raineth

Sounds like Jake is really learning how to work the system hankdog It's interesting hearing people's plans for future dogs. OH and I have decided that the loose dog problem is so bad here that we won't be getting another dog(puppy) as long as we are still in this area. I just think the risk of it becoming reactive due to scary incidents would be too high. That being said, we wouldn't be getting another pup while we still have Dig and Del anyway. But our plans are for a Pedigree next time, mainly because I want a puppy rather than an older dog and I am planning on eventually being able to have one at work with me, so predictability is very important. So far are shortlist is Italian Spinone, Brittany, and possibly smooth collie (depends on how barky they are even with training). Megan, I often think about how much more terrifying it would be to have a smaller dog. No wonder some people with the small dogs are too worried to walk them at all. I think how stressful it is with mine when we have those aggressive encounters, even though I know their size affords them some protection; not from getting hurt, but certainly from getting badly hurt or killed.

thanks for the info everyone. Its certainly interesting to hear about the numbers overseas of a breed of dog that's both common and quintessential to Australia. Yeah I had noticed that there were lots of ACDs in the US when I was looking through some blogs.

Ladies, I think some of you have been sending some anti-reactive fairy dust our way! Del and I had two huge successes today with two yapping and growling offlead dogs. She just kept making terrific choices to ignore and give them signals of disengagement. Stayed calm the whole time :cool: It's the biggest breakthrough we've had so far and I'm so happy :D

whaddabout 'Tex'? I've always thought that was a cute doggie name.

Happy Birthday Fluff! Hope you get an extra long walk or some special bickies :)

gees Zip and Zig make a cute couple don't they I loved the article! I read it to OH and he said "are you sure you didn't write this?" :laugh: Corvus, that puppy socialisation can make a big difference. I think a dog who was well socialised as a puppy seems to be a bit more resilient in coping with unexpected negative experiences. Just as a general rule though, of course some dogs will always be a bit more prone to nerves or anxiety than others and that would make a difference too.

Teebs I think its great that you have been shared your experience. Every mum, every baby, every family, every dog is different. Just because one person finds it easy doesn't mean that they are better or more disciplined or something, than someone who is finding it harder. My kids are 10 and 11 and are still sometimes the cause for the dogs missing out on a walk. On the topic of the dog I think it can be really hard sometimes to know what the ethical thing to do is. Although I guess there can't be too much harm in making an offer to someone to groom their dog. Maybe they will feel like you are judging them or maybe they will appreciate it; the dog would obviously be better off groomed. There was a day we had here recently in which I didn't have a car and two strays turned up. They were both absolutely crawling with fleas. You could literally observe the fleas crawling all over them from a distance It took me all day to locate the owners. And the whole of that day I was trying to work out whether it would be responsible or irresponsible to treat these dogs for their flea burden. As it turned out I did not have anything suitable to treat them with anyway because the size differential between them and my own dogs, so it was a bit of a moot point. But it certainly had me thinking.

I was looking at a website from overseas that made dog breed related products and noted that while they had many many breeds, they did not have Kelpies. So are Kelpies quite rare and unheard of overseas?

I wonder if he is shutting down a bit? Especially as you say he goes off and sniffs. Some dogs are a bit like that. They feel like they are not quite understanding what you want, or they feel the situation is a bit tense or confusing and they cope with it by ignoring you, or laying down, or very commonly by going off and sniffing.

haha! This makes me laugh so much Hankdog as over the past few weeks I've seriously been thinking that I would make the most awesome ranger! After having experienced the damage loose dogs do, and the nightmare they are for people doing the right thing I would love nothing better than to fine the owners of all those loose dogs.

I haven't read the book Sandgrubber but I did hear an interview with the author and it was fascinating.

Yay it's great to read of another success! Well done BCcrazy and Stella I'm not walking Del today. I took Digby out before and we came across 4 loose dogs. 3 of them belonging to the same people and being 'walked' off leash around the suburb it's not worth the risk with Del so we're just not going out.

That's the problem isn't it, Raineth. Sometimes I wish I could just 'go for a walk' with Luka and not have to treat every outing as a training session. It's having to be constantly on the ball that is exhausting, especially when you have other stuff going on in your life. We definitely did a combination of BAT And counter conditioning, depending on the circumstances. Yeah I completely agree! Sometimes you just want to go out there and just have a relaxing walk but it doesn't really work like that. That's not to say I don't get anything out of it, and I don't enjoy because I still do, but ideally I would want walks with my dog to be my down time; and its not really that. But maybe when it is I'll appreciate it even more. Wow Hankdog! That is so awesome I am so happy for you and Jake There needs to be a peanut butter emoticon, but as there's not I went with the champagne one :)

Congratulations on your successes Corvus and Teekay We are just having little improvements here which are going along with me being much more nuanced with the clicker. One thing that has changed is that sometimes she is wanting a treat reward rather than an increased distance reward and I'm just going with it. So we are kind of doing more of a combination of Grisha's method and more traditional click to calm sort of stuff. We are doing protocol for relaxation but I've lapsed in the last few days with the demands of uni returning. Edit for autocorrect!

MUP Very funny too as I almost have a pathological dislike of driving!

Mine is Mary Mt.Hay

Oh I thought your name came from the song slash dot dash dot by fat boy slim. --Lhok That's what it always reminded me of too!

How long ago did you get the pup? Sometimes they can take a couple of months. If breeder isn't responding to emails maybe try the phone :)

To me there are three main things: 1. Having two old dogs. Old dogs can be quite expensive and I would prefer decisions about treatments be less about money as possible; but that could be hard if you have two dogs costing you a lot of money at the same time. Furthermore there is the heartache of potentially losing them both in close proximity. 2. At that age it is unlikely that your first dog is trained up to the level you want before you get another one. Furthermore at that age he might just be about to spring a whole bunch of tricky adolescent behaviour on you; he might stop being your sweet pup and begin to test those boundaries. Having a young puppy at the time might make this extra challenging for you. 3. It is imperative to ensure that the new dog especially doesn't get too bonded with the older dog. They need to be able to cope with being apart as much as coping with being together. There are lots of great things about having two dogs, however it would be my preference for a larger age gap. However it's not my decision to make :) good luck with your choice :)

So glad to hear you had a good time at the seminar Wobbly :)

Yes, it will vary for every dog, even if they are the same breed. Don't worry about comparing what he's eating to what other dogs here are eating. You should be able to easily feel his ribs (that means easily with your palm, if you have to poke your finger in to feel them then he has too much coverage). You don't want to see his spine and hip bones. Usually the feeding guide on the packet tells you to feed too much.

I struggled for a while after getting Digby for the following reasons: 1. he is naturally a very big, broad barrel shape with quite a bit of loose skin, and actually doesn't appear fat even when he actually is. Unlike a Dane, it's really glaringly obvious and looks very awkward when they become even a bit tubby. I realised he was fat when he went to the vet and weighed 67 kgs He honestly didn't look it to me. 2. Because he is bigger (not taller but bigger) I assumed he would need about the same, or maybe slightly more as the Dane. Very incorrect assumption. 3. RAW diet. RAW diet seemed to just make him fat, even at very small portions and I was a bit worried that he wasn't actually getting enough of all the other nutrition he needed. The Dane had no problem on RAW. Digby who now weighs just a tad under 60kgs and is now a ball of muscle, rather than a tub of fat, eats the same amount as your Golden Retriever; 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening. This even with his fairly extensive exercise regime keeps him in optimal condition.

Good boy Tubby (cutest nickname ever!) I hope it all goes well on Monday. Oh and have you thought of buying shares in Kraft Hankdog? : :laugh:

BlackJaq I'm pretty sure there is no issue with blue Amstaffs, just blue Staffords. Maybe an Amstaff person could clarify as I'm not 100% on that. Chris001, I would be very wary of keeping her. From what you say she is already showing some behavioural problems. Devote your time and energy to the first pup, and see if you can return her to the breeder or place her in rescue. Devote the time and energy to your boy and I'm sure you'll be rewarded ten fold :)