megan_

The cloud collars have free shipping at cleanrun.com at the moment. I haven't used one but there has been great feedback about thrm

I am struggling to see your point. You have to work with the dog that you have in front of you and build o its strengths. My dog has more than enough drive and focus to do what I want him to do - he is a great agility dog and I've been told that by instructors, some of whom are the top competitors in this state. He isn't a working line BC or mal but I'm hardly going to stop doing things with him and say he doesn't have enough drive to do agility because he doesn't like bar tugs! Why are they the only "real" ones?

You have to work with the dog that you have. I have terriorists, they love squeaky and fury. I don't see the point in not working with what you have? They dont like firm bar tugs and they have soft, small mouths so they struggle to grip them. They lime tugs they can trash around. After fergs hurt his back it has taken him months go get back yo tugging so I use small, moving tugs. The best tug for him at the moment is a holeproof explored sock and a fox tail.

Mine is now being searched by customs! Hope the bunny jackpot makes it through

Control Unleashed - The Puppy Program. Written for sports dogs but applies to ALL dogs. Great for teaching focus and self control. You can get it with free shipping from cleanrun.com this month.

I am so sorry for your loss - please take comfort in the fact that you gave him the best fighting chance you could.

You cannot force people to be educated. No legislation about licensing people to own dogs will work. No amount of education will help stupid people. So what do we do? This is why I'd like a licence system and yard check. If people had to do something and pay a fee before getting a dog it would at least reduce impulse buys.

Great news. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly from here.

Thanks for responding. However, not allowing some dogs to be imported IS BSL - legislation aimed at specific breeds? I'd like to see a temp test that wasn't pass/fail, but rather, based on behaviour the owner would have to commit to certain restrictions and they would be enforced. Got a DA dog? ou are never, ever allowed to visit an off leash public park. Got an escape artist? You need a secure run or lock the dog in the house when you're out etc etc. I have a fear aggressive dog that doesn't like dogs in her face. She would fail a normal temp test but I would happily agree to comply with restrictions (which I already do anyway). Aidan - While I agree 100% with your sentiment, I don't think our society is anywhere near that yet. I used to think most owners were responsible until a got a FA/DA dog. Now I realise how clueless most people are - that, and selfish. I think we need something enforced. I don't want to live in a police state, but I'd like to be able to walk my dog at an unleash park without being told to "f*** off" if I politely ask someone to put their "he's friendly" on a leash. I agree that if current laws were enforced, many of the dramas we have today would be avoided.

One of the best things Lucy has taught me is to be patient and give her time to decide how she wants to react. The best advice her rescuer gave me was to carry on with life and "ignore" her (not in a negative way, just don't force affection on her, let her ask for it). When I got her she stayed outside 24/7 (even in a massive thunderstorm) and wouldn't eat if I was even 20m away. I slept with the backdoor open and she'd come to visit Fergus at 2am and they'd have a little play session. It took one month for her to even sit near me on the couch, and she trembled the whole time. When I moved, she darted off. She started to sleep indoors on one of the blankets that I'd left leading to my bedroom. Every few night she'd move to a closer blanket and then eventually slept on the bed. Now I sometimes wake with her bum in my face, she is that close. It took six months before she could walk a few metres on a leash, now she loves her walks. She doesn't like being restrained/hugged, but loves a morning scratch behind the ear and is very excited when I get home. She is affectionate in her own way, but very different to Fergus (who is a velcro dog who leans on me all the time). She is a great little worker even though she is a bit slow on the uptake (not dumb, but she missed out on the whole "learning to learn'). She's training in agility and slowly making progress on her weaves. She is such a little workhorse though, such a change from when I got her. It is actually a nice balance having a more independent dog and having a cuddlebum/I want to learn new things now mum/what are you doing type. I don't think I could live with two of the same! You're doing well PA and given that he's been through a lot I'm not surprised he needs some "me" time. I'm sure with time he'll start to settle. He sounds like an interesting candidate for BAT too, given that he isn't enjoying interactions.

Just a question: Would you support the "softening of laws" so that certain dogs could only be owned by people who had passed some sort of assessment and the dog had a (reliable) temp test? similar to what happens in NSW with regards to the temp test. The reason I ask is that I can't see BSL being overturned any time soon, especially in Vic (where I live). I would prefer a system that didn't kill all dogs of a certain look. It would be better if dogs of a certain power/weight were temp tested and owners would need to prove that they had the resources to care for them. Something similar to the greyhound scheme would suffice. I would like to see a "responsible owner" system apply for all dogs, but I can't see it flying because of the cost/political backlash. At least this way, dogs and owners have an out. FWIW, I don't support BSL in its current form, but I'm glad that some breeds are banned from importation (which is different to killing dogs that are already here that haven't committed any offences). If all laws regarding breed were suddenly lifted and anyone could breed and sell any dog they wanted I don't see an improvement happening. When we talk about BSL the focus is always on pitbulls, but it applies to greyhounds and Argentinian fighting dogs etc too.

This is the beauty of the parcel locker NM. they deliver to it (like a big PO box but it can receive mail that you need to sign for). It is free and when your parcel arrives you get an SMS. I should have ordered mire soft toys - the squeaky rabbit is a hit, but the little dinosaur is a favourite. The cooling jacket is fantastic and soooooo lightweight.

Lucy can shake out of genuine fear, but also knows how to "turn it on" to show me that she's scared (I've seen her not shaking at something, I look at her, she looks at me, and then she shakes. I'm 99.9% confident that she isn't shaking because she's scared of me!). She doesn't like to be restrained with a hug, but responds well to "It's okay Lucy" in a calm but happy voice (not too chipper, not too loud). I used to just ignore her (the old belief that reassuring a dog is rewarding fear), but now I firmly believe that, if she's scared of something, it is better for her to be gently re-assured that something isn't going to attack her. I don't fuss, just let her know that it's okay. Lucy isn't at all manic but responds better when she's had a good physical and mental workout. I think if she's using her mind she's too busy concentrating to focus on the scarey things.

I spent almost $800 last time . In my defence though there was a lot of practical agility stuff (eg that aliminium shade cloth, weave poles) and very few toys. Which TOTALLY justifies this toy purchase.

While it is definitely not what I would ever choose for my dogs, if a dog is happy and healthy I'd rather save my disgust for idjits who walk their dogs down the street sans-leash or leave their dogs locked in a backyard with no mental or physical exercise. These things tend to get blown way out of proportion - only a very tiny minority of dogs are being fed a vegan diet, and yet in a survey not that long ago, less than 50% of respondents said they regularly walk their dog. I'll save my moral outrage for them.

Mine has arrived - just got the text from aust post (because I have a parcel locker). There will be happy puppies tonight

Did you ask about their usual free shipping store wide in December offer? I really hope it is happening again as I need a new set of weave polls, and a vent lock, and a crate fan and....

I meant to write dogs- sick of the old "my dog attacks other dogs but hey, that's what dogs do". I say that as someone with a dog with issues. You need to manage carefully or send them to heaven

DA seems to be downplayed these days, as is FA. People and innocent dogs get hurt if these dogs aren't well managed. As for dogs being dogs, plenty of breeds don't actively seek out dogs to attack when loose.

Good luck for tomorrow.

Be aware that SuperFuel doesn't agree with all dogs as it is high in fat (~30%). Even though I introduced it very slowly he had horrible, mucousy diarrhea. However, if he is on K9 showstopper he might be fine. If you want to get your boy in top shape for agility, I recommend doing muscle building exercises. Look up some FitPaws demos on Youtube. You just need to do these for a few minutes a day (this is better than less frequent, longer sessions). You can even build up muscle by getting him to sit/drop/stand on a piece of thick foam for a few minutes a day. Some other ideas: * Leash walking is better for building hind leg strength than off leash running (which is good for cardio). This is because leash walking forces a dog to use his back legs. If you can walk him on leash at the beach on the softer sand that is even better. Ditto for walking up hills. * Get some of the Susan Salo jumping DVD's and teach your boy how to jump properly. This might sound silly because dogs know how to jump, but technique can really make a difference to injury levels. You need to teach a dog learns to use his hind legs. * Hind leg awareness exercises (look up here in the training forum as their are plently of posts). Snook also started a thread on the health section on building muscle which may be an interesting read. FWIW, my dog's physio said that by far flyball is the sport that she sees most injured dogs for.

Control Unleashed is being shipped free at cleanrun.com!

The hurricane may delay shipping if our stuff is going through New York state. Best be patient!

JulesP's dog has liver shunts. If she ate a "normal" dog diet my understanding is that she'd have seizures and could die as a result.

Look up erny's post on calendula tea. Pls stop the other stugg