and over the top at times so I am very careful to teach them appropriate behaviours around all dogs :)

Interestingly, I didn't find that the first video in that article ("THIS is normal") was a particularly appropriate encounter either. It's the kind of behaviour I see at dog parks a lot. If your dog is the kind to attempt to put his head over another dog's neck, you definitely should be aware that one day he's going to choose the wrong dog to attempt it with. Normal dog behaviour, yes, but still something that I keep an eye on and discourage, if I want my dog to be able to meet unfamiliar canines. If it had been my dog, I would probably have moved around and encouraged the dogs to follow me on a bit of a walk to try to diffuse the tension.

Just one point. We are still working on getting my pup to settle, some days we are successful and some we are not. Gotta take the good with the bad! But if we bring the treats out (even kibble) to reward calmness it puts him way over his excitement threshold and we have no hope of calming him down again. So every time he lies down or does something that resembles calm, he gets a slow, deliberate pat and a quiet "gooood boooooy". Your voice and body language can make a big difference. Last night he was in the lounge with us for 30 minutes, couldn't settle and ended up over his threshold, so he had to go back in his pen for everyone's sanity (where he fell asleep within 5 minutes mind you). With the pen (attached to a crate), we started out putting him in there with something entertaining and we would sit a few metres away doing our own thing (laptop, book, etc). He was getting company but not active attention. Then we'd start to move around and do the chores or cooking, so we'd be with him intermittently but not constantly. The idea of a trainer sounds good, as I am a relatively experienced dog owner and my pup is still pretty tough going!

Yep we have had some God awful tanties in the crate and pen at my house ;) It does improve when they realise it doesn't work.

I hear you. I have a 14 week old Aussie Shepherd puppy whom we call "The Tasmanian Devil" ;) As pers says, a puppy pen and/or crate has been a lifesaver for us. Epic has a pen in the living room and a crate in the lounge room. He's never, ever unsupervised in the house as he'll steal and eat anything that's not nailed down. When we can supervise, he's confined to one room (eg. lounge). There's nothing within reach that he can get his teefies around, but he will still have a go at the coffee table, dog bed, etc. In that case he's given an "uh uh" and redirected. You can redirect to a toy or chewie. We found that redirecting to a toy got him extra excited, so a redirect for us is to encourage him to lie down on one of the dog beds where he's given soft praise and calm pats. You'll have to find what works for your pup. If you are going to tell her not to do something, just make sure you give her an alternative that you WANT her to offer :) As far as mouthing you and your clothes go, there are a few methods you can try but the key is consistency. Choose one that you are comfortable with. You can just redirect each time. Or you can use a high pitched "yelp" to let the pup know she has hurt you. Or you can use a harsher method such as placing your finger on the roof of her mouth and pushing. Just be sure that the method suits the temperament of your pup (my first pup was very soft natured so I would have never considered the third method for her but this new pup has a very different temperament). I always make sure I encourage an alternate behaviour (eg. sit) and give praise/pats/food for the behaviour I do want. Toilet training... if you decide to use a crate or pen, this may help. I've not had any issues as my dogs follow a routine of in and out and are happy to do their business outside on the grass. Edit: I just wanted to add, it is normal to feel overwhelmed. Puppies are so different in their individual needs and some are much harder than others!!! The first few weeks are really hard. We have only just started to see a nice improvement in Epic's behaviour in the past week or two and even then it's just flickers. Still a long way to go :)

Never bitten a person, never bitten a dog, but ate a chicken at the breeder's house at 6 weeks old. Vicious little thing. :p

Mine are also in the boot behind a cargo barrier. Had an 18kg dog and 35kg dog there during a head on accident where both cars were written off, with no injuries. Getting hit from behind probably would have had a different outcome but I don't think any one method is foolproof.

We took Ava home at just over 12 weeks and she was perfect. We had no issues with fear periods or socialisation. Our new pup came home at just over 8 weeks and he's been much more work. May just be the difference in temperament though. Edit: Just wanted to add there is nothing wrong with pup's temperament, he's just more work :laugh:

Older dog sleeps wherever she wants which is generally on our bed in winter, or under our bed in summer. The puppy sleeps in a crate in the lounge room.

I think it's more about the comfort of the other dog rather than the intention of the behaviour. I've found that a lot of dogs exhibit very strong prey behaviour around other dogs but also have a very well developed sense of control and bite inhibition. It doesn't mean that I want my dogs to be around them, though ;) If I were at that dog park and my dog did more than sniff the scared little dog for half a second, I'd be redirecting my dog straight away as it's obvious the small dog doesn't want ANY interaction. I think that dogs in established, known packs are often different. When I've had two dogs it often regularly sounds like they are attempting to kill each other, but both always go back for more with no injuries.

Yes, people appear to be drawn to Ava's white face...

I teach a beginners obedience class and I most certainly go into breed characteristics not only in terms of training your dog, but also in dog interactions. I talk about dog parks and their positives/negatives and what people need to consider. I have plenty of examples for them with my own dogs and they seem interested to hear. My female working breed doesn't interact with unknown gundogs as she has very strict "rules" about how things must be, and gundogs don't understand why she's not friendly when they get in her face. Not a fault with either dog, just different understanding. She doesn't interact off leash with unknown puppies or tiny dogs because she's likely to squash them by accident. She also doesn't go in with bull breeds unless I know them as she will defend herself rather than run away. On the other side of the scale, I'm happy for her to interact with nearly all other working breeds. She's fine with smaller dogs. Hounds, fine. Older grumpy dogs, fine. I then go on to say, does she have friends that are labs, goofy pups, tiny toy poodles, staffies and the like? You bet. But she has met them through controlled interactions and mutual understanding between owners. The most important part is being an advocate for your own dog and not putting them in situations they are not equipped to deal with.

My boy acted exactly like this when he had internal bleeding from a tumour, but obviously his blood results were out (PCV, liver and red count). He would stand around looking dazed/confused, not in any pain but just symptoms from 'not feeling right'. I hope they can find something soon.

I have a 12 week old puppy so I can tell you what we use :laugh: We have had THREE (yes, three) crates set up for him. He will steal and eat anything that's not nailed down so we have a crate attached to a pen in the living room, large crate in the lounge room so he can be with us while eating dinner etc, and one in the bedroom which he slept in but has already grown out of so is now sleeping in the one in the lounge. I didn't need all the crates with my other dog but this one is a livewire and needs time outs A LOT :p A collar, harness and leash. Harness we found useful in the first few weeks while getting used to a collar and lead and doing the bucking bronco thing. As many polar fleece blankets as you can get your hands on. Puppies tend to eat beds (well mine do) and make a mess so these are great to chuck in the wash and dry easily. Long lasting chewy things for when they need distracting. I use deer antlers and small rawhide chews. Earplugs for the first few nights

Yeah feather is probably not the best. However cheap Big W doona does the trick here with a waffle blankie over the top (which tends to be what gets chewed but doesn't matter).

Only thing that enticed our old boy into the giant crate was a big, puffy doona. The big ones can never resist the soft :laugh:

Mine will steal anything that's not nailed down if he's not being supervised. Hence he's always supervised.

I do dog sports so I guess I have a higher tolerance for naughty dogs. Lucky for my dogs. :p

I think he's a wonderful dog, absolutely bomb proof. His worst crime is being badly trained but that's easily fixed! His temperament looks superb and he looks happy, IMO.

Yep, mine follows the shoulders. I slightly exaggerate the backwards shoulder movement and make sure they are held high for her to follow me around. If I want her to do round the back turns, my shoulder lowers and I move them forwards faster. Practice in a mirror to make sure it's not TOO obvious at least to the judge :laugh:

My girl seemed to be a target when she was younger, but not anymore. The only thing I can think of that has changed in her personality is that she is less submissive now than when she was young. The most serious times my dog has been attacked were both at dog club when other dogs slipped their collars.

You're lucky yours comes with a sleepy mode. Mine only came with hungry and psycho