all that glitters

objection sent I pray our attempts do something

SO CUTE!!! There's also a Christmas one with the same dogs

Yes I wonder also! I always planned on stepping in front of Shyla and standing brave and tall and giving off an alpha energy and saying "NO" or "AHHH ARHHHH" making deep scary noises but not sure if that's good in theory

My shepherd is mostly indoors too, when we go to work or have to leave her she is left in a big room which is the size of half the house with lots of toys, 2 couches, a raised bed, a flat bed, the radio on, chews and treats and she's fine She's always acted a lot calmer and happier being kept indoors so we keep it that way! I give her a good game of fetch and a good walk in the mornings before we leave her, but she's only alone 9hrs 2 days a week, the rest of the time she has company If we have her dog door open when we are home she hardly ever goes outside, just to have a bark and a pee every 6hrs or so

Aww thanks so much for that story I enjoyed reading every word

You want to expose them to every possible situation when they are young cos it will only be harder when they are older!

Omg is the council actually considering allowing this? What the hell?

I would be changing vets if I was you, what an idiot to be basically telling you it's fine to take your unvaccinated pup outdoors in a dog park!! ;) Google parvo and you won't want to risk your pup getting it. Also PLEASE report that woman ASAP, how can you even have to think about it?? Get her reported NOW!

My girl was on Eagle Pack Holistic for the first half of her time with me (6mths) then I switched to Royal Canin. She was definitely less itchy and nicer-coated on the Eagle Pack, I'm switching back soon

OMG love the cleaning the car pic!! :D Week 12 ~ Sunset Poser

Sorry to hijack the thread but on the topic of allergies - I was told by someone that in their experience hot spots are usually always a sign of food allergies causing itching -- opinions?

My shepherd has been with us almost a year and has been going to work with my husband 2-3 days a week since she was 12 weeks old It definitely makes each week easier, knowing your dog isn't alone 8hrs a day 5 days a week (which IMO is too long and I wouldn't be able to leave my own in that situation! even though a lot of people do) so my girl has it easy.... she's only really alone 1.5 days a week (9hrs one day, 5hrs the next). Weekends she has hubby home, she has me on Wednesdays and she is 'employed' 2 days a week. She has a good life! Just don't flood the dog with constant company, I would recommend leaving it home one or two days a week just to make sure it realizes being alone isn't a bad thing and so it gets used to it. Nothing worse than a dog who you take EVERYWHERE, and then when you want to go out to a party or out for drinks you have to leave the dog with someone cos it can't handle being alone

Heaps of people comment on Shylas teeth being so amazingly white like 'puppy teeth' and ask gosh what do I do!! I say umm well basically I just feed her what she should be fed, a variety of raw meaty bones lol :D

I lessened my girls panic barking by doing regular test lock-ups... 3 or 4 a day for a week or two. I got her down from panic barking and yelping really loud to hardly even a whimper when I leave now. Short 5-10 minute lock up sessions, coupled with returning without emotion and acting very calm and 'whatever'. IT really works! She is also a lot more content being locked indoors rather than having outdoor access... with outdoor access she will run outside and sit in the middle of the yard and bark her head off non stop for 5 minutes. But being indoors she will not make a peep and will eat her bones and sleep, her toys are barely even touched! I have spied on her a few times when outdoor access and after her barking spell she will go inside and lay on her favorite couch that gives her a view of the front gate - it seems to be the one thing she ALWAYS does after we leave, she goes straight to that couch and will lay on it, waiting. But not just staring at the gate, often just looking into the room she's in. So it's not like she's glaring at the gate the whole time. Yes, I've done a lot of spying Even saying that, the worst she has ever been is 100% vocal, never physical damage or destruction. Everyone says to me "well you got a shepherd, what do you expect!" but it was still awful hearing her cry and bark in a frenzy. Which brings me to the question -- is 5 minutes of panic barking separation anxiety or just sooking? Either way I am SO glad I haven't heard her doing that for a while now :D *touchwood* I've wondered something else -- if a dog gets comfortable being alone (as mine just has recently) how can I maintain that level of comfort, can ANY dog get separation anxiety.... either as a new problem or pre-existing problem that returns? Like should every single dog owner be like "My dog doesn't have separation anxiety.... yet!"

God, that is SO me :D I am a shocker

There's alway the douches that have to come and be negative to cause a thread lockdown.. I would like to see them in other peoples shoes sometimes.

FFS you people are sooo friggin rude!!!

Week 11 ~ A very toothy yawn!!

God, $9000 in fines when she has no money. Not even animal cruelty or torture punishments are that bad

Stunning!! :D It's normal for puppies to cry and carry on when you leave them on their own initially, you could try desensitization and get him used to you entering and exiting the door.... leave the veranda and shut the door, then go straight out again before he cries. You have to do this a lot til they get relaxed with you doing that, then you can slowly extend the time you are on the other side of the door for, all the while keeping cool and calm and not praising him with excitement or high energy (which will make him associate anxiety with you leaving and shutting the door). This worked with my girl. She was SHOCKING as a pup, it was so stressful on me too hearing her scream for so long, but it DID get better...it did subside. Even now at a year old she still will cry and yelp a bit when we leave her, depending on her mood. Leaving a radio on helps HEAPS, do you leave him with a kong or tasty chew when you shut the door? They need a distraction to get them through that first period of anxiety sometimes too, it helps a lot

My shepherd has a soft temperament and isn't one of the hyper go go go shepherds. I give her a 30 minute walk every morning, and another walk in the evenings most of the time. We play fetch and she loves playing games outside as soon as we get up each morning as well as the walk. We have sorta fallen into a routine now... mornings are our time for exercise and play and the walk coupled with those things wears her out enough for her to be content being home alone for 8hrs indoors while we are at work. Having said that, she is only alone that long 1 or 2 days a week as my hubby takes her to work too. She has never shown signs of destruction indoors, so I think she's quite happy being in her big room (it's half the house) when we are out, I give her lots of toys, sticks to chew on, she gets her meaty bone when we leave, radio on, and she has 2 couches, a raised bed and a soft bed to encourage sleep :D Training wise I think obedience classes are crucial for GSD pups from the week they come home. We did weekly classes up til 1years old, now I work Sunday so can't go or haven't been going, but doing the basics in that first year really helped her be a behaved shepherd I believe. And the social interaction with sooo many other dogs there helps the pup develop without fears etc. Training at home is also important, heeling in the park, teaching it tricks etc... my girl knows heaps of tricks and we have fun together along the way! It keeps their minds active. Having said that my girl is low energy compared to most GSDs. She sleeps a lot, she goes to bed at 9pm and gets up at 9am if I let her. She will be active and stay active if we are doing things and theres stimulation, but if there isn't much happening she will sleep or lie around. They are all different though, and you have to be prepared for the potential of a very high energy sheppy... I was anyway, kinda glad I got a laid back one

Very sorry for your loss, that is so tragic!! For some reason, unbeknown to us, she was needed up in doggy heaven, hold the memories true and know she's watching over you

There's only pressure on the dogs muzzle if they pull against the leash! Otherwise the noose is loose and they are free to pant, bark, etc. If my dog were to keep pulling in a halti I would NOT keep using one and it would be an indicator that it's the wrong tool for that particular dog. Yes but that's my point Shelle.If the dog doesn't pull in it at all then why do they even need it? And if the dog doesn't pull in the head collar but then then pulls when you remove it and use a flat collar, then obviously the head collar is contantly aversive to the dog when he/she is wearing it and that is what's causing the change in behaviour. Anyhow, this is not to say that I think that you or anyone else is 'wrong' or a 'bad owner' for choosing to use a head collar on your dog (as in your case you are quite obviously a responsible owner with a happy, healthy dog ). But I do think that there are better options out there. JMO I think the dog doesn't pull with the headcollar on because it's tried in the past, it's head gets turned side ways which hinders it's pulling/walking and so it learns quicker to not pull! Where as with a check chain they can still pull forwards and I reckon half the time they get used to the check chain tightness. I just can't see what could be so off putting about a head collar on a dog when it's not being pulled... it clips around behind the ears like a snug collar (not bad), there's a nose band that sits over the nose and is loose and doesn't stop the dog panting, barking, yawning etc. So unless there is tension on the leash, that's all there is! UNLESS someone doesn't read instructions and puts it on wrongly or does the nose band too tight etc... the nose band has to be adjusted exactly as they say. In the scheme of things though i think if someone is using the head collar correctly and not giving their dog a negative experience and they both enjoy their walks together then its a good thing I think there's plenty worse you could do to a dog! My shepherd is so spoilt it's not funny, she has half a dozen couches to sleep on, never left outside, indoors and warm like a queen, high quality food and meaty bones, lots of loving and games with her human-parents, has a mum who worries night and day about her, only alone 1-2 days a week, plenty of belly rubs and visits outside the house for stimulation, a doting grandmother who looks after her when we can't, at LEAST one half hour walk a day + training and stimulation activities, daily massaging brushes, and she's walked in a head collar *oh nooooooooo!* haha but you know it's not a negative thing for her she LOVES walks and literally puts her nose in the loop.. so if my girl is happy thats all that matters, if she hated the headcollar or comes to hate it I will stop using it immediately!

You can also use this exercise at mealtime. When feeding her make her sit and "look" at you, with full eye contact. You can start with just a few seconds and then gradually increase the time you would like her to look at you. I do this exercise with my food obsessed GR and I can now put his chicken frame in his bowl and he will immediately sit in front of it and watch me intently waiting for me to give him permission to eat :p Sorry to go OT just had to agree with Longcoat ;) Yep we've done that every night since the day I bought her home! ;) I put the food down and she knows to look STRAIGHT at me and ignore the food entirely, we stare at each other for a while and then I will say "OK!" in a bright voice and she'll eat. It's the only time I get a good stare out of her Yes I know some people yell at their dogs I learnt early on that physical reprimand and raising your voice and yelling or screaming gets you nowhere with a dog, staying calm and assertive is a lot better, I always use a low tone voice.. hard to explain.. sort of like if you were telling someone a sad story or a bad story about an accident or something and your voice is a bit drab... like that! Anyway she knows I am not happy if I am talking like that lol. I keep the voice 'calm but assertive' and state my displeasure and will either stop and walk away if she is doing something naughty (ie getting excited and barking at me, thats an immediate game over), or I will walk over to her and stop her doing something that's not right (ie take a shoe off her, make her come back inside with me if she's barking at possums etc) I am glad though that when I am unhappy she will stay there or come to me, rather than run off! I think it's quite amazing the number of signals we can give off to dogs just with minimal physical moves or behaviors... yelling soooo isn't necessary once you know more about dogs and how they work! Oh WOW I bookmarked that, thanks, GREAT article!! It seems Shylas most common calming signal is the tail wag, and the licking and the slow walking. She's never done the bow or the paw up or a lot of the other ones yet. Could of fooled me :D I dont think it funny that shes scared of me cause I know that she ISNT scared of me.... Obviously she respects me as I am the Alpha but definatly not scared. She does the oppposite to what the GSD in the original post does.. She sulks up ears flat and waits.... How is that not a dog being scared of the owner/ stiuation... Laying to the floor is a submissive thing and any dog that puts their ears flat is showing signs of being scared.... I was just saying that my dane does the opposite and runs away and if you get close she drops her bum... Animal cruelty is not a thing to be laughed at and I would hate to think my girls are scared, but I know they arent. And unless you have seen my dane in action you cant coment that she is scared of me... Yeah smacking of the bum just isn't needed when reprimanding a dog, it doesn't teach it anything, if anything it will just make it fear you. They can tell by your body language and energy that you aren't happy and the tone of your voice. Also getting up and walking away with your back facing the dog is a good technique too, they hate being ignored !