aussielover

How does a wobbler differ from a bob-a-lot?

HI Guys, How do you actually get into tracking? Are there any training clubs in Sydney that offer this sort of training? Or do you have train yourself? In which case- are there any books/DVDs, Websites etc you would recommend?

I like the hunter wellingtons- they are comfy and quite high, also not wide at the top, so water doesn't go in if you run through puddles etc. They come in a range of colours. They're very popular in England and are becoming quite fashionable here in Aus, although I don't wear mine as a fashion statment like some do! I also wear my Aigle riding boots as gumboots sometimes- they are rubber and also quite comfy. They are around $120 I think. I wanted to ask how you train for retrieving trials and if there are any groups in Sydney that offer training? Or do you just have to train yourself- in which case are there any books/DVDs you would recommend?

Found some whole rabbit (skinned already) for sale at the butcher today but wanted to know if its ok to feed the dog the whole thing? Its looks quite meaty- I am sure my dog would love it!

There is no law saying they need to be seat-belted or even restrained but obviously for saftey it is ideal to have them restrained. The only law is that they can't be on your lap. I would crate them in the back (I assume its a 4WD or station wagon?- no idea about cars sorry :D ) Or if you can't crate them, then just put them in the back compartment. Alternatively, you could put the puppy in the footwell of the pasenger seat.

Good on you for asking questions Olivebaby. I am sure your baby is gorgeous! Baby labs are just the cutest aren't they? However, most reputable breeders breed for a purpose whether that be working, show or sports. There are also a lot of expensive tests to do on both the male and female before breeding as well as the risk to the bitch. You said your dog was from guide dog lines? Perhaps approach Guide Dogs and ask them about joining the breeding program? If your pup as you say, is healthy and with a good temperament, they might like to use her as a breeding dog. This way you'll also recieve lots of support and good new homes will be guarenteed for some of the puppies and you will be contributing to a worthy cause. Just a thought.... The other option is to get out there competing in showing (although in my experience guide dog labs don't really have the right conformation for showing in general as they breed for temperament primarily, not looks, though I am sure there are some exceptions), dog sports such as agility, obedience or retrieving trials. Once you have proven your dog excels in its chosen field, you will probably have some people interested in puppies and will be breeding for a purpose. Please consider why you want to breed and remember all the dogs that are put to sleep in shelters each day (including labs )

I do both- 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. I vary the actitivty from jogging, leash free exercise at the dog park or beach or on lead walking and I often do a combo of these. I find jogging and leash free exercise the most tiring for my dog. There are more people out an about in the morning (and more dogs), and it does make them a bit tired for the rest of the day which would be a good thing if you needed to leave them at home. Morning would be beter if your dog likes playing with other dogs maybe? I try to walk my dog again at around 4pm but sometimes I dont get back until later and she will have to be walked at 5-7pm when it is dark. If I could only do one walk it would probably be the morning as I think she would cope better with just training/games in the evening.

How scary I would have gotten quite a shock!

Staranais has already listed the indications for justified JPS surgery, so I don't think it is fair to say that all vets performing this procedure should be shamed, as the procedure can help pups with severe, early onset HD. I agree it is unprofessional or misguided at best to perform this surgery on a pup not yet showing clinical signs and without a specialist opinion. In this case it does not sound appropriate - pup not showing clinical signs - x rays are ambiguous and not read by specialist, additionally the positioning of the pelvis during the xrays can greatly affect the reading. - Border Collies are not generally one of the first breeds that pops to mind when I think of HD I would advise your client to seek a second opinion

Well Done Archie! I'm not sure I could trust mindy to hold on that long- given the choice she urinates around every 3-4 hours and poos two to three times a day. She holds on all night from around 10pm-7.30am but she is sleeping. She does not sleep during the day unfortunately. Good to hear that he managed to hold on and wasn't even busting to go when you got home! Mindy does not like to be left outside in wet weather on her own- yet absolutely loves going for a walk with me in downpours (which I do not find to be highly enoyable lol). Strange puppy....

I agree with Erny - sometimes ignore isn't enough for a number of reasons which she has already mostly detailed. It also relies on you having 100% control of the people who associate with your dog- you may have friends or family members who sometimes "forget" to ignore the dog and therefore accidently reward it. He doesn't seem to agree with breeding purebred dogs either.

I have met many people like that, I'm afraid. They are slowly becoming fewer in number, but they are still out there. One of our local professional trainers is very vocal in proclaiming that he won't use a clicker or food treats to train dogs. On his website, he calls positive reward training the "Bullshit Industry of the Century". You can't get much more black and white than that! http://www.paulhutton.co.nz/industry/index.html I have also talked to more than one professional trainer who didn't know what a clicker/marker was actually for, as well as several people over the years who have been convinced that all dogs need corrections or they won't be reliable. Look at Ed Frawley, he openly admits that he used to trash-talk clicker training only because he was closed minded and didn't understand what it was about. Now, he is a convert. People on both sides of the argument can be arrogant and closed minded and unwilling to learn. :eek: I have been through his whole site and I can't actually find anywhere that describes HIS technique for training dogs. I wonder what incentive he uses to train dogs if he doesn't use rewards and also doesn't use punishments and apparently only incompetent trainers need to use ecollars :rolleyes:

Although I do not agree with puppies going to new homes at 6 weeks, most puppies would be weaned by 6 weeks. Di vetelact is a supplement for puppies, not that a 6 week old would neccessarily need it. I agree it very poor form to send an unweaned puppy to its new home though

Mindy had her first club trial on saturday. I was very proud of her- she came 5th out of about 20 dogs! Her penalties were my fault- she actually fell off the table poor thing, because I forgot to tell her to stay till the last minute and she tried to do as I said- but too late Really pleased that she stayed focussed on me the whole time without the use of any reward (during the course) It also was her first time doing more than a few obstacles at a time and she also did the A frame for the first time ever Although she had a refusal the first time she did it no problems the second attempt and even got the contacts right! She also completed the dog walk which was great as she had been jumping off halfway in training- though she missed the contact at the end (my fault as I was lagging behind her) I also found out that I am very unfit!!!! One of my problems was that she was MUCH faster than me and by the end of the course I was too out of breath to give her commands properly. I think we could have done much better if we had taken it a bit slower, but we both had heaps of fun!!! I was interested and pleased to see that even dogs who had months more experience had as many, if not more problems than us (some of them even running off halfway thru the course or stopping to sniff)! I was wondering if anyone has had the experience of training with more than 1 club and if you think that is a good or bad idea? I am happy with the club I train with at the moment but they only have one agility training day on the weekend- which I can't always make due to work commitments. I would like to train at least once weekly and I don't have the equipment at home or a big enough backyard to accomodate things like an A frame or Dog walk- the things we struggle with the most! Also found out that Mindy is to jump the 600 class if she trials (she did not jump this height at the club trial). Unfortunately she just makes the 600 class- which looked very high to me, with even massive dogs like standard poodles knocking bars down! The jumps look as tall as the dog! Does anyone else's dog jump in the 600 class and does your dog find it difficult? i have not tried her over that height yet- I have noticed she jumps bigger jumps cleaner though, but not sure if this would be too high for her?

It is really importnant to get an X-ray to confirm HD. I would not be happy with a vet that diagnosed it on clinical signs and signalment only. Additionally as Persephone said, they need to be positioned in a specifc way, incorrect positioning can lead to a false diagnosis or when scoring hips, can lead to a bad score. And positioning is harder than it sounds ;) As for what would be the conventional treatment- Usually non-steroidal anti inflammatories such as metacam or rimadyl can help with the pain and inflammation. Some dogs might only require a low dose a few times a week to significantly improve the pain. Regular exercise like walking and particularly swimming can help. Joint supplements such as cosequin, glucosamine and cartrophen may also help. Some people say that batural treatments such as fish oils, green lipped mussels etc help their dogs also. If the HD is severe, there are a number of surgeries available. If I were you, i would seek a second veterniary opinion, perhaps with a specialist or at least a vet that will radiograph your dog before making a diagnosis. My dog had osteoarthritis at age 8, and was on daily metacam (an anti inflammatory) for 5 years. It significantly helped her mobility and pain and we did regular blood tests to monitor the effect on her kidneys and liver- her kidney and liver enzymes were completely normal for the whole time she was on it.

No idea about labs but I'm guessing fish would have featured heavily, with them being fishermans dogs!

How annoying! It is definitely a training issue, although if any breed would be predisposed to this, it would be the food-loving lab!

If a dog catches a small animal like a rabbit but then doesn't kill it and looks as if it doesn't know what do with it- does that mean they have a low prey drive? Dog enjoyed chasing the rabbit though- unfortunately played a sort of "cat and mouse" game with it before I was able to recover the dog back under my control. But definitely did not show any signs of wanting to kill it which I thought would have been fairly natural for a dog that has just chased down a rabbit. By the way this was a wild rabbit on a rural property, not someone's pet thank goodness. We clearly need to work on recall, she has never done that to me before. Lucky we are seeing K9pro in two weeks!!!

I had an Aussie Shepherd in a townhouse with a tiny courtyard for a number of years- including her puppy years. She was perfectly behaved and as long as she got out twice a day for a big walk (1hr each) she was happy. But I have also seen some aussies that would be totally unsuitable for a townhouse. It is all about getting the right dog/pup, which the breeder can help you with. Golden Retrievers may also be an option there a quite a few laid backs ones around, I know a few people living in townhouses and semis with small yards/couryard with GRs. Most of the Poodles I've met have been high energy and quite like the sound of their own voice!

:rolleyes: Again with the weak nerve. I will say this: There is nothing wrong with a dog that doesn't like to be barged. They don't automatically have weak nerve or some dominance issue. Sometimes they just don't like it, you know? For whatever reason. Maybe they don't like to be put off balance around strange dogs. Or maybe they have arthritis and it hurts. Or maybe they are just kinda small like Erik and don't like big dogs knocking them around. A staffy is pretty solid. I don't like it when they barge into me, either. It hurts. I don't like being bumped by people, but no one would say I have 'weak nerve' or a dominance issue if I was having a rotten day and someone bumped me and I growled "watch it" at them. That could have nothing to do with my temperament. And I don't think obedience even weighs in on this issue. I don't care if the dog is DA or not. I care that it injured another dog. I agree with Corvus- My dog is submissive (with other dogs), probably what you would call a "weak nerve" dog, but she doesn't react at all if she is bumped at the dog park and would sometimes even consider it a game. Additionally she would not react aggressively if someone stood on her tail or a kid pulled her ears or anything like that. Some dogs need personal space, especially with unfamiliar dogs regardless of their temperament.

The last one is stunning!

I totally agree- they all have different personalities like people- some people wouldn't even settle their differences over a cup of tea and would instead resort to shouting, maybe getting a bit physical etc. A person that was to knife someone or bash them up over a minor issue like someone telling them to back off or piss off clearly needs help- i think the same applies to dog, a dog that reacts very aggressively to a minor incident.

How about running him alongside a bike? Not really suitable for inner city areas, but if you have somewhere you can do it it is great exercise. I used to take my aussie shep on long bike rides, generally on shared pedestrian/bike ways that also allow dogs on leash. I'm not really sure if this is totally legal though i assume it is, as long as your dog is under control. Otherwise jogging is good, but I don't find I can run as far as my dog would like, or as fast! Also swimming is very tiring for a lot of dogs and great exercise. I swim at the beach in summer and my dog swims beside me. In winter I just throw the ball into the water for her to get. There are also specific dog swimming pools (in sydney at least) which are great because dog are generally on lead and well controlled.

Does she get many bones? Bones certainly harden the poo. Has she been vet checked for this problem? If you're feeding 6 cups of food a day and she still looks lean, I would also be worried there is a digestion problem. This is a lovely topic btw lol

Does anyone know if these are at competition length in terms of how far apart the poles are? Seems quite cheap though, would be interested in these if they are the right length.