megan_

There's more to it than that though - in many european countries don't are seen as precious. You don't just rush out and buy one for the kids,

plenty of registered breeders hae co-ownership and lease bitches F11.

My two hate the rain and it would be so easy to say "they hate it, so I'm not walking them". But they don their rain coats and off we go. I have to drag my girl out the house (literally) but after a minute of walking (she has no choice but to if I'm walking at a quick pace) she is wagging her tail and loving it. Great new smells come out in the rain and they love it. I agree - just plain laziness. Put on a raincoat (human and/or dog) and go for a walk - it is good both both!

Contact the schnauzer club. I dont know about WA, but the one in Vic will help any schnauzer if they can. An unsocialised giant could only go to a very, very experienced home.

There was a huge drama about some hitler comic tees (they were poking fun at hitler, but people seemed to think they were pro-Nazi). I believe they eventually took them down.

Most of the leads and harnesses sold at Pet Shops are of very poor quality and the lead doesn't need to look worn at all for the clip to snap. I used to use a very well known brand of collar - they were not cheap - that had plastic snaps and it snapped open one day. I actually blame the vast majority of petshops that sell poor quality equipment with very high mark ups.

But a dog shouldn't be locked in a crate when you're out if you work fulltime :). Can you leave a crate (covered) with an open door outside so she has a little cave to hide in if she wants to?

Any chance they'd fit a Forester?

I think it was reasonable. I wouldn't want to buy a toy taht another dog had it its mouth if I had a pup and didn't know the vaccination status of the dog.

Could the stiffness just be a result of not using those muscles much/sctrict supervision and she used them when tugging for the first time? The tugging action does really work those hind quarters ina way that they don't normally work. Did she warm up before tugging?

Hi Hugo, I have a dog that was used as a breeding bitch on a puppy farm. She was similar to your girl, but more extreme in her anxiety (she wouldn't come anywhere near me for a good month). What I eventually did - and what I wish I had done MUCH sooner - was see a recommended, qualified behaviourist (not someone who called themselves a dog whisperer etc). Dogs cope with fear in different ways. For the first year, my girl was meak and mild and would avoid conflict. She was such a sweetie, I never dreamed that she'd get aggressive. I worked on building her confidence and I felt very sorry for her. Then one day, when I had visitors over, she tried to go for a child. Before anyone assumes that the child did something, he didn't. I was always physically with her, only 1 - 2m away. He didn't move. He must have looked at her of something, but she deemed it a threat. I had pushed her to far, she was uncomfortable and she learnt that aggression = keeps scarey people away. Once a dog has learnt that lesson it is very hard to unteach it. There are plently of things that you can do to build her confidence up and give her good coping strategies for when she is scared (eg "Look at That" game). Most importantly, she needs to feel that there is always an out if the pressure gets too much, and that you'll take care of anything scarey. It is very tempting to try and put them in situations where they'll "make friends" or "learn that people are nice". However, they can learn that when they behave they get put into more scarey situations, when they lash out the scarey people go away. It is important to take things slowly and for her to learn that behaviour = I can cope and I don't get pressured to accept people/dogs that I'm not ready to accept. This is why I suggest seeking professional help now, but not from someone in the local paper etc, but someone who comes with qualifications and a track record of rehabilitating dogs. If you let us know where you live (general region, not your address :)) people might have recommendations. The cost can be a bit steep, but trust me, it is much cheaper dealing with potential problems, that dealing with the results of getting this wrong. Three years later, I'm still trying.

No one here is a PETA supporters. The people here care about purebred dogs, but many aren't prepared to say there aren't serious problems with some breeds (not all dogs in that breed, but a fair few are winning shows). I don't believe that doing nothing will protect purebred dogs. Yes, they are in danger but not because the KC acted, but rather they acted way too late.

I would never ever take my dog to the park when the other one is there. She hasn't hit maturity yet so chances are it will get worse, not better.

In Melbourne there are no parks for small dogs

BC4ME - the OP has explained that this is a greyhound kennels and the owner has consented. Still, it doesn't sit right with me. Deliberately using an aversive when a dog hasn't done anything wrong (they are clearly startled by the OP description) and then treating them just to perform an informal experiment seems cruel and unnecessary. I doubt any uni ethics committee would approve it.

So there is no problem with breeders breeding exaggerated dogs?

Thanks Sawy - it must be a recent update because I swear I looked for it a lot. I'm going to a brunch and would need to leave by 10am at the latest. If I arrived at 9am, would people be there? I won't bother people or ask questions because I know they'll be getting their dogs ready. I'm not a showie so I have no idea!

I'm going along to look at some Giants, but neither the DogsVic or Schnauzer club have a starting time advertised?

I was going to say that they most probably see it as an adversive. I get annoyed/hurt/something that I don't like happens = I get a treat is most probably very confusing for a dog. Do you work at a boarding kennels? If yes, did the owners give permission for you to do this to their dog?

Also, dogs might react very differently to kids in your house, staying over, going to the loo at night etc versus kids in the park. If they are going to stsy over I'd suggest the dogs sleep in a crate or a locked room. If they aren't used to other people at night they might react if someone gets up st 2am fir a loo run.

Scared people often look like aggressive people to dogs - they stiff up, they stare etc. Either they stay in a hotel or your dogs stay with someone else. What will happen if you need to pop out and they're st home alone with the dogs. I have two dogs , one is fine wit kids but my girl isn't. She stays at cosmolo's for a special holiday when I have visitors. That way everyone is safe and happy.

Mine don't eat from bowls. In the morning they get treat calls/kings, they sit in their crates, I put the food down, stand up , they have to look up at me, wait and then give the release word. In the evenings they fo obedience or agility training to get their food. On the weekends Lucy gets a lot of her food doing training around people (she is fearful).

Waht Weasel says. Don't get too hung up on the fact it is called "Look at That", it can also be "Hear That" or "Bananas".

I like the idea of the Swedish test for protection. It could also be used for a lot of sporting working breeds as those qualities are desirable for those breeds too. Do you have any more info on it? Stonecutter - maybe a cut-down of the Swedish protection test? After all, a good pet dog should have solid nerves, should be able to recover quickly from a startle, should react appropriately to strangers (I don't mean they have to love them, but not be timid or aggressive) etc. I like the idea of nosework separate from tracking too, as it provides a different outlet for the scent skills.

What's wrong with him having a snooze under a tree? Why does it always have to be the crate? I think you need to accept that you, your partner and your pup will make mistakes along the way. You won't always be there to supervise him. This is okay :-). TRy to leave him alone for a few hours this week so he gets used to being alone.