Blonde_Phoenix

I think we all know they never "just snap", I was so scared for bubba watching that video. Playing devil's advocate though, how does one help the lay person understand? Bullying on Facebook/forums is no help, nor is positive breed references. Solutions not judgements.

I have a sneaking suspicion this question is a little leading, but heck I’m happy to risk unpopularity/being dubbed an idiot ;) . Personally I don’t interact with strangers’ dogs, but I do think in general most people would feel that a dog out in public should not react to a pat with a bite (and I think whether you agree or not the law will be on their side). Of course in a perfect world it would be wonderful if people were dog savvy, polite and non litigious but we all know that is not the world we live in. As such when we as owners take our dogs out in public we are responsible for their safety and the safety of those who may come in contact with them.

It seems the premise of this article is incorrect if what the DPI say here is correct....

My pup would have had at least 10kgs on the average 6 year old at 6 months old (plenty of damage potential). So sad for everyone involved

A couple of pictures are available here. *Warning Very Graphic* particularly the second one.

So how do they know the RSPCA is investigating before they get there? Thought they said they had handed it over to the council why cant the council get a complaint and shoot on over there ? Nup I need more evidence than this - whether or not they have an ABN doesn't interest me either. Apart from the fact the inspector told me himself .......it also states it on the RSPCA WA facebook page ........not sure how things work with the RSPCA over where you are but last time this place was raided it was one of our group that took the dogs in and had to attend with our dog trailers to transport them .....the rangers and RSPCA were there .......but didn't take any of the seized dogs into their care . Facebook the beacon of truth ;)

Not being negative towards anyone, but the OP is about how one can walk a dog on a loose lead, but it appears to have gone way off track.

Certainly Phoenix. Here is a video of David Dikeman advertizing his "Command Performance". Dikeman is basically using the Koehler Method. This video shows the first twenty minutes of training on the line long. Try to ignore the cheesy advertising that starts the video, just go to 3.50 mins into the video where you will see a perfectly normal result after 20mins. Of course, there will be those that will point out (correctly) that I am not an experienced trainer. I am however on other lists than this one. I know of over a half a dozen trainers with over 30+ years experience with with method that will tell you that it works with all dogs. So take it for what it is worth and make up your own mind. Thank you for the video, it looks like David gets some great results. I would love to see an explanation on how he achieves loose lead walking though. What I personally struggle with is when my boy is over stimulated and in some ways my unwillingness to suppress it. I aknowledge it's proofing I need to work on, but honestly i find it hard in a full time working household. We are doing training with a club but sometimes you just want to take your dog for a walk without injury to yourself (in particular) or your dog, subsequently I have used 'tools' rightly or wrongly. I find it hard and actually downright depressing sometimes when people paint a training technique in a negative light.

Agree completely. Out of so many posts Nekhbet's is one of the few that have offered any practical advice to address the OPs issue. Personally as an novice trainer I'd love to see examples of what has worked for a number of more expirenced trainers, so I can find the best 'fit' for my dog and I. When it comes to my dog I'm not interested in politics, I deal with that too much in my day job ;) .

Just noticed on the Dogs Queensland website: Dogs QLD

Having been both a tenant and a landlord in recent years I can tell you it really comes down to the tenants, you get crappy tenants with/without pets, children etc. As landlords we have always allowed pets and have had no issues specifically related to the animals just crap tenants who happend to have pets. Some tenant simple have no respect for the property they live in. I don’t know maybe they convince themselves that all landlords are incredibly wealthy and it doesn’t matter if they don’t pay rent, damage the property, leave with no notice and/or leave the house filthy. Maybe they should consider that perhaps their landlord is not sleeping on piles of money, rather they are working their butts off intrastate to establish their careers while paying a mortgage and overpriced rent (not a specific example I just mentioned it for arguments sake ;)). It was interesting my partner and I were discussing this topic last night and he mentioned how in China it’s a negotiation process, you want to keep pets you pay more. While I don’t think that is the perfect answer at least as a pet owner you have options, in Queensland it has to be black and white the property allows pets or it doesn’t and as a landlord you can’t take extra bond. We did have a giggle about how much regulation we need to be free in this country.

I was so arrogant; I used to have debates with my sister (who is very into dog sports) about the use of tools and how I believed they were used because people were not willing or able to work on establishing solid fundamentals. Yes I could teach any dog loose lead walking with just a flat collar (which I’d proven multiple times) then I got my current boy . I struggled with the decision but I was not getting where I wanted to, so I used a da da da HALTI daaaa!!!! ;) It has been incredibly successful for us. I gave me the confidence to work on his training without the fear of being pulled off my feet or having to go skiing for the first 200m of our walk and it helped him to settle and focus quickly. We only worked with the halti for about four weeks, we have now moved on to working in a martingale. The dragging has stopped completely and his reaction to distractions has been greatly reduced, in general he will return to my side with only a verbal command. Walks have become a pleasure and I’ve come away with a much more open mind. Yes I’m sure there are other ‘more correct’ techniques I could have used, but I think a big part (and one of the best parts) of the dog training is the trying different things and finding what clicks for you. I’m sure even the ‘experts’ need to think outside the box sometimes. I think it’s important that people understand the purpose and limitations of any tools they might choose to use. For some being able to take their dog on a walk without having their arm ripped out of its socket is enough and if that means always walking their dog on a harness or halti I think that’s fine. Not everyone has the same expectation when it comes to what they want out of their dog and even if expectations are the same there is certainly more than one way to get there. Whitka, I’m interested to hear how you have been going with the tips from Nekhbet.

Vet pleads for landlords to welcome pets

Don't be put off Errm, BRTs are an amazing dog if you are willing to put the effort in. They are not a breed to get and forget, they are way more intelligent than that. They love to learn, my boy has been all of our trainers favorite (it's just mum who lets him down ).

I would not say they are a never allowed off lead dog breed like say some of the hounds. You need to consider the individual dog, but that is the same for any breed. Just remember they are large, strong and solid so a friendly jump or out of control zoomie can cause damage where a smaller dog wouldn’t (I have the bruises to prove it ). Also they are a guarding breed so there is a possibility they can react protectively. I have never had any problems with my boy off lead (admittedly he has not been off lead very often). The rare times we have been to dog off leash parks he has always played happily with the other dogs (he has spent a lot of time with a variety of dogs), and shows little to know interest in the people in the park. I don’t allow him to be off lead around small young dogs (he is so unco with his big boofy feet) and never around children (he has not been exposed to too many and high pitched noises excite him). I’ve found him fairly easy to train and he’s quite orientated towards OH and myself so we have no issues getting him to return to us. I have definitely noticed some other dogs react negatively towards my boy without provocation; I believe this is a combination of size, coat colour and the other dog’s inability to see his eyes (they have trouble interpreting his intentions). I did a quick estimate of feeding cost for our 10 month old boy and I’d say we spend about $5-6 and day on feeding. We feed Royal Canin Giant Puppy (15kg bag lasts about a month) supplemented with raw chicken mince and meaty bones. Small price to pay for the pleasure he brings ;) .