fuzzy82

I support the ban, and haven't tried it on myself. I have seen it used by an experienced trainer though. I would like to try it on myself, not just wearing it, but being given a proper correction with one. I do suspect that my neck is different from a dog's though, and how dogs experience it would also vary between dogs.

The point of the supplements is not to fix the LP, but to lubricate the joint and minimise damage done by the kneecap constantly rubbing on the cartilage. Lifting the leg isn't a sign of pain, they only do that to pop the kneecap back in place. The condition is painless unless the cartilage wears away, but once it's gone, you have bone rubbing on bone, which is painful and unfixable. The kneecap can still be surgically put back in place and ligaments tightened etc, but without the cartilage it will be prone to arthritis. Personally I would treat a mild case with supplements and ensuring good muscle tone around the joint, and by keeping them nice and lean. Surgery should be a last resort, as it's a very painful recovery that required crate rest for 6-8 weeks, and I think the surgery is overkill for a mild case that might never become painful or get worse. For example, my poodle x has a grade 1. She was diagnosed a year ago, and hasn't gotten any worse. I wouldn't even consider surgery for her. My JRT x is a grade 3 or 4, and has had LP since he was 9 months. I plan to have surgery on him as soon as I save up the money.

I'm pretty sure Artemis also does a grain free variety.

I have been undecided on this issue for the last few days. My immediate thought was 'yep, ban them', but then I thought that they are actually a useful tool for gaining control of very large, reactive/aggressive dogs while training them, as long as they are used correctly and as a last resort. So I then thought maybe I don't support a ban after all. But after thinking about it for several days, I have come to the conclusion that I do support a ban. Sweden has been mentioned as another country that has banned prong collars. What hasn't been mentioned is that in Sweden it is also illegal to crate a dog at home while you are out of the house. This isn't because crates are evil, but because a lot of people were overusing the crates and the dogs were suffering because of it. When you look at banning something, you have to weigh the usefulness up against the damage potential. And the Swedish government deemed the damage potential of crates higher than the usefulness, and so they were banned. The same thing applies to prong collars. Yes, they CAN be a useful tool, when used correctly. However, most people will not use them correctly, or use them too much, or use them as a first resort. How many people will be using the prong collar as a quick and permanent fix, rather than as a temporary training tool? 90%? While 10% might use them correctly and temporary. Should we sacrifice the 90% of dogs where the prong collar is used incorrectly and possibly damaging both physically and mentally to the dogs, for the sake of giving the 10% this training tool? Also, how many dogs are really so large and aggressive that NO other tool can be used to control them? I am guessing not many. And so, when you weigh the usefulness of the prong collar up against the potential for damage, a ban makes perfect sense.

Is there any evidence that they don't cause pain or harm? I've never seen any evidence for or against prong collars in all my literary wanderings. There are some people out there working with very challenging dogs that don't ever speak of them except to lump them into an "aversive training tools" category. Head collars, yes. CAT, BAT, counter-conditioning, desensitisation, even full body restraint. I've only ever found one study that examined the effect of prong collars (http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=992370272&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=992370272.pdf and it concluded that they were more distressing to dogs during police dog training than electronic collars. Yes I've seen that report before too. It doesn't surprise me that e-collars are less aversive, IMO they can be one of if not the most gentle and least aversive tool out there. I find it's a bit of a round-about argument. If they caused pain and harm as obviously as anti-prong collar advocates would have us believe, why is the proof and evidence not out there, easy and readily available to find? Is that like saying someone is guilty until proven innocent? I agree, if I was given a choice of check chain, prong collar and e-collar, I would pick e-collar any day. I don't know what "proof" you want that a prong collar is painful though. Isn't it obvious that when used to give corrections it would be painful? How else would it work? How would you prove how painful something is?

The information I found stated that they are banned in official competition not for general use. The info you found is wrong. I am Norwegian, I know the rules. Perhaps you yourseld mis-understood the rules. I googled them just before I posted, to make sure they hadn't changed. I'm sure you appreciate that it's not easy to find information on these laws - I've been searching all afternoon and haven't found anything to support prong collars being 100% illegal in the countries mentioned. I'm not saying you are wrong, but the information is not readily available or easy to access. Anyway - as per my previous post. Whether prongs are banned in places outside of VIC is quite irrelevant to the big picture. Sorry, didn't mean to sound harsh. I do understand that it's difficult to find info on it, as I googled the same thing last night and found nothing. Earlier today I googled in Norwegian and found more useful info.

The information I found stated that they are banned in official competition not for general use. The info you found is wrong. I am Norwegian, I know the rules.

Not in my understanding - from what I've read, the use of the tools are restricted not completely illegal. Prong collars are legal to sell and buy, but not to use. Go figure. E-collars are allowed to be used by a few people with specialised training for training specific types of hunting dogs. So as good as banned.

Really? Thanks for letting me know, can you direct me to some more information? Victoria is not the only place on earth with prong collar bans. Here is a link - not in English http://www.djurskyddet.se/media/17084/hundhalsband.pdf Google translation can be great, often hilarious and frequently "up the wall" . Lots of back packers in Qld who can assist with translation I am sure. Come on, I can't read that and from the sounds of it neither can you. You said above there are entire countries that have banned prong collars, if that's true, surely it would not be difficult to provide a list of which countries have done so. ;) I have absolutely no problem understanding every word in the linked document, I am sure you can read it however the comprehension might leave a few sections up in the air. ;) The ban of prong collar use on dogs have been in place in Sweden for a very long time - decades. The entire Sweden - not just one province/state/area/landskap of the country. So - Victoria, Australia is not the only place with a ban of prong collar use on dogs. Norway has also banned prong collars, as well as e-collars.

The thing is, even trainers don't use them correctly. If they were used as a last resort to control large, aggressive dogs long enough to train them, I would not have a problem with them. But, I have seen experienced trainers use them on dogs that only had slightly bad manners. And by bad manners I mean it was a bit fidgety while it was supposed to be sitting calmly, and it was being manhandled with a prong collar. A problem that would have been quickly and easily fixed using reward based methods, and yet a prong collar was used. So education on correct use would be good, but I wouldn't trust trainers to give it.

It's funny this should come up today. I recently joined a European dog forum (they are so technical and on topic in there, it's just crazy) and they were saying the only safe way to transport a dog in a car, is in a specially made boot crate, OR in a plastic crate. Harnesses, even the ones specifically designed for cars, did terrible in tests, and apparently the fake dogs all ended up dead with horrific injuries. Metal crates tend to buckle and produce dangerous sharp points that will stab the dog if it panics and struggles, while plastic crates will bend, but remain intact.

Just because the dogs were housetrained at your old house, doesn't mean they are at your new house. Dogs don't generalise well. Go back to basics, take them out whenever you think they need to go, and reward for going outside. If you see them going inside, interrupt and take them out.

This rates the different brands, and explains each rating, which I found informative. http://dogfoodanalysis.com/

This. There is no way I would buy a puppy that was raised in a kennel, no matter how many times a day they were visited by kennel staff.

The photo is terrible, could be photoshopped. I don't see anything wrong with it though, the dog wouldn't care that it glows in the dark. As long as they are treated decently then it's all good.

I think I would use newspaper. I've heard that pee pads have the same texture as carpet, and sometimes they start peeing on carpets, rugs, mats etc.

I consider mounting rude behaviour between dogs, so I would intervene by putting her in time out every time she does it, and praise when she plays nicely.

The problem is that you're still luring it, which means he's not thinking about what he's doing, he's thinking about the food. I have found it incredibly difficult to go from luring to adding the cue to fading the handsignal. It takes AGES. You would be better off capturing or shaping it. With capturing, you just watch him out of the corner of your eye and click whenever he's standing around. Soon enough he should offer you a stand whenever you look at him, and then you add the cue. That way there is never any forward movement in the stand, and no handsignal to have to fade out. For shaping, just have him in a down or a sit, and wait it out. When he stand up, click and put the treat in his mouth. Be close enough that he can't start moving forward before he gets the treat.

If you don't trust her recall I wouldn't be letting her off leash. Get a long tracking line, or even just a long rope with a clip at the end (much cheaper than a proper tracking line). Make it a light rope, and don't use it to drag her around, so it's like she's off leash, but you have control if you need it.

Try adjusting the levels (assuming you're using photoshop). A lot of the time it's sort of salvageable, but it's not gonna be perfect.

That's because, Y-front harnesses are comfortable for the dog to pull into. Blackdog make a Y-front tracking harness which negates pulling to some degree, but it is still very comfortable for the dog to lean into. But with the ring on the front, pulling just means the dog gets turned around anyway. The only difference with a y-front harness is that the front ring won't end up on the dog's shoulder while the dog is pulling anyway. If they are fitted correctly, there is only slight movement and the ring doesn't end up on the dog's shoulder. It applies pressure very subtly. It works differently to a Y-front harness the two are not the same and one can never be integrated into the other. We tried- it wasn't successful. Pressure? I though the point was that the dog gets turned around to face the handler, which is the opposite of what it wants.

That's because, Y-front harnesses are comfortable for the dog to pull into. Blackdog make a Y-front tracking harness which negates pulling to some degree, but it is still very comfortable for the dog to lean into. But with the ring on the front, pulling just means the dog gets turned around anyway. The only difference with a y-front harness is that the front ring won't end up on the dog's shoulder while the dog is pulling anyway.

I worried about the same thing, but like you, not walking the other dog wasn't really an option, so I did it anyway. And puppy was fine. I didn't take my older dog to any high risk areas though, no training classes, dog parks, vet etc.

The dog doesn't actually have the virus though. Just the anti-bodies to it, which means it did have the virus at some point, but doesn't anymore.

I don't understand why none of the front clip harnesses have a y-front, that is, a strap that goes between the front legs. It seems like an obvious thing to put on a harness that is designed to pull the dog around, because without it, what's stopping the harness from moving around the side of the dog, while the dog continues to pull? And I have seen dogs do this, and I have searched and searched for a y-front no pull harness and can't find a single one.