Mystiqview

Percyk, I have taught my males to pee on command and have taught them that they do not need to pee on every pole and bush when walking.

Yes they can still be active, and still sire litters. To desex a dog, it will probably cost more as the vet will have to do more a procedure to get to the other testicle. In horses we call them Rigs. They act like a stallion, even if only one testicle is removed they can still sire.

Very hard to explain without diagrams. But essentially all hand signals should be given with the flat of the hand. NO POINTING!!!!! Give the dog the best chance to see the hand signal. Pointing with one finger does not do this. For all hand signals: DO NOT DO THEM VERY FAST.. Again give the dog a chance to see the signal Drop: Flat of hand, palm facing dog. Infront of the dog's nose move the hand down in a chopping motion. I would start the hand signal at least 30cm or around your hip level to just below the dog's nose. As the dog gets to know the signal, then you can shorten the length of the chopping motion. Stand: can be given using the left or right hand. I use my left hand (right hand has lead). Again palm facing the dog, it is like a swinging motion from infront of your body past the dog's nose to a brief stop.. Think of a Pendulum kinda motion without the backward swing to you. Stay: Again palm of hand facing the dog. Think of shutting a gate. I use my Right hand for this one. From the RH side of my body in a sweeping motion to infront of the dog's nose. As if you are shutting a door or gate Variation on Stay: If you are standing infront of the dog, your stay command, more becomes like giving a stop command. Palm of hand facing dog. Sit: Is a scooping motion upwards. I would start about hip level and finish about shoulder level. YOu may try a google search. It may bring up pictures. Some people give all hand signals with one hand. I use both hands as you can see from my explaination from above. In my case the lead changes hands to the hand that IS NOT giving the signal. YOur signals are best given unencumbered with a lead. Again it is giving a much clearer signal to the dog, and every chance they can of seeing it.

Never have seen an airport one. Wonder if you can go there with a tape recorder or MP3 recorder and record sounds yourself and burn them to a CD?

Just to add. Even if you tape ears early, there is never any guarantee they will stand up. Taping/gluing etc will work if the ears are inclined to stand up. IF they are very large or heavy, there is not a lot you can do. They will stand up for a little while and then flop back down. In some cases you have to have ears taped, for up to 6 months maybe longer. I have one dog with pricked ears (desexed) Her fathers ears I am led to believe were pricked and were weighted to stand correct I currently have one dog with heavy ears - have had others with heavy ears. My foundation bitch had saddle flap ears they were that flat. I have one dog with correct ears. As long as they can hear.. who really cares about the rest. Many people who show are sometimes too hung on up ear set. There are dogs out there winning who dont have the classical semi erect ear set.

Kathyinjapan, The push for private consult sounds sus. Sounds like they are only interested in the $$$ The only thing I would try to have going before going to group classes are: Encourage your dog to walk politely on your Left hand side. No tugging, no dragging. If your dog is food motivated, nice tasty treats (dried liver, cheerio, kabana, cheese, chicken). Small bits that is quickly gone. Do not use items that require a lot of chewing. EG smackoes, dry kibble. If your dog is not good at "heeling" I generally start by having food by my left leg, and pretty much spoon food first off to keep the dog next to me. Once the dog gets the idea, I stagger the food rewards. There are plenty of methods you can try, I just listed one I sometimes use. WHen you halt, encourage your dog to sit next to you. WHen you start off heeling, start off with your left foot. Pretty basic stuff. If you can heel with distractions around you without the dog lunging wanting to play etc, that is good too. If you can get the above going reasonably well.. Your introduction to group classes will be much easier. There are plenty of distractions and puppies just love to play with everyone else in the class.

The question I have to ask here. IS WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE PROGRAM THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED?? I am not going 100% either way, but what is screaming to me, is information is being left out. I do not believe a program for $200 would only consist of getting the children next door to throw treats at Zorro. Did Ian instruct you on Did he assess you and the dog with the kids there with Zorro in your back yard, and what happens outside your yard? The situational requirements needed for when/how the "kids threw treats at Zorro?" Did the program deal with just the kids next door in your back yard, or also involving them in other neutral territory Did you make sure you understood the program before "Ian" left your place after the assessment? Did he make any other recommendations? Were you happy then and there with "Ian's" assessment, and if not, did you seek a second opinion from the owner earlier? or contact them straight away? How many other people's opinions have you been listening to and trying while trying the program given to you? Have you chosen to only do certain parts of the program and not others? I may sound harsh, but after reading your posts through a number of threads it seems that you have been listening to everyone's idea on how to treat the issue rather than seek professional help who have the ability to assess your dog in person. None of us as mentioned by someone else, knows your capabilities and a dog owner/trainer, the dog's temperaments and the situational influences. So no one on the net can give you positive and decisive advice on what to do. Bevavioural issues need to be observed and assessed on a case by case method. The interactions need to be observed between you and the dog, your partner and the dog and how the dog reactions to those around him. It is commonly said amongst many a trainer, even down to the basic obedience levels, is new people try to take onboard too many methods at once, and fail, as each method has its time and place. The time and place may not suit your situation this time, but may suit another in another time and place.

Kathyinjapan, The puppy classes at Bonnies never really have been structured in the way of really formal training. The first part of the class has always been puppy play. Some of those puppies have come from pet shops or other places where the puppies may not have had suitable early puppy socialisation. At 8 weeks of age, you really do not want to bombard puppies with heaps and heaps of lead training. So socialisation at that part is very much necessary. Is it basic obedience you want or specialised program for something or another? If it is only basic obedience, you should not need a consult before starting training. C&Z As Husky has said, when you have behavioural issues, it is as much dependant on the dog itself and what it is being treated for, and how much time and effort the owners REALLY put in. The owners of the dog may be putting in 100% effort, but may not be doing it how they were told to do it so it is not as effective. Also many dog owners who have issues with their dogs, want a quick fix. Unfortunately for most of the behavioural issues, there is no quick fix as I am sure you are aware. Depending on behavioural problem is being treated, it can take years before it has been worked out. Some times a problem needs to be broken down and dealt with as separate issues. How you treat it in one environment may not be the way you would treat it in another environment. Before going from one trainer to another, I would be giving one method fair go. If it is not improving anything at all, if everything they have said has been tried, or something is drastic and does not make sense, then certainly seek a second opinion.

Dr Tanya Saccasan at Petmania Vet Cnr Old Northern Road and Keong Rd Albany Creek She used to be my vet before going out and opening her own surgery. Lovely lovely lady and excellent vet. ETA: Edit spelling

Reddii, I would possibly tell them to go down to Vals on a Saturday morning from 7am. They train at the school grounds off Settlement Road and Chaprowe streets. If the dog has issues, I would best advise they sort those out before going to any public club where those issues can get worse. The trainers at a public club are volunteers gained from members who have either gone through the class ranks or have been training and competing for awhile. So knowledge and experience base greatly differs. There is a person down at Vals called Bob who would also be worth talking to. Baldy fellow. Quite knowledgeable and professionally qualified/trained.

Sandgrubber, I had to have a hysterectomy at 30. They leave the ovaries if they can for hormonal issues. IF they took the ovaries, I would have had to go onto hormanal tablets then rather than the normal time when menopause occurs.

Morgan, It is not THE solution, but an option. If you want your puppy to grow to maturity before desexing her, there is the pill. It has been a very very long time since I had used it. I think it is better now. I think you have to start smack bang on day one of bleed and then go. Really talk to the vet as I know they are better than they used to be. Manangement: If you follow the directions on the pill from the vet, your bitch should not fall pregnant. For bitches on heat here while in the house I generally buy those pull up nappies, cut a hole in the rear for the tail. This allows my bitches to come into the house and not leave spots everywhere. There are professionally made btich's pants, but found the pull up nappies if you can get a size to fit your dog, is cheaper. If worse comes to wose there is an accidental mating, there is a abortion drug called Allezin. It is two injections 24 hours apart. I had to use it once for an accidental mating. Cost about $180 for the two injections. It is safe to give up to 45 days into pregnancy. I gave it to my bitch around day 35. My dog got to her late on day 20, given the lines it would have been very bad luck if she fell pregnant.. I was unlucky.. She was.

I am on acerage and used to hava husky here at one time... Huskies are not always known for their recalls.. While around the property (usual stock fencing on most of it) Miko Snr used to have a 20 metre lunge lead attached to her collar that she used to drag around..(supervised of course).. It would get snagged on things.. We also used to carry food in our pocket all the time and regularly get her to come back and treat her. So EVERY TIME she came to us... was positive and rewarded with food.. Never did fully trust her out in the paddocks.. but you could keep her close. She had rare auto immune disorder and died at 3 years.. But before that.. I had her started in open obedience competitions, we had her off lead doing obedience demonstrations at the Brisbane Pet Expo and Brisbane Royal Show. Patience.. Patience.. Patience.. Huskies can be quite stubbon too.

Each case is hard to really tell as it is a personal interaction between the person and the dog. When I have had young puppies wanting to do that here that is what I normally do. Just go oh well and ignore it and walk away. Personally, I think it best to ignore it. I just shrug my shoulders so to speak go oh well.. and walk away. If the dog then comes up to me.. I make big fuss.. I am rewarding that rather than rolling over and rewarding that. In my opinion the more fuss you make while the dog in on its back in that situation, is only enforcing the behaviour.

I just use homebrand disinfectant slightly diluted. Bicarb alone poured on a wee spot on carpet is great for getting rid of the smell as well as drying it out of the carpet.

I would say the same that in this case it was probably be sumbissing to you. Your body language as well as your tone of voice would have emphasised that you were not happy with that behaviour. If it happens again, and he rolls on his back, I would ignore it. Just incase it leads to issues later on. It is good that he has recognised you are "the boss" however if you then find he does it all the time you say no (even if not as sternly as you had done this time) he may do it at the slightest no and inhibit his long term confidence.

If you are going to to use two commands I would use two sets of collars and leads. IMO the dogs learn very quickly between an informal set of rules and collars/leads to a formal use of collars and leads. To teach "Lets Go" and "Heel" on the same set of collars and leads can confuse the puppy, as you are asking them to do two separate exercises. This is the last thing you want to happen. Remember the dog does not know what "heel" means. You have to teach them the action to go with the word. If your puppy loves food, then it is best done on an empty stomach. They will be more enclined to work for you for food on an empty stomach than if they are full. At this early age, training should be very short and positive with breaks of games. I normally play tug as it is an intetractive game between myself and the dog. Some will say not to ever play tug, but if you control the game, it is not a huge issue. If the dog mouths, accidently "bites" or hits you with their teeth you or become too rough, end the game. There are plenty of tips, rules and how to play tug properly if you do a google search.

If you are wanting to do obedience later down the track the command is "Heel" This should always be given in a cheerful voice as you want the dog to follow. The heel position is next to your left leg. Some think the dog shoulder parallel with your left leg, others think it is the head level with your left leg. Depends on what breed you have I think too. Food rewards frequently even every step is great for first teaching a puppy where "heel" is. Once the dog has gotten the idea of heel, you may want to stagger the food rewards a little. Teach your puppy on an empty stomach if you use food. Also remember if you are using a lot of food to factor this into the overal intake for the dog for the day.

Seeker, Here are a few that are around you (Presuming you live near RSPCA Grounds) CCCQ Affilliated Clubs Southside Dog Obedience Club: 0419026360 www.geocities.com/southside.dogs They train Monday Nights at Runcorn Obedience Dog Club of Brisbane: 0411 017 454 They train at Oxley Private Groups: Bonnies Dog Club: 3300 2959 www.bonnies.com.au/ They have a number of training centres around briasbane. Wagtails: You will need to look in white pages. They used to be at Sumner park Training in individual. IMO positive/negative works well. When people think of negative, they think yank on chain..not necessarily.. a small AH AH is negative as it is a correction, very light negative correction.. but correction none the less. Reward the good. Jackpot the excellent.. and correct (as necessary) the negative... But REWARD the positive. Seeker.. unfortunately the RSPCA (My partner used to work there, so know the blinkered thinking first hand) one is at one end of the scale and the other at Mt Gravatt Show grounds are at the opposite end of the scale.. One does not charge a great deal (I think)... You do not learn a lot. .the other charges heaps and destroys the temperament of dogs through excessively harsh methods.

because their trainers are idiots. They are so blinkered on their thinking and so biased towards breeds it is not funny. Everything is definatly black and white with them. If a dog is doing something obvious.. IT IS THIS or THAT.. not looking at the whole picture. They also operate on purely positive training. That is NO negative what so ever. It has been pretty much proven that PP training does not work for 99% of the population. Some of the principles of PP are common sense.. To stop a puppy chewing shoes, do not leave shoes out for puppy to chew. Once puppy has shoe.. distract it with something else and exchange for shoe. (one simple example of PP training) There are other training groups operating at Centenary (Jindalee), Durack, Oxley, Runcorn. Just thinking of suburbs around you. Another one to avoid is the group that trains at the Mt Gravatt Show grounds on a Tuesday night. THey are the opposite.. If a dog does not do something, yank its head off.

I had sent you a PM re Pedigree. However they do have a premium range called Advance. In that range they have one called puppy rehydratible. The beauty of this is the kibble is really small and only takes about 10 minutes or less to rehydrate. Weetbix is only a filler. It has no nutritional value at all. Lactose Free or Goats Milk are good choices as well. Pedigree soaked in milk is better than weetbix soaked in milk. There is some goodness in base grade dog foods, maybe not a lot, but more than weetbix.

I love health days run by the CCCQ...... Basic check over, teeth, heart/lungs, temperature, annual vaccination..... C4..... $28 Of course need to be a CCCQ member. Other than that.. only time they go to the vets is when there is something wrong

THey can be used as said above. However if you have other dogs who love to chew .. I would not use any tick collar (stated on the packet) , as the other dogs can ingest the poison straight from the collar. The only other product is Proban tablets which is one tablet/10kgs every second day. Pain the the backside to administer, but probably more effective than collars and frontline/advantix. Just a reminder to everyone: But still no matter what method you use to control ticks, the dogs still should get at least daily if not twice daily physical checks for ticks. I know if many cases where animals have been on various tick "preventatives" and still come down with paralysis ticks. It is expensive to treat, and depending on how badly the dog has succumbed to the tick, may have long lasting effects.

I would all worm her as well. It will not hurt. At worst, she may have the runs for 24 hours. But that can be normal when worming puppies. Before worming her, I would make sure all poop is picked up in your yard. Then keep a close eye on poops for the next 24 hours. If she has a worm burden, you should see it in the poops during this time. I would also make sure those poops are picked up as quick as possible

Yeah I know. There is another there who I sware teaches kindy garden.. Cause thats how they talk to you... You feel like putting you hand up and going miss, miss or sir, sir. He is more damaged I think mentally than physically. I have managed to get soo much trust back. Then to have this. one step forward.. ten backward. On a positive note, I have just returned home from showing two days at Nanango. Four shows on two days. The first was a male, he wanted to lean away.. kinda expected as I greatly suspect he was bashed by a man. Second show, was better. Got a little whale eyed, but stood there.. Did not want to skit away. Today.. Male judge again was first up. Wary, but did not move. Second show was a very large lady. His previous owners were very large. He actually stood there. Did not take him to the show to get points on him so much. As someone said.. I am already against the 8 ball trying to show a tricolour. Dunna care..Getting people to go over him..in a more relaxed manner than that of a trial ring.. hopefully will give better results. Two weeks time.. another four shows in two days.... lets see how badly I get sunburnt on that one. Mum suffered more than dogs.