fido666

Think of this - "What action can your puppy perform in response to the word 'No'?". It is far better IMHO to use a command like "leave" or "sit" which has a corresponding action your pup can perform. Cheers, Corine

K9: it could be taught in either, but I feel the best drive for this is prey drive... Sorry K9 but I'm still a little unsure about this. My dog already retrieves the article and most times will bring it straight back for another round. In returning the article is he responding in drive? I guess what I'm asking is what makes it a prey drive response over a play drive one? Cheers, Corine

Hi Antoinette, Glad to hear you had an uneventful outing with Mallee and I bet she enjoyed it too! Nothing much new on the Duncan front except I've noticed he's a little stiff, I'm wondering if it's the cold weather? Lately he's been really sooky and clingy, very smoochie. He turned 2yo on the 27th May! Hi Kel, It's hard when the rest of the household doesn't obey the rules (and Chloe chooses to forget them) . I hope she didn't strain herself too much but I'm sure she will be fine. Cheers, Corine

Just posting this question again, think K9 may have missed it . I'm confused about whether the retrieving and returning of the article constitutes play or pack drive? Oh, I meant to add he's not a lab . Thanks, Corine

Hi K9, Firstly, thanks for running the workshop, it was great! The money for the martingale is on it's way I promise (just need to visit your site to see what other equipment I might want). I have a question regarding the dog I brought along to the workshop, you might recall he kept crawling up in my lap. He's just turned 2 (the day after the workshop in fact) and lately has been really affectionate and clingy. I am wondering if this behavior might be age related? He was also recently desexed so maybe he's just starting to calm down? He still has a thing about some male dogs though, especially if they go near Mel my young bitch (10 mths old). I also have a question regarding the prey drive article. Duncan retrieves a thrown ball and will bring it right back to us, even placing it directly into our hands. Now I know you said the thrown article does not really qualify as a prey article, so what drive is being satisfied here? Apologies if you already covered this in the workshop, there was a lot to absorb that day . Cheers, Corine

Condolences Bommy Watch over Molly Chief, until you are reunited with your human mum one day . Regards, Corine

I had a puppy like this from the litter I bred, would just sit in the whelping box and sway from side to side. This puppy was number 3 out (no. 1 and 2 were lost at birth) and may have been held up too long. This puppy had to be hand reared (as did his other surviving litter brother no. 4) but at 3 weeks he was half the size of the other pup and just not feeding. We lost this little guy after he ingested some fluid into his lungs (he was 3 weeks old) but I can't say he was ever really well. I suspect this puppy had some brain injury but thought he deserved a chance, I was devestated when he died in my arms that night :D . To the OP, I hope your puppy will be OK I really do. Regards, Corine

Hugs to you Annie :D , they are with us for such a short time . Regards, Corine

Yes I have 2 dogs, 10 mth old Mel who I show and 2 yo Duncan who doesn't get shown anymore. Mel is a little miss bossy boots, gives poor Duncan hell . They're both good kids really . Cheers, Corine

Hi Ya Gillian, Ahh you were the one with the Dane I met very late in the day. What a good boy he was with that nifty piece of equipment, there's no way I could hold a dog that size back (I have enough trouble holding back my 10 mth old wannabe sled dog ). Man was it dark on the way home, I ended up going home a different way then how I got there, went through some place called Kings Creek, can't drive and navigate unfortunately. Hey Scope, Make sure you recover your costs for those DVDs, they aren't free after all. Cheers, Corine ETA: Sorry to hear about your Mum Lablover.

Glycerine is normally used with talcum powder, some people use sump oil and cement powder. They are 2 different mixtures for the same job, you use one or the other. Massaging the ear is done exactly as you say, roll the ear over where the crease should be and just gently rub it between your fingers, a littl glycerine rubbed into the crease line on the inside of the ear will keep the ear leather soft. Cheers, Corine

Ahh i'm working out who everyone was now..... Lablover had the gorgeous black lab Stamp. Erny was wearing the blue and red cap and was dogless - sorry to hear your Kal is unwell . KK had the small b & w dog that Steve was teaching to spin . Oonga had the small Rotti in the crate near me. Nekhbet had Scooter the Dogue and the noisy Belgian :D (must be something about that country, my OH is just the same ). Didn't realise what was going on with your foot, what happened? Feralpup had the small black Lab (did I get that right?). Haven had the Rotti and the NDTF cap on. Scope was playing camera person for the day - I'm cool about the tape will PM you. ISH had the GSD in the crate with the hessian mattress. Clicking Mad had the Dally. I had the spotty Collie who just wanted to be with his mum. Can you believe this is the same boy who was booted out of class for "lack of attention"? He spent most of the time staring at me but he did get a bit bored and restless towards the end. He's a good boy really, just had a rough couple of years health wise (he's tiny for his age) and missed out on a lot of early socialisation. It was great meeting you all, perhaps we can do it again some time. Cheers, Corine

Sorry for your loss Cordy RIP Shelby, free to round up the little lambs in heaven now Regards, Corine

So that was you, sorry for not figuring it out sooner. Maybe "hormone drive" is what's wrong with my girl too. Mel is 10 mths old and lately has displayed behaviour that she didn't even show as a baby. She's a nut at the mo, you might reacall my question at the end about the demanding food and nipping if it doesn't come fast enough. The little darling has becone very vocal of late too, a right little miss . Cheers, Corine

Hi ya all, I only went to the Friday one as had to watch the $$$ now I've been retrenched. It was great to see so many DOLers there and some faces from my old obediance club. I now know who Scope, Lablover (Stamp is a Honey), Erny, and Oonga are, and was that Nekhbet with the Dogue and Belgian? I was very impressed with my boy's behaviour, believe it or not he can be aggro to male dogs but was fine. It was konda embarrassing how he kept crawling in my lap but hey at least he kept me warm! I have no idea how I made it home without getting totally lost, so hard to drive and navigate when it's so dark. Steve is a great speaker, I just hope some of it actually sunk in to my thick head LOL! I wish I could have done the other course too but couldn't spare the extra cash sorry Steve. I really enjoyed the SAR demo at the end, the run at the end to find the lost person was good exercise too. Julie and Andrew's dogs are great, totally focussed on their task. Cheers, Corine

Hi Collie Angel, Do what I did, pay a professional groomer who will let you watch. I did this but also knew the lady which helped. I had 3 Collies at the time and couldn't keep forking out the $$$ to have them done. It's really not that hard, just time consuming. Good shampoo (I use Oakwood or Joseph Lyddy), proper combing technique and blow drying are the way to lift the coat and make it look show ring ready. Cheers, Corine

Hi Kel, Duncan's issues mainly relate to male dog agression (but not all males), he also has a few noise phobias such as attacking the vaccuum cleaner and going off his nut if the mixer starts up. After reading Antionettes post I recalled he doesn't like things flapping in the wind like plastic bags but is fine with the washing on the line, I suspect that's be cause the washing doesn't make the same noise. We also had a few incidents of him snapping at us after his desexing op, it occurred when we leaned over him so I suspect it's something that happened at the vet's. I'm not saying anything the vet did was bad, it's more likely he associated our actions with one of the unpleasant procedures he's had to endure. The course today was an overview of training a reliable recall, training in drive, and starting on the right foot with your dog. I'm not sure how much has sunk in, the brains a bit foggy after such a long day. There will probably be a thread on the board over the weekend as lots of DOLers were there today. Cheers, Corine ETA: I should add the snapping incidents have not been repeated since, I can lean over him and be "in his face" without any hint of trouble. Steve who ran today's course seems to support my vet theory so I'm hoping it was just a transient fear response and not a long term problem.

Thanks for the feedback Staff'N'Toller, lots to think about here. Hi ya Erny :D, didn't think you'd still be awake after today, it was a long one ! I have one very tired puppy tonight but I think he behaved himself well today, no-one got eaten anyway . I have no idea how I didn't get completely lost on the way home, it was so dark! Cheers, Corine

Hi Oonga, Whereabouts are you, have you managed to arrange transport? Cheers, Corine

There are "Assessment Tasks" along the way in each of the topics. Some "Assessment Tasks" are timed, some are made by submissions and some are oral presentations. Other assessments are made/given in relation to the hands-on practical training of dogs. My turn for a question. Does Delta offer "electives". For example, if I didn't wish to do the (eg) business component, could I elect to not do it? And does that bring the cost of the course down? No electives Erny, the core modules are all must dos. I do belive they offer RPL credits which might bring the price down. Delta run other programs like Pet Patrners but these are not elective credits towards this course. There's a lot of info about the course on the Delta Website, perhaps you should contact the office to ask about RPL though. Being a Cert IV I guess there are set requirements they need to meet so have to make a lot of the modules "core". I found the intensive really worthwhile; it would be great if you could do just that but then people wanting to do the whole course would miss out on places. Cheers, Corine

Hi ya Lablover, Look forward to it! The naughty boy in my avatar will be coming along so you will have no trouble working out who I am . Cheers, Corine

Hi Erny, You going to the Friday one? If so, see you there! Cheers, Corine

Hi Bridgie, I tried the chewing gum thing with Duncan, I think it was the worst thing I could have done. The weight of the chewy causes the muscle to strain in response, it just makes it stronger. If your Sheltie has finished teething than it might be too late. Try some of the techniques here plus massaging the ear where it would normally fold, the trick is to keep the ear leather supple. Good luck! Corine

Hi ya Erny Well one reason for the length of the course is that it is a Cert IV course rather than the Cert III offered by NDTF. I'm not saying that makes it better, just longer. Delta also put some focus into the business side of dog training too (as in running one). The course is very focused on positive reinforcement though, I guess that could be viewed as narrow but I still enjoyed it. Perhaps you can answer me a question here - How is the student assessed during the course? If you're interested in how Delta does it it's all spelled out on the Delta website. Cheers, Corine

Oi watch it! I did the Delta Intensive last year and a few of the modules but then had to defer. What's your issue with "Delta trained people"? I'm trying to decide whether to re-enrol or do the NDTF course so be nice :D . Cheers, Corine