haven

Nup I knew it was a friday, hence the need to get the day off work Good point for anyone who may not have realised, I hope it doesn't mean you wont be able to make it!

Not sure what you're saying Lablover I have done the NDTF cert III in dog behaviour and training and the cert IV canine behaviour specialist. I've had dogs all my life but only been really involved in training dogs since I got Loki nearly 4 years ago. I teach obedience classes, but certainly wouldn't profess to know even a small percentage of everything!

Not only can I imagine it K9, I lived it for the 9 months or so that i had him before joining ADT. Every other dog club I approached and a very well respected delta trained behaviourist turned us away, deeming him beyond help. He will sometimes take food rewards, but not if he is stressed. Never at training, or in the presence of someone he doesn't know. Makes for a great food refusal demo as I can put food in his mouth and he will spit it out

Ooh, I've driven a ferrari twice and a maserati a few times. Being a spray painter sure has its advantages

I'm not looking for 'high level standards', nor am I 'desperate' to train in prey drive. What I am working with is the concept that drive blocks fear. If I can develop and utilise his 'positive' drives, then it may help me help him overcome some of his issues. He is trained in obedience, I'm not interested in competetion or anything like that, I just want to imporve his quality of life. He's my dog, I made a commitment to owning him when I got him from the RSPCA. He's not perfect, but I don't have the luxury of not working with what I have, as I'm not prepared to get rid of him and get a new dog that would be more able. Will definately have to bring him on the 18th.

Pampa, relax there are hundreds of things it could be other than bone cancer! I always recommend starting with the book " The nature of animal healing" by Martin Goldstein, a vet who practices mainly natural therapies. His clinic deals predominantly with cancer and many of the petients are refered there as a 'last hope.' Despite this they have one of the highest recovery rates from cancer in the world. The book is great for anyone as it covers diet, vaccinations and various health issues but covers a lot of info and has a seperate section on cancer and treatments for.

doesn't chase birds, doesn't chase anything. Loves to do agility, jumping and tramping around playing GIJoe, makles him feel like a man methinks

Oh yeah, I know that HR! You don't know what you're in for til you meet him

I would agree, but for the urgency of the OP. I would try a combination of everything, as you obviously feel you don't have the luxury to take a few months trying various things. Would most definately be contacting the police though!

How do you do this exactly? Loki won't touch toys, balls, food etc. Of course everyone's first reaction is "oh you just haven't tried hard enough" or "I bet I can find something he likes" The thing is, his nerves always get the better of him and he has such a low threshold, even working at a distance doesn't cut it. I have been desensitizing him for the 3.5 years I have had him and he is 100000 times better than he was, has passed advanced obedience etc. If I could just utilise drive to block fear then I feel it would help him immensely but his fear always blocks his drive.

Have you contacted the police?

I guess I can afford to be a blase about the topic, as my dogs are not the type of dogs to go bananas when they see other dogs or people. As I had neither as pups, I can't take credit for having 'neutralized' dogs and people, they just generally aren't that excited about other people or dogs, Loki especially. In thinking about many dogs I see at training, I can really see that it can be a big issue as with many dogs, all training and focus goes out the window in the presence of other people and/or dogs. I always considered this to be a training, or more specifically a proofing issue, but now I see that it can be affected by socialization also. Although, I always make a point of controlling the things that my dog really like and as no-one else feeds or plays with my dogs and neither are really inclined to play with other dogs, it's never been an issue.

Sorry I'm a little confused: Are you saying the guy was being sarcastic when he said he would kill the dog or that he is serious? If he's j/k then i would tell him to suck it up. The ignoring thing will work IF the barking is not being reinforced by anything, but it may take a little time. If he is being serious and keeping the dog inside or crated is not an option, than you might try +punishment by applying an aversive when the dog barks. You want the dog to consider this an "act of god" rather than coming from you, so hide and when the dog barks throw a bucket of water (assuming she would find this aversive). Or you could try an anti-barking collar. Never had to use one myself and have heard mixed results from those who have. Are you sure there is nothing that is reinforcing the dog barking?

Good point Rusky. Having two dogs, it's simply not feasable for me to stop them from getting enjoyment from eachother and to be honest I wouldn't want to. Thay respect me enough to obey me regardless. Personally I agree with both sides. I see what you're saying Steve, but when i look at my dogs, which are basically just companions and not for any specific purpose, I'm happy for them to find fun in something other than me. I try, where possible to ensure that I control access to that thing, but I'm happy and actually want them to see certain things about the outside world as rewarding. I guess it is where you draw the line. ETA: were I training for a specific purpose, then perhaps I would be a bit more pedantic.

Like i said, you need to motivate her, she needs to see there is something in it for her, something super duper that she won't have access to unless she sits, right now! ETA: Do you train this in a sequence normally? Recall then drop? If so, she may be anticipating your command. If that is the case don't punish her for it, just try not to form a pattern when you are training, mix it up.

That's the one, thanks PP. Although her perception of the use of a E-collar my not be accurate, I agree with EW in that you don't need one to overcome the issues you are having.

I thought you were refering to the use of negative reinforcement in general, not specifically the e-collar. Not so long ago EW, I thought the same. However E-collars are not the 'shock collars' of old, they are a need breed (pardon the pun) of training tool. K9 Force posted a link to some info recently but I'm unsure where. Anyone able to provide it?

Also, don't give her free access to treats and toys outside of training time. Cut down on non-contingent reinforcement if you're like me and can't help but pat your og every time you walk passed. Why would she work for something that was freely given for doing nothing 5 minutes ago and will be again in another 5 minutes?

Why wouldn't you want to use negative reinforcement to teach basic obedience? ETA: PP, no it's not a girl thing its a handler issue. It is your job to ensure she is motivated to work for you. I second what EW said, don't offer treats until after the excersise has been completed and start spacing them out EG give every second time, then every third etc etc.

I boiled the mint, lemongrass and lavender in water and then let it sit for 24 hrs in the fridge before straining into a spray bottle. Don't know how long it would keep. The stuff I had worked well, but it's now been sitting in the fridge through winter so I'll be making some new stuff i guess.

That's what it was! MINT, thanks Rachiie! In my research I also read the an avon product, think it was called skin so soft, mixed with water works well. Haven't tried it personally.

Back at the racecourse we used to wipe the horses down with a kerosene rag so the flys didn't bother them! Worked well, but not a method I would recommend...

I searched for ages and ended up making my own with lemongrass, lavender and something else (some kind of herb, may have been sage, can't remember) worked a treat

Loki is in the 'terrified and freaking out about everything' category, so if I can reserve a crate/pen for him, I'll bring him along. Otherwise he will be too much of a pain in the %$#

Cool, maybe I will then. I'll see if I'm up for the embarrassment