fuzzy82

Can anyone recommend a good dog neurologist in North Brisbane please? My jrt X has been diagnosed with nerve root pain by our regular vet and they say nothing more can be done, but he's in pain and can't live the rest of his life like this so we need to explore our options. I'm in North Lakes so anywhere from North Brisbane up to Caboolture is fine.

Just wondering what the best DNA test available in Australia? Looking for the likes of embark etc that shows breed and possible generic issues. Can we get the embark here? Thanks.

Looking for some rally-o classes and support with the goal of competing. I know there is an obedience club in the area that does rally-o, but I don't like their training methods, so just wondering if there's anywhere that does either classes or maybe an informal group that trains together? I'm in Burpengary and very time poor so would rather not travel very far. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I certainly don't want to badmouth a reputable business, but they haven't really met the standard I expect from online stores. For instance, if they hadn't received payment from me within a week, an email to check if I still wanted the item would be in order (either automated or manual), with the option to cancel the order. And I did enter the correct details, I always double check, and I have since checked my statement. The money was sent to the correct account number. I entered the invoice number as the reference. There shouldn't have been an issue. A confirmation email when they received payment would have been nice too. I fully expected to have to wait a while, being so close to Christmas, but they haven't instilled a lot of trust when I have sent them money and they have then proceeded to ignore me since the order was placed. Also, running a business and not even checking emails for two weeks is crazy. For a few days that are public holidays and weekends, all good. But to not even check your emails for that long? Weird. I run a business and I'm taking time off for Christmas, but I still check emails every day. A fast response to people's emails instils trust and makes them feel looked after. Also, if they are not going to check emails, how about an auto-reply that informs people of this? Very easy to set up. I didn't see the message on their home page, as I got to their website through a Google search for a toy I wanted. And I placed the order well before they went away on holiday, more than 3 weeks before. I would expect to hear from an online store within 3 weeks of placing an order. They may be nice people and everything, but they are not really meeting the standard set by many other online stores.

Good to know, thanks :) Is there a similar thing in place for cats?

I ordered a couple of toys on their site on December 6, and paid by direct deposit the same day. I still haven't received the toys, nor a confirmation email of any kind. I emailed them about a week ago asking how my order was coming along, but there has been no reply. Anyone else ordered from them? They seem pretty dodgy to me.

Thanks, I was looking into the breeder option just before, and you are still limited to the max number, which is 4. I then had a look at being a registered foster carer, but the limit is still the same - 4. You are not limited to 4 if you get an affiliated breeder permit quote from website below 2. Affiliated Animal Breeding Applicants must be a member of an affiliated/recognised breeder association. Approved affiliated animal breeders will be allowed to keep above the number of animals described in number of animals allowed by property size tool. Applicants must complete the affiliated animal breeder permit application and submit it to council by mail or at any council customer service centre with the prescribed fee. Applicants who are granted an affiliated animal breeder permit may also be eligible for a concession on their animal registration fees. For more information on animal breeder permits, please contact Council. The property size tool tells me I can have a maximum of 4 dogs. Our property is 3500 m2, so it seems like no matter how big your property is, you are limited to 4 dogs. Unless I'm reading it wrong? I checked with the tool yesterday and it tells me I can have 2, and an additional 2 with a permit. So as a breeder, I would still be limited to 4. ETA: Sorry, I've been reading that as "you will still be limited to the max number". But it actually says you can have more. I totally misread it, even after reading it multiple times. Oops!

I was telling hubby just before we may need to move to a more sensible council area.

The MBRC doesn't care about animals. They recently tried to blame the decline of Koala numbers on 'wild dogs', even though they've allowed most of their habitat to be cleared. I rung up once to report a stray dog. They put it down as a roaming dog complaint, I said 'I'm not complaining I just wanted someone to rescue it because I couldn't'. Nope it had to be a complaint, which makes for incredibly misleading statistics. Also Major Sutherland was caught on tape trying to set-up his opposition with a sly donation from his developer buddies. From what I have witness, I wouldn't trust MBRC as far as I could throw them and would document all dealings with them. I hadn't heard of that case. That's just despicable. Also crazy to have to complain about a roaming dog.... I guess it would be better to call RSPCA rather than the council? Although might not do any good, as RSPCA runs some of the pounds.....

Thanks, I was looking into the breeder option just before, and you are still limited to the max number, which is 4. I then had a look at being a registered foster carer, but the limit is still the same - 4.

Thanks for your replies. Our block is 3500 m2, so plenty big enough. The site tells me: Dogs & cats Dogs: 2 (additional 2 with prior approval) Cats: 2 (additional 2 with prior approval) I just can't believe they would actually make us get rid of our pets when we have had no complaints. They would rather have more animals in the pound and being put to sleep? I noticed in Brisbane you can get a cattery permit to keep up to 10 cats. Is this a possibility in MBRC? I can't find anything about it on their site. Note that this is a hypothetical scenario, we haven't had any trouble with the council.

Does anyone know what happens if you have more cats or dogs than allowed in your council area? If you are a responsible owner, there have been no complaints from neighbours, and the animals don't bother anyone, can they seize additional animals? What happens if you have ended up with more than the max permitted number of animals? In my council, you're allowed 2 cats and 2 dogs, and you can get a permit to keep 4 cats and 4 dogs. So what happens if you have 4 cats, and you meet someone who has 2 cats and move in together? Are you expected to surrender 2 of the cats? I have been researching this for the last hour, and the only thing I could find is that animal ownership is now managed by QLD state government, with the Animal management (cats and dogs) act 2008, but I can't see anywhere in there about the number of animals allowed. On the QLD gov website it says to check with your local council. MBRC where I am says the above - 2, with a permit needed for a maximum of 4.

Wouldn't it be better to borrow one of the puppies from the other litter to raise with the singleton puppy?

Yes, that's an online handling class. I also heard she's returning to Aus in April, but this hadn't been confirmed last time I heard of it.

From what I've heard, SG's handling class will start in Aussie autumn, and I'm planning to do it. I did part of her handling workshop in November and it all made perfect sense and is based on making everything extremely clear and easy for the dog.

Susan Garrett's new handling system uses blind crosses, but only when the dog isn't looking so the dog has no idea it has been blind crossed (to avoid things like the dog thinking it should cross behind and end up getting kicked by the handler). So she uses them as the dog is coming up the A-frame, while the dog is in a tunnel or when the dog is wrapping an upright and the handler is hidden from the dog's view by the upright. So a blind cross is never done in a way that it gives the dog a job to do, the dog is always unaware of the blind cross.

The test is also required for a type of field work. I'm not sure if the field work over there is what you call "field work" here in Australia, as I know it also incorporates obedience and takes place over several days (?). But yes, definitely required for IPO.

I've heard of the test, but never seen it in action, so that was very interesting. Just a clarification though, this test isn't used for pet dogs, it's only compulsory if you want to participate in certain dog sports.

Maybe "calm" was the wrong word. A dog can be excited and in drive without throwing every behaviour under the sun at you, and I wouldn't personally try to rush in with a click to try to catch the right behaviour in a dog who is just being frantic. I wouldn't ever want to reward "frantic", but I definitely want a dog who is excited and in drive.

People screaming in fear as you walk past with a calm oldie? I would just laugh at them, wouldn't bother me at all.

Maybe post a warning about graphic content? I know I could have done without seeing this today. It might be a great photo, but all I can see is a scared animal screaming.

Work on with him. It makes food obsessed dogs a bit more thoughtful around food.If he just throws every trick in the book at you while you're trying to train, I would wait him out until he calms down, then try to train. If you speed up in an attempt to match your dog's energy, your dog will only get faster and more frantic.

Where is the link to the study?

There is no piece of equipment that is going to teach your dog to walk nicely. The only way to teach nice leash walking, is to put the time and effort in to teach it. The no-pull tools is just a way to stop the dog from rehearsing bad habits, and aren't really needed for toy dogs as they can't drag you along anyway. Look into silky leash on youtube, and also teach her that walking next to you is really awesome. Start with dog next to you, feed loads in position. This is all you do for several days. When the dog knows this, you take one step forward, dog will come up next to you because being next to you is awesome. Then you gradually add more steps and start adding distractions. Any time the dog moves ahead, you stop as soon as the dog's head crosses the plane of your body, so by the time he reaches the end of the leash, you are stationary. Bring him back next to you, and keep walking. Repeat as needed. I don't like how even in positive training circles, leash walking is about punishment. Walk the other way if they pull, be a tree etc. Just reward the dog for being in correct position until the dog knows this, THEN you can introduce a consequence for being out of position. Also, teach "go sniff" and "go see" cues. There's no treat that can compete with a dog's desire to sniff stuff and say hello to other people (if they are friendly), so by putting these on cue, you can use them as motivation for leash walking. If you walk nicely, I might give you a cue to go and sniff.

I did the Precise Training course, with the block training in Qld. Personally wouldn't bother, very old fashioned, they don't like reward based training (I hear the Vic block training might be different though), no mention of training in drive. All in all, VERY basic - punish what you don't like, give a treat for what you like. And there was so much stuffing around with from an admin point of view as well, like losing my assessments and me not finding out until 6 months later, didn't receive my certificate until 2 months after the deadline they set for when the course would be finished (and I've heard of others who waited 12 months), very close minded when I tried to use logic to discuss an issue with an assessment, etc. I've learned loads more about dog training from doing Susan Garrett's Recallers (and her other online classes) and following various famous trainers through online blogs and various online training classes (like the classes by Susan Garrett and Fenzi Dog Sports Academy). I run my own dog training business, and I never even use what I learnt from Precise Training. Everything I use I learnt through online classes with the best trainers in the world, from research online and from books. If it's important to you to be a certified trainer, I would do the Karen Pryor course, rather than the Precise Training course.