Coracina

I really like that idea Sheena! I might borrow that - should help with some of the problems my club is having with our intro class (not enough experienced instructors to run it well at the moment ) As far as harnesses go, I like this type (used as a back-attach): http://ttouchsa-shop.com.au/products/lori-stevens-balance-harness-neck-buckle?variant=1188205633 This one is similar, nicer quality webbing but no slider on the top and no neck buckle: http://www.haqihana.com/en/accessories/harnesses/harness-l-turquoise Both have a lot of adjustment so you can get it well clear of their axilla (armpit), don't sit over the shoulders and seem to be comfortable. I don't run my dog in a harness but I do train in one if they're going to be onleash a lot - my stresshead dog seems a lot more relaxed in a harness than on a collar (which yeah, I know, poor leash training foundations, I'm working on it!).

I've been struggling with teaching Kip's weave poles for months now. He's been consistently good on his entries (yay 2-by-2), but missed at least one gap in about 50% of attempts and hasn't been improving with repetition. So, I finally got the camera out and videoed him to try and work out what was going on. Had to put it in slow-motion to see it - he's trying to weave with his eyes shut. Anyone else have a training moment where they realised their dog was being a bit "special"?

You can use medication for dogs with separation anxiety, it's a bit of a question of severity as to whether it's needed. From your posts it sounds like Maple's anxiety is mild to moderate, which wouldn't usually warrant medication, but that's a call for you, your trainer and your vet to make together. Anyway, did my best to answer your questions so you can go in fully informed :) There's a few different sorts of drug, but they all work by altering levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. People with moderate to severe anxiety or other mental illnesses often have unusual levels of neurotransmitters, it's pretty reasonable to assume that applies to dogs too, so it makes sense to try to bring those chemicals back to normal levels. They're the same drugs that are used for people with anxiety and depression. There's only one drug actually registered for separation anxiety in dogs - Clomicalm (clomipramine hydrochloride). Being registered means it's been proven to be safe and effective. Thing is, it's an older style of drug that's hardly used in people any more since we've got equally effective options with less side effects, but it's still the only one that's been fully tested in dogs. It's also pretty expensive (that testing doesn't come cheap). To go with one of the newer (and cheaper) drugs, like Prozac (fluoxetine) for example, you have to go off-label, which means you don't have the same extent of formal testing even though it's fairly widely used in dogs and has plenty of anecdotal support. The prescribing veterinarian takes on a lot more responsibility for off-label medication, so most vets without further training or experience in behaviour would be reluctant to go off-label, which is pretty understandable. They're quite safe drugs, outside of overdoses, but side-effects are common especially at first. Lethargy, nausea and vomiting are most common. It's also important to not miss doses or stop giving the medication suddenly, if you want to stop giving the drug you need to gradually reduce the dose over weeks to months to avoid side-effects. Cost depends on what drug you end up using, how big Maple is and what dose rate she needs. Some dogs just seem to need a higher dose than others for the medication to be effective, brains are weird.

Getting a little off topic, but for anyone curious about the trainer/behaviourist terminology; It's unfortunately really unclear and not particularly well-regulated in Australia at the moment. Anyone can call themselves a trainer, behaviourist, dog psychologist, dog behaviour specialist, whatever qualifications they have (or don't have). So me with my no qualifications and limited experience, I could set up shop as a trainer and behaviourist tomorrow if I wanted to The only exception as far as I know is vets can't call themselves specialists unless they're actually Fellows (not just members) of the Behaviour Chapter of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists so they'll have FACVSc (Animal Behaviour) after their name, or an equivalent qualification from overseas. Unfortunately that rules out a lot of vets with quite a bit of experience and further study in behaviour, including some people who only see behaviour cases! Who can call themselves a veterinary behaviourist or a veterinary behaviour consultant is a bit up in the air, but at the least they're a vet with more knowledge and experience with behaviour than average. Any vet is theoretically able to give advice and prescribe medication for behaviour treatment/management, but how knowledgeable they are on behaviour varies quite a bit as you might expect in such a diverse field. If I was looking for a trainer/behaviourist then I'd be looking at their training style (for both their canine and human clients), reputation, qualifications and experience in about that order and never mind what they call themselves. For the original question; Especially with a dog who lunges, I'd have two leashes - one on a flat collar (or a martingale, or a well-fitted regular harness, whatever you're aiming to be walking on - probably not a check collar though because you can't quite pop them like this) and one on the head collar, held like the reins of a double bridle except for the handles of the leads around your wrist like normal. A euro leash (aka a double-ended leash) does pretty much the same thing, but I like to use a very light leash on head collars (like a puppy or toy dog leash, or even just a bit of light cord or rope), I think there's less confusion without a heavy clasp swaying off it and varying the pressure and it helps to keep track of which leash goes where. Anyway, if you've got the grip right you get a gentle collar pressure before the head collar engages and you can still do light corrections with the head collar even if the dog is pulling as hard as they can. It also means they don't snap their head around as badly if they lunge when you're not expecting it, and if worst comes to worst and you have to physically hold your dog back from something at least you're not exacerbating the issue by causing pain with the head collar while you do it. It also gives you back-up if they manage to slip the head collar, and a bit of encouragement to try to ditch the head collar so you don't have to keep managing two leashes :p As far as brands go, I don't like gentle leaders so much, I think ones with cheek-pieces (like the Halti brand ones) fit better. I've heard good things about the Infin-8 ones but haven't used them myself. I don't like head collars that much in general, because I see them used poorly so often but if it's the difference between being able to walk your dog and being stuck at home they're definitely worth it. ETA: I'm a vet student with an interest in behaviour, hence why I'm familiar with the terminology debate :)

Yay, glad it worked out for you! I've just got back from a not-quite three week road trip with my two, from North Queensland to the ADAA GP in Tamworth. I nearly didn't take my young dog (who isn't competing, he's only ten months) but in the end I was glad I did, it was a good experience for him and he behaved himself... most of the time :p . We had a great time, but for me the whole point of the trip was hanging out with my dogs and doing stuff that they think is awesome which isn't everyone's idea of a fun holiday :). For anyone considering a trip, if you have a smart phone I'd like to recommend the WikiCamps Australia app (on Android, iOS and Windows 8.1), costs about $4. It has locations and info of pretty much every camping spot in Australia, including whether dogs are allowed. The reviews are really helpful too, often you can find ones from within a week or so which gives you a bit of an idea of current conditions before you get there. I found it really handy, since I didn't particularly plan my trip and haven't road tripped in that direction before. Link: http://www.wikicamps.com.au/