Sylvie

Thanks GoldenGirl85, that's a beautiful photo. We haven't had the opportunity to go to the show but I'll try another one later.

Thanks for posting the photo but unfortunately I can't see it.

Wow how exciting! Do you have your pup now or are you still waiting? I saw on their website they had a litter in April. Did you get one of them or do they have another litter? As I said I am a bit hesitant to contact breeders yet as it might be a while before we are ready to get another dog and I am not even sure my husband will like Brittanys at all. But the more I read about them and see photos of them, the more I like them. Thanks for the link. Yeah I got one of their April litter, a girl they kept to show but she wasn't coming along as well as hoped so they sold her to us as a pet Would you have photos? How is she settling in? Do you have a big yard or just a normal suburban one? I am a bit worried a Brittany might need a bigger yard than what we have. My great dad use to have one but he lived in the country with a huge backyard (field) were the dog had plenty to run. It was a good 30 years ago though and I don't remember much of it.

Wow how exciting! Do you have your pup now or are you still waiting? I saw on their website they had a litter in April. Did you get one of them or do they have another litter? As I said I am a bit hesitant to contact breeders yet as it might be a while before we are ready to get another dog and I am not even sure my husband will like Brittanys at all. But the more I read about them and see photos of them, the more I like them. Thanks for the link.

LOCKYER VALLEY KENNEL CLUB are holding a New Year's Eve Show at Durack & again on New Year's Day. The wednesday show is scheduled to start after 6:00pm. So it's going to be a fun Gala night. Thursday's time to start is after 12:30PM lunch. Not enabling too much too.... check the DOL listings... puppies AND a mature dog with the same breeder Do please update with news too.... :) Thanks. We are just looking at different breeds for now. I don't want to bother a breeder while we don't know what we want. I am still not quite sure we should get an other dog with our current one (10 yo very anxious JRT). I might try and contact Jane Harper who saw him with his brother about 2 years ago when they were fighting occasionally and see what she thinks. And it probably won't be before the end of next year anyway as we are going away oversee for a month in August and would have to leave them at the kennel for that long. How can we know which breed will be present at a show? I was a bit disappointed not to see any JRT or Brittany when we went to the show at Durack last time. Thanks for the reply, we'll see if we can make the New Year's Eve Show at Durack.

Where could we meet some Brittany around Brisbane? I've met a few myself as they are very popular in France, but it was a few 20 years ago and my husband does not know them. We went to a show a few month ago and we saw some Nova Scotia but no Brittany. Hubby loved the Nova Scotia but I would like for him to see some Brittany.

I am no expert, but could that be Addison's Disease. Our dog was a bit like that, sick every then and then, not willing to eat until our vet tested him for Addison. It is very often missed as the symptoms are very similar to pancreatitis or other diseases. The test is quite simple and with medication every day it is easily manageable. Just an other idea. Good luck.

I even feel guilty putting the poo bag in the council bin next to a bus stop (specially in summer), but I had the same thinking: better there than on the foot path. I never put it in someone else bin unless ready for collection.

To summarize, the homeless guys are complaining because Jean Gabin (famous french actor) is giving ham and biscuit to his dog while Chinese or Indian have to live with a ball of rice. They then go on with some lecturing. Beautiful piece of cinema.

I just found out that my hubby booked us in the Dog House in Agnes Waters for my 50th birthday this weekend. We did not have anything planned until yesterday night when I said I did not want to have to board the dog. So DH, looking for pet friendly accommodation, booked a house in Agnes Waters but it was not available. He was told about the Dog House and that's where we are going. And I found out that the main resident on the property is a dog trainer (Chris) and he will be there with his dogs. According to DH he might even have a look at our dog and give us some advises. I am so excited at the opportunity to have a trainer that might help us with our dog. I think his dogs are on the property and I might have the opportunity to see how our JR is with other dogs! I never tried him as he is a very nervous, anxious little dog and I've seen him go for a snap before. But when we left him at a kennel during Christmas holidays, the owner of the kennel told he was fine with other dogs and they never saw a sign of aggression. I probably am too nervous myself to ever try him with other dogs. I only managed to introduce him to the neighbour dog and it took us a few sessions on the lead. Well, I think Chris was part of (or even maybe organising) the Surfing Dog Spectacular at Noosa that huga posted about a few month ago. Does anyone know the guy? I am not going to ask him for a full assessment or anything, just a bit excited that someone can give me a feedback on my dog interaction with other dogs.

I just told my husband last week they are 3 new Weimaraners puppies (only a few months old each but not really same age) in 3 different families walking around our area. I don't know if it is a new trend, but I found it a bit surprising as I'd never seen one before.

I thought it could help me being more consistent. Some experienced trainer said the voice marker could be harder to implement properly and with consistency. Being a first time dog owner, I am happy to try whatever is available if it can make it easier for both the dog and myself.

You have to click BEFORE he takes the treat, so that click always means TREAT. You throw the treat on the floor (one treat) & just a millisecond BEFORE he picks it up you click, then throw another & click just before he picks it up. Or hold them in your hand & click then treat & repeat. Are you using very high value treats. But I would say that the problem could be that you are clicking after he gets the treat, so he is totally confused. Did you not read that article I put up on "Introduction to Clicker Training" ETA The link again Introduction to Clicker Training I did read the article. I did try to click before he takes the treat but he just freezes and does not pick up the treat (he even went back to his bed at one stage) ."Just a millisecond BEFORE he picks it up" is the bit that I am not sure of (timing again!) I will try again with more valuable treats. He is so food orientated (he would do anything for a piece of kibble) I did not think that would be a problem. I will also try to put the clicker in a cloth to smooth the sound a bit and give the treats from my hand. I just don't want to fail too much as it will be hard to overcome once he decides it is really scary. It is frustrated as I had good success with just the Yes to get him to try and play with a toy: he now goes and grabs the toy on the groundwhen he would have run away from any toys before. Well, we'll see how I go. Thanks for all your advices, very much appreciated.

So I did get a clicker (I-Click as they are supposed to be softer) and tried to load it but it did not really work as planned. I put some treats on the floor, waited for him to eat one and clicked. He looked at me puzzled, then went slowly for an other one. I clicked as soon as he took it. He did not seem to like that, but went even slower for another one but as soon as I clicked he spit the treat out and walk away from the treats. I did try a few more times but it look like the click means "no" for him and now he won't touch any treats on the floor if the clicker is out. He looks so scared of it, it is pretty sad. It took him a little while to accept any treats even once the clicker was away. So I think the clicker is out. I will have to work on my timing to get a better result with word marking and try and make the patio a fun (or at least safe) place for him.

I think I read somewhere of cases (branches damaging neighboring properties) where the one responsible for the maintenance of the tree (land owner or council) can be held responsible as if the tree was properly looked after, branches (of reasonable size) should not fall off!

Thanks everyone, It is good to know that there are a few options if needed. I'll keep all the names and options in mind. But I hope it is all going to work out. We did not hear the little girl for a while now. Mainly because they take her with them when they go out, but there was one night they left her somewhere in the house (instead of tied up on the veranda) and I might have heard one yip and then she stopped and we did not hear anything else . I was not even sure she was left home alone but the neighbour came and asked the day after to know if we heard anything. So they must be doing something right and an other good thing is she is not running free in the open front yard as much either.

He ends up relatively relaxed on the patio with us. The first 15/20 mins he is very alert and watch everything, checking every noise but if there is not dog in sight he does not move. If there is a dog he would stand up starting staring at it. That's when I start distracting him. After a while he starts to get used to all the noises and sit down or lay on the mat. He is still alert but not as tense. We kind of like seeing him alert as he is a very quiet boy and he has been through a lot in the last few months. We lost his litter mate in November and have been living on a "construction site" ever since. All his little world has been changed and he has been very quiet for a while. He is better now, but he is an anxious little guy, and anything new is a worry, that's why we try to get him used to the patio slowly. We only go there for 1 hour or so every time for now. Here are some photos of him checking out the world from the slab:

A covered crate is a good Idea, thanks Ams. We have 2 dog houses (similar to the one in the attached photo) that came with the dogs when we got them. They were crate trained in it. I did not use them for a while now but he should be fine in it. The roof installation over the patio has just started today. Might not been finished for the week end but as soon as it's finished I'll put the dog house out there. (Sorry I moved the photo of him to my next post )

The lady came yesterday evening to ask if I wanted to go for a walk with them. Unfortunately I was not home and my husband was not to keen for a walk, but she proposed to walk our dog with hers, so Apollo got an extra walk . Sound good.

So far the OP has been distracting her dog from approaching dogs. I don't consider that this is training her dog not to bark at them. I think the effectivenes of whatever marker is being used is a side issue. Could this be done without an aversive? Provided she can get her dog's attention and cue the dog to offer an alternative and better behaviour (eg. look at me) then YES. But this IS a JRT, a reactive, vocal breed. This is natural, territorial canine behaviour. OP wants to train her dog to do something that comes very very naturally and this is not a dog with a naturally biddable temperament. She needs to have the mother of all motivators to obtain the desired behaviour and to reward it when she gets it before she can cue it. Squeaky rat.. given at no other times? Squeak to get dog's attention, reward with rat when dog has passed and no barking??? Then the squeak is the cue and getting the rat is the positive reinforcement. Who knows, the dog may end up offering the behaviour when a dog approaches - wouldn't be the first time provided you can find a motivator more rewarding than a good barking at an approaching dog. It is not always possible to have a clicker with you. They are not permiitted in trialling situations for a start. I think it is perfectly acceptable and effective to train an alternative marker such as "yes" for such situations and frankly seeing a lot of novices fumble with clicker, treat and lead, possibly easier for some folk too. I totally agree with what you said Haredown Whippets. I am only distracting him from approaching dogs. He is in fact a reactive JRT and he is 9 years old so I understand it is going to be hard (if not impossible as my OH keeps telling me) to train this behaviour out. That is why he is never going to stay in the front yard on his own. I don't want any problems with my neighbours (some of them are very sensitive!). The squeaky rat won't work as "the mother of all motivators" for him because he is scared of any squeaky toys (runs away from them, when his brother used to play with one he was trying to go and hide somewhere), and he hates any toys in general. I have been trying to get him to play with or fetch a soft fluffy toy since I got him ( 2 years ago), but he still won't touch it if I don't have any treats at hand. If I got treats he will tug on it and go and get it as far as 2/3 meters now. The mother of all motivators for him would probably be a live one or lizard but that's not going to happen. He is very food driven though and I will try and get a clicker to see if I can do a better job. We used to have 2 of them (JRT) and I already found I did not have enough hands for the 2 leads and the treats, so adding a clicker was not really an option. Now we got only the one I might give it a go. I might just borrow one from a friend to check he is not going to freak out at the sound of it and see if I can get him used to it and like it. A front yard patio is probably not the best for him but that what we have ( or are going to have) so we will try our best.

Puppy farms and poor breeding is a great place to source unstable temperaments. Do people not know that many registered and dedicated breeders go to great lengths in parental selection and early puppy imprinting to produce pups of stable coping mechanism. Well, what can I say. Sadly I think most people don't have any idea about that . I saw the neighbor yesterday evening. They are having a bit of a hard time at the moment: loss of job, health issue, teenage boys and neighbors complaints on top of that. That might explain the "I want to give up" attitude the other day. But they seem determine to try and do their best and follow the guideline they have been given for a while, knowing it is going to be a long road. They are also starting to teach her some tricks (shake, drop, ...) and agreed they need to walk her regularly. I might do some evening walk with them. Hopefully we'll see some improvement. As the lady told me, she will have more time now so it should help.

Thanks everyone, I am sure it would be easier (and probably clearer for the dog) with a clicker. It is funny because, before having a dog myself and reading this wonderful forum, I always thought clicker were only used by professionals or to train dogs in circus. I would never have thought of getting one to teach my dog to stay quiet on a patio! I am also pretty sure my husband will think I am getting nuts f I get one. He already thinks that using treats is cheating. Well we'll see how I go. My main point is to try and get Apollo as comfortable on the terrace as possible, so for now we play tricks (he does not play with toys or anything else but food!), he got a bone every then and then and plenty of treats when dogs are passing. When we first get out he is very alert checking every corner, checking every noise, following every cars, ... After maybe 20/30 min he settle down enough to sit or lay down, not bothered by car noise but still looking at everybody walking pass checking if there is no hidden dogs. And standing up if there is a dog and that's when i get the treats out. I am also trying to socialize him a little bit more. I am going back to agility with him (we stopped when his brother started to get sick last year). I have been on the beach a few times. We hardly do enough in that way but it is hard to find places where dogs are accepted and it is not to crowded with dogs.

I really hope that the "put down" comment was just in the heat of being upset, coming home, seeing other neighbors down the street thinking they were speaking of it and me coming to say that the dog was with me because it has been winging for a while (she also had received an SMS from one of the other neighbor). It is pretty hard and they are trying at least not to let her alone for too long now. She used to be alone at least half a day every day of the working week, now she is hardly alone a few hours once or twice a week. It is still uni holidays I think and my husband is home at the moment so he can take her if need be. Although I asked them to drop her at our place if we are home and they know they are going for a while they never did, but I guess it might be bit embarrassing and they just don't want to take advantage. I'll try to speak with tonight and maybe convince to come with me and take their dog to agility.

Thanks Ams and Terri S., It is a difficult situation but we are in pretty good term with the neighbor and their dog. The dog is pretty much free range and often wanders on the street and come to our place on her own: she has been taught to be street conscious and even if I don't agree with letting her off leach in the open front yard it is their dog. We went twice for a walk around the block with the dogs and we are keeping an eye/ear on each other dog as good neighbors should do. I hope they are not too upset that I try to help, but when I went there one night, a few other neighbors were on the street discussing the problem while the poor dog was carrying on. When I went at the back there was a very nasty note on the gate promising to take care of the dog if nothing was done. To try and clarify a few point, I gave them the crate in the first week they got the dog as they could not find a place for her to settle at night (and during the day). I gave them the NILIF and GDR info only maybe a month ago and they saw Jane Harper last week. From what I was told, Jane said that there was not much wrong with the dog and they are still reading the program she sent them. So it has been going on for quite a while where they mainly tried to let her alone as little as possible. I hope that with a (fair) bit of work she can learn to stay on her own without stressing as much. I don't know if she would be destructive, but she will try to escape (she did a few times) and now she is tied on the backyard patio when left alone. The other thing I would like to convince them is to walk the dog every day as she is hardly walked. She has plenty of play time and zoomies but she might need more structured exercise. But I don't want to impose myself or seem rude as I say I am hardly an expert. I hope Jane's program make sense to them and they stick to it.

My neighbor have a 1 year old poodle cross who hates being left alone. She cries, and cries, and howls as soon as the owner left. It has became a real problem as a few other neighbors complained to the council and left a few nasty notes on her door. It has been going on since they got the dog. I did recommend to try and crate train her and even provided a crate when she was a puppy, but the poor dog got sick in it and that was it for the crate. I've tried to help to get on top of the problem, printing the NILIF program and the Great Dane Rescue info sheet about separation anxiety. We also, a few month ago, introduced her to our dog so we can keep her with us when they really need to go out for a long period of time. I also gave the contact of a recommend trainer who came last week or the week before. I take her home if I hear her for more than 1/2 hour (I did again yesterday). We don't really want that to be the solution but while they are trying to find a solution, I am happy to do it. Yesterday the owner told me that they were going to put her down because they did not know how to fix her and did not want to pass on the problem to someone else. I hope it was just a saying and they are going to try and implement what the trainer gave them first. I am not sure what to do. I am pretty new to dog ownership and don't feel it's my place to give them advice. This little dog is such a sweetie,and can settle down pretty quick if she is with someone. She just cannot do it on her own. And she is still a puppy and full of energy. If it come to that end would suggesting contacting a rescue group be a good idea? Would a rescue take a young dog with this type of problem?