Emily Howard

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Reddog21: She's a dobermann. If you did get some shots of her I'd love to see them. Sorry feralpup I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I really should have started a new one And also it's great the see your about to enjoy the benefits of training in drive.

Thanks for the extra pressure. I hope I can make this sound as good as it actually was. I'll give some background info on Zig to put things in perspective this could get a little bit epic so bare with me. Ziggy has been with me for almost 2 years. She is 4 now, She came from rescue, skin and bone. We bring her home and she is a nutbag, spending hours at a time racing around the back garden. I figure she's probably stressed just needs time to settle in she'll calm down over the next few weeks. So over the next few weeks she learns her name is behaving beautifully indoors but as soon as we go outside the circle work begins and she pays absolutely no attention to us and has no self control. This might not sound like a big deal but it was pretty severe. So I make an appointment with K9 Force. We spend most of the lesson talking about drive, peaks, thresholds, distractions, bags of tricks, and so many other things. Everything was so new and although it all made perfect sense at the time I think my head emptied alot of it out. The verdict at the end of the lesson was "Ziggy has great Prey Drive and very good nerves, she's a really great dog". So to try and keep this short, looking back, I should have asked more questions and badgered Steve with emails afterwards, but being not the most confident person I didn't want to bother him (stupid I know!!) and I pretty much wasted a year and a bit of not really doing the training correctly. Although I did get her walking nicely on the lead but the other problems were still there. Fast forwarding to the end of April this year, by now I've attended a K9 Force info Night and a Handlers Workshop and was getting a much better understanding of all sorts of drives, training methods etc, I still had a dog at home that wouldn't listen to me when outdoors and was slowly driving me mad but now I knew why. And really understood what was going on. So at the end of April we have the training in drive workshop coming up Ziggy is one of the demo dogs, We had to do 2 weeks pre training for the workshop and god I had some fun and games trying to get her into drive she made me work for it. I became so frustrated that I have this dog that will go into ridiculous drive peak over nothing but won't do it for me. I almost gave up altogether and was just going to bring her to the workshop to see if Steve either A) wanted her *jokes* or, B) put one of his spells on her. So after trying a few different ways to get her Drive up I probably had about 4-5 good training sessions with her before the workshop. The Day of the workshop was one of the most magical days ever, it was the turning point. I don't know what happened but Zig just did everything I asked, she made people laugh at the speed of her drop the way she threw herself down. She made me so proud, I was quite stunned because I thought is was going to be a disaster. After the workshop I spoke with Steve about the same old problems he told me what to do and I followed it to the letter. Low and behold her behavior improved dramaticlly, my neighbor even commenting that she is a different dog, but best of all is the amazing bond we have that I can't explain. So now we're up to last weekend a follow up appointment with Steve. One of the other most magical days ever. We took a dog, that until just over a month earlier, wouldn't listen to me in her own backyard, and..........let her go off leash. Steve kept laughing at me because I was so worried but when I called her......she came back!!!!! This was something that as far as I was concerned would never happen .... ever. I took her out the next day on my own and she came back every time. Seeing the change in her so quickly is one of the most rewarding things for me. Thats all from me for now Bye

I will but I'll need a moment to type it out nicely to give her the credit she deserves. Could take me a while and I'll probably be in tears for part of it. She sure is speacial.

What a brilliant brilliant day!!!! Had fun, laughs and learnt heaps. I had one vey tired little dobe when I got home. Massive thanks to Steve for putting on the day and thankyou to Myszka for organizing a bird flu free lunch. And Ziggy says thanks to everyone for all the cuddles and compliments. Definitely should do a follow up in a few months.

I'll be there too. With my Dobe Ziggy, Who I'm sure is determined to make an idiot out of me!!!

Definitely a brilliant day. Thankyou so much Steve for sharing such valuble information with us. I think one of the most important things I got out of the day is renewed motivation and enthusiasm. I could barely sleep on Saturday night with all the information going around in my head. And of corse Dreyfus. What a beautiful boy he is, I was sooooo lucky to have him for most of the day. And I can't not mention Roxy the boxer who I only had for a short while and I think she was a bit tired by the end, but very adorable none the less.

That was Beautiful. What a sweet girl she really was. Farewell sweetheart.

I'm with you on that my weim is a zillion times more destructive than my 2 dobes, who can be left unattended in the house all day. I wouldn't dream of leaveing the weim in if I'm not home. HR I think your OH's dobe must be an exception. Sorry can't coment on obediance though as I've never done it. Just had to stick up for the Dobes.

I think you being a little too kind here. I've seen dead sloths with more get up and go. What got me was the vicious nature, the killer instinct that these dogs had. We were lucky to get out alive. Who would want to own such a beast???

Not only was it a waste of time but I thought the Dobes were rather average. *disclaimer..... I am lying. Info worth more than gold and absolutely stunning Dobies>

me too me too!!!

I just use plain natural yoghurt. Dairy Famers i think. They love it!

Well the Vet is thinking it's an allergy with her skin. Change in weather and still building up immune system after being so thin. He has given us a natural Steriod (I will find the name). And her weight he thought was quite good and she just has a high metabolism. I must admit she is extreamly energetic. She is scratching alot less ATM but I still have to get the Alpha Keri oil. Since she is otherwise very healthy and active and has normal "poos" he doesn't think it is a thyroid or pancreas problem. So I guess we'll see how she goes over the next couple of weeks. I've attached a pic so you can see her weight. She has a little bit more than this ATM. And is looking great just takes a bit more to keep it there. Isn't she Beautiful!!!!

Thanks LB I'm glad I'm not the only one with a furkid with a bottomless pit for a stomach. I don't know where she puts all the food she never even gets a belly???? Also where do I get the Alpha Keri Oil?

Hello My Dobe, Ziggy is having a bit of a skin/fur freak out and a weight issue. First the skin thing. Her fur gets very thin in patches then recovers and her skin is really dry. I've been adding an Omega 3 Supplement to her food but hasn't really made a difference and also washing her with aloveen and conditioning too. Her coat in general looks great but when you look properly you can see it's quite thin. Now the weight thing. I got Zig as a rescure and she was extreamly underweight. Although she has put on alot she has come to a stand still and I'd like to get just 1 or 2 more kg on her, it is really hard to keep the weight that she has gained on her. She eats about 2x what my Weim eats and they're both 2.5 years old. I get extra fatty meat for Zig (lamb etc.) If I fed my other dogs like I feed her they would be blimps. Her Diet consists of Lamb Breast Chicken frames Minced Chicken, lamb or beef. Minced veges Sardines Kelp yoghurt and Omega 3 Supp It's almost like she doesn't absorb any of the fat could this be a thyroid thing? I'm going to the vet with her on friday but any other suggestions or questions I should ask my vet would be most welcome. Thanks