megan_

Aggression is a symptom of many varied root causes. You need to find out what is causing the behaviour and address that. If a dog has fear aggression, aversive methods can make them more fearful. It can also suppress warning signals (I growl, I get corrected, therefore I won't growl. I still feel uncomfortable and will attack if they come any nearer). That is very dangerous. All it teaches a dog to do is to suppress their warning signals. It can also make them fear the thing that scares them more (every time I see a child I get corrected. Therefore children are something to be scared of!). Using non-adversive mthods doesn't just mean praise, it means building a system that includes predicability, stability etc. Just because someone that you know has a GSD that had praise and now can't go to the park because it is DA demonstrates nothing. ETA: Jacqui - have you heard of redirected aggression? You're lucky that you didn't land up getting bitten simply because you were the nearest thing. I'm sure you not suggesting that the OP do anything similar because to give such advice over the interwebs would be very dangerous .

Uta Bindel did a few steps of healing, released and then ran like the wind. The dog loved chasing and the next set of healing he/she was very attentive.

There is more than one competent trainer in Australia . I don't think the course that Corvus is talking about requires an expert. After all, people need skills in reading general dog behavior - the expert won't be going with them to the park every day. Corvus - I think you asked the wrong question - people on DOL are often interested in seminars etc with a focus on a specialty, which isn't what normal people are after. I have been to many clubs and private training sessions and I don't recall ever hearing about dog park interactions etc

I'm suprised that so many people are against it. People are going to take their dogs to parks etc anyway, why not arm them with a bit of info (when your dog snaps at another dog, time to remove it; why letting your dog hump at parks isn't a bad idea). Sure, dogs can be subtle, but dogs are going to interact no matter what. You'd be suprised at how many people think a little dog yapping at a big dog is being brave. Maybe if they understood that their dog was scared they might remove them from the situation?

I was told bouncing was quicker?

My dog gets muzzled and she has never bitten. It is a preventative measure. According to you she csnbe seized and killed because I'm responsible??

Can you even register a dog if you don't have an address? I can't imagine how Sad story No. But the council couldn't prove that the dog resides in their council! If I brought one of my dogs into the city, they wouldn't be registered with Melb City Council either. Shame on them for picking on a homeless person, whose only companion would be this dog. Meanwhile, venture down to South Yarra and see plenty of off lead dogs in on lead areas (eg Botanical Gardens). Talk about picking on the most vulnerable.

All Breeds in Lyndhurst

For a well bred one, with spine x-rays etc. Yes. For one from a dodgy registered breeder (in some states all it takes is paying the rego) then no, not worth it. Not worth $1, IMO.

wWll after weeks of Fergus stuffing around at training (when he used to be soooo driven and love agility) he finally got his mojo back last night. He drove to his 2o2o position on the contacts trainer - he was so focused and excited and offered clear behaviour. We then did some grid jumping and, at the start line, he was back to his old self - spring loaded ready to go. When we finished I said try again and we ran back to the start line. He sat straight away, focused on the jumps! No pfaffing around. He was even focused with cicle work and worked well without a leash (previously, this would have been a big sniffing moment). Maybe it was just a conincidence, but I really tried to relax and enjoy training, rather than worry about how I have broken him. Time will tell whether this is a longer term change or whether we just had a good night, but I'm happy with the direction we're heading in now.

Saw the topic name. Saw tlc as the last poster. Didn't need to read her post to know what it was

No true at all. Most don't offer lifetime coverage for an illness, but PetPlan does. Some have breed and age specific clauses. Many people here have had issues with some of the cheaper companies when it came to making a claim. Self insurance is great if your dog doesn't have problems for the first 5 years...

Mine go to stay with trainers (Mr and Mrs Cosmolo) in their home and with their 5 dogs. I've left them in a kennel before and they were fine. Erny visited them every day for a training session. Personally, I think it is important that they get used to staying with someone else so that they're used to it. You never know what life is going to throw at you. I couldn't leave them at home and have someone check on them - they are human oriented dogs and wouldn't be happy.

It has gone up regardless of whether you have claimed or not - mine has and I haven't claimed this year.

He is 3.5 years old. The thing is he used to looooooove it. He went through this phase about a year ago, then we had a break for Christmas and he came back fired up. I might give him a break for a few weeks and see how that pans out. Thanks amypie and Ted for the advice.

Horses aren't roaming around the burbs, living in our homes

pets1.com.au. There is a 5% DOL discount too

There is a GD and 2 newfs at a park that I go to semi-regularly. Most dogs bark at them and carry on - even the bigger ones like labs. I think it is because they're so big that other dogs are fearful, rather than being seen as "non-dogs". Very proud of my little boy who couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

Sigh. Fergus has changed from being such a focused, driven, 'I wanna do agility" boy to a dog that just wants to sniff out poo the entire class. He seems bored and switched off - it doesn't seem like calming signals to me (I know that he knows what he is meant to do). It is hard in group classes because I want to only do short runs of things that he loves to help build his drive again and instructors don't seem to like people who don't go with the flow... He used to love his tug, ball etc, but nothing will distract him from horse poo at the moment. I'm thinking about giving him a break from agility totally for a month or two, because just soldiering on doesn't help things and I don't want him to hate it. Thoughts?

Some artificial sweetners are deadly donatella - ec Ven a few grams

Does she have a release word?

I'm a devoted dog owner, not a breeder. I'm never going to understand the technicalities of what you're doing. But I would ask the breeder - in a more indirect, conversational, way about their dogs to find out what kind of breeder they were.

But buyers should ask about the breeders dogs - they matter too. No way I'm going to hand my money over to someone who I don't believe is ethical. Once again a value based judgement based on PC not facts. How many dogs do you deem it is ethical for a breeder to own? A breeder with more dogs, breeding a few litters per year generally knows more about the breed, than the breeder with one or two dogs who might breed once a year or every two years. Lilli - what I find ethical someone else might not. That is my choice. It certainly wouldn't be the only question I asked, and I wouldn't do it via email. But I am free to ask questions to find out about the breeder. We keep on telling people to buy from ethical sources. Should we stop that? Should be just say 'buy from whoever is registered with the cc because, god forbid, we ask a question that may offend".

Wow. Slammed the door in her face? Breeders nightmare? Really? If I was a breeder my nightmare would be someone breeding one of the pups that they got from me or selling the dog on gumtree once they were bored of it or chaining it in the yard....many things would come ahead of someone who was really enthusiastic and asked too many questions via email.

But buyers should ask about the breeders dogs - they matter too. No way I'm going to hand my money over to someone who I don't believe is ethical.