Dory the Doted One

Website doens't have to be 'flashy', but I do expect it to be well constructed, clear, concise and contain relevant information and pictures of the dogs. I have to admit, when it comes to websites, if it looks a little 'thrown together' I'm less interested. Have no objections to home made websites, but I do like them to look a little bit professional.

Me too. Dory is great. Norty, but great. I might be only a little bit biassed.

I was shocked to learn how little knowledge some of the Vet graduates, graduate on.

I got greeted on the front verandah at work as I rocked up for my shift, by a Staffyx girl who had got out of her yard and went on an adventure. She was the funniest thing. I work at a vet clinic and here she is just about busting the door down because she wants IN. She zipped around said hello, got heaps of pats and a fuss on. And thankyou thankyou THANKYOU to great owner who had up to date microchip details, including his Mum as his secondary contact number. Cos he was on hols and out of range, and Mum was the babysitter. So a few hours later our Smiley Staffy Girl was back home after her day at the Vet Clinic.

This SERIOUSLY happened on a phone call at work.... "We didn't think they would 'do it' because they are brother and sister". I was rather , because I thought this was only a joke that people told not actually BELIEVED!

Dory protects me from anyone that might steal my attention away from her. Dogs in the past have done wonderful jobs of looking scary. Fortunately I have never had to test out their protective abilities. Scare factor seemed adequate for most occasions. I did have one dog, who was very friendly but on a handful of occasions took exceptions to a few people in a pretty impressive display of scary dog. Even the hair on the back of my neck went up when she did that deeeep, rumbly growl from the guts, with a very hard eye and a body to match. Found out later in nearly all cases that there was something off about all of them. One guy, I found out was fond of touching women inappropriately....never got to experience that, my dog hated him on sight and sound, but was embarrassingly friendly with nearly everyone else.

Oooooohhhh....BIG Scruffy Dogs!!! ;) ;) I know where I'll be leaning...or being leaned against.

Tentative Yes....For Dory and I. She needs a good run and tumble. Things have been too hectic and emotional lately.

I love hearing the gossip about yourself from someone you don't know, who thinks they are passing on a wonderful bit of tidbit for your horror and amusement, and they don't know that the gossip is about you. Especially nice when you have had a great chat with them for a while, got on well...hence why they 'trusted' you with the gossip, only to then spring on them that that piece of salaciousness was about you...it's flattering when they realise the numbers don't add up. ie. What you are really like, compared to what someone else wants them to believe you to be. GOOD GOSSIP: When someone comes into work and says, "Oh, you are the nice, friendly, helpful one my friend told me about". BAD GOSSIP: Prank Caller. Was funny. I was homeless, had no phone and sure wasn't going to waste precious dollars ringing evil people. OTHER BAD GOSSIP: I don't know. Probably plenty. And they can go tell someone who gives a rats. Live with my family long enough and you get immune to some things.

Chipped tooth from leaping dog while I was picking up poo. Puncture wound scars on hands and stomach from getting in the middle of things. Scratched Eyeball from over enthusiastic greeting with a dog that liked to use his feet first. I was actually lucky that I didn't have more serious eye injury. I left it till I couldn't open or close my eye without intense pain before I saw the Dr. He said I was not far from creating a rather nasty ulceration to the eye. Fang holes from handling literally feral kittens. Fang holes from handling baby possum. I think I have gotten off lightly! HUGE scratches from playing feral with the cats.

I think Dory would be Sinead (Nothing Compares). If you were to see the way she carrys on when I leave her at home with Daughter. Sooky Sooky La La.

Hi! My purpose in asking the question re: Clicker Training was largely because I wanted to do something different. I've trained quite a few dogs, and even competed in obedience. I always thought that using a Clicker was adding a step that I would have to remove later, so why bother with it in the first place. My goals with Dory are very different. I'm not interested in competing with her, just having some fun. And while generally I have always used training as an opportunity to have a fun game with my dogs while learning at the same time, I thought adding a clicker with Dory would just be a good way to exercise my grey matter and learn a new (old) thing. I have no expectation that teaching Dory tricks would actually fix any other problems with are having with her. Far from it. But I thought it might reinforce and strengthen a bond of obedience on some level. Especially as I am physically limited at the moment. She has been having loads of fun and seems a happier dog since I started. And I'm enjoying using the clicker, it's quite novel. To be perfectly frank, I have been tragically slack with Dory's training. Because it had never been a problem before. I did not get her as a puppy and considering some of her 'quirks', when I first got her she has come quite a long way. So we have been doing stuff, just not 'obedience' stuff. In some of the behaviours we have taught her she will work without the presence of food. And I would definately agree that in all others where we are having problems, treats have not been scaled correctly (in otherwords...I've been Slack). But I'm confident with a bit more consistancy on my part we will get her there. And I guess I felt Clicker Training might help me a little bit with some motivation in that direction. Dory is the first dog I have owned in a long time where there was no intention to show or compete in any way. Strictly companion. So haven't felt a pressing need or deadline to get her 100% obedient every time. And as stated before, she fit in very nicely with my original expectations and requirements. She was actually very responsive when I first got her, but I guess familiarity has bred a little contempt and she knows that sometimes she can wrangle it. (ie...I was Slack). My expectations of her have now changed, and so we are now changing what we do. I was drawn to the clicker because I've never done it before and I was curious to work with it and see how I really felt about it. I also like how it can quite clearly and distinctly mark a behaviour in a very quick and snappy fashion. When working with Dory, I have to be a lot quicker than I'm accustomed to. She jumps from one thing to another, gets typically terrier fixated and then it is a rapid declining spiral of frustration and sloppy timing as she gets more confused. (I think we must be twins. ) I have noticed the clicker keeps us both focussed. And my timing has improved because I'm paying more attention to what she is doing. As to ulterior motives of some people in this thread. But I'm having fun reading. Truth be told. Dory's issues come to one thing....Slack Owner. Now Slack Owner, is trying to find something that will work for both of us at the present moment. I can't walk too far, especially with a dog on a lead. Teaching tricks I felt, was a cool way to still work on behaviours without too much exertion for me. I felt I had to do something to pull her back into line ASAP, and this was a compromise till I'm back to 100%.

I love you Dory, but.... You need a bath every week, cos you start to stink! You are sometimes a little more needy than I can handle. You eat the cat poop while it is still warm, and don't give us a chance to grab it sometimes. You are STUBBORN! You are sometimes pushy and impatient. And yes the HAIR...OMG...Pluck...Pluck...Pluck....and you still manage to drop it on everything. But we Love you Dory, Because you give good snuggles and cuddles. You play nice with the cat. You make us laugh. You are warm on a cold winter's evening. You are pretty much take anywhere kinda gal. You are pretty quiet. Everyone Loves you on sight.

Yay. We taught Dory to beg. She is starting to consolidate it at the moment, but we are getting more hits without having to lure her too much. She's a smart cookie and actually seems to be a bit happier since we have implement the small changes. I'm following up or thru with all suggestions.

I ticked Inside with Aircon on, but this would be in an ideal situation as in....plenty of money to cover the electricity bill. And an Air Con that works properly. And a dog that would let me leave her at home! Dory comes to work with me, so she's covered as she is inside. She also travels everywhere with us whereever possible so she has the car A/C to frost up her fur. If I have to go shopping and leave her at home...we usually try and time shopping for someone at home to babysit her....then she is crated in the coolest part of the house. The bird is kept in the coolest part of the house also. This year i don't know what we are going to do, because I can't leave the cat at the bird together in the same room! Having said that. It seems that the house stays cool anyways. But I think I might end up taking the cat to work on my longer shifts to be on the safe side.

So I have finally given into it. I have never been interested in clicker training before. Not that I was anti clicker, I just didn't see the point in changing something that had been working for me. Until Now. Dory has broken me. Until now there has been no reason to really instill formal obedience into her as her variety of 'quirks' didn't significantly impact our lifestyle. And as she has a tendency to get rather limp and submissive whenever you try to teach her anything that doesn't involve food it was all a bit too hard. (Yes. I have been Lazy.) However, recently she has been a total B!tch about doing even the small demands we have of her. And she has been flipping us the Paw. This is not on! So now, unless she is in the yard, in the house or in a crate she has a lead on her and she is walked everywhere on it. Even from the car to the house. If we give her a tiny inch, she jags a mile and will nick off with cotton wool in her ears. While she has done this on odd occasions, it was considered the exception rather than the rule. Now it is the Rule, and not the exception. Hence Lead At All Times. My next plan is to take back a little power and teach her a few tricks. But aside from 'touch', 'shake hands' and 'speak on command', I have not ever taught a dog tricks. She will heel, sit, drop, wait etc. When she knows there is treats on hand. Picture perfect. Mostly. But if she suspects you have nothing on you...well...we can all go jump. Unless you give her a very firm command...and then she does the limp dog thing. Rolls on her belly and tries to act all cute and submissive. If you encourage her back on her feet and try again...same process. I could tear out my hair! And thus began my journery of just not giving a fag. Until now. We've had one to many flippings of the paw. My Training Plan, is to start with incorporating a Clicker, but I have no idea how to do this. Please don't ask me to buy a book! I don't have the cash and I never read them anyways. Links to some great websites would be nice! Sadly my eyes glaze over when I do searches and I was hoping some of you guys might have some links neatly bookmarked for such occasions as Gumbies asking for Clicker Advice. Training at a club isn't really an option either as everytime I plan something, something else comes up. She has a number of very cute and amusing behaviours I would LOVE to cue to commands. If you use voice she stops what she is doing, so haven't been too successful and lazy kicked in. But mostly I want to start with trick training so we can rebuild a bond and a habit of responding to commands. I want to bring lots of fun into the mix before I start to crackdown on her. I find it difficult to get a balance between nicey nice she will respect and respond to and firmness that she won't just roll on her back in response to. And also getting her to understand that whether or not I have a treat in my pocket, you just have to DO IT. She seems to like the Clicker. I borrowed one today, and when I was standing in the kitchen and she was down the other end of the house she came running pretty quick smart with happy smiles when she heard it. Haven't actually seen her that happy in a little while. Now I just have to get a Clicker Clue and work out how to do this properly so I don't ruin the chance and instil bad habits that will be hard to reverse.

I think at the end of all this discussion. I shall just give more thanks to my food, and be more aware of what I eat and why I'm eating it. I think the why I'm eating it, might actually have more of an impact than what I eat. But I should definately be giving more thanks as well.

I feel ashamed to say, I never even thought of this. :p

When you drive half an hour (an hour round trip) out of your way to drop your Dog off somewhere where you know she will be comfortable and not freak out over her separation issues. Because it is too hot to leave her in the car for the half an hour that you will be in your appointment. And your child has to catch the bus, so you can go pick up the dog.

Me too. Good for those moments when you're just bored. I'd still like to see an abbatoir first hand. I've done the grow and kill your own. Cept I'm a wuss and got someone who knows what they are doing to do it quick. Took me awhile to overcome the fact that I was eating an animal I had cared for...and named. I'm fascinated with the whole ferreting thing. And not unaware that when someone posted about letting their dog kill a rat, that I recomended not to. But that was less about that actual killing bit, and more to do with my worry about whether or not the dog was gonna be quick enough and not end up injured itself.

Moselle, I understand the disgusting aspects of Greyhound racing, not ALL people who participate in the sport are quite so callous. Heck, I lived over the road from a racing greyhound kennel, I saw the conditions they lived in. I saw how they were 'trained'. The best way to clean it up, would be to take the money out of it. And we all know that ain't going to happen in the short term. I still don't feel as a sport it should be banned. If you banned Greyhound racing, would that mean Lure Coursing would come under fire? You have to be careful when you start throwing the "Ban it, Ban it, Ban it" mantra around. Wholesale banning is kind of stupid, there is a lots of shades of grey. And if the whole thing can be cleaned up why shouldn't it be allowed to continue? I have known many people that have taken over 'dud' racers and particpated with them purely for the fun and enjoyment. And have done quite well from it. The whole thing was a family affair and each race was a chance for the family to do something together. At the end of the night the dog went back to being the family pet. I know you will feel just as strongly about the whole thing. My issues is with the whole "BAN IT" reaction to ANYTHING that has a cruddy element to it. Usually an element that can be cleaned up, but it is just easier to cry..."Ban It". Destroys the pleasure that reasonable and caring people derive from it. if we banned everything that anyone ever decried ban it...what are we left with? What CAN I be left to do with my dog. What avenue is left to channel a natural drive it was bred with?

So how would you go about actually getting a tour through an Abbatoir? I'm actually quite interested. I used to live in a town where we would get pig trucks and sheep trucks barrelling past the house. Hearing those pigs scream was awful. But I still shamelessly love my bacon, when the mood hits. Back to Ferretting.... How do you not lose the ferrets? How do you know you have got all the entrances and exits to the burrows covered? And I just think you are all brave for handling ferrets in such a high drive situation. I really like ferrets, but those teeth and their tendency to 'taste' things freak me out.

Ummm...Why ban Greyhound Racing? Some of the industry practises suck, for sure. And it needs a good clean up, but does that mean ban it? Really sick of this "ban everything because we don't like one or two elements" attitude. And I'm still trying to fathom someone who eats meat but is opposed to the killing of it. Aside from that, I'm enjoying the discussion.

So glad Dory cocks her leg for a pee! I've had someone at a dog park give me a bag (just as I was digging into my pocket for one) and tell me that "Your dog has left a little 'job' for you". I was mildly offended, which turned into laughter when he did the same thing to everyone in the park. Even funnier when he gave one to a lady who had obviously come into the park to use is it as a Poo Park, she came in one gate and was making a beeline for the gate on the opposite side. Judging by the dogs behaviour it was something she did regularly, they knew what they were in there for. I've actually been abused for picking up a poop. That was pretty funny too. But I have also been given a thankyou for picking up poop as well. There is no hiding the fact that Dory is dropping a log. It seems she likes an audience. Busy shopping strips are good starts. Beach is a MUST, even if she has just done one on the way to the beach.

Only just saw this thread. EARL...Dory will come around and whoop yer butt if you do it again. And then when she is done, I'll get her to hold you down so I can have a go. Naughty boy! Glad to hear he is back home and doing well. You are such a Nong, Earl.