stonecutter

MnDM - wow - week 3 - you're very organised. I love the shot of Benson :) And Monet looks so serene :)

Tilly looks beautiful! LMSW - Roscoe looks happy as always and Riddick so chill!

I probably should have brushed her back and pants a little - she looks a bit scruffy! Ziva at home looks like a little hobo dog, show Ziva is all nicely brushed and pretty ;) It was a spur of the moment shot rather than something I set up

I had a difficult time this week getting a good shot - but happy with this one :) 2/52 02/52 52WFD Ziva by ChiisaiHakurou, on Flickr Excellent pictures everyone! I think I'll try get some with a toy next week, or maybe the beach.

Back to the front attach harness discussion we were having earlier - someone mentioned that I should put a regular collar back on my dog and see what happens. Well, yesterday I wanted to pop out to the front door and walk the 7m or so to retrieve the mail. I normally place a lightweight slip lead on Ziva that I keep near the front door and then when we get outside she charges like she's a sled dog. However yesterday, we both walked nice and casually with a loose lead, got the mail and walked back inside Disclaimer - I have not done any LLW training with the slip lead, we've just done walking with her front attach harness around the neighbourhood for the last 2 weeks :)

And a breeder might let you help groom and handle one of their dogs to help learn the ropes A good relationship with a breeder is the biggest asset you can have

Great shots!

Not directed at yourself Snoopy, but all I can say to that is wow! The quality of obedience training in this country must be extraordinary in its ineptness if can take 3 years and 2 trainers to train a dog to walk to heel without pulling or lunging. Just wow! How many countries have you trained dogs in, itsadogslife? I saw Willow myself for a few classes, after she had already learned some bad habits and I've got to say, Snoopy21 has done a really good job with her. Willow is a strong dog, a Dane x Lab from memory, so she had learned how to use her size advantage. A more experienced handler wouldn't have made as many mistakes along the way, good for them, but not everyone comes experienced and not everyone has a biddable dog they can easily control. I've worked with a good variety of dogs now, and while the principles stay the same, no two dogs are the same either genetically, or in their learning history. Nicely said

Because those corrective aids are made to diminish drive as well. If you want to train your dog in drive and keep it peaked the corrective collar will definitely kill it especially in the average dog. Some high drive nutters will work through even those but then again those are not commonly seen You use what works, if you're training in drive why don't you use a flat collar instead, it wont put pressure on the dogs body and allow more free flowing movement and no pressure on the dogs shoulder blades/muscles When we do TID, she's on a flat collar, it's only when we're out on our twice daily walks that she wears the harness. So far, K9Pro hasn't led us astray and I've seen a vast improvement in her attention now we're doing TID with him

Why do you hate to say it?? Theres nothing wrong with a front attached harness! The best trainer will use whatever tool is correct for the individual dog ! Because it seems that the general consensus on DOL is that using an artificial aid to stop pulling isn't really a fix ;) hence I never attempted to use one before, but in Steve we trust :D

I hate to say this, but a front attached harness has worked wonders for us (is there a "hide" emoticon!). This was on the advice of our trainer - as we're also Training in Drive, using a prong/martingale/check chain would have diminished or inhibited Ziva's drive, so for now the front attach harness which seems to be working a treat.

Thanks all - and this week's pics are looking great I might try and take some this arvo when I get home - it's actually sunny and I've never photographed Z in the sun with my new DSLR before.

Loving all the pics! I must think of something to shoot with Z this week - I have plenty of show shots but she doesn't look terribly impressed in any of them Is everyone editing their shots? I have no idea what I'm doing, so just posting them exactly as they've been taken.

Good to hear you've found a vet that seems to know a bit more Jess The other thing that might contribute to her size is genetics. When JS were first introduced into Australia, the maximum size was a couple of inches bigger than is now set. You don't mention whether she came from a registered breeder or another source - but breeders who don't show or are not registered often have breeding lines that are the old size. I've seen some JS that were bought off Gumtree that are very large - from old lines (or it's a JS x breed that the seller wasn't fessing up to!)

Thanks poppop I started out going to training with Luci Ellem for a few months but I haven't been in ages - I am keen to check out Castle Hill - apparently the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed (mind you, I was so afraid of doing something wrong that I tried to learn quickly so I wouldn't get in trouble )

Is it just one shot per week? I happened to take another great one this arvo (well, I think it's great, even though you can see her crinkley hair around her ears )

I went to play this morning's 'smoked ya' game and had to stop. I had 3 dogs squealing with delight!! 6:30am is a little too early for that methinks! Will get back to it later in the day and put two of them away as well! We're caught up now, Ziva loves Smoked Ya as well! We play around the dining table inside or outside around our pop up tent. We also had lots of fun with the Deke game & Hide & Seek But Not Quite Yet needs some work - as soon as I move, she moves!

I'm sure everyone has some like this:

KumaAkita has convinced me to give this a go This is my first DSLR, so I'm keen to improve my skills besides using the auto function I only have 1 doggie, so it will be the lovely Ziva! I think this is the right link to the Flickr account I set up And my first pic IMG_0110 by ChiisaiHakurou, on Flickr

Back on Wednesdays starting 11th January - 7:30pm is the correct time (taken from a message on OzShow)

We're not competing yet - but OH is definitely keen to take Ziva out, she just turned 1 yesterday, so we're hoping to enter in 2013. I told OH that people ride bikes and he gave a derisive snort and said he'd run - we'll see how long that lasts

Hey Sheena - thank, hadn't thought of that! I think Members Equity is close by to where I work - will have to take a walk and chat to them

Thanks Mirawee!

Hi all I'm involved in getting the Japanese Spitz Club of NSW up and running and I'm currently looking into banking arrangements (we've done our Code of Ethics & are using the standard Dogs NSW constitution). I've tried looking on the Dogs NSW website without much luck - but are payments to Dogs NSW for affiliation fees, ground hire etc able to be done as EFT? Or do they have to be cheque? We don't be a very large club, but I'm trying to keep costs to a minimum, especially monthly account keeping fees. All of the fee-free accounts seem to have only electronic and branch access, but no cheques unless we buy a bank cheque. Thanks in advance DOLers (I would have called the Dogs NSW office but they're closed for another week)

We're a week behind because I fell behind over Christmas - we're catching up starting today Planning to try and play 2-3 different games a day in short sessions to get back up to date. Sounds like they're all awesome fun!