Mrs Rusty Bucket

This is a followup share on the "Aussies Fighting Against Dog Fighting" page https://www.facebook.com/AussiesFightingAgainstDogFighting/posts/477631512325421 Dog stealing is not a very original idea. Neither is puppy farming - the dodgy way. So just because it's been happening elsewhere doesn't mean it isn't happening in SA. Best we yell "Our dog is desexed" and run our dogs away, and call the cops. I do think that cops would regard stealing an adult dog as no big deal compared to other stuff they have to deal with. They'd think adult dog = $500 value and have no idea the true value or the emotional distress it causes.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151682761294308&set=gm.480882108653643&type=1 Last Thursday - a man with a white van marked "animal control" with Vic plates, tried to abduct several Huskies claiming they needed to be "assessed". Don't let anyone who won't id themselves put a pole with a snare loop anywhere near your dog. In fact I don't think I'd let anyone do that who didn't have police with and a proper warrant. And then again - maybe not. This just looks like the act of a straight up thief. Anyone who finds the van ie a van with "animal control" and vic plates in SA - post on the facebook page and contact SA police.

So where is the or is that blurb the bit above the "I have read the ..." bit? It doesn't seem to be labelled.

My dog does the sniffy marking thing too. If I let her go in a new dog park - she will do several laps around the fence with her nose down to the ground and ignore all the other fun dogs in there including her friends. And she's very diligent any time we go for a walk around our neighbourhood. Nose to the ground most of the way. And she lets me know which part of the oval the treat lady fed her dog on. Even a day later. And she will side track 50m or so to find the remains of crisps from some school kids snack. I put it down to part dingo. Ie cattle dog (and kelpies?) and mystery dogs from the outback - have some dingo. Mind you - I've seen a few dingos out and about and they don't travel with their nose stuck to the ground the way she does. She does have a few beagle friends though. Never trained her to track seriously. If she loses me on the oval (I hide), she runs a couple of laps looking for me and then she puts her nose down...

I've got a $5 cheap as chips version and it flashes... I found a few others that are waterproof for about $30 http://www.jsenthunting.com.au/led-glow-products.php This one has the same lechtie light collar and you get a poo finder light and postage included... http://www.flashdog.com.au/#!product/prd1/127045671/aqua-glo-collar The price thingy on the Australian site you linked - didn't work for me.

I think I'd start with something bigger - like a phone book wrapped in a towel and then work my way down from there... You need to get him to understand the concept of putting his feet on the thing... Frosty has done a lot of work with stacks of phone books and swivel chairs (go figure - coffee club at one of the local ovals and their ginger nut bikkies - sigh). So anything I put in front of her - she will try to put her feet on... So we did pretty well with lunch boxes and cake tins and then those fitball rubber half balloon things. She'd never seen those before that day.

erm - this might actually be the pet café. I can't remember which is what. All I know is turn towards the Port from Findon Road, turn into the BP before the railway line / traffic lights, and drive through to the back and there's a wonderful pet supplies. I think there is a woollies in the shopping centre on the Corner of Findon and Crittenden road. I like Rob's Fuels just up from that on the corner of Findon Road and Trimmer Parade - always the best price on Diesel and no worries about getting the wrong fuel handle (like woollies Caltex). They frequently have better prices than any Woolies / Coles. But you can check best fuel price and where using motormouth.com.au - prices are accurate before lunch time and then it can go to hell in the afternoon. I also like the BP on Daws road between South Road and Marion Road. I will have to check with one of my friends who lives on Edward Street Cumberland Park, she gets her dog washed by a guy named Ian - who owns a mobile pet wash and a GR called Yogi. But I looked up "affordable mobile dog wash" and it's in the right place but the owner's names don't match - hence the need to check. Olivers and Petstock have wash tubs where you can wash your dog yourself if you want to. I think there is a PetStock on Port Road too, a bit further towards the city than Findon Road, but on the same side (south side).

I guess that's like getting the flu vaccination - then getting a different strain of the flu perhaps less severely than if you were unvaccinated - and then passing that on to other people. With parvo - I think it's more like any dog (or human) can track it in with the dirt on their feet or coat. They don't actually have to be infected to spread it.

There's olivers for pet supplies on Morphett road opposite morphetville race course, I turn right out of Bray street and it's right there. Unfortunately, I'm usually doing that on the way to the beach in the very early morning so it's usually shut. I like the foodland at Henley just north of Main Street Henley Square between Seaview and Military road. They have under cover parking off Military road, and the first 2 hours are free. There is a big shopping centre on Anzac Highway, north west corner of Marion road but that has coles. In that same block behind the coles is a pet supplies shop of some sort but I've never been in there. I like Rural Pet meats on the South side of Port Road (going away from town) just before South Road. It's a tiny shop but has everything you need to make your own dog food. I also like Gobels on the south side of Richmond Road, corner Aldridge terrace between Marion Road and South road. At least they have all sorts of good stuff, dog toys, dry dog food, roo jerky, cows hooves... and more local stuff (not imported from China). I don't buy bones so don't know who sells them. I avoid Oaklands Road because people don't watch their dogs, they don't pick up after them, you can't walk around without watching where you step, every single step and I think it sucks. But some people like it. Except for a little bit of beach next to the Glenelg jetty, all the beaches are off lead all the time in winter, and in summer daylight savings - before 10am and after 8pm. My favourite beaches are West Beach (currently being buggered up by the sand carting mess) and Tennyson, but Brighton usually has some beach, and the bit behind the sewage and storm water treatment - south of the West Adelaide boat ramp (directly west of the airport) is dogs off lead all the time. Woolworths - Glenelg or Unley but I don't know why you like them. I like foodland because they have the local stuff I like - especially the dairy. There is a discount bulk butcher called "meat delights" on corner ballantyne and south road near Ashwin street opposite the football oval and near the brick works (which is being redevelopped by woolies) that has beef, lamb, poultry. Best to ring first and ask for what you want. They don't do pork at all (they have Halal on the door and are around the corner from a really nice lebanese bakery), and when I tried to get lamb chops instead they decribed them as "a bit warm", which I think they meant very fresh but I took to mean they didn't want to sell me anything. Might have been a good day to get offal - cos I only like that when it's from a same day kill. It's for human food. I don't tell butchers when I'm shopping for the dog because I don't want floor scrapings or GST. I often make special trips to Adelaide Dog up Payneham road for roo ribbons and black hawk dog food. They also have supplies for making your own dog food. And I have been known to visit the pet barn behind the BP service station and car wash on the South (port bound) side of Port Road left off Findon road and before the railway line and West lakes boulevard. They also have roo jerky, chuckit orange and blue balls - that don't fall to pieces when evil hound munches on them and they will get the black hawk if they don't have it already. They're a bit crap about phoning when orders come in though.

Lol at the not correcting... I hardly ever correct people if they think my dog is a boy even after she rolls over and does her dead cockroach - pat my tummy thing - for them. I figure it doesn't matter much and tonight she cocked her leg on a daisy bush - so it's going to be even harder for people to get it right unless they check properly. As for the monitor colours - you can adjust via the display settings - if you've got windoze - a right click on the desk top and then choose display or "graphics properties" and see if you can find the brightness, colour and contrast settings in there. There is a colour adjustment that goes on from when you step inside from outdoors, and also from sunny to shady... I find if I exaggerate the colour for sunny outdoor pictures - when I bring them inside or print them - they look more like how I remember. If I actually match the colours by hand when I'm outside - by using pencils or paint - when I bring that picture inside - it looks really dull. Because it's not in the sun like when I made it. So it's a very subjective thing. for pictures of outside sunny places - I think brighter and louder is better - or looks more right when I'm inside looking at the picture.

for something more basic, but to encourage nose work... put something your dog likes - under an old towel (or other cover you don't mind getting chewed), and encourage her to "find it". Start off with the dog on lead, in a closed room, inside, and right next to the towel - put the food under when she's looking... when she's good at that game, put the food under when she's not looking when she's got that, put the food under when she's in a different room and/or - have more than one towel, and put the food under different ones. then do what nekhbet said. Keep the dog on lead (if that wasn't obvious - cos that's what they do in tracking competition), so you have control over where she goes (especially if she gets distracted).

Gawd, last trial our grounds were like the jungle... and covered in possum poo - which must make seek backs interesting.

that's really interesting. Most of the hollards backed PDS - say that they will only pay for one whatever if the dog has two of them eg they will pay for the operation on the leg (or eye) on one side but not the other side. Eg if the left eye gets cateracts - they won't pay for cateracts to be removed from the right eye. Nuts.

There was a bloke who was studying human behaviour and in particular the "warrior" gene or a genetic connection to psychopaths, and he discovered that he had all the genetic markers that suggested he should be a very violent person - but he wasn't and he put that down to his upbringing and child hood which he thought was very "loving". Most puppy litters are pretty competitive. So I think personality (or temperanment) is fairly genetic - but it can be modified with the right training. The right training - has been shown to change the way the brain is connected internally. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/changing-brains/4290952 I figure if it is possible for humans, it's possible for dogs.

Did you mean "catch" whooping cough, not "carry" it? Do you have any references for "carrying" and spreading the infection from a vaccine? I thought the vaccine would prevent infections in other people. It's the best method to prevent the spread of whooping cough. Most vaccines contain a version of the virus that is not infectious but designed to provoke a body's immune system into making antibodies (which is why we can sometimes feel a bit ill after a vaccination). It would be true to say that anyone who gets the vaccine - would not be immune until two weeks after the vaccination - so they could still catch ordinary whooping cough from "the wild virus" and spread that. Same as you keep puppy at home and away from unvaccinated dogs for two weeks after the last booster shot. http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2011/02/16/3140458.htm#.UbMQ3L4iPX4

You wuss. I do the trip from Adelaide via Canberra, Sydney, Wyong, Armidale (to visit friends and rellies on the way). Plus the New England Highway from Wyong is faster than the Pacific Highway. About 5,000 km and at least three to four weeks including the seminar. She does online seminars / courses too. You can get a lot of good stuff this way, and you can get feedback by posting videos too. Though lots of trainers will do this. Sometimes Cathy brings trainers to NSW or Victoria - but it helps to have a sponsoring club and a nice venue with dog friendly accommodation. Riverwood downs was a bit humid, soggy and cramped and too much like school camp, and they didn't do nice vegan food (SG is vegan). Hopefully the control unleashed info will help you with the doggy reactiveness - it's harder to control your training environment with this - cos she's not likely to do all the bad things in your yard. But working on the distant outskirts of a dog park or dog training school might help. When you start on the basics - the training can seem really slow and almost pointless - until the dog gets it and then oh joy. I'm usually completely surprised and grateful - how did my dog learn to weave?

hi BC Crazy Most of what I know - I learned from Susan Garrett's dvds and seminars. She's coming to Queensland this November 2013... send an email to agilityclick.com Cathy Slot if you want to get the inside info on this - or you can google SG... A lot of what SG knows - she learned from Bob Bailey... and then she's taken it to a higher level for dogs.

just beware the puppy who pulls the cover in through the gaps in the wire and eats it. Not thinking of any dog in particular - evil hound? yes you - evil hound. She's good now but as a puppy - arrggghhh. It can be solved (sort of) by putting cardboard moving box over the top of the crate so that there is a 5cm gap to the sides - and then draping the sheet or blanket over that.

You're way more advanced than I am on the UD and stuff. For the box work... Susan Garrett recommends doing loads and loads of repetitions from up close. She did a challenge with her students and split them into two groups each had 4 days to train - group faraway - had to see how far they could get and send their dogs to the box. Group silly poses - had to see how many silly poses they could make and send their dog to the box. Guess which group won the far away challenge. For the stays - I practice with my dog in front of her dinner. Close up. No problem... Or out of sight. I mix it up. And I practice dodgy release words. Ie I have a release word, and I try a few different ones, after doing some stuff to try to fake her out and get her excited, I will say a word with enthusiasm - that is not the right word... if she breaks her stay - I just put her back and try again... She is so thrilled when she gets it right and she finds the game really exciting - go figure. And she is mortified when she gets it wrong and has to back off her dinner. She tries much harder the next time. We also do this game at the beach or the park... I park her somewhere in a stay and run round with her fave toys and treats (bits of dried roo or smackos), squealing and waving... and if she breaks... she has to start over, if she stays - I release her to chase me and get the toy/treat. Heelwork - I do left side, right side, leg weaves, forwards, backwards, sideways, pivots... reward average or better... but it's a game to see how well she can keep position while I try to dodge her off (being careful not to step on her). It's so much fun and fast. At the moment I'm trying to get more stuff chained together between rewards because at the moment she enjoys it but she really wants the treat (kibble even). For seek - she will find a stick that I've been keeping in my sock for a while. After that - I don't know. Warm up exercises - all the heelwork I described. change of position (sit, drop, stand, sit, pretty, stand...), leg weaves, chase me. Lots of chase me. roll over...belly rub.

Hi BC Keep the training sessions really short and fun - no matter how far away they are from what you want. All the different offerings - are part of an "extinction burst" while your frustrated dog (Sonny) tries to figure out what you want. At least he's hanging in there and trying stuff. My dog would offer up a nice sit stay and stare. And that was it, so I had to try distracting her and then rewarding every different thing to get her to offer up stuff at all. At the moment I'm trying to get an ear flick on cue - but she doesn't quite get it. When she gets frustrated she just barks and barks and barks... and the best way for me to deal with that if it gets out of hand is to leave the room and shut a door between us until she's quiet. But it usually means the re-inforcement rate is not there and she's frustrated and not dealing with it. Building up a dog's tolerance to frustration is like building up their stay durations - start with a little bit - a few seconds at a time. If he lies down on the perch - I would make a higher perch. I use old phone books wrapped in towels. I really ought to tie them up with packing tape so they don't wobble but I like the wobble I guess. Cheaper than fitpaws gear anyway. So it's ok to quit a training session after 5 minutes even if you felt like you got nowhere. Just leave it for a while and try again later, or try something different later. For heelwork - I would like Huski said - start with the dog parked next to me and reward that. Take a small step forward, say "go" (release) and if he steps up to the position where he was getting rewarded - reward that - then I'd stop, release and play tug or run chase the boss and then maybe go back to it for 2 to 5 attempts - no more. Not till he "gets" it better. Remember to reward in position - if the dog is where you want, they should be able to stay there to get and eat the treat. they shouldn't have to move away from the right position until you release them for play or whatever. The other dog - needs to be rewarded as much if not more for being *calm* out of the training spot (like Corvus video). But you might need to start with just training that. Eg put Sonny on leash, put Stella on the mat (tied up if necessary), reward Sonny for being next to you in the "reinforcement zone" and Stella for being calm on the mat. Then try to mix up the distance a bit - by half a metre. And duration by a few seconds. And swap dogs every five attempts or so. It's ok (according to Bob Baily) to finish on a failure. And there are some studies that suggest that dogs do better with one session a week than one session (or even three sessions) a day on the same training task. Sometimes it works better to have 10 different games to get the same end result - cos that way it takes longer to get bored and frustrated with them.

Agility posts the catalogs on line a couple of days before the show. Not sure about any of the other SACA competitions / exhibitions.

I saw one white fluffy with that link - and it looks cross eyed to me - ie I'm not sure the eyes are equidistant or at equal angles to the camera... I wonder how good it is at seeing generally. But I don't really know why that one has 3D glasses inbuilt.

Dammit the pic looks like a big black box with two white dots on my computer and you guys are getting the red X or equivalent... I wonder if photobucket will be more co-operative PS googled lots of variations of traffic light eyes Eventually got one dog - a GSD but it's not looking directly at the camera. http://www.google.com.au/search?q=traffic+light+eyes

I've been a bit naughty about entering late... I just ring the trial secretary and ask permission / let them know. It does freak them out somewhat tho. Anyone doing SAODC games trial - if you can bear to enter early - it would help the secretary remain calm. But we managed just fine last year. Most of them go by the Aus post date - ie if close is Friday and your letter is stamped Friday - they accept it even tho it's not likely to show up until Monday or Tuesday the following week. Oz entries is probably bliss compared to that.

I imagine the ones with two different coloured eyes aren't really looking directly at the camera and then you get an effect similar to when you turn a prism in the light - ie depending which path the light takes through the eye and getting reflected back from it - is what colour you get, and if the eyes are at slightly different angles relative to the camera - you could get different colours. That's a bit of light splitting physics described for you - but I could be wrong about what is going on in a dog's eyes.