megan_

Nope - Steve is the only K9Pro trainer (with Vickie doing agility in Sydney) I believe.

No legitimate reason. Papers show a dog's pedigree and should be part-and-parcel of buying a dog, even if the dog is on limited register. I believe they don't cost the breeder much to get at all. In most states, registered breeders must register their litters and provide papers to buyers. I believe that this isn't the case in WA though. You can always ask for their prefix and ring the state canine control body to check if they are registered (as "registered" can mean registered as a business, with the council etc and doesn't actually indicate that the breeder is selling pedigree dogs). ETA: This wouldn't be for a "rare" blue stafford would it?

There is something about giant breed puppies that always makes me go "aaawwwww"

sounds like a good plan. Being a small dog though it is critical that she meets large, well behaved dogs during her critical development period too. I socialised my little boy with large, calm dogs when he was a pup and he deals well with dogs of all sized - he wasn't fussed by the super-large Black Russian Terrier that now frequents our park, or the two newfies or the great dane. The vast majority of dogs (even the not-so-small labs) went absolutely nuts though. The issue with socialising a small pup with large dogs though is that what many large dog owners believe to be "well behaved" can be very different to what us small dog owners see as well behaved (because of the sheer size difference). Cosmolo from this forum (underdog training) has 4 of the most well behaved large dogs I have met, and one little well behaved cutie. I know that they run puppy classes in a few locations and bring some of thier dogs with them. They're on holiday at the moment but it may be worth finding out when they're running their next class so that your pup can meet some calm, very well behaved big dogs? Alternatively, you could arrange a private class and do a meet and greet - well worth the cost in my view. Even my crazy, I-hate-dogs-in-my-face reactive girl looooves Cosmolo's dogs.

What state are you in Mace? I'm in Victoria - I don't like my girl's chances if she is seen as aggressive, regardless of which dog is at fault.

mace, there is a risk no matter what you do when you have a dog - DA or not. Like others here I have chosen to muzzle her (after almost 3 years of resisting) for the community's safety and for her freedom. I am able to do more behaviour-changing exercises with her muzzled because I can take her more places. For example, under supervision with a trainer, I took her to the beach and worked her under distraction and she did really, really well. She focused on me whenever other dogs approached her and, because I knew she wasn't going to be lashing out, I relaxed, then she relaxed more etc. There is no way I would have felt comfortable doing that exercise if she was unmuzzled. Is there a risk that an off leash dog will approach her? Yes. I believe, however, that the risk of an attack is reduced because both of us stay more calm. If the dog is hell-bent on attacking her (ie out looking for a fight, which Steve reminded me is not that common) then there is not much I can do anyway. As others have pointed out, I'll be able to focus on getting the attacking dog off her, rather than trying to separate two attacking dogs and hoping I don't cop it myself. There is a social stigma attached to muzzles that I really wish we as a society would get over. Most people assume that, because she is muzzled, she must have bitten either people or dogs before, and that is not the case. She is a beautiful, strange little thing who was abused for many years (breeding bitch on a puppy farm, no name, never out of her cage). Despite lots of help from lots of talented people, she still lashes out in certain, unpredictable situations. I will continue behaviour modification with her until her last breath. A muzzle means she can live a decent doggy life in the interim. She goes to agility (100% fine there, no DA or HA tendencies, completly focused on the task), obedience and lots of walks all over Melbourne. She does lure racing (muzzle comes in handy because it is very arousing) and is learning scent detection. I am not prepared to increase the risk to the community and limit her already-limited freedom because there is a chance that a DA dog that she would normally be able to "take out" will decide to attack us. The risk vs reward just doesn't add up for me .

Fergus has vomitted every time he has had Comfortis. Lucy on the other hand has always been fine. It is a pity becuase my vet says it is one of the few that is effective in our area.

How long is she confined to the 4m x 4m for? How often? What is she doing before she is put in there (eg walked, trained etc)?

It would have been good if they'd given some tips to keep your dog safe. I know plenty of people who don't put a decent padlock on their gate.

I think there is a DOLer travelling around Australia with her whippets - PawsAroundOz or something?

Don't get me wrong, cfs, I always have fun, that is why I do agility. I always praise my boy for the good job he does despite my handling. I'm just being self deprecating (as most people are, I've seen some of RubyStar's videos on here - far from bad!)

Thanks cfs. I think I'm going to come along to it - even if we do terribly it sounds like we'll have a good time. Now just to get all the gear, as most of my events will be outdoors

Imace - cosmolo is a respected trainer. I was advised to use a muzzle by steve from k9pro - again, very highly regarded. What cosmolo has written sounds like common sense - surely you'd have to agree that, in the very rare event of a fight, pulling away one fighting dog would be easier than pulling away two?

The council will only care about the barking

My dog is small. Any dig that she could fight I could take on with a few kicks. Anything that I couldnt handle would harm her anyway. The point if the muzzle is to avoid that though. Relaxed me = much more relaxed Lucy.

Because we often run into offleash dogs in onleash areas. The muzzle helps reduce my stress, which reduces her stress. I always keep her under the threshold.

Just tried the udder tug:HUGE hit

WE can have our own DOL competition: most hysterical performance :-). I will be on my lonesome so it would be good to meet a few DOLers there.

Thanks amypie - that all looks doable. Looking at the schedule I think most of my stuff would be outdoors anyway (400 dog, as novice as you can get!). Which leads me to question # 234. Both my dog and I are true newbies (he is my first agility dog, never trialled but will get some in before the nationals). I want to come and watch and, if I'm going all that way, I would want to bring Fergus with me and give it a go. Is there an expectation that, because this is the nationals, it will be all serious, super great competitors only etc?

thanks - that sounds doable. In my head I imagined 200+ stairs and being in the rafters and I wouldn't be able to cope!

How many stairs are there? I have a bad back so walking down stairs hurts a lot. I'm also terrified of heights and can't sit near the top of stadium seating - is it like that?

Do you really want a guard dog (one that will take action if threatened) or a watch dog (one that will bark when something is wrong)?

I guess we're all different. It is the vouyerer (sp) thing that gets me a bit too. When my dogs go to heaven, which is hoepfully a long way off, I can't imagine whipping out the video camera at the last minute. I want to be there 100% for them, looking them in the eye, whispering secrets in their ear all alone. If I make a video montage to show people the bond between human and dog I'd show agility, zoomies, wrestles and the morning kiss I get from Miss Lucy ever morning (promptly followed by a paw in my eye, demanding a scratch behind the ear).

I want a pic with a wee pot on their heads...

yes I agree. Death, whether it be a person or a dog, should be a personal, diginfied thing. Not something for people to watch on youtubes (especially since there is no educational value).