ozjen

What is boring about them? Genuine question, I am going to collect my lab puppy next weekend and am very curiuos to hear your answer. Nothing in particular, the same reason I find BCs, goldies etc a bit boring, maybe it's because they are quite popular and you see them around a lot. They just don't appeal to me as a dog I would want to own and train etc. That is my perception of BC's - way too popular in the dog sport world. Smart little buggers that are perfect for it, and even though I'm into dog sports, it's not a breed I actually want to own myself. So each to their own I guess. I just get my back up when people see these overweight, out of control Labs and paint all Labs with the same brush My girls are very trim and although highly excitable when they're out at a highly stimulating place, they are generally very well behaved young ladies! A joy to have. I'll second that, I've met Rubystar's Millie and it was lovely to see a Lab who was nice and trim and she was very well behaved and she's not the only Lab I've met like that. People often develop incorrect perceptions of various breeds and while some aspects of each breed may be true each dog like each person is an idividual and when we each find that perfect match it is wonderful. There are many breeds I like but would never have and there are dogs I've had that no one else but me would love but to me they were or are perfect. There is something out there to suit everyone and sometimes its not the one that we expect that we fall in love with.

I've been thinking of getting one for exercising my girl so I'm looking forward to hearing peoples thoughts on them. At present I am biking with her but don't always feel safe doing this, I've had more than my fair share of stacks and while I can handle the bruises I'm terrified that she could get hurt. My sister was also saying that she had read that dogs can get shin splints from the hard pavement. I am not a fast walker and I do not have a big stride so don't find walking her much good for keeping her fit whereas the bike is toning her up nicely. Another problem with biking is watching out for broken glass, we are constantly having to skirt around it Geez, I pick up after my dog I wish some of these people would pick up after themselves.

I like the idea of a voucher towards the next entry with the club, perhaps it could have a certain period to be used by so that if the winner could not make the next event(bitch in heat, injury or other commitements) they could use it for another one. I think its nice that your club has a selection of doggie goodies to choose from, I'm sure the dogs prefer those options although I must admit I like the ribbons. Some people are wary of dogfood treats if they come from China and those that feed raw aren't big on dog biscuits so not sure that these options would be as popular as the toys. I know if my dog had a choice it would be for the noisiest toy, so she can drive me nuts. She just loves those noisy ones.

Yes!! Ooohh! Haven't heard of this one, please tell us about it, might have to add it to my wish list especially if it's good.

These fluffy dogs make it hard don't they, well I guess mine isn't quite as fluffy as yours. You might find the extra coat handy though as it gives your pup a nice soft cushion, I taught my girl on the bed to begin with as I didn't want her to find it uncomfortable plus it was an easier height for me to support her if necessary. She picked it up in the first lesson as she already knew the head tuck between her legs so now its just refining it. I didn't use the touch stick as I wanted to be available to support if necessary and also knowing how many left hands I have I would have probabaly impaled my dogs eye or something equally gruesome. After watching the video you posted it might be time to try the touch stick to get more distance established as I think she still uses me to kick of from. Have finely managed to upload the video of her earlier attempts this was taken about a week or so after her first lesson, not the clearest as I set up the camera on a stool and just hoped that we were lined up for it to video.

Don't worry, it takes time for the dogs to learn the game to begin with, my girl is well practiced with the game that is why she responds so quickly when I offer her something new to work with. Admittedly it can sometimes be a pain just how willing my girl is to try something new, when I bought her a skateboard she didn't wait to be shown she was on it and off across the room with it to slam into my wall. Note to self, don't train skateboard in the house. I was hoping it would be a fresh challange for her but it wasn't the least bit challanging. I'm no expert on clicker training as Jenna is my first clicker dog but I find that I will only click a behaviour a couple of times when doing box work, if I click the same behaviour too often it doesn't encourage her to try something else. I also did not start with box work, we only started to use that once she was already familiar with the clicker. She undertands the clicker quite well as I can clickNtreat her doing a natural behaviour and she will look at me and then have another go to see if that was what I was clicking, when I clickNtreat again her eyes light up and she continues to do it. Try to set the dog up for success to begin with, maybe put a telephone book on the floor and without guiding the dog or luring move around the telephone book and as soon as the dog accidently walks over it say with one foot or more, be ready to click. After a couple of goes raise the criterea a bit say to two paws and go on from there. As the dog gets familiar with the game then try the box or other objects.

I have used and own show stackers and would have no problem using them again. I do not see them as a cruel piece of training equipment and believe that they would have to be well and truely misused to be considered such. Like any other piece of training equipment, misuse is possiable but to ban them on this basis would also mean that we should ban agility equipment because there is a risk of injury, ban obedience trials (some dogs get as stresssed as their owners), ban sheep herding trails (why stress the sheep) the list could go on there is always someone who will see something amiss in every aspect of life. Heck if PETA had their way we wouldn't have pets at all let alone partake of all the activities with them that us DOL'ers do.

I was recently trying to explain free shaping to a lady while I was at a dog show, I didn't have a box so emptied Jenna's water bowl and put that down for her to use. We got a selection of options from her including balancing on top of it with all four feet (Waterbowl was upsidedown at this stage), The woman was very impressed at a dog thinking up options to get clicks from me and loved the looks Jenna gave me as she tried each thing " How's this one Mum", she was convinced Jenna was the smartest dog in the world.

Thanks Rubystar, just a pity she turns into an airhead when it comes to working in a ring. Erney, when you work out how to teach your dog how to do the housework, let me know and you can teach my girl, I hate housework. Jenna does help a little by cleaning up her toys and also she will collect empty drink cans in a bucket for me. On Youtube there is a Rhodesian Ridgeback that does the dusting clears the plates (plastic) off the table and cleans up his toys, unfortunatly he passed away this month at 6 years old. So sad as he obviously had a very close bond with his owner.

Blowing bubbles in a bowl of water is an easy targeting one that looks complex but can be taught in one lesson to a dog that knows how to target. The bubbles part comes naturally, start by targeting an empty bowl, when you add water throw in a dog biscuit to encourage the dog to dip its snout. Hold of on clicking to get a little duation, I use the clicker to click each stage before long all the dog needs is the command to blow bubbles. Most dogs seem to pick this one up very quickly, my girl picked it up in the first lesson. Kinda messy though as water goes everywhere. With the summersault we did it on the bed to begin with so that she had a soft landing and I stayed close for support and to ensure she kept her head tucked in. While again she picked this up in the first lesson (already knew the head tuck between her legs so she only had to learn the last part for the summersualt) it still makes me nervous as it would be so easy for a dog to break it's neck doing this one. I think it will always be one of those tricks that she does close to me so that I can ensure that she goes over safely. Targeting with nose or paw must be the most useful trick I've taught as I have used it to teach so many other tricks.

After looking at the second site and reading about the poles my understanding is that it is one pole in two peices, one a metre long and the other 80cm to be joined to make a 1.8mt pole. It might be cheaper to look at the weavers brought out by Kramer. Can't remember what I paid for mine but I got 12 poles in a carry bag, the only trouble is the spikes bend after a bit but they are still better than nothing. When I first started I used poles for electic fencing which were not long so it was easier to reach over them if need be, they had the spike in the end so were easy to insert in the ground. They cost under $4 each from a stockfeedist. Another option is to get some plastic pipiing and make your own. If you go to Chinaroads Lowchens website they have a section on making agility equipment that my be useful.

Okay, after seeing some of the videos posted I take back what I said, some dogs can definaitly handle it, without spinal injury from twists, perhaps some body types would be more suited than others. Very impressive.

Bit of topic but thought everyone might enjoy this video especially NSDTR lovers. This young lass is an excellent trainer and the progress she has made with her Toller pup is fantastic in such a short time. She is on one of the forums I'm on and I love watching how this pup is progressing under her training. I'm sure this young girl will go a long way with her dogs.

Yeppers, I split the White Sentinel in halves for my two smaller dogs. Works well. I don't use Sentinel but remember reading a discussion on splitting dog tablets on one of the dog lists I'm on where the person made inquires to the tablet makers. Apparrently if the tablet is not scored for easy division then it is not recommended to split it as the medication is not necessarily evenly distrubuted in the tablet. It the tablet is scored then it is safe to do so as the medication is evenly distibuted. Don't know what the Sentinel looks like to know wheather it is scored or not but might be worth knowing for that and other medication.

This I wanna see and how did you teach it?! Hi Rubystar Have got it on my camera, not too good though as I always have to try and set up the camera and then race over to the dog(doesn't work to well doing it that way). Still like to be close when she does it as I am abit nervous of injury if she goes over the wrong way. Can't load to the computer at the moment as my external hard drive where I load to has given up the ghost and is going back to get seen too, thankfully I still have the reciept and its less than a year old. I taught it on my bed, so that she had a comfortable landing while learning. She already knew how to tuck her head in and the handstand (not as good as the Keeshond) so it was just a case of ensuring she kept her head tucked in and giving some support so that she didn't twist as she went over. She is very trusting with regard to me showing her what I want so she had it worked out in the first lesson although she still uses me to kick of from. When I get the hard drive sorted out I'll be adding it to her Youtube site OZPAWFX, but if thats not soon I'll give you a personal demo when we catch up at the obedience.

Well done, your making great progress with it. I've been working on and off with the same trick building muscle memory with my Aussie so I understand just how involved this trick is. Love the puppy picture, must have been a sign of things to come. Keep up the great training, have you checked out the Jay Sisler video on Youtube yet? Some great training ideas there, I taught my girl to summersault after watching the greyhound doing it but his dogs are fantastic.

I have a small Papillon who would not even be 3kg and who only has half his teeth as he is a senior and has only been on raw for the last 4 years. He thrives on raw and has never had an issue handling it, whether he is given a whole small chicken carcass, or portion, a lamb leg portion or even a good sized peice of meat or a small lamb heart. I want him to work his jaws and teeth as much as possiable so do not worry about cutting up meat or breaking up bone. He handles it all with gusto much to the disapointment of my Aussie that hopes he will leave some for her to finish. If he gets a large meal one day I just balance it out the next. About 5 years ago I was told he would be on heart medication for life or he would be dead within a year. Once we went raw and his health improved so much I decided to see how he would go without his medication but monitered the situation closely. He didn't even have one day of health issues and has been off medication for the best part of 4 years. During this time he had to have an operation to sew up his shoulder and leg after a dog attack and came through with flying colours. He also never tires of chasing a ball so I figure raw has given him a new lease on life.

I haven't tried scent work on a mat yet but taught my girl how to scent by playing hide her toy. at first the toy was in plain view and gradually started to hide it abit more each time until she was using her nose more. It started as a winter game to burn up some energy in the house but progressed from there to her finding the carkeys whenever they were lost(which with me is often). Until one day when I was out of the room and heard the jingle of the keys as she took them of the side table and put them in her toy box. She didn't know I'd seen it so when I came into the room I asked her to find my keys. No time wasted sniffing them out, straight to the toybox back to mum with the keys, "where's my jackpot mum". Have to admit though some of the places she has found them I would never have found them although I wonder these days if I was tricked. We also do a bit of scent work when we are in the bush, I'll drop something with my scent on it (nothing in particular, might even be a honky nut) and then on the way back I'll give her the command to find and give her my scent. She always gets the right one even if I drop it in a group of honkeynuts (I usually mark it so that I know its the right one). Hopefully what is just a game for us will one day help when we come to scent work level in trials (if ever ) or if we decide to do tracking which I'm keen to try when time permits.

I add a little aniseed flavouring to the water I cook the liver in, the dogs love it.

Some dogs don't like the texture of liver but will take it frozen or semi frozen so that it's not slimey. If you feed a variety of meats and offal along with some bone it doesn't have to be an exact balance each day as long as they get a mixture over say a week it will usually balance out. There are a few yahoo lists on raw feeding and you will find that they do contradict each other at times but will still give you a general idea. Offal meat is your organs etc although heart is also counted as a muscle meat. Muscle meat I count as any meat where muscles would be on the animal which is most of the rest. In my dog freezer I have raw meaty bones (Lamb offcuts ribs, legs etc and chicken carcases and portions) Beware of teeth wrecker bones(beef weight bearing bones) Chicken mince, pork mince and beef mince (mince because it was on special), roo, lamb and beef hearts, liver, kidney, a homemade variation of satinballs/barf patties, salmon (courtesy of fisherman son) and some frozen green vegies(green beans, brussel sprouts) for when I don't have fresh (spinich, parsley, cabbage, zuccinni being the main ones I use, although they don't really need the vegies if you have grass to graze. with the vedgies I mash them or zap them in the blender as dogs have trouble absorbing them otherwise (something to do with the outer coating).They also get tinned mackerel(human quality), eggs,lactose free yogart and milk, a little cheese or cottage cheese and I give a variety of supplements which probabaly aren't really needed spaced out over the week. Fishoil, Vit E, evening primrose, Flaxseed oil & powder, kelp, Vit C, Digestive enzemes and apple cider vinegar. The powders I usually mix together and sprinkle over the food and the capsules, and ACV get alternated over the week. They also get the odd apple or carrot to chomp on simply because they enjoy them. Introduce the proteins one at a time to ensure the dog handles each new one fine before introducing another, once you know what you can feed then give a mixture to ensure balance. Its not unusual for the dog to bring up some bone fragments at first as the body adjusts to the new diet. I think my Aussie threw up quiet a few times when she first started but has been on raw along with my old Papillon for a number of years now both have never looked better. Although they call it a raw meaty bone diet bones should only make up about 10% of the diet or your dog will end up very constipated. The aim should be for a firm stool that holds its shape when lifted but not something that is rock hard and causes the dog problems to pass. If stool is very hard or very white and crumbly then feed less bone, if stool is too soft after dog has become use to the protein then they may be getting too much or too much fat. I have read that if feeding a pregnant bitch you should actually ease up on the bone abit. Everyone has to fine tune it to their own dog as what works for one dog may not work for another. Aim to feed about 2% of the body weight so alittle over 500gms for a 26kg dog and then adjust to suit the individual dog. Steamed pumpkin is great if your dog gets the runs and apple puree for settling the tummy if they are bringing up alot of bile.

Do you mean in the air or arse over head when you say summersault? If you go to Youtube and put Jay Sisler in the search engine you will see a fantastic example of a dog summersaulting (Greyhound) as well as other neat tricks. After watching this video I decided to teach summersaulting to my Australian Shepherd girl who picked it up in the first lesson although it isn't to the Greyhounds standard yet as she has only been doing it for a week. She probabaly had a headstart on most dogs though as she already knows handstands and tuck your head in. If you decide to teach your dog it be very careful as it would be very easy to cause serious injury if not careful. If its bouncing of the walls and doing an air summersault there is a very real risk of serious spinal injury so its not a trick I recommend teaching unless you want to pay big$ to your vet or worse. While it looks impressive and is easy to teach its really not worth the risk to your dogs well being.

Youtube is a great place to get ideas and some lessons, my girl is under ozpawfx doing some tricks but if you check out my profile there you will get a list of some of my favourite ones that I subscribe to that will give you more ideas and some lessons too. Have fun it's amazing just how much a dog can learn and the more they learn the quicker they pick new things up and its great bonding time.

Just had a look and a try, well done it looks good, could you add my Prefix too please. PAWFX Australian Shepherd. Thanks.

Yep I wonder that one, given that I have a lot more padding on my butt these days. Good luck to you all with your ET, look forward to hearing your sucess stories.

Perhaps you could start by giving him short spells on his own with a filled kong or other interactive reward toy to keep him occupied/distracted making sure you return before he starts to get anxious. Gradualy increase the length of time away but try to continue to give him something special to occupy him while you innitially leave. Forming a routine with him may be helpful too, so he learns that you always come back. Establishing his position in the pack may be needed too, so that he doesn't need to feel responsiable for you. Is there any way to make his kennel enviroment more stimulating, like hiding some of his food around for him to search out even if you have to add a clamshell full of sand for him to play and dig in. If going to his kennel by himself becomes a rewarding experience( finding treats hidden for him) then he may learn to relax. He does sound like a very stressed dog rather than a naughty dog. It may be worthwhile to not give him as much attention when he is with you, let him be around you but don't do alot of interacting with him for abit until he is more relaxed about you comming and going. I would speak to the vet or a behaviourist as he may need medicaited while you establish a new routine with him. While most of it sounds like stress part of it will also be that the behaviour has become established and so will take time to overcome. JMO but I don't think the bark collar will solve the issue, as the barking is only a product of the real issue and this is what needs to be addressed. TTouch or axietywraps may be helpful initially too in helping him to relax. Hope you resolve the problem as I'm sure he would be happier too if he could relax about being left on his own. Good luck.