megan_

It's okay for a dog to put someone in hospital because the owner is having a screaming match with someone? That sounds like a very unstable temperament. Good guard dogs don't attack at the slightest indication of a threat. They have solid nerves. This fool of an owner gives all of us a bad name...

Ordering systems need to be updated before they show out of stock - it isn't real time. Knowing how cheap things are and knowing how excellent their service has always been (if your stuff goes missing in the post they replace it) I'm not fussed in the least.

Nek how can you diagnose Erik via the Internet without having met him? How do you know that he's like every other adoloscent dog? Aren't we always saying that you can't assess behaviour without seeing a dog? There are plenty of owners here that have dogs on medication. Are they just lazy and haven't taught their dogs properly?

what Raineth said. Also, who can validate that this was the case?

All the story said is that the people had a conversation - not that the owner was attacked?

and remember to ask people to just leave her alone at work - after a long flight it would be hard to have lots of people flooding you!

BARF patties are just another commercial dog food though, made with pet-quality ingredients.

You can get chicken frames minced up. Another alternative is vets all natural mixed with raw meat.

Forgot to add that LAT is another great tool to have. K9Pro also have blog post on using a deflection (I use a kiss kiss). If you look at the latest posts in the reactive dogs thread here in the training section, Snook has posted a Youtube with Kikopup training her dog to look at her for a reward. This won't solve all your problems but will help him learn that attention to you = good things happen.

Hi Obi, Don't despair! Most people have been in this position and given that you have a lab (people and food oriented) I'm sure you can work through this. That said, it always helps to get professional help - it just has to be the right help (not the "you don't need to reward your dog he should do things for you out of respect" kind). I think Steve from K9pro has a blog article this month on making a reward an "event", so it might be worth reading that too. My dogs pay attention to me at training and aren't bothered even when dogs break and pester them. These are my tips: * Firstly, you have to build your relationship (mum = best fun ever) outside of training. This can take time. It isn't the case that you can do this once or twice and the problem is solved. The best place to do this is at home with few distractions. Does he tug? This is a great engaging game to play. If he doesn't tug, try not feeding him for 24 hrs and then putting his food in an old, long sock and see if he'll tug then, praise him for tugging. You can teach a release by making the tug dead on your legs. * Play games with your dog. Hide in another room and call his name. When he finds you "YYYAAAAYYYY"...reward, reward, reward, reward x 10. This might be food, this might be a game. While this isn't something you'd do at training, it helps your dog see you as a fun person. * Make playing with you engaging and fun. Again, start at home. Do some simple training at home (eg sit) and when you release him praise him in a happy, sing, song voice. Be generous in your praise. When I go to training most people look bored and give polite "good"'s, with a treat. Of course this isn't engaging to a dog. When you praise him, put on a "talking to a baby voice" and say "good, good, super good <dog's name here" reward, reward, reward (sometimes x 1, sometimes x 10, sometimes x3 etc) "you're a geeeeennnniiiiiuuuuussss". Whether you reward with food, tug or another toy make it an active reward. Move around. Look at your dog. Smile and engage him. My philosophy is that if you're not acting like a bit of a loon when rewarding your dog then you're not being animated enough. I like to build anticipation so I go a bit rigid and my dogs know that we're suddenly going to play a wild game when I release. * Up your rate of re-enforcement. Typically, a dog gets the choice of "work hard = 1 x disinterested good and 1 x treat", "play with other dogs = 1 hr of fun". I know which one I'd pick. So be very generous with your rewards. Let your dog know that if he works he will get a much more fun play session with his owner or lots and lots of yummy food. Or both. Again, this has to start at home. No point rocking up to training, he ignores you and you don't get the chance to reward him. * Another great game to play is "bar open, bar closed". I *think* it is a Susan Garrett game. I'd suggest googling but who knows what will come up if you google that phrase... In a nutshell, when you pitch up to training (and at any point during training) make the bar open. Bar open means you give your dog lots of treats in very quick succession (every second) so that they learn "being in school/on a walk/wherever" and other dogs are close = big rewards for me. It also helps settle and focus your dog. Your dog doesn't have to do anything to earn the food, he just shouldn't be at the end of the leash, trying to jump on the other dogs. This means that, to start off with, you might need to be a fair way from other dogs. Then the bar closes and you move away from the other dogs a bit. This might sound over-simplistic but it really works. * The 2 food game is also a great one for getting focus. Start with a few pieces of big food that stays together (the 4 paws meatballs are good). Throw a piece to your left, close by. As soon as the dog finishes eating, call his name and throw to your right. Repeat often. When you call his name make it really exciting. He should be animated and start running back to you as soon as he's finished his food. To finish the game call him in and give him the final treat. Tell him how smart he is. * Stop feeding your dog from a bowl and make him do a little training session to earn his food. After all, why work for a bit of food at training when you get a whole meal for doing nothing? I'm not talking 1/2 an hour a day, but a fun, animated, 5 min session. You can train some tricks (look up Kikopup on YouTube) and play games (eg 2 food game).

Has anyone heard anything about the weaving DVD that has free shipping? We need to proof weavers, but I don't want to pay $40 if it tells me what I already know

BlackJaq is right, however you have to look at the impact of the reward and see if it is appropriate for what you are trying to achieve. For example, if you have a reactive dog that wants to eat little fluffy who is across the road, a big game of tug might make him more aroused, not less. Food is good because it is quick and you can give rewards in quick succession ("treat, treat, treat"). This can help modify a dog's reaction to a trigger. If your dog doesn't respond to food then I'd simply stop feeding him from a bowl and make him work for all his food. My dogs don't get treats - it is all their standard food. Yesterday Lucy had to go to the vet, so I took her dinner with me, we went 20 mins early and we spent that time playing LAT and doing some training around people and dogs in a small space - that is how she was fed her meal. I can't think of the last time my dogs ate from a bowl!

I think a lab Gould swallow the small ones?

Someone brought their cat on leash to a local off leash park here - he couldn't see that this was endangering his cat!

While I think his reaction was OTT and dangerous for both him and your dog, I don't like being approach by any strange dogs, whether I have my dogs with me or not. Just because I love my dogs doesn't mean I like yours (not yours the OP, just other dogs in general).

Mr Justice is doing so well - I feel proud of a dog I've never met! Salukibel - welcome - I with this club had no members! There are no guarantees with a behaviourist, even with the best one in the world, as it all depends on what your dogs issues are and your ability to implement a mgt plan. More and more I believe that in many cases there isn't a cure for aggression/reactivity, rather you learn how to manage it, know your dogs triggers and keep them below the threshold. For me, "cure" means 100% fixed and you don't need to implement strategies to deal with it anymore, which is a very big ask. My Lucy sounds similar in some ways in that she does actually like other dogs. She just gets overwhelmed by it all and snaps. She has made a few friends and is very happy to see them and has good manners with them. It has been a lot of work and will continue to be for the rest of her life, but she is worth it. That said, I think I've lost 10 years just from stress!

Tell them to read the "exercising a reactive dog" thread in training. Aggression needs to be managed for life. I started that thread as support. I love my girl very much but if I got a pup that displayed true aggression I would return it. I say that as someone who has owned a reactive dog for almost 4 years.

Wtf? Did you read that, even if she complies with all restricted breed legislation, her dogs could still be seized as rego needs to be renewed every year? I apologise. Bad choice of words. You are the mistress of your dogs destiny. As I said. Good luck.

me too, and I'll pay for shipping

I'd add Wet and Hot Weather Info - some days are just too hot to train. I also like to see info on the club's training philosophy and what training volunteers receive.

Even if Cos did those things, under Victorian law the council can still decide not to renew her rego (completely at their discretion), seize and destroy the dogs. This is even if she muzzles them, puts them in a run etc.

It looks like some of notifications didn't work, even though the stuff has shipped. I emailed them as I hadn't received one and got a prompt reply that my stuff was sent on Friday.

Apparently you are a bad owner if you don't have pedigree dogs. At least, that's the (il)logic coming out of Steamboat. Sheridan it is worse - I own an oodle

I value my dogs and they are kept securely (all gates padlocked, 6 ft fence for 30 cm high dog), but not in runs. Bad owner?

sorry, but how can Cosmolo keep her dog safe (a dog that she got from a shelter who is very well behaved) if he can be seized and destroyed if she walks him down the street? Again, what do you mean? Never take your dog off your property? What are you ACTUALLY suggesting she do? This is a purebred forum. People advocate purebreeds. However, plenty of us have either owned mutts in the past or own them now - we don't want them PTS because of the way they look. We're not even talking about pitbulls here, or dogs that are even bullbreed crosses. Just mutts that look a certain way (eg broad head) and fit a certain weight and height category.