Red Fox

It's 'the power of training with food'. I can check what chapter if you like too, I reckon it's in the last half.

Heaps of ideas. Perhaps I should have bought more liver Does it crumble? Ideally I would like something I can use for tracking. So small, non crumbly and easy to eat but not too messy either.

early mornings is usually just lovely ;) Why not, when it's hot .. do some education stuff? she can practice lying still , going to a mat EVERY time she's told .. leaving food when you say no ... and my favourite , just me and a dog in a nice quiet room, doing whisper training :D I love training dogs using just a whispery voice ... we both need to concentrate , and the dog learns to really watch/listen to get the opportunity for lots of gentle ,quiet physical praise . Me? I enjoy watching the dog closely , and praising on the signs of dog listening to me ..and understanding what is wanted .It's a very tranquil thing to do .. no sudden moves, no noise, just communication ..and learning. I train her everyday only for short lessons as she gets bored easy. Normally within 10 minutes Missy has had enough and starts to shut down. Might be a dumb question but what is whisper training? Missy knows to sit and wait when she is being feed. She does know to go lay down when told just sometimes she chooses not to listen which is when I pick her up put her on the couch and say lay down. Okay.... You don't need to train her for 10 mins straight. I rarely do that with my Mal pup and she can WORK! 2-5 min blocks only. Take her out, train one thing, put her away and rest. Repeat. Training should be fun, the dog should be interested! On very hot days you can do a bit of clicker training, work on positions, teach her to stay on a mat, crate games, hide and seek. Endless options and they are easy. I don't live that far from you, our weather is pretty much the same and I've managed a good hour or two out tracking and training with my pup every morning this week, plus time to walk my older dog. Get up earlier, it's nice outside ;) As for your original question - keep your dog on a leash indoors. Don't give her the option to chase the cats

And getting off the original topic now but... Leerburg on separation anxiety: http://leerburg.com/search/searchresults.php?terms=separation%20anxiety Sorry, can't see a problem with any of that advice?

Yeah, yeah and once he advised that you should bash a dog over the head with a shovel for fence fighting... Use common sense and take what you need. There is plenty of very useful advice available on that site and there is certainly nothing nasty in the links I posted above

http://leerburg.com/flix/category.php?categoryid=10 some free ones here too http://leerburg.com/flix/category.php?categoryid=30

Okay thanks Mine goes nuts over bland food, she may do backflips for that lol!

Boil or simmer? Do you add any stock?

Personally I'd teach the exercises at home then proof them at the club - not the other way around. If you have seen the Michael Ellis DVD's he teaches each position in a specific order (sit from a stand, down from a stand stand from a sit, etc.) makes it much easier to get the positions correct than the traditional methods of lure a sit, down from a sit and so on. Loose leash walking is not heeling and should be taught separately and outside of classes. There are as many different methods as there are trainers to do that! Competition heeling should only be taught once the dog understands 100% what basic heel position is. Only when the dog can find the perfect position and can re-align himself THEN take your first step. JMO though... and again, it depends on what you want out of your dog.

What's the best way to cook liver to use for training? Boil, bake? I'd prefer to keep it slightly moist if possible and small pieces. Any suggestions? I've only ever fed it raw! Thanks

The thing is that it's much easier to teach everything when your dog is engaged, interested and wanting to please you. I don't particularly care how many commands my pup knows in the beginning. Does she follow me? Yep. Does she push me to work? Yep. Halfway there

Handler focus and engagement but there are no real 'commands' for that. I guess the first verbal commands would be; toilet (ie toilet on command) in your crate name recognition here sit then 'watch' and basic positions. Not if you separate them.

Off leash dog do my head in. A little tip for next time - stand in front of your dog and GROWL at the approaching dog/s. Tell them loudly and confidently to bugger off. If that doesn't work (99% of the time it does) a boot to the ribs will. Harsh yes, but your own dog is your priority here. Hope your pup is okay and yes I think you should write a letter to the paper. Might find something here to get you started? http://notesfromadogwalker.com/all-things-dinos/

Yeah I look like the commando in mine. Is good though, people leave me alone

Perhaps a little extreme in his ideas but he he knows what he is talking about. His pack structure advice is similar to Ruff Love, just more to the point and not packaged as 'nicely'. I don't see how it is unrealistic or difficult to keep dogs separated either? Perhaps a waste of time for some pet owners but a huge advantage for many sport/working dogs. Fun comes from the owner/handler, not other dogs in the household...

Try your local fishing and/or hunting store. As for 'proper' dog training vests, not many places in Australia that sell them unfortunately. K9 Pro has some, I think there are a few places around that sell Gappay gear too. Not sure?? I got both mine from O/S (Elite K9 and Euro Joe)

Oh really? That's a bit disappointing.

Or get a Necktech http://www.k9pro.com.au/categories/Prong-Collars/Herm-Sprenger-Neck-Tech-Prong-Collars/

I always wonder about that. I would think that a good deal of people would give the 'vicious' muzzled dog space (which can be a good thing). But some might also see it as a license to pat the dog as it can't bite them? Have you found that to be the case at all?

I agree, he would never have come to the door if he was planning on stealing him... Zig is mostly inside with me in my office or outside when we go walking, playing or training.. We seem to spend a lot of time together, so I am confident he is safe. It just freaked me a bit that someone would come to my door after seeing us a block away from home... I feel much better about it this morning. Glad you're feeling better. You never know, the guy may have spent the whole half hour just working up the courage to knock on your door

That just tells me he isn't well trained yet :) It becomes unnecessarily difficult to train a dog if you suspect he's challenging you, you stop addressing the actual problem (not listening, jumping up) and chase after the imagined problem (challenging, status-seeking) instead. A spade is a spade. I definitely agree Aidan2 that he isn't trained yet, far from it actually. I don't think we are chasing the imagined problem, but I could be wrong. Initially we had no idea that what he was doing was a sign of dominance, leaning against our legs, sleeping in doorways where we had to step over him, allowing his to be in front of us on the lead ect. We now know to push him out of the way if he leans on us, shuffle so he moves out of our way instead of stepping over him, ensure he is always beside or behind us on the lead… I think this is addressing the actual issue not perceived, but honestly I don't know anymore what is right and what is wrong. I feel like we have completely failed him other than keeping him well fed and safe in a good home that genuinely cares for him. But we are trying our hardest to turn it around, please if you have any suggestions let me know as we will try anything. You've not failed your dog. If anything you are just over-complicating things in trying to get it 'right'. Most people do . Dog training is not difficult, or magic. You only need to keep things simple and establish clear rules and boundaries - black and white. I've posted some links for you in your other thread

Yep Hannah, they are great. I have one for each of my dogs

Also That's a handler problem, not a dog problem. The handler needs to put the dog in his place, not other dogs.

I agree, their play time is very limited at the moment as it's too stressful for all of us. I think in a way this makes it worse as it's such a novelty when they do get to play a little.. Yeah it can be. I keep my two completely separate, we use a combo of baby gates, crates/pens and a dog run to do so. It can be a little stressful in the beginning but as you form a routine it becomes very easy and second nature I agree with Dwilds 100% here. You do NOT want other dogs telling off your pup. In doing so you are taking a huge risk. Do you know these dogs? Are you 100% sure that they are reliable in temperament and wont damage your pup? Not a risk I would take I can assure you! A pup is very impressionable and a small mistake now could easily lead to a lifetime of dog aggression. The majority of dogs just are just not solid enough to let it slide and you are setting yourself up for potential disaster IMO. It's also not natural or necessary for dogs to interact with those outside their own pack - no matter how 'nice' we may think it is. What you need is KNOWN, TRUSTED, NEUTRAL dogs who will ignore your dog. What state are you in? I'd seriously consider finding yourself a new trainer... AS far as the dominance issues, have a look at Leerburg. Heaps of free articles there, particularly the ones establishing pack structure. I'll see if I can find a linky for you. ETA: have a look here: http://leerburg.com/articles.htm These should get you started Ground work / establishing pack structure with Adult dogs: http://leerburg.com/groundwork.htm Introducing dogs/puppies: http://leerburg.com/introducingdogs.htm Dog parks: http://leerburg.com/dogparks.htm Socialisation- puppies: http://leerburg.com/socializepuppies.htm Puppy groundwork: http://leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm

My only advice is to keep them separate. It's not that hard, just fence off part of your yard or build a run. Dogs can still be 'together' outside but can't get at each other, you will be more relaxed knowing the pup is safe too.