Serket

Awesome photos!! You got some fantastic action shots, especially of Jodie jumping What camera/lens?

Oh I knew I forgot to say something - the biscuits were fantastic!!! Any chance of getting the recipes? (both dog and people biscuits)

You're quick with the photos! We only just walked in the door, Gypsy had a nice long sleep in the car on the way home

Oh no, how awful. RIP Abbie

Time to work out how to get there I think! List of things to bring: Puppy pens Puppy Myself Wish I'd thought about things like cookies earlier, I could've made gingerbread (although it might not survive the cooling process on the bench)

CleanRun have free international shipping on DVDs at the moment - so anyone who is looking to order this dvd might want to have a look there

I can bring 2 (actually, maybe 3, not sure how many I have actually) of the Bunnings compost crates, I think they'll fit in the car (new car since I bought them, but should be ok)

The one I mentioned is a lovely park, but the dogs we met there were less so, which is why I asked whether anyone knows one that's likely to be less popular/busy. I'm not keen on random unknown dogs in dog parks either, especially after the other day. The 8 or so dogs there when we went ALL disliked other dogs (except the ones they lived with and were there with 2 groups of 4 dogs). So Gypsy got snapped at just for sniffing noses by almost all the dogs there, which was a bit off-putting (I can understand it if she's getting in their faces being all bouncy, but she wasn't, and mostly they came up to her, and then snapped at her). So, it wasn't the best experience, but the location itself was great. Also, I don't know what kind of photos Iltby wants to take - dogs on lead might limit the options, or maybe it doesn't matter I don't mind if it has to be on-lead - although the possibility of off-lead play is attractive because Gypsy only ever gets to play on-lead and she'd probably love an off-lead play, for the record her recall is pretty good, calling her away from other dogs she's playing with is fine, although calling her away from people who are giving her food, not so much :D Edited so it makes more sense

That might be a good idea - depends if people were planning for the dogs to be off-lead/able to have a play. Are there any large ones that are unlikely to be really busy on a weekend? I went to a nice one out at Westleigh (near Pennant Hills, only 5 minutes off Pennant Hills road) that was pretty big with some seating and shade, but I wouldn't have a clue about any others - that one is the closest one to my place and it's an hour away. No fenced off-leash areas around here at all :D

We'll be there (we being Gypsy and I since I don't think I've got any hope of dragging OH out there with us :D) I can't imagine bringing 5 dogs, I have enough trouble keeping an eye on one! ETA: I've never been there before (never even driven out that way before), so is there anything important to know about where to park, where to meet, etc? (I mean, I could assume that a large group of people and dogs is the right place to be, but who knows, there could be more than one)

:) 10 minutes is huge!!! I am currently proofing Daisy's 2 minute down stay for her first CCD trial I know, I thought I misheard! Especially given that you only need 2 minutes for CCD and this is the first assessment - to move up from the lowest level course! I'm guessing we're allowed to fail the 10 minute stay and still move up, otherwise nobody ever would. The other dogs in my group can't even do a 15 second stay at the moment. Gypsy can probably do a minute, maybe 2 depending on the distractions, but if Bub can get Bit Bit to do 6 minutes, then it must be possible. Our problem is that I usually walk away now and so walking away = stay, but if I say stay and stay close by, she fidgets and breaks.

Bumpity bump.... Is this happening? If so, do we have a confirmed time? Need to confirm before I forget

:nahnah: That's awesome! We're supposed to do a 10 minute stay () to pass our assessment, and while she has beautiful stays for her age and compared to the others in our class, and I can walk 15 metres away, leave the room, run around her in circles, I just don't like our chances of holding one for several minutes, much less 10. So that's our next project. You give us hope that it can be done

My policy is pretty hard line - if I see you, you die (as long as I can kill you relatively easily and safely from a distance). I'd do the inside/outside rule, except that Gypsy goes hunting in the grass and along the fence line at night, and the idea of her eating spiders horrifies me (beetles and bugs are fine though)

I don't know if it's true, but someone told me that huntsmen drop down off the roof so being up high doesn't mean you're safe I can't stand having a spider up above my head after being told that (I vacuum them up too!)

I just looked on ebay and there's stacks of stuff if you live in the US or the UK or want to pay hundreds in shipping not a single listing in Australia for agility equipment of any kind - tunnels, weave poles, jumps, etc.

C3 + Kennel Cough is C5 (or could be C4 if they only did one type of Kennel Cough) I took Gypsy to puppy preschool from 8 weeks onwards, and she's been there or at formal obedience training every week since then (5 months old now). I didn't take her out on the street, or to dog parks or the beach until after her 16week vaccination. She had her vaccinations at 6, 12, 16 weeks. The AVA actually recommends the final one be given at 16 weeks+ - even if you only do one they recommend it to be then, not earlier, but everyone (vets, breeders, owners) seems to have a different opinion on vaccinations and socialisation.

Sounds like he really hates the dry food - I'm assuming you've tried different brands? If not, then it could help. However, if you're able to/happy to feed raw then it sounds like it's going to be the easiest solution

What have you been doing to try to get him to eat dry food? There have been a few threads recently about fussy eaters - might be worth having a look at those and the suggestions people made

Not meaning to be rude, but 4 out of your 6 posts are about how fantastic Nature's Gift food is, and you've already posted in this thread recommending it.....sounds like you work for the company.

Personally I'd be too worried to sleep in case he deteriorated further - can you call a vet and get some advice before taking him in maybe? It doesn't sound good, and clearly it's not normal behaviour for him - whether its a snakebite or a vaccine reaction, both could be fatal.

Forgot I started this thread oops. So stress displacement behaviour = dog doing something to make itself feel better in a stressful situation. So, restraining them is the stressful situation and then you want them to learn to cope with it, which they do by displaying those behaviours, and eventually learn to accept the restraint? Is that the general idea? I have to say the idea of repeating it 10 times in a row, and doing it multiple times a day sounds like an awful lot. I can't say I've been doing my homework for this exercise at all, but then again Gypsy isn't really a highly strung stressed out dog and is happy enough to be restrained so I guess it doesn't seem like a huge priority compared to other things

royal canin is a balanced diet by itself, I wouldn't add bits and pieces of other things (you're still catering to his fussiness). Maybe once he'll eat the dry food by itself you could introduce some 'special occasion" foods in, but as others have said - he won't starve himself, he's just being fussy and it's working!

Try teaching him some tricks, not just boring sit/drop/stay etc. You could probably find some great ideas online, try google or youtube

I've recently been reading Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed, and also recently started at a new obedience club. Something McDevitt says caught my attention in relation to an exercise we've been told to do at training, and got me thinking about the difference between 'calm/relaxed' body language, and stressed body language. In Control Unleashed, under "stress displacement behaviours" McDevitt says (among other things) "Is he looking away from you a lot, yawning a lot, licking his muzzle...." (p.40) We were recently told to practice an exercise called "Be Still" with our dogs, which involves holding them by the collar and rubbing them all over (not really patting, it's firmer), in order to have them accept handling and learn to stand still. The dogs feet must not move, and you have to continue doing it until the dog displays one or more of the following behaviours: 1. Dog stops moving its feet 2. Dog does one or more of the following - dog licks its lips, blinks, breathes deeply or feet are still for 5 seconds Once behaviour is observed, stand up, wait a few seconds, and then repeat the exercise. Sequence to be repeated 10 times in a row, and then several times throughout the day So I suppose it got me wondering whether the behaviours in point 2 are actually signs of relaxation, or are they stress displacement behaviours in response to being restrained?