ozjen

I'm glad you brought up this subject, my dogs had the chance of fresh salmon last week and it was our first attempt at fish other than canned mackrel so was a little nervous. I cut of the sharp fins and tail and removed the skin as it was easier than descaling them. Son took the heads for crabbing and grabbed most of the fillets for smoking (well I guess he did catch them)but any red meat and a few fillets for the dogs and as there was a fair bit of meat left on the bones the dogs and cat got that too. Not sure I would feed the frames again though as my Aussie seemed to be panting alot later in the evening as though she had abit of discomfort both times we tried with these. She has been raw fed for more than 4 years but not alot of experience with boney fish perhaps just too much at one time. I would be interested to hear what others feed in terms of how they prep the fish when they are big ones (a good couple of feet long) ie do you remove the sharp bits like fins and tails, debone , descale? Have told my son that he's welcome to go catch me some more I'll even babysit so his partner can help him catch extra. Is there much of a risk of mercury in the fish in Western Australian waters?

has anyone seen this one yet?was interested in this one as well Have only seen a short segment from it but I have her book and its very, very good. I have been reading this thread and am trying very hard to maintain control of my meager finances while all you nasty people temp me with all the cleanrun links to lots of lovely products. After totaling up the list I made :D I've put it aside as an exercise in self control. :D

Break down the trick to small increments, don't look at the end product just look at the stages you need for it. Its suprising how easy it becomes. I often train more than one trick at a time so you may train more than one stage of the trick but treat them as separate tricks while the dog is getting the idea. It sounds like a slow way to get the trick but it often works out much quicker in the long run. Don't stress about commands as innitially you are only working on getting the required behavior. Kavik's advice sounds right on track. There is an online dog training site that is working on this very trick as their monthly challange you might want to check it out it called Dog Tricks Academy. Once you have mastered this trick its easy to get them to pack up their toys with the same behaviour or even slumdunk a ball into a hoop. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2AMCv6bqaA this is my girl slamdunking. Have fun.

When will people learn not to leave dogs alone with babies, to them they are just a strange, odd smelling noisy animal or toy. Most people bring them into the home and don't even try to help the dog adjust to the strange noisy critter(baby)I feel sorry for the baby, the dog and I suppose the stupid parents.

Not a trainer I would be going to definaitly the wrong method in this day and age. While this method was common place some thirty odd years ago, thankfully we have come along way since then. I have been a trainer with the old choke chain and snap the lead many years ago as that was the standard method back then. Perhaps someone should put the colllar on this trainer, give him/her commands in a forein language and then give a good jerk of the lead to teach him/her to understand. I have since trained dogs using positive reinforcement and I am currently training my first clicker trained dog and have been for the last 4 years. I find clicker training so much faster, just about any age can do it and the dog enjoys the training rather than responding out of necessity. I have taught this clicker trained dog so much more than I ever imagined I could teach a dog and also experienced freeshaping with the dog and realising just how smart they are when thinking for themself. I shudder to think of the old method, even without a clicker positive reinforcement works so much better than those old methods. I have taught pups as young as 7 to 8 weeks to sit, drop and rollover using positive reinforcement in a couple of short play lessons, I'm still learning and I'm sure I will continue to learn better ways of comunicaiting and teaching my dogs.

Hope this one helps. http://www.brookshirestaffords.com/puppyin...sics_Reminders1

Provided your pup is lively and doesn't appear to be unwell in any other way, I wouldn't be too worried, just keep an eye on the situation. Most pups have upset tummy days wether because of new foods, too much food, or just eating things they shouldn't (not always dangerous things). I usually keep some apple sauce handy as this soothes upset tummies in dogs, even a tin of purred apples baby food seems to help. When the problem is at the other end, ie loose stools or constapation then I use steamed pumpkin which works pretty quickly. These remedies are only when the dog is showing no other ill effects, if a dog or pup appeared of colour or listless then I would not hesitaite in calling a vet. If you are really worried it is often better to call the vet even if its just for piece of mind, they will advice you if they need to see your pup. Pups are like kids, they like to give you grey hairs.

One of our trainers suggested to someone having trouble getting their dog motivaited to play tug as a reward, to start by using a chicken wing in a sock . Perhaps this might work to start with and then gradually eliminaite the chicken wing and the sock. Perhaps, then rub some chicken on the tug toy or tuglead to begin with. Your so lucky to have so many Aussies in your class they love having fun. Yep, I'm an Aussie mum.

I love using clickers and at times I have them stationed all over the house as I am big on tricks training and like to be able to catch some natural behaviours to turn into tricks. My dog has become so use to the clicker game that if I click something she does, she will try it again to see if that was what I was click/treating. When I click/treat again her whole face lights up in that lightbulb moment that says " AH! got you mum, can we try that again." We also do a fair bit of freeshaping, where the dog tries different things to get a click/treat, doesn't have to be a trick it knows it might just be an interaction with an object that I have presented to the dog. This encourages the dog to think more about the clicker game and teaches the handler just how smart the dog is and how the dog's though processes work. Its quite an eye opener to realise just how smart our 4 legged friends really are. Unfortunatley my dog has no trouble outsmarted me. With regard to clicker types its what works best for you, I use the ones with the clicker inset to the plastic. The ones with the button on the outside are handy to use under your foot if your hands are not available, but I've never tried them. You can even use the little clicker party favours if like me you sometimes like lots around, but they don't last very long. The dog never seems to worry about the slightly different tones as long as it means treats. If your dog is unsure of the clicker to begin with, just muffle the sound a little with your hand until the dog gets comfortable with it. The most important thing is to have fun.

I saw a great video on Youtube last night that might rectify this problem, it was actually to get more drive in the recall but I could see it working here too. Basically when you call the dog to you at the last minute spread your legs and throw a lure or treat through your legs so that the dog follows it through your legs. Result is dog comes in fast and central to where you are standing as the dog becomes proficient at this occassionally throw in a recall with out spreading your legs or throwing a lure. The dog should make a close recall and be more central to your position. If the dog is intimidated at all by the recall this would help take the preasure of as it becomes a more rewarding exercise for the dog. Teach the return to heel as a totallly separate exercise with the dog already in the correct position in front or you. Hope this helps.

Given time and experience you will work out the raw balance and you will be amazed at how much less poop you get than you did with kibble because there is less wastage. If your dog seems constipated or the poop is very dry and white then you are feeding too much bone if it is runny then you may be feeding too much offal, introducing new proteins too quickly or feeding too much. Don't stress if in the beginning your dog throws up bile with small slivers of bone, it is sometimes part of the adjustment to raw and seems to settle after the first week or 2. A bonus with feeding raw will be a much healthier dog with a better imune system. I was told several years ago that one of my dogs was on medication for life because he has a bad heart and would die within a year without it. He has been off medication for at least 3 years and has never been healthier and I atribute it to the change of diet. I wish I had gone raw long ago, but at the same time I like having the internet to educate myseft further on the correct ways to feed. Not saying raw is the only way to go, just that it is the right way for MY dogs.

Whoo hoo! I'm not the only one that likes my dog as mental as me. Most people would have trouble living with my girl as she is what they class as hypo but what I class as fun. When I look back at dogs I've had over the years the ones that I got on best with were the zany ones, they were also the smartest ones. I'm glad you didn't let this vet convince you that you should change your dogs personality, she sounds PERFECT the way she is and a great role model for your pup. I bet you never have a dull moment with such wonderful companions.

I'm always checking youtube for new tricks so if you can give me an idea of what tricks I might be able to steer you in the right direction. Some options are k9 freestyle or Heelwork to music just type them in the search window once you are on the youtube site, you can check out my girl doing tricks on channel OZPAWFX others are Yolle555, leopup04(who's a DOL member has some good ones too. I've even seen a great one of a dog balancing a glass of water on it's head as it goes up stairs including when its blindfolded.

May all the people, dogs and other animals lost in these terriable fires RIP. My heart goes out to their families and to all that are dealing with the aftermath of this dreadful situation. Stay strong, just as steel is strengthened by fire may you all find the strength to rebuild your lives. You have a whole nation willing to stand by you all, so don't be afraid to lean on others in these trying times . Stay safe all.

I like to give my dogs free runs at the park or beach but usually will only let them play with dogs they know, if a strange dog turns up my dogs go back on leash. Too often these dogs are not controled by owners and rush at my dogs sometimes aggresively. My Aussie, Jenna while being a big softie gets nervous of dogs that rush at her but can also get defensive of my old Papillon Gizmo if he is with us. If people have their dogs on lead and under control and the dogs are friendly I like to let my dogs meet and greet. If they get on well I'm happy to let Jenna have an offlead play but will stop it if Jenna starts to get too worked up as she can get kinda pushy and rough. Gizmo because of his size, age and a heart condition doesn't get to join in unless its his Sheltie friends, also he can be a crochety bugger and will take on bigger dogs if they accidently step on him. His Sheltie friends just laugh at him but other dogs might swallow him. All the dog parkes aroung here are either on busy roads with no fencing or parks in the middle of nowhere where it is not safe for someone especially a female to go on their own. Alot of people go to the ponyclub grounds and hope there isn't a ranger around. My pet hates are those that do not pick up after their dogs and those that do not control their dogs around others.

Not 100o/o sure what you are aiming for but if I am interpatating in correctly then you might be better with the dog targeting a marker with its paw to help establish the position/level you want the paw at. Two of the most useful things I taught my dog was to target with her nose or paw, opens up heaps of tricks and makes things so much easier for the dog to understand what I want. Dogs don't have our concept of distance to determine the height you want but if you start with a marker you can remove marker once behaviour and position is established. The clicker and free shaping are great when it comes to training. Jenna my Aussie is my first clicker trained dog, so she has taught me alot but I still have heaps to learn if you want some ideas for tricks check out her Youtube site OZPAWFX. Only a few of her tricks there as it is very hard to try and film at the same time as give the commands especially as she picks up on the smallest hand signal and goes with that rather than the vocal command at times. Mind you don't blame her for blocking out my voice, I need to put a gag on at times. While targeting seems boring here are just a few tricks that are simple to teach once you have the targeting: turn light on/off, close the door/drawer, cross your paws, which hand,limp, high step, march on spot, cock your leg, blow bubbles in your water dish. stand on top of upturned small waterdish or inside(all 4 paws), draw or paint on paper(in conjunction with other commands),hide your head between your legs, lift two paws on same side, stand tall on two legs, walk on two legs, do a handstand, go to a set spot, contacts in agility training, the list is endless. The most important thing to remember is that it is the journey not the destination that counts so have fun, fun ,fun, training is more about the relationship building than the end trick.

I always find if I steam the pumpkin and give it to the dog that it solves diarrhoea pretty quickly, never thought to freeze it in an icecube tray for latter use, brilliant idea. Another good one is purreed apple for tummy upsets that are causing bile vomiting. If your travelling its a good idea to get baby food cans of purreed apple and pumpkin for the dogs medical chest as changes in water or long travel can have an effect on our dogs. Mind you we uaually carry exta water so they don't have to drink strange water. When we travelled to the eastern states (driving) we bought containers of water from the supermarket so that the dogs did not suffer tummy upsets, but still gave pumpkin occassionally in their meals. Will have to google the pumpkin seeds as I love natural cures. Thanks.

Hi, When introducing new foods do it slowly, if you want to go raw or home cooked add each new protein one at a time to establish that the pup is not allergic to any. Give perhaps 10 days on each new protein to ensure there is no issues, before adding the next . Chicken is a good start but perhaps there is too much fat in the mince or you are feeding too much too soon. Mashed steamed pumpkin is great to solve loose stools as long as the pup seems well in every other regard. If she is eating her poo there is often a reason for it, she may be deficient in something or it is passing through her too quickly and food is not being digested properly so she's gving it a second go. There are other reasons too. Try to pick up after her staight away so it does not become habit forming. You could also add some pineapple pureed into her mince, something about the pineapple makes the droppings unpleasant and helps break the habit. Remember too that pups have a habit of eating anything and everything so the upset tummies may not be related to the food but to other things it is picking up and eating. On one of the raw feeding sites that I am on it suggests that kibble and meat should not be fed together as the dogs system handles both at different rates and so it slows the natural process of the other making it sit in the dogs system longer and leading to digestion issues. You might want to keep the kibble meals seperate from the meat ones. There are so many different views even when you join feeding groups so I don't think there is any one right way to go with feeding, just take things slow and work out what works best for your dog. The internet is great for researching your options. Enjoy your pup, they grow up so fast.

Perth WA Leonards Chicken, Livingstone Shopping Cente, Sells chicken frames bag of 10 for $2.50 sometimes very meaty. Minced frames are $1.50 KG plenty of meat but not always minced well, so possiably more risk of bone injury than with frames. Butchers at Maddington Plaza sells frozen meat packs for a couple of dollars a Kg. I find shopping in Coles or Woolies usually on a Wendesday afternoon that I can get marked down meat at a reasonable cost, usually close to date, but I just divide it up when I get home and freeze it, so date is not such an issue. These include hearts, liver, kidney, chicken wings and necks, meaty bones/meat offcuts. Farmer Jacks's Maddington Often has bags of Hamburger mince for under $5 a Kg. Frozen bags of chicken pieces for around $3 to$4 a kg on special