Kavik

What type of clicker are you using? A box clicker is the loudest. i-clicks are softer. Or you can use one of those pens with the clicky lids. Or you can use a word instead, most common one for marking behaviours is "Yes!"

That is an interesting question. Diesel broke his leg at 6 months, and had to be confined to a crate for 6 weeks. He is a very social, friendly dog but does not have heaps of drive. He will work to please you but does not have the intensity or speed that the Kelpies have. He has always been like that, pretty laid back, though when he gets excited he can be a bit crazy, but this is not that often. I doubt that his broken leg had much to do with it, probably more his temperament and my training (after Zoe, I wanted more laid back, more social etc and he certainly is that ). Vets love him as he is easy to handle and a big cuddle bum and gets excited at the idea of going to the vet since he has had to go so often :p

I am now doing channel weaves with mine. With Zoe I started at the club, where they had guides and you lured them through. Didn't work that well, she was slow (and is normally a fast dog) and got lost without the guides. So I retaught it with the channel and she improved. So I started Kaos with the channel and he is going well. The channel is still open, so he just has to run through not weave, but we are working on entrance angles and understanding that he goes through the channel no matter where we are. Hopefully this will teach an independent weave where I don't have to be right next to him - he is going to be fast!

I use a fine tooth comb for the Kelpies

I agree with Dasha (Kaos does it when playing with Diesel, and will pounce on him), however it is not the best thing to do to other dogs, some could take offence to being 'eyed'.

Having worked at a dog daycare where all the dogs had to be desexed, I can tell you that desexing does not always stop humping! As it is behavioural not necessarily sexual. Seriously we had serial humpers and sometimes 3 or more humping each other I desexed Zoe before her first season. Diesel at around 8 months, Kaos at around 9 months. Was going to wait with Kaos but he started getting a bit big for his britches and I wanted to curb his problem behaviour earlier rather than later (with training too). One thing I noticed, bitches desexed before their first season and males desexed early (like 8 weeks) have smaller um bits not sure if it makes any difference long term.

I use a fine comb with close teeth on Zoe - amazed that I got nearly another dog's worth of hair off a Kelpie the other week!

Do you want him to toilet inside as an adult? Apart from the pet loo not sure what to suggest there - newspaper is traditional but not absorbent enough for long term use. Those dog toilet pads? Are they any good? Is there a courtyard/shared yard for the apartment you can use to toilet him in until he has had his vaccinations? Dogs often develop surface preferences for toileting for life. If you want him to prefer grass, I would start him on that sooner rather than later. The main thing is patience and persistence

Hi When you can't watch him and he is confined, confine him to an area that is easy to clean (no carpet). Crate training would be ideal for these times. Is there a reason you can't take him outside to go to the toilet? I would imagine when fully grown his business will be a substantial size and personally I would not want it anywhere in my house. If you want him to go outside eventually, it would be easier to do that straight away, so he doesn't learn it is OK to go in the house. If you must train him to go inside, pick a spot that you want him to go and be persistent in taking him to the same area. There are a few things on the market like the pet loo which have fake grass and look easy enough to clean. Take him to his area frequently, after meals, after play, after waking, when he looks like he needs to go. Lots of praise when he does go. Supervise at all times so that he does not have the chance to make a mess. You can attach his lead to you if you want so you know where he is.

I did the scent detection course through NDTF and he was one of the lecturers - very cool and high energy trainer!

It may not necessarily be a dominance thing you are seeing. The new pup may be overwhelmed at the rough play of the Bulldog. It is best to carefully supervise play with older dogs and pups and make sure the pup isn't hurt or scared. Time out and cooling down period when things get rough - separate them. The pup may not be comfortable with surroundings yet or may not have met large playful dogs. Most likely is not feeling comfortable hence growling. My Kelpie pup barked at my older dogs at first, supervised introduction for a few weeks and now they are mates. But on the dominance thing - individual dog personality determines this, not necessarily age based or gender based.

Not sure but she is very cute!

K9 Force sells them

L&L - put a bandanna over the prong - then no-one will know anyway - works for me! And I get heaps of comments on how cute the bandannas are, and people seem less scared of them cause it makes them look cute

Zoe has come in too fast on occasion, jumped on me to slow down, landed in a sit then anticipated the finish! Very naughty and but I couldn't help but laugh - she looked so proud of herself! Normally she was pretty good though.

I feed chicken frames.

Ah the sliding glass door! Your pup can see you but not get to you! My parents have a sliding glass door and my dogs kick up more of a stink when there outside than at home because of the glass door. Apart from covering the door so pup can't see you - you said pup was crate trained? What about putting pup in the crate while you eat with a kong filled with food or peanut butter etc?

How do your kids act around the dog? Running, screaming, rough play excites puppies and excitement often leads to mouthing. So I would suggest having the kids be calm around the pup, and try to have the pup calm around the kids. That probably means keeping the pup on lead around them. A good recall will be invaluable here too for when you take the lead off as you can call your pup to you before things get out of hand. Also depending on the ages of the kids they might be able to do some training - ask for a sit for example, for a treat, then the pup learns to listen to them and learns that sitting not mouthing gets rewarded. ETA: remember to reward calm behaviour, when your pup is lying quietly around the kids. Maybe also teach 'on your mat' - for your dog to go to a mat/bed and lie quietly on command.

What breed do you have? When does your pup exhibit these behaviours? What have you tried so far to remedy the problems?

You have a 4 month old pup right? Unless you are having serious problems with your pup (where a qualified behaviourist would be useful), if you are looking for obedience work with your dog, why not try a local obedience club? I can't remember if you said where you are in the other thread, but if you do someone can let you know of a good place, and they are cheaper than boarding/training or a franchise like Bark Busters. Good ones also use more positive techniques and show you how to communicate and train your dog.

So far this is Kaos's favourite toy. The squeaky is broken though - will have to get another though he still loves it without the squeaky. Ruffians Toys - we have the bear http://www.suburbandoghouse.com/Ruffians_B...-zx327%2011.htm

Most likely they use compulsion based training - guide/physically place the dogs into position. As with most things, there are good places and bad. I am wary of boarding/training places after my parents sent a Beagle to be trained. They had said positive methods used. Not only was a check chain on the dog (I have no problem with them, but a place using positive only wouldn't use them) but it was obvious from the way the dog acted that they had used harsh methods, possibly even hitting him from the way he cowered. And he was not a soft dog who would cower easily.

Yeah it was a while ago though - maybe you forgot you advised me :rolleyes: He is pretty good now, I would love to try him on some proper equipment to see how he goes.

I had problems in the beginning as Kaos was just very enthusiastic and wouldn't stay still for a second! I had done rear end awareness previously but I think that confused him to start with as he thought that's what we were doing and he would swing around to face me. What worked was mostly patience, perserverence and slowly making it harder. sidoney suggested first I aim for all 4 feet on, then three feet, then the hind feet, which has worked and he is pretty good now. I am now making it a ramp to make it more realistic. After reading other responses, I should have raised it off the ground more to make it easier. Oh well

Those look cool! I might get one with a sqeaky as Kaos loves those!