Pinchy

The only people I know in real life who call their dogs fur-babies actually think that their dogs are their children and treat them the same. Naughty spoiled and untrained:( Spoken to like humans and laughed and cuddled and ignored when they bark and jump and carry on for hours on end. Erk. Fur-babies just reminds me of these dogs. It's not a term I use. My children are my children and dogs are dogs. Love them all though❤️. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know if you know about this but there was a dog lost last year named Maisey in Sydney. Her owner created a Facebook page and had about a thousand people putting flyers up and looking for her all over. They found her. Anyway to get to the point they have a page called please help find maisey. They will share your photo and info if you post it to the page, in turn their followers will hopefully share too. May help get the word to a few more people. Good luck!!! (I dont know how to share the link). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The article sounds great! I know about the yellow ribbon idea but only because I have seen it on the internet. I think there are a heck of a lot of dog owners who don't use the internet at all so a wider audience needs to be reached;) Newspapers, posters in clubs and vets etc. I think are a great idea. Good on you for doing the article, can't wait to read it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks guys again for all the suggestions:) tonight I am going with devon and chicken roll, though reading this I may have cut them too small! Haha they're about 4mm lol. Oops! I'll check out that sheet too thanks Sheena! We are leaving in about 40 mins and he is a bit poopy that he hasn't had dinner yet hanging in the kitchen giving me puppy eyes hehehe. I'll see how he goes and how much he eats tonight and decide if he needs any dinner when we get back. I'm not expecting too much of him tonight but do secretley hope he is not a total goof ball in class, imagine the reputation damage we could do to BCs . I do hope it's a good class though. The instructor sounded great on the phone. Will let you all know how we go:) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I found some old threads;) lauging at cheerios! Have to yry that! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Time for another random question from me:) We are starting puppy class tonight. I'm super excited, I hope it's good:) They said to bring enough treats for an hour. That seems like a lot of treats!! I'm looking for suggestions of some things to keep interesting. So far devon and chicken have been a hit. I don't think kibble would be enticing enough unless he was really hungry. (I know not to feed him before we go). Cheese and carrot seem good to. Can I mix it up or am better off keeping to one food per session? Also I know they bury food and eat dirt and things but is it really ok to leave say meat or cheese in my bag for an hour and then use it? I always worry about it not being in the fridge, is that crazy? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks guys:) having fun here as always!! I seem to always have a pocket full of treats and a toy or two tucked into my shorts haha. I'm trying to be calm and gentle, I knew they could be softies:) I don't want to scare the poor thing:) I think he was a little tired this morning when we walked, it made it a calmer 15 minutes for sure. I bundle up the leash a bit so he doesn't get such a run up, that way he is closer to me all the time. If it tightens he sometimes sits but he knows that we will stop and wait for the leash to slacken. Here he is now asleep under my chair. I'll try for a better piccy when he wakes up:). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We had a great 15 minute walk on the lead today (i kept the flat collar and fabric lead for now). No leash biting and hardly any pulling at all. The mouthing is still a work in progress. Distraction followed by time out for escalation seems to be working at the moment. He seems to be doing it less but still has those silly periods. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Persephone:) working on it. Slowly but surely. Been a while since I've had a puppy. And my old dog was a lot to live up to;) want to make sure I do this right!!

Thank you for the encouragement:) he is good generally and learning quickly at other things. It's just mostly this yhat I am not on top of. Even today with me taking it slowly and rewarding small steps his leash walking is way better. I think it's the devon in my hand!!

Thanks Kelpie I'll try to be super firm. I need to fix this now.

Thanks guys. Walking out of the room gets my ankles nipped. Standing looking at the ceiling with crossed arms works for a minute but taking a step starts it again. A toy distracts for a second if I'm lucky. Nekhbet the growling no, and thumb under the tongue works for an instant too but as soon as my hand is out we are back to silly.

We did a few short leash sessions today, he was ok for a few minutes:) Just quickly, with the nipping: is time out in his crate a bad idea? I don't want to make the crate a negative place, he doesn't use it during the day much but sleeps in there at night. If I put him in there with a chee toy or bone is that reinforcing that he will get a treat when he uses his teeth?? At the moment the only way I can get him to stop the mouthing is to physically remove him. Toys, food distraction aren't working when he is in silly mode. I just don't want the crate to be a bad place. I did put him in the laundry once but he went off scratching and whining. He knows in his crate if he wines for a minute he wont come out but if he is settled he will and he settles quickly in there. His crate was in my bedroom for sleeping but this afternoon I have moved it to the loungeroom so he can see us. For bed he gets his kong but for biting I have just been popping him in there calmly. A play pen is no good, he can climb:| I want to make sure this isn't a punishment just a removal to calm for a minute. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Haredown:) we are starting puppy class with someone down here who has a great reputation as a police dog handler. I have spoken to him on the phone and am really happy with how he came across. I also have some good feedback about the obedience club in my area so that will be next when he's a bit older:) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm trying to answer everyone but I have no idea how to quote:( I usually do one of three things with his kibble. Spread it around and get him to look for it, use it to train at night or he sits to have it in his bowl. I think I am confusing him making all different ways to get dinner. I'm such a softie! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Again thanks for the help. I've had him for two weeks. That's why I am here asking for opinions:) He has his mat in the loungeroom that I work with him on every day. Treat him there, bones there, calm there, toys go there. He has been habing kibble for morning and the bones at night. He has them inside on his mat so I can keep an eye on him. I'll swap to a bone in the morning when we are doing the busy coffee out the door at 6 and see how that goes. I'm not having the coffee then, just trying to get hubby out the door for work. I take him out again with me while I am having coffee and we do some quiet stuff early before the kids get up. Then he usually goes back to sleep while I sort the kids for school. I don't think I am doing a bad job. I researched and waited for years to get him. Sometimes I just question whether I am doing the right things and it's nice to be able to talk to like minded people. The people I know with dogs are either treated like humans and are total ratbags or are ignored outside like a plant. I don't want either. I think I actually read too much and it confuses me Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks I'll try to keep the training really short and sweet:) Even first thing in the morning after a wee while we are getting coffee and hubby ready to go to work he has a silly nippy 15 minutes going after feet and work socks. Should I be putting him somewhere or giving him food/chew to distract him?

He is not adverse to leash walking as such just wants to bound and investigate people or whatever. He's just really gung ho or stubborn/defiant. But not all the time. I feel like I'm painting a bad picture. If I ignore the leash antics he calms which is what I'm doing, then we step again and he bolts for something interesting. I think I am expecting him just to walk around with me ( yard/loungeroom etc.) I need to take more time with short steps I think. He just gets sick of the training quickly being so small and turns into a nip monster.

Thanks everybody for the replies. The chewing on the leash is not a huge issue, he does it only when he is in a silly mood. It's more the pulling and wanting to greet everyone and everything. I just thought a harness would stop him yrying to pull with his throat. More for his comfort than my control. I'll stick with the collar and find a chain leash this weekend. And just focus on some lead work a few times a day. The nipping and biting is actually really really frustrating me. He gets into a silly mood and starts to nip our feet and my hands and arms. I am treating calm behaviour, sitting, looking to me, on your mat, stay. But then he suddenly gets over it and gets silly and starts nipping and it bloody hurts. I usually ignore him. If it gets too much I pop him in another room for a few minutes to chill. Then we try again calmly. It's incredibly hard to stand still when he's gnawing on my ankles! Remember I have only had him for two weeks and I think he has learned heaps in this time. Maybe I am expecting too much. Though I admit the pulling and nipping are giving me trouble. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm after some advice on the right type of collar or harness for my eleven week old border collie. Right now we are doing some lead work and I have just a flat collar. Pup pulls and chews the lead and jumps and tries to run in all directions and I'm feeling like the collar is not really suitable. I don't want to hurt him when I stop when he pulls or when I'm trying to hold him back from jumping for example. I have seen heaps of people around with the harness types. Would these be ok for me? Are they adjustable for while he is growing? Is there anything else I can use that is better? He is great - super mouthy at the moment which we are working on (i have many holes in my hands and feet from needle teeth)! He is very food motivated which is good but he is quite strong willed. We start puppy class this week :)

He is majorly cute:) thanks guys!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He had the third tonight instead of his kibble for dinner. I gave it to him inside so I could sit and watch. I started with me holding it then I let him do his own thing. He took it to his mat, a few times he took off but I put him back on the mat to finish it so I could keep an eye on him. The last bit he scarfed a bit but he was pretty good munching and crunching. A quick pic cause I can't help it (and I just figured out tapatalk the other day)!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is a quick pic of him the other day:) it's soooo hard to catch a good photo!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you so much guys I feel way better about this now than the other day! I cut the frames in thirds roughly. Mostly because this will be his first 'meal' and I was stressing that he might get an upset stomach. I think he will enjoy it so much! I've spent a bit of time reading raw websites and I think it seems fairly straight forward. The supplement thing is a little over my head right now but I'll keep digesting information as I go.

I can see where the vets are coming from with the obstruction stories but I like to think that I am a pretty responsible and as educated as I an be. They would see all kinds of cooked bones and things I guess that would cause problems. That won't be me though:)