megan_

Squeee! Lucy loves tracking. We use the disturbed ground method like they do in Schutzhund. Takes ages to learn properly but then they do it perfectly. You can start off by teaching her scent pads. Get a flag (I use a chopstick with a ribbon tied on it). Plant it in the ground, leaning very far forward to do this so that your footsteps aren't near it. Don't do this in your yard. Then, to the top right of the flag, stomp out a little scent pad, making it about 50 x 50 cm at least. Really work the ground at first. Then scatter some treats in the scent pad area while you are stomping. Make sure to include a treat in every pad corner. Once you've done this, take a giant leap out of the pad so that you don't leave foot marks near it. Walk around it leaving at least a few meters. Now you're ready for Stella to search the scent pad. Lead her up to it directly, on lead at all times. Talk in a low, slow calm voice, stroking her softly. Tracking takes concentration and controlled drive. Say "track" and wait. She should put her nose down and start sniffing. If she goes off track don't correct her or lead her back, let her work it out herself. If she gets to the end of the lead just stand still. You can offer a calm "good" if you want to when she is doing the right thing. When she has finished, lead her off (away from the flag) and calmly tell her that she is good. I do about 3 scent pads in one go and then give them "thinking time" (either in the car, in the crate or in the house). This lets things set in. The more you repeat this the better tracker they will be (the pros do this first step for months). Then you start adding a few steps away from the flag with treat in each step, ending with an article. You teach the article as a separate exercise. Get something leather, wood or carpet etc and make it about 3 x 10 cm (approx). Teach her to drop directly in front of it, with it between her paws. I train this in the house, outdoors etc and did it by shaping with a bit of help. Once you start adding steps after the scent pad, you then add the article at the end of the track so you know that the track has finished. The article should have your scent on it so they associate the article with finding the human - putting it inside your bra for 1/2 an hour does the trick. I hope it all makes sense! Tracking seems very simple but it really tires them out.

yes - especially since one of them is entire. Re: the food, I would feed them with a physical barrier in between them even if there weren't problems. Dogs can eat together in peace for years and then it can be on for young and old. You have a powerful breed and it would be very hard to stop a scrap over food.

Sorry to hear this Anne.

The other cheap and totally removable option is to get heavy pavers or even railway sleepers and put them down next to the fence. When he digs, his hole will fill up with the paver.

For this sort of thing you need professional help (from a proper. qualified professional). If you're in Brisbane then Jane Harper is the person to see (I've never used her but I believe she is highly recommended by many people).

Thanks for the info - my little 9 and 10kg dogs aren't really built for it! I'm surprised you don't see many rotties doing this as they were originally carting dogs I think.

He looks very happy. That is a lot of weight to I'll! Is weight pulling the only strengthening exercise they do? What kinds of breeds compete?

There is a secondary contact field where you can put the breeders or shelters name

Have you tried a thundershirt? You need to be careful with drugs for storm phobias as some relax the muscles but the dog remains fully aware and even more terrified as they can't control their body

Has the vet taken a skin scraping?

Google earth doesthe same thing and that isn't an invasion of privacy and is legal.

So what must someone do when they lose their job? Dump the dog at the pound to be PTS?

Well done Jake! Best Easter present ever

I also enjoy this thread tassie - even though I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

people are not saying take your dog on a normal leash - I agree that is dangerous and you leave your dog no way of avoiding other dogs. They are saying use a long leash when it is quiet to practice recall. This is completely different than an extendable lead which is dangerous and can cut other dogs. You don't use a long leash to let your dog play with other dogs. The last young boxer I saw at the beach played with my dog nicely but got an a#$#$^ whooping from a lab that didn't like being boxed and pestered by a young dog that simply wouldn't leave him alone.

I believe so

AVA recommends the annual dose given every three years. You need to be very specific with the vet though as many give a triple dose every three years

A hand full of easily accessible, big, smelly treats to throw down works wonders, with a deterrent spray as a backup. A well trained u-turn and "quick quick" is also a life saver. Of course none of these things will stop a large, powerful dog with a high pain threshold, but even pepper spray doesn't seem to work on those. It is very hard to stay calm and not tell the wankers what you think of them, but this just seems to make your dog more anxious (she's screaming = those things must be very scarey). Dogs In Need of Space have some great articles on dealing with off leash dogs.

Actually too much calcium is VERY dangerous for growing puppies. Van has the right amount of calcium. More isn't better. You need to stop giving dangerous advice or qualify it How could you be pissed off at what minimax said? Makes no sense!.

Feeding calcium with VAN is not a good idea at all

Because those people aren't feeding VAN which is already balanced. It also depends on breed - for giant breeds if things are just a little out of whack there can be very serious consequences

Diet sounds fine -VAN with meat or some meat with bone is a complete diet - I wouldn't add supplements to this as you'll then make things unbalanced. Only deficiency I see is you are only giving flax seed oil, which doesn't have the right balance of omega 3 and 6. You cam get VAN balanced oil, or feed sardines as a meal once a week to balance this out.

Given what I've read on DOL, Wayrod on here would be the person I would trust my dog with.

Able long is she in her crate for? They aren't for long term confinement

How often are you taking her out? How long are you out with her? What do you do? You need to take her out every fee hours and about 5-10 mins after every meal. Don't play with her when waiting for her to go to the loo. Wait patiently ( could be 15 mins +). praise her when she does toilet outside. You need to do this even once she seems to be toilet trained - pups often regress You also need to ensure you clean up the house mess properly with no amonia as they like to go in the same spot. Vinegar is good for cleaning up. No paper in her crate - that is her bed and you need to take her out often to ensure she doesn't need to sleep in/near her own mess. It often takes many months to get a dog fully toilet trained. It takes longer when you work and they go inside on paper. Patience, praise and NO reprimanding for mistakes is the key.