Inevitablue

Torrential rain in Sydney I bet no herding this weekend. Here is some footage of last weekend at Erskine Park. My youngster was hypo after having 2 days crate rest beforehand. Serious selective deafness http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=AU#/watch?v=dJw0pVut7IY And this is her older half sister that I'm going to show and train towards as much as I can before motherhood calls. Lovely girl who is really nice to work with. I only see her once a week so it's a hurdle with everything being so new. http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=AU#/watch?v=z4hgM-T4hbs Does anyone have video of their dogs on cattle or ducks?

Stunning photo. Look at that eye!

If you want the MRI, the cheapest in Sydney is http://www.rossmorevethospital.com.au/

Wish I had puppies big enough TO bounce I can give you the number of someone who can help!

Mini Pin, certainly tick the bold category!

Hmmmmm colour over rode my sex choice I went to look at Tess's litter with the intention of a blue male. 7 reds and 2 blues in the litter.... Deposit already on the blue male. None of the red boys excited me. I really wanted a pup from the sire. He was being retired.... So I took the blue female. Zero regrets though, and the male will be arriving next year I think it's human nature to be attracted to a certain look, colour included. Just as long as quality isn't compromised to obtain that colour.

That sucks Ness, what a shame your not in Sydney. We do a platelet treatment, especially for soft tissue and joint damage. Like iRap for horses, but with more cytokines stimulated. We have successfully treated a Grand Champion show dog, and countless Greyhounds. Have put at least 10 'stopper tendon' injured greyhounds back on the track, which is normally career ending. We are doing the treatment for free at the moment, in conjunction with a local vet for companion dogs. PM me if your interested as we could send your vet what's needed to do it.

I've always admired the Vizlas. Another breed not mentioned yet that would be suitable is the Tollers.

Don't write off the ACD. I know many think they are prone to dog aggression, and can be unstable, bitey dogs. There are plenty of them around! However there are some lines which are not the stereotype. Your more than welcome to come and meet some of them Like MRB said, they have an off switch. Yet when switched on have huge amounts of play/prey drive. Very intelligent, I remember Keith Edwards (agility judge) saying just how much intelligence my deaf girl had. Constantly problem solving to work out what we were asking of her. People focused, but not clingy. They do bond to one person, but separation anxiety issues never seem to arise. Robust enough to play with any dog. At herding people assume they will be too hard on the sheep, yet neither of the two ACD's I have been herding have touched the sheep in that way. In the last few weeks I have seen beardies and Aussies be 10 times harder on the sheep. A good herding dog doesn't just chase the animals to satisfy their own drive, but understand the task at hand and apply appropriate pressure to the stock. After seeing sheep twice the 12 month old I have been taking did enough to get a HT pass at training. The number one thing that makes these dogs so trainable is their resilience, they just keep trying. I'd never describe them as high strung. I just love them to bits

Lol, same! (DOR) The obedience has helped lots in the herding. Waits, recalls etc. Yeah, I needed a slap yesterday! But she went reserve Challenge Bitch today, first time out of Baby Puppy... God I'm sounding like one of those 'pushy sporting' parents.

Sigh, very true words Ness. Yesterday I think my 'super dog' bubble burst. It was a spur of the moment thing, and in hindsight she was never going to focus. Sometimes (often) my ambition gets the better of me. Herding for her finishes in 2 weeks so no more of that until winter next year.

At herding yesterday one of the very highly regarded trialers/ judges put us through some paces while waiting around. Her words 'your no where near ready for CCD, she's a baby don't rush' Argh We were in sheep mode, and she knows I don't carry/ give rewards there, as the herding alone is rewarding enough to keep the drive. Totally different mindset, much less finesse and it's much more of a negative shaping. Normally she sees me put her remote reward out and hide her tug toy in a pocket. The only crossover between the herding and obedience is her marker word when she does something right. 6 weeks...6 weeks....... lol. Congratulations to everyone with successes this weekend!

It makes logic sense that there could be resistance to Fipronil, parasiticides generally do tend to get resistance after a length of time. Also it was the number one product for so many years, which also supports the resistance theory. If I need a flea treatment for my dogs, I look past Frontline for the above reason. It must be coming off patent...

Knew it was a long shot. Thanks anyway.

As the title states. Does anyone know of who might cover 'alternative' therapies. Would be nice to find one :D

Sending off our first CCD trial entry today :D It's in 6 weeks time. Our last herding test for the year is in 2 weeks, so full steam ahead into obedience. I was going to try for one more title in herding this year (season ends in August) but it requires more pressure than she can handle atm. I'm sooooo excited, been 10 years since I last did an obedience trial, and that was painful! I have been training her at home following (most of) the Leerburg DVD's, and proofing while waiting around at shows. She did her first class situation this week with Luci Ellem, and was rock solid in her work (well apart from the subtle games of tug between exercises......some people were looking at me like I was mad ) We have another 6 weeks to keep improving. I've been following this thread for months and gained quite a few hints and tips, thanks everyone. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas as I feel I failed my last dog when it came to trialling. This time I know what I want to achieve.

Great! Will pack the tent then. Thanks

Can anyone recommend where to stay when there? Thanks

Hugs, I bet she had a fantastic 3.5 years and would be forever grateful to you for that, as you are of her love for you. The kindest thing is to let them go peacefully, and you did that for her.

I'm no expert but my pup didn't like stretching out a bit for a stack. It was suggested her back was out. Before I took her to the Chiro I double checked it was a pain thing by giving her some carprofen before training one night, and she stacked beautifully. After a visit (several) to the Chiro she stacks nicely. She would accept the placement of her feet but after about 10sec she would always bring one foot forward.

Yes, I remember when it was thought they would steal strongish type dogs who would be used as a bait/ easy kill dog, with a bit of fight, to give the dog much confidence just prior to a fight.

I totally agree with the idea of neutralization for competition dogs. Certainly makes for easier dogs to train. I just worry that the general public might take it as not allowing their dogs to interact with others. Restrained on leash greetings do not allow the dogs to express true interactive behaviour. The dog is not learning how to read unconvoluted body language. Joe Public buys their cute brindle staffy from the pet shop and is told not to let the pup truly interact with other dogs. We have a low threshold dog with no skills how to deal with fellow canines. No idea about avoidance behaviour, no idea how to introduce itself, no history of relaxing around other dogs. They join the local club and one training night the dog gets loose........ Fully agree it's harder work on the owner to be of higher value if there has already been a value placed in other dogs, but, again for the average dog owner I'd rather they have 80% focus with the knowledge the dog can ideally handle itself in a socially (both human and canine) acceptable way. Fine for dogs who work for a living such as security dogs etc but they are largely kept away from public situations when not in 'work mode'. Maybe my perceptions are warped because I see so many of my beloved breed with zero dog skills and as such do nothing for their public image, when in fact these dogs are amenable, even affable, if given the chance to learn. I believe the same is true for bull breeds, and the legion of SWF's.

I notice how many people who say that you shouldn't allow your dog to socialize with other dogs (and 'socialising' doesn't always mean a free for all at the park) have more than 1 dog. Aside from the competition aspect of 100% handler focus, I think it is very important for a dog to learn social skills amongst it's own kind, unless people intend on never allowing the dog contact with others. We take an 8week old puppy and halt all learning of it's own kind at that age? Multiple dog homes don't have this issue. The dogs learn these skills. Ok, there of course is the initial excitement when the 'only child' pup sees another dog, but as long as that it managed in the beginning the dogs will settle down and the interaction will be productive. However, doing these interactions only once every few weeks does not suffice. The excitement will take forever to reduce. If anyone asks me how they should raise their 'only child' pup I suggest finding a few friends who have ideal dogs (those with established social skills, or at the least not fear aggressive or insecure dominant) and have regular time with them, time enough that the dogs learn to relax around each other. Not a session at the park where the owners are off chatting or on the phone, and not removing the dogs when still on a high. Interspersing the dogs interaction with control base training such as some recalls, stays and waits teaches the dog to switch back it's focus. Also allows the dog to view the owner as more satisfying than the other dogs. With them my pup gets just play, but with me she gets play, pack drive satisfaction (go hide behind a tree and let the dog panic just a little) and food. Ideally I want a dog that is relaxed around other dogs, confident they can effectively communicate with other dogs and one that thinks seeing other dogs is 'old hat'. So I think you can never over socialize your dog to others, infact IMO many times the problem lies in the dogs not getting enough time with other dogs to get past the excitement and just learn to relax around others. These thoughts are not for raising a competition dog but one who is going to fit well into general society.

[quote name='Olivebaby' timestamp='1310025927'. She just loves the beach, I'm assuming running around on the sand is better than grass or concrete right? Yep, not so jarring on the joints. A surface that absorbs some of the energy is what you want. Running on concrete is easier for us cardio wise because the energy rebounds back into our body, whereas something soft transfers the energy into the ground. You don't want the energy rebounding back into her body as the joints then have to dissipate it. Throwing a floating retrieve toy into the water is perfect, she runs in a straight line, and no harsh pivoting to return as she will be supported by water. Plus she will have a great time My 6month old has huge muscles from running in soft, wet sand, and it tires her out nicely :D

Try throwing her toy into the shallow water and letting her retrieve that.