aussielover

I have a few more questions about training in drive.... How do you know your dog has drive? My dog has leapt off ledges and wharves (into water) to retrieve a stick or ball, does that mean she drive? When teaching new skills do you use the tug to lure or??? how do you show them what you want? I have reinforced learnt skills using a tug toy as a reward and i do find she is much quicker to respond for this compared to even food exchange (unusual for a lab) If a dog is trained in drive, will it then not be as responsive to other methods of traning eg. clicker, food exchange

Thanks K9! I know lots of guide dogs fail beause of dog or food distraction! Actually a number of the other dogs mindy has trained with are dog "reactive" (in an aggressive and over friendly type way). A LOT of them wear head halters! We have been lucky enough not to need to use one. This pup is very sensible and laid back thank goodness! The main problem with other family members is that they don't actually communicate with her when walking. They are what i call "purposeful striders" almost oblivious to the dogs presence. i think i will continue to work with the pup myself.

Thanks for replying so quickly! K9: She probably is testing you, but if other trainers can get her to walk nicely on the leash, there may be something that you need to look at to help you get the same results as them. I can walk her nicely- it is just that no one else (family or friends) can. K9: Ok well I look at it this way, you either have a reliable recall or you dont, I dont like the term "pretty reliable", this means to me she comes some times lol. she recalls pretty much 100% off other dogs, for some reason she find me more valuable than them. She is unreliable with recalling off a scent though, but she doesn't actually run away so i can just walk over and get her back on the lead. Obviously i am more attractive than a dog, but not as attractive as a piece of soil or urine LOL ok so she is not reliable then. Should i keep her on a long line until she is? K9: Hmm I would look at what plans you have for her, will she be a pet, sport dog? These things are nice to know before you set too many rules on energy right near you, this can cause you to fall over later if you ever decide to train in drive. She will hopefully be a working guide dog. Otherwise if she comes back to me, i'd like her to be a therapy and sport dog. K9: Based on my experience with many clients, with dogs that have become aggressive or disobedient, they do take their dog to the park, they allow it to play with other dogs and then become annoyed when the dog wont recall. A few weeks later in that same park, their dog gets attacked by another off leash dog and within a few weeks - months, their dog is displaying aggression too. So I find that impractical. If you dont start by allowing your dogs to play with others, but allowing controlled meetings to set social values low or close to neutral, then later if you go to the park, your dog wont be desperate to play with them, ignoring your recalls and perhaps ending up in harms way. How do you exercise the dogs then? Leash walks only I have to say after reading this, I am surprised that guide dogs allows the pups to play with other dogs at the park considering the risk of the pups being attacked or developing a high value for other dogs.

My 6 month old lab puppy has gone from walking nicely on a loose leash, to pulling and lunging in about 2 weeks I can control her and get her to focus but the problem is my family members can't seem to control her. My dad is better with her, but he just holds her on a short leash and doesn't let her lunge but its still not loose leash walking. Other dog trainers and instructors can get her focessed and walk her ok. Is she just testing people? It is a bit bad that i am the only one who can walk her nicely.... ETA just read the thread on socialisation and neutralisation which was very interesting. Is it too late to neutralise once the pup is 6 months? I let my puppy play with other dogs, her recall is "pretty good" LOL from other dogs, but i'm sure you would be able find it is not reliable under significant distraction (like a bbq chicken!!!). She always seems to know that on lead means no play, no talking to other dogs. Of course we sometimes can't avoid the idiots who let their dogs run up off (and sometimes on!) lead to her but she will just ignore them. She lunges on lead to smell things but won't lunge to see another dog. I think your method makes sense in thoery but am not overly certain of the practicality of it. For instance, most pet dog owners would take the dog to the park for off leash exercise due to not having a large enough yard at home to properly exercise the dog. If you do this, ignoring other dogs is almost impossible as you always get idiots who don't ask and just let their dog do whatever.

What havasneeze said. Nortth shore Veterinary specialst centre do it (crows nest), I;m sure the specialists at Ryde also do it. You must have all the paperwork in order though or no vet is legally allowed to do it

It is toxic large enough quantities but a sniff should deter him. For wee spots- vinegar is another alternative. Other people have rubbed chillies on stuff to stop chewing, personally i think that would be worse for them and give them an upset tummy and possibly diarrhoea. Also some dogs like the taste Could you just block access to the draw for the moment until you get his chewing under control? I have to say I was lucky and my pup did not ever attempt to chew furniture, she wasn't really much of a chewer.

Great photos and videos. poppi is a lovely girl and lucky to have found you guys! BTW Love your backyard Vickie!!!!

Can any breed of dog do tracking? Are some breeds better suited? I'm most interested in whether labrador retrievers would generally be considered suitable.

Yes they do, and arent likely to be going back to kibble by the sounds of it, did you ever ask the NSW group about it for Mindy? Yes, but since they are sponsored by pedigree/advance they are pretty keen to keep using the dry.

How strange. I hate that pet shop- it is horrible ;) Me and a freind got kicked out of that one for making loud comments about how sickly the pups looked and why would you pay $2000 for a mutt with no health testing and socialisation. And I really couldn't help myself when the girl (who looked about 15) was telling some customers that labs are low energy and practically come trained- you know like guide dogs :p I shared some info on what it was like actually having a guide dog puppy and the people loked horrified, I think i managed to put them off (ok, so i exaggerated a bit) I then mentioned that those labs didn't even look purebred to me and was escorted out of the shop

Probably not the best idea. There is no guarantee she is going to like another dog and she will possibly teach the new dog to bark all day too It is generally unwise to get another dog for a problem dog. If the issue is eparation anxiety from her humans, another dog isn't going to help.

It is legal if you get papers from the council and vet saying it is the last option for the dog and the only other alternative is PTS. you must have the paperwork in order though. And they still make a raspy sound but it is a lot quieter than a bark. I don't really think it affects their welfare too much, the op is less invasive than a female dog spey. But obviously i think you should go through other options first; training, behavioural modification etc

For rollover: get her to drop then move the food down and to the side, so you're not pushing her into it, more guiding with the food. Clicker training makes it very easy as you can break it down into small steps. A marker word like "yes" also works too (which is what i use). So to start with you will reward as soon as she lies on her side and then as she begins to understand what you want you can start asking for more roll- then reward for her being on her back and then only reward when she completely rolls over. I've probably made it sound harder than it is LOL I found waving my hand in a circular motion to the side was useful for my dog and it later became the hand signal. Re: jumping- it takes them a while to discover this pleasure! Mine discovered it at around 4 months, she hadn't ever jumped before that. She is doing much better now though and rarely jumps up on people now (except my mum who sometimes forgets to ignore her and rewards her with cuddles) with the biting and nipping I just ignored my puppy when she did this or got up and walked away and she grew out of it in a few weeks. Obviously it is harder coz you have kids, if you do a search on here you will find lots of info on puppy biting, peopple seem to have different opinions on how to deal with it. The main thing is to find one that works for you. Are you gonna post some pics in the lab forum Mindy at 8 weeks Mindy at 10 weeks at 4.5 months 4.5 months

Sorry just wanted to ask how you know whether the dog is in food drive rather than merely practising food exchange/reward?

I dont need a microphone. I can hear my sprouts screaming 'Ohh noesss Raz. Dont kill me' So with the males, can you give me an idea of stinkiness? The only ferret I've known has been a desexed male and he didnt stink at all we had a stray one at work- it was extremely smelly and messy (not to mention aggressive). I have heard they can be trained to be reasonably clean and friendly though

Jesus are you still on this thread? That quoted above is probably one of the most idiotic posts ive ever read. So you dont eat lamb, (dont know what you're missing out on Moselle), you havent eaten pork 'for ages', not eaten beef in 18months (thats pretty specific is that something you're proud of?) but you eat chicken.... where does your chicken come from again? Are you having a go at vegos? It is a personal choice, and I assure you we are not all unbalanced and sexist

who leaves balls of mince meat on a showground??? Would def collect a sample to be analysed

Apparently guide dogs QLD feed all their dogs on a raw diet.

Really? How funny!

hi Chellz! You have a gorgeous puppy! Aren't labradors just the best ?LOL I have a 6 month old black lab girl called Mindy (well she is not really mine, she is a guide dog pup) My puppy learnt to sit on her first day and drop on her second. They are very bright and eager learners. Are you at the stage where you're not "luring" her? I think it is probably too early to start phasing out rewards just yet- you want to keep up her enthusiam for learning at this age. It took us a few weeks to phase out the hand signal for drop but she was doing it with the hand signal within a few days. With sit, if she does it without the lure, you could probably start using praise and/or a toy instead of food and see how she responds. Most puppies get sit very quickly. Make her sit for all her meals and make her sit when she approaches you or other people as this will help stop jumping up. with house training do you reward her for going in the right spot? If she is generally outside with you all day, it might be hard for her to realsie that she only should go outside if you';re not rewarding her. I like to use one spot of the garden so the pup knows "if i go here i get a reward, but if i go anywhere else i don't get anything" and it is also easier to clean up. Regarding other commands- I have had around 4 or 5 tricks on the go at one time. My puppy already had sit, drop, rollover, shake hands and speak by 9 weeks old. I would tend to go with the tricks that are more natural for her at the moment- you might notice she rolls around on the ground a lot or paws you a lot and you can use that to your advantage. I've really slacked off with her trick training at the moment and have mainly been focusing on the walk training, but intend to do some more with her when I am finshed my honours project (10 days!!!). How are you going with puppy biting? My pup was pretty bad when she first came home and would always be trying to bite and mouth us! she would even latch on to your trouser leg or chase you and try to bite your legs. You will find labradors are so full of fun and love, and very quick to learn. Enjoy her- they don't stay little for too long but they remain adorable for ever!

are you vegetarian Moselle?

Well guide dogs NSW allows the puppies at least to eat bones and raw, but I guess a fully trained guide dog is worth betweeb 30 000-40 000 so maybe they just don't want to risk an obstruction. Also, they have to be kept on a pretty strict diet to keep them at a good weight.

How strange. I hate that pet shop- it is horrible

Bark collars are not suitable for anxiety barking. I'm not sure why you would suggest the barking is self-rewarding for a puppy whose is showing all the normal signs of seperation anxiety because it hasn't had seperation training. A bark collar on a baby puppy just isn't a good start. I didn't suggest to use a bark collar- i suggested consulting a behaviourist who can determine what the problem is and MAY suggest a correction collar based on the cause of the problem. I;m not sure why you are so certain it is normal puppy separation anxiety- imo barking for hours on end (if that is what is actually happening) isn't normal puppy thing. And some dogs are just natural barkers, they find it enjoyable.

Took the stitches out tonight YAY! All looks good, she can have playtime with her friends again tomorrow! Kongs stuffed with Peanut butter and the ice blocks as Persephone suggested have been a godsend. I also have been taking her out for a 10 min walk almost every hour which seems to keep her sane but at the same time it is a controlled leash walk so no real risk of damage. Just getting out and about and sniffing stuff really seems help. cooping them up is not great becuase they have so much built up energy that as soon as they are out they're running around like pyschos which is worse than small freqwuent leash walk imo. I am lucky enough to be able to have her with me all day though.