Mooper

I'm glad he doesn't have a temp, but that still sounds like a worry. Fingers crossed it was a temporary stomach upset due to performance anxiety. All these DOLers wanting to know how he's doing would be enough to make any pooch nervous Hang in there, Ollie dog. You're doing great, mate ;)

That sounds just perfect for Miss Stinky Bum-Breath ;)

When you move to Canberra, veanna you can take your future white GSD to Dog World and wash and dry it yourself pretty cheaply. We did this with Jack recently for the first time (who is double-coated) and couldn't believe how much fur came out! He lost half of his "mane" around his neck, and he went down a pants size or two ;) Previously we've used a combination of an undercoat rake, a Kong Zoom Groom and a slicker brush. They work OK but he's a wriggler and we don't have a grooming table, so I can only give him a good brush when he's chomping on a recreational bone. If you're going to lay out money for a dryer, I'd suggest chasing local DOLers and asking to try their personal hydrobaths, dryers etc before choosing your own. It'll probably only cost you a bottle of vino and could save you from buying the wrong thing!

Oh, yeah, he's feeling better alright! You're a cheeky boy, Ollie dog :shakehead:

Way to go, Clover dawg! What a fantastic achievement

I'm sooo glad his temp is down! Good boy, Ollie! If you're really good, you'll get a walk tomorrow

Hi metro09, and welcome to DOL. Good on you for trying to do the right thing, and for continuing to persevere. You will work through this apparent aggression with the right professional help, as advised above. The only comment I have to add to the helpful replies you've already received is that the word "normally" stuck out like a sore thumb in your description of feeding. You will need to replace "normally" with "always" ... be consistent in your expectations of your girl and she will relax knowing exactly what is expected of her. I agree that she probably needs more stimulation and exercise than saying she's "exercised in the yard each day" implies. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding what this means -- it could mean an hour of high-energy fetching for all I know. I have a red heeler X, male, 6yo. He gets a 40-minute walk each morning and we try for a walk most evenings as well as a play session in the back yard when we get home. He gets an off-lead run each weekend or a long walk into town and back. An 18-month-old would need a heck of a lot more than that. In terms of stimulation, how long is the dog alone during a working day and what do you provide her with during that time? Many people find that giving food in a Kong toy will occupy their dogs. Recreational bones are also good. I give my dog his breakfast kibble in a Buster Cube, which is a large plastic cube with a hole at one end. He has to bat the cube around the yard for a good 30 minutes to get all his brekky out of it, so that keeps him occupied for a little while. Hope some of that helps! Good luck, and let us know how you go.

Ollie dog, drop that temp, buddy. I know it's cold outside and you want to be warm. But you can do it little fighter!!! Hope he stays out of hospital, Staffyluv

The plot thickens! Thanks again, bloss. What a bizarre business model they follow ...

Ooh, I think you've posted that one before, FHR. I still love it! to Rogan!

Thanks, bloss Do you know the name of the parent company? I always like digging for info. I'm addicted to research The parent company must be a bit like Sara Lee ... they seem to be into everything. Including pies

Is this true? I know Vet Products Direct have a link to petfooddirect.com.au on their website. And a bit of digging tells me the webmaster for petfooddirect.com.au is the same person as registered the ABN for Vet Products Direct, in Qld. I can't find any link between Bates Pets Paradise (or its many other names) and Pet Food Direct If they are linked, they're mighty sneaky about it!

I know nothing about herding trials, but the instructors who run the sheepdog school down here near Yass NSW are experienced with all breeds. The humans get to play sheepdog regularly, swapping sheep over so the sheep don't get stressed by all the different herding styles.

It sounds like she's behaving as normal now! I hope she keeps trundling along OK

I bought a long-line (very lightweight) from the Save-a-Dog Scheme online shop. It was $16 for a 7-m lead. Check them out here: http://www.saveadog.org.au/shop/products/dogs_leads.asp

No worries, feralpup. I think DOL member herding_guy runs the Tullamarine sessions ... hunt through the archives of this part of the forum and I'm sure more info will come to light! Sorry for going off-topic, Pat Smith Hope the Erskine Park and Richmond herding is all going well. I haven't seen any GSDs herding yet, just Belgians so far out of the sheps.

feralpup, I've heard of herding days at Echuca but I have no idea where that is And I know that some DOLers meet up at Tullamarine for herding. HTH

Welcome to DOL, Canid. :D I've singled out part of your comments because I've just spent a weekend at sheepdog school with my dog, and the experience is therefore fresh in my mind. My dog is very food-motivated, and responds very well to clicker training. In obedience classes, we went through a fair few treats early on -- btw smokey sue, we tended to use something smelly like cabanossi, cubes of cheese or cold chicken in class but used Nature's Gift liver treats or dehydrated liver for daily practice. Jack would get less and less food rewards as my standards for his behaviour increased. As others have mentioned with their own dogs, I would only click and treat for perfect behaviours thereafter. But sheep herding is a whole new ballgame. There is no need for food rewards. The reward is being allowed to work the sheep, and it's a mighty powerful one once a dog is switched on to herding! Which makes me wonder what other rewards (flyball? agility? tracking?) are so powerful that food is no longer required as a motivation. Yesterday I noticed one dog in particular, whose owner was feeding him treats like a freight train. I also noticed that he was getting treats even when he hadn't done exactly as commanded ... for instance, he was told to sit at heel, and would sit on the owner's feet with his back to her ... it was very interesting to watch. Today, in the pen with sheep, there were no treats. The dog didn't really work (but is pretty new to sheep, to be fair). Of more concern was the fact this big dog paid absolutely no attention to his handler's commands. He started out looking at her hands, nudging her pockets and sniffing the ground for any fallen treats. It was a lost cause, I believe, because the owner has mistakenly believed she was training her dog all this time with food rewards when he was really training her. I'm pleased to say that the dog and his handler came a very long way today. After a loooong time in the ring and lots of assistance form the trainers, the dog *finally* looked directly into his owners eyes and actually came to her when called rather then going straight past. And he sat at heel rather than on her feet. After all that blurb, my point is that I'm now learning that while food, tug toys, pats, praise or whatever can work really well in the obedience ring (ie different motivators for different dogs), there doesn't seem to be any place for food rewards in herding as far as I can see. The best part of all was seeing a sheepdog head out into the paddock first thing this morning. This young bitch was simply told 'get away' and she raced away hundreds of metres from us, up into the paddock, rounded up the sheep and brought them right back to her master. All for a sedate pat on the head and a subdued 'good girl'. True sheepdogs have me in awe

Jack and I started our second ever weekend of sheep-herding today ... and I remembered to get pics (see here ) What a day! I can't wait to go again tomorrow and see how much of today's good work can continue to be put into practice. :D I'll try to get some pics of Perrys Mum and her coolie Perry as well. Perry had a *fantastic* day today but I'll leave that story for PM to tell sometime. Perry is a great little worker

BittyMooPeeb, I mentioned in one of Steve's threads a while back that it would be great to get him to the ACT for a 'training in drive' seminar. If you're keen, and I'm keen, then that's a good start! The organisers would need to find the venue (park, obedience club, fenced property, that sort of thing I think) and I think accommodation as well. Steve handles the rest ... I think!! :D I'm still keen to organise it, but uni is really busy so I haven't been able to put any more thought into it. ETA: Or Plan B: I'd happily car-pool up to Steve's next seminar in Kurrajong if any Canberrans are keen

Love it, mita Have a rollicking good time in doggy Heaven, Shelby, you gorgeous girl

Ah ha! Maybe PAX was the kind person who wrote about the clicker vs photograph concept that I've clung to ... ?

All the doggies are doing so well!

The first one I did was "look at me" in a heap of different environments. Then we did shaking hands and high-fives, which Jack now does allll the time Once he "gets" a trick, he really gets it! Have fun! The weekend sounds like a goer. And can we have pics of the fishy cake, please? I love fancy cakes

I remember trying the 101 things to do with a box trick ... I was so convinced I had taught Jack to get a particular toy out of the box. Nope. I had only taught him that staring at the box (very intently!) would get him a click. Back to square one for us! The best hint I've followed with clicker training is to imagine the clicker is a camera. You have to click at the precise moment of the desired behaviour, to get a snapshot of the moment into your dog's head. Click at the wrong moment, and you've saved the wrong 'picture'. I think someone on DOL mentioned that and it's stuck with me (Tess32, perhaps, or Clicking Mad, I can't remember!)