Weasels

I was going to write another reply now I'm home from work but TSD and Sheena seem to have it covered One other thing I would add though - have you trained a recall at the beach? If the recall hasn't been trained in enough different places and scenarios yet she may not have 'generalised' the behaviour. I do the majority of my training at the beach and the park because that's where I really want them to be reliable. I found this to be the most important thing I had to learn with Weez. I have a couple of commands I use, including "keep with us" (i.e. 'you don't have to come here, but start moving in the same direction as us') and a good old-fashioned "leave it" - but timing is key. Only relatively recently have I been able to stop him once he's commited to running at something, but I still wouldn't want to rely on it. I too always give Weez a piece of food every time I put his lead on 'in public' (not at home, because going out is reward enough). And every now and again, I leave the beach and go to the park, so they don't think leaving the beach always = no fun. Plus going home from the beach means breakfast will be along soon!

Is she a teenager?

Puppiluv I believe Barkbusters are a franchise, so the quality will vary from person to person. But from the couple of people I've spoken to that have used them, their main strategy is to throw a chain on the ground and yell "bah!" when a dog does something you don't like. I understand they are also focussed on dominance theory. BB have been discussed in here before, something should pop up if you do a search. They aren't a training option I would use personally but I'm afraid I don't know of any trainers in Qld to offer alternatives. Hopefully someone else will though

Shell I can see why you're partial! Absolutely gorgeous :p My fawn kelpie attracts a lot of attention while we're out and about, but I don't think a lot of people know that kelpies can come in fawn, silver or cream. So they are popular in the sense that people like them when they see them, but not in the sense that ppl go out looking for one I suspect.

We can never have too many kelpie photos

Also DSO - don't forget to stop by the kelpie thread to check out the gorgeous kelpie photos ;)

I think by the time you had bred ALL the herding instinct out of a kelpie, you would no longer have a kelpie.

In looks, my preference is for dogs with a pointy nose (so not brachys), pricked ears and a medium coat. What some people call a very 'doggy' dog I temperament I like a dog that is active, intelligent, preferably bred for a sporting purpose. In terriers I like 'scrappers' (bold, feisty dogs) I did struggle in a couple of categories, some are there purely because I know a really nice example of the breed ;) (recap of my picks - I'd probably add tollers too now that I think about it more): Toys - Min pin, Italian greyhound Terriers - Border, Cairn, Manchester Gundogs - English Springer Spaniel, Viszla, Brittany Hounds - Pharoah hound, Whippet, Deerhound Working - i would happily adopt most of them! But: Kelpie, Border collie, Aussie Utility - Husky, Malamute, Doberman Non Sporting - Canaan, Schipperke

Lately, probably red Funny the effect movies can have.

I love min pins!! If I was going to get a small dog it would be between a min pin and a schipperke :D I was thinking the same about Aussie shepherds. I see a lot because I train with someone who breeds them, but I was under the impression they weren't that common in the general population?

Yep, force = mass x acceleration; not much mass can be compensated for by lots of acceleration! :D Whippet physics.

IMO my dogs are friendly, since I believe part of that term means recognising when a dog doesn't want to be approached and leaving it alone. I figure we act as a team - I watch the humans for signs they don't want to be approached, and they read the dogs for the equivalent signals. I think the problem is many people's standard for 'friendly' is just 'doesn't start fights', when unwanted encroaching on another dog's space is in fact not a friendly gesture.

Toys - Min pin, Italian greyhound Terriers - Border, Cairn, Manchester Gundogs - English Springer Spaniel, Viszla, Brittany Hounds - Pharoah hound, Whippet, Deerhound Working - i would happily adopt most of them! But: Kelpie, Border collie, Aussie Utility - Husky, Malamute, Doberman Non Sporting - Canaan, Schipperke

I think this is the best way to go. I try to expose myself to as many books, tv shows, trainers, behaviourists, other dog owners etc. as possible, then run it all through my personal "bullsh*t filter" and only apply the things that make sense to me. E.g. There are plenty of dogs in rescue that have had a damn rough start to life, let alone an intensive socialisation program, who are absolutely lovely. The funny thing is if you listen to the Dunbar's podcasts I get the impression his wife is a bit sceptical of this '100 people' claim too

Yep - http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/225674-7-pups-for-7-people/page__p__5465670__hl__pups__fromsearch__1#entry5465670

Not sure about the cats but to answer your second-to-last question - soon after I put my girl on sentinel she developed demodectic mange Turns out the advocate she was on was keeping the demodex under control but the sentinel wasn't. Not a common scenario probably but just one thing to keep in mind I now have my boy on sentinel and my girl on advocate. No problems with it for my boy, and i've never seen a flea.

600mm might be the one! I would like to see a dog jump 6 metres tho :p

Makes sense, my boy does the sniffing zigzags when we're walking now that I think about it! It's only when we're jogging they know to keep moving ahead. I'd freak out if a wild dog got near my dogs too!

Oh sorry Huski I'm not sure where I got that from I must have seen you mention your employer and just assumed. I'll just go with "very competent dog handler" then :p And beagles would definitely be a breed I would expect to have imperfect recall without a HUGE amount of work. In top sheepdogs (and our little hobbyists too) the handler often has to repeat commands, because the dogs are working so much on instinct to make those split-second decisions when the stock go astray. It's bred into them too, so it makes life challenging even away from stock! We just have to take it with a grain of salt when 99% of trainers are telling us to never repeat a command.

I wonder though if perfect recall is really within the capacity of the average dog owner. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe Huski is a very competent professional dog trainer. I don't think it is just a matter of laziness on the part of dog owners - from talking to people, many just can't figure out how to get a dog to recall under distaction, especially since "he's very obedient in the house". I'm pretty sure teenage dogs and certain breeds create a much greater recall challenge than others too. I need to repeat a recall on my girl several times if she has dropped a ball in front of a stranger for a game, because she does it so nicely they almost always throw it for her! It's hard to undo that good a reward history, but the point is she therefore doesn't have perfect recall. She is still one of the most reliable dogs I know off-lead and doesn't cause any trouble. I was listening to Ian Dunbar on a podcast recently saying he didn't believe in perfect recall, since sometimes the dog just doesn't register what you've said the first time if it is concentrating hard on something else. I know that happens to me with my husband, and I have a much bigger brain than a dog (or so they tell me).

Yep Wuffles I wasn't suggesting these events were good things, just that it's inevitable that things will occur which will upset our dogs. The best we can do is try to help our little friends get through them

Agree with this, and not just with dogs. You may also encounter loose cats, all kinds of birds, council workers driving utes through the park, kids riding dirt bikes, people kicking footballs, etc. etc. Socialising and training will get you most of the way there, knowing when to step in without creating a fearful pup is important too. The rest is just luck

This was my thoughts too. At least I would guess there would be more breeds that do zoomies than don't. So you should be spoilt for choice :D

Good luck Sheena! How do BCs slow you down? My kelpies do the opposite, keep me jogging when I want to walk! Also there is this thread if you want some more group support - http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/230261-anyone-want-to-join-me-getting-healthy/

Teela as Persephone said, that's totally different You have nothing to worry about. I have taught my dogs 'play dead' (with the same 'bang' cue as you ), lie on their side and roll over. When I was teaching my boy to lie on his side he would try to roll over, so I would gently put a hand on his shoulder to stop him where I wanted him so he could get his bit of chicken. And he's a skittish boy so if this upset him at all he would've been out of there. This is light years away from grabbing him by the scruff and forcing him into a position on the ground. Demeanour and trust count for a lot