Zerofallen

I don't think you've posted that link before... I'll check it out. Anyway, as for pics... This is Winter Amelia. Having a bath with mummy... And this is how we prefer her at the moment... Asleep and quiet. Heh

That's true... And noted. Believe me though, I would never let anything happen to Winter. :) EDIT: I think the main issue is my post seemed quite blasé. Sorry about that.

Yes it does!!!! Dogs have been seized and destroyed for less. The best protection for your dog and visiting children is to keep them separate so that lapses in training don't occur. If you think that's being "negative" then I hope to God you don't ever have to deal with a parent on the warpath against your dog. How much do you know about Huskies, neonatal children and fatalities? Yes, disinterest is probably a good thing but your child is tiny, and all it takes is a temporary lapse of concentration and there could be heartbreak. She'd not be getting near enough to sniff my baby if it were me. One person's negativity is another's trying to warn you that the safest way to keep this dog, your child and visiting children safe is to separate them. If that sounds like a Chicken Little impression then I'm prepared to cop flack for it. My interest is in the safety of kids and the preservation of the life of your dog. That's not what I meant at all. Either I didn't explain myself properly or you misinterpreted it. I merely said it was negative as it came across as you expecting the worse, not just in the situation but in my actions as well. The only interaction Ishi has with Winter is when someone is holding her... She is not given the opportunity at all to do anything, and there is no lapse of concentration nor will there be as I am well aware of what could happen. With the jumping, that was a situation that even though it was supervised I didn't anticipate, but now that I know then she won't be given that much free reign anymore. It is still something that will need further training though.

Easily fixed. No access to visiting kids. Safer for them, safer for her. How so? You won't be able to leave them unsupervised for years yet. Such a negative response... In regards to your first statement, she shouldn't be jumping at all, so whether it's on me or another adult or a child it doesn't matter. It is something I've worked on before and thought I had sorted, but obviously it needs some more work. And for the second one, that's plainly obvious... I was just mentioning that Ishi is not displaying any aggression or anxiety towards Winter, since she is a new addition which I think is a good sign.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but our daughter, Winter, was born on the 18th of February so things have been hectic since then... Trying to manage everything and things are going ok. Haven't really made any progress with Ishi though... She's still sleeping inside at night time, and is sometimes a pain during the day while outside. She also scratched a friend's son on his face due to being a little too excited the other day so that's something that will need to be addressed too. It seems that all her training goes out the window when there's a bit of stimulation. She is quite gentle around Winter though and will come up and sniff her and then leave her alone (with me close by and ready to pounce if things even look like they will turn sour), so that's looking promising. I just cannot wait for the behaviourist from ProK9 to come over and help out though... In the mean time I'll take some time each day and continue her training.

So we're booked in with ProK9 for March the 17th... A little late, but should be beneficial all round. We'll be given some pointers for the interim to help once we put together a list of issues we want to address. The past few days have been pretty good though... I took Ishi to my parent's place on Tuesday and let her play with their dog for the day while I was at work to give my wife a bit of a break. Apparently in between playing and running around she was just relaxing on the patio and not making a sound. Afterwards she spent a small amount of the evening outside for dinner and then came in for the evening and the night... It may be seen as letting her get used to sleeping inside, but it does eliminate the chance of her scratching and whining so it's a double edged sword there. Yesterday I was home from work as we had a obstetrician appointment in the morning and while we were out Ishi was obviously in the backyard. Even after we got home though we left her out there and barely heard a sound from her... I think she might have scratched once very quickly, but that was ignored. She didn't come inside until after 7:30pm, and again spent the night quietly asleep... I'll find out tonight how she was today, but it seems like we're progressing... Baby steps though. Heh In regards to finding a kennel, I've spoken with my parents and they're happy to take care of Ishi during my wife's labour and even afterwards if things become a little stressful. If they weren't there is a kennel we've used in the past that were really good, so that's a possibility. I think we'll be all right though. Thanks for your help everyone. :)

Oh dear. My guess is you may not have much choice. Does your wife pay any attention to the dog? She does... Probably more so than I do since she's home all day. Ishi and her usually hang out together.

I'd never rely on a baby gate to separate the dog from a baby... It currently separates the dog from the cats. Heh She's been crate trained as is alright spending time in a decent sized soft one we have so that'll be a possibility. Still it doesn't stop the fact that she needs to be able to spend time outside by herself. My wife has contacted ProK9, so we will probably get their help. Doesn't help when she puts her foot down and says that if it continues then we'll have to get rid of her. I wouldn't allow that to happen though.

I take her for a half hour run, or an hour walk everyday. It's no different than she's always had.

Routine hasn't changed at all. I'm still spending the same amount of time with her, taking her for walks and runs still. My wife spends time with her too when she's home inside, and she's inside right until we go to bed. That's why I was surprised with the sudden change. Even took her to my parent's place when I was there yesterday so she could play with their dog, hoping she'd wear herself out, but when we came home I put her outside with her dinner while my wife and I ate and she whined the entire time.

It's a very effective brain fogger And it's just going to get even worse. Ahhh well... It'll be worth it.

Sorry, I remember you did write that. This is what lack of sleep does to me. :laugh:

Any recommendations for in-home trainers in the South Eastern suburbs in Victoria? Heh

Well I have never let her sleep inside when she's been noisy... She's usually inside at night time before bed and after weeks of not sleeping well I just left her inside on her cushion last night so we could sleep decently for once. I've tried my hardest to avoid reinforcing the negative behaviour, but she doesn't seem to respond to that.

Personally I don't have a problem with her sleeping inside, as we already have a baby gate separating the lounge area from the bedrooms and hallway... It's my wife who would rather she slept outside. But realistically she can't be inside all the time that we are, especially when the baby comes along... Since she's quite an exuberant dog (when there's things around to "play" with) I'd really prefer accidents don't happen. You might be right with contact a professional... Just need this taken care of sooner rather than later.

Hi everyone. Wasn't too sure where to post this but just after some advice regarding my husky... She's 30 months old and in the past never really caused any fuss with sleeping or hanging out outside while my wife and I had things to do. She's usually very relaxed. Recently though she's taken to whining whenever she's outside and scratching furiously at the door at night... It's progressively been getting worse to the point where my wife and I aren't able to sleep at night unless we let her inside to sleep in the lounge room. It's also stressing out my wife to tears while she's home. The thing is that it's coincided with my wife's pregnancy... As that progressed so did her behaviour to the point where there's only 4 days until the due date and unless Ishi is inside she will sit at the door and whine constantly. I've had a read around the place and there's some information that links pregnancy to attachment behaviour issues, but what I'd like to know is what can be done in the interim? There's no way that my wife or I can handle this for the next two weeks at a maximum, and there's no guarantee that it's going to stop after the kid is born. Can this sort of behaviour be trained out and what methods will work? Ignoring hasn't worked, reward training hasn't worked. I've had an e-collar suggested to me, but not too sure about that.

Pretty big cat doors then, or very small people... The one we're getting is considered standard size and is 159x159mm and I have trouble imagining anyone over the age of 2 fitting through it.

I know this is about timber floorboards, but is there anyone with timber laminate floors that can give a review? I've always heard that they're more durable than hardwood/softwood so am interested in how they fare with dogs. Been thinking of tearing up the carpet eventually and going a timber laminate.