Mrs Rusty Bucket

Is there some reason that nobody local to you is able to supply you with a puppy. You might have to wait but it can often save a lot of worry and trouble... The local people might have their favourites interstate and that might help too if you ask them. I got one hit for puppies soon (like this month) for NSW https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/puppies/australian-shepherd.asp?state=NSW and there might be more if I searched for puppies planned... https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/australian-shepherd.asp?state=NSW&litterdue=on And note - some breeders do not always update their pages here - so might be planning or expecting a litter or have placed all the puppies and not updated their page yet. In which case the breed club or association might be the best place to ask http://www.australianshepherds.org.au/

You can check what database he's on (if it's Australian) using this website. hope that helps. Some of them you can only get on if you go to the vet and get them to verify and enter everything. I tried to get my dog put on the local one my vet uses but the system was down or the link was broken and they couldn't do it and I haven't tried again. http://www.petaddress.com.au/Default.aspx

Brisbane and Sydney would be done now? Any reports? What did you take with you, what did you wish you had that you forgot to take with you... What was it like. I'm doing Adelaide (without my dog).

I try to remember to get my dog's chip checked when we visit the vet. It would be nice if that was part of the vet pet consult - that they always offer to check the chip for you. Sometimes I think it ought to be compulsory - but that idea has to be balanced with the need for dog thieves to get their pets veterinary care from time to time. And it would put the vet in a very awkward situation if they couldn't say "ok" if someone refused the check.

My dog doesn't like hugs. She tolerates them from me but she doesn't enjoy them. However she will sit on my feet and enjoy massages forever... She will accept belly rubs from anyone... but doesn't like the restriction of an actual hug. Despite that she still loves my nieces even tho I have been unsuccessful in trying to train them not to hug her... and how to tell she's not enjoying it. I guess the attention and massages and food she also gets from them - makes up for a bit of hug discomfort.

I like Bodil S. http://www.petdogtraining.com.au/our-classes/home-training/ If she can't get to your area - she can recommend someone who uses the same methods that might be closer. australian pet dog trainers - has a search - put Adelaide and 50km in... and click the search button above. http://www.apdt.com.au/trainers-directory/find-a-trainer.html i can tell I'm dog obsessed when I know about half of them, including Sharon Taylor who lives at Gawler and competes in agility, Alexis (scholars in collars) who lectures at WEA in dog skills. And Petra Edwards and Debra Millikan who run dog body language seminars with Charles Sturt Council (Woodville and West Lakes etc), There's one of those on Sunday 2nd April. Leave dog at home. Learn heaps. http://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/DogBodyLanguage

I use RSPCA boarding now at Lonsdale. I used to use a boarding kennel in the hills but our last experience there was appalling - cost me more at the vet than the boarding to get her infections treated after a 4 day stay covered in her own poo. Wasn't the one you mention - I've got no idea if they're any good. My neighbour used to use "Annie the Pet Nanny" to feed his dogs at his home when he was on holidays. But she won't go in your house - so the dogs need to be able to get outside for food and water. She will take them for walks too but that costs extra. Neighbour moved to the hills so I don't know who he uses now.

If I was going back to Cranbourne / KCC park Vic again... I'd seriously consider Cranbourne Motor Inn... very dog friendly. I was there in 2012 - the manager/housekeeper smoked but that was the only seriously bad thing about it. I was staying at an appalling place called the Mahogany Inn. No dogs. All I can hope is they have changed management. The room was dirty, spiders everywhere and a dead possum outside my window (at the front). Staff from the restaurant fighting next to the motel rooms. ugh. Some people stayed at the Caravan park at Skye - it had some permanent residents that were a little bit scary but they coped ok. Or finding some sort of holiday accommodation and staying there. There were a few bed and breakfasts around but they were expensive.

Did we get several hundred to the Nationals last year. All I remember is 8 rings going flat out when it wasn't too wet. the websites seem to be down so I can't check. OK I seem to have saved a useful document on my pc... "Agility Nationals dogs per event" Total dogs entered in trial: 628 Total planned runs in trial: 5851 So that is the agility people obsessed enough to travel from interstate and at least an hour south of Adelaide to a very soggy venue to compete. The ones who stayed home or just visited (me) - there's more of us out there too. We are pushing for room at the Agility Dog Club SA. But that's more about how well run it is. We'd like to have more new members but not sure where to fit them or who would instruct.

interesting. Haven't seen any adult fleas but that doesn't mean they haven't been aboard. Mine loves the taste of Sentinel - much easier to get her to eat it than those giant pink worming tablets that came with revolution. We've actually been able to drop to the smaller dose of sentinel too - evil hound lost just enough weight. I hate how most of the flea products cut over is just on the weight she is... (20 - 22kg )

It is a bit sad that scanning a dog and checking the chip is not default for vets... but there are some arguments against it. eg a stolen dog might not get treatment it needs if the owner knows all vets scan. and two - (dog) thieves are bad people and you / vets really don't want to get into a confrontation with them. But it wouldn't hurt to discuss microchipping with all new owners, the bad guys can just say no. The ones who bought stolen goods might say yes and then the true owners can be contacted (if their details are the same). Cos you'd have to scan before you put a chip in surely.

I've changed over to sentinel chews - no more wet back dog. But way back when - I think I put it on before morning walk and it was pretty good by the end of it. As long as morning walk wasn't the beach... Or before evening walk. and encourage anyone who wants to pat her to do under the chin. She mostly gets under the chin or butt rub pats from me on walks.

there was a puppy playing chicken with the traffic on Trimmer Parade near Tapleys Hill road this morning... Chased it back home - it had made a puppy sized hole in the fence. Me and another motorist banged on the door (7am hello?) until Mum surfaced. Helped her block up the escape hole. That family is a pet death waiting to happen, they live in a semi derelict house with insecure fencing everywhere... on a busy road. Sigh. Don't think there is anything I can do about that except maybe - drop a note about "housing improvement board" into the letter box. I could report the house to HIB anyway but there is a risk they get evicted so the landlord can do "repairs"... and I don't want to do that to them.

I'm going to the Adelaide one (at the zoo). I think it's all lectures no chicken camp or "working spots" for Bob Bailey in Adelaide.

most recent dog I saw taking itself for a walk... I tried to catch it - and it slipped it's slip collar (why do people leave their dogs at home wearing those things - ugh), but now I had a collar with a phone number - so I rang the number, had a chat with the owner who was at Gawler (like Newcastle is to South Sydney)... oh dear. Owner said she'd try to get neighbour to catch the dog. But when I went back in the front yard of house to put the collar on the verandah - the dog came in with us (me and my dog) so I let him into his back yard... and sent the owner an sms. And made sure all the gates were shut. Definitely a houdini dog. Doesn't help that neighbour leaves gates open when they bring the bins in. I've been stuck quite a few times on the beach when a dog with no owner has shown up but most times somebody has known the dog and been able to return it. Last such dog belonged to Natasha Spot the Destroyer (Scuse name). Friendly (I had food) wire haired GSP. I do carry spare lead in my dog walking bag, and in my car... but usually don't get opportunity to use those. Ie once a dog is taking itself for an off lead romp, definitely not keen to go back on. Otherwise I would take dog to nearest vet for microchip check. Semaphore vet seems to get many of these and works with council to find the owners. Most vets have a system for dealing with strays. Council is pretty good at reuniting dogs with owners. Especially if dog has a microchip. But a collar with a phone number is very helpful too.

yeah but don't taint the many with the appalling actions of a few.... Or we'll put your body in a barrel :P

one of my friends just got scammed by google imposters - those guys were very insistent that they were the real google too... If I was teaching - and someone was uncomfortable with what I had proposed - I would not insist they participate. I would let them observe those who were willing or a demonstration by me and my dog... and do a lot of explaining. Dogs generally are not the greatest at making good decisions in their own interests, and a big dog can injure a little one just by stepping on it so jamming mixed dogs in together - is too much like a fight pen or a really bad experience for the dogs for my liking. I like simply grand's idea of working distraction training near the pen but not in it. personally for dog social skills I do a variation of loose lead walking and following... so two dogs at a time (not 6), on lead so owners have some control, first they line up one behind the other with a good gap big enough that each puppy can still pay attention to the owner - so how far would vary but out of sniffing reach on full lead length at least. Then the lead dog goes, and the following dog follows, then after a bit - when both dogs are calm and not pulling, the following dog turns and then the lead dog turns and they walk in the opposite direction - maintaining sufficient distance that both dogs can pay attention to their owners. And then I might try a greeting but if either dog gets to the end of the lead, I'd turn or make distance until the lead was loose again. And I'd keep repeating until the dogs could approach on loose lead - maybe one dog is moving and the other is sitting. (Take turns at this). If either dog was a bit anxious about it, I would not insist on a greeting. Or I might do a 3 second greeting and leave... one dog usually wants to sniff more the other dog can cope with and then it can go to hell fast. What you want is for dogs to be happy and confident in each other's company. You don't get that if one or more dogs are bullying the other and the other one can't get to safety. When I did do puppy school with a vet supervising - we did have four puppies all off lead in a confined space but the scaredy puppy in the group was able to go under a chair under the owner and be left alone. Strangely this was the bossy puppy in a previous group... And in my puppy school, the smallest youngest puppy was the most bossy and outgoing - mine (oops). and if there was any behaviour I didn't like I just moved my puppy away. Ie not too fond of her bullying. So she'd get removed and to start again. At the park - I always wait for a calm sit before I let my dog off lead... If she's pulling - that's not a behaviour I want to encourage, and whomever else is there might not like a dog approaching at full speed. Not that she does that - she likes sniffing better.

saw a really nice portuguese water dog at our local oval the other day. Much nicer and a very different shape to the poodle crosses that were also there. Even my dog agreed. It didn't jump on us or get in our face once, and it is still a puppy (about 8 months old ish). the guy got it from Victoria. I liked it better than the Lagotto R's I've met. But I can't judge a whole breed by one dog with a fairly savvy owner (he knew he wanted a non shedder and also knew that the poodle crosses - you don't know what you're getting).

When my dog is getting a bit rough with another dog or trying to jump on something or someone I don't want her to jump on, I use collar grab... collar grab is a bit like "loading a marker word" ie a game where you say your dog's name, grab her collar, and stuff a treat in her mouth, release, allow her to get distracted / bored... then repeat the grab collar, say name (either one first) and stuff treat... repeat at least five times... and then do something else. eg play a quick game of fetch or tug or fetch and tug. You may find after a few repeats the dog stays pretty focussed on you and the food (if they like food). Gradually you increase criteria to require dog to put neck in hand to get treat (definitely - after the first few do not want to reward a dog that ducks and runs). And you make the grabs less warning and a little bit more vigorous (imagine grabbing dog before it goes in a swamp or out into traffic or into the paddock with the llamas (which attack and kill dogs). So now you have the collar grab game down (Dog thinks collar grabs are great) If dog jumps or is too rough - you collar grab (no treat required or they might link I'm "naughty" - so I get collar grab *and* treat). and hold. and next game is "its yer choice"... variation. you wait for dog to hold a calm sit while you're holding the collar - you may have to move away from the exciting / distracting thing. When dog can hold a calm sit - you let go the collar to see what is your dog's choice now. If your dog repeats the behaviour you don't want - be fast to grab the collar again. You don't need to say anything - this is about getting the dog to choose, you hold and wait for calm... if you get calm - release to see what dog's choice is now... If the dog repeats the unwanted behaviour now - I would do one more collar grab and put the dog where it cannot repeat the behaviour again. My dog usually has it figured out by the second collar grab. That she's not allowed to be jumping on the neighbour's fence any more. And she stops. If she doesn't, we go inside. Some dogs might be a little slower but I would not allow more than two choice opportunities for something like jumping on a child. It's called "response cost" - ie there is a consequence cost to the unwanted choice. And the reward for a good choice is being allowed to continue playing (gently) with the child. No scolding or nose taps or aversives (other than going on lead or inside or being separated) required.

There's the road bowl refresher http://sprout.net.au/big-sale/road-refresher-dog-bowls.html And I've heard of one that is made specially for dogs with long ears to keep the ears dry... but I don't know which that is. i've considered putting a large plastic tray under my dog's food and water bowls. Like the old cafeteria tray or a giant kitty litter tray...

I admit I don't rate what that study rates as "smart dog"... smartest dogs I know - are training their owners... and can get their owner to obey a new command in less than 5 trials, and obey 100% of the time... Evil hound learns stuff very fast but is entirely into owner training when it comes to how likely she is to "show off" what she knows. Or then there is the dog (owner trainer again) that just performs a tonne of cute stuff to cue their owner...

If PETA provided the video to TMZ - why did PETA wait over a year to do that? i really can't trust PETA about anything to do with pets. http://www.peta.org/about-peta/why-peta/pets/

Dog training survey: Dr Melissa Starling - has requested sharing of this anywhere that anyone might be interested. She'd like the survey to be completed by 5pm Sydney Time (about 4 hours away Tuesday 24th January so now or never). She doesn't mind responses from outside Australia. (Melissa asks:) Are you involved in raising or training sporting dogs or working dogs? This survey aims to identify convergent attitudes between different dog-training attitudes towards using toys to motivate dogs and reward behaviours. The survey is short and should take 10-20 minutes to complete. Click the link for more information and to access the survey. https://surveys.sydney.edu.au/surveys/?s=Hfp8TucEhP About Melissa: "I am a post-doc researcher working with Professor Paul McGreevy at the University of Sydney. I am currently researching motivation to chase in racing greyhounds. As part of this study, I have developed a survey to ask both greyhound trainers/owners and sport or working dog trainers what kinds of stimuli dogs find exciting in a toy or lure. The greyhound industry have been very helpful in circulating this survey, but I am hoping to boost the number of responses from sport and working dog trainers - particularly working dog trainers - in the final week before I close the survey and analyse the responses. Paul suggested you might be willing to send an e-mail around to your contacts or membership sharing the online survey. There is a blurb and a link below. Thank you very much for considering this, and I am happy to answer any questions, Dr Melissa Starling" Melissa Starling| Post-doctoral Fellow Faculty of Veterinary Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm 248 R.M.C. Gunn Bldg (B19) | The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9351 5827 | F +61 2 2 9351 3957| M +61 431 255 918 E [email protected] |

The National Art Gallery in Canberra and the Portrait Gallery (Old Parliament house) hosted some sort of dogs and art bring your dog... event... "The National Gallery of Australia and National Portrait Gallery will open up their grounds to dogs on January 21 for Paws for Art, a dog day out to tie in with the Versailles: Treasures from the Palace exhibition. " http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/paws-for-art-day-at-the-national-gallery-of-australia-and-national-portrait-gallery-20170116-gts43n.html did anyone go? Plus Port Elliot on Fleurieu Peninsula is planning one on April 29th (which unfortunately clashes with an agility trial so I won't be there).

I've changed from annual C5 to the three yearly for parvo and stuff and an annual for kennel cough variations. Working for us. I don't want to go without vaccinations because I've seen what some of those diseases do - for dogs, and equivalently what happens to the unvaccinated in humans (have a deaf cousin, and I personally was at kindi with a lot of kids in calipers that could not walk without crutches cos of polio - and those were the lucky ones that weren't in lung machines. I do like to wait a year or so when a new vax comes out - before getting it (if appropriate) because when it hits a much greater population - sometimes the drug companies find out things they did not during the drug trials.