loeka

Good point - too bad I don't have AC. Although I think its cooler outside the QLDer than inside (It's raining at the moment, thankfully) True - Training is going well because he likes food. We'd be in trouble otherwise ; ) You ask a good question. I guess the reasons why I would want to build his prey drive are so that he can be trained with objects as well as with food; he's a kelpie x collie and he is going to need to release his energy as he gets older, I want him to be able to channel that energy through things like fetch and frisbeeing because unfortunately we cannot offer him a herd of sheep. Also, those kinds of games are fun for us as well. I don't know if it's possible to build up a prey drive though... Btw, thanks for the replies...

Hey again : ) About my kelpie x - I tried finding similar posts on this topic but I only found the opposite: TOO MUCH PREY DRIVE and I think we have too little. So we're getting to know Loeka better and we find something very peculiar: he doesn't seem to like playing or chew toys! A few examples: Sometimes he will play fetch/run after a toy - but more often than not he will either ignore it or run after it only to be distracted by grass or a houseplant. He doesn't really care much for his kong - we have stuffed with various things. He will give it a go for a minute and then he ignores it again. He LOVES grass, plants and leaves. He is content to sit there and eat grass or just sniff around the garden and try out various plants. The only chewtoy he liked was a cheap rubbery squeaky one that I had to throw away after a day because he had ripped it to shreds. Other than that, chewtoys seem to bore him. Things he seems to like: Food. He's a bit like a lab and I wonder if he only follows me everywhere because I feed him ; ) It works well with training though because he definitely give me his focus when he knows there may be treats involved. Chasing. (I make sure he chases me only and that he has to touch my hand with his nose and sit at the end - this way hopefully he will never run after someone and bite them - but please correct me if chasing is a bad thing!) Maybe he just doesn't see the VALUE in toys so we tried making it really exciting and OMG WE WANNA PLAY WITH IT TOO kinda thing and we definitely praise him (with treats) when he retrieves an object. Also when he chews something bad like the couch we offer him a chew toy instead. So am I just paranoid? Is he just being a puppy with a short attention span? He's only 12 weeks so maybe the chewtoys are too tough for him to chew and so he loses interest? Is there a way to awaken his 'prey drive'? Is it normal for a kelpie to sniff the ground (he LOVES sniffing things - he goes inhale, inhale, EXHALE really loudly) and be SOOOOO interested in botany? Thanks in advanced! Naomi

That's so funny! I have just spent the past 2 hours reading about it and watching her videos (I think she's great and I'm in love with her dogs). I was reading some stuff by Turid Rugaas as well. I never knew for example that licking lips was a calming signal... I think I have learnt more in the past 2 weeks than I have in the past 3 years. : )

First of all, thanks for putting up this information for free and available and being available to answer questions. I've been doing this for the past week with my 12 week old puppy and so far it's going pretty good : ) I just have a few questions and hopefully someone can help me out? 1. Once the dog understands what he needs to do - sit, look, wait, and be released - do you still need to create drive for them? I assume that the drive could be there even though they will sit there patiently and look at you, waiting for the cue? 2. What if the dog breaks the stay - do you resume time from the beginning? Wait for eye contact and begin timing again? 3. Sometimes my puppy just lies there and looks at me longer than when he sits - Has anyone else had this problem? I wait until he sits although sometimes he will lie for nearly 5 minutes and I can't help but say, SIT. I also wonder why he will lie and stare at me for longer than sitting and staring at me. I think it might also have to do with creating drive for him at times. Again this is a great programme. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies - it's good to know I'm not the only one and that it will get better : ) And he doesn't bark at us anymore unless he is very worked up in which case I don't ignore him, but put him outside for a timeout. I think he does understand he is not allowed on the couch and he's beginning to understand NO and AHH AHHH but I'm confused as to how I could be clearer in what I expect from him? I give him treats for being lying quietly on his bed and I also tell him good dog whenever he's with a proper chewtoy and I scold him for not many things, but this is definitely one of them. When he gets really worked up, I take him out to the veranda where his bed and give him a sort of 'time out'. Which he doesn't always mind. Haha that's good to know and thanks for the 'warning' ; ) That's wonderful! I must try and teach Loeka that. What kind of cue do you give him? For example, while you're massaging him, do you say something like 'relax' until he gets to the final reward point? I'm new at this so I'm super curious as to how anything is done : ) We tried tiring him out but he has little patience for toys and has a very short attention span. He prefers chewing on rocks and grass :/ This forum has been a major help to me. Thanks!

Thanks for the response... You're right about the many reasons for barking - perhaps I'm too quick to judge that he wants to take over my couch ; ) We do basic obedience training - sit, down, stay, fetch... We're quite active so we play with him outside although he tends to get bored quickly so we're still trying to figure out what kind of games he likes. We are going to puppy obedience course at the beginning of next month. And yes, he is smart and we still have LOTS to learn when it comes to raising puppies : ) Thanks again for the reply!

Hey everyone, I'm getting very frustrated with my 11 week old kelpie X pup which we've had for over 2 weeks. He found his voice a few days ago - he started barking at the mop. Which was fine because we put the mop away and no more barking. Then he started barking more and more - perhaps out of boredom and sometimes at strange new things like the dishwasher. We tried the whole Bark Once, then SHUSH and the moment he's silent give him a treat. But it doesn't always work. Redirection is also a good tool. But now, he's barking AT us. I realise this is a dominance thing as he will do it when I'm on the couch which he is not allowed on. He will try to climb the couch and I will go AHHH AHHH (scolding tone) and take him off without looking at him and then I ignore him. Sometimes this will work. But recently (starting yesterday) he sits in front of the couch and barks AT me. I'm guessing he's trying to challenge me to a duel of some kind which I won't let him so I just ignore him, look out the window, and sit up straight on my couch because this is MY couch. He's not much of a biter but he still nips at times, and what do I do if I he barks AND bites me in order to gain my attention? I'm hoping someone out there will have some advice for me... So what to do? Keep on ignoring him? Should I spray him with water? Put a short leash on him (but then I'd have to get off the couch to get him off the couch)? Something else? P.s. I use the NILIF method and have started the TOT method for his meals with no real issues. Thanks in advanced