Lisey

Thanks Corvus. We have obedience again tonight (if the rain stops). Hopefully I will see another small improvement.

Yay! Good work

My problem is both - we attend formal training now where he sooks and carries on at the start - he calmed down during the training but it still didn't take much for him to lose focus on me. And on our daily walks we don't always see other dogs, hence why he does better than but when we do it's the same type of thing. I know that at the moment he has a higher value of other dogs than he does for me and this is what I want to change. :) He is a very excitable dog but I'm sure we will learn together how to keep him relaxed. I would actually love to get into odediance trials with him down the track.

Thank you for this information. I have him in a half check at the moment but I will swap him over to a full check and see how that goes. There isn't any issues using these at ANKC affiliated grounds is there?

Well we had our second training class tonight and I have seen a small improvement already. Yay! I'm looking forward to working with him as I know that he will do well eventually :)

My house doesn't smell - I have floorboards and no carpet at all. I also open windows and doors and we get a nice breeze. I don't believe my dogs smell "doggy" either so I think that helps. I have asked a few people as I didn't want it to smell and me just be immune to it!

Thanks! :)

He doesn't actually pull when we go on our normal route - unless a dog walks past.... then back to walking nicely. Just when I take him somewhere new or near other dogs.

I do sometimes forget that he is still a pup. He has grown so much and is quite big now!

What I have bolded...I think you have hit the nail on the head. I took my BC girl to puppy school & this happened & also I allowed her to just run with any other dog that wanted to play & IMO it ruined her. Maybe some dogs can take free play & some can't. I do agility with her & for a long time I was frustrated with even trying to keep her on the same course, she was so distracted & just wanted to run & play/chase the other dogs/kids/whatever. I learnt how to clicker train & worked on her with a programme called LAT (Look At That) & now she such a little angel & is up into Masters level at agility, so I couldn't be happier. I still revisit LAT when we first arrive at a trial or training but it doesn't take her long to settle. The only dog she is allowed to run free with is our new BC dog. He never went to puppy school & we havn't allowed him to run with strangers & he is just such a cool dog. :) If you do a search for Look At That on this forum, you will find heaps about it. But before you start, I would advise learning how to use the cliker to train your dog. Thanks sheena. I thought I was doing the right thing as it wasn't a vet puppy preschool but it was not really any better. I take him to a different obedience school than the puppy class as its the same one I have taken my older dog to and I like it there. I don't ever take him to dog parks, we go to the beach sometimes but we walk far up and only take him off when no-one else is around. If another dog is coming we just put him on lead until they pass and he sooks and whines. It sounds like a little kid whinging! He has my girl to play with - they have a lot of fun together running around the yard.

Thanks Erny. I am thinking I'm going to have to start from the beginning....

What sort of fun should I be providing? Do you mean while we are walking or just all the time?

Just after advice - my 10 month old dog is very excited whenever he sees another dog. We are currently working on loose leash walking, which he does really well - until we see another dog - then he pulls, cries and sooks because he can't play with the other dog. He is not overly food motivated - I try to redirect his attention back to me with food but he just ignores it until we have passed the distraction. He is a really smart dog and at home he is going really well with sit, stay, drop, on your bed, etc. He went to puppy school when he was younger and now I wish that I took him somewhere different as for half of the lesson it was just a free for all and I think this is partly why he gets so excited - as he thinks its time to run around like crazy when he sees another dog. He has just started formal obedience (the club closed down for Christmas otherwise we would have started sooner) - but it was painful. Before it started and we were waiting he basically just sooked the whole time because I wouldn't let him say hi to every dog. Once the lesson started he was a bit better but would easily be distracted again. I know that he could actually be really good at obedience but just need to get his focus to remain on me. I'm hoping just by going every week it will get him use to being around dogs without interacting with them all. My goal is for him to greet other dogs calmly (or even ignore them) and to be able to have him offlead with other dogs around and him to remain calm :) Thanks for your help.

Done :)

Oh I'm so sorry to read this RIP Tess

She is no better this morning so have booked her an appointment at the vet this afternoon at 4.30 - that was the earliest I could get in.

Ilium opticin... It has chloramphenicol & polymyxin b sulphate in it.

I've noticed my girl Eva has a sore eye tonight, she is squinting with it a lot and it looks a little bit weepy. I've tried to have a look and I can't see anything in it. I have some opticin ointment from when my other girl Lola (RIP) had a small corneal ulcer. Eva is behaving in much the same way. If she is the same in the morning il'l take her to the vet. In the meantime would it be ok to use some ointment on Eva? Thank you

Good to hear!

Hi Kirty, that is no good and I hope she picks up soon.... Is it possible she has a blockage ? Eaten something she shouldn't have? Has she had an X-ray ?

I have no advice sorry but just wanted to say I'm thinking of you....

This and for that reason we only have concrete troughs that the dogs cannot over turn or move if they empty them Is this for the $25 plastic clam shell pools from Kmart, etc? I can't imagine my dogs (Staffords) getting trapped under them.... maybe if they were puppies. Am I getting confused?

I have a clamshell out for my guys all year round. They know exactly what to use it for - each time we are playing in the yard and they have been running around and get hot, they jump in and cool off then back to running around the yard. And when we return from walks - straight into the pool! (being their clamshell) They do also use it as a big drinking bowl....

Eva - my 4 y/o desexed girl can be annoying on walks - she likes to try and mark everywhere - especially if its a nice pile of leaves. I don't let her though as it's annoying stopping constantly. Booker on the other-hand, my 8 month old entire boy, never goes to the toilet on our walk. He occassionaly cocks his leg at home but not often. One time he did tried to pee on top of Eva's pee, but she was still going and he cocked his leg over her when she was still squatting! He got roused at for that and hasn't tried again thank god :laugh:

I use Wilston Vet on Newmarket Road. They are fantastic. I wouldn't go anywhere else :)