megan_

I think it is important to be honest in an age appropriate way. I agree with not inventing stories about sleeping etc because kids can take these things very literally and become traumatized. If they are being taught to believe in heaven, I'd use that. Some might disagree, but it can be comforting to a child. If not, I'd keep it more simple and say that he was older, got sick and died. That you will miss him very much and it is okay to cry. I'd also mention that he had a really good life and he will always have a special place in your heart. Maybe even bring some pics of him along, especially the ones of him being a bit silly?

Huski - while I agree that it can be a problem, I have noticed that it seems to occur far more when the owner doesn't build a proper reward system in training and then expects the dog to want to work for them out of 'respect', regardless of whether they play with other dogs or not.tHey then Blane other dogs, distractions etc for non- performance. My dogs value other dogs, but they value working a lot more. Sure, it would be easier if they didn't value other dogs at all, but given my set of circumstances - I work long hours -,that wouldn't be much of a life for them.

Leash on, pull him away, use a non-reward marker (I say "too bad" in a neutral tone), all play stops, calmly lead him away, get in the car and go home....he'll cotton on pretty quickly.

I think it is possible to find balance. My girl, for example, loves Cosmolo's dogs, especially Gilbert. She doesn't like most dogs but adores him. She stays at their house on a semi-regular basis with lots of free play and goes for walks with Mr Cosmolo every week. She loves Cosmolo too. Y et I can place her in a sit, on a beach, sitting amongst Cosmolo's dogs and she won't break. When we're working we can walk past her dogs who are placed in a drop and she won't even stop for a sniff. Why? Because she is a very motivated little worker, I work her in drive (most probably not properly, but Steve hasn't re-released his WID program so I muddle my way though :-)), and I pay her for her work. My boy is the same and he gets free play almost every day with select dogs. I can call him off from play and train at a local off leash park with dogs zooming around us. That said, I never just let them off leash and walk away. We always play a game after the leash is released and he checks in for permission before running off. To the OP, I went to a workshop run by Cosmolo on reading dog body language. It was very interesting and even though I consider myself well-versed in these things I learnt a thing or two. It might be worth seeing if something similar runs in your area? I agree with deelee, your dog's reaction might be appropriate, the trick is to step in before it reaches that point.

Yep - no sloughies in Australia. A petshop isn't going to sell a rare pup that would cost upwards of $20k to import!

A jail term might make people who just want a dog as an ornament think twice tough. I would love to see penalties for loose and menacing dogs increased dramatically and policed. Even under the new laws, he would only have gone to jail based on the way the dog looked. If a lab kills a kid the owner doesn't go to jail under the new laws. The only people penalised are those with: i) Dogs that have previously been declared dangerous or menacing ii) Dogs that look like pitbulls, regardless of breeding. How is that just?

Have you registered him at the local pound as lost? I thought that was a legal requirement (ie you can't just find an animal and if there is no chip take it as your own). Maybe I'm misreading the OP?

I believe that some studies have shown that feeding joint guard products to young dogs can do more harm than good. I can't remember the thread where this was mentioned - maybe try PMing dizney as I think she contributed to the thread. If your dog is structurally sound and you warm hum up and stretch properly, I can't see the need personally. There is a thread in training about keeping agility dogs in top condition.

I don't work for free, I don't expect my dogs to either! My dogs don't get "treats" as such, but their normal food. They are never fed out of their foodbowl and get all their food "working" (ie training). The trick is not to use it as a bribe (ie use the treats to lure him outside) but rather use it as a reward. I never go anywhere with my dogs without a pocket full of food, ready to reward them for a job well done.

Try PMing JulesP - I believe one of her Border Collies has a liver shunt.

Can I ask why you didn't like Berwick? It is on my list of possibilities at the moment.

I am not defending MuP, but dogs to act differently in different circumstances. If this dog is used to being left outside with no interaction, then he is most probably happy for the time being in a kennel with limited human interaction. It doesn't mean that MuP is necessarily lying or mistreated the dog. My girl is an angel when she stays at Cosmolo's and sometimes exhibits fear aggression when with me. I'm not a crap owner or a liar :).

No one is blaming the kid that I see? People are saying we don't know what happened. It isn't about blame, but about finding out how to prevent things happening in the future....and the answer isn't to kill all dogs who have a guarding instinct.

I'd prefer mine would bark too, but I wouldn't kill them for biting an intruder! Sorry, but you seem to think that a dog should take anything. Where do you draw the line? If I kick your dog, can it bite me?

The difference eludes me. In my book a dog that bites an 8 year old boy is HA whatever the reason. Territorial dogs bark and threaten. They don't necessarily carry through with it. The answer is probably with education. Children need to be taught how to treat dogs. Even when they have dogs of their own often this doesn't happen because the parents don't even know. How many times have children, even with their parents, bowled up to you when you are with your dogs and reached out to pat your dogs without asking. Human aggressive means aggressive towards humans. Territorial dogs protect their territory - often against dogs, other animals or humans. If someone broke into your house and your dog defended it, would you say the dog was human aggressive? That is the difference. I feel terribly sorry for the boy, but I wonder when did society expect that dogs should allow anything to happen to them (including being teased and hurt, have strangers rush up to them, bark in their faces etc) and they should just sit there and take it?

The dog might not be HA though, it might be territorial - there is a big difference between the two. The kid might have teased the dog and barked at it. We'll never know, and unfortunately finding out what really happened so things can be prevented in the future never seems to be a priority.

I'd like to know how high the fence was. If your dog is going to bite off a part of someone's face if they look over the fence into your yard then you need to have a very high fence with no gaps.

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Thanks inevitablue. Is the tray placed between their feint legs?

Thanks. Yes I do the sit then sprint recall too. He hates the water with a passion though. I might try a water session with the physio and see how much he hates me afterwards!

I believe PetSearch already offers a similar service. It can also be packaged up with other search activities. They even scour the streets looking for the missing pooch. If my dog went missing they'd be my first port-of-call.

Where about are you? If you're in Vic, then Ray Ferguson at Monash is the best vet to see in this case. He owns and races greyhounds too and understands dog physiology much better than your average vet. He transformed my boy who had an injury that our normal vet (who is a good vet by all accounts) didn't even find. He does trigger point therapy and bends your dog like a pretzel. There are also physiotherapists and Bowen Therapists (very, very gentle) who deal with dogs too. I've taken my boy to a Bowen therapist here in Melbourne and he just melted on the table in a total state of relaxation. I agree with Kirislin re: seeing someone who deals with greyhounds. The theory is that greyhound folk won't trust their valuable dogs to just anyone so they seek out the best-of-the best. ETA: Just realised you are on the Central Coast so my post isn't much help! Hopefully the greyhound people can point you to a local.

I'm looking for ideas/discussion around what to do to keep an agility/performance dog in top condition. I keep both of my dogs fit and trim, but my boy is a cross breed and has long mini-poodle style legs and a solid torso, so he seems more prone to injury (he had hind leg stifness 6 months ago, and the vet said he had some minor back discomfort at his last check-up. I'm going to take him to Ray Ferguson for an assessment before we rejoin any classes). Here's what I do at the moment: * Both my dogs are fed a combination of raw/premium food and are kept nice and lean. * They normally get a lot of free play exercise (a vet once said to me this is one of the best forms of exercise for a dog as they use so many muscles with twists and turns). * We normally do "formal" agility training for 1 hour once a week, however this has stopped since K9 Agility is having their grounds resurfaced . We do short training exercises every day, but most of this isn't on equipment. * I've recently purchased a fitPAWS peanut and I'm working the dogs on it for a minute or two every day. It is funny to watch my it but long-legged boy struggle to stand while my short-and-stocky girl finds it a breeze. There are other things that I've been considering: * Supplements. Does anyone use these on young dogs? They're both small dogs and are 4 and 5. * I might book Fergus in for more regular Bowen checks, and this helped him with his hind-leg stiffness. Do other people take their dogs for regular physio/chiro, irrespective of whether they have an injury or not? Any other ideas? I used to think that it was overkill but now I think I'm really asking my dogs to be athletes and I need to treat them accordingly.

Pa I just mix the VAN dry with water & kangaroo meat, chop it up and use that as training "treats" (they work for all their food, so it isn't really a treat as such). It is messy but they love it.

The rubber on the fitPAWS peanut is not very thick? I have a human balance ball too and the quality looks the same?