megan_

...and remember it isn't a test. It is a way for them to determine whether a dog has the right stuff to be a therapy dog at this point in time. If they don't "pass", they may need some time to work on their skills, or they might not be the right kind of dog to be therapy dogs, nothin' wrong with that. Good luck.

People can pay what the like, but it is pretty crass to give the story to the paper. I also don't equate teh amount of money you spend on your pet to devotion. I love my dogs but I don't have $25k to spare.

Have you tried a non-reward marker (so he knows his being bad) and put him in the naughty corner/room (I wouldn't use the crate as that shouldn't be used for punishment IMO). I wouldn't play with him or give him another toy - that is just rewarding his behaviour. It is cute though - my boy just steals the toy from his sister and runs away (he is much faster).

weatherbeeta are good, but I only use them when it is cold because they are very warm

The RSPCA didnt say that everyone who ever breeds a litter is a puppy farmer - the definition the RSPCA uses is that anyone - including someone who only ever breeds one litter CAN be a puppy farmer. The definition they use is that a puppy farmer is anyone who breeds a litter of puppies in sub standard conditions. Then you need to ask what is standard and who is determining that. I get your point - but unless people highlight the issue the RSPCA won't define substandard. There needs to be public pressure for something to actually be done. We all know that the RSPCA only acts on puppy farmers when shamed into doing so.

The headline is very misleading - it should read "Woman fined for gross neglect"

ANKC breeders can be puppy farmers too. Laws should apply to everyone equally without fear or favour. I might feel differently if the AKNC really regulated registered breeders, made sure that they aligned to teh code of ethics and kicked people out when they didn't - but they don't. Steve - can you please provide a link to where the RSPCA says taht anyone who ever breeds a litter of puppies is a puppy farmer?

agilityclick.com has them (I think). I find the Aussie dog FetchIt to be very hard and inflexible.

but that isn't eh choice? Teh only choice for this woman is to stay with her dogs or leave without them?

KCC. There is also a fenced beach (Sandowne St near Brighton) but it is very, very popular and I wouldn't go there without having 100% control over my dog.

What does he get/do if he passes?

meh, not everyone likes mini schnauzers, I'm fine with that. Couldn't care less, I love them and that is all that matters. If my vet said that he didn't find them asthetically pleasing I wouldn't bat an eye lid. The world would be a very boring place if we all liked the same thing. What Staranais said is hardly lab bashing. Adain's comment was about breeders, not breeds. Calm down.

Have you tried some non-luring methods? My food driven girl loses her mind when she lures - she pays no attention to what she's actually doing. Also, you can slowly phase out your hand going down (first it touches the ground, then 1 cm away, then add another cm etc)

She's answering questions that people are asking? Very nicely too

I would like to think that I've risk adversive and after what happened in Vic I would have evacuated before things go to that point. I would always plan to take my dogs. However, I wouldn't expect authorities to save my dogs. Mine are small and I could carry them under my arms, so I can't invisage a situation where I would have to leave them or stay and possibly die with them - it isn't a scenario that I think I'd ever land up in (touch wood). However, if it did come to that, I wouldn't stick around to die with my dogs. I love them like nothing else but I have commitments to people too and a family to think about (not kids, but family none the less). In the end, I believe that the life of a person is worth more than the life of a dog. I don't think people always knowlingly risk their lives to stay behind (they think they'll be okay), but the reality is when you stay behind in an evacuation zone then there is a very real risk that you will lose your life (and we can't expect others to risk their lives to save ours when we've made those decisions). All of that said, we would have left before it got to that point and the dogs would be safe!

PF - those people would have got their dog from a BYB/puppy farmer. The ones that I know of that are bred by ALA breeders come in two sizes and they all seem to match owners expectations? They look VERY different to what average joe calls a "labradoodle".

Good news. I know how you feel - my girl used to be a breeding bitch on a puppy farm - it is hard not to just give her everything that she wants because she has lived through hell. She was barking at people too, but some leadershp and "who's that" means that she's a much happier little girl.

I think people are confusing the "average"-throw-any-poodle-with-a-lab labradoodle with the labradoodle's bred by those trying to make it a registered breed. My sister has one bred by one of the breeders trying to get it recognised. She breeds consistent coat type (nothing like the labradoodles you see in the 'burbs) and consistent size. All parents are health tested (hips and elbows, PRA etc) and she takes back any dog that needs to be rehomed. They are multi-generational and their ancestory is traced. There is a world of difference between her and a BYB/puppy farmer, much like there is a world of difference between a lab BYB'er and an ethical, registered lab breeder.

I'm assuming that the breeder is a BYB? There are plenty of them around.... While this isn't typical rescue, if you buy him, desex him and then adopt him out (if that is what you want to do, and not keep him for yourself) then it will be helping stop the cycle. At the moment, he is a BYB/puppy farmers dream....

It's isn't normal, the OP said: 6) Following me around everywhere from room to room. If I leave the room he will follow me everywhere & gets distressed if he can't get to me. The dog getting distressed is not a good thing. Agree - mine even want to be with me when I go to the loo, but when I leave to go to work they are fine. There is a big difference between preferring to be with you and being distressed when they can't be with you every second. I second the advice of getting someone (a properly qualified person and not some "dog whisperer") to help you.

I've had a 30 - 40kg "friendly" dog jump on my slightly reactive dog. She was hurt. What is she meant to do? Not defend herself? SHe might grunmble, but these "friendly" dgos don't normally get the hint. Simple fact is that some dogs don't actually suit eachother. I don't let mine play with labs because their playing style is far to physical for my dogs. Many lab owners at my park think I'm a total bitch. If that is the price that I have to pay to protect my dogs, then so be it.

don't know about this, but if you think it is becoming a game and she's getting something out of it then maybe she goes on a very short leash once she's done this and you turn away from the person - ie "all fun ends when you bark at someone". You could use a Non Reward Marker (ie use "too bad" in a very neutral voice" as soon as she does it so that she associates the baking = all fun ends.

She is most probably scared of them? Is she on lead?I'd suggest two things: i) Review your leadership - you're the leader and will take care of any trouble so she needn't worry about strange men and fat ladies. ii) Play the "whose that" game. It is described in the reactive dog thread in general, but in short, whenever she looks at somethign that MAY cause her distress, say "who's that?" in a happy voice (the SECOND she looks at it) and shove a treat in her mouth. Soon, she will learn to focus on you when she hears "who's that?" rather than on the object that is "scaring" her.

megan The on lead dog was as under control as it could be! The off lead dog obviously wasn't under control as it was bounding over to the other dog. The on lead dog was minding its own business and would not have done anything if the off lead dog hadn't come over. I don't dispute this. I was replying to Sheridan's post to dogmad. I think that, if you hava a reactive, aggresive dog, you should avoid taking it to the park when there are lots of people about. As per my previous post, I agree that the OP should never have let her dog approach the other one. I also don't think that the onlead dog was as under control as it could be. If the dog had displayed this behaviour previously, the owner should have put a muzzle on it?

Do they cancel this if there is severe rain?