Mrs Rusty Bucket

I wasn't either - worked just fine with other dogs I'd trained. But I had to learn new ways to train with this dog because nothing more aversive than a no-reward marker or no reward, works. Huski, I agree with most of your post except the bit about which does more damage. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder doesn't come from too many rewards. I admit that Obesity related illness can. But I know which one I'd rather have. Bad unpleasant experiences even just once tend to be ETCHED forever in a way that good ones are not. But repeated good experiences create much value and joy in an activity. And my dog does get stressed and frustrated when she doesn't get the treat. But she also gets very excited by the game of figuring what she has to do to get the treat. If I give the treats for crappy performance, or just get it wrong, I lose her engagement, it's too easy and she doesn't learn anything or improve. The Bob Bailey rules on this is if we can get it right 80% of the time or 4 out of 5 attempts - we will make progress. Part of success in our style of training involves teaching the dog to do something then testing the dog in their understanding... so the dog failing to get the reward is part of the training. Eg a stay with no distractions is pretty easy... but lets try it again with a small distraction... I can't understand the old school obedience insisting no distractions to the point of if a magpie lands near the dogs in a competition stay - they get a do-over. So I agree that if one wants to have success at least two quadrants must be used. Eg treat or no treat (and or NRM) covers two quadrants. And I do like to stay away from the technical language because most people think +P is a good thing. It's positive right? Same with the alpha wolf study and the Ceasar Milan stuff. I don't know Bristol Uni. I do know Bob Bailey, Susan Garrett, Paul McGreevy, Ian Dunbar, Steve White... Most of them are very good record keepers ie they keep records of their training plans, and their results. And they are all passing on their knowledge to the benefit of people who take them up. And people are taking up these methods because they work - it's most obvious on the agility field (the fastest dogs are trained this way) but becoming more obvious in other areas of training and competition. I don't think the "purely positive" that the article writer is talking about is what these trainers and their students are using tho. I don't like seeing people who never ever train their dog (or children) to have good manners either. I don't want to be around them or their dogs or children. Reward based training is not about letting your dog be naughty and do whatever it wants. Control the environment, limit the choices, reward the good choices... If a bad choice is self rewarding - it has to be interuppted and stopped. But you don't need to yell at a dog or yank on the lead to do that. 70% women: that's probably a good representation of people obsessed with dog training. Have you been to any dog competition apart from IPO recently? True but if you reward the dog (praise, attention, pats, treats) for keeping the lead loose and prevent the dog from pulling and self reinforcing... they stop pulling really quick. Without that basic training, my dog would either lean into the chain, choke herself, cause herself pain and bruising - that she didn't feel until later... or she'd lie completely flat on the ground and not move in any direction. One old school instructor suggested dragging her - and then she'd get up he said. She did not. I can't believe I did some of that stuff to her because some old school trainer said it was a good idea. Sheesh. She is way smarter than me at dog training. From the article. This is a very classic misunderstanding of what Punishment means in the science jargon. All it means is to reduce the (undesirable) behaviour. If you can reduce the undesirable behaviour by not-rewarding it or training an incompatible behaviour, you've "Punished" the (undesirable) behaviour. Collar pops, taps etc are all intended to reduce an undesirable behaviour - so if they actually work (and often they do not) - then they are +P punishment.

I haven't got time to go through the whole article but it's clear to me that the person who wrote it doesn't understand reward based training, how to use it or why it works - and faster than aversive based training. Here's what I've got so far. But most of the more emotional statements - just look like crap to me. It does explain the trouble I have explaining to my brother and the old school trainers at the old school club (and yes some of them are well over 80 and refuse to even listen). The reward based trainers I follow, are not permissive. They do not allow their dogs to behave badly. They set up their dogs for success by starting their training in a low distraction environment - eg a small boring room in the home - not the crazy yank and crank paddock bashing fest that is most obedience dog club classes for beginners. The obedience clubs are the ones punishing dogs for friendly behaviour - so 7 years ago - there were quite a few instructors who could not let their dogs near any other dogs. And during my time in that environment - I watched one instructor have the worst time getting her dog to recall. All the old school trainers believed it was impossible to train a dog to stay or recall before it was 12 months old and they hated puppy classes. Could it be that hyper, hysterical aggressive dogs - might come from puppy farms where they get no propper human or dog socialisations before they go to their new homes. And the new homes belong to people where both parents work all day and the kids are at school all day. In the "Old days" - there was always someone home to keep the puppy out of trouble. There's plenty of youtube video of Ceasar Milan that clearly show that what he does encourages dog bites. Even he says "do not try this at home" but I meet people every day that do try that at home - and they get bitten and their dog gets progressively more and more aggressive. There is lots of animal training science available now that shows that CM's methods actually slow the dog's ability to learn what is required. Counter productive at best, and dangerours at worst. I don't think this is true. The obedience clubs in this state are very slow to change over to best practice as proved by scientific study over and over. But if you'd like an anecdote - Black Caviar was trained using rewards, and never hit in a race. Pretty sure Bob Bailey did not muzzle the dolphins - how can you reward a dolphin with fish if it is muzzled? Before Bob Bailey - I don't know what methods the Navy used. He probably did start the training off in a "controlled environment" where the dolphin could not nick off. I'm certain the Albatross he also trained for the Navy were not muzzled, and neither was the McCaw and other birds that do free flights at Adelaide Zoo. The McCaw did indeed nick off during a training session recently but as soon as it was found - it was very happy to return of its own accord to the trainers arm. There's a world wide dog sport that challenges the validity of this. It's called Agility. You cannot get a fast dog with punishment. And these dogs will ignore all the distractions - other dogs running and barking in the next ring. Everything - to run with their owners. Most of them will hold a most excellent sit stay and not nick off to attack another dog. Better than I've seen in obedience classes where it's common with dogs that have been trained in a low distraction environment (no running and flapping and screaming during the stay practice at dog club) and then brought to compete in a high distraction environment. Nice back flip - it works or it doesn't. How do you feel about the person who brings you cake (or money or whatever you desire) in exchange for simple tasks - being good for santa - vs the person who gives you a speeding ticket, even when you thought you weren't speeding (limit changed, sign missing). Is it better for an amateur trainer to be using punishment and being nasty to their dog or to use rewards. The fall out for getting punishment wrong can be extreme, where if you get rewards wrong - all you need is a coach for better timing and mechanics and you can fix it. You can't fix the trauma associated with years of badly done (amateur) yank and crank. How many dogs do we see out pullling like a freight train on their "slip" collar? Wouldn't be better if they were pulling on a flat collar, or hanging with the owner for a stream of treats (no pulling oooh). Neither is right but one is more successful than the other. With my dog - using a slip chain and yanking - meant I got a dog that did not want to walk to the park. For YEARS. Took me two years with good timing, rewards and a flat collar before she looked forward to a walk. You don't need a clicker. And yes it's very precise but you don't need it. "yes" will do. "good dog" works. Shoving a treat in the dogs mouth works. Catch up, the science has moved on. How many of us feel a rush of pleasure when we see "approved" on the machine when we pay at the supermarket? I do. Exquisite timing is more important when you're using punishment/averisves. If your timing is not perfect - it's not going to discourage a behaviour and then it's abuse. Hence CM does actually manage to train dogs while his casual students fail - because he has supurb timing. But the fall out is still bad. He and his students get bitten. Using aversives is equivalent to teaching a child how to spell by hitting it with a ruler or just scolding it each time it makes a wrong guess about what letter comes next. And not telling the child what word it is they have to spell.

When you do get a car harness... make sure it is secured by something other than plastic buckles. Or has been crash tested. None of them are perfect in a crash from a speed over about 30km/h but you sure don't want one that breaks at speed less than that. This one got the best rating from Choice/NRMA. I don't think you can get it from the local pet supplies shops. Sleepypod’s Clickit Utility Harness https://sleepypod.com/shop/dog-harness/clickit-utility.html http://www.nrma.com.au/paws-and-secure-your-puppy I've got a Bergan one. I'm not 100% happy with it. The straps tend to self adjust and there are some plastic buckles in key places but it does attach via the webbing to a mountain climbing grade carabiner to the seatbelt in your car. https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=3169&ParentCat=202 I had a Kramar one but the buckle on it broke. Just doing it up... And the thing depends on those plastic buckles working. And plastic buckles tend to let go under impact. You may also have to watchout for doggy carsickness. The lower down in the car the dog can be - and not be able to see out, the better. And not feeding before you travel... at least four hours... And doing lots of very short practice trips. My dog eventually figured out she would be ok if she kept her head down and her eyes shut. And I figured out if she sat up and was drooling I had about 2 seconds to pull over safely before she spewed up everything she'd eaten the night before. I carried a lot of newspaper in the car for the first six months to catch it. sigh. And towels and buckets and water and stuff to clean up.

yikes. I thought mouth wash was 90% alcohol... xylitol - no wonder they say don't swallow it - tho I feel sorry for the extreme alcoholics who drink it... I got given this as a roll on - cedarwood and rosemary oils... smells really nice but I'm not sure if it will stop mozzies eating me. Will let you all know. http://www.crystalclearwater.com.au/product/NB-R006

Hi Skip I don't think you can "win" all the time... For your Dad, the turning side on, watching dog from side can be helpful. I've stopped a dog charging me by doing this... When I was facing it - it was threatened and got aggressive, I turned side on, looked down (but stayed tall) and the dog just stopped. The owners were "wow, how did you do that?". The dog was a golden retriever. You just have to judge each dog on its actions. Never back away or run away, because that can incite chase. If you were directly approaching - sometimes going obliquely ie changing to an arc around the naughty dog can help. Being really tall can help. A human crouching can make a bad dog brave. With small yappy dogs, actually making a stompy approach a few steps as they charge at you can help. Tho sometimes they circle around and come from behind so if you can stompy sideways and get a tree or fence so there's no room to get you from behind that can help. And I find "call your dog" doesn't work. But "BAD IDEA" with a hand up like a stop sign (before the dog gets close) does work for reasons I haven't figured out yet. I guess nobody wants to be shown up for "Stupid" which is what progressing into a "Bad Idea" would be. I have also crossed roads to get away from a dog following us. By that time - I'm that angry at the owner for doing nothing, I'm hoping for traffic. I do feel bad for the naughty dog for having such a clueless owner.

usually if a dog (or human) is allergic enough to get anaphylactic shock - they swell up very fast and airways swell shut in minutes... you don't get long. But if a dog (or human) gets a bad reaction to a bee sting or a big dose ie the sting is not removed straight away... and then they get another sting... they can be at risk of anaphylactic shock from the second dose... https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/anaphylaxis For your dog - the antihistamine helps. And a second dose - 12 to 24 hours later (depending on which dose) can be helpful. I got a bad wasp or ant sting - and the whole of my back of my knee blistered. When I finally figured out what to do about it - I was on antihistamines every day for about 4 days to get it back to normal. Was the worst itching ever. My dog put her nose up a bee's bum one time - and I didn't notice until she started to look like a bull terrier, and then I checked for the sting - right in the centre of the top of her head between her nose and her eyes... removed it without squeezing the bulb bit, and iced her up which she wasn't thrilled about. she still mistakes bees and wasps for blow flies. Fortunately she's pretty crap at catching any of them.

All I can see - apart from irresistible cuteness... is the thought.... "is that camera tasty? Let me try"

I guess that's about the only way you could get me to watch that brand of insurance ad. Look what happened to the truck http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/06/melting-ice-cream-truck-by-the-glue-society/

I should get my hair dresser to invest in one of those... No wonder it turns Frosty into an Opera Singer with a wagging tail.

House training dog... I think maybe he's not sure where he's supposed to pee... Important to clean up with stuff like bicarb soda and vinegar and not bleach. Bleach smells a bit like dog pee - so if you're using that in the laundry or similar products - the dog will think it's ok to pee there... After you've cleaned up, a light spray of lavender oil (1/4 teaspoon) and water (500ml) should help, as might a wipe over of the pee spot with a bit of vicks vapour rub - which will stop the pre-pee sniff test. But might not make a comfortable place to sleep. The other thing that might is a "dog appeasing pheromone" - if you're making the dogs sleep away from you. DAP is supposed to be comforting. Depending how old he is - he might not be able to hang on all night. Mine needed midnight pee stops until about 18 weeks old and I had to be very diligent to make sure she actually peed each time I took her out. Cos a puppy is easily distracted and forgets what they're supposed to be doing out there. Sometimes keeping the dog on lead helps them focus.

I have manual winding windows in my car... cos I don't think the electric ones will work if I misjudge a creek crossing. But my old car had little window opening buttons in the arm rests of the doors... and an unrestrained dog (before I knew about dog harnesses and restraining them), stood on the window opening button and opened it. Loved having its nose out the window but we noticed and put it back up without trapping the dog. Put the child proofing on after that. Never trapped the dog with one. I guess the ones I had were too slow.

I've had two exciting weather days with Frosty at the Groomer one - was that hail storm a few months ago - the storm came over while she was being dried and we opted to stay in the shop until the storm cells were gone - really glad about that. and more recently - was glad there was no waiting at back door - it was hot - but not 44'c hot. BlinkBlink's place has AC and it's nice. I stay with evil hound while she's being done tho. Well mostly I stay out of sight of evil hound... if that gets the job done faster and easier.

Ah the smell of wet leather - especially if it gets mildew...

It's not hard to make a version of mince in an ordinary food processor... I think I'd be buying human grade chicken and then putting it in the food processor - dividing into meal sized serves and freezing. I use those little containers that look like chinese takeaway but you can get in some supermarkets, they're more reliable than plastic bags. I noticed in some of the kitchen wares shops I've been into - a lot have mincers like the windy thing my mum used to use... I don't know if that would grind up bones but I don't like feeding ground up bones in mince, not even raw. I don't know what it is about freezer bags - put a steak in, freeze, bring it out to thaw, on a plate, and the plate gets bloody - even if the bag is tied and the tied bit is the highest point. Like the juice goes through the bag on thawing - YUK. Doesn't matter what brand of bag either. I vote for the rabbit being the whitest meat on the list after chicken. But that doesn't mean he will like it or not react to it.

I had a $20 horse lead broken by my dog in the exact same way as the opening post. The snap clip came apart at the swivel. It was a pity because the rope had a really nice feel to it. I can't find any for sale in google - so I'm guessing I'm not the only one who broke the clip. She's eaten through three webbing leads - hence the horse lead - takes her about 30 seconds or three bites to chop through a webbing lead - scissor mouth dog. She busted the join of a cheap as chips lead. I fixed it with whipping cord in the traditional sailing way of joining two ropes together and that has held. And I had a kramar dog harness like one of these - part of the clip bit of one of the buckles broke off. Not chewed or shut in the door - just broke while trying to clip it together. My next car harness - doesn't have any plastic buckles where they matter structurally. http://www.animalhealthstore.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/car_and_walking_harness_5.jpeg And she's pulled apart the buckle of a cheap as chips reflective collar that I use for agility. We just had to say hello to that dog there. I used a rogs collar after that. I do use two leads with the head halter. The one I put on the head halter is super light so it doesn't drag on the attachment and put pressure on her nose and I attach the regular horse lead to a normal collar as usual - just in case.

So what's the bet he's now a Melbourne Dog groomer? I hope someone finds his shop and posts a copy of the Canberra article on it. That's what bothers me most - it's bad he hurt those dogs but it's worse that there's nothing to stop him doing it again.

I think Victoria changed their dog attack laws so that the owner of the dog will be charged with assault if their dog attacks and harms another human... It was about getting more accountability on the owner to take responsibility for the actions of the dog. And I agree with that. Before - it was too easy for owners to blame the dog and never do anything to secure the dog properly or prevent it attacking people or other dogs and there'd be no jail time no matter how much damage the dog did. So I'm glad that law has changed and this man has been charged. Tho (didn't look at the link) seems like him and his dog both attacked. Frankston has a bit of a split personality at the moment. There's some really expensive real estate in the area but the people who think violence is a good way to solve problems are clearly still there.

Took me a while to figure out what state that was in. Our State's north has town called Coober Pedy - but not one called Casino. And mad dog - I always thought that meant Rabies. But it could mean injured and hungry - those dogs aren't often friendly either. A drugged steak might have worked better than trying to shoot it.

Sorry - I tend to take things literally, and then off to some logical extreme of the literal idea. I can't tell from what you write about gold fish what you know about how they think. Or sarcasm often doesn't come across right in written form - hence people putting "not" on the end of sarcastic sentences. I guess it could have been worse - you could have said blonde brains... (apologies to blondes). :)

does the Nikon d750 let you choose file names based on time and date? Or do you have to update afterwards?

Dogs with too much air. My dog is definitely one of those. Recent FB pic of her going over the jump - and she's about three times higher in the air than she needs to be for the jump set at 300, she usually jumps 500 but I reckon she would have cleared a metre with that leap...

What about lining the dog space with a big tarp and hosing that off and allowing to dry? You might need two tarps to alternate them. I consider myself lucky - not much wet dog smell with mine. Even when she's been swimming at the beach and then hosed off. I've got a car hammock made out of double rip stop canvas from equestrian rug repair shop for the back seat for her to be on - and I put old sheets and towels on that and wash them all from time to time.

I love the photos of a dog doing the guilty look amongst a photo of mayhem and destruction - but I don't assume the photos go with the dog being scolded. My dog does that look and I don't scold her for anything. Someone at the beach tried to scold their dog for nicking my dog's chuckitball and then they tried to say hello to my dog who wouldn't go near because of the scolding... My dog wasn't at all bothered about sharing the chuckitball - I do like to encourage her to share everything and she's really good at that. But she also nicks other dog's toys if she thinks they don't want them. Today at the beach - she "retrieved" Pele's new bumper toy, and then played the chase me game with another dog - and some of the looks on her face when she was trying to fire up the chase... It's that exact same look of mischief that small children get when they run off when the parent wants to go home/out. I don't think it's "guilty" or even "naughty" - it's more like "joy and mischief" combined. Nyah Nyah can't catch me - where does that come from? There's so much we don't know.

Goldfish (and wild fish) and dogs are really good at remembering who feeds them and the sequences leading up to that.

I can't find the video - it may have been part of a bbc documentary... This is a description of the experiment - where the dog may or may not have stolen a treat - the owner doesn't know... the dog shows the same behaviour when scolded - whether they were guilty or not. https://dogscience.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/is-the-guilty-look-your-dog-gives-you-real/ I think it's possible that dogs do feel bad when they do something you don't want (naughty) but it probably doesn't last very long - hence for training to be effective you have to implement the encouragement or discouragement - immediately. But they do make really powerful associations... which may have nothing to do with what they've done. My dog messes with her rugs when she's really upset and I'm not there. If I'm there she mostly doesn't. Except - she does like to dig a bed for herself in the couch sometimes (usually gets attention from me). She never does this when I'm out tho - she just sleeps on my end of the couch. Dogs making their bed - is the strangest looking behaviour...