wuffles

Just went and looked through my pics and Ava never had very big growth plate lumps in her legsies, just cute little bumps! Then again I guess she is not a big dog She only has skinny little legs too... Ickle puppy And now

I don't know if it's my place to butt into this thread, but I mix with a lot of "average" dog owners. I also mix with a lot of people whom I consider good dog trainers, some that have multiple obedience titles on their dogs and some that just train manners but you can see they have a natural ability with dogs. I would say that over 50% of them have difficulties getting their dog to walk on a loose leash, no matter what "tool" they use. Some people have taught a beautiful competition heel but cannot get their dogs to walk on a loose leash. Some don't have a clue whatsoever about training their dogs and their dogs walk right by their side. I have one dog that walks on a loose leash naturally and one that is a constant struggle. If I stuck a check chain on either of them and did nothing but give a "reverse poke" I can almost guarantee they wouldn't pay any attention. Front attach harness for us meant more walks, more training time, more enjoyment. sas, I think it's great that you are trying to find the right tools to set your foster dogs' new owners up for success

My stubborn boy is not soft, and you have to be pretty rough to actually get him out by his collar (he's 36kg and can make himself feel like 100kg when he doesn't want to do something). So I understand what you mean. Can you try using food and lots of rewards and gradually phase those out? For example, lure him outside a few times, then see if he will do it for a reward on the ground, randomise where they come from. Let him know that the rewards don't always come from you specifically? Once he realises that, you could probably phase out rewards if you wanted to. We just always have treats on hand

Maybe he just needs to learn your rules better first. I have one very stubborn boy at my house so let me know if you find a solution If mine refuses to go in/out he generally just gets left where he is and the door closed for a minute or two. He does what he's told pretty quickly when the door opens again. I do use bribery if it's important to get him somewhere right at that moment. Mine is trained, we use NILIF yet he's still a stubborn idiot occasionally... thankfully he's such a nice dog to live with generally that it doesn't matter all that much.

Just bumping the thread because we ended up buying one of these, and so far love it It sits quite high on the chest, doesn't seem to impede movement in any way, fits firmly and doesn't rub.

I also make sure that, when we walk past barking/jumping dogs or anything else that may make my own dog nervous, I use relaxed but confident body language. No tensing up! I put myself between them and the scary thing and walk past calmly and confidently, my dogs respond well to this

Ava was 19.5kg at 9 months old and now, at 1 year old, is 18kg Aussies are naturally chunky looking dogs and the long hair doesn't help! We have cut back on her food, she is now very lean, I think if she had short fur you could probably see her last rib or two. She is going for a run with OH each morning as well. When I get home I can have a look through my old photos to see how obvious her "knuckles" or growth plate lumps were at different ages. To me it sounds like Max won't get much bigger

Both my pups stand on our feet Satch is a leaner and I think it comes with the territory. Ava is just LOVE LOVE LOVE and wants to crawl into your skin with love so she does it to be close. She also does it sometimes when sitting at heel and when she returns on a recall. I had all four wisdom teeth out too a few years ago. Soooo good to have them gone. It was only really a week, maybe two, of pain, then no more No problems being off food in my house Ava snarfs everything she can find. She'd eat until she popped. I am going a bit nutty trying to organise bits and pieces of wedding stuff. I have my final dress fitting this afternoon so I spent pretty much all weekend running around trying to find SHOES! I wanted blue ones but it seems no-one makes pretty blue shoes I finally found some nice white ones yesterday though, phew. Still trying to book hair and makeup and need to get in touch with a florist. I like to organise things in dribs and drabs but I thought it's probably best to do things before Christmas... Then on top of that I'm trying to organise our trip to Brissy! We are driving up with the puppers, exciting We are leaving next Tuesday and staying with The Ark for a night on the way up ( so excited to see you guys and Ava's family squeeee!) then have booked another night just outside Port Macquarie where doggies are allowed in the cabins :D Then up to Brisbane to stay with my parents where there is a big grassy yard for the dogs to romp in. Our only worry is that the fences on two sides are only about a metre high, and although neither has tried to jump fences before, both of them are definitely capable!! I'm sure they'll be fine as long as there are no cats hanging around And we have no idea when we're coming back yet or where we are staying on the way back! Gave the dogs a bath yesterday so they smell delicious and are very fluffy. I brushed two full plastic bags of hair out of them yesterday It seems at a year of age Ava finally has her adult coat and is shedding it all over the place

We're travelling up to Brissy with the doglets over Christmas so I may even make this one

My young dog has been extensively socialised since a puppy. She loves other dogs and has wonderful social skills. But she values me more than she values other dogs. I've trained a strong recall and she works off leash around other dogs in obedience classes with no problems. IMO it's a big personal choice here and it depends what is important to you, and how much work you are willing to put in. For some (especially those planning on doing dog sports) it is important that their dogs ignore other dogs so they might do what you are suggesting. For others, they want a balance... I wanted my girl to enjoy running and playing with other dogs and to be able to handle any situation thrown at her, from off leash dogs rushing up to us, big dominant dogs, rough dogs, timid dogs, snappy dogs... I also wanted her to be able to work off leash around other dogs for obedience and agility... so I socialised the heck out of her as safely as possible and she has turned out just how I wanted :D My girl arrived home at 12 weeks, and at 12 weeks I was taking her for walks around the block and to the shops (I did carry her most of the time at the shops). She also went to puppy preschool before fully vaccinated. We also visited a few friends with full vaccinated dogs. Those were the risks I was willing to take. We also have a large, calm, older dog so that helped. I think it's ok to carry puppies when they are vulnerable babies, you can implement the no babying rule once they're not babies anymore With such a little breed you will really have to protect him from bad experiences... so dog parks are probably a bad idea. If you go to puppy preschool make sure he is not subjected to bullying or boisterous play from the bigger puppies. Good luck with your little one!

We tried the shirt on our boy a few nights ago during storms overnight. At first we didn't notice much of a difference, he was still stressed, pacing, etc. The only thing was that he finally settled on a spot and lay there nearly the whole night even while there was thunder -- he usually paces between rooms constantly. Not sure if it was the TS or not but we will be putting it on him again next time to see what happens

Ava just went straight into her crate when she got home and slept, literally. It can take days for them to feel better.

Poor Hoovs! Ava was drowsy and slept from the time she got home from the vet to about 6am the next morning. Then she woke up and bounced out of her crate like nothing had happened.

IMO the Gentle Leader Easy Walk would be the easiest for new owners to use. Won't work for every dog but most I know walk really well on it with no training on the owner's part.

Our pup came to us at 12 weeks so she had some foundation done by the breeder. I am a very, very light sleeper so I didn't set an alarm or anything at night, she was sleeping in the crate next to our bed and I took her outside if she stirred. We never had an accident in the crate. I didn't take my eye off her for a second while she was inside. If I went to shower, OH watched her. We took her out at all the usual times, probably every hour or so. She was sleeping through the night most nights at 13 weeks and every night at 14 weeks.

:D Our FreeCat was called "Sweetie" - the neighbours took her to the vet and told them her name was "Streetie" as in Street Cat so my parents just varied it slightly to make it less horrible

Astrid is sooo cute! Awwwwwwwwwwwwww! Lots of people cross the road when I am walking Satchy... I've seen an Irish Wolfhound do flyball! I don't think I've ever been so entertained in my life than watching him compete Here is a linky. This, from the PDF, pretty much sums up his technique: Callaghan usually walks calmly down to the box, then likes to stop and look around once he gets there (just to make sure everyone is watching him), before whacking the box with his paw and trying to find the ball under his feet once it has been ejected. His return to me is usually a little faster and occasionally he does it at a good lope as he knows there is a tasty treat to be had. KA, my parents took in a cat that had been left behind by its owners when they moved out. I'm not a cat person in general but FreeCat was so cute... she spent a happy year wandering around my parents yard and getting fed yummy food, but unfortunately she had cancer. We wonder whether the previous owners knew she was sick and that's why they left her behind. A very nasty thing to do :D

I have the Easy Walk one as well, you don't need a double ended leash. I do find that the ring at the front slips to the side so doesn't have the full effect of a martingale design, BUT it still stops strong pulling. It's very noticeable with my girl, she is about 18kg. If she wants to pull hard on a flat collar I can barely hold her, whereas with the harness there is no issue.

That looks cool pewithers, where abouts exactly is it in Redcliffe? We will be up in Brissy with the dogs for Xmas.

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Pretty sure it's not the law, see post #31. Once I had my dog harnessed in the back seat when I thought "wow, he's being quiet". I turned around to see why... he had gotten himself tangled in both the harness and the seatbelt and was chewing the seatbelt to try free himself. That definitely distracted me from driving. By the time I found somewhere to pull over he'd eaten through half the seatbelt and was actually quite distressed. I think it is difficult sometimes for big dogs because the attachment needs to be so long that it gives them complete movement anywhere on the backseat. My dog hits his head on the ceiling when he sits in the back seat

If you use a mulch mower and have a dog with white feet, their feet turn green Our mower can mulch but we use the catcher as there are too many weeds.

I don't have a goldie but my boy has a GSD type coat and his took 3 weeks to start growing fur back on the actual hotspot then another few weeks until it looked kind of normal.

I have to agree... the pack mentality that kicks in at dogs parks often means lots of bullying goes on but I rarely see serious fights with injuries. I've even seen the meekest dog in the dog park go and join in on biting/mouthing the face, ears, neck, legs, etc. of a dog that others are picking on. Anyway, I agree that it's frightening and horrible even if there are no injuries. But I saw the footage on TV that I'm assuming the OP is talking about and it was just something else

I dare say putting one of my dogs in a car harness is more dangerous than driving with him unrestrained. He does not sit still, he turns circles and gets himself tangled which stresses him out even more. His crate doesn't fit in the car. He travels in the back of our station wagon. We don't currently have a cargo barrier but will be getting one even though it makes the space very squishy for him and is mucho expensive