Willem

this morning: a little bit of rain, a little bit wind, not really cold - overall nothing that couldn't be addressed with the right clothing; nevertheless, we saw not one dog / dog owner during our walk this morning. Well, we got our feet and the dog dirty. @Isabel: the time before and after the official training ads also significant value to the training: always great to see all the different breeds running and socialising on the oval. Luckily we have 2 ovals available allowing concerned dog owners with smaller dogs to have their own oval for socialisation runs so everyone can have a good work out. This mix of focused training, playtime and socialisation can make it relative easy to raise a well balanced dog - IMO some form of obedience training in groups with other dogs should be mandatory for all dog owners in urban areas.

In your experience how has a stand for exam helped your agility performance? ...I assume it is more the particular underlying cause that lead to failing the exam that would - in most(?) cases - lead also to other issues during the normal agility training. Saying this, in our club they allowed joining the agility beginner group without advanced obedience qualification as long as the dog has a certain age (10 month as far as I remember) and is not reactive. Obviously it helps a lot if the dog has a somehow stable sit and a good recall....

IPO training (including bite work) is not illegal (and therefore legal) in NSW... it is just not promoted / recognized by the ANKC. There a some clubs in Sydney, e.g. http://www.sdsc.wgsdca.org.au/sydney_sportdog_club/Welcome.html where they do IPO training.

obedience training in bigger groups is great! ....there are so many exercises where you need this controlled environment with the other dogs and owners. The start can look a little bit chaotic sometimes, but it is amazing how fast the dogs learn from each other and the owners. Have fun!...your dog will love it anyway....

hm, that sparks a business idea:...how about a pick-up service :D ?...you just have to follow the daily routes of dog owners that hire you...

...that might also be the reason why half of the Labs I know are keen eating poo?

...at the end I guess it doesn't matter what took the dog - it would take more than one miracle to get it back alive and the way it happened has a devastating impact on the spirit of the already struggling poor owner...life seems to be not fair sometimes...

I don't know...it just sounds weird that the crow / raven dived in, took the dog and flew away - an eagle would do it like this as he would be able to carry the dog in his talons (and kill it with his talons), but when you watch crows / raven chasing rats or rabbits it is more an attrition war with lots of pecking and retrieving that goes on and on... Eta: ...the crow has serious issues to lift the rat from the ground... they don't have the biting power in their beak to clamp and hold a wiggling prey so the prey has to be dead before they can lift it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/9243221/Photographer-captures-moment-raven-snatches-bunny-from-field.html what's the weight of a 16 week old Chihuahua?... raven can lift quite some weight, but I guess it has to be dead / not wiggling anymore, and while for sure they can kill rabbits or little dogs or kittens, conversely to an eagle I assume it would take some time pecking the prey to death. The poor owner saw the crows / ravens flying away, but it is not clear whether she saw them really lifting her dog?...if they killed the poor dog on the ground there would have been blood stains on the lawn?...the crows / ravens could have been scared away also by a goanna that indeed could have easily swallowed a little dog without leaving a trace...

...after a cold and rainy walk the coffee / cappuccino or hot chocolate taste twice as good

You hijacked this thread which is against forum rules and then you abuse others when you don't like their replies. Suggest you delete your comments before Troy does so for you after I report you. I can't recognize any hijacking - the posts / comments relate to a similar problem as described by the OP, so why shouldn't it be mentioned here?...furthermore the post from karen15 haven't been offensive or off-topic, and there is no obligation to like or to agree with other poster's comments. The threat of reporting someone for such posts is pretty childish... Eta: I forgot to mention that I'm happy to get reported too :D

Kookaburras are also known for swallowing whole rats ...but they take their time, a heron could do it faster and fly off immediately ...another possibility could be the neighbour's cat?

every little weight you can get rid of will allow you to run faster...so if definitely helps :D

wrt 1 and 2: that's exactly the problem, the dog just does what he was trained to do. If the weather is not in his favor and no one there who guidance him and gives the command - why should he go outside for the toilet? He also has a 2 year history in an other home / environment which might or might not make the required training harder. No owner in sight and harsh weather outside and he might do what he did for the last 2 years. IMO there isn't (and never was) an equivalent substitute for walking the dog for a decent toilet training: the body movement is good for the bowl movement, the poos and pees from other dogs as triggers - for most puppies it only takes a few days with several walks each day to get the idea. Conversely for an older dog it can be tricky. In your case I would make sure that your dog gets walked especially on rainy and windy days, and I wouldn't try to force it with a command - just normal praise when it happens. Eta:...regarding 'equivalent substitute' I wrote 'is' instead of 'isn't' ...I guess the context made it clear enough what I mean....

crows and Magpies easily take on good sized rats, especially when they (the birds) are in numbers...I was always concerned with the kid's guinea pigs in the garden, but with their size they were safe. we have also eagles in our area and once I noticed a pair of eagles showing some interest (change of direction and getting closer) in our dog while she was running off leash...I thought it was better to call her; with 17 kg they couldn't have carried her away, but their talons are deadly. like daggers: http://www.badassoftheweek.com/haasteagle6.jpg

So would you take the same action if another type of dog seriously attacked yours as described as KatDogs, or only if ' this type' of dog did? You know that all types of dogs can and do attack, and do so so? It is always disappointing to see someone on a dog forum openly stating they are hostile towards types of dogs. Not dogs that behave a certain way, but dogs that look a certain way. The type of dog that has the tenacity to rip into any other dog and not let go until you block off its airways. So, all dogs then. Try investigating dog attacks for a living before deciding that serious attacks are only perpetrated by dogs of a certain 'type' or appearance. Did you read the whole thread? The dog in the OP was not a Bull Breed. You haven't answered my question as to whether you would lay in to and kill a dog of a different appearance if it attacked your dog in a serious manner - you only said you would do so for a certain type of dog. What would you do if another type of dog seriously attacked your dog? Your words imply it would be different. Yep, I probably would. The dog in the OP was a Mastiff, which is a breed bred for fighting, hunting & guarding. If a dog is bred for something, no amount of good upbringing will prevent the genetics coming through. How do Border Collies know how to use 'eye' when they are around livestock & Pointers instinctively know how to point? Then please explain the number of dogs recovered from dog fighting ring busts, who have gone on to be wonderful family pets who haven't hurt anyone or anything, and some have even become therapy dogs? ...there are documentaries on YouTube showing that a lot of the fighting dogs (e.g. in Chicago) are living with families - they don't show any aggression towards humans / family members, even after they had fights. The problem is once they are trained for fighting and might have had a few fights it would be very hard to eliminate their aggression towards other dogs. They still might not attack humans, but it will get ugly if another dog is around.

...as long as you are not Chuck Norris or Jacky Chan (and they are quite old in the meanwhile too) I wouldn't recommend this for dogs over 30 kg...if an aggressive dog is in this stage he won't let go easily, and if, the next target could be your boot / leg. Are you a troll? In actual fact before having little dogs I owned bull breeds, so does my mum and a few friends. I have dealt with fights on multiple occasions, one involving my American Bulldog and Mini Poodle. The gut is a sensitive spot and even the toughest dogs will stop in their tracks if kicked hard, much safer option than puting your hands anywhere near the dog, generally how most people get bitten when trying to separate dogs. Don't even waste time whacking a bull breed in the head it's the toughest part of the dog. ...not a troll, but Chuck's older brother.... if dogs are in this mental state, inflicting pain won't likely stop them to fight respectively bite. Dog fighting is well covered on YouTube - some documentaries are not nice to watch, but they give evidence how much pain a dog can take. They actually stop fighting not because of pain, but of sheer exhaustion, blood loss or death. Hence I never would try to inflict enough pain to make a dog let go if it is in such a state - cutting air supply by choking, or blood supply to the brain or inflicting death by bleeding seems to be more efficient....but I have no problems if you want to use your boot :D ...

the trick with the fire extinguisher could be handy...especially if it is one with a hose extension... the second email in this LEERBURG link however made me shake my head: I instantly knew I would have to act fast to save Chopper. I called my fiance, then 911 about the fight that was now raging. I moved my son's stroller out of the way, then (unwisely) began kicking and hitting the pit to try to knock him off of my dog. My fiance got there within a minute of my call, and he instantly jumped into the fight. The pit turned his attention from Chopper long enough to grab my fiance's hand and crush 4 bones. In that second, I started thinking clearly. I knew in my car I had a gun, and I raced to the car, grabbed it, and put 2 rounds into the pit's skull. geez, she was fast...

...as long as you are not Chuck Norris or Jacky Chan (and they are quite old in the meanwhile too) I wouldn't recommend this for dogs over 30 kg...if an aggressive dog is in this stage he won't let go easily, and if, the next target could be your boot / leg.

the trick with the fire extinguisher could be handy...especially if it is one with a hose extension...

...to take on a 50 kg mastiff x that's brave, good on her and she definitely saved her dog's life.

That sounds cruel and lazy and I'm not surprised it didn't work. Your poor bloody dog. na, doesn't have to be cruel (believe me, there are dogs (e.g. our dog) that prefer to be outside where they can entertain themself instead of being crated for XX hours inside the house)...the point is that it doesn't teach the dog anything about the correct toilet procedures without the owner's guidance, hence it is IMO a little bit unfair to expect this from a dog.

If you have a water bottle (with water) you can try to let the water run into his mouth ...he will likely cough as dog's will have trouble keeping the trachea locked for longer...if there is a water hose close by: even better. Obviously this works only if you have enough force to lift the attacking dog or reduce his movements at least. Other fluids (milk, diesel... ketchup...) will do the same trick ... If it is a bigger dog showing such aggressive behaviour I wouldn't hesitate to use a pocket knife and cut his throat.

it puzzles me sometimes what dog owners expect from their dogs without giving them the required training...but hey, there is still the crate...

for you the weather is a bit extreme - for her it is a total new world outside as she is only 6 month old and likely never experienced it before, hence someone has to show / teach her that toilet rules don't change for extreme weather. With 6 month every day brings something new for her that can break already trained behaviour - you can't expect that a 6 month old dog is stable. Find someone who can walk her - also if it rains - if you can't while at work. Eta the red bit...as if you only walk your dog in nice weather...guess what might happen?