megan_

they might have left it a bit late. I use All Breeds in Lyndhurst. All dogs are housed indoors in a temp controlled environment - it is often cold in Melbourne around Easter time. They get plenty of outdoor time to do zoomies. Erny also trains there.

I'm pretty sure they don't mean this. DogTech area franchise and I believe this is one of their stock standard measures. Personally, I'd never go to a franchise that people have bought into without doing something like the NDTF course. Leelaa - If I haven't confused you with someone else, I believe you're waiting to see Steve from ProK9? If I was in your position, I'd wait until I saw him before I tried something. Trying lots of different things can often lead to a very confused dog. Dogs also tend to pick up when we aren't convinced of what we're doing - they can be manipulative little sh*ts! So, I'd do some trick training and games at home, some on lead walks, no dog parks etc until I saw someone that I could trust and I'd follow their advice 100%. If I felt uncomfortable with it I'd ask them for reasons etc. FWIW, I do agree that it is important not to humanise a dog. Dogs don't need lots of cuddles and "aaww,,,snooky pookies". They need exercise and rules. And then some affection. The ignore method worked very well for me, but I had a dog that had come straight from being bred at a puppy farm. She was terrified of all people and ignoring her helped take the pressure off. ETA: If Erny is reading this, I realise the irony of me saying that dogs don't need lots of "awww....snooky pookies"

I don't have a real garden (just a bit of decking) so their walks involve a lot of stopping and sniffing so that they get the mental stimulation from the walk. They get 2 walks a day. Distance and duration varies a lot (sometimes due to me oversleeping.....). We cover 2km in about 1/2 an hour though. I'm not fit so some of that is just my dawdling. On the weekend they get out at least 3 times a day, with a big walk on Saturday and Sunday (1+ hours).

I don't measure mine, but my boy (a mini schnauzer cross, about 10.5kgs) gets about a cup a day, possibly more! He is very active though (2 x walks from me per day + dog walker which is off leash with a few other dogs) and is very skinny (I can easily feel his ribs and can see the last one or two). Like people, I think things can vary based on their metabolism etc.

Does anyone know when the next course will be run? My two both have good recalls (my boy's in particular is excellent) but I think it is one of those things that you can always improve so I'd love to do this course.

it's a franchise - so you could get anyone.

This thread wasn't started by BH though - they only answered questions posed to them. Others have come on here blatently promoting their product, which I think is a bit different. Also, it kinda ruffles my feathers when someone comes on here only to promote their product (ie they have a low post count). People don't tend to mind a "free" ad when someone contributes to the DOL community (eg K9Pro, Cosmolo, Erny).

I'm pretty sure panadol is deadly to dogs, so I wouldn't encourage this.

mine board together. They play with a few dogs supervised - not 20 though, maybe one or two.

I'd see a behaviourist before I went down this route. Is this the one who doesn't like people approaching you if you are sitting?

It beggars belief, doesnt it. What on earth makes people think it's ok to yell out to a stranger - hey I'm doing the wrong thing here because my dog is good with other dogs. Then if your poor little anxious dog lunged at the approaching dog there'd be all hell to pay. Just shaking my head. and then they tell you that it is your problem that your dog is aggressive and why should their dog be restricted? I get this all the time....

I don't think corvus is saying Bitty should become vego! Rather, she is talking about how meat is sourced. Google some pics of mass produced chicken...

Are you doing it online?

No one is saying you can't exercise your dog off leash at a designated off leash oval, regardless of fencing. I exercise my boy at an off leash oval with no fences - I prefer them and find the dogs to be better behaved. The difference between you and I is that I do it at a designated off leash area. It isn't rocket science. Every council has these areas and they can be found on your council's website. Everywhere is on leash unless there is a specific sign saying it is off leash). Lots of us exercise our dogs every single day at off leash places, we just don't break the law and inconvenience everyone in doing so. I get in the car and drive my girl around trying to find a place I can exercise her without running into "oh, he's friendly/well trained/never done that before" dogs.

Am I th only one picturing a photo shoot with red, Sid, Lola, pappy and this cutie???

Everywhere is onlead unless there is a sign saying dogs can be offleash, it really isn't that hard. People who flout the law need tO think of the impact their actions have on others. I have a little dog who has been abused. She hates dogs in her face. I only walk her in onleash areas but we always get harassed by offeash dogs. When I see one approaching (no matter how well behaved) it is VERY stressful for me- will the dog approach us? If it does, when Lucy snaps, will it retaliate? Could I fight this dog off? Walking my dog should be a relaxing experience, but due to owners who think they are above the law, it is anything but. How about a bit of compassion for your fellow human and put your dog on a leash

The bcs I now love interacting with their owners, and don't self exercise. How much do you do with her(tricks, obedience, agility etc?). Some dogs are natural couch potatoes, but some are because they're understimulated.

Yes- it is awful stuff and can lead to a painful death. A doler lost her jrt to this recently

Fergus is a mini schnauzer x, but he has a Mohawk so he is tough!

maybe post in the lab sub-forum in general? I don't know much about hips but one thing is that they should be balanced (so a score of 8:10 is better than a score of 0:6 for example).

So why not ban all cars? Oh that's right, people would object. He never asked for dogs to be banned. He asked for them to be restrained? Seems fair enough.

now I don't know who to believe

Sometimes, but anyone can complain about a dog barking and exaggerate (sp). It is hard to prove that it isn't your dog unless you film it 24/7.

My boy has a similar experience - he has an excellent recall and is great at reading dogs so he goes off leash every day. My girl has issues though (doesn't like dogs in her face, just not trustworthy/bomb proof) so I can't let her offleash unless we go to a private park (once a week, 2 hour round trip). This makes living with no yard really hard as she doesn't get to run, duck and weave like she should.

then I think we're talking about completely different places. The hospital that I took my dog to - and I assume is similar to the OP's case - is a proper hospital. It has a x-ray machines, on site pathology (so no need to wait overnight in an emergency), specialists, a few vet nurses and a vet physically present 24/7. Everything you could possibly need to treat a dog is there and many vets refer complex cases to them. To run this kind of facility is very expensive and I think the costs are justified in light of this. Does a dog need to go there for parvo? Once it is diagnosed maybe not, but where I am you either have a vet that closes at 6pm on weeknights and leaves your dog unattended at night or you go to a hospital. My boy got sick on a Sunday morning and they were the only facility open at 5.30am. But this is all OT. To the OP - I hope your dog gets better soon.