Red Fox

I'm in a rural area Jules so my options are limited.

Only on club grounds. Aren't we talking about on club grounds???? Starinais and I had suggested working on public land adjacent to the club as a means to socialise the pup without breaking any rules. I tried this with my dog and was told I could not used the grassed area next to a local club as technically it's 'part' of the grounds that the club hires for training (even though they don't use it). It's a very good idea if you can do it, but many won't even allow you in 'their' carpark.

Shop around. I'm with PIA and the top cover (accident and illness with a $100 excess) is only $43 per month. Most of your questions would likely be answered by reading the PDS from your chosen company. It should be available on their website, if not call and ask.

Contact either Gold Coast Sportdog Club or Brisbane Sporting Dog Club. You'll probably find that they are much more open minded.

bunch of silverbeet bunch of spinach bunch of cellery tub of green alfalfa (if it's cheap) bag of carrots a small butternut 4-6 oranges 4-6 apples bunch of parsley a few cloves of garlic tablespoon or two of kelp around 8 - 10 raw eggs (sometimes more sometimes less) + any other vegies / fruit are in the fridge needing to be used up (bananas, sweet pototoes, zucchini, peaches, etc) Everything in the juicer (juice gets mixed back into pulp) or blender in batches until it's mush, then into a bucket. Stir it all up then freeze in plastic takeaway containers. Takes me about an hour or so to make and lasts months.

Not sure on the quality but Topbuy has some pens on special with free postage this week.

You didn't offend me Corvus. However it does bother me when threads like this turn into an argument of right and wrong. In the OPs case there is only one person with the "right" answers for her and that is the person who wrote the program.

Wow Corvus, no need to get your knickers in a knot. Just because you don't agree with something it doesn't mean it has no place in this discussion. Good luck with the TID aussielover, I'm sure you'll do well with it.

This. If you are doing the DLP tune out everyone else, follow it to the letter and you will get results.

I don't think that Joe is suggesting that the OP get herself a new dog, but rather that some of the problems she is experiencing may be due to the dogs genetics and not her training. Nothing wrong with working around it, but you cannot create good nerve or high drive if it was never there to start with.

These links may help you in regards to understanding different drives; http://www.k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=79 http://felixho.be/en/sacraalHart/index.html My understanding is; What is the difference between play and prey drive? Prey drive is more focussed, serious and intent than play drive. *play and prey are explained in the first link above. Is there a difference between food drive and food obsession? I would think that the difference between obsession and drive is the difference between wanting the food and determination to get the food. Can a dog be low drive but high energy? Yes. Can you change a dogs drive level in either direction ie up or down ? I think you can build or suppress what is naturally there, but not "change" it. How does work ethic relate to drive? If you can channel focus through drive you can build a better work ethic in your dog. Can you ruin a dogs drive? You can suppress it, but I don't think you can ever diminish it completely.

Why? It scares me to see dogs obviously bred & trained to rip into people. Also, I find the cropped-ear thing hideous - it's obviously done to make the dogs looks even more frightening. Did you read it? The dogs on the website you linked, including those pictured on the sleeve, were trained in Schutzhund (which has nothing to do with ripping into people). The author also spoke of the importance of breeding only from stable, balanced animals and selling them into appropriate working homes. Ear cropping is a matter of opinion, but cropped ears don't make a vicious dog.

Here is the original letter if anyone is interested.

Why?

Depends on the dog Corvus..

Seriously?? You don't ever practise a heel when actually out on a walk? It seems like an ideal situation to practise it to me. I call Kivi in regularly wherever we are for a little stint of heeling here and there. He loves it. That's assuming he has actually left heel in the first place. He seems to think he can make me cue a heel by wrapping himself around my left leg while we're walking until I'm tripping over him. I wonder how he got that idea? :p Plus, a heel is super useful out on walks when the footpath is crowded or a bike/pram is coming through. I have 'hang about' as well, which means come to my nearest side, but since we taught him heel we don't use it much anymore. We don't walk on leash much, but when we do my expectation is simply that they will remain as attentive as they are off leash and walk on a loose leash. Yes seriously. My idea of a competition heel is very flashy, prancy, head right up and in perfect position, no forging or lagging (well this is what we aim for anyway), NOT practical for walks and not something I wish to dull by over-use. The command for this is "heel" What I do have for walks is an informal heel, which is close to my left side and holding loose eye contact as we pass something distracting. The command for this is my dogs name and/or "watch".

Unlikely but not impossible. Unless 'Carol' is an expert on dog behaviour there's no way to know whether or not the pup was displaying real aggression and whether or not the pup was a pitbull. More likely a poorly bred, poorly socialised Amstaff pup sold at a nice high price to a stupid owner.

I hope you don't mean that you are correcting your dog with a head collar. A pop on a martingale is fine, a pop on a headcollar is not and could result in serious spinal damage. Hi SecretKei We use a lead with 2 clips - one attached to the martingale, one to the face harness. Kinda like using reins!! So for a correction I pop the martingale. I actually find he works much better with just the martingale on (no face harness) - will be talking to the trainer about this on the weekend. Thanks for clearing that up. Using the martingale alone is definitely the way to go In answer to your original question; The only "rules" I have for walking is a loose leash and for the dog to come in close to my side and hold eye contact (watch) when I ask for it. ie when passing young children, bikes, other dogs, etc). And if I say "uh uh" it means leave it alone - don't eat it, sniff it or piss on it, lunge or bark at it LOL. I never ask my dog to "heel" during a walk. It is IMO a very formal, precise position reserved for training and competing only.

I hope you don't mean that you are correcting your dog with a head collar. A pop on a martingale is fine, a pop on a headcollar is not and could result in serious spinal damage.

eBay

If a roaming dog is reported to the council the ranger is obligated to come out and collect it (providing the dog is still out of it's yard when they arrive). Who calls is irrelevant, you do not have to give your name. As far as the dogs shitting on your lawn - ask the owner to pick it up. And if he doesn't return it to him via his doorstep.

Ridgebacks don't tend to be overly drivey, nor do they cope all that well in the hot weather (mine certainly doesn't). I wouldn't say rule them out completely but you'd have to choose very carefully to get what you want. If you're after drive and edge go for a Belgian Laekenois might suit?

So an experienced breeder importing and breeding high level working dogs out of un-registered KNPV bloodlines is a backyarder? I think not... There's more to it than pigging dogs and backyard 'oodles.

No.

And my guess that is unless the reported dogs are bull breeds no action will be taken.