Kavik

I'm not sure how accurate mine were - I also put 'sometimes' a lot!

Skin problems can be tricky, because the symptoms in dogs are almost always the same - fur loss and often itchiness, but can be a range of things. Best to take the dog to the vet. My dog has a contact allergy and is itchy on his tummy, inside of hind legs and tail.

Diesel: Prey 55 Pack 50 Defence Fight 20 Defence Flight 0 Zoe: Prey 80 Pack 30 Defence Fight 45 Defence Flight 20

It is about time for another drive thread :rolleyes: Triggers for walks/training are: Leads (of course!), bait bag, keys, sometimes I think just body language? as Zoe will sometimes start barking in anticipation before I get anything. And location for training. If I get Zoe to sit near something she could jump, she is instantly ready and waiting for the command to jump it, so not sure how to phrase that

Definitely Lablover! And I have been guilty of this with Zoe at times. I have noticed a marked improvement lately as somehow I seem to have broken the habit and am calmer when walking her even when there are other dogs around, and she has not been as reactive.

My Kelpie cross is also weak nerved. She is dog aggressive as well. Noises can give her a fright, and she can take a while to recover. I had hoped to trial her in obedience or agility (more likely agility as that is what she really loves) but I got too frustrated with her dog aggression, especially at agility which is high stimulation and excitement. So for now we will just train at home until I can become a good enough trainer to fix her dog aggression. I am finding my GSD who is more stable easier in some ways as he is not fussed by anything, but at times can be more difficult to motivate. Very, very different to my Kelpie X in every respect in temperament! I am getting a Kelpie later this year, with the plan on agility and herding.

I do one of two things (always had black nailed dogs!): If I can see a bit that is 'hooked' and looks thinner than the rest, I cut that bit. Otherwise, I just cut a little bit, as I am always worried about hitting the quick Haven't cut it yet!

If I see another dog I turn around and go in the other direction or cross the road. It works well, and now I can do this without Zoe going off at the other dog. I've had a few incidents lately where the dog was quite close or off lead and I was able to get her to change direction and continue on without her going off. Even when the other dog ends up reasonably close behind us, which used to really cause a problem.

This is what I do with Zoe There is a house with two Maltese at the front with a see-through fence and at first Zoe would go crazy at them. I started walking at the edge of the footpath and focussing her with food. Now I can walk quite close - as soon as we get near the house Zoe looks at me and knows she will be rewarded for heeling

What are you using for motivation to keep her attention on you instead of the distraction? Is it a powerful enough motivator? Is the distraction level too high when you train? Maybe you need to work at focus and attention so that she does not require so much of a correction to get her attention. Equipment wise, if you can't control her on a martingale, and you don't want to use a head collar, I think a check chain is probably your best bet. Hopefully some others will also give suggestions.

The thing is, remember when K9 Force drew the diagram with drive initialisation and drive peak and the distance between them? I think with Zoe the distance between the two is small, she will go from very calm to very crazy in a very short period of time. That means that there is only a small window in which to work her before it gets too much? I guess I will have to show you guys so you see what I mean She also goes nuts over light - torch light, light reflections. As well as being a good ratter and interested rabbiter. Diesel is not as interested in these things. Not surprisingly, he is much easier to live with

Count me in as interested!

I actually have similar prey drive problems for both my dogs, so I must be doing something wrong. They are motivated for toys in the yard (balls, tugs, even sticks and blades of grass) but only in selected areas outside of the yard. Diesel will chase the tug at training but not on walks. Diesel is a bit better than Zoe because I have done more work with him.

myszka I would have no problems keeping Zoe's attention if I wa using something alive :rolleyes: . Her prey drive for living things is just insane (she has been trying to get a blue tongue that has hidden all afternoon . . . ) but unfortunately I have not been able to successfully move that to toys. I may be able to, but once she does get excited, her arousal means that her aggression skyrockets. I found that out at agility. Her runs were brilliant and she would not leave the course to get to another dog, but if one came up to her when she was running, or when we were waiting, it was bad news. I'm still not sure whether it would be better to rev her up than keep her calm.

My old dog is a little like that LOL! She is VERY food motivated and I used that to train her (well, as well as I could when I was 13!). I remember trying to teach her to go through the tunnel and through weave poles (admittently when she was older - about 10 years old ) and she wanted the food so much she jumped on top of the tunnel instead of going through and jumped all the weave guides! She just couldn't think straight with the food sometimes!

My kelpie is dog aggressive too. I only worry about using prey drive in training because she is reactive, and I worry that when she is excited for the prey item, she will be more reactive and aggressive towards other dogs. I have found that an exciting atmosphere such as when we did agility made her worse. At the moment I use food as I can focus her with this and while it keeps her attention as she is very food motivated, it keeps her calmer too. Is this likely to be a problem with working in drive?

I'm also interested!

What type of dog are you getting? Some dogs are good micers/ratters too I have been told that Zoe adored ratting when she stayed with a friend - I have to keep a close eye on her here as she does eye off my pet rat at times!

And if you are serious, you probably don't have to have done obedience first.

I'm pretty sure they would allow a white Shepherd. You may get some looks though.

I am looking into doing tracking next year with Diesel - the club is likely to be out near Penrith, at least as far out as the Schutzhund club!

Here are some breeds that can compete in Schutzhund if they have the right temperament. Mostly herding and guarding breeds. GSD Belgian Shepherd (all varieties) Rotty Dobe Boxer Giant Schnauzer Black Russian Terrier Airedale Cattle Dog Amstaff American Bulldog Beauceron Dutch Shepherd Bouvier des Flandres Have I missed any?

I went to the Schutzhund Nationals this year, held in Sydney. Very impressive work! I watched the Schutzhund 3 obedience and protection routines, the highest levels. On the day I only saw GSD and Malinois, but other breeds do participate. Here is a link with more information: http://www.sportdogaustralia.com/ This is the Sydney club where the event was held (has some pics) http://www.wsdc.sportdogaustralia.com/ Here is a Malinois link that has a video of the 2nd place protection routine http://caninesquad.com/videoClips/2005AUSCProtection.html

lilysmum haven is giving the operant conditioning definition of punishment. Anything which decreases the frequency of the behaviour is termed punishment in operant conditioning terms. While it is an emotive term, here it has a simple scientific meaning in learning theory. It would be useful to have a link to operant conditioning terms

Which behaviourist did you have come out?