megan_

* Uta Bindel really inspired me to do more free shaping. I also admire her methods (99% shaping and sorta luring - she calls it food hand, only issuing a correction maybe once a month when she knows her dog truly knows what is required). She has trained working line malinious (sp) to the highest level. * I have watched a bit of Michael Ellis' stuff and have been impressed. I'm going to get some of his DVD's to help move some things along with Fergus and Lucy (heeling!) and prepare for future pup. *I'm going to Mia's w/shop next weekend, then followed by the Derrett's - hoping to be inspired. On a more personal note, Erny helped me take a fearful dog who would not leave the house and would freeze completely when leashed to one that loooves to go for a walk. She has given me a lot of advice and support along the way. I'm also inspired by all the vonunteers at the agility clubs that I belong to. I don't agree with all their methods, but I admire people who give back to their dog sport for nothing in return.

thanks for the link sw66. TLC - check your inbox, they typically email you a coupon with instructions on how to redeeem your purchase.

What is yOur breed? Dogs are excellent at reading body language so sometimes they pick up on badies, however they often judge people with extreme fear (clanking up, staring etc) as bad sorts too. I make decisions around who comes and goes in my house - not my dogs

I'd go for ground bones instead of the patties, just my opinion. I only feed my dogs human grade meat as it is inspected for pests

At 8 weeks Nashdie that is totally normal. I took many, many months to get my dogs to LOVE the crate, rather than forcing them. Why not leave the crate door open for the time being? Where is the pen? Can he still be with his family while in the crate?

Maybe he was soo norty that whoever had him decided to give him back :)? Good boy Alvin!

It but what is this collar grab game of which you speak? I really wish I had done Recallers! What kind of games does it have?

Working registries exist too - perfectly legit. This is a problem that the ANKC could soooo easily resolve - come up with a trademarked term to mean ANKC registered. After all, registered with the council is registered - they're not lting

Pretty sure lmsw doesn't use the clicker :). Most of the people on this thread aren't purely positive trainers anyway. My comment was sarcastic and I take it back - it doesn't contribute to the debate. I'm sure you'll retract yours too :). These derailings seem to happen more frequently these days, the OP just wanted to know how to stop her dog from pulling!

So sorry to hear this. Could beca pinched nerve?

Thanks superminty - now I wish I had got them!

I don't see trainers blaming clients at all. As a client-only, I can tell you that I do have weaknesses and I need a trainer who can teach me within those boundaries.

yeah but I can't imagine my two rascals naturally putting their hind legs on the fitpaw egg. Maybe I need to do more hind leg awareness first?

superminty I was going to get those from cleanrun but didn't know how to train the dog to use them

Yip I got a huge bug infestation (as did a fair few DOLers I believe) a while back when I ordered cow hooves. When I wrote to them (very politely) that I had an issue they told me it was impossible for bugs to get into their products!

nah Aidan they should use the Koehler method because it works on all dogs regardless

But in QLD, regardless of limited or main, the dog should get papers. A pedigree dog without papers isn't a pedigree dog. If the seller really means limited registration papers, they should say that, not "no papers".

Success depends on a lot of factors: the owners intent to follow the instructions, the owners ability to actually execute the instructions (this is when I ark up to a trainer and say "to be honest, I don't actually have the skills to do that. We need to find a method that I'm confident to actually execute") and the dog's response to the method (my boy takes a lot longer to learn something via luring than via free shaping, took a fair whack of work for me to work this out). I don't know of any (good) trainer who says "if you follow these instructions you'll get results in x weeks". I know a fair few crap ones that make all sorts of promises though (their methods usually involve shutting the dog down). Life just doesn't work like that and it opens the trainer up to people asking for refunds when they haven't met the goals. Good trainers are wonderful assets but they don't play the lead role in the dog's progress (no disrespect to them at all, I'd be lost without Erny, Cosmolo and Steve). At the end of the day the dog lives with the owner - that is when push comes to shove. I am a bit of a norty student and question a trainer becuase: i) I like to understand why something works. If I understand this, I'm able to execute better ii) I have a good understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. There is no point in my "putting on a show" for a trainer and letting them think I'll do something when they leave when I can't/won't. For example, I am fearful of offlead, large strange dogs when I walk my girl (fine with my boy because he speaks great "dog"). I told Steve I simply couldn't walk my girl past a shop that had two offleash great danes inside as I would tense up, my breathing would change etc and that would in turn cause a reaction from my reactive girl. Because I pushed back we were able to discuss an alternative plan of attack.

Julie - Fergus won a "Man of Movember" comp and won 10 movie tickets. I'd like to donate them to PACERS as people might want to buy them/be part of a raffle. Who do I send them to?

Then report them to Troy

Yeah but you have to pay a fair whack in legal fees to fight the council - not everyone can afford that. Regardless of the legal outcome, the safety of the community comes first, so my girl will wear her muzzle on appropriate occassions. Without the muzzle, I would not be prepared to take her to an area where there are any children, for example. That said, I always keep her below the threshold. Back on topic.... Puzzle toys have served Lucy welll too. The Nina Ottosan range is particularly good and if you buy from teh US you can get access to toys that aren't available in the US. I have found the following to be particulary good: * Nina O's Brick Game: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1721&ParentCat=435 * Nina O's new Dog Treat Maze ($11.95!): http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3037&ParentCat=435 * The Magic Mushroom: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=2935&ParentCat=284&string=magic mushroom * Buster Cude (expensive, but the dogs really have to work to get the treats out so it keeps them amused):http://www.oo.com.au/Buster-Cube-Large_P95856.cfm?cm_mmc=Googlemerchantcenter-_-HomeGarden-_-PetSupplies-_-PE1677&CAWELAID=986358467 I also have a Kong Wobbler but it doesn't rate against the ones listed above IMO. I got a few games with cleanrun free shipping, so it is worth keeping an eye out there. The Nina O stuff seems to be priced very similarly in Australia, so it is worth checking out local online suppliers. I also have a mini agility course set up in my yard (weavers and 2 jumps, soon to add a tunnel that I got from a DOLER for the princely sum of $15). All up, the weavers and jumps cost me about $70 from cleanrun (free shipping pre-Christmas shopping extravaganza). You can set up waevers with just afew tomato stakes if you don't want to invest in the proper equipment. This really works Lucy's body and brain. There are many different combos that you can teach even with a few jumps. She is also slowly learning scent detection. Her brother got it in 10 mins but she reverts to her default behaviour (sit and look at me) when she gets confused (good girl!) so it is a bit slow going. This is something that is relatively easy to teach and you don't need a lot of fancy equipment.

I'd then ring the state canine control body and tell them. Registered doesn't necessariy mean ethical.

they still have papers if they are on the limited register though? You're not selling them without papers?

Could you try the (wrongly named in this case" "Look at that" game, but do it with sound rather than sight. That is, dog barks, "who's that?", look at you, treat?

My guess would be that they aren't registered and this is part of their bluff. People will think that they got a pedigreed dog on the cheap, just without a bit of paperwork. No peson wanting to show who actually did research would actually buy the dog anyway, so they won't ever be caught out.