mr.mister

I might not be a great example as we had our BC when we lived on 15 acres; however he wasn't an outside dog and though he was very happy to come outside for a play and run, which we gave him on a regular basis, being close to me was what mattered with him. He would never take himself for a wander - he always preferred quality time with me be it watching telly or running about outside. He was wherever I was at the time. I too believe that though it may be a little tougher keeping a working breed in a small area what is really needed is correct stimulation and exercise - what does it matter what size the yard is when you can take him to a park and work him? :D

Gah! Would totally enter if I had an obliging spitz... or any spitz for that matter. :D

this all sounds so fun! :D hopefully I will be handling someday soon so will be in the 'newbie group' :D

Thanks for the clarification, Aidan. That makes perfect sense. And thanks for the useful link, Corvus. Jaxx: Dogs are descended from wolves and despite being domesticated, still share many similarities with the wolf including the 'pack mentality'. That's kind of like saying cave men aren't humans (sorry, bit of a big generalisation there). I'm pretty sure I haven't 'lucked out' with the food routine as it's been embraced by a highly regarded trainer and has worked on many dogs. If it works on an animal, doesn't harbour aggressive behaviour and makes for a happy dog, I can't see anything against it. I know hoards of people who flatly disagree with Cesar Millans (sp?) techniques whilst embracing another and vice versa. It's always going to be a hot topic (training methods) and people will almost always have differing opinions. Again, what works for you.

To be honest I'm not entirely sure what to believe anymore as that info has remained consistent in sources I've seen it in over the years, and assumed to be reliable. Myself providing my dog's food whilst showing him I have the right to 'eat it' first displays and reiterates my control of the food. Young pups will be the exception as they are the livelihood of the pack and for the pack to continue on, they must survive. After that, the alphas - the most intelligent and capable, and also key for the pack's survival, should feed first. Have been searching to find where it is that Alpha's don't feed first, and can't seem to find it anywhere; sorry, Aidan. And, indeed it is in the best interest for the survival of a wolf to defend their meal - this however doesn't prove that Alpha's don't eat first and if that Alpha really wants that Beta's meal, well, he's going to have it isn't he? I don't think any amount of growling would perturb him and if the Alpha is a capable leader, there shouldn't be any bloodshed (doubt it would happen anyway as the Alpha has already gorged himself). Remember that in a wolf pack it's all about body language and less about drawing blood. Have a read of this website, and also scroll down to 'The Attack'. http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfHunting.html by no means do I know everything - far from it. Just pointing out a couple things. Not really wanting to turn this into a debate, just saying what worked with my dominant dog.

I hope all goes well. My previous BC was dominant by nature, however he became a loving, devoted and wonderfully behaved animal just by showing him that we were the leaders.. not him. I wouldn't suggest poking.. I can only imagine that would escalate the situation? We always made sure we walked through doorways before him (taught him the command 'wait' and then called him through after us), he wasn't allowed in our bedrooms let alone on the furniture (but I guess that all comes down to personal preferance) and here was the one that really worked wonders: In a wolf pack, the alphas always eat first. No questions. After they have had their fill, the subordinates may eat. So, everytime we gave our dog his meals we did this: After preparing his food on the bench and in plain view of him, we would either hold up a cracker that we'd had from behind the bowl (thus looking like it had come out of his bowl) and very obviously eat it, or just hold up the bowl and make fake 'munching sounds' as if we were eating out of it. We then made him sit and told him to wait while we put the food down. Only when we were satisfied (he sat there, frozen, looking at us waiting for the go) would we give him the okay (it could be something like 'go eat'; ours was 'lucky') - it was only then that he tucked into his food. These gave him clear signals as to who was the alpha and supplemented with other 'body language' that we displayed he became a content, happy dog - he wasn't food aggressive, either. Anywho, that's just what worked for us. It's natural for dogs (some more than others) to regularly test who really is the alpha - that's why we always have to stay on top of the game. It's simply survival instincts - if the alpha of a wolf pack came back from a hunt badly injured and unable to properly care for the pack as he once did, the pack would test him and discover this, and quite quickly out him and a younger, healthier wolf would take up the position.

With my previous dogs, I've used: off: for when they jump on the furniture. leave it: if they look like they're about to grab/chase something that they shouldn't. drop: to drop whatever they have in their mouths. down: to lie down.