haven

I must admit that when I got Nova, my Rottweiler bitch who is docked, after having Loki, a German Shepherd with very expressive body language, I had trouble reading her and it took quite awhile before I was able to tell what was going on with her all of the time. Sometimes, like when she wriggles around like a pretzel, it is very obvious but at other times I was completely stumped (pardon the pun ) as to what mischief was going through her mind at the time. In a way it was a good thing because I think it you own a tailed breed you tend to rely on the tail somewhat because it is often the most obvious signal, however it is also considered by many to be the most inaccurate. My experience with Nova has given me a much finer eye for things like muscle tension and weight ballance which are very important when reading body language. You will get a feel for it, in time. I also find with Miss Nova that her hackles are raised often when she is in a high state of arousal, whereas with Loki I don't really recall seeing them at all ever, despite the fact that he is a very anxious dog and has had many a 'panic attack'. I do however notice the opposite with him, in that when he is very stressed he hold his hair very close to his body. It's a bit hard to describe, but if you've seen it you will know what I mean. I have noticed that smooth coated breeds, many of which are (or at least were) traditionally docked, tend to show piloerection more often than longer coated breeds. I wonder if this is genetic or perhaps because of the coat type itself, or if it could be as you say a result of them being a docked breed. I don't believe it is an intentional act on the part of the dog because they have no tail, but perhaps something that evolved as a survival trait. But then, for that to occur you'd be talking natural selection, which doesn't really occur amongst domestic dog breeds in the same manner as it would in the wild. Hmmm this thinking aloud thing is catching

Can you quote said studies LL? I'd like to see exactly what we are contending first ;)

/Agree

Agree with everything that Arya said and also that it could be the result of a dietary inadequacy. You could try supplementing with things like copper, magnesium, B vitamins etc. The main thing is, you shouldn't directly punish the behaviour. The licking is a submissive, or appeasing gesture, as you say and by punishing it she will only want to appease you all the more. Ignoring it is ok, definately no verbal or physical punishment, but I'd also be trying redirection and teach her alternative behaviour to get your 'approval'. Be a firm but fair leader and above all be consistent, a lot of anxiety is borne because the dog isn't sure what is expected of it in that situation.

I would correct the behaviour in the manner that I wouldn't present the reward she is anticipating, yes. Basically, if it were my dog (and Nova has done this once or twice), I would put the reward in my pocket, turn my back and walk away.

So what your saying is that your dog gets over excited as soon as it sees the clicker, or you pick the clicker up and you don't want this to occur? If that's the case I would just be carrying the clicker around all of the time or picking it up often without doing any training or paying any attention to your dog whatsoever. That way your dog will learn that the mere sight of the clicker (as an object) isn't a reliable predictor of training or reinforcement. You should NOT click the clicker though, because you DO want your dog to make the connection between the noise and the reinforcer.

Correct. Squeak, as a current student, you can also purchase them at a discounted price

I don't because I can be very sloppy with my hand gestures and often make them without intending to. I always try to make a concerted effort to be aware of what I'm doing with my hands when giving commands becuse I sometimes find I've paired a command and a hand signal without realising....but of course my dogs have

Nice going LP, congratulations

Just for the record, for those of you whom were not regualrs on this forum when ROM made *her* OP, this was posted after a number of serial pests created new identities and trolled the training section for the sole purpose of being argumentative and at times extremely rude (even abusive) to the regulars here in regards to certain topics. At the time there were also a number of newbies with little experience and no qualifications expressing opinions on things they themselves had no (or close to) experience with and making acusations and attacks on those that disagreed (and had the experience and knowledge to back their opinions). I believe the OP was aimed at those, not people here for a genuine discussion and sharing of knowledge with respect for the views of others. EFG

I think we may have to start running a course exclusively for DOLers soon It was fantastic to meet you guys and I'm looking forward to meeting ROM this weekend and other DOLers on future courses Next time I'll be arranging a special field trip...............to my house where Horus can take a look at my sick lemon tree

The trouble is, what the trainer intended to describe when they coined the phrases may be something completely different to what we would interpret it as.

What good is getting help and advice from a trainer if they just talk in jargon and confuse you? Why didn't you ask her to explain what she meant if you didn't understand?

There are a number of potential problems with doing this. The growl is a warning, punish the warning and you may no longer get one. That may sound great, but in essence it means the dog may stop growling and go straight to biting. By punishing the growling you are not dealing with the cause of the behaviour, just the symptoms. You need to deal with the underlying issues and increase your leadership. The dog either growls because it feels it has a right to discipline and control the situation or because it feels unsafe and it has no other option in order to stay safe. Either way, you are making a confrontational move which will only escalate the situation not solve the problem.

Excellent advice in this thread all round, and I completely agree with this: While I think it is a comendable thing to rescue a dog in need, your children have to come first. If you're going to keep this dog it's extremely important that you understand and be realistic about exactly what you are up against. This is not a small problem that can be fixed overnight, it may not be fixable at all. You want your children to be safe and you want the dog to be happy, so long as this behaviour is displayed it is a clear indication that you are not acheiving either aim :D It's great to see that you have taken steps already to deal with the issue, I only wish all owners were so diligent when it comes to following advice that is in everyone's best interests, no matter what it costs or how much effort is involved ;) Depending on where you are located someone may be able to recommend a qualified professional who can see the behaviour in person and give you more one on one advice.

I feed rabbit mince usually, although I will use beef, lamb or ox cheek on occasion. I buy from megapet warehouse so I imagine it is pet quality, not human.

I use Sentinel. I haven't used a spot on since the paint on my walls disolved because one of my dogs was lying against it after they had it put on :D

I'd give it a go at least once, you may be pleasantly surprised at how well he does and how quickly he gets used to it as I have been when trying things like hydrotherapy and massage with Loki. I found that the people who administered the treatment were understanding enough to allow me to take on what part of the treatment I could instead of them (like fitting euipment, hloding him etc), listened when I made suggestions as to how best to behave around him and create an environment that would reduce stress and were experienced and skilled enought that they were able to relax him enough for the treatment to take place. You could also consider learning how to take on part or potentially all of the treatment yourself to help reduce his stress, e.g. there are massage and physio courses available. Would you consider medicating him with something like Valium for treatment if necessary? It's not ideal but it may be the lesser of two evils. I used a heatpack on Nova when she got sore after her surgery alternated it with the massage and stretches that the physio/massage therapist showed me. Really worked well for her.

Nice work Kelpie-i, I'm surprised you survived the somewhat squishy aftermath after seeing his owner's reaction to him completing the other skills you have taught

I don't think you should totally ignore this advice, but i agree somewhat with LM in that it's no cause to panic. Feeding a more natural diet does often result in faeces being firmer than you would normally get from a dog on a commercial diet, which is fine. If you are feeding the correct proportions for your dog then constipation shouldn't be an issue but if every now and then you do notice your dog straining more than they really should need to, just adjust their diet accordingly. I have personally never had any problems with my dogs having 'extreme constipation' although neither are what I would call old (both are around 8yrs old) and both are fed entirely on a natural diet. I find it interesting that your vet only recommends "split in half recreational bones" as I assume this to mean weight baring bones such as shanks, marrow bones etc and these are actually the only ones I personally think you have real cause to be concerned about.

Haha, I went to another club with Loki (for a very short time) in order to do some agility. They too were incredulous that I didn't use a stay/wait command and argued that Loki would start breaking his stays upon my return because if it. I laughed and said of course not and they couldn't understand how I had taught him otherwise. I was like um.....hello....randomisation Needless to say we didn't stay there long

To give you an idea of what to expect in the workbook, a similar assessment used to be conducted during the VIC course that students were required to complete under exam conditions and did so in under 2 hours. It will be a combination of true/false, multiple choice and written answer questions specific to the theory that you have received. A group email regarding the assessments and the student forum will be sent to you early next week

To clarify, when I stated in my post that I don't believe it is diet related I mean that I don't believe my dog's allergies are diet related, certainly dogs can be allergic to things that they ingest. Poor coat condition and allergies as a result of dietary intake are two different things though. It's hard to say really, as I can't ask him. I know it bothers him and he licks/chews his feet and legs to the point where he has sores and they sometimes bleed. I don't know how much of this is allergy related and how much is the anxiety but I suspect that it is far more the latter. ETA: he certainly is a happy dog a lot of the time though, when he is not stressing about something!

My GSD suffers from allergies and when they get really bad a dose antibiotics really does help to clear up the worst. Regular washing of the affected areas with Malaseb and/or aloveen really soothes it too. It has helped somewhat that we no longer live in a fully carpeted house and I am careful of what I give him to lie on. I don't belive it is diet related but I do feed lots of antioxidants and detoxing herbs and supplements, which I believe do help a little. Bub does your dogs skin feel really hot in the affected areas? Loki's skin is red and can get very hot. He licks his legs a lot (a habit which is both allergy and anxiety related) and doesn't scratch a lot but I know he must be so uncomfortable when it is really bad. Loki also gets what the vet called "hyperpigmentation' where the skin gets blotches of darker colours on it, like freckles and 'hyperhydrosis' where droplets of moisture form on certain places on the skin, both of which are apparently signs of chronic allergies.

Ok from this response it doesn't sound like you are talking about the alpha roll in the sense that it is generally used. I think someone explained earlier in the thread about the difference between the alpha roll i.e. using physical force to dominate your dog as the result of a direct challenge and simply teaching a young dog to accept being rolled over and handled gently. It sounds like you are talking about the latter, which is fine.