raineth

Yep I imagine you will need one of you to hold their leashes and one at the pram to apply brakes if needed. As someone said, look at making the connection between the pram and harness rigid so it doesn't run into them :) If it doesn't work out, you can always by them each a doggie back pack. My boy has one and can easily carry six kgs of stuff in it :) With both of them, there should be enough to pack your picnic stuff in. It keeps him really well toned too :)

Oh Pers I am so sorry. Clearly you and Mr Wilson had a wonderful relationship, and you were there for him in good times and bad. It sounds like Dougie is keen to take care of you right now, what a good boy. Farewell Mr Wilson

Oh wow that's really wonderful teekay, even though it's very confusing! I wonder if it's the anticipation that's the problem? When he sees a dog or person at a distance he has all that time to build up anxiety about it? My Digby who isn't reactive, often gets confused about things at a distance (goes a bit on alert) and when whatever it is comes closer you can see him go 'ahh it's just a...' and he's relaxed again.

lol Jake! Is that because he's had some bad experiences? Or maybe that's his aesthetic preference? :) How has he been going since the vet incident? I think with Del it's more to do with the fact that the lab is very visible (behind a gate with narrow bars) and it just really goes to town with the barking and carrying on. They have now also got an adult GSD and the Lab sometimes starts attacking him when we go past and the whole thing is just a bit traumatic for her. I know this is anthropomorphizing, but sometimes it feels as though she's got PTSD.

I think with a good harness it should be fine :) It shouldn't encourage your dog to pull on its leash unless you try to use the same harness to walk them I suppose. What do you use to walk your dogs at the moment? I'm guessing you will have to use a collar of some kind to walk while they are pulling their cart so it doesn't interfere with the harness.

If this is the case, why were the microchip details not changed over?

Yep that sounds good :) I only use the NRM as I said for when I've forgotten to hide the ottoman during a training session. I don't want her on it as she is very big and could easily do herself and injury when she's trying to be a circus pony atop a narrow ottoman half a metre above the floor. A NRM encourages her to get off quickly and calmly rather than jumping off like loon :)

:laugh: I knew the +R but I can't think what NRM is referring to You don't need a speedy treat delivery. It is the clicker that is marking not the delivery of the treat. When I am using the clicker, generally, I will click & then throw the treat away, so that the dog has to run & get the treat & then think back to what it did to earn it & it is amazing to see how quick they pick this up & it really gets them thinking. That way it can't be said that I am luring, which is what happening when people click, then throw the reward closer to the goal. Hi Sheena :) I was referring to this quote from Aiden: I think in Behaviour Mod type situations a very high rate of reinforcement can really help with success :) I also often deliver treats by tossing them. For my boy it is one of the things that helps him be more motivated as well as resetting him :)

:laugh: I knew the +R but I can't think what NRM is referring to NRM = Non Reward Marker. Something unemotional like "Oops" which lets the dog know that it was not the action we were looking for and to try again. You ideally want the dog to remain upbeat, not to see it as a punisher. The only time I've really used a NRM was for weave pole training when working on entries, as I didn't want him to continue weaving if he chose the incorrect entry. Thanks Kavik I have used them with Del before when she sometimes would revert to standing on the ottoman during free-shaping :laugh:

Studies of choice behaviour have consistently and repeatedly demonstrated that we can trump a big reward with lots of little rewards. So you don't necessarily need a better reward (or stronger negative reinforcer), but yes, overcoming a sighthound's drive to chase takes a lot more work! I do find however that a Jack Pot sometimes gets through really well where smaller treats might not be quite doing it. When training Digby not to eat a person with a camera, I used Jack pot reward (1 repetition per day, and 1 Jack pot) and it seemed to work exceptionally well. oops three posts in a row

:laugh: I knew the +R but I can't think what NRM is referring to

I have one client who has an absolutely consistent and untainted "yesss", but by and large I feel like I'm pushing uphill to get someone to be as consistent as they need to be :laugh: In my experience the clicker is faster and more precise. I aim for a rate of reinforcement of 30 clicks/minute and adjust criteria to maintain that, it's hard to keep up (and tiring) if you're using a verbal marker. When you're no longer shaping, your rate of reinforcement is lower so it's easy to use a verbal bridge. It's plausible that a non-verbal sound can be more powerful because it's easily recognised and takes a quicker route in the dog's brain, it doesn't require cortical processing. There is a theoretical underpinning beneath that comment, but as far as I know no-one has set up an experiment to see if this translates to a practical benefit. Similarly, we can respond faster by pressing a button than articulating a sound. That has been tested. You'll always find some people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time and a verbal bridge, slower rate of reinforcement, lower criteria for the dog is better for those people. haha, I think that last sentence describes me :laugh: oh boy, my poor dogs! Actually what I am most unco at is not the timing but the speedy treat delivery, I need to improve on that for sure.

Just thought I'd pop in a Del update. We went away for a mini holiday and had a friend look after the dogs. Digby was very good (no surprises there). Del was a nutcase (no surprises there). On the very first night as he was backing down the drive (after feeding them) he saw Del jump on the table and walk to the end and step onto the kitchen bench So she was stretched out with he back legs still on the kitchen table and her front on the bench! A move we've never witnessed before! That wasn't the only story we got either. She was very crazy the whole time for him unfortunately, although he was in good spirits anyway. Anyway, today and yesterday I started using some jack pot rewards in front of a house that has a Labrador that gives Del the terrors, and which we have had no success using BAT with. So I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes, hopefully we'll have some success. Still using BAT for other stuff :)

I really don't think you're 'at fault' as such. Maybe a little unwise to have your face so close... and maybe there was some body language from the dog you missed (but maybe not!) but when you're also having a conversation with someone, it can be easy to miss such things. It really it is the owner's responsibility and I do hope that they reflect on it and make some changes to the way they manage their dog.

It's good other people can relate. There should be a name for it, Giant Dog Distortion Disorder. Afflicts owners of very large dogs. Owners eventually recover with or without therapy :p Then when you get a smaller dog, like SM or me (I now have a "mini dane") you get a different disorder where you think your still really quite large dog, is actually rather small :laugh:

???? Mine have been confused with: whippets, Great Danes, Dobes, deer, staffies and tigers. Someone asked me once if Maddie was a whippet as she is quite small for a grey but I have had many foster greys of all sizes and colours and never had any of the above I will confess that after I got my fist Dane (he was a really, really big boy, head at my elbow kind of size) I became really confused about the size of some breeds of dog. Because my boy became 'normal sized' and all other dogs just looked SO small. I had to really think about whether I was seeing a Greyhound or a whippet. And once I saw a standard poodle, but I was there for ages wondering whether it might actually be a mini - because it just looked so small to me I know that sounds really daft :laugh:

I'm really sorry Jelly

oh man Hankdog, that's no good at all So he didn't get to be properly seen by the vet? That is so disappointing, I would be so cranky at that lady and her ignorance. I hope the his face is ok and nothing to worry about.

that sounds good Lisa :) Hey what training club do you go to? As I'm going to be going back to club when uni's finished for the semester, and I was wondering whether it would be the same one you're taking Nova to? PM if you prefer :)

he is adorable! Such a handsome boy he is! I really like 3, 5, 10, and 19. They'd probably be the ones I'd print as they show a range of expressions :)

A lot of the animals mentioned here aren't wildlife though?

Maybe they have industrial deafness MUP. I don't know but I agree, that there is no way I'd have our dogs barking up a storm like that and do nothing about it! Its pretty inconsiderate. I agree! My dog Digby isn't at all worried about their barking dog but cringes when he hears their owners shouting at there dogs to be quiet. It's much more disturbing to the peace.

my GD Del loves catching birds. They are nearly always Mynas, although once she did catch a sparrow. She's not very cat-like in her hunting though. The bell is a good idea for dogs who start catching natives, I'll remember that.

Are you serious Well yes - should have phrased differently - so far as a medical professional who supplies medications directly to a client will go over the dosages etc with them and ensure they have an accurate understanding. I agree, I do think it is important, especially in a situation like this, that the vet makes a very thorough effort to make sure the owner understands the dosage to be given, as well as explaining what could happen if the dosage is wrong. Maybe she did, and he didn't get it right anyway. It could have been that the cat was being difficult and he thought it hadn't injested the nurofen when it had, and gave it another dose or something. I feel sorry for him. It doesn't look like he was blaming her, just wanting to raise public awareness.

haha I love Leunig! Thanks for posting it!