megan_

the trouble with allergy testing is it only works if your dog is allergic (immediate immune response) versus intollerant. I have been allergy tested and came back fine, but I am intollerant of many things (I still get swelling and extreme itching/feel like someone has poured a vat of acid over me). That is why the elimination diet is often suggested as you get to see the build up of results, rather than a one off.

He'll soon learn to jump. And if it is high and he is jumping off a lot he can harm his joints. I think it is best not to humanise - to him, it isn't a cage, but a safe den. A place to go to rest, to have some peace away from kids etc. A place to put him at night and know that he can't get himself hurt etc. You can get soft crates that look a lot nicer in the home too. Dogs are clean creatures and don't tend to go the toilet where they sleep. That said, when he is still little, you will need to get up and let him out at night. There are some people who, IMO, "abuse" the crate and use it as a substitute from training and also lock their dogs in their for extreme periods of time (seems to be a trend in the US?), but if used properly it can be a great tool.

I agree with darlingdog's suggestion. I'd make sure I went to an ethical rescue that where the dog had been living with a foster family first. I'd also ask them questions about what kind of support they will offer you. I'd also tell the kids that no matter what, even if you had 100 dogs (!), if your old dogs come back you will ALWAYS welcome him back with open arms. That might help ease thir guilt. I'd also like to add that you must have very caring children for them to be so concerned. You must be very proud.

TerraNik - How does your method work when you are trying to capture "natual" movement in a day-to-day situation. For example, I'm trying to capture my boy's "cat stretch" in the morning for agility stretching, but my girl is in the room too. At the moment, I click his behaviour and ask her to do something simple like sit. They then both get the treat. At the moment, she doesn't understand when I'm asking him to do something - she thinks she needs to do it too.

I agree with this. I'd add a marker (saying "yes" in a quiet way) before getting the treat. Then she knows that "yes" is good. Yes - subtract the treats from her meals otherwise you'll have a porker on your hands. My dogs don't get any food "from heaven" (ie ina bowl at their feet). They get it by "working". Look up the following topics posted at the top of the puppy forum: Triangle of Temptation (ToT) and Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF). I don't always do the full ToT thing, but I do hold my girls foot away from me (arm extended to the right) and then say "yes" when she stops looking at the food and looks at me. I then give her the food. This helps to teach a dog to focus on you.

A lot of a dog's temperament is already set by that age (genetics and environment). Also the critical socialisation age is 8 - 16 weeks. There are many people who say "rehabilitate" but not many people with the time, money and skill set to do it. I have a dog with severe fear issues (ex-puppy farm breeding bitch) but she isn't HA and only dislikes overly friendly dogs (growls, doesn't attack). Unless you have walked a mile in someone shoes etc etc I wouldn't berudge anyone who PTS a dog with severe issues. It is extremely emotionally and financially taxing to rehabilitate a dog who has severe issues. The only people who I would trust with a HA dog are qualified behaviourists. There aren't many of these and most of them already have dogs.

To stop them breaking out, I tie the two zipper thinkings together with a peice of string.

Here's a link Monah: http://agilityclick.com/prod158.htm They also now have a DVD with demos of the games which looks great too. Another great book is "Click to Calm": http://www1.booko.com.au/books/isbn/9781890948207

which isn't a bad thing? I don't want people coming onto my property when I'm not home. Many a dog has been lost/killed due to a meter reader leavinga gate open.

I am not a trainer, but my girl sometimes reacts to things that I haven't noticed yet. This was my approach: i) Start the game in a controlled environment where you know what the trigger will be. This may mean going to the park at 6am and roping in a volunteer. This will help you predict the trigger and play the game before they react. As soon as the dog pays any attention to the trigger say "who's that/what's that/whatever line you want to use" and shove the treat in their mouth". Practice a lot. I used to keep repeating "who's that" every time she looked at the trigger. Don't worry about over treating. Then try one where you say "whose that" and wait for a second before giving the treat. If your dog turns to you during that second then they have the idea! Keep on practicing and introducing new triggers in a controlled environment. ii) I pay a lot of attention to my surroundings and to her when I go on walks. This is harder in the dark, and people sudenly banging doors etc sometimes means she gets a fright and reacts "out of the blue". I try to minimise this by walking at certain times and making sure I take really big turns around corners etc (so we don't accidentally bump into anyone). ii) There have been a few times when I've missed the trigger. My girl understands the game well. What I've done isn't strictly kosher and I'm happy for someone to give me a better way. If my girl has reacted and I need to calm her down (safety issue etc). I say "who's that" even though she is reacting. She immediately focuses on me and relaxes. I wait until she is calm (I never want to reward a reactive state), give her a few seconds of calm and then give her a treat. I have only used this method sparily and only when I need to bring her back down quickly as I don't want her to think that she triggers the game by reacting, but it is good to know I have an "emergency" calm down command if I ever need it.

Even if the pup is on limited register, they should come with papers. Papers aren't only important for showing and breeding. Papers are proof of your pup's heritage and proof that they are purebred. Why go to all the trouble of getting a purebred without knowing the dog's heritage? I wouldn't buy from any breeder who wanted me to pay more for papers. Ethics and all that.

Me too - until I started to play "who's that?" from Click to Calm. Basically, as soon as the dog looks at something that MAY trigger them, while they are still relaxed (ie you have nanoseconds) say "who's that" in a happy voice and shove a treat into their mouth. After a few goes, your dog will look at you when they see a trigger, and both you and the dog remain calm. My girl is sometimes predictable (doesn't like dogs that get in her face) but she sometimes growls at the strangest things (very occasionally, she will grumble at a dog that is nice and calm). She sometimes barks or growls, but I wouldn't classify her as aggressive (she has never attacked or bitten something that she is scared of). If a person who she feared came up to her she would actually freeze and shake. But she is reacting negatively to something in her environement so I classify that as "reactive".

5 mins after they get home?

Humping is often a sign of dominance and has nothing to do with sex. My desexed girl tries to do it to my desexed boy. I give a quick "Agh!" in a loud voice. "Agh" is "no" in our house. Stops it straight away and it hasn't happened for a while.

Just curious Corvus - is this every time they do something you ask or is it just for training sessions? I know a lot of pet owners who don't want to use food because, rightly or wrongly, they believe that their dog will only "perform" when given a treat. A method that meets the needs of the owner and the dog is what is needed, and this would suit some pet owners. Most people don't need their dog to have a good drive and perform obedience and agility - they just want a dog that obeys the house rules, doesn't jump up, sits and has a good recall.

I tought my boy to rub a cloth on the ground. The cue is "clean". Does he know how to say his prayers? Cosmolo - that trick sounds adorable. I'll have to give it a try!

Some days I am glad I have mini schnauzers - only tissues have been destroyed!

Also, don't overwash. My dogs go to the groomers every 8 weeks and I don't wash inbetween. Their skin is great and they don't smell.

Well actually, there may be something in that. Patricia McConnell did a PhD on the kinds of noises people made to their animals. In The Other End of the Leash she says all across the world in different languages people use slow, round sounds to calm an animal and sharp, short noises to get them more excited. If "geeeeentle" is a slow, low-pitched noise it may serve to calm a dog, which reduces the likelihood of the dog getting a bit excited about snatching treats. Not saying that's the case, just offering a potential consideration. Nekbets post made me laugh. All the people at the local dog park who have rough dogs screach "gentle, gentle!" as their dog gives another one a thumping!

yes - and most pet food only states "Made in Australia" - which can mean that 100% of the ingredients are sourced overseas.

SO TRUE :D Would not consider anything else. but if you're not feeding human grade it isn't inspected to the same standards as human food (and people have told me horror stories about parasites in dog grade food)? I feed a combination of nutro and raw - all my raw is human grade.

Did anyone notice the strong smell on the coles ones 9the ones with the fringe)? I washed mine twice and they still smell so they haven't been used. I got some great ones (double sided, thicker than the coles ones) for $6 from Ray's Outdoors.

The Aldi brand of bedding actually tests for harful chemicals and is independantly certified. I bought some cheap polar fleece rugs from Coles the other weeka nd threw them out because the smell was very strong (even after two washes). Edit: and personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with not being 100% trusting of manufacturers. 20 years ago if someone posed a question about lead in petrol I'm sure they would be told "stop beiong a nervous nelly, everything is bad for you".

Mine only go outside to go to the toilet - they wait at the back door to be let back in. NB: They do go outside often via walks!

Do you find he self exercises in the yard? Mine don't. Aslo, plain old "running around the yard" doesn't do much for the brain. does he get many walks outside the property? Ie is he seeing and sniffing new things every day? I have two mini schnauzers (one is an oodle cross (!)) and they only play with each other a little bit. They are much more human focused than dog focused, so I don't think that getting one will necessarily solve that problem.