blueberrymobile

Thanks for the feedback and tips Kazhak. I hope you're little dog is doing better now and hasn't had anymore scary run ins. I'm waiting to hear back about if agility is being done here and I may ask them if they've put in any new policies. My dog absolutely loves doing agility and I would hate to feel like she had to miss out because I made a mistake. I've heard about the loud noise technique to break a dog's concentration, I'll give it a shot as well. Thanks again

Hey everyone, I was hoping for some opinions on agility training and the agility club I had recently been going to. I originally started doing agility with my dog up in Townsville with TOADS, and I was a big fan of all the people up there and their training methods. My dog, Loki, can sometimes get to too high of an arousal state and lose track of what she's suppose to be doing, and they were always really helpful in helping me get on track. We ended up having to move, but I was able to find a new agility club in our new town. Sadly, I don't know how I feel about this new club and was wondering how you all felt about how they reacted to a situation that happened during a training session a few months ago. I was working Loki off lead doing some jumps, I think, when a dog started barking off in one direction. She got distracted by the noise, I tried to refocus her, but she ended up focusing on a little Dachshund that was part of our class. I'm very ashamed to say she lunged the little dog, who then slipped her collar and started running around. The little dog started shrieking and my dog continued to chase her. I was attempting to call my dog back when nearly every person at the club started screaming, running after her, and one even attempting to hit her with one of the metal jump stands. I am sure my dog couldn't hear me over any of that, and any chance I had of getting her back under control was lost. Eventually the little dog ran close enough that someone was able to pick her up, everyone was still screaming at my dog, making threatening gestures towards her, and some were still swinging things. The Dachshund was completely unhurt physically, though I'm sure it was traumatizing for her. So, my question is: is it unreasonable of me to think that this was a completely incorrect response to the situation? I am so ashamed of myself in not recognizing that my dog was too wound up to be off lead at the time, and I in no way am saying I, or her, were not in the wrong. But, I feel if I had been given even a moment more, I might have been able to call her away before it all fell apart so terribly. I know the little dog was making terrible noises, but my dog never once bit her, picked her up, or pinned her. I believe she was mostly attempting to herd her, which I know is still wrong and inappropriate, but I didn't think it warranted the response it got. Once I finally had her, I was in tears and she was terrified of nearly everyone in the class. Even now, I feel awful and on the verge of tears, months later. Maybe I'm being unfair because it was my dog, and everyone reacted in a reasonable way, I just want some opinions. The woman who had been doing the classes ended up moving away and it looks like they've gotten a new person to do the agility classes and I'm trying to decide if I want to attempt it again. We've mostly been working on our own, with recall, staying focused, as well as agility training. Sorry for the super long post, but I have lost a lot of my confidence since that indecent and I could really use some feedback. Thank you for reading.

Hello! I was just wondering if anyone in this thread has a suggestion for a place that does herding training or workshops near Gladstone, QLD? I have an ACD X that I'd love to at least test out, but I'm struggling to find anything close enough. A few I found only do BC's and Kelpies, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi all, I'm hoping to be transporting our dog and cat over to London in the next year and half or so and am appreciate reading up on other people's experiences and quotes. It's also especially nice to read about other people doing similar trips, since I know many people think we're a bit loony. So, quick question for others is if your quotes are from planned travelling on the same flight as your pets? I know not all transport works out that way, but I'm getting a bit frustrated by how expensive these prices are considering our dog would simply replace the place of one of our allowed bags more or less. Also, those who have come before, I've heard some recommended travel planners, but also wondering if you have any airlines specifically that you've had good experiences with? Are there any you know of that allow the public to organize animal transport and not have to pay for a private company to organize everything? Or ones that allow in cabin pets on international flights? Having talked with DEFRA, it sounds like the rules about in cabin pets are mainly in place because of the airline companies, not government restrictions. The paperwork for getting into the UK has become much easier in the past few years, and I don't see why a company is completely necessary or so costly. Thanks for any insight you can depart! I want this to be stress free for everyone, but also cost efficient if possible (though it's look less and less likely haha)

I've enjoyed reading this thread and thought I'd mention mine too. My family golden retriever when I was young was probably the best guard dog I'll ever have. Besides the fact he had a very loud, deep, bark that always scared the post man, he had an extreme protective streak when it came to my brother and I. My brother was 10 and I was just born when we got him, so he grew up with me and my brother. He barked at everyone, including us coming to the front door (didn't have a good view, could only hear people walking), but would always turn to happy greetings once the people were welcomed in. However, I learned from my mother, he was super protective whenever they would leave me alone with my brother. He would not let anyone into the house while we were alone, would growl and stand in the door way even with known relations like aunts and uncles. He'd be like that till my parents came home. One time my Nana came to stay with just me and he went into super protective mode again, always laying next to me, sleeping in my doorway at night, and following me around the house. Apparently my Nana wasn't very good protection. Once I also accidentally got his guard up while playing with a friend and jokingly calling to him for help. He immediately stood and started growling, it scared us both to death. He settled down at once when I told him things were fine, but I always felt safe with him around. He passed away when I was 15, still miss him 10 years later. My current dog is some cattle dog and she's a very good alert barker (sometimes too good) but only if we're home. Her protectiveness is obviously linked to us and not the house. I don't think she'd do much if people broke in while we were gone, probably be scared more than anything. However, if we were home she would guard us to the point of physical confrontation if she thought it was necessary, I'm pretty sure. Hopefully her bark and how rather frightening she looks with her hackles up would be enough to scare anyone away before it got to that stage. Always feel safe with a dog around, that's for sure.

Hello again, So sorry for taking so long to get back to you. **Sigh** it didn't turn out very well and I was rather disappointed in my friend, so I haven't been talking with her much and only just realized I never passed the info on. So, she ignored everything I sent her and had the surgery done about a week or so after I posted on here. She posted up a picture of her dog after the surgery, so sad, so many stitches. Apparently nothing I said made an impact, and it really frustrated and annoyed me as I spent a long time reading into things for her and she never even acknowledged it. Part of what made me think to post on here is that she just posted up that now her dog doesn't walk properly. She rolls her knuckles under instead of walking on her pads and the vet says it's irreparable damaged that was a risk of the surgery. It makes me so angry and frustrated that she never double checked that the stupid surgery was necessary and now her poor dog is paying the price. Also, I tried to look up who she bought her puppy from, and now that I've looked into it more, I find it highly unlikely that she was a fully registered breeder--I don't know if my friend lied about it or didn't realize it. All she has is a very small Facebook page, no information anywhere else, and nothing about being registered. Sorry to have wasted all of your time over what turned out to be based on false information and didn't end that happily. Thank you all for your information and support, it's very much appreciated. I now at least know more if something like this ever comes up with my dog, which is at least one benefit from all of this. Thanks again.

Another photo:

Thanks! We think so too. We get so many compliments/comments on her little black eyes, we absolutely love her facial markings. Well, these were the best photos I could find/get--turns out it's hard to get puppies to do what you want in pictures :p. I'll happily accept if you all think she is in fact crossed with corgi, I was just so surprised everyone saw no Aussie shepherd when heaps of the pictures I found of crosses had very similar markings. It's true some could have been wrong themselves, but I did fine some sites that specifically were breeding for ACD X Aussie as a working dog.

Huh, that does look surprisingly similar, but here are the pictures of the ACD X Aussie I was basing my decision on. She had the fluffier hair when she was younger, as well as being darker, she has since lighted and gotten more of the ACD hair. Also, she was bred out in rural north QLD, not sure about the prevalence of corgi's out there. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, because most of the pictures I found of other ACD X Corgis, you can definitely see it in their bodies when they get older. I'd prefer, Aussie, but we'll love her no matter what she ends up as :p All those puppies were bred in the US to be "Texas Heelers" :D It's interesting that so many people saw corgi, since it never even occurred to me--probably part of the reason so many dogs are mislabeled.

Thank you very much, all that is good to know :D. I'll be sure to pass all this info on, and will keep you updated!

No, I do believe it was just her usual vet. I could be wrong, since it did take awhile to get the diagnosis, but I think it's only been a local vet. I may see if she wants to get a second opinion--do you think someone at JCU Vet (Townville) would be qualified? Since I found that one of the vets you suggested is in Vic, and the other one I couldn't find :-/. I must admit, that's a bit disappointing to know though. From what I've read, and just deduced from listening to reports, Hip Dysplasia is one of the most researched, well-documented, and prevalent canine conditions. Because of that, you'd think vets, local or specialized, should be able to diagnosis it in an instant, but I guess this isn't a perfect world. Also, thanks for the names, if we can't find someone closer I'll be sure to recommend :)

Ah, the perfect thread to vent about what I just saw at a pet store yesterday. I stopped in at the store down the street, forgetting it was the one that carries puppies for some reason, and couldn't resist going to look at what they had at the back. They had plenty of reasonably labeled puppies, but then I saw retriever X Labrador. If I hadn't been in a bit of a rush, I would have talked to one of the people in the store about that label. What kind of retriever? Golden, flat-coated, curly-coated? Besides the fact that Labrador *Retrievers* are in fact retrievers themselves. So many people make this mistake, and it drives me mental. I'm glad others are in the same boat. But, with the need for people to label their dogs as something, I must admit I'm guilty. When we first picked up our pup, I Googled images of puppies for hours because it was like solving a mystery haha. I'm glad I finally decided on something, since everyone who sees her asks what she is. We ended up going with ACD X Aussie Shepherd, based on her markings, her personality, and a some photos I found of "Texas Heelers" online :). Feel free to voice your opinion if you have one. Just don't say corgi! Driving me nuts that everyone sees her ears and long body and says corgi--some even think purebred. I don't think they understand how short little corgi legs actually are. But, anyways, here's our poor little mislabeled pup, Loki:

Hello all! I'm hoping to get some honest opinions about a bit of a touchy issue, and I hope I don't offend or raise the hackles of anyone by bringing it up :). One of my friend's bought a border collie puppy off a registered breeder up near us in Townsville, and just last week it's been diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Since it is my friend's dog, I'm not 100% sure of all the details, but I know the parents were tested for HD and the like. I've been reading some other topics on these kind of issue, I know that breeders can't guarantee a perfect pooch and that no matter all the testing, bad luck happens. But, there's a few other things that seem a bit fishy that I wanted a few opinions on. Currently the puppy is about 5 months old, but when she was around 12 weeks, she fell and broke her leg. From what I gathered, it wasn't a big fall and it was a really bad break for such a relatively little accident. My friend was obviously upset, especially since a friend was watching the puppy for about 15 minutes when it happened, but she paid for the care and didn't really think too much about it. Until a week later, she heard from another woman who purchased a puppy from the same litter that her puppy had also broken it's leg. Same story, small fall and surprisingly bad break. Now, just a few months later, she's hit with having to pay another huge vet bill to pay for her pup's surgery. From what I've read, I know that there can be environmental factors that can lead to hip dysplasia, including injury when young, but her vet doesn't seem to think that it was the leading cause. Especially since for a month or so, her puppy was bed-ridden, and the months after that it was building its muscles back up in its leg so she was being very careful not to over-exert her. It seems likely that if it was because of the injury, it would have taken a little longer to manifest, with the injury having to effect her walking and such over a more prolonged period of time than a few months to have such lasting damage. She's contacted the breeder to let her know, and she told her flat out that it's my friend's fault and that her breeding has nothing to do with it. She has since removed my friend from her Facebook. (I do not know the conversation they had, it is possible my friend was upset and not the most polite) The other people my friend knows who purchased puppies from the same breeder are going to be getting them x-rayed asap, and I will let you know the results when I learn, but right now, I'd just like to get some opinions. I can accept bad luck with a litter, that not all of them can be perfect and that we can't expect miracles from breeders, but with there being two puppies shown to have weak bones and as well as one case of HD, does it seem that more is going on than just bad luck? Also, the breeder's reaction seems a bit harsh, even if I believed my dogs were not at fault, I would still say I would be double checking my dogs and other puppies of the litter to make sure it wasn't a wide-spread issue. Please, I'm not trying to start an argument, I just want to make sure that the best course of action is taken with all of this. Thank you so much!

Thank you both for your replies Juice: She does tend to be a bit more of a nippy player at the dog park than most of the dogs I meet. And yes, I had heard that RR tend to be pretty skittish, though she shows some definite fear towards men--so the combination is probably why she's so slow warming up to people haha. Aussielover: I must admit, half the time I get frustrated when I try and teach her anything with my roommates dogs around since they get so nuts, but it would probably be good for her if I spent awhile with her specifically around them so that she gets better in that situation. I'll try and work that into our daily schedule for awhile. I don't know if I made it sound like she does the air snapping a lot while playing, she doesn't. It's a bit of an every once in a while thing when she gets into a really weird mood, and once she's done it I usually distract her with a toy but stop playing with her until she settles back down. There's a few reasons that I want to have her be able to play on the floor consistantly without this issue. Besides the fact I just like to be able to sit on the floor with my dogs and play tug and other games with them and then snuggle up together after, I feel that if I'm working towards rehoming her, I want her to be comforable in all sorts of situations. If she's around kids, I don't want her to be playing like that just because they're at my height when sitting down. I don't know if I'm making my point very well, but I just feel that dogs should behave well no matter if I'm standing/sitting/laying down. She doesn't do it nearly as much as she did when we first got her, so I feel like we're improving, I just didn't know if anyone had any experience with dogs with this sort of behaviour. And thanks for the compliment, we think she's beautiful as well. It's hard to believe she started out so rough at the beginning. Still up for adoption ;) lol. Though now that all of DOL knows her bad habits, a prospective adopter is probably unlikely HAHA! Thanks for the input!

My foster dog Riley has some super floppy detached rear-dewclaws. Since a few people said they hadn't seen them or didn't know why they would remove dewclaws. These kind of dewclaws are the ones that tend to get caught and ripped of during play. We're hoping to get hers removed when she goes in to be desexed soon. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the replies MadWoofter, Riley definitely isn't a huge fan when my attention is on other animals, but at the dog park and such, she mainly just shoves herself between me and the other dogs not jumping up on me. But, it could be a combination of her wanting attention and the other dogs jumping so she thinks it's the only way I'll notice her. I'll keep working on it, I mainly find it so frustrating because my roommates dogs are so unruly that I can't really manage anything with Riley when they're around lol. With the playing on the floor/even levels, I thought it might be a dominance type thing. However, though I understand what you're saying about needing to be physically above her and such, I feel like dogs should have a chance to be played with on the floor/same level. Are there other ways to show dominance/leadership to a dog when on the same level? She doesn't seem angry when she does it, to me it appears more like playful nipping but obviously it still needs to be managed whether dominance or misplaced excitement. We all absolutely adore her, even with her quirks, so I just want to make sure she's trained as best as I can to help her find her forever home. Thanks again!

And Riley now (Sorry for my multiple posts, but I couldn't seem to get them all in the one)

Another from the beginning:

Hello All! I'm currently fostering a dog through Australian Working Dog Rescue, she's a kelpie x ridgeback named Riley and she's an absolute sweetheart. But I just wanted to get some opinions on whether I'm expecting too much from her, I'm messing up with my training, or if we're actually doing pretty good. To start off, I'll say we picked Riley up from the pound with no name, no history, a horrible case of generalized demodex mange, as well as the general malnutrition usually seen in pound dogs. Also, she was afraid of most people besides myself and my partner. The first few weeks she was pretty lethargic and mainly just slept, ate, and slept. Once she started getting better I started working on her training. She obviously didn't know her name since we had to give her a new one, but she had been taught sit at some point since she would sit properly some of the time. I've now had her for over three months and we think she's about 10/11 months old now. During that time, she's become solid with her name, sit, lay down, stay, come, bed, shake, play dead, and walks well on and off lead. Some others that she'll often do well but is as consistent at are drop it, get it, stop, rollover, and crawl. We've also just started doing some very basic agility like training for fun such as over jumps, through the hole/tire, and she's just started understanding weaving. She's also gotten better with meeting new people, but she's still not great. I know all of that is pretty good, but she still has some bad habits that I've worked on but don't seem to be making headway with. When she's around my roommate's dogs, she tends to jump up on me much more than usual since they have never been taught not to. She knows she shouldn't jump up normally, because she rarely does it now and gets down and doesn't jump again when I tell her not to. But she is terrible about jumping up when around them, and will not listen at all to me about getting down when they're jumping everywhere. Also, when she gets excited and we're playing she'll sometimes get snappy. This is usually when we're playing on the same level, like the floor, she'll snap her jaws shut just in front of my face. She doesn't do it as often anymore, but again, when she gets all riled up it tends to come out of her. There's a few other little things, like not always focusing when I try to get her attention and things like that, but those are the main two that bother me the most. So, do you think we're going alright and it's mainly just some bad habits/puppy exuberance that time and not being around my roommate's dogs will help solve or am I screwing up with some things? Any suggestions for how to work on the bad habits? I really appreciate you all taking the time to read and reply :D. Also, here are some pictures from when we first got Riley and her now, to show how much she's improved :D.

I'd like to think I don't have any breed prejudices, more of a healthy respect for certain breeds. Even though I don't dislike or fear any breeds, I do recognize powerful dogs and respect them and tread carefully around them until I know their personality. But it has nothing to do with what breed it is, it's more a wariness in me not knowing how it's been raised, trained, and what it's accustomed to. Though this applies to all dogs, it's much easier to recover from a lap dog turning and snapping at you than one of the larger breeds. Some of the sweetest dogs I've met have been some of the breeds the general public would probably view as "dangerous". At a vet I used to work at, there was the kindest and most gentle doberman I've ever met. It got to sleep behind the front desk because it was frightened by the other dogs in the kennel area, and always greeted everyone with a friendly tail wag and then returned to his bed. One of my friends owns a deaf pitbull in the US which is the most lovable dog. The instant I sit down on the couch, he's in my lap and licking anything he can reach. He snuggles with her other dogs and her cats and has never shown the slightest sign of aggression. Coming from the US, it's interesting to see the difference in dogs and here as opposed to back home. I'd never seen a staffy before I lived here, and now I see them everywhere. Though I've met some super snuggly, sweet staffies, I've sadly also met some aggressive ones (this could be said about quite a few dogs). Also, in the US, we don't have any laws about greyhounds needing to be muzzled in public, at least not where I'm from. Though I understand the greyhound prey drive is hard to control at times, it makes me sad to know that these amazing dogs probably get poor exposure from always having to be muzzled when out. I feel like all dog breeds have their superstars as well as their disasters. Each dog has it's own, unique personality and should never be lumped in with others just because they look the same. At least, that's the way I feel :D.

We had a golden retriever when I was younger that I used to do this to, because apparently I was a bit of a cruel kid lol. He would have been at least 8 or so when I was doing it, so it's unlikely it would be puppy exuberance that caused him to act the way he did. If I laid face down on the floor for long, he'd start nuzzling my neck, licking my ears and face and sniffing me. If I kept like that, he would slowly get more and more frantic, trying to put his nose under me to flip me over, licking more, and generally seeming distressed. I thought it was so adorable that he would get worried. My current dogs, I'm fairly certain wouldn't care, but Rusty was really great at taking care of me and my brother when we were young. If my parents weren't home, he used to not let anyone come into the house, even relatives he knew. He once spent a week protecting me from my tiny grandmother who was watching me, sleeping in my doorway and everything because he wasn't used to her haha. He took his job seriously, even at times when it really wasn't necessary, but I always felt so safe with him around--I knew if something really went wrong he would be there. Such a great dog, still miss him even though it's been almost 10 years since he's been gone.

Just wanted to say I saw the pup again today and he was much more mobile than I'd ever seen him before. He ran for the first time I'd seen, so I think that perhaps he's growing out of his awkwardness. He still has a rather awkward gait, but it will hopefully keep improving. However, talking to the owner today, she did get him from a registered breeder not from a BYB you would expect particularly bad hips from. So, here's to hoping my initial judgement was on a puppy that hadn't quite grown into himself yet. Thanks for all the input :D. Sorry if I sounded like I was being nosey with my initial post, that's part of the reason I wanted to ask people's opinion. I would never want to seem rude, especially to people who obviously love their dog, but I would personally appreciate someone talking to me about a health problem with my dog that they thought I might not have seen. But, I now know not everyone would feel that way, so it's something I will keep in mind. Thanks again!

Thanks for all the replies :D. I've spoken to the owner a few times, since we're often at the dog park at the same time and our dogs play together, so it's not quite like going up to a perfect stranger but I understand what all of you are saying. I'll probably just keep an eye on him and see if he improves. I don't want to seem rude/nosey in anyway, I was just rather worried for him. I've never seen a puppy that couldn't play properly because of the way his hips and back legs were growing, but as people have said, puppies can grow awkwardly. I know that GSD's are now bred for the sloping back for show, but I've also heard that poorly bred ones have serious hip problems, I have a friend whose GSD had to be put to sleep because of her problems. I'm hoping this pup doesn't end up having the same issues . Thanks again! And I still welcome anymore input.

Hello DOL Members! First time posting--been reading for awhile, but I've never had any worthwhile input . I am hoping to get some of your opinions on a situation I've noticed at the dog park. I take my foster dog there almost once a day because she absolutely loves the chance to run, and for the past month or so a girl has been bringing her GSD puppy to the park. He's possibly 4-6 months by now, I'm not the best with guessing ages. When I first saw them, he was pretty shy around other dogs and tended to stay around his owner and hadn't noticed much about him. Now however, he's become much more social and I've noticed the saddest thing: he's got some of the worst hips/back legs I have ever seen on a dog. His back is so low and his legs are nowhere near the right shape. It's so sad to see him at the park because he loves playing but I have yet to see him run, because I don't think he can--he can barely do a trot. He's such a sweet dog, but I'm really worried about him. So, my question is if I should talk to the owner about it? I would like to think she must have noticed it, or her vet at the very least, but I suppose there's always the chance that it's somehow not caught their attention--though I don't know how. Besides wanting to make sure she understands how bad of a shape her pup is, I'm worried that she's gotten this dog from a registered breeder and they could still be breeding these dogs (I have no idea how often GSD's have problem with BYB's). However, I find it a really uncomfortable topic to bring up, the fact that she purchased a dog that will have lifelong health problems. Any suggestions will be welcome, I can't decide if I would be intruding to talk to her about it or if it would be in the best interest of her as well as others who might be considering purchasing from the same breeder. Thanks so much for reading! I hope I'll have happier posts to add in the future Molly