raineth

I second HW's advice regarding the laundry vs outside. If you are happy for him to always defecate in the laundry then continue on. But if you want him to toilet outside, and not inside, then you need to train him to only go outside :) If your yard is secure, and has shelter, he will be fine. In regards to training him to accept being alone, you need to take much smaller steps. Put him outside, then close the door. Open the door and let him back in before he is distressed. Maybe that will be one minute, or maybe it will be one second. It is good that you are giving him something nice to distract him, but you need to make sure that he is not getting stressed. You gradually build up his time alone so he learns there is nothing to worry about, you will come back. Dogs are situational learners. So if your plan is for him to be outside when you're not at home, then you need to train him to accept being alone outside, not in the laundry. Same with toilet training. It will be difficult for him to understand that he should no longer toilet in the laundry.

Awkward he is so damn gorgeous! I love Esky too, she's such a looker :)

Using gym balls, and fit paws equipment can also be really good, works their mind and their body, and you can do it in the house. It might be a good option if you run out of flies :)

You can use the crate as a time out, but not as a punishment sort of time out. It should always be a nice place, a place where nice things are, and where she can relax. So I would say its more of a re-direction. But it would be best to pre-empt her arousal. So say the visitors have arrived, and she is calm in her crate so you let her out. Watch for her arousal getting too high and redirect her back to her crate before she comes cracker. You could let her out again later if she is calm again and just keep doing it. Persephone said she might avoid being 'caught' and put in the crate. Which reminded me that I should say you use this technique once you have taught a 'get in your crate' command. You really shouldn't be catching her and physically putting her in there, it should just be her responding to your command. Call out loudly to whoever is knocking on the door to let them know you'll answer the door in a minute, so you don't feel too rushed. Tell her to go in. When she does, close the door, praise her and give her a treat. The crate idea is just an idea for you while you await the trainer's advice. So you can have visitors over without her learning bad behaviours :)

Oh dear. Apparently their toy and mini varieties have very "pacific" uses. Something to do with the ocean maybe? :laugh: Poor Atlantic never gets a mention. If anyone reading this feels a desire to get a miniature cattle dog. let me just say that I fostered 3 puppies that looked like miniature versions of a cattle dog (most likely some sort of terrier cattle dog mix) so if you want a 'miniature cattle dog' look for one in Rescue, they are out there :)

Hey Mogda, my recommendation, just until you see the trainer, is to put her in the crate the moment visitors arrive. She may then come out of the crate if she is calm to greet the visitors. It sounds as though once she has met the visitors she is too aroused and can't come down from that. By putting her in the crate, you are clearly ying to her that it is your call about who comes in the house, it's not a job she has to worry about :)

Woohoo!

Yeah it might be good to leave them some newspaper in the pen. I'd definitely be leaving them with water, morning and night :) You may have to clean up after them unfortunately, just one of those things I guess. One other thing, is that maybe don't give them their breakky just before you leave, as many dogs feel the urge to 'go' within about five minutes of having eaten. So give them their breakky and with enough time for a pit stop before they are put in their pen for the day. I can understand where Dyzney's coming from. Do you know why they aren't normally walked? if it's just because the owner is a bit lax in that area, then I think giving them a walk in the morning is probably a good idea, and might help settle them for the day while you're at work. Maybe skip the afternoon one though. But if you know the owner has strong opinions on why they are not walked... well I'd be discussing it with the owners before doing it.

nawww he's such a good boy, and such a character! Just because he's reactrive doesn't mean he doesn't have loads of positive attributes as well :) But I guess other people don't always get to see those other attributes. Del's the same too, she just makes me so happy, not just me, but everyone in the family, she makes you feel sooooo loved :)

It's interesting isn't it? In the book Grisha says something about some dogs needing more information, and if you turn them before they are ready it is aversive for them. Do you think that might be Jake? Or is something else going on entirely for him? But anyway, it doesn't really matter as it seems as though what you're doing know is what's working, so I'd be sticking with that anyway!

Beautiful! Just beautiful! Well done guys :) And as you say, I'm sure you'll nail the stay next time

Yes, I've noticed a lot of yellow labs being dudleys lately, I wouldn't want one if I got another. Nice black eye rims and nose just stand out to me!! Yes I see a lot of interesting versions of labs around here! Well bred labs are absolutely stunning, and I don't see enough of them where I live :)

My old GD learnt to fetch by having many play dates with a dog that liked fetching. He caught on well and liked the game. I taught Del a very informal sort of fetch using the clicker. She already like to chase and pick up though, so it was just shaping the return bit really.

My dogs feel normal sized to me. They are 50 kgs + Dogs bigger than mine seem big; all the other dogs seem small. Digby has a big head and by the time I'd had him for a week every other dog looked like they had a really small head to me :laugh: But then we got Del and her head isn't big really so I don't get that feeling anymore. When I first saw vizslas I found their orangeness quite surprising because its not broken up by any other colour, unlike a goldie for instance. But I always liked the look of them. But generally I like tight eyes and black eye rims etc. but my own girl dog doesn't have this and I love her nonetheless :)

A little happy moment for me and Del: We went past a barking GSD on the street (her fear is worse on the street) without any reactivity :D I find if I use BAT to begin with, it seems to settle her a bit, then we can get past with CC.

Oh CAS! I really feel for you having to make such a tough decision. How terribly heart wrenching that must be. My feeling is that you do what you need to do to keep your baby safe; that is paramount. I really wish you all the best, and I hope you have many pleasant times with him over this week :)

They are just so persistent! Too bad if you had to rush inside to answer the door! It's going to take you a while to get there :laugh:

Thanks guys, I'll let you all know how we get on at the vet :)

You'll be wearing Kmart tights for 8 weeks :laugh: I bought a pair of Kmart tights when I had a couple of nippy cattle dog puppies (fosters) and they were so badly made (the tights, not the puppies) that one of the legs was about 3 inches longer than the other! It completed the 'crazy dog lady' look nicely :D

Oh my god! They're kinda terrifying Huski you're going to have to go round in a sumo suit and butchers gloves when wisdom's puppies arrive!

Gees poor Kenzie! That sounds pretty full on. It's excellent how co-operative your parents are though :) This is my feeling (based more on what I know about human psychology though): Sometimes when people who have more than one phobia or strong fear, they are so on edge all the time that they can develop more phobias, and eventually develop 'generalised anxiety disorder' which is basically where everything makes them anxious and fearful. I worry that this might be happening with Kenzie. She is very afraid of this man and might be often on the lookout for his appearance. What you were saying about her being restless on Tuesday night sounds like she might be generalising her anxiety about the neighbour to other things in the environment of your parent's place. This does make me worry that if it keeps up she may just keep accumulating new fears in that environment. Having said all that, as you know, the main problem is that the guy is uncooperative. If he was co-operative you could probably do your usual CC with the usual success. Is there any possibility at all that he could be convinced by your parents to try things your way? You know, if they acknowledge what a great dog whisperer he is, but would he be kind enough to let you try your 'crazy' method... That sort of thing? Or offer to buy him a carton of beer, or a bottle of wine if he cooperates with your training experiment. In essence I feel like we need to concentrate the efforts on convincing him to go along with a CC protocol, because if you can do that then you can fix the problem.

There's no way I'd correct for that. As Megan said it will just teach her not to give warning signs. A snap that doesn't connect is still just a warning. Also she could misinterpret and think that puppies around make you feel quite cross, and thus confirming to her that puppies are a problem.

Yes I think I'll do that Ams. He hasn't been to the vet in a very long time as he's been a healthy boy. At least then I will be able to put my mind at ease as its been niggling at me since I noticed it a few weeks ago.

Over the last month or so, Digby has lost muscle tone. The bone on the top of his head is more prominent, and he no longer has definition in his rear end (he used to!). He is a 'giant' and 6 years old, so I wonder if it's just part and parcel of becoming a bit older. Although he seems very healthy. I haven't weighed him, but when I had him in really nice condition he weighed about 58 kgs. He was so muscly and fit. I think he must only weigh a little over 50 kgs as a guess now. He is still on the same diet and exercise. I haven't had a giant reach this age as my previous giant died young, so I'm not sure what to expect in regards to them being middle aged?

Well for us: club seems to be really helping. She's initiating LAT game with me sometimes now. She's also making a lot of good choices about not engaging etc. I think our best moment was yesterday when a BC gave her the famous BC 'stare' and she turned around to me for a treat :)