wuffles

I've just read the book Control Unleashed and have started the "Look at That!" exercise with my girl who is very excitable and screams when she sees dogs, people, birds, pretty much anything she deems interesting The gist is that you encourage your dog to look at the thing that excites her, then reorient to you, rather than expecting her to ignore things in her environment. It is explained a lot more thoroughly in the book, which I strongly recommend if you can get your hands on it!

I have an 8 month old Aussie so I know where you are coming from with the endless energy Other posters have given good advice that I would agree with. Lots of training! Do the basics, but also fine tune everything... getting them to do a 5 second stay won't tire them out but 2 minute stay with distractions will. Maybe get a long line and work heaps on recall. I did a lot of this at the local oval (even at 6am when it was very dark, at least at that time we were the only ones there). Once you get a good recall going it is a lot easier to get them out and about to stretch their legs. The most tired I ever see my girl is after an hour of obedience training at the dog club, then 30 minutes hanging out and running with the other dogs afterwards.

We have a Rogz Viva Podz and also one of the flat ones (same as Podz but without the sides). Our dogs love them both They are very hardy. We have had one of them for 2 years with no signs of wear and tear at all, and our big boy sleeps on it every night.

Wouldn't bother me that much. I took my girl down the oval a few weeks ago for a training session and there was a couple there with their young BC x. The pups had a bit of a play, then I moved to the other side of the oval and I was free to do my training there That being said, I only do very small sessions mixed with play anyway... and I am not bothered by strange dogs approaching mine either. That's just me ;)

I think most dogs have that stiff side, I know mine do. I'm training it one step click-treat, then two steps etc. It'll just take longer than the good side. Thanks Tiggy, I can't get her to move even one foot anticlockwise at the moment I keep watching to click for the tiniest movement but it never happens or she sits :D I will keep persisting, it's like riding a bike, I know once she gets the tiniest movement she'll be doing it in no time!

Hi everyone... I am doing some rear end awareness with Ava, and she will turn clockwise on the phonebook like a speed demon However, I can't get her to do anti-clockwise for the life of me! Any suggestions?

I love the video of Elbie with the tucker ball How tough is the tucker ball? I'm thinking about getting one for Ava but our two can destroy anything if they set their minds to it. I've avoided the home alone toy because I don't want to encourage Ava to jump too much - she jumps enough as it is Ava's favourite toys - trampoline bed, outdoor chairs, clam shell pool (eating it, not playing in it), garden beds, Satchmo's ears and chops, plants, pegs. Ava's least favourite toys - rubber chew toys, balls, ropes Ava's in between toys - Kongs, squeaky chicken, tug-a-jug, squirrel dude, Cuz Edited to add: Satchmo has a huge mouf, so if I leave a plastic bottle in the yard he will eat through the bottle to get to the treats

I might be wrong here but in my experience the dominant males are the ones that attract humping... my boy is dominant and gets humped by other dominant males quite a lot. He rarely humps, but when he does, it's definitely not the submissive ones that cop it

How old is he? "Teenage" males tend to get humped a lot by older males. Apart from that, some dogs just seem to get humped a lot

Our neighbourhood has... a pack of basenjis, a puli, 2 curly coated retrievers, 2 norwegian elkhounds... At the dog park I've met a portugese water dog, lagottos, manchester terrier, lakeland terrier and an irish red and white setter. We had a lowchen in our puppy preschool class. At obedience club we have all kinds! A landeer newfie, ibizan hounds, tibetan terriers

Haha I love the bit where he goes... "Oh a bush.. OW! Spiky. I EAT THE BUSH. WOOF! Play bow! Silly bush!"

We bought our puppy from interstate, so we did not meet her or her parents beforehand, but she is everything we could have hoped for. The breeder was great, gave us lots of updates and told us what her personality was like. Just thought I would throw that out there for those looking at breeders

Lovely winter day here in Canberra! Mine have been chucked outside for most of the morning while I clean the house. I'm about to take them out to the park for a run around. Then, the lucky ducks, are both getting a bath because they stink We have visitors coming tonight to stay for a few days so the doggies will be sooooo happy when they arrive.

I agree with Kavik in that maybe your criteria is too high and you can start with offering "parts" of a behaviour instead Satch learned to heel, drop, stay by starting with reallllly low criteria. All dogs are different in how long it takes them to learn things and whether they WANT to learn things. I have a dog that sounds like Peggie training-wise ;) Instead of offering a behaviour he will lie down and go to sleep. The truth is, he is just not that interested in training. He is very laidback and well-behaved, he will sit and wait for things but that is about the extend of his obedience I spend time with him doing different things - just hanging out, playing with other dogs, napping Although I took him through a few levels of obedience at our local dog club, I had to rethink what I wanted for him as he wasn't enjoying it. Ultimately I wanted him to do the things he lives for, so now he sleeps a lot and gets a lot of pats, then I go and train the puppy who lives for training and interaction.

Hi there! I added a puppy to the family earlier this year when our existing dog was 5 years old. Like you there is a bit of a size difference between them - our boy is 36kg (GSD sized) and the puppy is now 20kg but was 8kg when she arrived here (Australian Shepherd)! It has been great fun but things have definitely changed around our house!!! I do warn you that ours are now "double trouble" whereas previously our boy was a bit of an angel ;) 1) Sleeping arrangements Have you thought about crate training your puppy? Our older dog has always slept in the lounge room on his bed, so we set up the puppy's crate also in the lounge room, across from his bed so that she could see him. This worked well as she didn't bug him or us during the night (except whinging when she wanted to get up)! She now has free run of the lounge/bedroom, which works fine, but we still occasionally get woken up by the two dogs playing at 6am 2a) Feeding I think it is fine to feed them together as long as neither of them exhibit resource guarding or feel like they have to compete for food. It's hard to predict what the older dog will do with a new body in the house even if he's previously been fine... all of a sudden there is someone else there that may eat faster than him and then try and eat his as well! Teach them to eat from their own bowls only - you will probably find the puppy realllllly wants to eat out of the older dog's bowl but it is very bad manners and may get her in trouble Our girl learned very early not to eat from the big boy's bowl (just warning growls) and she doesn't go near his food anymore. I don't give bones or any high value treats together as it is just asking for trouble 2b) I feed mainly kibble as it's easier. We throw in mainly chicken bones (frames, wings, maryland) or sardines. There are a lot of posts on here about feeding a raw diet which is a great way to go if you want to put in the effort 2c) I have met some pretty chunky cockers However, dogs don't get overweight by themselves, it is all about how much they get fed which is controlled the owner. Make sure you can always feel the dog's ribs with the palm of your hand, adjust the amount of food accordingly, and you will be fine. 3) When at work It is probably a good idea to set up a play pen with toys and water while she is still little, and also until she is big enough to not be at risk of getting squashed or hurt by the older dog And the name Willow is lovely!

Mine both whinge :D They whinge when they think we're going for a walk, they whinge when you take one out without the other, they whinge when I get home from work... My personal favourite is the "air whinge" they do when they are lying down and want something but are too lazy to get up

Ava knows "peekaboo" but I stopped encouraging it when she started walking through random people's legs at the dog park and at training :D

Same here! Our older dog just used to sleep when we were gone, but now he's kept awake by the puppy, and they get up to mischief together.

huski, I just watched your videos and Ava had her nose pretty much on the laptop screen watching intently the whole time

Our 8 month old doesn't sleep past 6am, even on weekends, so count yourselves lucky ;)

Such gorgeous doggies, I have to say one of the best things about going to obedience each week is seeing all the other owners and stunning dogs. Look at my sweet furry little girl I heard a few people point at Elbie when he was in the off leash area by himself, saying "Look at how good that dog is!" :D

Ours dig like crazy no matter what else we have to entertain them, we have just accepted the fact that our yard will look like the Moon

I can't really talk as my girl is exactly the same, but has she met any well-adjusted adult dogs who will give her a correction for her rude manners? My girl was SO rude as a younger puppy and she has been told off many times by my older dog as well as other dogs we know. It really helped her social skills and learn that dogs do not like to have their heads jumped on. She is still a rude greeter on lead, we are working on this at obedience class by only letting her meet another dog if she is being calm, otherwise we walk away. That being said she doesn't meet many dogs in class

This is probably the hardest exercise for Little Miss as well. Not sure how we're ever going to do the stand for exam which is the more formal version of the exercise in trials

As long as you watch koalathebear and not us Surely Ava can't get shown up by her below average intelligence big brother Satch who passed this level first go