kiesha09

Yep my girl does it too! I swear its just because she is so 'busy' all the time that she can't bear to stand still and miss out on the goings on in the world

Can I just recommend you be very careful if using a chicken neck in a sock. I did this with my toy dog and he ate the sock and the chicken neck in one It wasn't very fun trying to pull it out while he was choking on it!!! The tug-it-starter toys that you stuff food into have worked much better IMO.

I can definately vouch for Anton and Hounds at Home. I know his partner and step daughter really well and they know dogs really well also. Just depends on if you are looking at a kennel or in home care.

Thanks! THose fees are VERY reasonable!!! Are things like play time with humans included as well? My two have each other but I know they would definately need pats and cuddles and playtime to be totally happy.

Thanks Ness - good suggestions. Geez that video did make me puppy clucky though. She sure is a cutie!

Wire the Barossa B&B looks FANTASTIC!!! Exactly what I'm looking for as well, and since I have small dogs PERFECT Thanks for sharing. Also can you give an indication of their pricing? I didn't see anything on their website.

How cool is that!!!! Love it!

Ness what kinds of things (training, games etc.) did you use to build this attitude as a pup? Mmm my first dog is exactly this!!! What kinds of things have you tried to get the performance irrespective of the reward being visible or not and have they worked?

Has anyone had supply problems in SA? The two petstocks I go to seem to have an enormous amount of stock.

That reminds me even though my dog jumps up on the bed at all other times during the day, when it comes to night time and he wants to go to bed, he waits for me to lift him up. God how stupid am I. ;) ;) Awwww... poor little things to tired to jump ;)

My dog has trained me well! Even though he has a doggy door to access outside, if I'm sitting on the couch which is next to the back door he'll go and scratch on the door rather than go to the doggy door in the laundry. I always get up and let the little fella out then when he barks will get up again and let him ;) He uses the doggy door at ALL other times.

Yeah your welcome to come and play on our seasaw Kenzie and Ness can test it out to make sure it doesn't fall apart since Chip won't touch the thing after thinking it was a dog walk and going weeeeeeeeeee, bounce, bang! Kiesha would like to ask Kenzie how she decided that strange hoomans are not big scary mosters!!!!

While I'm on holidays, its time to put the dogs to work I'm going to teach Chip to swim (poor little fella loves it but always sinks ), and shape the seasaw (once I make one!!), fix and fix some weaving issues. As for Kiesha all she needs to do is learn her SFE - thats a funny prospect since she's very wary of most people. Then the rest of their time can be spent sunbaking, sleeping and eating Christmas turkey, ham and lamb - and thats what I'll be doing too

My number one goal for the year is to train consistently, instead of this week on week off habit I've gotten into. Then the rest should fall into place. For Kiesha my goals are: - A reliable SFE proofed with strangers - To be at CD level before trying for CCD - To have a solid foundation for agility For Chip my goals are: - To be able to clip all nails without any grumbling - To be able to brush tail without any grumbling - Consistent weave entries For me - Decide on a contacts strategy and train it - Be consistent with my criteria and stop lowering it!!! - Plan my training sessions and log my progress. Most of all my goal is to enjoy every moment with my dogs and our journey together along with laughing at them more... they do the craziest silly things sometimes

I have two small dogs who walk nicely onlead and the first tip I would give is to get them walking nicely on a loose lead individually first. Once they are rock solid then you introduce them to walking together. The second tip I'd give is have one walk on either side of you. That way they don't criss cross etc. Goodluck!

Mine are never seperated unless I take one dog with me and leave the other at home or during training. However, mine have never had a fight, share their bones, toys and often choose to eat out of the same food bowl. The only thing they don't share is a bed. I have complete faith that they are fine together. However, if I had any concerns at all I would just seperate for the benefit of the doubt.

Bubbley, great idea. I also just want to say that you are not going to have to walk them seperately forever. I certainly don't walk mine seperately anymore really (maybe once a week). It is more just until they get used to doing things seperately. However, having said that, I still do at least one training session each day seperately and one agility class seperately.

Here is a link to a free e-book with some excellent tips on toilet training. Its called Before you get your puppy. It isn't just about 'before' you have your puppy so its an excellent read. I followed this books tips for toilet training and in 3 weeks my girls was totally reliable. But if you are not consistent and really really vigilant in taking them outside to wee then they are going to go in the house because they simply can't hold on any longer. When she has an accident in the house get a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself in the head with it. It's your fault for not taking her out earlier. I started taking my puppy out 3x a night when she woke up (she was in a crate next to my bed) so I was a bit sleep deprived for a while but SO SO SO worth it when she was fully house trained

Your pups sound very bored. You need to provide them with much more stimulation. I would suggest that because your Locky is understimulated and undersocialised that is why he is barking while out on walks. Socialisation is for life not just the 6 weeks of puppy school. Kongs are great toys but you need to make them interesting to play with. So make sure you stuff them with something. I googled some kong stuffing ideas for you and this is what I found Kong stuffing ideas. Other stimulating toys like the Kibble Nibble or Everlasting treat ball or Aussie dog home alone toys are fantatic. It would be great if you could join a training club to get your dogs out frequently. This will also help you with more ideas on how to give them more stimulation. Please remember that just because they are small dogs doesn't mean they don't need excercise. And this means out of the house. I can understand you not wanting to go out in an electrical storm but really they need to go out every other day raining or not. If its hot then you might just have to get up early to walk them. Lastly, you really need to do things with each dog seperately every day! I too had this problem initially with my dogs (even though I did things with them seperately 3-4 times a week) and it will only get worse. Imagine if one of them needs to go to the vet for a few days later on down the track, what are you going to do about the howling, winging puppy at home then? You need to train this now. If I were you I would walk them seperately each day (give the dog at home something really really good like a meaty bone, or really yummy kong) plus train them seperately and even play with one outside while the other is left inside and then swap them over etc. At the start you may only want to seperate them for a few minutes and then gradually increase the time. I hope some of this information helps you. Here is a list of dog trainers in NSW (which I think this is where you are).

I did all 3 stages which was good. Then when I finished Kiesha went and sat in hers for a good 45 minutes after, just looking at me I felt bad. Chip went back in looked at me walk away and the look on his face, I swear he was thinking 'hey wait for me I'm coming too' and out he hopped and followed me outside to water the plants.

So I went back and worked on the first stages of crate games last night. I'm fairly sure that both my dogs really get this and have a strong reinforcement history in the crate. I still doubt that they would drive fast into it though! But I'm thinking that this is something that we may just have to build up to in time. On another note I started a restrained collar grab game with both my dogs before our walk last night - I put them in a wait in the lounge room, open the garage door, go back to them, grab their collars and rev them up and on my 'go' cue let them go and they both really drive to the back of the car! woohoo (not exactly the nice quiet controlled exit out the door but oh well)

Yes this is correct.

No I haven't but I definately think this would work with Chip since he is much more enthusiastic and has more drive - especially where food is related Yet with Kiesha even for food she would still probably just stroll over to it and definately wouldn't pull on her collar thats not lady like The only thing that she really really really drives for is a bird (not really reliable training reinforcement) and the back of the car when I open the garage door and release her from her mat to go for a walk. Bingo... this could be the start of our collar grab games, might see how it works.

Congratulations to you both for finding jobs that pay lots more! Where can I find me one of those? I've decided that I'm going to start again from the beginning tonight to build some more value for the crate. This time around I'm also going to be more patient and make sure every step is cemented 110% before moving on Hopefully we'll have more success over the next few weeks.

Yeah you might be right Serket. Perhaps I haven't built enough value for the crate and have gone through the first stages too fast. I might go back a few steps and see how that goes.