Mrs Rusty Bucket

What about a beagle? They can run all day and all night... Or is that too small. Dogs I've seen out with runners - border collies, keplies, and staffordshire bull terriers - I kid you not. And the occasional doodle. A full poodle would probably be ok. I think the German Shepherd, Malinois dogs have good endurance too. Sled dogs would also have good endurance - though I'm not sure how much fun their coats would be to look after. There is also a short haired collie (like Lassie only with short hair) gorgeous looking dog and would be good for long runs. Those and cattle dogs have a major coat shedding period about twice a year on change of season. I find a good brush every couple of days and a sabco dry mop helps deal with that. Maybe they should check out what dogs are jogging with their bosses on the beach. Or check out what dogs are doing endurance tests (the latest dog sport). I knew a GSP which would run about 50km back to its old home when ever it was left alone longer than an hour. It ended up choosing itself a new home with a stay at home mum and kids. You could get them to try out this - it's not perfect but it does provide reasons why or why not a breed would suit. http://dogtime.com/matchup/start

My dog used to get carsick. What I learned. 1. Never feed before a car trip, even a short one. Especially if there are any corners or stop/starts. And that goes - don't feed for at least four hours before car trip, maybe longer. If you must feed, use something that is easily and quickly and completely digested like mince. Avoid dry dog food which is going to return almost fully intact but gooey even after 12 hours. 2. Line dog place with newspaper - makes cleanup easier. Have some buckets, sponges, and water available for cleanup. You can put a towel over the newspaper but it's harder to get the dog vomit off a towel than it is to stick newspaper in a bin. 3. If dog sits up when it was lying down, halt the car *immediately* and put newspaper under dog's mouth. You will not get time to find a nice place to pull over. Especially if that means going around three more corners. 4. Do a short trip to a fun place - like a dog walking oval - every day (eg before breakfast). I used to drive dog about 1.5km to a local oval. We could have walked to get there, but she needed the car travel practice. 5. If you can stop your dog seeing out - it helps. My dog figured this out for herself. If she lay down and kept her eyes shut, she would not get car sick. Or at least not throw up. There are variations on this theme - from a sort of igloo box on the floor of the car (make sure the gearbox doesn't make the floor too hot) to a covered crate to dog with eyes shut (snood?).

What the others said by starting with targets This guy does it with balls on sticks for targets, click and treating This one is the first in a series of step by step articles on how to do it. http://www.clickandtreat.com/Clicker_Train...GG003/ff004.htm click on the "next article" link at the bottom of the page to get to the next step in the sequence etc. I haven't tried it however. Must get me some fibreglass tent poles and pratice golf balls or something.

It's against the australian road rules to lead or attach an animal to a moving vehicle on any road or road related area - which includes bike paths and shared use paths. About the only place you could do it is private property. It's also illegal in most states to allow someone not of a responsible age (eg under 18) to be in charge of a dog. And it's illegal to walk a dog in a public place when it's not under effective control (eg on a lead 2m or less in the hand of a responsible person) or in an off lead area - under effective control - running under a bike wheel is not effective control. So the mother broke about three laws at least. The puppy probably has internal injuries - based on the blood coming out of the nose - head injuries or lung injuries. But what could you do? Follow her back to her car, take her licence plate and report her to police and the RSPCA? Do you want to interfer that much or just leave the kelpie puppy to risk bleeding to death of internal injuries. what if the kelpie is fine? If I was on a treadly and saw a kid coming at me like that - I'd have hit the skids well before they got to me. It's the worst thing about popular bike paths eg Linear Park in SA and around the lakes in Canberra, and around Swan River in WA. There's little kids and dogs and parents running everywhere. The parents don't go to the kids so they're all in one place when a bike wants to go past - they try to call the kids or pets across the path to them. Sometimes I wonder if having kids sucks some parent's brains out. And you can't afford to get any speed up on a treadly when you can't see far enough ahead to stop if some kid or dog or drunken adult runs in front of you. Or a snake. I'd finally managed to get my co-ordination down enough to go down the hill behind the AIS in Canberra and into OConnor without needing to brake at the bottom corner next to the creek and the first time I do it - there's a brown snake crossing the bike path. We both freaked out, and managed to avoid each other but it was a near thing. I had my feet on the handlebars as I went past.

There are quite a few dogs at our dog club that are like that including some that belong to instructors. They hate being approached or sniffed by other dogs. Some of them are ok (they don't snap) when they're the dog that gets to approach while the other dog lies down or upside down (non threatening positions). But they snap if that dog or any other does the approaching and sniffing (perceived threat). My dog always wants to approach and greet other dogs, and sometimes I forget to make sure she leaves these unfriendly dogs alone, but you can see really quickly their hackles go up and a growl... though some of them have been scolded by their owners for doing that so they give no warning at all. Snap first, can't be told off for giving a warning. If my dog was like that - and another dog approached - I'd go between her and the other dog (blocking) and I'd give the warning growl to make the approaching dog back off. It's a strict rule at our dog club that you MUST get permission from the other dog owner before you allow your dog to approach - so people who complain - when they've done the wrong thing and their dog gets snapped at - don't get the support they were looking for. And I'd probably avoid off leash places. But most state animal management rules say - my dog is not allowed to chase or harass another (without the owner's permission)... so same rule as dog club would apply. If another dog approached yours and persisted when you told it off, then it's harrassing you and your dog. Given that some of these dogs belong to instructors, I think training some dogs to give up their personal space and be ok about being greeted or surprised by other dogs - might be extremely difficult.

Well that would help Pele lose a lot of weight but I doubt KHM would scarf up possum poo or anything else left lying around on the ground at the dog club. At the beach - Frosty likes dead fish - to roll in mostly and strange stinky dead sea creatures at the beach. Some beach fishermen were extremely happy to have a sand worm she found in a bit of washed up sponge and rolled in... And sometimes there are left over fish and chip wrappers on the beach. Hard to get her to trade those in for roast chicken or lamb. I have to work pretty hard to keep her attention sometimes. I have seen a bloke chucking off cuts including bones around the dog club park. I screamed and yelled at him to stop. I have a photo of his car and licence plate. He's often there on Tuesday mornings and sometimes other times. He's got two staffy on stilts type dogs which are perfectly well behaved if a little scary to look at. Haven't seen him do it recently but it's a risk. My dog can't eat bones because she makes splinters out of them and they come back to haunt us at both ends. Really really bad. Maybe that's what Pele found. I also found (or Frosty did) a lot of left over dog treats around the park the same week that Pele got sick.

What Esky said. Attacking sheep should not be part of BC temperment - but I'm not sure they test that in BC Shows. So it could still win a show competition or be a great agility dog but it would be useless as a sheep herder (what the BC was originally bred to do). I'm trying to give an example of how differences develop between working and show lines. Ie you have a pretty athletic black and white dog that looks like a bc but can't safely work sheep - is it still a border collie? Is it ok to breed from it if it's great at agility (or some other dog sport or doggy task). Do you still call it a border collie? I don't think there is a black and white answer to these kinds of questions, but they're worth thinking about and discussing. My main point is that shows which are usually designed to pick the best dogs for breeding, should ideally test and take into account the abilities the dog was originally bred for. At the moment - as far as I know - the standard breed shows do not do this. They will disqualify a dog for bad temperment like biting a judge - but is herding instinct tested or required? You probably wouldn't want to test things like dog fighting ability and maybe not use real or live ducks for hunting/retreiving in breed shows. But I think some of the schutzen hound stuff would be a fair test of dogs bred to be guard dogs. Ie using padded up humans or dummies. I don't know where you'd draw the line when using dogs for hunting does usually involve killing some live critter. I guess it depends on how acceptable this is where the dog show is held. Us city folk sure have gotten soft in the last 40 years or so. If they could, would the RSPCA ban predators hunting live creatures in the wild? And then to get really controversial - is it ok to try to breed for a particular temperment or ability by mixing breeds. This is how quite a few of today's dog breeds like ACD came to be. Is it more valid if it was done 150 years ago than if it was done in the last 10 years? If a particular family line of dogs has some sort of fault, is it ok to outcross with another breed to try to correct this? Again this used to be an ok thing to do but seems to be bad now. Note - my dog is a desexed bitsa and I'm not into breeding or showing. But I will probably do competition dog sports. If she will ever go round without a bribe in sight.

My acdx used to try to herd anything that ran or moved at any speed faster than walking. This usually involved ankle nipping - most embarrasing. Was she herding? Then you need to work on "leave it", "stop", remote drop, and recall. Ideally you spot the moving critter (prey/herding trigger) before your dog does. Or it could be the "second fear period" that goes with doggy adolescence. And then you might need to keep her on lead when you're not paying 100% attention. Or in the case of my dog, she needed to be on lead - even if I was paying attention. Cos adolescence means not doing what you're told when you're told - right?

I used to get my horse to make funny faces by working the sweet spot around his withers that he couldn't reach. I knew when I hit it cos he'd stick his head up in the air and curl his lips up and quiver and then lean on me and I'd have to stop until he stood on his own feet so I could start again. I found the sweet spot on a friends arab foal and she showed her appreciation by looking for one on my shoulder, was hysterical. Fortunately she only used lips to work my jacket so no holes. so much fun.

Hi KHM Do I have the tank water instant diet for you. Nothing like a good dose of giardia to make the weight fall off. At least I think it was the tank water...

To get the working lines and show lines back together, you'd have to change the average dog (pretty) show to include a few exercises that demonstrated the working ability appropriate for that breed as well as the gait and conformation checks. And if I was setting it up, I think you'd have to have a huge variety of exercises available to choose from and then choose a few different ones for each show. Eg BC would have to round up some sheep and then do the pretty thing in the ring. If BC couldn't herd sheep or attacked them it's not a proper BC... but it could still be a nice pet or agility dog. As long as working ability is not tested in the show ring - there will be split lines. Not sure what happens when the nature of the work changes eg agility isn't really dog work historically speaking.

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...205592&st=0 Just thought I'd link up the doggy day at the beach...

I dunno The dog agility scene here seems very small even though we can be running four rings or more all day. See the same people and judges at each one. And given one of the judges is one of my instructors, of course she introduces me to the other ones. I help steward - cos I'm not yet competing in anything but mock trials... The secretary was up to her eyeballs sorting competitor numbers, and then results, the Technical Director was running here there and everywhere trying to make sure each ring had enough stewards. I refused to be a timer cos I've got spastic fingers and occasional lapses in concentration and I know I bugger up things like that. For obedience I'm setting up rings and ferrying out "props", and trying to organise shade - next show I'm at - I'm BYO shade. One volunteer showed up to steward - with her dog. Um. That didn't work. Mostly it's more like chaos than organised and at the end - there's some results. Once we got going in the agility ring I was doing - it was super fast. But that was mainly down to a very experienced judge, and timer, and the competitors - also experienced since it was open/masters and they all helped with everything from setting the jump heights to getting the order sorted (gets tricky when people run out of order because they have loads of dogs in different rings). Competitors were also fetching drinks for the judges and stewards. Although sometimes us stewards could do a run between classes / heights. This is at club level - but it counts towards state comps. I think. But in my experience with certain dog breeders - they do know each other and who is showing what etc. Of course a newbie wouldn't know everybody but I'd be willing to bet the long time competitors would notice you. I suppose the show ring is different? But from what I've seen - not really. Maybe competitions that are judged more on a subjective opinion of doggy appearance are prone to more perception of favourtism? Like ice skating used to be? Where as stuff like agility and obedience at the basic level - it's obvious to everybody when a dog gets it right. Although I have trouble knowing if the contacts are right or even if all the poles got done right in the weaves with a fast dog - just as well I don't judge. Or maybe it's practice.

Leptospira interrogans This is one of the bacterial ones that is better done annually, but I don't think it's included in C5 and I can't figure out (google not helping) - what areas are high risk for it. I'm thinking it's tropical so if I never take my dog to Cairns or Darwin, not needed? I sent an email to my vet (the one that is my club president) but haven't had a reply yet.

It's an Australian Road Rule (adopted by all states in exchange for road funding (1) The driver of a motor vehicle must not lead an animal, including by tethering the animal to the motor vehicle ... (unless some other rule overrides this). A bicycle counts as a vehicle http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/cons...rr210/s301.html so you can't do it on an Australian road or "road related area". http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/cons...arr210/s13.html 13—What is a road-related area (1) A "road-related area is any of the following: (a) an area that divides a road; (b) a footpath or nature strip adjacent to a road; © an area that is not a road and that is open to the public and designated for use by cyclists or animals; (d) an area that is not a road and that is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles. NSW has the same rules as SA http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/viewtop/...179+2008+fn+0+N I do know in SA that there is some sort of sled dog club that involves hooking sled dogs to carts and barrelling around private? tracks. If there was such a thing in NSW - you could go there. In the meantime - I think as long as you don't scary any other track users and you stay away from cars - nobody is going to enforce the rule. If you hurt yourself and want to make an insurance claim - do not mention leading or attaching the dog from or to the bicycle.

He does seem a bit fearful. If you can, get the owners of the big puppies to get their dogs to lie down or roll over, and allow your puppy to approach on a loose lead. If he starts barking, walk him away, until he calms down and then try again. But it might for now, be best, if your puppy was the one that initiated approach for big puppies/dogs if he is scared of them because if he learns that barking at them makes them go away - he might get worse. It shouldn't take him very long to work out that big puppies are no threat and fun to play with but not if the issue gets forced. It may also help if he sees other small puppies playing with the big ones.

I got a rescue ACD x. Because I wanted a dog I could train. And one that wouldn't be too demandnig all the time. I think I oops'd on the demanding thing. I've worked out a balance with her but she suckered some of my friends in. But I'd prefer a working line - ie dog bred to be active and trainable over one bred to be essentially pretty. If show dogs get assessed more on performance (what can they do?) and temperment over appearence then I would consider show lines.

Hi all Choice has put out an article about dog (and cat) vaccinations today. I read mine online but you might need to be a member or pay to read it. Essentially Choice are quoting Sydney Uni vets suggesting that you need to get your dog vaccinated every three years, and the article contains two "Case studies" where dogs have died from bad reactions to vaccines. Great. Scare me much? My dog has had no major adverse reaction to vaccinations so far - she's two. She is a bit quiet the first day after but apart from that - no problem. But if the effect is cumulative, she might have a bad reaction next time. I also don't know what to do because my dog club (president is a vet) and most boarding kennels expect to view an up to date vaccination certificate. If I find a vet who agrees with the AVA policy - and I get my dog "titre tested", can that vet write a certificate stating my dog is immunised without actually giving the vaccine that year? Also how do I know if the virus vaccine is a "killed core vaccine" or not? http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests...troduction.aspx a discussion about the cost of titre testing and vaccination - pays to check first. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=205445 Australian Vet Association info on Vaccinations http://www.ava.com.au/node/1049 this is the policy the AVA has adopted. from the world small animal vet assocation pdf "Guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats http://www.wsava.org/PDF/Misc/VGG_09_2007.pdf extract: Revaccination of Adult Dogs Dogs that have responded to vaccination with MLV core vaccines maintain a solid immunity (immunological memory) for many years in the absence of any repeat vaccination. Following the 12 month booster, subsequent revaccinations are given at intervals of three years or longer, unless special conditions apply. It should be emphasised that the considerations given above do not generally apply to killed core vaccines nor to the optional vaccines, and particularly not to vaccines containing bacterial antigens. Thus Leptospira, Bordetella and Borrelia (Lyme disease) products require more frequent boosters for reliable protection.

Gawd Tilly I know people who steward for the 4* in Adelaide and for the Sydney Olypmics and they were not that uptight. Though we all knew the names and quite often the pet names for all the horses anyway. Maybe eventing is just that little bit more laid back. Or the judge was pulling your leg.

Ok, given that one of the activities is a walk between Henley and Grange Jetties, I think I would aim to be in one of the carparks along the esplanade to the north of Henley jetty, There is access from North Street into the Esplanade going south or north and you can't get in from the other ends eg through the car park next to the pasta restaurant or from Marlborough street. Maps.google.com.au is your friend. There is a car park on Marlborough street though it is fairly small and there is another on the esplanade on the South side of Henley square which is where i'd park if I was just going to eat at Henley square - entrance is just north of the torrens outlet, well south of Henley Square. Where I usually go is West Beach near the Surf Club (yummy pancakes and coffee), Is tempting to go there for breakfast beforehand, but it's a bit of a hike to Henley square. The good thing about the surf club is they do cater for dogs, and you can sit outside on their balcony. But you need someone or something to hold the dog while you go in and order and they're slow to cook stuff. Amateurs. If I did that, I'd not be starving and trying to figure out what I can eat at Henley square. The bbq might be worth avoiding with dog in hand. Distinctive for me - if I remember - purple straw hat. Frosty is pretty distinctive all by herself but might be hard to see when she's upside down. And it's going to be run by "Compliance" ie the rangers - so might be a good idea to keep dogs on lead especially in the square and have plenty of doggy bags to hand. There's not always a good supply at those beaches.

Me too - if I remember to put it in my phone. Frosty loves the beach.

didn't see this before. I always team "ouch" with ignore - so she always loses if she bites. If a dog grabs hold and I want them to let go and they don't when I say "ow" or "oi" - I push - gently but persistently. So far every dog has tried to spit me out. If you play rough with dog eg the pinching thing - there is a good chance they will play rough back. As for the biting to get away, when you're going to the beach and you have her in your lap, have a lead on her - a rig that she can't slip out of, so if she bites you to get away you can put her down safely but she doesn't get away or what she wants. Turning your back on her and ignoring for a few seconds, and if needed, putting your foot on the lead so she only has a short run may all help.

Despite the fact that my dog loves chasing things, almost as much as she likes being pursued... So far, she's useless at killing things. She has successfully chased and cornered a rabbit and several cats, but the second she catches up with them, she doesn't know what to do apart from standing there barking at them - like RUN why doncha? I've given her mice that haven't been killed by the traps and she just sniffs and sometimes licks them. No killer chomp. Even if I let the mouse go. I think I'm grateful. But in the case of the mice, it means I have to knock them off, which I don't enjoy. Much prefer the trap did it in the first place.

Well done JB. Barking - I use the squirt bottle too. Must get a new one, the current one died. I also try to give the dog something else to do and I ignore and act all unconcerned about whatever she's barking at, especially if it's the neighbours. I also took my dog around all the neighbour's houses to introduce her to them, to let them know where she belonged and ask them to let me know if they have any problems with barking or whatever. So they know I would be wiling to listen to any concerns. As for nipping other dogs, my dog matches what the other dog does and plays as rough or gentle as they do. So with the farm dogs - they're hanging off each other's cheeks and ears and neck. She plays with one beagle by constantly tipping it up and rolling it so it can't run, much to the owner's delight and the beagle always jumps back in for more. If a dog shows any sign of distress or fear or agression - I call my dog away and she comes. Whoo hoo. If you're concerned your dog is nipping and it's upsetting other dogs (or their owners), you might like to combine recall training ie getting your dog to leave the other dog alone when you tell it to, and also social practice ie allow greetings and a small amount of play on lead and the second your dog gets too rough, call him away then drag him out if he doesn't come willingly. Ie he only gets to play when you say it's ok and only as hard as you say. And also calm greetings, ie approach on loose lead and the second your dog takes up the slack and starts pulling, turn around and walk away until you have loose lead again. Then approach again. Sometimes I get my dog to drop (and then she commando crawls) to greet another dog or small child. This may also help give you some control over greetings and play. Most puppies learn how hard they can play with each dog eg be nice and gentle with older dogs, and play as rough as you like with puppies your size, and it may be that this lab hasn't had that opportunity to practice what works and what doesn't. Looks like your lab is a quick learner, I'm sure you will do well.

I stop my dog from doing it. I do inspect the tail for anything that needs chewing (eg fleas, ticks, bee stings). I know some people teach their dogs to spin on command, I guess that could work like teaching a barking dog to speak on command, ie my dog has to stop barking in order to figure out what she needs to do to get the treat and then she just does the quietest growl unless I ask her to be "louder". Shuts her up. Maybe that would work for a spin ie one spin gets a treat and attention, no need for more. My dog mostly does it out of frustration when she wants something but can't have it. And I do not laugh or do anything to encourage it, always give her a distraction or something else to do. It can be quite obsessive - especially in cattle dogs, and anything done to excess is harmful from too much wear and tear, to mental heath problems. At the moment, I don't plan to teach her to spin on command because it's too close to something she shouldn't be doing anyway. Ie I don't want her offering it up as an attempt to get attention or a treat.