Weasels

Me three

Oh noo, not the beautiful Reggie I have all my fingers crossed he will soon be on your doorstep waiting for his breakfast xxoo

When I'm not sure about something like that I watch the reaction of the other dog. E.g. My girl growls at anything and everything (even her toys) so if I'm not sure how to interpret it I just watch how my boy reacts. It's usually nothing, she's just 'talkative' :laugh: IMHO regular interruption of play is a good thing anyway. Weez and his best friend (a GSD) grab each other by the neck or collar all the time :)

Also Fiveplusone who recently organised a collection and purchased some lovely gifts for a child in hospital That was a very lovely thing she did, and so many people rallied around too

I've always been partial to the pedigree name "Waikikamukau oohs and aahs" who pops up in the WA ANKC newsletter every now and again :laugh: The only animals I've ever named myself have been hermit crabs. I had Hermie, Wormy, Squirmy and Kermit (Kermie)

Aww I love his little floppy ears :) Some dogs just exude sweetness!

:laugh: as long as you mark the instant they are doing the right thing so they know why they are being rewarded :p Wouldn't want to accidently reinforce bad habits!

It might help to think where your skills and interests lie other than animals. Are you good with people? Dog training jobs will require a lot of interaction with different kinds of people, and your people/communication skills will probably be what makes or breaks your business. Specific training jobs (customs, police, military etc.) will usually require you to be in the organisation for a time first, so it's worth thinking about how you would fit in and work with the people in these types of jobs, and if you are happy to do the job until a dog-related position opens up. Do you like making things and prefer running your own business? You could move into the dog food/toys direction and advertise your goods at dog-friendly markets or dog events. Etc. Good luck :)

I think that was a very level-headed and informative response :) Kudos!

How long are you willing to spend building your skill base? :) Edit - American sites, so not all are relevant, but a pretty long list and has reference at the end - http://www.akc.org/public_education/careers.cfm Or - http://dogs.about.com/od/funphotos/tp/dogjobs.htm

Companion dogs also have much better eyesight than other dogs for stuff that's up close, so they can read people's expressions better :) Very cool IMHO. I agree a working dog's gaze is meant to intimidate, a companion dog's gaze is meant to engage. Whippetsmum doesn't your instructor teach people not to stare dogs in the eye because it's confrontational? Same thing goes here, at the very least it's 'rude' in dog communication to stare so that's reason enough to interrupt & discourage it. If he stares at the wrong dog it's going to end in a fight

I was going to say this too. My boy dog will fixate strongly on my other dog, but because his prey drive has been modified into a herding instinct I get orient>eye-stalk>chase>make it stop moving>bring it back to handler/hold it in place. In a breed that doesn't have this modification bred in I'd be creeped out too. Not surprised that a still and focused dog is upsetting the other dogs

:laugh: Louis might win a handsome award in his little rugby shirt though :D I almost said to the guy I felt it was cheating having kelpies, being the biddable things they are :p

How about one of these big smiley faces? - http://www.dogshome.org.au/big-dogs/ :) Edit: at least at the dogs refuge home they can't fob you off because you 'know where they live' ;)

That would be great. I have a sneaking suspicion it might be related to the fact the poo bags disappeared for about a month, apparently due to supply problems, so there might have been a bit of cash left over in the dog-related council funds Will be interesting to see if they keep it up :)

Rockingham, south of Perth

I just received 2 bags of treats from the council ranger for having my dogs under control while he drove up the beach :) I spoke to someone else as I was leaving and apparently it's a thing they've been doing lately. I know it's just a small thing - and the far greater reward is not having my dogs under the wheels of a 4wd - but it's nice of the council to adopt a "thanks for training your dog" mentality instead of just a "well we won't fine you this time" mentality. Just thought I'd share a positive experience with a council for a change :)

I got this impression from one particular rescue organisation too. I got a call back a month later just saying "not suitable" without much more discussion. But when we went to the shelter to adopt they sat down with us and actually talked to us about the application and why they wanted certain things for the dogs - and we agreed to change some of our plans. Easy peasy. The 'correct' answers may not be obvious to people outside rescue or who haven't owned a dog for a while, but not everyone out there in rescue realises they sometimes just need to talk to potential adopters instead of taking the application as gospel.

Maybe :p will post photos once healed enough ;) Good luck CC! Look forward to pics :D

Awww kelpie puppies almost make me cry from the adorable I didn't have mine as pups so I'm going to live vicariously through puppy photos :p How did she sleep last night Mirawee?

Aw yay!! Very much looking forward to pics

Hehe very cute, he wants to be a part of the activities! :) My girl thinks that doing push-ups is a cue to jump back and forth over my legs - not sure where she got that idea from!

Yep I've had a lead break at the clip while Weez was tied up one day, there was no sign of wear it just gave out at one of the metal connectors. Fortunately we were in a paddock and away from traffic at the time and there were other people there to call him back, but it's certainly not something I anticipated. I have also had a leash slip out of my hand while I was crossing to the median strip of a busy road, I just got mixed up between the two leashes and one got away from me Every single second I'd spent training a "stop" was worth it that day

I did this once, albeit inadvertantly Fox peed on the floor and I sent her outside with the OH asking him to put her in the car and bring back something to clean it with. Obviously he didn't hear me and by the time I realised he wasn't coming back a staff member was already mopping it up How embarrasment.

Sorry this happened, sounds scary It also sounds like a genuine accident though. The guy didn't let the dog off deliberately while it was interested and he took it away after the incident, which is more than plenty of people would do. I'm sure while the guy was helplessly watching his dog disappear it was all he could think of to do to yell that it was harmless. If you see him again and he hasn't upgraded his harness and leash then sure he needs a kick up the butt, but hopefully he's learned a lesson from this.