cmkelpie

Of course not! Hopefully no one would suggest such a thing. Equally if I choose to have a dog on my bed it does not mean I am a bad dog owner

We just had relatives staying down from the bush. They were mortified that my kelpie is an inside & outside dog.... and that she sleeps on my bed Especially in the bush dogs are outside and get a bullet if they don't do the job.... my kelpie loves her herding but also lives a life of a comfort It's the way I like it and wouldn't do it any other way!

I am so sorry for your loss It scares me that rangers have been able to get away with this! I encourage you to follow the above advice, you cannot get your dog back but you may be able to stop it happening to others. Don't back down from the fight, such abuse of power should end here

In NSW we have very little duck trialling or training. Trialling is only at the trial levels not tests and when we do have training dogs are usually required to be a least PT level. This may change if we are ever allowed to trial and train ducks at EP but unfortunately we aren't allowed to at the moment. You would need to find private training or get your own ducks. Thanks for that, yeah I had not seen any info about working ducks in NSW.

cmkelpie, Over here when we introcude dogs to sucks we have a very strict long line rule with an experienced person manning the long line. We also prefer (I say prefer not must as there have been cases where we have not reuqired it before letting dogs off lead - in particular shelties and pups) to see a good response to a stop command. So far I can't think of any dogs we have started on ducks in SA that have been felt to be totally unsuitable. A few we have suggested go back to sheep for awhile and work on flank commands and control which they have done and then been back on the ducks without an issue. The ducks are very pressure sensitive compared to sheep. It was explained to me that they are like sheep on power steering. 1 step from the dog can create 2m movement from the ducks. Also many dogs that are grippy, grip as they are slightly anxious about the situation. Ducks are less intimidating so the dogs often seem to be calmer about it. Thanks for that. Think I will do more work perfecting commands on sheep and then look at giving ducks a try. Cheers

It is on Sunday 27th of Feb. Thinking I will head out there to check it out. Hoping to learn a lot from watching others

I am working on keeping Tilly back and out of the sheep's flight zone at the moment. I can really see them settle when she is not right up in their face. Means she is a whole lot faster at collecting a break away as well

Lol! When you first start on ducks has anybody ever had an issue with the dog being too forceful? I.e. You were worried they may harm the ducks? Tilly is still young (10mths) and gets incredibly hyper around things she can 'play' with. I would like to try her on ducks at some time but am a little worried that she would be dangerous. We had a rabbit that got trapped in our front paddock a while ago and although she did not try and eat it she ran it to exhaustion. I finally managed to call her off when she had it in a corner and was lying next to it play bowing and kelpie slapping it with her paw She did not seem the least bit interested in killing it like my BC would have. I think ducks would probably get the same reaction from her. I would guess it is just a matter of slow and careful introduction, but are some dogs just completely unsuitable to work on ducks?

Where did that come from ? I did not explain that well, I was thinking along the line of if the other dog went anywhere near her pups she may become protective.

Exactly, could end very badly

It is an awful situation to be in, I have been there and it was so difficult. You HAVE to keep them apart. If one ends up killing the other you will never forgive yourself Especially with pups on the way Karma will most likely become even more snappy.

Awful situation. An issue in all developing nations unfortunately. Hope your friend has some success, it is a hard slog to set up such an organisation. Best of luck!

No I don't bother, will sometimes give her a brush to get the sand out.... otherwise it ends up on my bed

I disagree irrelevant would not be a better word. I believe being open to all possible scenarios gives a greater understanding and better chance for solving this problem. In the world of both animal and humans medicine history gives you 90% of the answer to any presenting problem. If history is unknown all possible scenarios are considered. But as Greytmate pointed out, this is speculation, not a known history. All possible scenarios may be considered all you like, but as long as you're speculating what are you going to do about it? To me, it doesn't matter why a trigger is a trigger. It just matters that we treat it as such. I don't treat a trigger differently if I know how it became a trigger. The best that knowledge might give me is a more detailed understanding of exactly what the trigger is. If I have to guess at that I'm no better off than if I didn't know at all. I agree a trigger is a trigger, however I find it helps to understand why a trigger may be occurring. No big deal, it is simply a difference of opinion.

Sounds perfect

I think the question means how long would you wait for a litter to be born with an available pup.... at least thats how I read it, may be wrong though ;) I put 6-12mths but it would prob depend how desperate I was for another dog and if I could find another breeder I was equally happy with

I don't have a personal experience but best of luck! A worthy cause. I ran into a couple at the park the other day with a 6mth old kelpie/BC from a pet shop. They were really struggling to control him and said they had no idea he would be so energetic They said that they don't know how long they can last with their backyard being destroyed etc. I recommended a local training club and advised them about working breeds rescue, he was a gorgeous boy, would hate to see him end up in the pound! What a joke, just another dog that is at risk of being dumped due to being placed in an unsuitable home. When I bought my kelpie, my breeder (like all good ones) asked many questions to ensure she was the right breed for me. Pet shops don't do any of this, they simply show a cute puppy in the window

So is it behaviouralist or trainer you're talking about - two different things. But IF this reaction only manifests in these circumstances what is there to train?????????????? People are putting the cart way in front of the horse here assuming there IS a bigger problem (or even a problem at all, really ) I only ever used the word professional and trainer, it was you that used the word behaviouralist. All it may take is the owner persevering with training pup to toiled on command and then stand outside in the rain with it. But once again as I have said all along a professional could help.

How? Assuming the bitch doesn't react the same way in other circumstances it's obvious the trigger is her owner telling her off for something when they shouldn't be and they should stop doing it. A dog behaviour professional isn't required, a human behaviour professional? - Maybe A professional trainer would be able to help Scolly change his or her approach/training methods, to get a better response from the dog. In all areas of their training not just the issue at hand. You are of course aware that they train the owner as much as the dog right? Scolly still has not confirmed if this is the only circumstances. Better not to assume.

So sorry you are going through such a hard time. If you are interested there is a childrens book called 'Every Dog has an Angel' (Davies). A friend bought it for her daughter and it helped open up lines of communication for the two of them following the death of a pet. Have a read through and see if you think it is appropriate (I am not sure of how old Lili is), I have not read it so can't really recommend for ages. I just had a quick look on google and there appears to be a few that are along similar lines. Hope it helps x

I disagree irrelevant would not be a better word. I believe being open to all possible scenarios gives a greater understanding and better chance for solving this problem. In the world of both animal and humans medicine, history gives you 90% of the answer to any presenting problem. If history is unknown all possible scenarios are considered. Scolly a professional would be of help in this scenario. As everyone has said prevention is better then cure. Spend time teaching her a word that she can associate with going to the toilet, such as "quick" or "toilet". Then take her out in the rain frequently, that way you can avoid the problem. Best of luck!

And just as possible that she wasn't mistreated, but may just be a nervy, badly-bred dog. Her behaviour now is mostly due to her current management, and so that is what needs to be changed. Hence the use of the word possible.

Don't know about staffs but it does not sound normal. Considering you don't know her history it is possible she has been mistreated. The old method of rubbing a dogs nose in its 'mess' is unfortunately still used by some ;) When you discipline her for other mistakes how does she react? Is it only after she urinates in the house that she reacts this way?

As do most pet slaughter houses.....where do you think your Vets All Natural meat comes from....a slaughter house. Just a personal choice, I drive past there most days and see the horses in the paddock. As I said personal choice.

I buy the vets all natural meat which is made with roo. You can order online or they have a list of stockists, I have got it a couple of times from petbarn. http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/ As a personal choice stay away from Burns pet foods as they slaughter horses