Dixetti

My young white dog wants to be be like my 12 year old black one and loves rolling in the dirt to add that camouflage.

The Domestic Animals Act and Regulations require that all dogs entering a shelter or pound must be scanned for a microchip within three days. The Regulations stipulate the method for scanning. Any dog that is to be rehomed must be microchipped, it is an offence to microchip a dog that is already microchipped and that if an existing microchip is found they must notify the registry. So by law they must scan the dog for a microchip and notify the owner. Specific sections are 63J of the Act and 20 of the Regulations. It is true that owners are responsible for notifying the registry of any change of contact details. This year I received an email from the National Pet Register reminding me to notify them of any change of details. I hope this problem is resolved or was just a misunderstanding (the Registry has to notify the owner unless they have given previous consent) as I always thought shelters and pounds had a moral obligation to reunite dogs with their owners not sell them off.

Have to agree with Kelpie-i however Ian Dunbar is quite entertaining. Re Roger Abrantes, I saw him when he came out in 2008 and thought he was excellent and a very professional speaker. Have also seen Bob Bailey several times and would recommend him just because of who he is and what he has done for animal training. I always think that if you get the chance to see and hear from one of these international speakers then go for it - I've heard a lot speak at different seminars here and overseas and I think you can never stop learning.

I have this DVD - it goes through all the exercises and how to perform them. It is based on the APDT USA rules, which are slightly different from those I read on this forum as being considered in Australia, however, they are generally very similar. There are also some books you can import which are also good references. The i-phone app is okay but I agree, you need to see it to understand it.

You could try coming from behind the dog while it is in a sit. Or better, is to slip the collar over your arm, have food in your hand and offer to the dog - repeat this several times. Then start to scratch at the dog's chin and feed with the hand that doesn't have the collar on - repeat this several times. Then on one of those occasions slip the collar down your arm and onto the dog's head and in theory they wouldn't even know what you have done. Rather than scratching, you can also just hold the dog gently by the chin - maybe give a command for this behaviour. It does make it harder if the dog is not food orientated, in that case, do it as part of their normal feeding. Good luck.

Our old dog Dixie needs routine to feel comfortable and for nearly ten years she had that living in the same place. Then we built a new house about five minutes down the road. To get her used to the area we'd walk her there every day and she loved the new environment, we even took her to the house as it was getting built and again, no problems. Then it was time to start moving in. Luckily, it was a gradual move as Dixie did not want anything to do with the new house. If we had to get her inside it was only by literally dragging her in and she would even brace against getting out of the car. I just left her there with the doors open and didn't bother getting her inside until she was ready. After about a month of desensitisation she gradually accepted the new house (and that was about the time we were to move in - luckily) and now you would never know as she is as comfortable as she was in the old house. For those who know a little about dog body language have a look at the before picture and then compare that with the very relaxed now (that's the one with the new dog Dusty who wasn't around when we moved in). And we're all happy sitting on the floor as the dogs watch TV on the couch

Kepala in Diggers Rest are excellent and not far from the airport either. The new one at the airport I think is Hanrob but not sure what they are like.

Hi all, This is my first real post but it is something that has amused me for a while with my new rescue dog Dusty. Every time the AAMI ad with the swans and the song "A little bird" comes she will get up from wherever she is (an indoor dog), even if she's asleep and dive through the dog door to the back yard - looking for, well, who knows what she's looking for. It's not a problem behaviour - just a very funny one. She doesn't do it with anything else, just that ad. Anyone else's dog love that ad?