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Are Wiemaraners blue though? Their coat colour is different to blue Great Danes.

Oh Yay! Very happy to read your update

That is absolutely wonderful! You must be really chuffed with her progress :) I really relate to what you say about kind of knowing your dog is ready for the next step but you have to rally the confidence to take it. I knew for a while that Del was probably ready to start some meet and greets with new dogs again, but it took me a while after that to build up the courage to do so

I can't know for sure, as ours was made such a long time ago. But the grade is in the middle, not coarse or fine.

I have caught up on a bit of this thread, and I am so happy to hear that Justice is on the improve! I know things were pretty grim there for a while, so I was so happy to read of your recent successes :) Thistle seems like she's is doing really well too! How has Didi been going Terri?

Wow! I can't believe she is two! Isn't her baby photo completely adorable Happy Birthday Didi

...darn! started teaching that a week or so ago, just finished practicing too. If it wasn't risky for the quick, i'd be half tempted to just line the hallway with sandpaper (designated running zone) ;) haha, that would definitely be an interesting interior design feature! My tip for you is for you to half rest the board on your lap while you're kneeling down, so the board is on an angle. Then it is quite different to a target. :) Yeah, its really quick, especially if you train them to do it quite forcefully. I imagine it could be quite handy for anyone with arthritis in their hands. But of course its very challenging to to do the back feet this way, and this method doesn't really trim dew claws either. However my dogs seem to rarely need their back claws trimmed. I don't know if its the same for others.

I think you'll have no trouble, my two caught on very quickly, and they don't have a dig command :) Although, if you end up teaching (or have already taught) a target then you will find that sometimes they pivot on the filling board before they remember they're meant to scratch their nails on it :laugh:

...I guess the biggest risk for injuries comes from jumping ("second law of motion"), that is where even a small weight can cause a damaging force. Hence once I would start her training with some weight in the bag I wouldn't allow her off leash (off leash only with an empty bag at the beginning). While jumping would be a problem, I think it's not the whole story. You do have to be careful about the weight on their backs. The packs are not designed like a saddle with a gullet that prevents weight being placed on the spine. If your dog's back is narrow, there is less weight distribution. For instance, I put less weight in my Dane's pack than my old boy's, becuase her back is much narrower. I really love the backpack, but I would be very weary about putting anything clo to 25% of the dog's body weight into it, even with a slow build up. I have put a photo up to give you the idea of his size, and I only had him carry about 4 kgs.

I have used mine for years without any problems. Mainly on my old male dog, probably only about three times a week. But having said that, I never had anywhere close to 25% of his body weight in it. I think the most he carried was 4kgs, plus the weight of the back pack, which is very light; another reason to get a good quality one. His weight varied a lot but at his smallest 25% would have been more than 13 kgs! That is far too heavy.

Hey Mim, there was a really good tutorial from a YouTube user and I followed that. I'll see if I can find it for you. but if your dogs understand a dig command that could well work for you I imagine :) I found the clip, this might be helpful for the OP too :)

I used this method while training the dogs to be happy about having their nails trimmed. I used sandpaper glued to a wooden board. Here is a video of my old boy doing his nails: He got a lot better at it after a few tries. It's actually very quick method, just a couple of minutes, certainly not hours. And I am talking about a 55+kg dog with black nails. I sometimes still get the filing board out as I can actually get the nails shorter with this method than with the clippers, and it is much faster than the dremmel. I never had any trouble with the dogs hurting their paws. What I actually found was that I had to be careful they didn't file their nails too short.

I don't have border collies but I do have the Ruffwear saddle pack, I've had it for several years now. I really like it and both my dogs enjoy/ed wearing it. Both dogs had quite different body shapes and it still fit them nicely. I wouldn't buy a cheaper version, as it would be far more likely to have poor ergonomics and could end up hurting your dog.

An invaluable lesson! I love the series, I just wish it were bigger :)

These are exactly my thoughts too :) OP, Just enjoy your relationship with him for what it is. If you still want to do something more, then I'd suggest playing with him in whatever way he likes to play.

It's good to hear of the practices you have in place. I still think the wording is very misguided and not in the best interests of the dog or the rescue's reputation. I am familiar with plenty of people involved in rescue who have no skill or knowledge to back up their bleeding heart. When I read that information, that is exactly what I am reminded of, and I imagine man other people are too. I really think you are more likely to turn away the kinds of knowledgeable and skilled person you need than attract them with that style.

I completely agree SG. It's a bit of a red flag for me. I have seen so many times people misinterpreting aggressive behaviour as 'protectiveness'.

I don't like it at all, it makes me cringe. It is an incredibly clumsy attempt to emotionally manipulate people into being interested in the dog. I think its just as likely to turn people off as make them interested.

Perhaps what they are really trying to communicate to you is that they feel like they are a bit neglected by you, that they feel a bit hurt?

The tool is nowhere near as important as the training. At the end of the day its the training that stops the pulling! :) Your instructor at training should be the best bet to show you how to do this. A lot of it is timing. It is really important to be consistent, to practice in low distraction places such as your house, to really build value for being by your side, and to ensure that she is not being rewarded for pulling. If you let her pull you over to scents or other dogs she is being rewarded for pulling. It's also important to make those distractions work for you rather than against you. If your pup likes sniffing you can teach her that she can get permission to sniff by sitting and looking at you (you then give her the ok to sniff).

How exciting! My suggestion: Wombat

I wouldn't worry about him grumbling at all :) Maybe just get two beds so that they can have some space when they're relaxing.

I was thinking the same thing. As was I

Elliedog, I meant no offence at all, and I am sorry if my posts have caused you offence. I certainly don't think you're abusive at all.

I like Cyrus and Hektor.