Lucy's mama

My Aussie is only 8 months old but hasn't shed much at all. A good brush removes a couple dozen hairs and thats it. Our Goldie - it never ends. You can brush her for an hour and then still get a hand full of hair when you pat her. Our two cross breed cats are shockers too. We have just had to get used to the hair.

What is a PPCollar?

Banjo has (had) the same one from k-mart, but he pops balls so quickly it didn't stay up for long. He still got a few months of play out of it flat though. Where did you get your JollyBall DNB?

Poor kid, but geez, since when is an Aussie shepherd a german shepherd cross Kelpie???? 'Australian' must mean Kelpie and all 'shepherds' must be german shepherds??? Or perhaps the inclusion of the worrds 'german shepherd makes it more news worthy?

My vet did the same - he had a 6 week c3 with the breeder, then a 10 week c4 and kennel cough nasal spray at 10 weeks. I double checked with the vet and he says this is correct. Dog sports club is happy ith it too. I'd be interested to see other answers because I thought he needed at least 3 puppy shots too. ETA: We are Qlder's

I would like to know this too. Banjo was attacked twice by to different off-lead dogs on Monday, and I was baisically told by one of the pet sitting regulars 'dogs will be dogs, your fault for not having desexed him yet' Once he was onlead, and the other he was off lead but next to me and was giving submissive body language.

Yep, I do! Not all the time, and not Banjo atm because his recall isn't good enoughand I'm tying not to let him make mistakes. I work in a production nursery.

BB_ As much as I would love to be 100% consistent in what the trainer has asked me to do, I am a human who is learning along with the dog. My older dog and other dogs I have owned have not required this level of time and training. I am not 100% all the time. I forget things, make handling mistakes, sometimes have poor timing, get distracted blah blah blah. Only time will improve that. The trainer can't magically give me perfect handling skills. Luvmy4 - He is an Australian Shepherd. The kids can be and are included at home. I will try take some video of him sitting, dropping and staying for my 4 year old after work this afternoon. It's very cute! The club we go to for obedience does not permit children under 12. He is a pet, not a show dog. The trainer does not actually do all the training. She observes, handles him for a short time, shows me how to carry out the methods she recomends, and teaches me what to do and why. Anyway, back to the original purpose of the thread. I have tentativly booked him in to be desexed next Tuesday. I want to see trainer before I confirm because I respect her oppinion. I am still not sure desexing before maturity is a good thing. I'm also not sure he is testosterone driven as he still squats to toilet and doesn't mark everywhere. But my desexed girl does mark so I'm not sure that is even indicative of hormonal surges. And it could stop things getting worse when testosterone does kick in?

We are getting a ute soon to make it easier to take our dogs on outing and still have space for camping gear/bikes ect. If we don't get one with a full canvass canopy, I was thinking of getting a canvass cover made for the crate that could have different areas rolled up or down to provide protection from the elements and ventilation, a mattress on the floor and a bucket of water tied into the corner. Does that sound like a safe way for our dogs to travel? I'd like to be able to pop into the shops quickly on the way home sometimes too (atm we have to drive home past the shops then 15 minutes back out to the shop after dropping the dogs off) I'd also have to lock the crate to make sure no one coud let them out. What do you think?

Yes, he is crate trained. He has his pen inside because it's easy to fold up out of the way, and his crate on the verandah. He sleeps in the pen, then at 5.00am or so my husband lets him out to toilet then locks him on the verandah. My daughter let him in going outside to get something. She is supposed to use the back door if he is locked up but 'forgot'. The new arrangement is as you suggested - for my partner to crate him when he leaves. BB- no, I don't believe it is aggressive snapping, (he has never left even a scratch or mark on anyone since he was tiny) more he is excited and reverts back to playful nipping/mouthing, which is still completely unacceptable and could land him and me in hot water if he does it to the wrong person. I'm also worried it could become something else as he learns that putting his teeth on people works. It does happen mostly in relation to his collar being held when he is already excited though. If he is not in a silly puppy bouncy mood he is very tolerant. I am not very good at explaining things so understand you will not have a full picture of what is going on.

To clarify Fleuri - the kids have never been allowed to rough play with him. I was refering to rough play on behalf of the puppy. From day one if he got mouthy while being patted it was time for him to go into his pen. Same applied for if he chased them in the yard or jumped up etc. I always have supervised them and continue to.

gremlins

So what would you do to ensure you are not taking those chances? At what age does it cease being mouthing and rough play and become aggression?

Wow. And untill recently, I would not have known that vca registered means they are papered and from a registered breeder. I'd have thought the more expensive ones were from a 'proper' breeder. No doubt others will think the same.

Someone mentioned wondering if he had been hurt by kids / I can assure you my children have not hurt him. We have always had pets and they are not rough or cruel with any of them. He is NOT dog aggressive. He plays with dogs big and small. He has been growled at and he backs off, not fights. He will occasionally fence fight, but put in a yard with the same dog and it's all fun and games. He has no problems giving over food or toys to anyone. He has always recieved something better in return and usually the original article back as well. I also used to play with his kibble as he was eating and pop nice treats into it at the same time. My son can sit down with an icecream and Banjo will watch every lick intently, but he doesn't try steal it. I did not bring a dog home, put it in the back yard with the kids and hope for the best. His behaviour happens when he is excited already. Yesterday he had been put outside by my partner at 5am whe he left or work, when my daughter let him in he was excited and bouncy. Encouraging calm is a part of his training program. Ummm...yeah. I went and had a training session with the dog, a wine with my dad and put my kids to bed. When Banjo does this I use a growly 'uh-uh' and put him outside or in his pen. Yeah, pretty weak now but it's carried over from him being a tiny 8 week old. I'm off for kids activities now, so won't be replying till much later in the day.

Actually, yes, one of the things we discussed was walking him further away from barking dogs so he doesn't have a chance to practice (and get a pay off from) bad behaviour. But at the same time, we are working up to walking closer to them. It is not avoid it for ever. Makes sense and is working well. I really did want oppinions on whether desexing was likely to make a difference. Thank you to everyone who answered that. I am happy with my trainer. I feel her idea is to keep the kids safe while I get a better handle on him and go from there. Yep - I was in bed half asleep for this mornings incident. My daughter had inadvertantly let him inside and she knew he was supposed to be outside or in his puppy pen untill I am up to supervise, so she wanted to take him outside. I agree asking the kids to use an aversive could just cause his behaviour to escalate.

No, I haven't yet Husky. Overall things are a lot better, this behaviour only resurfaced in the last two days, but we do have the kids avoiding doing the things that make him snap or mouth. I have emailed for a session next week though. You are right - I was asking about desexing and temperment, not training advice.

She has not said they can not be involved - they can pat him on the side or under his chin and throw a ball for him ect. I don't want this to be about bagging the trainer.

She was very highly recommended and has been great. I still have a final session with her so I will ask for more tips specifically to do with the kids.

Really? I find it really worrying. I have never experienced a dog doing this. I worry it will get worse as he gains confidence not better. She broke the rule and grabbed his collar, he hurt/scared her, she let him go - victory for him and worth trying again next time? He does it to some adults too. (My dad for eg.) Not me anymore because I hold onto the ring of the martingale and he will get a few sharp pops if he tries it. They are 10 and 4. They are not allowed in class till they are 12. The 4 year olds timing is terrible (as can be expected at 4) so confuses the dog. But how? I don't know what to do and can't find anything on the net either. Thanks. I have read that site several times and I can't find anything particularly useful there. Am I missing something? For how long? Sounds as if Banjo needs some educating ... so he CAN be handled .he is a teenager, and is being horrible. Ok- you are doing training, but what specifics are you doing to ensure he is safe to handle, and so he sees the kids as 'pack leaders' ? I don't know for how long. It's certainly not something I want to constatly have to worry about for the next 10 years. I don't now how to make the kids pack leaders. We all eat before he does. We all go through the door before he does IF I am right there to ensure it. The kids can tell him to sit and wait for his food. From the time we got him I have made a point of handling him all over as taught in puppy school to try ensure he is fine to be touched on ears, paws tail etc. But his problem isn't being touched - it's being bossed around. I don't really know what else to do.

Banjo is 8 months and I had planned not to desex till he was around 18 onths or so. I'm not sure where I stand on the early de-sexing debate, but figured if leaving him entire for a bit longer had no documented effects then I might as well. Now he is a marvelous dog in many ways. His energy levels are not a problem. We have no digging or chewing issues, he is smart and enjoys training, he gets along well with other dogs, both big and small. Allthough he can be rude straining at the leash to get to them, he approaches them nicely when off-lead. Now for the bad bit - he doesn't like the kids handling him. Patting - fine. Playing - I can't allow anymore in case he snaps or mouths. I can't even say 'Jo, put Banjo out for me honey' because he gives her the hard stare and walks away when she tells him to do something, and she can't touch him to make him or he will snap or mouth her. Our trainer gave us lots of help and I am very happy with her advice and will be talking to her again about this too. Basically, we just need to avoid the kids doing anything that might make him snap or mouth them. No cuddles, no touching his collar, no getting down on his level, etc. This is fine, but he is supposed to be a family dog, not just my dog who we have to be constantly wary of and on the ball with. So, we are doing NILIF, TOT, Training daily (both obedience and fun stuff like 'catch' and 'sing') and attending obedience class. Yet his attitude towards the kids continues. My daughter broke the rules this morning and took hold of his collar, he jumped up and mouthed her arm. No growling or overt signs of aggression that I recognise, just jumped up towards her face, she kept hold and pushed him down away from her face and he chewed her arm. So, I am going to take him in for desexing, but am wondering if it is really likely to help or does it more just help excess energy or is it just a myth that it helps behaviour?

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Just to add my two cents with the aussie. My boy is almost 8 months now. Our neighbours got a chi cross mini foxy a few weeks after we got Banjo. They already had a 6 year old mini foxy cross too. He tried to play with the older one, who growled, then snapped when Banjo persisted. Banjo left him alone. He plays with the young one though and adjust his usual very rough play to suit. We do supervise closely though to be on hand to stop play if ever the little one gets nervous or things get too exciting. At the dog park he doesn't bother the little dogs and plays well with the bigger dogs. He is not reactive if he receives a warning growl. We had a few issues with Banjo being bossy and ignorant but that is over now we are more on top of things. He is not destructive - he has one hole to dig where he likes to sleep under the deck, all our shoes are in tact bar the laces (he has chewed the laces but not the shoes). We give him more training than exercise, we only walk him a short way a couple of times a week (he pulls and barks when we pass barking, fence running dogs, so walking is difficult atm, but he is getting better) but train every day. When I work he is locked on the verandah for 6 hours with a treat ball of kibble and 1 chew toy and is not over the top when we get home. The only down side is he is quite vocal, which is fine by me but annoys my partner, and the pulling, lunging, barking on lead when other dogs bark at him.

I spoke to a breeder who had the raw feeding and no vaccinations conditions. She did add though that she knew she couldn't legally enforce those conditions. She was using herbal remedies of some sort for vaccines and felt they were effective and safer than proper vaccines. I don't mind conditions if I agree that doing whatever they are asking is best for the pup. If I didn't agree, I'd look elsewhere rather than make promises I had no intention to keep.

Why is listing price unacceptable because it is not an inanimate object? If I really liked a breed, did a little research then clicked on a breeders site and found an Approximate price range I would know right away weather to continue researching or start again looking at other breeds. Why is wanting to know if you can justify the expense before wasting your and the breeders time discussing other breed issues a bad thing? I chatted to a breeder for an hour about her dogs, too scared to ask the taboo 'How much'. It was a complete waste of her time cause her dogs were $2 500 more than I could pay!