Zug Zug

Just wanted to say thanks to KelpieHoundMum for arranging the food. I'm sure it will be great, and it's really nice of you to make it so easy for the rest of us! And for the record, anyone who thinks their dog is going to be the least well-behaved has not met Zamba (my favourite cranky bitch). But who cares we're there to learn something aren't we? We learn more when we make mistakes, so bring it on!

I love the halti! The one thing that came between my dog and a 'never walking you again EVER' scenario when we first got her. She pulled until she choked for the entirety of her first 45 minute walk when we first got her. Awful. Bought a halti, put it on, and voila we walked calmly off into the sunset (the rest, as they say, is history). I'm a strong advocate. I think it can take a lot of stress out of otherwise complex dog/human relationships, and give you some breathing room while you get the training side of things happening.

I've lived with one bully and very frequent visitor with two others (all many years ago now). All GREAT dogs, very funny, real characters. Had a tendency to want to sleep under the covers on cold nights, then wake up to a noise at 3am and run for it taking the blankets with them. (Well, ok, this was one dog and one time but it was unforgettable and very typical I have to say!) Oh, one also liked to rebel when asked to leave a room by standing right IN the doorway so you couldn't close the door. Great dogs. Shed plenty of hair which is a shame but not unlike most smooth coated breeds. Yes lots of socialisation a very good idea especially the males. Never had any similar issues with the females I've known. But on the whole they are laid back dudes and very nice dogs if you raise them intelligently. And so loving with their owners - total devotion! Pele is an angel. So sweet while my dog aggressive poodle x is all twitchy and snappy, Pele never bothers to react. Who said bullies are aggressive? Not Pele, that's for sure. She'd rather just chill.

Thanks Nekhbet - don't I know it! She is very pushy and we've been working on control with her for over 10 years with a lot of success (but not perfect reliability obviously). She competes in obedience and is very well trained in most respects, but her manners with other dogs are still pretty awful at times. I've pulled her off my other dog a few times in recent years and she's just held on and the smaller dog has come up with her, by her teeth. Luckily, it happens rarely but I would rather it NEVER happened. She can be a bully and it is a worry actually. He's pretty good at not triggering her but some things just seem to push her buttons and it can be hard to see coming. I have to be careful with her. Bobchic you're not making something out of nothing. Nip it in the bud if you can.

Be careful though. My bitch does this to my (very submissive and smaller) male. If we try to pull her off she goes straight from humping to aggression (to him not us). He got a nasty gash on his face a few weeks ago when my husband tried to pull her off him and it got ugly. I wasn't there but I have also seen her do this previously. It's definitely a dominance thing - not cute or funny and also not to be taken lightly in terms of you getting in there to separate them. Squirting water etc. is a better option than diving in with your hands.

Thanks bedazzled - much better to know that now than go along and upset someone because I didn't know. We'll find a way and I am confident we'll get there in the end. She is still very healthy and bouncy so there's no reason we can't keep doing it for quite some time yet. I worry too much about her age - I should just put that out of my mind and train the skill with more patience. In the end we'll get there quicker that way anyway. ETA: Oo and thanks Ness! I am really looking forward to next week's seminar.

I agree it's addictive. I would miss it so much now if I needed to stop for any reason. Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much!

My fingers are crossed for you both. It's a good thing some nice people found her and you could get her to the vet quickly.

Thanks to everyone for all your input and thoughts. I agree with the earlier post about there being ways to train a smaller dog with less bending if you are careful. Not sure about training in a chair - for my particular back problems I think this would be worse than standing actually but I guess that would depend what each person's issues are. Mine are with my neck mainly. Best to bend the knees than roll my body forward. But clicker training is perfect because you can reward from a distance, and throw the treats so yep that's a great way to do things once they get the initial idea. And using a target stick. This is what I was doing in the months following my surgery last year and while it was still pretty difficult while I was in that fragile state, it was possible and I'm in pretty good shape now. But to be honest I still do a fair bit of bending because there are some things I like to reward 'in position' so it's less bending rather than no bending. I also took up the suggestion in an earlier post and played with a std at training this morning. I was lucky enough that one of the students with a white std he has been having trouble with was happy to swap dogs for a bit and let me take him. Wow what a difference! This boy is a big fella and yes having that head at your hip is very easy and quite a nice feeling. I could really get used to that - a heart reaction not a head reaction I know. It just felt good. He was closer and communication was so much easier. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) he didn't really play up while I had him and in fact heeled beautifully much to his owner's frustration (this dog likes women I think). But yes he's a big boy at 30+kg and his owner showed me how he puts him on a table for grooming by getting the dog to put his front paws up, and then the handler grabs the dog's behind and lifts the rest of him up. There was a mini puppy there today also and I had a nice cuddle. I love both versions actually. The calmness of this puppy was beautiful and very reassuring. But I have to say that today I felt like I wanted a standard. Sometimes it's hard to put your finger on why. It just is. One thing I did notice about the std today was that he was puffing the whole time we were walking and it seemed a real effort for him to do what Zamba would do without hardly trying. Is this a common problem? I've always thought stds were full of energy, and asked the dog's owner if he puffed like that all the time and he said he was a bit concerned about it too. He said he'd had stds before and they didn't puff like that. But the vet said there is nothing wrong with the dog and that's just what he's like. Now he'd already done 2 classes but he wasn't distracted. Actually quite focussed. But the physical side was a big effort for him. Zamba would run rings around him. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Probably a bad thing.

Good points and a good suggestion. I'll have to see what I can arrange.

Re my back and neck, yes I bend to both of my dogs now and I have to say this is a big issue. I had spinal surgery last year and it is now a lot better, but will always be an issue I fear. My dogs both jump into the car so I'm not concerned about teaching a dog to do that. Jumping onto the grooming table is something I've seen a lot of larger dogs do (although I lift my two currently) so I could train that too. Re bathing a larger dog, I think with a standard I would set up a hot/cold tap against the wall on a lowish platform, so they just step up. But yes you always need to lift them sometimes (at the vet etc.) so I need to be strong enough to do that. I've been meaning to ask someone if I could lift their dog to see how it feels, but I'm a bit shy about asking. Most dogs won't want to be lifted by a stranger, will they? Zamba (my larger dog) weighs 9kg so it would be very different from what I am used to. ETA - but minis fit on the couch nicely and in the car nicely and if you're tired you don't need to walk them EVERY day, so life with a mini might be a lot easier. I am hopelessly undecided I'm afraid.

Thanks Ness - I might even take you up on that. Perhaps we'll have a chat at the workshop next week? I was also thinking maybe I need to show up at a few trials and not compete, just practice with some good dogs around. Or compete and then deliberately stuff-up the stays by remaining in sight for some of it, or whatever, and use it as training. But I wasn't sure how the judges would react to that as an option...?

Thanks PF. The 'faster to mature' issue is definitely one to think about. I am so used to having lovely old well-trained dogs. A puppy is an exciting but also daunting prospect. But I also have a bad back and neck, so less bending is pretty appealing. And I've always pined for a standard - they are so beautiful and at nearly 40 with teenagers (not little kids) I think from a life stage perspective now is a really good time to do it. Hard to decide, but luckily in no rush so plenty of time to mull it over. I hadn't thought about the competition in different height classes (haven't done any agility with my current dogs). That's worth thinking about. I take it from that comment that standards struggle to compete with the kelpies and BCs in the higher height classes?

Any ideas how we can apply the 'splitting' approach to our stay problems?

You're right. If she's not ready, she's not ready. If we never pass another trial again, she's been a great dog and has done some amazing things and I've had a ball. I need to remember that whatever we do from now on is a bonus, and try not to put too much pressure on her or myself to get somewhere by a set date. I will be patient and consistent. I will be patient and consistent. (repeat to myself 10 times a day)

I was having a chat last night at training with a really accomplished trainer, and she was talking about how great mini poodles are for dog sports. I have also heard standard poodle people talk about how great standards are. Just wondering - what are the differences (pros and cons) of minis vs. standards for dog sports? I've heard people say that standards are more 'stable'? But I've also heard people say they are more prone to joint problems? I am a year or so away from getting my next dog. I have been wavering between standard poodle or maybe a lagotto (I am allergic to normal dog hair). But I have had minis previously and always loved them. I am interested to hear what people think and what your experiences have been.

Uh oh I might have entered her too early. One month might not be long enough for us to get the stays ready. We had been practicing stays at home and the park heaps and she was doing great. But it went really badly again last night at training (i.e. with other dogs and distractions around). She had a pretty similar reaction to the mock trial - kept dropping and looked very stressed. She just wasn't stable in the sit stay or the drop stay. Then tonight we practiced in the park again and she is back to whining and being pretty unhappy about it. In the end I settled for a 1 min sit stay and 2 min drop stay, but that was after several failed attempts at a sit stay (she kept dropping). I think last night unsettled her so I'll have to build her up again. We'll keep training and see how we go but she is just not comfortable when there are other dogs close by and I go out of sight. We just don't get many chances to practice that, either, so I'm feeling a bit discouraged. Maybe this is out of our reach.

I had to have my dog pts many years ago. She was the perfect dog (as I kept telling the vet through all my crying) and I found it a very hard decision to make. But she had been hit by a car and had spinal damage and it wasn't really a decision if you know what I mean. She was all distorted and in pain. I'm crying now remembering it. I stayed with her. I couldn't have not been there. She loved being touched so I could do that for her. I cried the whole time. No sedation, just the injection. She just went quietly. I have 2 old dogs now and this is in the cards again at some stage during the next few years. Having been there with Mena all those years ago I think of the process as being quiet and painless (or in this case a release from pain) for the dog. I would be comfortable to take that approach again. In the end I think it is something you do for them, rather than to them.

I have a few stories about falling in love at the pound. The first time a mini poodle who just decided I was hers the moment she laid eyes on me. I got her out of the cage and she hopped on my lap on the grass and went straight to sleep. We were inseparable from that moment on. The perfect dog - she died too young after being hit by a car 3 years later. It just broke my heart. My little bichon - well he was the last in the litter and we are still joined at the heart. He nearly died in the first week I had him from corona virus. I was up all night getting fluids into him, and back and forth to the vet for weeks. All worth it - he's just a gorgeous gentle thing. I told him he had to survive his illness and give me at least 10 years. He's 12 years old now and still going. He may be an old boy now but he is never allowed to die. A few years later and I was at the pound 'just looking' and saw a poodle x looking sad. Then I was in her cage 'just looking' and then I was arguing with my OH until I could take her home 24 hours later. She's still with us. She was insane (no perfect dog here I'm afraid!) but is absolutely unforgettable and is now using her excessive energy to win obedience trophies. You would never have thought it possible in those early days.

Have signed up for 2 trials - 22/23 May. Feeling nervous. No good reason to be nervous, just am. Now training her stays in earnest. She's getting the idea - proofing with other dogs is the problem but we do it whenever we can.

OMG she is just gorgeous! What fantastic attention and she just seems to love every moment of it!

OK thanks that is reassuring. She has just had her bloods done recently and is happy, bouncy and well so I'm pretty comfortable that she's healthy overall.

Nope she's fine. She has never been sick and had all her vet wellness checks, blood tests etc about 2 months ago and all was good then.

We have had our poodle x for 10 years now - she is 11.5-12 years old (rescued from the pound so not sure exactly how old she is). I've been noticing that her coat was getting thinner, and today I noticed that the coat on her haunches is very thin and shows what I can only describe as a thinning/going bald spot. Is this normal for poodle coats? She is a cross (probably) but very poodly - her coat is a poodle coat from what other owners/breeders have told me over the years. They often debate whether or not she may be 100% poodle but I don't think she is. Her nose is not long enough, and she had a big underbite. But who knows...?

I have a pound 'oodle' at home and while she is absolutely lovely, and I've had pound poodles before, the reality of grooming a poodle-type coat will ultimately put a lot of people off I think. I think a lot of people go into the pet shop, buy the nice fluffy puppy and then don't groom it. So while the dog could be cute for the rest of its life, in many cases it ends up looking like a bit of old shag-pile carpet for the rest of its life. And still costs them money etc. to have clipped and still look pretty average most of the time. Next time they go out to buy a dog, I suspect a reasonable number of these people will want a dog that does not require such regular/professional grooming. I have noticed this starting to happen at our local dog club. I just think oodle coats are more work than most people are willing to put in, so the pendulum might start moving back towards easier coats.