Mrs Rusty Bucket

Yeah - I found out about gore tex because of cross country skiing... ie five minutes in and I'd be hot and sweaty... so yes - warm stuff not the best idea for me either. Shops (online or not) catering for yachties might also have stuff. They get all wet but don't do a lot of running (well those guys end up in neoprene usually).

I'd be looking at stuff for cross country skiing - ie it needs to allow freedom of movement and if you're working all day - not get sweaty. This page explains the different levels ie there's no way to get properly waterproof all day - without going to a higher level of waterproofing. I've done alright standing around stewarding in a sort of lined nylon shell pant but they're a tiny bit too tight for me. I got them for hockey training. Chinese sizing ie the ones we tried on for fit were much bigger than what showed up after we ordered. Gore tex is good for waterproof. And there's something called Gore tex pack lite but they don't last forever. https://www.rhythmsnowsports.com.au/info/buying-guides/fabric-explained.html

SM Me too. I checked the fixed link - works now. This is such a great thread. I knew these things were out there but not where to get them in Oz. Here's a dog having fun in something similar...

Kirty Every time my dog has a go at a dog on the opposite side of the road or down the park - I feel your frustration... I'm sure you will find a way that works for you and all the critters in your life. It's not easy, or instant. Do what you feel is best for your sanity - that way you can best look after all your critters (including the dog).

the wheels for life url that westiesmum posted has some junk on the end that stops the click on working but this should work... http://haileyswheelsforlife.wix.com/haileys-wheels1 PS given they're made in Mount Barker SA - I have passed on the details to a friend who has two wobbly back end dogs that may be in need soon - ie their walks are already limited because they're having trouble moving.

Maybe lure coursing would work. Every dog I know who does a couple of runs of that is properly knackered after. Frosty loves it but she doesn't kill the lure (usually a bundle of old tshirts and plastic bags). I know there are lure coursing clubs for all breeds in SA and QLD and VIC and probably one in NSW. They have facebook pages. I guess it's a bit like training your dog to "go sniff" on cue. If I don't have that in my repertoire, evil hound helps herself when we're out at agility training.

Could you deal with it in the same way you'd teach a dog not to eat a roast chicken that's on the ground? I can leave a bowl of porridge at nose height and my dog won't touch it. But I'm not entirely sure how I trained that. Except I've done a lot of food trades with her also a lot of "its yer choice" ie if you don't steal this - you can get something better later. Ie train impulse control... You're allowed to chase rats with permission (or something), but if you leave the cats alone - you can have something better later (like roast chicken fillet). It's really tricky tho with live critters - ie my dog will quite happily chain together naughty behaviour with sweet behaviour to get a treat... so you have to not reward if there is any sign of naughty. I don't entirely trust my dog but when I've wanted her to dispatch the mouse - she hasn't, and she's cornered cats and rabbits and a rat, and just barks at them from a safe distance until they decide it's safe to escape. But I guess your dog likes killing things and then it gets really hard - like trying to stop a terrier from killing vermin. if you can somehow get the dog to see your cats as part of the pack... other cats or new cats will still be in danger.

There's a tonne of these on youtube... I get the same kind of problem with IT work...

I got my best heelwork using Susan Garrett's "re-inforcement zone" (aka RZ) method. There's a bit of it on youtube. Some things that help you get the dog in position include a good nose touch to your hand - and then you can use that to get your dog into position by touch there and then touch here... You may also want a good release / go cue but "heel" will do I guess... You get a good release cue using her "crate games" ie Dog has to sit when you put your hand on the crate, if the dog tries to leave the crate with out permission (ie stands up) - you shut the door. So RZ - start with dog in a sit, then put yourself in the heel position you want the dog to be... and say "yes" and hand over a treat... repeat maybe 5 times... count to three between each repeat. Then take one step forward, say "Go" (that's my release cue, but with my dog it's optional)... and stop... dog should move up next to you to get the treats... initially hand over treats if the dog comes up next to you but gradually increase the criteria to butt must not swing out... So I can step forwards, or sideways, or backwards or turn small circles either direction (oops dizzy now)... And my dog will move to stay in the "RZ". If I step sideways into the dog - it helps if I put my hand out for nose target and say out as I step or she gets a bit confused. I could improve that I guess but haven't bothered so far. Nose targeting looks a lot like the stay/wait and the stand command... it's handy to train the stand command. I originally tried the yank and crank method but this did not stop her from swinging her butt out, and did not help her if we were going backwards (rally) or wanted to work the right side (agility) instead.

I got a drop with a friends dog by luring... the dog was tall and gangly like a greyhound and didn't like dropping much ie didn't do it if there was any action at all.. but he was very good at sit but as soon as I tried to lure his nose down his chest for a drop, his bum would pop into the air and he'd bow instead - maybe should have captured that because I can't get my dog to do it on cue... what worked was ... lure under my knees. Cos he was a tall dog - I sat on the edge of a chair and lured him between the chair and my calves... which got him into a drop which I was able to mark and praise... got a few drops that way. with a smaller dog - I think I'd sit on the floor and make a triangle with my knees up and lure through... but as soon as you've got five repeats with luring - start adding the word and fading the lure... If you've done lots of shaping and capturing behaviours - usually only need to lure once or twice and then the dog has a clue what to try for the reward...

OMG Aliwake Hope they bought you a new one. Note - whole potatos can explode too - need to stab the skin all over to prevent. But they're not nearly as noxious as egg-bombs.

Erm I think there are bed covers that they have for incontinent old people (or young people)... sort of like puppy pads... or you could layer up... ie tarp, then towel then bed? UV light - I guess you have to get someone else to check for pee spots when you're out. And keep it somewhere else ie do you have someone that visits occasionally that could do a check when you're not looking? But it does seem like it's not a marking over thing but a sort of pee incompetence thing. Ie not a deliberate thing. not exactly incontinence either... I think some germs are good for me. Pee is sterile inside unless someone has a bladder infection... it's just stinky and acid burny when it gets out and starts to dry. Just never use something called "sweet vinegar" which looks exactly the same as white vinegar in almost identical packaging, to clean up. It's like trying to clean up with lemon cordial (oops).

I think it's about more than just the noise. But also the movement and sometimes they connect with the dog on the way down, not enough to hurt but that sort of surprise you get from being tapped on the shoulder when you think you're all alone.... erm. But you can try it when you are home and see what happens. Can you put the play pen across the couch? Ie sort of drape the couch with the play pen so it's not so comfy? I'd also be trying to get a UV light from somewhere so you can check you have got every last pee spot... Or I'd be trying her bed on the tarp... and maybe some pee pads on the rest of the tarp. I did house sit in a home where both the cat and the dog felt it necessary to pee in the room that was allocated to me... so after that I kept the door shut. They didn't pee anywhere else they were not supposed to. So I guess it could be an emotional territorial / anxiety thing.

Practice with every distraction you can think of including off lead drills around people she normally goes to say hello to... If she does a drill well - send her to the person - go say hello... but if she nicks off - have the person ignore her, look over the top of her... and then just go get her and try again, maybe with that person a little bit further away... but ideally - try again with the person still there... Ie work out what she will nick off for, and include that in your training... And my dog when a bit frustrated because I didn't make it clear what we were doing next - has gone to say hello to a very nice judge that neither of us had met before (hi Jane...)... and I just had to catch her and exit. It happens. what I do have is a very solid remote drop and that helps a lot with catching a dog in the mood to play chase me. Just wish my recall was as solid as the drop. No idea why it isn't.

One of my vets has something he calls a "laser" for dealing with things like this... so far so good. Not really sure how it worked - wasn't like a knife - more like one of those ultrasound things that some physios use.

I know of several dogs first hand that would travel tens or hundreds of km in attempt to get back to their previous residence. I don't have any first hand experience of dogs being stolen that I know of, tho I do read of it on forums and FB. More worried about baiting. There's been quite a bit of dogs being baited around here. Hasn't happened to my dog yet - touch wood.

When my dog was a puppy - I would pile up unsteady stacks of tin cans on things I didn't want her on, so they'd rattle and clang and cause some surprise if she got up where they were... And they're not very comfortable for sleeping on either. Given they rust if you look at them sideways - I would put the tin can pyramids on top of the tarps in this case. PS do you have a dedicated place for her that she is allowed to sleep in that room - ideally (from the dog's point of view) about the same height?

Some of those things need to be steeped in hot water to be useable... so I'm thinking - that's not raw. I'm pretty sure giving my dog raw quinoa or chia seeds - would be akin to taking a $20 note, chopping that into tiny pieces and adding it to her mince dinner.. straight through unchanged. Complete waste of money.

All the dogs running together is fun until a dog or human gets crash tackled... dogs aren't very good at looking where they're going for starters.

So who wants to volunteer to do dog physiotherapy on my evil hound... Seems she now needs physio and massage on the sore bit, along with hot and cold compresses (or maybe just hot ones) - three to four times a day - that's twice as much physio as I get. And how the hell do I persuade her to let me do that to her leg... she keeps sitting on it so I can't get at the dodgy bit. Sigh. Actually dog physiotherapist is a thing now that people pay for...

http://www.proheart6.com/ This is what it says on the product page... (apart from this one lasting only 6 months not a year in the USA). In very small print. On a vet page it says this... for ProHeart SR-12 Injection http://www.vetwest.com.au/yearly-heartworm-injection The manufacturer provides this which has no information on how dogs are affected and what dogs should or should not be treated: https://www.zoetis.com.au/documents/e/1910/8936,2012%20MSDS%20ProHeart%20SR-12.pdf The USA Food and Drug admin says this: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/VeterinaryMedicineAdvisoryCommittee/UCM127124.pdf So a dose with 1/3 the active ingredient is not save to give with vaccinations but one with 12 months worth is? I don't think so and I find it a tad slack of the Australian equivalent of FDA to be so pathetic about this. And further on in the same doc And even further into the FDA doc - it says product recalled. They like it because you can't forget to give a monthly dose but do you want to risk death of your dog?

Yeah but first you have to be alpha and all the dogs have to know that. Doesn't happen with random dogs arriving for "day care". Plus CM was really good at getting himself and others bitten...

Doesn't seem to bother the worms in my garden and compost bin...? I microwave potatos as an "I can't be stuffed cooking dinner" meal once or twice a week... I usually scrub the skin and then stab it all over so the potato doesn't explode (no kidding - don't try that with your own microwave - and don't microwave a whole egg either), roll some paper towel around the potato - zap 2 to 3 minutes each side depending on size. Softer veg take less long and if you zap 10 bits of asparagus for 2 minutes they will catch fire. Oops. But the easiest way with something big like quarter pumpkin is to zap for a couple of minutes and then test with a skewer then zap another couple of minutes... Tho I might actually chop it into smaller bits because it would cook more evenly faster. But you don't get that nice roasted flavour doing that.

I've seen these ones recommended - for outside in snow but they look nice and grippy http://www.boerenwinkel.nl/en/product/736/12323/stable-yard/winter-frost/dogs/afp-outdoor-all-road-boots-xs-orange-4-st

http://www.cairnterrier.net/breed.html I think cairns are supposed to have their coat "stripped" which is sort of hand plucked all over. But I don't know specifically. The breeder would be a good port of call or go to some shows before entering any and see what they do.