Leah82

At Mt Margaret, near Marysville. There wasn't too much snow on the ground but we had fun anyway :D

week 26/52: I'll have to admit to not taking this one :p

I met a mini schnauzer today, such a gorgeous breed. So glad Abby is on her way to being a happy and confident little dog

What did you find uncomfortable about the third video? SG is certainly persistent with getting the tugging! I'm not sure I can articulate it properly Kavik, and Mrs Rusty Bucket did a better job of it than me. To start with, I don't understand why a head halter is required for this particular dog. I agree there's a place for them, but to me that should be limited to reactive dogs that needs to be redirected quickly on walks etc (and that sort of class environment would be highly unsuitable to these dogs). Then, the dog starts scratching at it when stressed, and gets corrected for it. I don't get why one would punish a dog for an emotional response, instead of trying to address the issue? There's another example when she asks the dog for a sit and visibly yanks it in position with the halter. That but really made me cringe. I'm just confused about how she keeps on harping on about letting the dog make choices, but then puts the dog in a situation where it can't make any choice (being held head up tight on the halter). The other videos had me pretty convinced on signing up, but that segment left me a bad after taste. From my point of view it's about the dog feeling like they made a choice even though you're blocking them from making any other choice than the one you want initially. Once you're dog is more likely to make the right choice then you spend less time blocking the bad choices. I can tell my dog to sit before I open the crate but then each time I go to open the crate they are waiting for me to tell them before sitting. If they know I won't be letting them out of the crate until they are sitting then it will become an automated response and essentially they are making the choice, if they don't want to come out the crate then they don't have to sit.

The worst part is not knowing when she's going to doing it again, the last one was 18 months ago and that's a long time in doggy years. Unfortunately I didn't have the will power to hold off this time

registration closes in 47 hours! So Saturday around midday depending on what state your in

definitely get a surface spray, you can use that outside as well and a flea bomb for the next time you're all out of the house for a few hours. And if Odie is not reacting to the bites you could just use a fine tooth comb and lots of baths to get rid of them and hopefully the fleas haven't laid to many eggs. If she does have them it's likely that they have set up shop in her lady bits. Horrible to think about I know but they like the warmth so if they're going to be anywhere they'll be there. I had a couple of small flea episodes last year that were easy to get rid of, the dogs just picked up a couple at the park so we got rid of them pretty quickly without the need to use strong chemicals. However after spending a few hours at Kepala for the first time they both picked up a lot of fleas and unfortunately I didn't notice until a week later when we had to tackle it with the strong stuff (comfortis, surface spray and flea bomb)

Google maps will tell you where Mt Margaret Rd is, it comes off from Buxton-Marysville Rd. It's mostly unsealed hence the chains are absolutely needed if you have a 2wd. It you continue onto Blue Range Rd you'll come across a closed rd on the right side heading south. We parked out the front of the closed rd and wandered in and let the dogs have a ball :)

It's pretty great seeing dogs have so much fun in the snow, especially those precious few who don't even like getting their feet wet *cough* Sarah *cough* :p What I didn't expect was Collie's reaction to snow melting off the trees and crashing to the ground all around us, he was going nuts After Mid July we'll be mostly free on Saturdays and Sundays and to be honest I'm not against taking a last minute day off work. It can be pretty hard to get the right conditions to go up And if anyone wants directions to go up themselves let me know

I'm on my grooming course on Saturdays for the next 4 weeks

bumping this up, forecast is looking even better for Sunday :D

I'm going to preface this by saying I know nothing about breeding but I'm curious as to why you would plan to give your brother a pup at 6 weeks in the first place?

I've had really good success getting our cocker to play tug when I get home from work as his arousal levels are really high, not much during other times so I'm going with in for the moment. I get home tonight and OH was home before me, apparently they were playing tug for a good 5 mins and OH 'rewarded' him by leaving the tug toy with him. *sigh*

My next puppy is probably about 5 years away but even still I'll probably wait for it to be named by the breeder and have it's day to day name along the same lines. Collie's registered name is Pinewaite Rum and Cola so according to the OH it was either going to be Rummy or Collie

maybe try feeding your dogs on either side of a baby gate? I found this helped with our poodle x (although she was rescue). This will stop her stealing from the other dogs bowl and if she want to eat she can clearly see that she has to eat out of her own bowl and like you said there is an aspect of encouragement but not because there is a fear their food will be taken by the other dog. And as others have suggested leave the food down for 15 mins and pick it up. Also I think consistency helps, I would be feeding them in the same place each time so they become familiar with their eating spot.

I can't comment too much on the clippers, I have these which work well enough but I haven't had the chance to compare them to any others. As far as blades go you want a shorter blade for sensitive areas (belly/feet), the longer blades can prod a bit and knowing cockers they can be a bit dramatic from time to time, so definitely get a 10 blade as well to start with. The scissors look good, I also forgot to mention I have thinning scissors as well which can be good to take some of the bulk out of some areas without loosing overall length (like ears) I got mine pretty cheap from horseland but they are like these ones http://clipperworld.com.au/scissors/wahl-it-scissors/wahl-italian-series-5-5-single-sided-thinner-p131.html I wouldn't worry about a comb set to start with, see how you go with the clippers and you can decide later if you want to try them.

I groom my english cocker (pic attached), he's clipped because he's pretty much all undercoat (a result of being clipped as a puppy). Cockers should be hand stripped but it's very time consuming and generally done only by those who show. I'm assuming as you're asking about clippers that yours have been clipped in the past. I pretty much use a 7 blade all over and sometimes the 10 blade for his face, belly and feet in summer. Make sure you do the insides of the ears as well so they get enough airflow The lines down his black are because I have a skip tooth 7 blade which is good for thick curly coats, if you want a smoother look get a 7F. You can see I leave his feathers, these sometimes get clipped off in summer. I have a couple of comb attachments but haven't managed to get these to stay on :p Other things that I have: Nail clippers Hair scissors for cutting out the odd matt/knot in between grooms and to maintain his ears, feathers and feet Slicker brush Comb I use baby wipes to clean his ears, he's never had a problem with them though otherwise I would invest in some proper ear cleaner Also if you want to go for the proper cocker look check out some youtube clips :D Good luck I've been grooming ours for about a year and love being able to experiment with it.

We have tentative plans to head to the snow this Sunday, the closest snow in state forest (dog friendly) is at Mt Margaret outside of Marysville which sits at about 1100-1200m. Because it's generally borderline snow territory you need to keep a close eye on the snow forecast and drop everything and go when it's good. I use this forecast which is the closest resort to Mt Margaret and Sunday is looking pretty good... http://www.mountainwatch.com/snow-forecasts/Australia/Lake%20Mountain%20Resort It takes about 2 hours to get there (more or less depending on where you're coming from and if you need to stop for hire chains/apparel etc) If anyone is interested in tagging along and introducing their dogs to the white stuff let me know, last time we found a closed road that had a decent amount of coverage on it, great for frolicking, snow man building or even sledding (you'd have to be dragged along though) :D Things you'll need: Snow Chains - the road is unsealed and is not cleared by anyone, fine for 2wd's though. Snow Clothes - Jacket, gloves, pants, snow boots, beanie (feel free to improvise and layer up but the more warm and water proof you are the more fun you will have, also snow boarding boots get tiring to walk in so gum boots with layers of socks or snow walking boots are a must) Towels - for the doggies once they're ready for the trip home Also Doggy Jumpers/PJs for the trip home because they'll be cold, wet and exhausted Other than that food and drinks for people and dogs as it's a state forest not a resort, there are no shops. This will hopefully be the first trip of many this winter so next time we plan to head up I'll probably be updating this thread, so if you can't make it this time let me know if you're interested next time.

I was googling scent training for my cocker the other day, this video has a few good ideas in it.

the winner appears to have some serious health issues as well for a supposed shitzu x chi. How is this even legal

How does everyone spread out their sessions (or are planning to)? I work from 8 to 4.30 so I'm not sure if a morning session would be productive as they are usually still tucked up in bed when I leave for work. Just wondering how much time I would need to leave between sessions if I did 2 in the evening.

I think Hankdog is the clear winner, love the creativity :) Your prize is a picture of my dog... enjoy :D (note he is not a German shepherd, unfortunately I couldn't organise one at such short notice)

Look who I met today! For those that want an update she no longer has an issue with food, practically turned her nose up at liver treat I offered her and she's the absolute sweetest dog. She's enjoying her new job as a teachers assistant :)

Australian shepherds are often called Aussies Belgian shepherds are sometimes called Belgians Why are German shepherds not called Germans? Discuss... The person that can come up with the funniest response gets a prize

ok you enablers. I've moved some things around, vowed to never buy lunch again and signed up I am leah82 there as well