aussielover

This morning I took my dog to agility training. The club trains in an area where there are 3 medium sized fenced areas. They only use one of the areas. I arrived 10 minutes early, so decided to use one of the other fenced areas (furthest from the agility area so as not to distract the dogs in the earlier class) to play with my dog and get her focussed on me. There were already 3 dogs in the area so waited at the gate until the owners grabbed their dogs because they thought they might run out. An older lady with a BC on lead then says I might go, I don't know what this dog is like (referring to my dog) which I thought was weird, but whatever, maybe she had a bad experience. So I held the gate open for her but then she yelled at me to shut the gate, so I assumed she wasn't going to go out after all. My dog gets rushed by the two other dogs the owners have held back, which luckily is fine, she is friendly and submissive. I then go to get my tug out and play with my dog and the lady with the BC and another lady say that apparently I can't play with toys or balls in the area as it builds play drive and causes aggression. Um perhaps if you kept your dogs away from us, then that wouldn't happen...there was defintiely enough space for people to have their own area. So I then tell mindy to find a stick, seeing as I'm not allowed my tug :rolleyes: She then says my dog can't have a stick either and gives me a lecture about how dangerous they are and if I knew anything about dogs I wouldn't let my dog near one. Which is partly true, sticks can be dangerous I agree, but I wasn't going to throw it for her, merely get her to find one and bring it back to me as a training exercise as she knows the word "stick" and I wasn't allowed to give her the ball or tug. And anyway, isn't it my choice as to whether I allow my dog to play with a stick or not? So by this stage I'm getting really irritated but I walk away without comment and begin to do some obedience exercises with my dog. As I am heeling around the area with my dog the lady approaches me again and says that I should have asked to come into the area as I don't know if the other dogs are ok with my dog. At this point I have to say something and I say its a public area, my dog never approached any of the other dogs in here (they were the ones that approached her and in a very uncontrolled manner) and if other people don't like the look of my dog, then simply keep their dog away. She then says its NOT a public area its only for members of "the club". There are no signs says its a members only area so how is anyone supposed to know (if its even true)? Additionally I am a member of a club that trains here so I don't see why I can't use it too. She then goes on to say that its for dog owners whose dogs can't run around on the oval (so presumably out of control or aggressive) or wanted to do training (which is exactly what I wanted to do with my dog). She then says that her dog has an injury so it can't run around and is on lead. OK fine, but does that mean no other dogs can use the area? Anyway by the time all this has happened, its time for class to start, so we leave. I just thought this lady was really rude and a bully. Perhaps looking for a confrontation? I would have preferred if she'd just said at the start "you can't some in here". Unfortunately it seems people like this seem to be attracted to fenced dog areas and then act they like own it. I've never had anyone tell me what I can and can't train my dog with in a unfenced area. But perhaps I am the unreasonable one? I hope I don't see her next time. Sorry I guess this was a bit of a pointless post but it does feel good to get it out :D

Interceptor

Mindy is also an allergy dog, which was the whole point for doing the titre test as recommended by the specialist. Yes, the club checks vaccination certificates upon renewal. My understanding is that 1:5 is still a response but may be lower because there are very low distemper levels in our area; therefore she may not been exposed? I will check the results and discuss with our vet and specialist before deciding.

Distemper was 1/5 Parvo was fine, strong response. I haven't seen the results yet, just repeating what the vet told me, so don't have number for parvo. So do I actually need to re- vax her for distemper? The vet basically read out what vetpath recommends ie. dog with a distemper of 1/5-1/20 should be revaccinated. But I see in another thread a number of DOLers who have had similar results to us, have chosen not to revaccinate. I think I will probably have to vax again though because our training club requires dogs to be vaccinated or titre tested.

He is a cutie! Kyojin

Hi guys, Anyone doing the test at Erskine Park, August 7 this year? I'll be helping with the vet checks so please come say hello I may or may not have my lab Mindy with me (she'll be crated if she does come so she is not in the way). Looking forward to seeing some great dogs there this year, I know last time I did it I met some really great breeds and breeders. It is nice to see such a variety of breeds and breeders who really care about the health and fitness of their dogs

So my dog was titre tested a week ago and she has immunity to parvo but not distemper... Apparently distemper is one that they should have a strong response to, its usually the parvo that may be questionable. Has anyone else had something like this? Could it be a lab mistake or something? Also the blood was taken on a saturday and not sent off till the next monday so I wonder if this could have affected the result, although it was just serum required so I don't really see how. So she will need another C3 (unfortunately there isn't a vax for distemper alone) which is ok, as it will be her 1 year booster anyway. Though in hindsight, I am kinda wishing I just had her vaccinated as it would have been cheaper! At least I know i've done the best for her now though.

Mindy carries on when people come to the door and also when they stand in front of our property. We've had delivery people refuse to come inside because she sounds so vicious and she also looks really scary- think big black dog with hackles up and very big shiny white teeth I really doubt she would actually do anything though, she is all bark and no bite. Steve was really great at explaining why this behavoiur isn't really desirable- definitely speak to him at the workshop. We now crate Mindy whenever someone comes to the door which makes everything much more relaxed and the visitor feels more comfortable. Doing this doesn't diminsh their ability to protect/warn you should an actual undesirable person approach your home uninvited. We recently had some drunken people hanging outside our house. All I have to do is bring Mindy to the door and show her and she starts barking. Also when my sister comes home at 2am Mindy barks and carries on (poor sister can't ever sneak in unnoticed lol).

I basically spend most of my spare money (and time) on Mindy. It is what makes me happy though. Would I go without food?, well no, probably not, I don't see how that would benefit either of us, as if I couldn't even afford food for myself I would not really be in a good position to look after her as well. I am lucky that I know I would have the support of my friends and family if it ever came to that. My dog already eats more healthily than myself (and she is certainly fitter than me!). If i had to cut back though it would be on her food and toys. She probably doesn't need a lamb shank everyday and could "make do" with a cheaper type of bone and some pal instead of premium kibble. And i am sure she could tolerate a tennis ball instead of a glow in the dark ball with a rope attached Her medical treatment is quite expensive and unfortunately I don't have pet insurance though I am thinking of getting accident-only cover (I haven't gotten it yet because I know my current employer would let me pay off an account in an emergency and I also have an emergency bank account that I can use). I would certainly not get a new computer or phone instead of getting her treated

Thanks that would be great One thing she is excellent at retrieving is shoes When she wants to go for a walk she'll go find and bring my dog walking shoes to me and put them in my lap (who is training who ?) I think I need to work on her focus because now that I think about it she is very good and retrieving at home where there aren't any other interesting smells/dogs/wildlife etc around.

If you do buy clippers they come with an instructional DVD (not sure how useful it is though).

Is retrieving something that should be natural for a labrador or is it something that needs to be trained? My lab defintiely has the chase and find part of the retrieve sorted- she loves running through thick bush and finding an item, her tail wags at 100 miles an hour! She is getting better at bringing the item back but sometimes gets distracted and drops the item and forgets about it midway!!! Additionally she prefers the "prize it out of my mouth" or "try and catch me" approach to giving the item back to me Any tips or is she just not cut out for retrieving?

What kind of coat do they have? I used to clip my poodle x coat and also my aussie shepherds coat in the summer (for ticks). I just bought a clipper set and gave it a go! It came with some attachments that allowed you to alter the length of the cut so you can't really do that bad a job. You can also neaten them up with some scissors after if you're not happy. I'd recommend getting a good quality set of clippers though, as I find the ones at work much easier to achieve a neat cut. I think the brand is Oster or something like that. You change the clipper blade itself to get varying lengths rather than a cheap plastic attachment. eta= it did look better when the dogs were done professionally but it didn't look "horrendous" when I did it myself.

Yes, i have crated my 1 year old lab in the presence of other dogs both in my home and at other peoples homes. She was fine and didn't fuss at all even when the other dogs were wandering around. She is already crate trained though. There is no reason why you couldn't crate train both. Is it possible to leave the pup outside (maybe with a nice bone or kong or something to keep busy with?) and bring the older dog inside?

It is sad that there are soem unethical and uninformed vets out there but I guess in every profession there are people like that Most of the vets I know support breeders who do the appropriate health testing and breed for temperament and health. Many vets and vet students I know would support getting a rescue dog over a purebred.

Dogs that I would like to own one day: 1. Koolie 2. WL Kelpie 3. WL/field bred Labrador 4. GSP 5. WL Malinois (although i think i'll have to build myself up to this one ) 6. Hovawart (although not available in Aus ) I'd also like to own a LGD either a maremma, anatolian or CAO but I am not sure if my circumstances will ever permit... I'd also like to foster greyhounds but I am not sure they would be suitable for my lifestyle if they were to be the only dog I had (prefer a much more active dog).

Neo is just the cutest puppy! I love his colouring. Sorry I have nothing of use to add to this conversation! My lab puppy was intially very clingy and would also whinge, cry etc if she was left. She seemed to get over it by around 4 months old though. She is absolutely fine to be left by herself now.

So Sorry to hear of your loss JulesP RIP Brock

Maybe we're coloured by our hander training experience Espinay. I've seen plenty of instructors come off the paddock shaking their heads and saying something to the effect of "nice dog, shame about the handler" Some see an owner who'll stick by their dog through thick and thin (and I commend that). Others see what might have been... vive la difference. Obviously most dogs would do much better if they lived with an experienced trainer. I'm sure my dog would be much better behaved and more successful in competition if she lived with an experienced trainer. But I am happy with the way she is (most of the time ) and we have lots of fun together, which I think is the most important thing. I agree Marley would have been better off in a working or dog sports home that understood the needs of a field labrador but at least they didn't dump him at the pound like many people would have... I've never had a really destructive dog but I can imagine how exasperating it would be for the owner. I am suprised the author chose to get another labrador after Marley though

I would prefer whatever method worked fastest to help me understand what it was that you wanted.... Personally, if I make a mistake or piss soemone off I would prefer them to tell me directly.

I'm kinda thinking that even my food obsessed lab would not find one piece of kibble every 5 mins an overly exciting reward! I do not understand how the dog is meant to know that not barking for 5 mins is the desired behavoiur to produce the "treat". There are a lot of other behaviours that could happen in the 5 minutes that could be inadvertently reinforced instead. Am I right in thinking that at least initially, the machine would need to reward for a relatively short period of silence.

I am struggling to see how it could work on a problem barker. The average medium size dog would be getting around 2-3 cups of dry food a day, when you consider that a lot of problem barkers are small dogs, I just don't see how you could give the dog "treats all day" without it getting fat, even if you incorporated its meal into the treats. And many people like to use part of their dogs meal as training treats. I also see a problem for dogs that are not food motivated, and I have seen a number of barkers that find barking very self rewarding and will ignore available food. I also do not want my dog constantly getting treats all day. I do not believe a dog needs to be stuffing its face all day to make it happy. I also do a fair amount of training with my dog and I already take 1/2 of her food and use it for training. My dog loves her food and instead of playing in the yard with her toys or sniffing around, checking things out or relaxing, I can see her fixated on the treat dispenser the whole time which I would not want. She already plays with her kong or bob a lot toy for about 30 mins after it has been emptied in the hope that more food will magically appear

Um my purebred black lab is also 25kg. She is far from small for a lab height wise- in fact she is at the top end of acceptable height. Perhaps check your dogs weight with the vet, she could have trouble getting up and being wonky because of the extra weight. Additionally if you can't see a waist and you can't feel her ribs with the flat part of your hand, she needs to lose weight. Mouse/rat bait contains an anticoagulant type agent which causes bleeding. With proper treatment, she should fully recover but should be kept quiet and rested unitl you finish the vit K course. I would check with your vet RE the trouble getting up and wonkiness as it could have a number of causes which may or may not be related to the poisoning but could still be a serious problem.

How can all the puppies be of show quality? Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that even really experienced and successful breeders will generally only have a maximum of 3/4 puppies they consider may be show qaulity and will run on. I would say there is more risk of your dog needing a C section compared to a dog that has never needed/had one before. But just becasue she had to have one this time does not neccesarily mean she will need one next time.

Oh Poor Mason! We try to limit Mindy's corticosteroid intake for these reasons. She only gets 5mg as needed. She hasn't needed any for months now I prefer to have her a little itchy (she scratches for about 5 mins before going to bed- mainly on her tummy) than use steroids. Have you tried any local corticosteroid sprays? I have found cortavance to be very effective- although my dog mainly gets ithcy on her tummy and armpits which are hairless areas so the spray works there. You can also get a cream I think. The sprays/creams don't have systemic effects like pred tablets, although they can make the skin thinner on the area you use it on, although i haven't found this, I am only using the spray once a week or so. Mindy is only young though, apparently they get worse over time I hope you can sort something out to make Mason more comfortable and his coat nice and black again