aussielover

I would say she is more over excited. She did try to pull me away from the class though, I think it was probably to get to the other dogs, not out of fright. I would not think it would be a good idea for Mindy to go to doggy daycare, she is meant to practice being calm at a workplace or home etc, but it does sound like fun for your little pup!!! She is allowed some off leash time at a dog park twice a day, where she can interact with other (friendly) dogs. She now has quite a few puppy friends around the same age as her which is terrific. I also use some of that time to do some on lead and off lead training with her (though i can see her eyeing the other dogs sometimes lol). She is usually fine around other dogs and will often ignore ones she doesn't like the look of, even if they want to play with her! I think it is really my problem more than hers, I found it quite boring and standing around in the freezing didn't really help much either. Have sent an email to guide dogs asking their opinion

what is the point of paying an insurance company monthly if they don't even reimburse you when you need it??? I've heard of so many people who have had bad experiences and many insurers make you jump through hoops to get the money back. Many busy, working people don;t have time to argue with the insurers and just give up

well, my aussie was a devoted companion but not really a touchy feely dog she liked to be with you, but that could mean be physically in the same room, or even the same house or area as you, not right by your side. I thought velcro dog meant had to be right by your side all the time, always in the same room etc. Mindy is fine to be left for a few hours but given the choice, would rather be on top of you every second of the day lol Is there a difference between substance and excessive weight?

very cute! In the first one she looks like she has done soemthing naughty and knows it Very well groomed as well

I don't think it will learn to cope while it is outside totally stressed out. I wasn't meaning just let the dog inside as a solution, but in the meantime, before consulting a behaviourist, i think it would be only fair to the dog who is obviously stressed.... I agree with Persephone, taking the dog to see the train may totally freak it out and make the phobia even worse, as it will be much louder the closer you get and it is the noise the dog doesn't like. But agree with others that have suggested consulting a professional.

actually i can't imagine that would cause me stress Please let the anxious dog inside when trains go past. she needs to feel she is somewhere reasonably safe for her to overcome her fear, and imo, inside is the ideal place for this to happen, possibly making use of a crate. If you can get her to take treats ie she isn;t to scared, then treat her as the noise occurs.

I am sorry to hear about this when you have done all the right things. Is luxating patella common in your breed (just out of interest)? Personally, as a puppy buyer myself, I would not expect you to pay anything at all, especially if the problem is not common in the breed. However the offer of a refund is very generous imo. I think that is probably the best thing to do, if you insist on getting your own vet to do it, the owners may feel "ripped off" or uncomfortable that they are not getting a specialist to do it, especially seeing as they have already been told (rightly or wrongly) that a specialist should do it. If it were my pup, I would personally prefer to have a specialist do the op, no matter what the cost (at my own expense obviously) but that is just my personal preference. I would only expect you to take into consideration this problem and look at your breeding program to see if it could be prevented in future (unlikey- sounds like bad luck).

Thanks everyone for your opinions and sharing your experiences. I will of course contact guide dogs, however, it is quite hard, puppy raising staff are only generally available on fridays as they do house visits etc during the week. But the next class isn't until tuesday anyway so that should be fine. She is already in one puppy class that i am very happy with and she loves it, so it is not the end of the world if we don't go to obedience.

Regarding the fear period, the most important thing is not to force you puppy to do something it feels scared/uncomfortable doing. For example, if puppy gets scared of walking up stairs (yes, it can happen) don't force them to do it, they will be able to do it at a later stage (hopefully you can pick them up or find an alternative route) If something is scaring pup eg dogs barking or loud noise, move away from that area if possible to a place where the pup is not so scared anymore (tail not between legs and taking treats) I commenced walking my pup for about 10 minutes at a time from the time when she was fully vaccinated. before that she was taken out but carried in our arms to minimise the risk of catching disease ie parvo. Because you haven't been walking her much before, I suggest you start off slowly (5-10 minutes) and aim for quality walking. You may not get very far though, we only got about 5 or 6 houses down the street on our first real walk lol A long walk for a puppy who hasn't walked much on the lead would be 15 to 20 minutes in my opinion. I only do a max of 15 to 20 mintues as it is too tiring physically for my puppy and too tiring mentally for me It is funny though, I did the same walk i usually to with mindy the other day and it literally took me half the time! (i am naughty and cheat at roads i don't sit at the curb, i don't wait for the pedestrian crossing lights hehehe)

What brand was it?

Saw a flatcoat today at the park. Interesting looking dog! From a distance looked like a lab cross or a long haired golden. But up close, the head shape is quite different to the lab and golden

I want her to be able to work around distratcions, especially dogs, but also to give her something challenging to do. I am not sure if that is too much to expcect at her age, but am beginning to think that it probably is too much for her, as an individual, at this point. She has been extenstively socialised and basically comes with me wherever i go (everywhere she can). She is usually fine in all sorts of environments but has not really been around that many dogs before (and that many reactive/aggressive ones) But Sandra, you are right, I can work with her at home and in different environments. I kind of imagined obedience to be fun and exciting for her and for me, not for her to be stressed and unsettled the whole time! I can't compete her in obedience anyway, so you're probably right, I should just work her at home I mainly wanted to ask other puppy owners whether this sort of excitement/restlessness and possibly stress, goes away after a few sessions? She was extremely bad in her first puppy class (even the teacher thought she was hyper lol)- but is now fine and really enjoys it, so I wonder if the same will happen at obedience?

I have already spoken to guide dogs about this. They basically want the dogs to walk slightly ahead and ignore distractions, pulling on the lead slightly is fine, but loose leash walking is ok too. The pups should know basic obedience such as sit, down, stay etc for which I have already been shown the hand signals and have taught Mindy these. They are happy for puppies to attend obedience, however we have to use the positions and signals we have been shown.

Question regarding lab temperament? Are labs considered "velcro dogs"? My puppy is pretty much like that and i quite enjoy it! After my aussie who was quite independent and did not like being patted by strangers (not in an aggressive way, more of a walk away and ignore you type thing), this affection is quite welcome. She also gets very excited meeting new people her bum goes all wiggly and cute. She must also always be touching some part of my body if I am resting with her which is just lovely.

Hi, I posted before in the toilet training topic about taking my puppy to obedience. She is 4.5 months old. Now I am not sure that I should continue to go. Although Mindy did fairly well, she was pretty worked up, unless we were actually working- ie doing the exercises. I am not sure whether this was because it was her first time and she will become better each time... opinions from people who have taken their young pups (<6 months old) to obedience appreciated :D I am not sure whether this was because of her age- she was the youngest pup there, although the club accepts pups from 4 months of age. The behaviour that led me to think she was worked up and uncomfortable/stressed was: Barking at other dogs, which she NEVER usually does. Lots of other dogs were barking there too, which probably contributed and worked her up a lot, even dogs in the higher levels. Not settling and trying to pull on the lead when we were meant to be standing and listening to the instructor, She usually settles very well. In her other puppy class she will just lie down calmly. She also rarely pulls on the lead, I can hold it usually with one finger only. I would say we talked for the first 20 minutes, did about 5 mins of work then talked again for 20 minutes then did work etc for the whole hour. At her other puppy class, the instructor will only talk for a max of 10 mins, then we will do work or let the pups socialise. I was also shocked with how many "reactive" dogs there were- quite a few were lunging on the lead and barking at other dogs. I tried to keep Mindy away from these dogs as I don't want her to become scared. Two dogs got into a fight on lead as well. I am not sure these classess are designed with young pups in mind and am wondering if I should wait until she is a bit older? They also use different positions and signals to how Mindy is supposed to work. They are happy for me to use my own signals and positions, however they are not really sure how to help. eg walking at the heel- Mindy must walk slightly ahead of me, with eyes facing forward where as the traditional obedience heel has the dog right by your side and staring up at you (obviously this is useless for a guide dog- wouldn't get very far ) Guide dogs even prefer the dogs to be slightly pulling on the lead. Mindy also goes to an advanced puppy class, where the teacher is an ex guide dog trainer, so really knows how Mindy should be working, so she will definitely continue to go to that. Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to know if you think I should continue to go to obedience and maybe hear some of your expereinces of obedience school with younger puppies. Thanks

It sounds a bit like a reverse sneeze. It is generally not harmful (even though it sounds like they are dying) from vet partners

What kind of drainage is there with fake grass. Just googled it and it look quite nice. Our grass turns the backyard into a swamp when it rains, so would there be the same problem with fake grass/

How to instill a phobia into your kids. Lucky you didn't have a Great Dane or other Giant breed with you!!! (not sure you'd all fit in the lift though iunless it was quite big ) Or a scary Rotty, Dobe or GSD

hi guys! just wanted too see how everyone is going with toilet training? I know last time I started one of these topics everypnes puppy had an accident after we had all been bragging about how good our pups were Hopefully won't happen this time, but you never know with pups! But I have another brag- this morning, i was on DOL, uploading some photos while i was uploading these photos mindy was wandering around aimlessly (she usually sits on her bed), and came and got me and started crying which she rarely does. She kept going from me to the back door so I took her outside a she did a HUGE poo straight away (sorry too much info ). I gave her lots of treats and cuddles after!!!! so looks like toilet training may be coming along, YAY. am so proud We also went to obedience last night. She was quite good, as good as can be expected for her age i suppose, but it was a little boring, a lot of standing around and waiting- which is good for Mindy to practice, but not so good for us to be standing ousdie in the freezing cold! When we actually did exercises she did really well. It was quite frustrating for her not to be able to say hello to the other dogs though.

I feel for you Sal! How old is she? I think all puppy owners have the same sort of frustrations at some point to some degree (well maybe not the kids part- i don't have kids). Puppies are hard work, I'd totally forgotten as well after my sweet, perfect old girl (who sounded like your old boy) passed away, about what a puppy could be like. My puppy is now 18 weeks and is really starting to come good now. She still does occaisonal naughty puppy things, but that is part of the funof having a puppy. It would be pretty boring if puppy was perfect all the time, may as well have gotten a robot dog lol Today we had a breakthrough with toilet training, she came to get me to let her out, where she will normally go inside if we don't watch her closely and taker her out regularly. I think you are doing a very good job with your puppy- better to vent here than at your pup! We are human after all and we can't be perfect all of the time, neither can baby puppies, so keep perservering and know that it will get better

Sometimes it is merely the presence of dogs in a park or at the beach that causes the upset. The dogs don't have to be making a nuisance of themselves for people to get upset. I personally believe if I am in a legal, leash free area, my dog is under control and someone who is uncomfortable around dogs is present, then it is up to them to either deal with the situation or leave the area. There are so many other parks available where dogs aren't even allowed on leash, so I don't see why we should have to vacate a designated dog area for someone who doesn't like dogs.

KTB= 1 and 3 both look pretty good to me... Is this trick meant to be on the back with all 4 legs in the air- or lying on the side?

My puppy (4.5 months) needs a hand signal to do every command except sit. Is this normal? It is a hand signal NOT a lure I am using just in case anyone might think that is the problem. will she ever be able to understand the words only and how can I help her learn the words? Thanks

Oh ok, i get it now, thanks

"On the evolutionary scale, this amount of time [14,000 years according to this article] does not allow for any drastic changes in the physiology and anatomy of a species" Do you think there is a strong argument in support of this statement? Not picking on anyone in particular, I just want to hear an argument in support of this statement (or against, for that matter). That is a very vague statement. The anatomy can certainly change in a very short time period- look at all the different dog breeds. Physiology is a little more complex but it is basically a function of anatomy. I'm not really sure what they are trying to prove, as dogs are not wolves anyway? Also, humans have gone from being primarily hunter gatherers (around 12000 years ago) to surviving, even thriving on heavily processed food, which is very different to what we would have been eating thousands of years ago. If dogs are happy and healthy, does it really matter what they are fed be it raw, prey model, commercial? The biggest problem with commercial imo is that it can often lack variety and interest value. I feed primarily dry- but also add in sardines, egg, vegies, scraps etc as many other dolers do. Being a lab I'm not sure Mindy would actually care if she was just fed dry only- if its edible, its yummy