loeka

Awwww shucks! I didn't know about this! I've been out of the country for awhile so I haven't checked the forum in eons. I would have loved to go! D'oh.

Late to the party but HAPPY BIRTDAY MISSUS DAISY!!!!

I looked at their site and it looks amazing. Unfortunately they were booked solid but I will keep them in mind for next time. Good suggestions! I haven't looked into any of them but it would be the next step : )

RANDCMOORE31 - I gave dontfretpet.com a call and they sounded great! They might even have a minder for us - it depends on how well they match my profile but it's looking good. So we'll see how that turns out. It's a bit more expensive than a kennel but it's at somebody's home. To be honest, the idea of him staying with a family and another dog sounds way better than a kennel. I really hope this works out! Moggill Pet Motel might have a place too - has anybody had any experience with them?

Thanks to everyone who replied! I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I can't cancel my trip (2,300 dollar flight :p ) and I haven't seen most of my family for two years so it's not an option. However, my partner is thinking of changing *his* dates if we can't find a suitable kennel for Christmas time and kenneling the dog BEFORE Christmas. So we'll be able to swing something if necessary. Kirsty - thanks for the PM! P.s. if anyone has any more ideas, it'll be uesful for further reference or any other dolers who are looking for a kennel : P Cheers!

Hi, I'm looking for a good boarding kennel or a petsitter in or around Brisbane (am willing to travel!!!). I've never had my dog stay at a kennel and unfortunately the one that was recommended to me by my trainer is fully booked during Christmas. I'm looking to board my dog for three weeks over Christmas because me and my partner are going back to Europe to visit the family. I'm pretty nervous because Loeka's still young (11 months) and he's not the easiest dog in the world (anxious/reactive). To be honest, I don't want to burden my friends with this responsibility plus I don't think I can trust them ; ) Also, speaking of anxious, *I* am worried about putting him in a kennel for three weeks. Do dogs really not mind it? I hear people tell me their dogs LOVE the kennel and have SO MUCH fun but I don't know. The kennels seem pretty small and "complementary walks twice a day" gives me shudders (seriously? are "free" walks supposed to entice me to use a particular kennel? I'd EXPECT a kennel to exercise the dog?). I've googled but there are so many kennels out there and I have no idea which one is good or not. I'd love to find a kennel / someone who could continue to train him 10 minutes in the day and has experience with anxious dogs. Distance and price - it doesn't matter as long as it's rocks loeka's socks! Thanks in advance to anyone who replies Cheers!

Will definitely see you tomorrow! I think Loeka might have a bit of a crush on Daisy : ) He kept wanting to look at her as we walked away. Or... he wanted her dumbbell. I'm not sure haha...

I agree, it was super interesting. I learned a lot but, above all, some of the things really worked. The changes it made in my dog were *absolutely amazing*. I think the great thing about ttouch is that it can't hurt and can only help. And so far, I've seen it help heaps. I'll be sure to try some of the stuff tomorrow at obedience!

I'm going as well. I'm taking loeka with me and even my partner is interested in coming along. It sounds super interesting.

Ah yeah, I remember the staffy! : ) Good try! It was hot as well : P Looking forward to seeing more pics. It can't have been easy getting good shots with such fast moving targets.

Great pictures! Were you the one who competed with a collie and another dog? I was hoping someone would put up pics of the afghan hound. I was absolutely enthralled by the hair!!!

Good question. He's nearly 11 months.

That's an interesting story because it kind of describes Loeka's reaction at times. But I'm not experienced enough to tell the difference between these different types of behaviour. I wish I could record him during training/walks/home. Thanks for the reply! Right now, I am absolutely concentrating on building his trust in me and working on his focus on me. There has been progress but it's still a long way to go. Prevention is also key - keeping distance from dogs/people, really getting him to focus on me before he even sees the other dog, turning around and walking away... But there are still reactions, even when I think his focus is completely on me. (For example, during training, he might all of a sudden bark or lunge after a dog he was oblivious to before) It's very frustrating and it makes me anxious at times. Do reactive dogs get better over time? I hope to one day go into agility/flyball so I really hope so : P As for dog owners, I think most *humans* are my problem ; ) I tell people who come to my house: ignore the dog, let *him* come to *you*, don't let him jump on you, don't let him nudge you for attention etc. I had an incident happen a few weeks ago where a friend of a friend (so in other words, a stranger) try to alpha roll my dog because he had "seen it on Cesar Milan". I was absolutely fuming - I still think about that and get angry about it. The reason why? Because he was playing with his best friend, a beagle, and they play quite rough and the guy thought it was too much?!

When you break it down like that, it makes so much more sense to me. So what are some ways of building social confidence? I'm just curious - I will wait until my behaviourist "diagnoses" the dog further before trying out various exercises.

No worries! I hope you feel better. I did keep my eyes open for a white and tan beagle : ) Next week is a brand new week! I think, by the sounds of it, he is showing quite a bit of fear aggression. E.g. stranger at the gate = bark. Human with big floppy hat = bark. White mastiff-type dogs and boxers = bane of his life (I don't know why he seems to loathe those types). I still have so much to learn and I worry way too much about this dog. Well, it's definitely time to see her again then. And yes, she's fantastic. I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

This is interesting because Loeka is a kelpie X. I've been wondering lately if this reactiveness could lead to aggression. I've decided to see the behaviourist again next month (I told her it's probably more for my sake than for the dog's - see how *I'm* doing as a trainer : ) but I wonder how can you tell if he's just being reactive with a sharp eye or if he's being fear/social aggressive? Are there any telltale signs? Is there anything a person could do to prevent reaction escalating into aggression?

I'm so happy I ran into this thread: it means I'm not the only one! So many of these posts reflect my life at the moment. I have a 10month dog who's reactive, anxious and lacking confidence at the moment. I even called in a behaviourist a few months ago because I didn't know what to do - he's also our first dog so yes, like some of you said, a very very steep learning curve. I'm still learning and working hard to get him focused on me and not his triggers. His triggers are many though he won't always react to all of them and he's *fast* so we try to prevent behaviour but sometimes it seems to come out of the blue. Also, some of his triggers are strange like white mastiff type dogs, staffies and boxers - it's specific but I don't know why. It's difficult to predict his behaviour because sometimes he's great and other times he tries to snap at them if they come too close. I take him to obedience once a week and I stick to the training the behaviourist gave us. I clicker train him and do a lot of focus work. He's got great focus so it makes for a good foundation. It makes me anxious though to have such a reactive dog, especially because it's my very first dog and sometimes I think, what have I gotten myself into?!?!? Can I cope?! Can I give him what he needs?! So it's like a vicious circle - he's anxious and then I get anxious and I'm sure he feels that as well and it doesn't help the situation : ( But it's 1 step forward and 2 steps back. He's improved much already and I know he's still young so who knows what kind of dog he'll be in a few months' time.

I'm planning on going on monday so if I see you, I'll definitely say hi!

I've got a pitch black kelpie cross with huge ears. He's often naughty and barks at other dogs, either for a play or for a "hey what ya looking at?" ; ) I just looked at your profile, and I think I recognise you! Well, I recognise your beagle : ) In fact, Jane might have mentioned you in her email (if your name starts with B), telling me I should ask you if I had any questions during training I should find you : P

I third Jane Harper! She has been great with us and our lovely teenage dog. I truly recommend her as well. I also do obedience training with the dog once a week at Metro Club in Chermside. I don't know wagtails but I like Metro Club so far.

I don't have too much experience with dogs but my 15 week puppy was only interested in grass, flowers and bushes for the first few weeks. He even ignored his toys and munched grass instead. It's gotten much much less over the past couple of weeks but he still enjoys biting flowers off their stems and tasting the grass everywhere he goes. We joke around that he's secretly a botanist, not a real dog. : )

I wanted to thank everyone again for replying and also to give a short update: you were all so right. He's much more interested in toys now and he's becoming more and more fixated on chasing frisbees and balls. His attention span is still short but not like it used to be. So YAY! In retrospect I feel so silly for being so concerned : P

hello all, We went to puppy school last night and to cut a long story short: it was slightly disastrous and though the trainer seems knowledgeable and has great people skills, I have my doubts about the setup. Now, I'm a total newbie and I probably should have looked into schools before signing up but oh, well. It was organised by my vet who's great so I trust her. Also, I know this is the first of four puppy classes but it's was such a frustrating experience that I needed to see if I was the only one. So here's my experience of the first time ever at puppy school: 1. 10 puppies - twice as many people plus a few kids and this is held in the waiting room at the vet's. I suppose this is great if they're ickle pups and just lie in laps but perhaps not if there is a big lumbering black lab who wants to play with my kelpie x and vice versa. 2. After a 5 minute offleash play session with rambunctious lab puppies, Loeka was put back on a leash and I stupidly didn't reward him and he watched other puppies play. He was not amused and wanted to play as well. 3. Then the trainer gave us the basics on toilet training and stuff while Loeka was getting increasingly frustrated at being on the leash - usually when we have him on the leash it's for TOT or for a short walk about or on a longer lead for recall training. Also, because we were sitting so close to the other dogs, the big black lab kept pushing his way over to us and I couldn't keep them apart AND listen to the trainer AND try to keep Loeka calm and ARRRGGGGG it was so FRUSTRATING... 4. The trainer realised our frustrations and took our pup and he ended up nipping her - SIGH - big no-no and so she grabbed him by the collar and restrained him while he threw a tantrum. Then finally he calmed down and settled. So I wonder if anyone else has similar experiences with their dogs and puppy school. If so, how did you resolve the situation? Are there any tips on how to get a dog to just settle with so much distraction? Will it get better? Am I over-thinking things? Are all puppy schools like this? Is it possible to fail puppy school? Am I too quick with my judgement? Also, GOOD puppy school stories are also more than welcome! I want to hear the good and the bad! ; ) Thanks for reading : )

K9: You have at some stage waiting too long before releasing, so the pup thinks this is a relax & you get your food deal. Change the feeding place & start by making drive again, make sure the pup is hungry & place the food just out of pups reach, get the pup driven before pressing on. Thanks for the reply! It makes complete sense to me. I'm going back to basics. : )

Thanks to everyone who replied. I really appreciate it. I realise now that I expect way too much of this pup and I just gotta let him be who he is. Thanks for the info and it makes total sense. I'm keeping this in mind for next time. Thanks for the kind reply, Persephone. Finding food games is an awesome idea! I would have never thought of it. That's a really good point. However, I thought that some drive would be innate. I've seen (though not raised) many a pup playing with bits of string and balls and the likes and wrongfully assumed all pups were like that. OOPS. In other words, I gotta relax I will - it's hard because it's my first dog and I just don't want to screw it up. Out of curiosity, what has been the strangest kelpie cross you've ever come across? Actually, he does like plastic bottles, especially the hard coca cola ones. He plays with them by himself but not often. I will try tug with something small and soft - maybe I can teach him how to give at the same time ; ) We game him a whole cardboard box and I expected it to be shredded within a day but all it did was get soggy in the rain and get a few bite marks here or there haha... so for now, cardboard is a fail : ( That's another fantastic idea for a game. Are there other games which incorporate his herding instinct?