SpikesPuppy

We will be there with Iko (Kelpie X) and my dear Caber (hopefully he will feel like running this time.....)

Count me in!!!

Thank you everyone It's been a hard 2 days because it was such a shock to lose him ( I knew he would be the first as he was the oldest but to lose him so tragically is just not right), but it's getting easier. It helps to post little tribute to him- to share him with the World. LP- I reckon Ratty-heaven's getting to be a bit of a party place hehe. All our gorgeous fuzzbutts having so much fun getting into so much mischief (though I reckon Wes' version of heaven is an endless pile of Rice bubbles!)

My dear sweet squooshy wombat of a rat, Wesley, went to the 'Bridge just after 7:30am this morning. Somehow the cage door came unlatched and he and Doyle came tumbling out. Doyle was fine (vet checked him out) but Wes was not so lucky. We think he broke his neck. But he was gone in an instant so we know he didn't suffer. I didn't go to bed until just after 6am this morning, that was the last time I saw him alive. I am thankful though that I gave him cuddles and told him how much I loved him before I went to bed, as I do to each of them before I go to bed. He was to celebrate his 2nd birthday on May 20th, we will still celebrate, in honour of this gorgeous, sweet boy. He chose me from the 'feeder' bin when he was 4 weeks old. He was such a relaxed, special boy. He was big, but not huge. His eyes 'boggled' when he was cuddled. He was definately the alpha rat- he was such a gentle leader though. The others had so much respect for him it was obvious. He had his gorgeous quirks, like when he'd had enough 'free range time' (usually after 10 minutes) he would plop off the couch and meander over to the cage and attempt to climb up the shelves to 'go home'. He loved going places- he went to the Million Paws Walk last year and spent the whole day down my jumper with his head poking out the neck. And he so resembled a little wombat in appearance. Hence his nickname of 'Wombat'. The other 3 who live with him said goodbye- poor Connor is the most upset. He was licking and pawing at Wes' mouth and face, while the other 2 were pushing his body gently with their noses. But I had to let them know what happened. We are buying a nice pot and special flower tomorrow to bury him in. He will be sadly missed. :rainbow: run free sweet boy!

Ok, went to the store today to order the No-Bark collar in. I asked if i could try their 'example' one on myself. They said sure. So I did. Hardly felt anything. It was definately more of a tingle as a opposed to a zap. Not unlike the vibrating of my mobile phone in my pocket. While what happened to that dog is horrible- as others have mentioned dogs get sent to the vets every DAY with far more common injuries caused by everyday items (flat collars, check chains, halti's etc). Heck I could cause heaps more damage to my dog through kicking it if I wanted to. What next, ban dog owners from wearing shoes? :rolleyes:

When my Dobermann was younger- she would jump over our 8 foot fence if she felt like wandering. She's never been an only dog. She was getting 4+ hours of excercise daily, she just liked going for walkies (she would be gone for less than 15 minutes then she'd turn up in our front yard and bang on the front door to be let in). Of course this wasn't desirable so we trained her to stay on a chain attached to her kennel. There was no problem with this and she was quite happy to do this when we couldn't be there to watch her. She grew out of this at around age 4 (we lived at this hour for maybe 2 years before and she never jumped our old house's fence) and so she was allowed total free-range of theyard etc. But one day, as I was coming home- I was almost landed on by a big black lump. The fence was still 8 foot high. The dog bolted and I followed. What happened next was my dog pulling a dumped kitten from a creek. The kitten survived. She's only jumped the fence 2 times since- once when a truck crashed outside our house and another when there was a sudden & unexpected Thunder Storm (she's terrified of loud noises). I don't feel I need a collar/electric fence for her. Until recently. In the past 2 months, our fence (our backyard is along the side of our house so the backyard is also on the street) has been kicked in 3 times. All 3 times my Dobe has gotten out. My other dogs are indoor dogs so they haven't escaped but my Dobe is an outdoor dog during the day (her choice- you leave the door open and she will choose her kennel). We have been seriously considering the electric fence as we rent so can't change the style of fence we have. We don't want to build a run as we have 5 dogs at present and would prefer not to have them seperated. We can do all we want to fix our fences and boundaries but unfortunately we cannot control what OTHER PEOPLE DO! We haven't decided yet, however. We are also getting a no-bark collar from Innotek for our rescue Kelpie. She has an insane barking problem. It's not due to boredom- she's a X breed and not at all hyperactive. She has plenty of toys and 4 other dogs to play with. It's more of a seperation type thing. She doesn't care what's going on (there could be a whole lamb shank in the yard and she would rather be at the door barking). Being in a suburban environment and not popular with the council (due to 5 dogs- which we have a permit for), we really can't take the risk of her barking. Plus, she carries on and on for a damn long time. No matter what we do. So for us, it's either try the collar (have tried the Citronella on her, though we weren't expecting much as it did nothing for our other dog, but all that did was give her a rash and made her foam at the mouth), or rehome her. I am at home most of the day, but it would be nice to again have the OPTION of being able to go out without having to book her into the boarding kennels or having mum miss out on going out also (mum & I are very close and do alot of things together but it's been hard in the last 4 months becasue smeone has to stay with the dog). Or I can sometimes take her with me but even that is getting old now. I love my dogs I really do but not being able to go to the shop to buy some milk until mum gets home from work is just not on! What happens if there is an emergency? We would prefer to try the collar thank you. Especially as she will chase (and I'm guessing kill if given the chance) livestock so cannot be responsibly homed in the country, and I don't know too many suburban areas that welcome barking dogs do you? We had bought a collar but as we were mislead by the seller, it actually came from Canada and as known they are an illegal import. But they are not Illegal to use in Victoria (Restricted yes but not illegal). So we are saving up again to buy one directly from a store in Melbourne. I have felt the pulses myself and they really aren't that bad (to me), the lowest level is hardly anything and the highest not much worse.

oooooh I love that pic of Piper. She's sucha cutie! thanks for that But where's the pics of Elvis huh?

Ahhhh too far away lol. Oh well there will be another one in Melb at some stage. And hey- hopefully Caber will be competing himself in a few months (well, 3 months 'til he can start training if he's at the level of obedience needed. Eep). Thanks for taking a pic of Piper for me! I really did mean to go see Julie (her owner) and Piper yesterday but mum got called in to work so i had no way of getting there. It's so inconsiderate when these thingsa re held nowhere near public transport! Looking forward to the piccies

Congratulations to Elvis!!! Little Piper got her first title on Sunday too, but just the first one, FD. But hey, she's only liddle lol. Was it at Keilor? Let me know please when/where your next comp is and I will try and make it!

We feed Supercoat to our 4 oldest dogs and find it to be great for them. They have shiny coats, good poo's, no itchy skin (even the Shih Tzu who has skin problems has good skin now). For a 'supermarket' food, I'd have to agree with it being one of the best.

When I bathed Caber it didn't seem to do anything to his coat; but I don't want to risk it and hey if I don't have to bath him why bother? lol. He gets combed weekly and brushed with a stiff bristle brush daily so he's very clean & he has only a very slight doggy odour which I actually prefer to the shampoo. It smells natural. As opposed to when the Newf has been too long without a bath- he stinks like anything. Stoopid oily coat.

Caber (now 8 months old) has only ever had 1 bath. And he's a show dog lol. The one bath he had was 2 days before a show because he rolled in a dead sparrow Not really supposed to bath wire-haired dogs because it softens their coat and with him being a similar color to dirt he really doesn't need it. the dirt brushes right out. His parents haven't had baths in over 2 years and you wouldn't really know it. The other dogs gets baths when they need it- which is 3 months for the Newfy, once a month or so for the Shih andoccasionally for the Dobe & the Kelpie.

So sorry, Sidoney. But as already said, Amy had a long and wonderful life & she passed in a situation that many of us can only hope for. RIP Amy

Very odd, Amynta. Stoopid customs. We sent the Request for return of the collar off on Friday, not too hopeful but hey we have to try! Kavik- I totally understand what you mean about Rescue Dogs. I'm not entirely put off them, but if I do go out and purposefully get another rescue dog, I would definately be going through and organisation and getting a fostered dog, so I would at least know some of it's behaviour. Having said that though- I'm just as likely to keep another dog I or mum finds on the road :rolleyes: (after the 8 days etc of course). But when actually LOOKING for a dog, I am definately more likely to go to a breeder again. So much easier. But on the other hand- after the hard work is done, having a rescue dog can be extremely rewarding.

Poor Zoe sounds like she had a rough start to life but good on you for sticking with her. I ahte to think wher she would be if a less-dedicated person adopted her her story actually reminds me of my Dobe X, Miss Timothy. She was dumped in a box at 3 weeks of age with her 2 siblings. At 14 weeks, she was the last one left at the Lort Smith Hospital. She was extremely timid, and looking abck now- definately not the best dog for an 11 year old girl! But we understood each other, in a sense. She rarely pulled on the leash when I had her but if mum had her she would literally pull mum to the ground. She's always been quite dog-agressive (didn't get to pre-school as she was too old), but we did private lessons where she got to the last level before Encouragement/Novice standard by the time she was about 3 or so. She did have her 'special' friends which she would never hurt or be agressive too, and if she was off-leash she would never start a fight but she woulnd't back down! She also has next to no recall (knowing what I know now, I would never have let her off-leash at the dog park; but she was sorta like an 'old days dog' who wandered around the park and when she was ready would come back to me, etc) which is why although she is fantastic at agility I cannot trust her off-leash to do it). She's now 9 and a half and even with her problems she is what I wanted- a dog to grow up with and be my best friend. We had all sorts of 'adventures' together. Her confidence has changed alot over the years- expecialy once she matured between 4 &5 yrs. She now goes up to most people and will happily be patted and she is now at novice trial level, but I wouldn't trust her in the stays, etc. Agility helped with the confidence alot. Now she's a big sook who's getting older and just wants to sleep and go on the occasional walk (she lets me know if she wants to go or not). She's also been a big cuddle pot hehe. Typical Dobie. but she is still terrified of storms/fireworks/loud noises like car backfires, etc. Gets worse each time actually.

My Gosh they are alike!!! Apart from the white markings Zoe has... I know Zoe is a rescue dog, but what's her story? Will also agree with you Kavik on clicker training. We just started about a week ago (finally got around to getting the clickers. oops) and she just gives the blank stare. We 'charged' the clicker up and she will look expectantly for a treat when we click it, but she will not offer any behaviours. She just stares blankly at you for ages. I feel so sorry for her not having the ability to 'think' for herself, if that makes sense. Especially being a Kelpie she should have oodles of brains! We think that she has been hit in the past, maybe even beaten as for the first few weeks we had her she would cower when we put her food dish down and when she wanted a drink she would slink over to the bowl. She's much better now but it can still be difficult to get her to relax when drinking if we are not at home. She also bolts if you pick certain things up, like brooms & even the tea-towel! It's such a difference in my 8 month puppy who picked up clicker training in 5 minutes and will turn himself inside out trying to offfer the right behaviour. hehe I wish the digi cam worked inside- both her and Caber are tired out from a big walkies and are curled up together by my chair. Caber is sooo in love lol. Iko is his dog- not ours. We kept her just for him

Hi KathP: Ok as it worked for your Kelpie we will see how long our council's waiting list for the Citronella collar is. Also will try out vet as they have hired them out in the past. Maybe it's a Kelpie thing? lol. We haven't tried Rescue Remedy, but use 'Calm Down Dog' which is similar and it helps a little, makes her sleepy, but doesn't stop the barking. Will look for some RR though when we get the chance to go to the shops (Is hard to get out to shops as mum's working and I'm looking after the dog lol). We would be happy to leave her inside the house but she's a terrible chewer. As we rent, we can't risk her destroying doors, carpets, etc. So unfortunately outside she goes. Hi terrieres extraordinaires: I am aware of the potential risks involved with using something like this, but after weighing the good and the bad and countless testimonials from people n here and other dog forums & in 'real life' we are willing to take the risk. Believe me, instructions will be read 10 X over before the collar even goes near the dog and she will be monitored very closely for the first uses. While the case you describe is horrific, like ANY device, electronic or not, when used improperly they can pose a danger. We are starting Obedience and Agility training with her as soon as we can get the joining fees together, which will hopefully be during this month, but she is doing (attempting at least) basic obedience with me & I spend 20-30 minutes most days doing agility training with her in the backyard (have tunnel, jumps, tyre & weaves). She also gets at elast one 'day out' in the city for around 4 hours at a time each week as well as daily walks. But she's not a hyper active or overly energetic dog. Unfortunately, my older Dobe bitch is food agressive so I can't give her any toys that use food when we are out, but we have tried this method with her and have left the Dobe inside, but once Iko realises we are gone (usually after 5-20 minutes depending) she starts the barking. She has plenty of non-food toys which she loves (she plays with them and proudly parades them while we are there etc) as well as my 8 month old Border Terrier puppy who she plays with constantly. She's just very clingy. Hi Jed, Iko now has a crate, which she sleeps in at night (first few nights mum had to put up with whinging and whining but now Iko is quiet until the monring unless something disturbs/upsets her), and she is also put in her crate during the day at random times- most of the time now she's quiet unless something exciting is going on then she wants to join in the fun. She IS improving with her 'away time'. She now plays in the backyard for up to 2 hours in the morning; but constantly looks through the back door to make sure I am still there (I'm on the computer which is visable from the door). I ahve been ignoring her a fair bit during the day unless *I* want to play or give her attention. For the first few weeks, she was constantly wanting to climb on my lap, then she moved to sleeping under my chair. Now she will play with the other dogs, sleep on the couch and once she even went up the hall to sleep on mum's bed! So she is getting less dependant. As said above, I've been doing obedience with her but I don't think she's ever been taught how to learn; if that makes sense? I don't think she's a stupid dog exactly- she learns routine, etc, but teaching her commands is very difficult. She doesn't try to offer any behaviours to you. If you say 'sit' she will leap into your arms. if you say 'drop' she will elap into your arms, etc. She's 90% reliable with sit (taught using food rewards), and about 50% reliable with drop. I'm not overly experienced with training but I have done obedience before and have trained older dogs, but she just doesn't seem to 'click'. She's around 12-18 months old so if she's never been taught any commands, then she wouldn't know how to learn, right? Her actual seperation anxiety is getting visibly better (as she knows we will come back)- I took her into the city today when i met a friend for lunch. i ahd to go to the loo so left my friend outside holding Iko's leash. Apparently she was tense until she saw me again, but she stood still & didn't bark once. She'd never met my friend before. This is a great improvement especially since no less than 3 weeks ago when I left mum holding her leash while I went into Target, she carried on like a pork chop- even thoguh she lives with my mum! Just the darn barking that hasn't seemed to improve or change. It's uplifiting to read other's stories of success, and to know I'm not the only one lol. And it's nice to be able to 'get it all out'. It may seem sometimes like I don't want this dog or she is a 'burden' or whatever but she's not. If we weren't dead-set on keeping her we wouldn't be doing this. I can think of so many more things I could spend the $400-odd dollars thatw e have spent so far on her, on. But having had rescue dogs before (and still do..) we know how rewarding the end result is and it's all worth it. She's gonna make a fantastic agility dog! And she's a great cuddler Just wondering how other people managed their daily lives while training their dogs to accept being left alone? Thanks all Here is the gorgeous Girl: Playing with Caber (who I am sure thinks that Iko was gotten for him!)

I would recommend a Border Terrier. Although they are a Terrier, they should not be at all agressive, are highly intelligent and easy to train- most love playing with toys and balls, etc. Caber will be starting Flyball training when he's 12 months old- but is currently ball-mad and will fetch it 99% of the time. He will also do agility once he's old enough. As for obedience, they can be stubborn and obedience may be a bit boring and repetitive for them, but I do know of a few Borders who do well. They are small, but not too small, can be left with the 'scruffy' look or can be hand stripped to give them a sleeker appearance. Very friendly, happy dogs- just happy to be alive! They are reasonably active- will walk for miles, but are not hyperactive. They aren't particularly destructive, and are fantastic at amusing themselves (if I am too busy to play, Caber will happily amuse him self with his toys, throwing and catching his ball all by himself, etc).

We've checked, they are not illegal in our area. Just illegal to import. We've tried Citronella collars before on our other dog- useless. Food rewards, toys, etc wont help as she barks when we are not there to distract or reward her. She's not bored- she has 4 other dogs to play with, a garden to dig up and a mountain of toys (including Kongs and automatic treat-balls.

Is it fair to re-home her when she has this problem?..(just a thought) That's why, if we can't at least control the barking, we are more likely to have her put to sleep rather than rehome her as I doubt there would be many people who are at home 24/7 to be with her. Whenever we've both had to go out (dog shows, family occasions, etc) we've had to put Iko into the boarding kennels. She is well looked after, etc but it's getting to be quite expensive and as mum works and I don't drive; mum has to leave work a few hours early so she can drive Iko to the kennels before they close. And MAJOR APOLOGIES for not replying earlier. I have just been so busy this weekend with Easter and all I haven't even been on the computer in 5 days Thank you everyone for all your advice and suggestions- mum has emailed the seller and is waiting for their response. Hopefully we will get our money back but not holding my breath. Our council only hires out Citronella collars, unfortunately. And although I said before we MAY have to rehome or put her to sleep, believe me, this is the last thing we want to happen! She is a gorgeous dog and already a much-loved family member- and we were aware when we decided to keep her that she had issues and would possibly show more issues as her 'true nature' came out. She and our 11 yr old Shih Tzu X don't get along at all (it's a mutual hatred lol) but we have been working with both of them and they are learning to ignore each other. She's a chewer and mum's already lost her very expensive work shoes, and I've lost 3 rather expensive leather leashes. But we're working on and dealing with these issues. It's only the barking one that's proving so difficult- and it's not because she's a Kelpie in a small backyard- she gets lots of excercise and ifwe don't have the time to take her to the park, she gets lots of interaction and mental stimulation instead (I've found that doing 20 minutes of agility training in the backyard gets her more tired out than a 1 hour walk). Overall, she's a very happy dog (or appears to be), but she's a stresshead if left alone. She's not a nutty dog, she's not hyperactive or super-sensitive to movement, etc. She just gets upset when we leave her (not suprising since she was likely dumped out of a car and left on the road). Admittedly, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed (so not a problem-solver lol and sometimes I wonder if she actually has a brain ), but she's not dumb either. I am pretty sure she would get the connection between barking and discomfort from the collar. When she barked in her crate, we squirted her with water and she quickly learnt to stop that- but of course, she realised that if we weren't right there, we couldn't squirt her! So she wont make a peep when we are within a few metres of the crate but if we leave the room she will have a barking fit.

Thanks, pgm. Will get mum to give them a call or email them tomorrow.

Well... there goes $100-odd dollars down the drain. We ordered one of these collars from eBay. It was a 'buy it now' item and the address it stated on the page was Wagga Wagga, NSW. But no, it was sent over from CANADA and we got a letter in the mail today from Customs saying it's been seized as a prohibited import, etc. We will apply to get it 'returned' but aren't expecting anything. Why can't you import them? it is the EXACT same model that you can purchase quite readily here in Aus. What's the difference? (I know the answer, more of a rhetorical question). The letter explains that it is a device of cruelty, etc, but honestly, I could do more damge to a dog by kicking it if I wanted! I just don't get it. We ordered it for our rescue Kelpie X who just barks and barks whenever she is left alone. It's not boredom- she has plenty of toys, other dogs and cats to keep her company. It's more of a stress-type thing we think, as she will have ahissy even if we leave the room and shut the door behind us. It's quite understandable as we believe she was dumped. She is getting less clingy over the months (had her since mid-January), but we really need to do something about the barking habit. We have not been able to leave the house together (mum & I) without taking her or having her in the boarding kennels. It's really getting to the point where we have to stop the barking or rehome her or maybe even have her PTS (not sure about the chances of her being rehomed due to the Sep. anxiety, etc). We were going to try the collar and it was a good chance it would work. But we cannot afford to spend the $160 that the Aus Innotek site is charging, not within the next few weeks at least, especially after losing the money on this one. We should have checked about importability, we should have just gotten one from a pet store here, there are lots of 'should ofs' and all mumn and I have been thinking all night is how plain stupid we both are. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Anyone know where to get one for under $100 or maybe someone can loan us one for a little while untilw e can save up again? We love Iko, but being housebound is not fun, and not fair on the other animals either. Thank you.

And I want to meet Jyra :rolleyes:

Like most things- dogs have to 'learn' what to do. The first time Iko ran the lure mum had to run the way with her and you guys saw her yesterday lol. Once they know what it's about and how it wont hurt them (The line seems to freak most dogs out at first) they pick it up and want to GO. But of course some dogs just aren't interested lol. Jeff- that photo of Max is fantastic!

All our dogs get other food along with their dry. They all get rice/pasta, joint powder (vet's all natural atm), apple cider vinegar, sulphur powder, Nature's Gift tinned food (1 large tin between the 5 of them), raw egg, sardines, cooked veggies, suitable leftovers, fresh bones (usually chicken wings/frames) & grated carrot.