4Kelpies

Anything from Aussiedog. http://aussiedog.com.au/ I bought the puppy pack before Tia was born and a few more toys soon after. Tia is now 8 and I haven't had to replace any of them. I've bought a lot of soft toys over the years and now have a huge box of toys waiting to repaired (and that's not counting all those that I threw out.)

I've talked to a number of people and read lots of articles about resource guarding and this is still my favourite method. http://k9deb.com/foodguar.htm I've seen it work successfully with handlers who were total beginners. This is normal puppy behaviour from a puppy who is very worried that you are going to steal his food and has no other way of telling you about his fears.

It's so sad to read your tributes to your dogs but it's so good to have you back with us Jed. :D

Just checking in. Now tiptoeing out so as not to wake the sleeping guard dogs and their owners. Hope today is a good one Jed.

Please bring your crate into your room and let the puppy know she's not alone. You can always move it to another area of the house later . Your puppy is a pack animal who has been taken away from her pack. Of course she is frightened and is crying for help in the only way she knows. In the wild a baby pack animal separated from the pack will die. All her instincts tell her to scream for help until the pack find her and she is safe again. You're not giving in to her or molly coddling her by letting her know you're around. You're just giving her an environment where she can feel secure. What if you can't bring the pup into your bedroom- my bedroom is upstairs and there is no way my parents would let me have the puppy upstairs! Should I sleep downstairs with the puppy for the first few nights? Can you work on your parents and let them know it will only be temporary? The puppy can't do any damage to the bedroom if it is in a crate. If you can't convince them to change their minds, yes you can sleep next to the puppy. I've done this when a puppy piddled in the crate in the bedroom and it was easier to move the puppy to the crate in the lounge room and put the wet crate outside than to clean it and get it dry. It will make things harder to gradually move the puppy further away from you once it accepts the crate as being a safe place near the new pack, but it would be kinder than having the puppy alone and terrified when spending the first night away from its litter mates.

Please bring your crate into your room and let the puppy know she's not alone. You can always move it to another area of the house later . Your puppy is a pack animal who has been taken away from her pack. Of course she is frightened and is crying for help in the only way she knows. In the wild a baby pack animal separated from the pack will die. All her instincts tell her to scream for help until the pack find her and she is safe again. You're not giving in to her or molly coddling her by letting her know you're around. You're just giving her an environment where she can feel secure.

Hi koalathebear. I just found this topic after reading your other post. If it's any consolation my Cara was a terrible biter as a puppy. All my other puppies had done things according to the text books - they mouthed but could be put off my my yelping and could be distracted with toys etc. Then along came Cara. I thought I must have picked a baby crocodile instead of a Kelpie. When I yelped, she thought I was the most fun squeaky toy she'd ever met and immediately grabbed hold again. If I tried to pick her up and put her in time out she grabbed my hands. I used a squirter bottle and she chased the water. I did all the things I thought I'd never do with increasing frustration and I'm embarrassed to admit with sometimes rougher handling and raised voice. Nothing had any effect and then she reached 15-16 weeks and stopped overnight. She has never looked like biting since (not even when teething and she chewed everything but me.) She has grown up to be a lovely natured girl who can be taken anywhere and never causes problems with people or dogs. Here's hoping Elbie will reach that magical age soon.

I was an ANKC member 14 years ago but I stopped renewing my membership some years ago. There just didn't seem any point in being a member. I originally joined in order to be able to trial my associate dog. I did ANKC agility for a few years but when NADAC agility started I found I had plenty of trials closer to home and I much preferred the variety of events and the dog friendly courses. At that time many ANKC judges/course builders were from an obedience background with little agility experience and tended to build tight trappy courses especially at master level. I think things have improved since and the ANKC have followed a lot of NADAC ideas. I took my Kelpie to one herding day and she passed her two instinct tests but as all herding activities seemed to be at KCC park or further east, there didn't seem much point in continuing with this. I preferred yard dog trials. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the interesting articles I ever read in the Vicdog magazine. It certainly gave the idea that the ANKC was mainly for people who were showing dogs. It seemed I was sending them a lot of money - for membership and titles and not getting much back. I think we need a body to represent all dog owners (especially when dealing with governments and their dog unfriendly laws) but I don't believe the ANKC has ever done this. PS I agree with you dancinbcs.

With my Kelpie puppies, I picked them up at about 8 weeks and would spend 4 weeks at home with them. When I had to go back to work I would feed the puppy in the morning, when I got home from work and another feed later in the evening. At about 16 weeks I would switch to 2 feeds a day at the same times as my other dogs. At Elbie's age he is probably getting all the exercise he needs just playing and he can stop any time he feels tired. It wouldn't hurt to start him on short walks - more from a social/training point of view and to give him interesting experiences than for exercise. He wouldn't need these every day. I'm sure you've been warned of the need to keep a young Kelpie's mind busy or he'll find other ways to entertain himself. You've mentioned informal obedience training, are you doing any puppy socialization classes to let him meet other puppies? He's a very cute puppy. I 'm sure you'll have a lot of fun together.

Just checking in as I do every morning. It's good to hear you've continued to improve Jed. Thank you Toohey for the updates.

I have fed my dogs fish oil tablets daily for some years now. My GSDx gets two 1000mg capsules per day and the Kelpies one. I also feed tinned sardines in water twice per week. I prefer the tablets as they stay fresh. Omega 3 fatty acids are easily affected by light, air etc. and can deteriorate in the oil form.I've never had problems just adding the tablets to their food, but it would be easy to open the capsules and pour the oil over other food. Here are some articles you might find helpful. http://onibasu.com/archives/kn/107374.html http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/essential-fatty-acids/

Candles burning for Jed and Jazzie. My thoughts go out to all of you who have done so much to help. Please take care of yourselves.

I have lit my candle. Thinking of you Jed.

These games are really meant for dogs recovering from injury but could well be useful in your case. http://www.lauriebryce.com/tplo/games2.html They are all gentle games that can be played indoors and hopefully won't put any strain on you but may tire your puppy out. I've found with my Kelpies if I give them lots of thinking exercises, they don't need as much physical exercise. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Hi Mumof3. I have working dogs too and would never think of using food when training on stock. My dogs would never look away from the sheep to even notice that I was offering food. I find that sheep are the ultimate reward for my dogs and I have used them when teaching other behaviours. After initially teaching the heel position (with food) I have taught my dogs to walk beside me off lead when taking them to the sheep paddock. If the dogs go in front of me I immediately stop and we go no further until the dog returns to my side. Walking on lead with no distraction from sheep is easy in comparison. Also when I used to do agility, leaving a dog on a stay while I did a lead out was no problem with a dog that had been taught to wait until sent on a cast with sheep. Even with my working dogs I have taught basic commands such as sit, drop, stay, shake hands etc. using food. Away from sheep, food is the next best reward to my dogs. Food doesn't have to be a bribe or a lure. It is a very effective tool. It makes training quick, effective and as Kavik has said fun for dog and handler. Why not use a tool that has all of these? I once took a puppy to a sheep dog training school (as an observer as my pup was a baby) and was giving heaps of rewards for attention, sits etc. One of the farmers there tended to scoff until I pointed out that my pup was working for her breakfast while his pups had all been given their food for nothing. The same person has since commented at yard trials on how well mannered my dogs are and what good control I have over them. You won't have to carry food all the time, but it is good to keep up the dog's attention and enthusiasm with intermittent rewards. It has probably been weeks since I have given my dogs treats but they would have obeyed me thousands of times since. They have developed the habit of co operating with me and won't suddenly down tools and stop listening to me if they don't get treats. If I was about to teach something new I would certainly get out the food pouch and make our training sessions as enjoyable as I can..

I'm sorry to hear your news and I hope Jenna can live a happy life for some time yet. While epulis is technically not considered a cancer because it doesn't metastasize to other areas of the body, it has much in common with cancerous tumours and can be locally as invasive into the bone as cancer. You may find this list helpful. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineC...?yguid=69740366 Although it is a group about cancer, I'm sure you would be eligible to join. You will get heaps of support and information about caring for a dog with health problems. I also like this site for help with nutrition. http://www.b-naturals.com/index.php?main_page=newsletters to you both.

I really recommend this list http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineC...?yguid=69740366 I had wonderful support and information there when my dogs had cancer. I also found this helpful with diet. http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/cancer-diet/ The articles has plenty of links to other helpful sites. Best wishes and healing thoughts to you and Maggie.

You really need to attend a clinic with Greg Prince. Apart from being one of the best handlers in Australia, he and his wife Jan are the nicest people!! I agree. Greg is the best person to see if you want to learn about 3 sheep training or just basic training for any dog starting stock work. My initial reaction to the herding clinic was why bring out someone from overseas when there are so many good sheep dog trainers here? Is it that people are not prepared to help with dogs that are competing in herding rather than 3 sheep events? I went to a training day some years ago and was disappointed to hear some of the experienced people referring to pet Border Collies as fluffies. I had hoped things would have improved by now. They didn't have much good to say about Kelpies either but I don't worry about that.

I agree. I'd take her to a chiropractor too. My Tia was constantly visiting the chiro until about 18 months of age. She had no physical problems but in the words of the chiro - she was just a lunatic. She had a very flexible skeleton and her muscle mass wasn't mature enough to hold everything in place. She has been fine since. I'm not sure when you could say a Kelpie is fully grown. My youngest has just turned two and has only recently filled out and looked like a mature dog rather than an adolescent. Mentally grown up is another thing - I'm still waiting for my 5yo as well as the 2yo to stop acting like puppies.

When I was away at work for up to 10 hours a day, I always left my 4 dogs in a run together. I would give each of them a bone before I left and there were never any problems. Now I have 5 dogs, I have to pen one (entire bitch) separately (she came to me at 5 years of age and had always had a separate pen and never learned to share her space) but the other 4 ( 2 desexed bitches, 1 desexed dog and 1 entire dog) can be left together. I can walk the entire bitch with the two that are her own pups but not with the others. When I go away all dogs share a trailer happily - two in the same berth. So much depends on the natures of the dogs themselves. Some will get on with no problems, others will always have to be kept separated.

Best wishes to you and Jenna. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I think that's an excellent response. It's not all that hard to set up a dog run/yard with no plants that encourage wildlife and to prevent a dog from hunting. Wildlife are not likely to try to get into ta small clear yard with the dog. It sounds like an excuse to get rid of a dog and then pretend ot be concerned about animals.

My old dog has been waking up during the early hours of the morning over the last few days. I've put it down to the full moon shining in the window near his bed and weather has turning colder over the last few days. My dogs go to bed when I do - about 10:00 or 11:00. and usually last the night. I couldn't imagine them lasting from 6:00 until morning.

My dogs generally have their usual lifestyle until the day of the trial - the same freedom, food, exercise, access to company etc. The only exception is my most experienced bitch who can get lazy. She doesn't work sheep for 5-7 days before a trial to get her a bit keener. but the younger ones do their normal work. I have even got up early on the day of a trial and given my youngest bitch some extra work on sheep in an effort to try to take the edge off her and tire her out a bit. Now that she's more mature I can settle for a final workout the day before. I've never isolated dogs from me or each other before competition. When I've been camping at a venue the night before a trial, I've had the dogs sleep in the tent with me (great bed warmers) and it has never affected their keenness to work. With younger, less experienced dogs, just being at a trial tends to rev them up and make them harder to control. I've found that it's hard enough for them to cope with long trips in the trailer, often staying overnight in strange places, the atmosphere and limited chances to exercise at agricultural shows etc. without making any more changes in their eating or other routines.

All my dogs make eye contact with me in the mirror but only my old dog has responded to my hand signals when looking at my reflection. He has gone from a stand or sit to drop position and has spoken on command. It's been years since I've tried any of this. I'll have to try again and see if he still responds. He is 14 now and his hearing is going. He doesn't do many of the tricks that he used to do when he was young. I don't know if his brain or other senses are deteriorating or he just can't be bothered any more. The first time he saw his reflection as a puppy (in a full length wardrobe door ) he reacted with a wagging tail and then tried to get into the wardrobe and look behind the door.