aussielover

What the? are you serious?

Mindy wears one all day apart from when she is unsupervised in her crate (usually nights only). But usually she is under close supervision anyway. My previous dog wore one 24/7 I'm undecided whether my next dog will wear one all the time.

I know labs/ gundogs are working dogs too, but I wasn't sure if though if you thought i was talking about an aussie pup because of my username and the reference to doing herding (which I think Mindy would be terrible at!). I don't actually use this method, as I said before I think it would be dangerous. The person who made the comment was not a trainer, but rather, another dog owner like myself. Obviously I would never try this on a dog. I correct my dog with a "no" or simply remove her from the situation. I also reward her when she is doing the right thing, so much so that she gets half her meals in the form of rewards. She is a well behaved puppy, lots of people have commented on the fact she is calm for a young pup. The things bolded above are things that she has tried once or twice, but came to realise that they were not appropriate. As I said before the only things she still does are hump the duck and sleep on my neck, which i don't feel is particularly dominant behaviour. The article actually said though that if your dog had tried any of these, they were signs of dominance! I personally don't think she is overly dominant, perhaps just very confident and outgoing. I was just surprised to hear that someone else thought she was and then surprised at some of the info regarding dominance available on the net and wanted to get others opinions on this. What behaviours would lead you to classify a dog as dominant?

The pup that was called dominant is actually Mindy- a labrador guide dog puppy who is 14 weeks old. She does not do most of those behaviours anymore, but has tried them a few times especially when she was younger. well she still humps the duck and sleeps on my neck/head if i let her! Funnily enough my aussie shepherd was quite submissive and never tried any of those behaviours. I would like to see the link on dominance, so hoping corvus will be able to put it up or PM me please? Is it true that dogs can think they are more dominant if you let them eat first, sleep on furniture/beds etc? I have always though this a myth and a little silly.... Yes, it was indicated to me that her being dominant was something I should really worry about and not desirable at all... PF: yes, i think they were a dog whisperer fan as they suggested I roll her on her back and growl at her when she was being dominating (whatever that means?). I would have thought that this would be quite dangerous, especially in a dog that is actually dominant? I am not as confident as Cesar so would prob not be able to pull that one off!

I am taking Mindy to a class which is like an extension of puppy class starting next week. She will work on learn leash walking, stay, settling around distractions and recall. This class runs for one hour once a week. It is not really a formal obedience class, but more a class focussing on socialisation and good behaviour for pet animals. Just wondering if anyone has done something similar and if you though it was worthwhile (it is quite expensive) I am also considering taking her to a more formal obedience class as well where she will learn heel, stay, retrieve etc. I have cleared this with guide dogs, they are happy for her to do classes as long as she is trained in a flat collar only and walks in a slightly different heel position and uses the hand signals guide dogs uses. I am just wondering whether the two classes will be too much for her?

Someone told me the other day my puppy was quite dominant. She is a very confident little puppy, nothing really phases her but I have never really thought her to be dominant (but perhaps she is) She plays pretty rough but also lets the other pup/dog win sometimes. So I looked up some info and found this Some Behaviors that May Indicate Dominance: Pushing through doors, inside or outside, before you. Jumping or reaching for food or treat before it is put down or in reach. Putting his or her feet on you, standing on or pawing at you. Barking at you when told to do something or when he or she wants something. Trying to be physically taller than you. Getting on furniture before you or before being given permission. Reluctance to move from a spot you want to sit on, walk through or put something in. Reluctance to release food or toys. Staring at you; prolonged eye contact except when you ask for it in a training or working situation. Reluctance to obey simple, normal commands such as sit, go-out, get-off, etc. May be a refusal or slow compliance. Marking (urinating or defecating) in house, marking your personal belongings or bed. Running into you or jumping on you hard during play. This is a display of physical superiority and rights. Growling or barking at you during play. Sexual behaviors, such as mounting, with an inappropriate partner.- her toy duck Putting her or his head on or over your head or shoulders. when we are lying down togther she likes to curl up on my head or neck Holding chews or toys against you while chewing or playing with toy. Any attempt to shove you out of the way when walking, sitting with, moving past or laying with you. Mouthing you at any time, any placing of her or his mouth on you whether in protest, during play or during petting. Eating before you. Not accepting petting or touching on top of his or her head or body. She has tried the bolded behaviours a few times, but I do not allow her to do these and she now doesn't really do them, or will only try once with strangers. Some of these behaviours though, i would think are normal for puppies? What makes a dog dominant and is it actually a problem?

Haylz27- Have you ever done agility before? Do you want to be very competitive? If the answer is no, then I'd say an aussie would be suitable. Though, not saying an aussie can't be competitive at agility. When we were looking at breeds we were deciding between brittanys, tollers, aussies and BCs. We decided to go with working breeds and then decided on the aussie because they seemed calmer. To me, they had the best of looks and temperament. They are lovely looking dogs, and have the personality of a lab or golden (maybe not as exuberant) and make great family pets and have potential for any dog sport. Let us know what you decide, i love both borders and aussies but wouldn't have a border unless I was doing a dog sport, or was working them in some way. Also, the border comes in a short coat which is very handy if you live in a hot climate or tick area (imo)

All my dogs have preferred to sleep outside I would love to have a dog sleep on my bed! The only one that would like it though is Mindy, who sadly can't because she is a guide dog puppy. My Clover used to be put up on the bed, but would hop off after an hour or so and go outside and sleep there. My first dog Teddy, always slept outside as well. Mindy would like it, she falls asleep with me on the mattress downstairs that I lie on when watching TV. But she seems to prefer to sleep outside, than in the laundary where she has her nice warm blanket and fluffy filled crate. When I take her out for her final toilet, she curls up in the bushes and goes to sleep! its very cute! She is forced to sleep in the crate though, poor baby, :p I'm actually thinking of letting her sleep outside, I've checked with guide dogs and they said that was fine, some of the puppies do sleep better outside. I'm worried she will get too cold though. She is not trustworthy enough to have access to the whole house and unfortunately the laundary has no outside access and the rest of the house is open plan.

That is why I don't leave my pup in the yard :p You have to be quite careful with labs, they will put anything into their mouths! My pup doesn't actually swallow anything inedilble, but I do worryabout stuff becoming stuck in her mouth. Obedience and retrieving training will help I'm sure, but when you can't watch them, its probably safer to leave them somewhere else. My puppy is good with "leave it" and has a lot of toys, but these are useless if I am not there to watch her. I'm thinking about getting her some of those interactive toys though, they might occupy her better Agree with poodlefan about insurance!

aww, but archer's so cute! He seemed well behaved at the meet the other day though. Yeah, I am waiting for Mindy to go thru the teenage period, just enjoying the good behaviour while it lasts :p Hoping her recall remains ok though as there aren't any fenced parks near me.

Question about labrador puppies: Do they all go through a long and leggy stage? My puppy has a playmate/boyfriend who is one week older than her, but seems much stockier, where as Mindy is now quite long legged and lean. This puppy is also smaller than my puppy and shorter in body as well. His legs seem a bit thicker though, maybe he will go through a growth spurt soon though? What do the experts think? RE: destructive/ naughty lab myth- Just wanted to add, that my puppy is one of the best puppies, has not destroyed a single item in my home (apart from her toys and stuff we give her), toilet trained very quickly, extremely quick learner (better than my aussie shep) knows over 20 commands, brings in the paper in the morning, great with other people, kids and dogs but can ignore distractions when neccesary, excellent recall, so affectionate and loving, i couldn't ask for a better puppy! At the moment she is curled up at my feet and work, I don't even need to tie her up. Having said that, I am not an expert or experienced trainer, we have only done basics at puppy school and we are starting obedience next week, so it is entirely possible to have a well behaved lab with minimal effort (in my short experience). While she is not a "perfect" puppy (wouldn't that be boring?)- we've had a few accidents inside, some mouthing and jumping issues (now resolved), I persoanlly think she is turning out to be such a great little dog :p She could probably be perfectly behaved with someone who actually knew what they were doing! If anyone is thinking about getting a lab, please don't be put off by people saying that are crazy, pyscho, out of control etc, because its just not true- if you put a bit of time and effort into early training and mental stimulation you'll be rewared with a great companion

you lucky thing! I love berner puppies!

It depends on the puppy. My puppy did not have an accident overnight from 8 weeks old. She was able to hang on from 11-7am , so we were lucky. But there are many puppies that won't need to go during the night, especially if they are good sleepers. I would personally leave some puppy pads/newspaper on the first night and see how puppy goes. If there is an accident and you have slept through, then set your alarm for every 2-3 hrs then next night. I wouldn't get up to a puppy if it is not neccesary as they may come to expect to be let out every couple of hours. Obviously you can train them out of this, but why do it if you don't need to. Most puppies will bark to be let out, but some are happy to sit in their mess If your puppy barks, you will be able to hear, put the crate in your room and I would be amazed if you slept through!!!!

You can get a large breed pack of advantix/frontline and work out the dosage, but that is dodgy in my opinion. Most vets won't calculate it for you either- risk of litigation etc. Yes heartworm prevention is necessary, the further north you are, the more importnant. Better safe than sorry. Mosquitoes are the carriers for heartworm, and they are bound to be in your house as well as outside. You can also get permoxin sprays (make sure they are ok for dog use) or tablets called proban whicih you give 3 times per week which work out to be about a dollar a tablet. Tick collars alone are ineffective in my experience. ETA: permoxin is toxic to cats. Don't ever use advantix or permoxin based products on cats. If you also have cats that the dogs play with etc, i wouldn't use these products

Even though I am an aussie person, I would say a border is likely to be a better choice if you want to be competitive at agility. I would get one from proven agility or working lines though. For obedience, I personally think any breed can be competitive, it more depends on the trainer. I don't think aussies are more dominant though but obviously it depends on the individual dog. My lab is way more dominant than my aussie was. I have found aussies to be a bit more laid back and not as obsessive as Borders. They also have a very different herding style, if you wanted to get into trialling. They are easy to train and a bit more easygoing (imo). Both are great dogs, if you want to do dog sports like agility, most of the top level dogs are borders or kelpies, so something to think about...

Lucky dog! How could you forget about your dog in the car? especially a lab, they're not exactly small...

Years ago we were deciding between an aussie and a toller as well! No regrets about choosing an aussie though. I'm sure a toller would be great as well from what I have heard though, aussies are a little more trainable which is why we decided to go with them in the end. Yes, i wonder what the final decision was?

She is very cute I'd ask for a referral to a dermatologist if you want answers. But I'd def. try another brand of food first...

so glad my puppy loves water! when we first got her it rained the whole week. But she was very good and totally didn't care about the rain. Good luck!

Perhaps the OP wants the dog to toilet inside all the time? Like a doggy toilet or something? People in apartments, often use the pads or newspaper forever. Maybe the OP could clarify where they eventually want the dog to toilet But to answer the question: is there anything vaulable or you don't want destroyed in the room? If not, then yes, let him have time there by himself. If there is, I personally would not trust a puppy not to destroy stuff! But you know your dog best, so its up to you. You could try giving him 10 minnutes or so when he is awake and active, while you ar estill in the house but in another room, and see if he does anything you don;t want him to.

Mindy doesn't "shy" away from it, but will stop doing whatever she was doing immediately and stare. Then she will go and lie down. I rewarded her, as soon as she stops the behaviour. She is not scared of it and will even grab it off the floor or table if left lying around. I have sprayed her with conditioner/detangler and she hasn't reacted at all. I don't use the spray bottle on her anymore though, of course I don't want to her to be scared of it, you are absolutely right LMS, I didn't even think about her potentially being scared of things that spray . This morning we were at an oval and the sprinklers were turned on, on us!!! all the other dogs freaked out (and people, me included) Mindy was completely oblivious to it and when she finally realised, she started playing in it! She is turning out to be a great puppy now, she is much less naughty than she was a few weeks ago. She is one of the most confident puppies I've ever seen though (too confident for her own good i think!)

Hoping Hudson will be okay It sounds like you got it early though and he will be fine

That is a very sad story. In the idela world, every dog would be given a chance and trained and then rehomed. However, in reality I don't think aggressive dogs should be rehomed, especially when there are so many dogs with great temperaments waiting for homes... The vets/staff can only judge the dog by the behaviour he has shown them, which unfortunately was not good in this case. I think it would be irresponsible for them to rehome a dog that has shown any type of aggression, how do they know the dog won't feel threatened in a new environment (ie the potential adopters home) and act aggressively?

Barking for no reason, or for attention is not acceptable behaviour imo, especially at "work". She has plenty of toys available to play with, is toileted and taken for a short walk. I will allow her to bark a few times upon return, but if it continues, then i stop the behaviour. Usually I can just say no or shhh, but if she is really persistent, then I use the water bottle. although these days i only have to show it to her for her to understand the behaviour is not acceptable.

How many steps are there? He may be a little overwhelmed. Can you practice on just a few- maybe 4-5 steps?