ButerflyGirl

Those who have the Jafco muzzles who have cut holes in them to feed treats through, where have you cut the hole and and what have you cut out. I did find somewhere on the internet that there is now the option for the muzzles to come with a treat hole, but I have one of the normal ones. I'd like to be able to treat though it but I not all that confident in cutting the Jafco. Vanessa

Hmmm, that's a massive generalisation if I've ever heard one! Why can't you use a combination of both? I personally don't care so much about the method used but the results it gets. A good trainer can have a dog walking on a loose leash in minutes, it shouldn't be something that takes a very long time to teach if the owner has the right training program and timing. I took it to mean BG found the positive method she used was more effective than correctional methods she may have tried. Her sentiment that often the problem is the way she is training a behaviour is a hallmark of effective training in my view. All the best trainers in the world will harp on this again and again. If she finds it is clearer when she uses positive reinforcement, then it does work better. She wouldn't be the first one to find that, and she won't be the last. I took it as a general statement, not that she was just referring to her own experience. I too found using correctional methods didn't work for my dog, but that doesn't mean that "positive" ALWAYS trumps "negative", that positive is universally better and corrections have no place in dog training. Like I said - I care less about the method used and more about whether or not it gets results. It's not about positive vs negative, it's about using what works best. Ok to clarify this I probably should have said "In my experience, with my dog...." He is 40kg of intelligent, stubborn, independent dog, and I found that I was getting very frustrated with (slip collar) correction methods, for me I felt like it ended up being a battle of wills between us, him pulling one way me pulling the other way, but with the promise of food (very food orientated) he will do almost anything for me. I think another thing I prefer about positive reinforcement training (in my case with my dog) is that I am focused more on what he is doing right than what he is doing wrong. Again just a personal thing, I get the "yay, he's getting it" felling, all those baby steps seem to add up. Also I think I should clarify that for me positive reinforcement does include "corrections" to a degree, but it is more a communication that to my dog that that isn't what I want, a growly "ah" can work wonders or just even just "Ah ah" as a "no thats not what I want" Just sharing my experience, not wanting to get into a "this is the only way" type argument, sorry if it was interpreted like this

Thanks for all the input guys!!!

I have done something very similar to this. I started in the back yard, turning and going the other way when ever he started to get too far in front and pull, worked so well that if I slowed I would almost be tripped over by a turning dog. Then I found a training club that is positive based (ie no need for slip collars and corrections) and welcomed clicker training if people wanted to use it, and was told something so simple I had never even thought of it. That was go right back to basics, hold a treat at your hip and walk, dog has nose at the treat (trying to get it) and presto no pulling!!, do this in conjunction with the command ("heel"), then progress that to give the command take one step and click and treat before they get to the pulling stage, then slowly increase to a couple of steps, and the idea is that they learn that being by your side is a good thing (ie they get treats) having done the traditional obedience and now moving to clicker training and positive reinforcement I would definately say that positive works much better than corrections. Yes it may take a little longer, but I often find if the dog isnt catching on it's the way I'm teaching it, usually I havent broken the task down small enough, and he doesnt know what is expected.

Well I bought the Jafco from K9pro, and so far so good, but with my stubborn boy, who has already had issues with a muzzle, we are taking it really slowly.

Thanks, any thoughts from anyone???

Well the title pretty much says it all how do these two books differ? - Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt - Click to Clam by Emma Parsons If you could only have one which one would you have? If you have read both are they both different enough to justify buying both?? Or feel free to make suggestions of other books which are along the same lines (for a general pet dog, not so much agility and obedience competition focused) Vanessa

Yes and silly vet practice for allocating this vet when we specifically asked for someone experienced, and able to handle larger excitable dogs (explaining that he loves going to the vet and meeting new people, but does get a bit excited with the experience, so needs someone confident. The vet we had last year was also young and whilst no issues with his vet skills, was obviously intimidated by a big excited dog, hence our request this year) Now they have lost our business, we will pay a bit more and go to another one!!!

I've been looking into getting a basket type muzzle (not the restrictive cloth ones) for my boy. He is a Rotti x Koolie, almost 2 1/2 years old. Originally we had wanted to get him one to be able to take him travelling and camping and reduce the risk of him eating anything nasty (baits, "yummy" dead animals, cooked bones etc) but now there are a few other issues.... He is now full grown and weighs just over 40kg, has a very determined personality, and can get a bit excited in new situations, and is quite a strong dog, especially in the jaw (devouring turkey necks in under 5 minutes if he takes it slowly) Our most recent visit to the vet for his immunisations, we had a young female vet who insisted that he be muzzled (he had always loved going to the vets, due to going to puppy pre school and having vet nurses that adored him, and loved to say hello whenever we came in) We got him into the leather muzzle she brought in, which he was constantly trying to get off, and growling more than ever. This ended up in the vet needing to get one of the vet nurses in to hold him still just to give him the injections, she gave up on even trying to listen to his heart or check his temp. In the past as long as we are shovelling treats in to his mouth and the vet says hello nicely (ie "this is what I smell like, here's a treat, I'm a good guy) vet visits have always gone smoothly. This combined with all the recent hype about Pit Bulls, and BSL I am thinking that it may just be easier (and safer) to have him used to wearing a muzzle and find something that fits well and he accepts as a good thing, and train him my way to wear it, not just throw it on him when he is already stressed. I wouldn't be surprised if the vet just wasn't prepared to take any sort of risk being a rotti x, and I guess that attitude may become much more common place. I have also read that being muzzled puts the people at ease and the dog picks up on this, reducing the anxiety in the dog, and I know my boy picks up on our energy. So there is my rambling thoughts behind this. My needs are: - basket type to allow panting and drinking - he is a slightly slobbery dog so steering away from leather. - safe, to prevent the possible bite in a high stress situation - well fitting and comfortable for the dog to prevent him wanting to take it off, and to make it easier to train him to accept it (he can be very stubborn and determined) I have found the plastic basket muzzles at a local fodder store for about $20 like this one, and then I have found the Jafco muzzles from k9 pro for $55 plus postage I'd love to hear others thoughts on this, I've read a lot of people are happy with both the Jafco, but also people have been happy with the plastic muzzle, is the Jafco worth the extra money? Vanessa

I was recommended "Groomers Evening Primrose Oil" Shampoo (http://www.groomersproducts.com.au) and have found that to be good, nice and gentle on your own hands too. ETA: I have also noticed my pup has been scratching much less since we started using Advantage Flea spot on (we had been using Frontline prior to that)

I am looking for a new collar for my boy, I saw one of these in a shop the other day and thought it should be handy with the snap clip to take on and off (when going for walks and obedience to use check chain and at home to have his ID tags on) At the moment he has a standard leather buckle collar and it does the job (although he is on the last hole now and still growing) but getting it on and off can be a nightmare sometimes especially when he is in his excited ratbag moods. I liked the fact that it had the slide lock which stopped it from being opened but being plastic I was wondering how strong it actually was, since its purpose is to stay on him to hold his ID (council etc) tags to him so he could be easily identified if he was to ever get out of the yard. so I am sort of torn between the ease of getting it on and off and the security of it staying on, is it possible to have both in a colar? Vanessa

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for dog obedience schools in the Northern Adelaide area? I have just moved to the Two Wells area, and am wanting to get back into obedience classes, main reasons is social interaction for the boy, mental stimulation, and training him to behave in "exciting" situations, as well as a bit of exercise for the both of us. I have had a look at the Two Wells one (closest) and although I don’t have any issues with them I was wondering if there are any schools out there that are particularly well regarded? My main concern with Two Wells is there seems to only be a small number of people who attend, which is good for one on one attention but not so good for socialisation and "play", and also with a small club it is always likely that classes will be cancelled if something happens with the trainer, which is often what happened up at Port Augusta with only two trainers. I remember going to the one in Salisbury as a kid (bottom of Saints Rd) which always seemed to have a lot of people attending at all different levels. So any recommendations? If so what days/times are training and what is the approx cost? Also is there issues involved with going to more than one school, assuming that commands etc are kept constant? Vanessa

I have a Koolie x Rottie (Rottie was the mum). At the moment he is just over 8 moths old and his growth upwards seems to be slowing down, is this likely to be as tall as he gets or is it just a lull before another growth spurt? I had heard that for the larger breeds like Rotties and German Shepards they tend to stop growing upwards, around the 9 month mark and then start to fill out, is this generally true? Vanessa

Just thought I would add that I have noticed lately that his coat doesnt seem to be getting as dirty lately as it used to. Not sure if this is a food related thing or not, but I know that it is still really nice and shiny. We went down to Adelaide a couple of weekends ago and caught up with family and friends who have dogs and I was amazed as to how nice and glossy his coat looks compared to theirs, and they dont have any where near the amount of dirt and dust that we have up here, not sure what they were fed but I would assume supermarket kibble. We dont do anything special for his coat, a brush over once or twice a week (more because I hate having dog hair over me more than anything) and a bath about once a fortnight, although it has been at least a month now since he has had a bath and he is only just starting to get that really "doggy" smell. Oh and he seems to be scratching much less as well, again dont know if that is food related or something to do with biting insects or just growing/stretching skin.

Yep I'm a Great Barko convert too, almost gone through our first bag, well getting to the bottom, still probably got another couple of weeks at least before I need another bag. I was feeding Supercoat Puppy, and thought he was doing fairly well on that, but since changing to Great Barko I have noticed his coat is a lot more shiny, his poo's are possibly a bit less in quantity, but good in consistency (apart from all the "non-digestibles" he discovers to eat around the back yard, he loves the seeds from the date palm, I have watched him sniff out the freshly fallen fruit/seeds and then I knew that it was actually his poop with them in that I was finding, not giant sleepy lizards!!!) He didnt have any issues with changing apart from when I first gave it to him he took a lot longer to eat it, which for a hoover is a good thing, but now he's gone back to just inhaling it, nut he has also grown more too. I also found that I need to feed him less than what I was on the Supercoat. On Supercoat he would get 2 cups both morning and evening, now he gets 2 in the morning and 1 at night, he turned into a bit of a pudge with the same amount as the Supercoat. I'll definately be sticking to it for a while longer!!! Vanessa