Cosmolo

kateshep- while i know plenty of trainers in Perth, i don't know a single balanced trainer that i could happily recommend Kathy is positive only- she is the best positive trainer i have met and has an excellent understanding of critical distance- very important when following a positive only path. Maybe ask Steve from K9 force (sydney) if he knows of any balanced trainers in Perth?

Rusky are there any that allow there use but don't necesarily advocate them?

Kathy Koppellis McLeod from Kathy's private dog training is brilliant- she would be able to help or refer you to someone who could

Mine is going to have to wait until a week off in early Jan now. Between personal and professional life, i don't have a spare minute in the day at the moment. But you definitely have our support and will have this in writing by the due date!

Have you contacted the rescue group to discuss any problems? Are you in Melbourne?

I have never had any problems with any of their products- but if i had had those experiences, i don't think i'd be rushing back!

If you can predict the times the dog will jump up, i would set the dog up on lead and consider giving a lead correction. You can also reinforce your sit command when she is in that frame of mind. It sounds like she may be in drive while she's doing this so the timing of the correction is vital so that she doesn't get to enjoy the behaviour. I would also try training her in drive so that you can teach her how to come out of drive and respond to a command. Obedience that is taught using pack or food rewards generally doesn't carry over well to situations when the dog is highly aroused or in prey drive.

I think most tools can be either depending on how you use them. To classify, you would need to define what a management tool does and what a training tool does.

Can't imagine a likely situation where it would be the dog although i have recommended a one on one session in addition to puppy school for some people. Just remembered i did have one couple who yelled at me in the middle of the puppy class and had they not stormed out never to return, i probably would have had to ask them not to return as the other people in the class said they would not come again if these people were there. They had a little pup who was having barking games with one of the other pups. I used both pups at different times to demonstrate how to get their attention and the guy went nuts at me and abused the other puppy owner who was barking as well. His poor wife looked terrified of him and wouldn't say anything and at the end of the class he threw $20 at me, swore and walked out. The rest of the class were relieved that he would not be returning- i felt sorry for the puppy.

Have never kicked anyone out of puppy school but have had to ask on a few occasions for people to control their children. One child came to the first week of a 4 week course and never returned because the parents would or could not keep him under control- he was running around trying to hit other puppies, pulling bags of the shelf, trying to grab other people's leads, screaming etc. They continued to come to puppy class but did not bring the child back. I did not request this but made it clear that his behaviour was unnacceptable and would not be tolerated.

Looks like Turtle has some admirers! I'll be sure to come back into the thread after next week and give my thoughts after seeing Turtle!!

There are quite a few available but while you are waiting for your pup and/ or before you choose somewhere, i would go and have a look at some of the different options available. We do agility and obedience for instance but run things very differently to a VCA club like Southern or Moorabbin (both in south eastern suburbs) I would also consider seeking out a really good puppy school- even if you then have to go somewhere else for the trialling training. You need to make sure whoever is handling your pups critical period (6-16 weeks) really knows what they are doing and remember that different trainers/ clubs may be best for different things. Of course, as has been mentioned, alot will depend on your pups temperament as to the training you choose- you can't train with food rewards if your dog doesn't care about food for example!

Medication without behaviour modification techniques is not particularly effective- particularly for high level anxiety. I know you saidtraining won't help but what training/ behaviour mod have you done so far that leads you to think that?

I say number one

Even if the behaviour isn't prevelant due to the change in environment, there are still lots of things that could be set up, explained and demonstrated. Probably best to email me- i do read pm's but then i tend to forget about them!

Often dogs wll start as being quite sensitive but we desensitise them inadvertently through giving low level corrections without even realising. The best correction is one the dog does not expect and often people will misinterpret a vocalisation (squeal) that comes after a correction as pain when in fact it is surprise and will often re-sensitise the dog. You have to balance corrections with high level rewards for good behaviour. Let the dog have a tantrum when you give a correction but you MUST follow through and win. Once you have corrected set up the same or similar situation again for two reasons- first is to see if your correction was effective and the second is to provide the opportunity for reward. Don't wait for bad behaviour to happen, recognise when it occurs and think of ways you can set up the situation when you have the time an inclination to do so. I would of course suggest consulting with a trainer but i am pretty sure you're in a remote area? Am i getting confused or are you coming to Melbourne in a few weeks? It might be a good idea to even just have one session with someone who can not just explain but demonstrate these things for you- alot is lots in the written word.

I'm sure lilli and nekbet will respond but if i physically correct, it is not with a smack but usually with scruff and or collar- the sensitivity of the dog determines how firmly you need to do it- an effective correction should stop the behaviour immediately and all dogs have different levels of sensitivity so i doubt anyone will be able to tell you exactly how hard/ how firmly you need to correct your dog. Timing is important too- if your timing is late, the level of correction will need to be higher to be effective. Yes, alot of peole talk about hands off and while it may work for some dogs, it doesn't for many. Physical corrections are not IMO bond diminishing if the dog knows what it was for, and how to avoid the correction to get the reward. If you give lots of low level corrections though, you will load the dog and increase the intensity of the behaviour so an effective correction is essential.

Just to clarify- i don't expect a pup to sit for 60 seconds. I am talking only about the time delay when i use that number and i actually said 30- 60. I don't ask the pup to sit and expect them to comply, i gently guide them into a sit to stop the behaviour so that i then have the opportunity to redirect them to a toy without rewarding them. I don't teach them that sit is optional. I don't believe that the pup can understand that you are trying to redirect them immediately and not rewarding them- while i am sure it works for some puppies, i have seen many that it doesn't so i choose to use a different approach most of the time. I don't expect anyone to change what they are doing if its working for them, its just that the people i see who talk to me about mouthing usually have dogs who mouth with intensity and/ or the behaviour is more ingrained. (ie, they haven't been training/ being consistent since they got the puppy so their problem has developed further than what your pups might due to consistently of handling etc)

Well i guess you'd say that i 'get physical' with them then because i put them into a sit, before releasing and providing a toy. How you stop them from mouthing to provide the time delay also depends on the pup in question but i will always have a time delay before giving a toy. I have nothing against playing games with toys at all, just those toys being given when a pup is doing an undesirable behaviour.

While its very difficult to tell online, i have to say that the behaviourists strategies don't sound great to me. 5 minutes of play a day and no ball games with a dog that is likely to have at least some drive, citronella collars etc.. I have a sheltie client at the moment who had also been through two behavioural trainers (not veterinary behaviourists) before i met her and while the dog has been a challenge, we have certainly had good results with a few different techniques. What are the qualifications of the people you have seen so far?

I disagree with giving a puppy a toy as soon as they start to mouth- you need to stop them from mouthing and then 30-60 seconds later provide an appropriate chew toy. If they mouth and then get given a toy- that rewards their behaviour and some pups will then do it whenever they want you to play with them

Has the training you've attempted been only of a positive nature? Have appropriate corrections been tried? Are they veterinary behaviourists you have consulted?

Hi Love my cuddle dog What type of collar did you use before and over what time period? Has he always barked in the car?

Don't know of anything in the Yarra Valley i'm afraid What about organising a DOL get together or how far are you willing to travel?

What is he walked on- collar/ harness/ headcollar? And does he pull on the lead?