Nekhbet

You're doing the exact same thing in supporting the petition. It swings both ways. No it is not. Many working people want their dogs entire and the benefits of leaving them entire outweight the supposed benefits of desexing them. What about non ANKC breeds? Those breeders cannot be registered so what, we desex their dogs because they're not recognised?

your dog is fine at home because there is nothing more rewarding. It's like when you're really hungry and your cupboards are bare, a cup noodle seems quite tempting, go out to a restaurant and that some cup noodle is a now comparatively average and unexciting item you would drop in a heartbeat. You need to work on your leadership skills I'm surprised a head halter on a young dane was recommended. I think a school is a great idea, meantime there are some great articles to read up on at www.leerburg.com Start in the front yard, and if he pulls towards dogs or children turn him around and walk away, redirecting his attention. He needs to learn that he cannot get what he wants and in fact he will get further away.

It's a government initiative to tell us what to do more like down the track, in working dogs and I have a feeling this will extend into private breeding. My future dogs will be going to the services I want to know what is planned for their own supposed 'welfare'. There are many many different working dogs and are trained in VERY different ways. I see your report also pushes for more 'positive' training. So people with little working dog or let me guess, on paper behavioral experience will be telling working dog people what to do and how to do it. I have experience with working dogs, but I cannot walk onto a farm and tell a multi generational stockman how to train his dogs. Conversely he can't walk into my home and tell me how to improve certain facets of my own dogs performances. Motivation and positive reinforcement will always be a great part of working dogs, without any positive reinforcement the dog will not work, it is impossible. Some dogs just need more then just positive reinforcement (and there is some element of punishment in all forms of training be it positive or negative). People just have to understand POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS NOT A TRAINING METHOD IT IS A FACET OF OPERANT CONDITIONING. I also still do not like the fact the report calls them electric shock collars. They do not elicit an electric shock like sticking your finger in a socket, to the animal and their use it not limited to positive punishment. And the main reason most trainers who use electronic collars do not have any formal education or recognised training, is that course providers either do not teach their use or totally discourage them. You would be surprised most people that use them have a more thorough understanding of learning theory then those who just calm them instruments of torture. And as for 'task-specific working dog breeding programs' the government has been instrumental in some instances in helping make this extremely difficult. The banning of equipment and dogsports, as we have here in Victoria, as well as things such as the GSDC refusing to acknowledge Schutzhund and discouraging members from participating - how is that going to help working genetics. You're losing valuable genetics because of the decrease in sports and poo pooing of training methods and equipment that you dont understand why or how they're used. Litters are not magically born all suitable for specific work. And government departments are not given the money in order to specially breed their own dogs as well as import new genetics etc. It's always been left up to the private sector because they have the time and money to do nationally what the government cannot, and on a larger scale. For this reason buying dogs from private breeders has been a better idea. In some instances taking whatever you can get due to the fact that budget does not extend to the normal going rate for a well bred working dog. So what exactly would the government love to glean from this? I gather how to sanitise, categorise, and neatly package the whole concept of working dogs. By then the dogs will probably have to fill out form G8, then B4 in conjunction with sections 2-7 on B5 and wait 4-6 weeks before getting some generic letter that tells them they're allowed to mate? If this was really a whole hearted, genuine initiative researchers should be getting out there and actually physically being present during training, boarding, housing, birthing etc and see what happens instead of take anonymous contributions which you cannot even verify are genuine or complete.

No I wouldn't either. As for being a registered breeder and being exempt - sorry but a registered breeder does not make an ethical person or one that loves their animals. One lovely example is the 'registered breeder' who kept their dogs in filthy cages and when found out, shot them and burned the bodies because they had so many. I dont have desexed dogs and I will not. You can't force me to perform surgery on my animals and if the law comes in they wont win in any argument with me about it. Forced desexing will not ensure people are responsible, by a long shot.

this looks suspiciously familiar hasn't Deakin already run one before? Why are they repeating the survey?

I would go for a definitive second opinion. My breeder uses Monash or you can try University of Melbourne in Werribee if thats closer.

the plastic bones are actually quite tough and not small at all. If you put the dog brick on a slippery surface it's harder to slide :D

pineapple contains an enzyme that helps break down protein, you can try adding that to his mince. Saying that which meals tend to give him hard poos?

no in Vic your animals must be in some way restrained and NOT sitting on the drivers laps. Its because of how many people get distracted. Frankly for your animals safety they should be anyway, one quick brake and a flying med-large breed dog flying into you or your dashboard is not a nice thing for any owner.

oh my god are you kidding that would freak me out let alone the dog Thats why we have the red bandana rule, any dogs wearing them never get approached by other dogs or people. People already have learned to give red bandana dogs about a 5m berth :laugh: That and the rule is no approaching dogs without the owners express permissions anyway, bandana or not.

what is his current diet at the moment? And why is he having 2 different types of stool?

what I dont like about flyball is the impact at the end of the run. When the dogs hit the board for the ball to come out, for me personally I wouldnt want my dogs doing it. If your dog LOVES balls why dont you look up training videos on www.leerburg.com and Michael Ellis/Bart Bellon on youtube for ideas on prey training in the mean time. The age limit is there because it is quite strenuous on the joints. As for muscle building I use Muscle Pro powder for my bitch that had muscle problems, she was also hideous to keep fat on and ball obsessed. She's paying for it now at 8 years old but the powder and Vets All Natural diet has really helped her get back into a young dog condition. Swimming is another great exercise, our younger dog we throw the ball into the water and let her swim out to retrieve it. Lower impact and it actually wears her out lol

if there's brindling they cant just be GSD x Husky, I reckon there's a lot of other breeds in there. I'd say someones pigging mix had a foray with their farm dog mix :laugh:

How very sad for you. But I do agree I would be following MissyMoos advice and I wouldnt be buying any pup any time soon at all.

I would avoid the flyball due to the constant impact on the front legs. A poor gait can sometimes also be due to being unfit and lack of good muscle tone. Sport dogs need to be lean and have well nourished muscles, this is what helps. I've had my rottie with no hip sockets and shot elbows totter over agility equipment from time to time with no ill effects because we started slowly and did it at his pace. One thing to consider is conditioning and diet. Start him slowly, put him on a good fresh diet and do small amounts often to build up his body strength. This way too you will also know where his limits are without really exceeding them and causing pain. I have mine on Vets All Natural and use greyhound products such as Recharge and Muscle Pro powder to help and no problems at all.

If it was my dog I would weigh up quality of life. I had a rescue dog that was worst then this with his SA. Nothing would calm him and no cage could hold him. It was a hard decision but he was suffering terribly (standing on the other side of a bench where he couldn't see you would incite screaming and thrashing) http://animalbehaviour.com/ Robert Holmes does come reccomended, I know he is in Victoria but can read your vets reports and give you an opinion on what he thinks is the best course of action. He is a veterinary behaviorist and works with both behavioral modification and pharmaceuticals. I dont know what the trainer has done with you but your dog needs to be in behavioral training while on the medication otherwise things will not change.

mumof4girls I would not let a dog trail a leash attached to a check chain he can get it caught if he nips slip your thumb under his tongue and press firmly, if he throws a fit ignore him. Conversely if he's attached to you roll the top lips into the side teeth and just hold firmly. Dont say a word to him. When he lets go, give him a second and offer your hand. If he nips repeat the process with a firm "AHH'. If not praise him heavily but calmly. You need back ups otherwise when the chains off he'll come in for a bite. Nipping needs to be dealt with swiftly. If your pup had nipped another dog they would be thrown back with a growl and a very frightening clack of teeth to show them enough is enough. I dont advocate hurting animals but jeez, no pup every suffered irreversible mental harm from being told off the first time it went in for the bite on a human. All my dogs, puppies or adults go through the same process and none ever laid teeth on me from then on even under a lot of stress. A good lesson sticks, a poor lesson simply encourages the dog to try harder - which is always in the dogs nature.

look at sprintergold.com there is a couple of great products on there that can be added to mince meat in the morning before a trial

The school is in Victoria, available for anyone that wants to join a school set up with the experience and facilities of reactive dogs.

dont use coconut water it can make dogs (and humans) get a massive case of diahrrea if your dog refuses to drink teach them a drink command, or get a 50ml syringe and drip it into the side of their mouths particularly on warm days.

just FYI our school is set up for reactive and aggressive dogs, they're more then welcome no matter the breed or problem if people need a place to train. I know its in Geelong but there is at least an option and agility equipment.

you need to in part train the children as well. They're part of the problem and the dog cannot be the only one told off in the situation. If the kids wont listen I would be putting a puppy pen in between the two of them until you have time to supervise properly. If the pup goes for a nip, try a gruff 'ah NO'. If the pup ignores you then I usually just grab gently by the scruff, DONT be forceful but be firm. Just hold the pup and say 'AH NO' again and wait until it settles. When it has calmed and you let go if it does not go to bite again give it gentle pats and a toy/treat to reinforce calm behavior.

it's not a petstock only for long, I had a pamphlet given to me about it and I didnt give it a thumbs up either.

I like recharge, never tried Vytrate I dont know why Recharge would be bad on the kidneys unless you used it at the wrong ratios as its quite concentrated. If we're going to have a full day I do feed the dogs in the morning, quality fresh food not dry food which saps water out of the dog. I also slop it down (eg raw meat gets watered down a little) to ensure they're fully hydrated before they start, and I give them a couple of hours before they do anything strenuous. Always make sure the dog is drinking and urinating enough, if it's straining to defecate it means dehydration is setting in. I have also found with using Recharge the dogs dont vomit up water when hot and dont pull up stiff, even my 8 year old. A dog that is hungry and tires easily will actually start losing interest in training - there is a thin line between hungry enough to work for a treat and hungry enough to exhaust quickly. You're pushing a wheelbarrow uphill, it becomes a chore and not something enjoyable. If the dog is that lacking in interest it has to be starved it's not ready to trial and long term, you're putting the dog under immense physiological stress making them work with no way of replenishing vital nutrients while under exercise stress. I learned a lot of this with my own dogs and got a lot of great information from a greyhound person or two. We seem to forget some other dogs work just as hard as a racing grey and need a bit more TLC for their long term happiness

I have used pet cremations, or Bamganie Environmental Services as its also called.