megan_

Screaming how? Excited? Scared?

The gap doesn't need to be big enough to fit it's entire head - just big enough for his mouth.

Artemis now have a single source of protein food available called SOS.

I agree cavnrott (although I love off topic too!). There are plently of subforums that could go before palliative care does - the sports one doesn't get used often as everyone posts in Training about agility etc.

We see Michelle Monk at Dogs in Motion. She is a physio and is doing her Masters. She has a full set-up and is wonderful. She isn't cheap but on our first consult she spent an hour with Fergus, answered my many, many questions and gave me a written treatment and injury prevention plan.

Bowen is very gentle though so even if the dog had bad hips or something, I doubt they could get hurt. I had my dog x-rayed before going to a physio, just to be sure. Not only do I want damage minimized, but if he had a back problem I wanted to get the best treatment first up, rather than months of other treatment and then finally to the vet.

If your dog is trained not to move until released then you need to give them permission to follow the lure - I had the same problem. I didn't like giving my dog conflicting info (you must never snatch food vs you get rewarded for breaking your sit). I use "the food hand" rather that luring (basically, lump of soft food, smooched in their face, they lick it, you say good then bring it up slowly, with the food in their face). The conflict still exists but I don't know another way. Expect things to get a bit messy for a while - they might break before their release for other things - but let them figure it out.

charging is enough for a dog to be declared dangerous. The only issue here is that most of this happened on private property so the council can't do anything about that. Make sure when you report it that you tell them what happened on the road.

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We don't need to just make up stories though either eg dog ran over = no lead. My dogs can run on a lead.

OT smisch but how does the Lakie go with agility?

People tell me that if I need to ever rehome Fergs they would take him - all the time! Just the other day his physio said she is not a small dog person but there is something about him that she adored but couldn't put in words. At a few training seminars I've had the same thing - he is happy to work and a problem solver so people want to get their hands on him. But they can't have him! No one has ever asked for Lucy...

I would have thought so? My front yard is my back yard. The dogs have access to it via a dog door when I'm not at home *gasp*. However, it is 6 ft solid, and gate is padlocked. The small 2cm gap between the bottom on the gate and the pavement is blocked so that little fingers can't be stuck in. Adequate fencing is just part of being a dog owner IMO. You have to protect your dogs from the idjits that are out there - the ones that bring their kids to the fence to say hello to the dog that is going off. Adequate means that the Average Joe can't reach your dogs (unless he jumps over the fence). Many wonderful non-vicious dogs are territorial and behave differently when you're not around.

My fence has a 2cm gap so I've put a barrier up against it. Just a week or so ago a grandparent was encouraging a child to put their face and hand by the gap to have a look at Lucy while she was going off (the barrier is a few cm's from the gate so they didn't know it was there).

Those judges were allowed to compete though. Rumor is that won't be the case in QLD. so the only people judging could be those with retired dogs or those that chose to judge over competing. I I'm sure they'll have judges from further afield - last year there were two judges from NZ :)

I'm on the iPhone so linking is hard, but if you look at susan's YouTube channel apparently there are list of examples posted there. Some of the stuff you just wouldn't see on an australian course yet (eg lala which is run towards jump, handler runs straight, dog takes back of the jump, twists around the pole then runs towards the handler who is now past the jump). She teaches this via "noodle work". Sylvia trkman's (sp) site has basic stuff on sic and sac and she offers online courses. Another good resource is "ann croft agility coach"'on FB. She has courses and posts free "happy hurdlers" courses and then people from all over the world post running these and you get to see their handling and what works and what doesn't.

SG has a whole new set of verbal queues to deal with distance handling when the dog is sooooooo fast it is impossible to get into position. This includes queues to jump long vs do a hairpin turn. When you look at the masters and masters challenge courses that they are doing in the US for regional comps (not even nationals) our courses ate super simple by comparison. I'm not trialling yet but I love courses that really challenge you and the dog, regardless of Q's or not. I love the technical nature of agility so maybe those courses appeal to the nerd in me. SG's nana/lala and sylvia's sic/sac are simple things we can all teach our dogs to navigate a course quicker and safer. Hope that doesn't sound preachy :). DD - you MUST bring Elsie to the nationals - row a boat over if you have to! Personally, if she was my dog and running around the odd jump I'd just run on to keep the enthusiasm and speed up.

There is nothing wring with asking the price of a puppy. I don't have unlimited funds to buy a pup, same goes for most people. I am a good owner who spared no expense on her dogs but I do like to know what I'm paying. I have never actually had to ask as the one breeder who I did email gave me the cost details without prompting. However, I can understand the breeder questioning you about your repeated requests For a discount/to save money. As others have said, what you earn is no indication of what you'll do for your dog. The breeder might be worried about you shopping around for the cheapest vet, the cheapest equipment, not taking the dog to an emergency vet because an overnight stay with nothing but a saline drip will cost you $1000 etc etc. Call the breeder and talk the them direct. Think about whet you are prepared to spend and what you're not prepared to spend too. Then have an honest, frank conversation about this. When i got my pup 5 years ago the RSPCA said that you should budget $800 per year for the care of an adult dog (more in the first year). That figure is very low IMO. as I said before, if something goes wrong on a weekend you could easily part with a few thousand dollars.

How long is the drive TSD? You're brave! Mine are fantastic in the car but if it is a few days of driving with breaks we'll all be over it by the time we arrive.

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Would you take the labs RS? I guess the min schnitzel would be a lot cheaper. Is it true that judges won't be able to compete at all for these Nationals? If it is just going to be local judges then that might impact my decision to go.... I don't know how to organise all the logistics of crates, shelters etc and travel via plane all by myself.

But if a stranger in a strange place dragged your dogs to a room full of toys and food they'd be cowering when lead there too. It isn't the fact that they are going to the PTS room that is disturbing them, it is the fact that they are being led their by a stranger.

this one is my favourite

I just ignored her, as you said, not in a mean way. I just went about my business, but made sure not to make super-loud, unexpected noises. I think it really helped that I had another dog who respected her space and let her approach him when she was ready. I also just slept with the back door open and left a trail of beds, inside and outside, so that she could choose where to sleep. At first, she chose outside (even in the rain!) but then within a few days started sleeping just inside the door, then a bit closer etc. I would "talk" indirectly to her (not looking at her, but as I was cooking etc I'd just put on a soft, sing-song voice and chat away). Where about are you in Vic as I could recommend someone.

Forgot to add that there are a few iggy experts, including those that run a rescue and would have experience in dealing with scared iggys. I think GoldenGirl85 and dogmad would be good contacts.