Mrs Rusty Bucket

I can tolerate most hours, but 5:30am - not good. I poke her until she stops or leaves the room... pulling her bed so it moves tends to get most durable result. I got her back from RSPCA boarding one year with a massive rash on her belly and they said they never saw her licking. Were they looking at 5:30 am - I think not.

Do you mean more photos in the sequence or bigger photos. You can get bigger photos on a windoze based system by pressing ctrl and then ++++

I agree with the others - you don't have to feel like you're "bonded", if you both enjoy each other's company - that's enough. Training - I had to learn a whole new way with my dog - she loves food - great, but will also "seek reinforcement from the environment" ie quite happy to nick off and do her own thing. If I used any kind of reprimand or a slip chain - she'd shut down, lose interest, nick off or lie down and refuse to move. Made recall training zero fun. We weren't much good at sit stay until I started training it with her dinner as reward. She didn't do a doggy smile for me until she was maybe 18 months old. The key thing to training is to find out what your dog likes to work for and when he's most excited about being with you. With most dogs - it's often when you first get home. With my dog it's when I'm preparing her dinner or vegemite on toast (I don't know why that's so special). She also gets really excited by fly hunting with the fly swat. So I can swat stuff and she gets super excited. She wants the fly swat but I know she will just chew it up into bits. She also gets excited by my swatting stuff with a rolled up newspaper - it's ok if she chews that up into bits. Whippets love chasing things - so one of those fluffy toys on a string - with maybe a bit of a fibreglass pole to get it out from your body would work? And then you can use that as a reward or play break between training sessions. And then most training sessions - when we're learning something new - I keep really short - I count out five treats/rewards and when they're gone - the session is done. It's important (but does my brain in) to end the session when the dog still wants more. You want to end the session when the dog is still looking forward to more training - not bored with the idea. The people who do TV drama have a good handle on this effect. So when you get the training gear out for the next session the dog is thrilled about the idea.

check with dogsQld - if it is fake (or the breeder won't give you details) - report to gumtree as it is a breach of their policy. You can look up microchip number here - that it exists at least - but the puppies won't have microchips until they are at least 8 weeks old. A vet or RSPCA or your council animal management would be able to verify the chip is assigned to a pom puppy or not - they get more access. http://www.petaddress.com.au/Default.aspx

there's a couple on this page for Rockhampton http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/pomeranian.asp?state=QLD&Submit=Go but you're right - if they're not on there - doesn't mean they're not registered with Dogs QLD. You could also ask Dogs QLD - how many litters they registered last year or this year. if I was buying - I'd want to see a low number here. PS what do they say about whether the puppies will be registered with Dogs QLD. according to ANKC rules - all puppies of registered breeder and registered dogs must also be registered - they can use a "limited" register if they want. I found the gumtree ad but it doesn't say the breeder prefix - it does say registered with Dogs QLD. It doesn't look scammy to me. this is the gumtree policy - I guess it's not possible to provide microchip numbers until the puppy gets microchipped (probably 8 weeks) but the breeder is supposed to provide buyer with their registration details for council and Dogs QLD. If the puppies are not going to be ANKC registered - they're supposed to put the price in the ad - and it be not more than $500 (really?). http://www.gumtree.com.au/scam-security-centre/policies-guidelines/pets/

was it one of these http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/puppies/pomeranian.asp If it is a breeder on dogzonline, check the contact details match. Also if you say what suburb the puppies are in - someone on here or someone you know that lives in that state could volunteer to go check them out to see if they're real or not. Occasionally we get Nigerian scammers - and as soon as you say I have a friend who can come check the puppies out for me - they say the puppies aren't where they said they were... and so you say you have a friend in the new place - and they say the puppies are not there either until finally they say the puppies are in Africa and then you know you can't bring them to oz and it's a complete scam. "registered" often means "with the local council" so you could also phone the local council to check.

Never wanted kids. Occasionally wanted a partner and thought I might have a kid with the right bloke but pretty much gone off the idea of partnering up too. And soon I will be too old. Which doesn't bother me at all. That fact bothers other people, that I'm not into having my own human family. I do like having a dog. Sometimes I wouldn't mind having a horse - if I had an infinite amount of money I might have a city house and a country house with horses and people to help out around the place.

when I'm playing chase the boss, it's important for me to have some toy she can grab hold of, old floppy hat, sock toy (socks stuffed one inside the other) some of the ball toys with ropes, or old tshirts plaited up... so when she catches me I can give her the toy to grab instead of me. Which brings me to rule number one - never play this game in the dusk/dark... cos my dog routinely misses the toy when it's getting dark. OUCH. And definitely game over when this happens. So how does this work to get her attention... I can put my arm up for a direction signal (Greg Derrett handling systems - actually his level 1 dvd is great for training the start line stay with distractions, I found out about him from Susan Garrett and her fans...) Putting my arm up, facing away from my dog and crouching just a little bit like I'm about to take off, frequently gets her focus back... you can also pair your training with some verbal cues or just chat that you say every time you play the game... and say that and your dog thinks "game on" - for me it's often "are you ready?" and "where is it" and "who dat dere?" (which prefaces "go say hello")... And suddenly we have dog's attention... then I run away waving the hat... And when she catches up to me I toss the hat up and get my fingers out the way.

solve one problem, then get new problem to work on :) Glad you've found something that is working...

My dog not only yelled at me at last night's training, when she stuffed up the weavers or nicked off to the seesaw looking for a treat - she went and yelled at the instructor as well... WHERE'S ME TREAT - GIMME THE TREAT - I GO ON THE SEE SAW I GET TREAT - WTF??? yes dog, you only get treat when I ask you to go on the see saw, not when I ask you to turn away from it... but she used to be scared of the see saw so that's an improvement.

Any chance you could get there early and practice at a bit of a distance. Most of our agility training is in parks - and we can get quite a bit of distance from the action if we need to. You might need to practice that before you will be able to let her off lead in that kind of environment. They do get used to it eventually tho. Most of them. As long as it's not distracted-scared in which case - really work the distance and get her comfortable first.

I think it depends on the dog. I don't give my dog bones very often and if I do - I supervise the eating of them. She can break a marrow bone (beef shin bone) into splinters... lamb shank bone was recommended by the vet but what she did to that was scary, long slithers of spikes like needles. I couldn't believe it. She wasn't any better with the beef(?) neck bones either. She does do a reasonable job on a frozen turkey neck. It's too big and to hard for her to swallow whole so she does sort of mash that up properly before she swallows it. Chicken wings are a bit of a problem if they're not frozen - she sort of breaks up the bone without breaking the skin and then sort of folds the whole thing up and swallows it like that ie one great sack of bone lumps. And of course - that gets stuck and she vomits it up - later. Completely gross. And the bits of bone that she swallows whole - arrive at the other end - unchanged - still sharp and spikey and that causes problems too. I much rather feed her a carrot. A friend's dog inhaled a beef neck bone - and it got stuck in the chest and it cost $6000 to get it out. And my friend kept feeding the dog the beef neck bones after the dog healed up. WTF? The reason the dog inhaled the bone - was it feared the dog next door that was barking at the fence - could some how get it if she didn't eat it as fast as possible.

I was there once. Now I just have to remember what I did. Oh, I joined Susan Garrett's online recallers program and learned to play games that keep the dog's focus. But also how to interpret what's going on with the distraction - eg he'd rather think about a bird than pay attention to you. What do you do when this happens? what do you do when he stuffs up something in training. What does he do when you stuff something up? My dog would get the go-sniffs because she found that frustrating - didn't matter which one of us stuffed up. At the moment when either of us stuffs up - she barks a lot. She barks a lot if I'm a bit too slow. She likes it much better when I'm running and she can chase me - does your dog like the chase the boss game? Cos you can use that to get his attention back. One of the first games we got right was "start line stays" - these are fun to train - because you don't need any equipment and it's all about staying in the face of distraction... So you start where there is no distraction and teach the stay... then in the same place - you add some distractions... like you sitting down or standing up or lying down or running around... especially fast movement from behind dog up past dog... you're trying to fake him out... If he holds his stay - reward with something he loves (chasing you, roast chicken, dinner) if he doesn't like food - there's a small possiblity (or huge one in my dog's case) he's getting too much food. No more leaving food out all the time for him to eat when ever he wants (maybe google NILIF). If he breaks his stay, don't say anything - you can laugh at him for stuffing up, and just gently move him back to where he was. Ideally you don't say your "stay" word (mine is "wait") again but I tend to repeat it. Or signal it... And then you try to fake him out again... Keep your sessions really short and fast. I count out five rewards and stop after they're all gone. If you're not using food or toys, maybe keep a counter somewhere - bit of paper and when you get to five - end the game. Pay attention to when he likes to please you... eg when you get home, or while you're preparing dinner... use those times to do your training sessions. When he's got a good handle on a stay with quite a few distractions - inside the house - try outside the house. If he gets hard to catch to put back when he forgets what the game is - put a lead on him to make him easier to catch (but don't tie him up - it needs to be his choice to stay). repeat with increasing distractions. pretend to be the bird calling (find a recording of the noise) - tho I get a good response from my dog calling "puss puss puss" or "olly olly olly" (name of neighbour's cat)... ie that's a massive distraction for her. So are crows. Crows are not allowed. Neither are magpies... So if she loses it - I go catch her and hold her until she calms down, and then I might end the game or we can try again if I think she has a reasonable chance of success. eventually your dog will stay no matter what kind of fake out you try... and the reward my dog always wanted most was to be told "Go" so she could chase me... (an agility thing). She would quit her stay if I went back and gave her food treat cos she thought that meant "exercise complete".

This is good - it probably means you can get good focus on the opposite side of the road? Don't rush it... It does seem to me that you now know what you want to see her doing better and you're training for that so she is getting to understand what you want her to be doing when there's a distraction around. Watch out for situations of "overwhelm", ie where something that seems ordinary in terms of distraction - that something else adds to it for some reason - and she loses it again. Sometimes you get setbacks - just start again - your dog should progress faster the second time around. Add some controlled distractions if you can, and practice in some new environments - where you can get distance if you need to. The more different places with the more different setups you can train - the more solid the understanding will be. As for chasing the other dogs out of the yard. My dog wants to chase all other dogs off her street - she thinks she owns it. Even dogs she knows are her friends - tho she does change her tune if I point that out to her - that it's a dog and person she knows. I don't have guinea pigs. I'm pretty sure my dog would try to protect me or her dog friends if she thought we were threatened. She does try to herd off strange dogs that upset her friends and isn't that nice about it, so I try to prevent that by putting her on lead if a likely trigger dog is approaching.

Hi Sags We used to have an agility team super dogs - of some of the best and most focussed agility dogs in the state. They'd set up pretty simple courses, usually three jumps to a tunnel and maybe some weaves cos they're spectacular done well. Sometimes they'd set up two courses side by side and race the dogs and handlers against each other. Was quick and spectacular and fun for demos. One dog had a bit of a reputation for smashing all the poly pipe uprights in the weaves which also produced some drama for the crowd. Another time - they put two tunnels together and one dog came out at the join - which also caused much laughs - tho they could not persuade it to do that on purpose. Anyway - no contacts, just jumps and tunnels and weaves optional - makes a course easy to transport and set up. Pretty sure you could find an agility club in Vic to help out with that one. PS it would be a little bit tricky to do such a demo if it's a very hot day.

I never really thought of jack russells needing much grooming. I have a short coat cattle dog bitsa - if she gets really disgusting I wash her with baby shampoo 2 in 1, or get my favourite groomer to give her a hydrobath and blow dry - feels so nice and silky... (dog is an absolute clown too - she sings to the blow dryer and wags her tail). The other things I use on her coat are a shammy leather or a fake one from the $2 shop, get it damp and use that to go over her coat and get the dirt off from when she dust rolled in the back yard or baseball diamond. It usually picks up loose hair as well. Or I use a rubber curry comb - the sort with pointy fingers like a zoom groom only cheaper. Or both. Keeps her coat nice. And a good diet helps it be a little bit sparkly too.

I think for rally - all you have to do is keep a loose lead, with maybe a 1.2m lead? And you can talk to your dog as much as you want, pat your side etc... The trick is to pay attention to the signs and actually know what they mean and do what they say. And make sure you can do everything in the basic / beginners list. I haven't entered any formal rally trials but always do well at the mock trials. If you can get your dog to work with you without treats - there's a good chance you will pass. And you get "do overs" too.

I can't get mine to do reverse circles, she stays stuck to my leg - cos that's what I've trained. I think you'd have to put the all the way round on cue/signal that is different to your leg going back and then work on something different. Maybe start with one step at a time? back ups. And her on lead so she can't go all the way round?

lovespoodles I like that. It's a description like we need a word for just-a-dog people who don't understand, like Hogwarts and Harry Potter have "muggles" for people who don't understand about magic. Doggles? Duggles? Dogless?

Lucky me - I get to practice distraction training (aka distraction proofing)... It doesn't really matter what the distraction is or why your dog is distracted (loves the distraction or hates it)... distraction proofing works much the same... you find out what the threshold distance is - how close can you be to the distraction before your dog gets distracted? (for your dog: another dog; for my dog: a food source or on the dark side - a rude poodle cross) once you find that distance, back up a bit so your dog can still pay attention to you and play lots of training drills and games. If your dog can't pay attention to you - you're still too close. Another test of "too close" is will she take a treat - something really yummy (pay attention to what these might be too)? A dog that is too excited, especially a herding dog, won't take treats or play with you so you need to find a way to get her attention back. Usually that means going a bit further away or around a corner and out of sight. Practice on the edge of the threshold distance, a little bit closer, a little bit further away... see if you can get a bit closer - on average. It won't happen over night or with one session, but you have a BC, one of the smartest most willing to please dogs there is. And you can use "go play" as a reward for paying attention to you when there is a distracting dog nearby. Do pay attention to what dogs she wants to play with and only pick the friendly willing ones. Border Collies remember bad experiences forever and there's a lot of "fear aggressive" ones out there because they tried to play with the wrong dog. Good luck, have fun and keep us posted :)

It's good for a dog to practice body awareness - especially back end awareness... I just never thought of using it directly for heel work. I do ask my dog to keep her butt straight when she's heeling - so where ever I go - forwards, backwards, sideways away from or towards her and me pirouetting clockwise and anti clockwise. No treat unless, your butt is in the right place... It's a fun game. We started (after a year and a bit of yank and crank learning not much), with sit (reward 5x) then one step (reward 5x)... Also practice about turns, left and right and finishes front or round the back... and those weird about turns where the handler turns into the dog but the dog goes around behind and comes up on the left again. And if you want to do agility or dances with dogs - remember to practice on both sides.

Hi Willem it does feel mean stopping your dog from playing when it wants to but you need to be the one in charge - not your dog. Your dog doesn't always know what's in her best interests. Eg would you think it mean to stop her from playing with a dog that is the other side of a busy road? No. Last night at club, I and quite a few other trainers felt mean - stopping my dog from cadging treats off them. She so wanted that other dog's treats... and those trainers so wanted to give them to her. She was offering lots of cool tricks too. But I said - how would you feel if my dog nicked out of the agility ring to cadge treats from you - we'd both be mortified. So you have to set limits. It's all about permission and distraction training. Your dog can go play - with your permission. Clearly at dog training in class - no permission. And given your dog is struggling with that idea, you need to practice short play sessions with your permission and she needs to be able to be called away from play quite willingly (start on lead so you have some control). That is so handy - if your dog will come away from playing with another dog, you can save her life, the other dog's life, prevent fights breaking out and generally keep your dog safe. And you can also send her to "go play" much more often. My dog - being the back chain queen - learned that I would allow her to go play (with permission) if she could hold a good sit, so she'd play bow the other dog, then sit and look at me, and if I let her off, she'd ignore the dog she said she wanted to play with (should see how disappointed it looks) and she'd go hoovering in the nearby playground (always lots of food there). Cos she likes food way more than playing with other dogs. So I don't fall for that any more. If you can break your training class up with little play sessions with you and the dog (does she play tug, or short fetch games?) that will help her concentrate when learning new things. Also when you're not engaging with your dog and training, eg you're listening to the instructor - make sure that your dog has a job to do (eg down-stay), and keep in contact with her (pats). You don't want her thinking it's ok to ignore you (or you ignore her) during "work". Make it really clear that work is stopped (eg sit-stay) and she's a good dog, the game didn't stop because something is wrong. Otherwise you can end up with a dog that goes sniffing or just nicks off because training suddenly stopped and they get stressed about it. That can also be when they decide to go visit everyone and every other dog at school. Not fun. And it used to be me.

I've got a spotty dog - really hard to photograph her and get any detail apart from spots but I do find I've got more chance at sunset - cos that silhouettes her contours especially if she's standing in the door way to the back yard facing west and I'm on the butt side. Tho perhaps not her best angle. And to get her face to light up - use the flash.

interesting video thistledog. I never would have thought of doing that tho I do know a lot of people use a foot target (ie a flat perch) to get a nice straight in front for a formal front recall. I would wrap any books up in a cloth, bath towel etc to prevent dog accidentally turning the pages or getting paper cuts. You can also get sample squares of artificial grass which are good for target work too.

Perch work is good - helps your dog understand she has a back end. Teaching a back up is good too. And hand targeting. Always try to "reward in position" ie dog should not have to move out of the place you want them in order to get the reward - so for back up - I toss cookies between my dog's front legs as she's backing up. Best if they stop under the dog and not so far behind the dog she spins around to chase it. But I got the left turns by rewarding "stuck to my leg" eg if the leg goes back - so does she and she has to keep her butt in so if I pivot so does she... good fun stuff. I have a sort of wave and "get your butt" in to encourage that so a sort of waving the fart away signal has become the signal for her to back around as I pivot. Haven't figured out how to get leg weaves with me going backwards or her going backwards all the way around me tho one time we did do a backwards pivot so fast she over took me - but I get dizzy really quickly doing stuff like that. Doesn't seem to affect her tho. If I didn't have the slowest up load speed I'd try posting some video. But I just don't have the patience for that.