haven

Please keep my Nova girl in your thoughts tomorrow guys, as she is having surgery to remove what the Vet is certain is breast cancer. He has assured me that we have caught it early and that the chances of it having spread at this stage are very slim, but I can't help but worry. I've had an awful paranioa for years about my dogs getting Cancer and I find myself at once both sure she is going to be fine and afraid that it will turn out to be much worse than expected and I will have to say goodbye. I know she won't live forever but she is just so so special to me and I couldn't bear to lose her

Dogs learn nothing in a kennel? Certainly some kennels and trainers are better than others but seriously, what a rediculous and fundamentally incorrect statement I wonder what people like Erny, K9, Cosmolo and HR would say to that, well respected DOLers that have all had extensive experience in training dogs in a kennel environment in their time as professional trainers. As for the Gold program at ADT being "bloody expensive", it can be less than $500 for LIFETIME training with qualified and experienced trainers and free access to qualified behaviourists at any time. Personally I think it's a pittance if that's the best club for me and my dog. Most people probably spend at least that much in dog toys, treats, accessories etc, why scrimp on the most important thing you will ever need for you and your dog? You get what you pay for. LA-OC, I haven't seen your dog so I cannot comment personally on it's suitability to stay in a kennel for 3 weeks of training. What I can say with complete confidence is that the trainers at ADT are qualified and experienced and would not have suggested this for your dog had the needs of you and your dog not been appropriately suited. However, despite the claims of a 'hard sell', if you don't want to put your dog in the kennel then don't. It is a recommendation based on the discussion you had with a qualifed trainer about your dog and the expectations and requirements you have for training, but it is your choice. If you are unsure then I would suggest speaking with them about either the one week option or just training the dog yourself in classes. I'm not saying that nobody else should have an opinion, nor that you shouldn't listen to any other advice, but let's have a little perspective here. It's easy for random people on the internet to sit back and tell you what's best for your dog based on their own notions and your short post and dismiss what you have been advised already, but the fact is that nobody here has seen your dog personally, assessed it's temperament in person nor spoken with you at length as to the situation and what you want to do about it. The trainer at ADT has. Look around and consider all of you options, but at the end of the day I'd put more weight into the advice of a qualified and experienced trainer who has seen your dog in person than the rash statement of a random person online who may have little or no qualifications and experience in what you are dealing with.

Did you want advice or did you come here looking for a mindless affirmation that you were doing the right thing? Based on what you wrote some people saw a potential problem and pointed it out, nobody was rude or nasty about it. They described how they might have dealt with the situation differently and provided you with somewhere you might find some more detailed information to help you with the issue you posted about. On the other hand you had a tanty and called everyone snotty, that is rude and unless you call the fact that you didn't get a pat on the back provocation, there was no need for it. If that is how you are going to treat people who try to help you then it's probably best that you don't come back IMO.

You're unlikely to get any more replies at all considering how rude you are to people who have attempted to give you constructive advice. Punishing your dog after he does what you want is a clear cut training mistake and a great way to exaccerbate leadership issues, which the others tried to point out to you in what I think was a nice manner and certainly not snotty. Perhaps that's not what happened but the blame for the confusion is yours for not explaining things properly, not those whom were only trying to help you based on what you wrote. Jeez

Someone asks this question every few weeks so if you do a search you should find lots of info I've used it myself with great results, the only thing I don't like about it is the soaking time, which is just a minor inconvenience really. I'm currently trying my dogs on Phudds, which is a similar thing made by Browns that is just add water, ie no soak time. Condition wise the dogs are looking great and they certainly like it but roughly since I started them on it Nova has been having weird episodes of gagging and drooling in the night, a couple of hours after dinner time. I'm fairly sure the timing is actually coincidence and it's not caused by the new food, but I'm not 100% at this stage.

Yeah that's the thing, it might never happen to you, it might never happen to me again either but three times is just too much and I'm unwilling to risk it again. Perhaps because my dogs are larger they are able to crush the bone more effectively, whereas your dogs wouldn't be able to :p What happend on two occasions was that the bone split in half lengthways and one half became lodged over my dogs teeth on one side of the jaw, so the bone was touching the gumline in front of and behind the teeth if that makes sense. The third time a piece splintered off and became lodged between her teeth in the roof of her mouth from right to left ;) They weren't too hard to remove, but I'm so glad that I've always made a point of supervising them with bones!

I think that it is important you teach her to be ok with being picked up as there are many occasions where she might need to be handled thus in case of emergency, at the vet etc. Is she ok with being handled generally on the ground? Can you touch her all over without her objectiong, paws, legs, stomach etc? Compared to you she is reaaaaally tiny, so it's not surprising that she finds it a little daunting to be picked up. Assuming there is no medical issue, ie she is in pain, and she is generally ok with being handled I would start by sitting on the ground and picking her up to sit on your lap, reinforcing her for being calm and relaxed and slowly progress by rasing the height to which you lift her up as she is happy at each level. You might go from holding her in your lap on the floor, to holding her in your lap while kneeling, crouching, from your lap to supported in your arms and gradually to standing up. When you pick her up always do it slowly and gently, ensuring that she is fully supported. Have regular training sessions, a few minutes a few times a day and for the time being I would make these sessions the only time she gets treats (when she is behaving appropriately), if there is something that she particularly likes.

Feeding your dog(s) weight baring bones, like marrow bones, may or may not cause a problem. Because they are load baring bones they are much stronger than other bones and can actually crack teeth and in some cases split and either be ingested, inhaled, become lodged in your dogs mouth or throat etc. Certainly regular gnawing would wear the teeth, but this effect would occur over a long period of time, it's not something you would see overnight. Some people might feed their dogs marrow bones on a regular basis and never have a problem, while others may only feed them rarely and have an issue, it's the luck of the draw. The old "I fed my dog one and it never had a problem" is great, but it isn't definitive evidence. Personally I feed my dogs marrow bones once in a blue moon, ONLY when I am there to supervise. I don't feed lamb shanks at all anymore, as I have had them splinter and become lodged in my dogs mouth on three seperate occasions. Other than that I stick to nice soft bones like poultry, neck, tail and brisket bones. Everything should be fed raw.

Unless I stop feeling like I'm going to in the next 10 minutes I won't be able to make it today You will all have to have another Mr T meet in Croydon because I really want to come along!

I agree with the others, train it like a new exercise. I would even use an entirely new recall word, for example I use 'come' for a front finish and 'heel' for a heel position finish. Finish your recall with your back to a wall so your dog cannot go around you and if necessary you can even fashion a chute to ensure your dog come straight to you and cannot go anywhere else. Once she's getting it you can fade of the barriers.

Poor Nova girl is feeling a bit under the weather, but if she is up for it tomorrow I will come along, I'd like to meet you all too

Ohhhh, I didn't realise, I thought it was a Mr T reference

I might be able to make it, but neither of my two have had much training for quite some time now, I don't want to be embarrassed

Is this a social event or a serious training session?

Tryptophan is the precurser to serotonin, which moderates anxiety levels in the body. There are many natural sources, such as turkey as Kamuzz mentioned. In fact, Tryptophan is the reason why turkey is often referred to as making people sleepy or relaxed after eating a big meal of it. Vitamin B6 is required to make the conversion to serotonin, so if you are supplementing with Tryptophan ensure that you also give adequate B6. I have used Tryptophan supplementation (5-HTP capsules and dietary control) with some success on myself and on my dog Loki.

So many people are against boarding and training, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about it. While I admit to finding it strange that there are people around who want to have perfectly trained dogs without doing a shred of work themselves, not everyone has the time or expertise to train their dog in the prefered skills. Sometimes it's in the best interests of the owner and the dog in question to go with the option of boarding and training (with an experienced, reputable trainer). Dropping your dog off at some random kennel with crappy trainers who beat your dog into submission for two weeks with the expectation of then picking up a pefectly trained canine wonder that never needs another day of training in it's life is completely unreasonable, but that's not a given when people want boarding and training. There are facilities about that are run by professional trainers who are ethical, knowledgable and qualified to do what they do. They spend time with the owner discussing what the issues with the dog are or what they want the dog to be able to do. They ensure that the owner has a reasonable expectation of what they will get out of boarding and training and they make the owner aware that 2 weeks is a training facility is not a permenant magic cure all and that the dog will need ongoing training to maintain the standard achieved and to transfer that standard to the owner. Any good training facility will also include, or at the very least recommend, regular lessons or training classes to train the owner up to a comparable standard with the dog. Assuming that the owners have the right expectations and understanding of how boarding and training works and have done their research as to the quality of the facility and the trainers in question, IMHO there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking it as a jump start to training if it is only going to benefit both the dog and the owner in the long run.

My personal opinion is that 4 Paws are fabulous and I wouldn't touch Command with a 10 foot pole :rolleyes:

Have you considered the possibility that it could be anxiety related?

I had Loki on Clomicalm and wasn't all that impressed, it did seem to take a slight edge of his anxiety but it wasn't a great deal of improvement. He eventually ended up coming off them cold turkey with absolutely no noticable change in behaviour (not what I would have done, it was after he had been missing for almost a week and therefore missed many doses), but that was after a great deal of behaviour modification and training had taken place.

Just wondering how you're getting on

I need to have this in my sig or something, I fear I'm becoming somewhat of a broken record; The headcollars that are used on livestock are NOT the same as those that are used on dogs for the purpose of training. Livestock head collars are simply for restraint, they are worn losely fitted and are not designed to exert pressure on specifc points to any great extent. Halties and the like are fitted snugly and are designed to put pressure on the poll and over the dogs nose where it is quite sensitive. Likening a livestock headcollar to a haltie type tool used on dogs is comparing apples and oranges. A truer comparison would be between a dog headcollar and what is known as a 'war bridle' for livestock, which is rarely used because it is considered unnecessary for the most part.

Where did you get this one from? I like to use a martingale for my two these days but mine don't have buckles and they are such a PITA to put on and take off that I usually just end up using flat collars only.

What did the Vet suggest as treatment Alison?

South-east melb, out near ferntree gully. I get my frames from Megapet Warehouse in Ringwood, tis less than half an hour from your location if you're not familiar with the area. Leonards is in Thomastown so I only go there to buy em if I'm in the area (I bought a chest freezer for dog food so I buy in bulk lots of 40Kg, which lasts me about a month) but the price difference isn't much between Leonards and Megapet and it's the same quality as Leonards supply Megapet. Pets at Home is possibly as close or closer to you depending on exactly where you are located.

You can usually get them from the supermarket (more expensive) but I either buy mine from a pet supplies store or direct from Leonards