Skye GSD

Let him sleep on the bed :D !!!! All my puppies have slept on the bed and have been toilet trained within two weeks. Once the bond is there you can then start crate training. It doesn't happen over night but it will happen!!! Good luck.

Years ago I used to help our local Lands & Survey block in NZ at lambing time. If you have never seen sheep attacked/killed by dogs you would have no idea of the horror. I love dogs but would have no hesitation in shooting if caught in the act. I cannot believe that dog owners who live in the country would not have their dogs penned or securely contained when not with them. It is a natural instinct to chase prey for most dogs and not neccessarily to kill hence we used to see horrific injuries which led to the sheep being put down anyway. All dogs, irrespective of where you live, should be contained when not supervised.

Olivebaby - love your reference as to where you are getting your long lead from. Having already done (and still maintaining) the Loose Leash Walking program I am about to start the K9Pro Long Distance Training in Drive program and am fortunate enough to be going to Sydney next weekend to attend Steve's Sydney workshop. Cannot wait!!

My last GSD never alert barked. Used to be funny to see the look on peoples faces when you opened the front door and they had a large GSD looking at them. So if intruders couldn't read the warning sign on the gate, they were in for a shock - fortunately we never had to test it.

mish13 - you don't need the link noted on Steve's first post - just keep reading down the thread. There are 38 pages with really good information from lots of people and certainly food for thought. It has certainly changed the way I look at training.

mish13 - Steve's link works on my computer. It is an old thread from 2003 but you should still be able to read it - just cannot add to it.

Mish13 - I, too, am from the "old school" and also trained my previous GSD's with choke chains. Read K9Pro's thread on Socialisation/Neutralisation that he has noted in this thread - it is really worth studying the 38 pages! I am now doing Long Distance Training with Steve and just loving it.

Check out Poochy Playground website.

Kerry sounds like your person. Tell her Skye said Hi.

Yes, I did one course with her and also some one on one time. What sort of training do you want to do?

I have PM'd you a trainer who also owns a husky - she holds training classes at the Baldivis Vet Hospital grounds and also does one on one. Really nice person.

What area are you looking at?

Please be careful when walking your swf's that they are not sniffing too close to fences that contain other dogs. My friend in Melbourne was walking her swf a few years ago and was chatting with her friend as they walked along. The lead went tight and when she looked back, her dog had been dragged under the fence by either a pitbull/X or a GSD/X (two dogs were in the yard) and before she could do anything, her little one had been ripped to shreds by both dogs. It has taken her a long time to get over it and is perhaps food for thought for those with little dogs that think they don't have to be as vigilant as those with big dogs.

Hi Gammalite, Any news on your front - have thought about you often and wondered how you are getting on??

Two of my daughters have DA GSD bitches who are fanastic with humans but after only one altercation with each of them, we do not mix them at all. Even to the point where I will put Skye in to our local kennels if we are staying overnite and it is a helluva lot cheaper than a vet bill. I would seriously consider the welfare of your beautiful boy above a new dog - he was there first and is obviously a perfect fit with your family. It would be so sad to see his demeanour/personality change because of an incompatible mate. Please take the advice given and separate them until you can have the situation properly assessed by one of the suggested professionals and then you will know what you are dealing with. I wish you the best of luck.

When Skye is given a "command" like sit and she gives me the look that says "make me" - that's exactly what I do. Even if it means getting up from a prone position to do it :D A command is a command and should always be treated as such. If you say "why don't you come and sit with me" or "come and lie down here" - that is a conversation and unfortunately dogs do not understand sentences

My two look at me like 'you threw it stupid, you go get it', LMAO.... they are so not into fetch! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH mine are like that too!!!! Jenna will chase it and then think 'hold on, wtf am I chasing it for?' and then she runs back to me! lol Max just goes over to it, sniffs it, and then decides its not worth playing with. lol Must be a GSD trait - Skye does exactly the same thing but get the flirt pole out, and she just loves it.

what a priceless comment Joe - and I love your humour

Thank goodness some of us are prepared to try other methods when the current one does not work. I had successfully trained my other GSD's with the check chain and they were top dogs. This little pocket rocket that I have just would not "get it" with any method up until now and we moved progressively up the ranks of tools. I had always thought of the prong collar as a last resort, little knowing that I was going to get there with this girl. The corrections are no where near as harsh as a check chain and most are self-corrections by the dog - they soon learn to accept the boundaries. I would never endorse the prong collar, or check chain for that matter, for all training but in certain cases they are a very successful tool and I can certainly vouch for that. best4koda - sounds like you and I have twins!!!

Must have something to do with the prong collars we were wearing - knew there would be a consequence for non-compliance - just kidding!

You'd think so, Erny, wouldn't you? I typed in {"quote"] - without the " " as instructed) at the beginning of a sentence of yours to quote and then at the end of that same sentence I typed ["/quote"] - without the " " - typed in my response to you and when trying to preview the post was given this notification The number of opening quote tags does not match the number of closing quote tags- I know it's me - I have tried it over and over! How embarrassing! LOL! ETA: Typo in first line - should read ["quote"] not this { symbol. Come on BorderBo - If I can do it, anyone can do it

Yee hah Erny - you're a genius - now my post looks better :D

Thanks Erny - kept trying to edit it but gave up!!!! Will note for future reference

And who is confused???? And they can unlearn it just as well with the correct method of training.

I am from the old school of training where I believe there should be a consequence for non-compliance coupled with effective verbal praise for correct behaviour. However, I was willing to try the new age methods and as it had been ten years since I had enjoyed the club scene with my last GSD, found it to be an extremely different arena. I had a dog that was not food or toy driven and the only other endorsed training tool was a flat collar. At no time was I offered an alternative to the training method that was not working and as a previous user of choke chain methods it took my daughter to point out that I had successfully trained 4 other GSD's with the choke chain so "if it ain't broke, why fix it". Biggest problem was that I was unable to continue to train at my club unless I used the flat collar. I understand that there are soft dogs that are able to be trained with the new age methods but my little girl is not a soft dog - she is high drive and I am looking forward to continuing my training with Steve to get the best out of her. Don't think that there hasn't been times when I've thought "I just can't do this" and many a time our walks have ended in tears but to see the difference in Skye with the right method of training for her, my only regret is not contacting Steve sooner. There is no "one size fits all" and sometimes it takes a few lost battles to get the right recipe. Our journey is far from over and I am sure there will still be tears along the way but it sure as hell looks brighter. To BorderBo: if I had my time all over again, knowing what I know now, would I choose another high drive puppy - probably not - this old mare ain't what she used to be either!!!!!