haven

I agree with most of the info and suggestions posted. Don't treat your dogs like humans, they're dogs. You wouldn't treat a human like a dog would you? Dogs expect and respect leadership. Obedience classes are a superb place to start. I agree on the submissive urination, but the peeing when excited and greeting is not uncommon in pups simply because they can't hold on. Discourage jumping up as it seems to happen more when they do. Don't punish ANY form of urination. It's counter productive because they don't understand. If you catch them in the act and punish they think actually toileting is wrong, so they try to hold on (and eventually pee) or find a hidden spot to go (like in your closet). Can also cause dogs to eat their own faeces (coprafascia, I think that's how it is spelled). When your dog rolls over and urinates she is being as lowly and as unthreatening as she knows how. If you ignore her offer of submission and act aggressively by punishing this it creates serious problems. Ignore it completely and clean it up when your dog is out of the room with an enzyme based cleaner to break down the scent (masking the odour from your nose won't mask it form your dogs). I doubt that her growling is dominance based, I'd think it more likely to be learned. When it happens what do you do? If you react by desisting, you are reinforcing that behaviour and making it more likely to occur. Cockers, although lovely dogs, are well known for possesive aggression and resource guarding. My advice would be not to give any high value items when unsupervised, or preferably not at all. Digging is a huge issue and I need more info on when and where it occurs to advise you on that one. Sounds to me like you may be seeing a change in hierarchy between your two dogs as your younger girl comes into maturity. It's a hotly debated issue but I recommend that you reinforce whichever dog is dominant, not whichever dog you wish to be dominant over the other. Acknowledge the higher dogs status by feeding them first, patting them first etc. And no your dog has no idea that they have done something wrong. They are either reading your body language or have made an association with getting into trouble when you get home.

Thanks for posting guys! In another thread some suggestions were a footy and tennis game and a visit to bunnings! I played a sound effects cd for my little guy from the day he was born, slowly increasing the volume. Places he has been include the airport, train station (and on the train) and bus depot, a building site, swimming at the physio, the beach, the gym, the police and fire stations,supermarket, wreckers yard, my work (truck factory), my other work (office). He goes to puppy school 3-4 times a week (i teach there) and is exposed to hundreds of things as we focus on socialisation (not just ppl and dogs). He has seen kids on bikes, go-karts, scooters and skateboards. People of all ages and dressed in costumes, masks and big hats etc. I take him out onto a main road often to get used to traffic. Has seen all manner of kids toys, gone over agility equipment and different surfaces (bean bag, bubble wrap, checkerplate) etc. I make sure he is handled all over by different people and we do mock vet stuff like muzzling, bandaging, being carried on a strecher, checks etc. One of our training centres is near a hospital so he has even seen a helicopter land and take off!

I find it strange that people claim to use "only positive reinforcement." What do you do when the dog does something undesirable? A verbal correction is still positive punishment and witholding food, attention or restricting freedom is still negative punishment if it makes the behaviour less likely to occur. For you guys having trouble with getting your dogs to stop pulling on the lead theres some info in the earlier posts but I'll give you my suggestions again. 1. When your dog puts Any tension on the lead EVER I give a physical correction relative to the dog to punish the pulling. If that makes you squeemish skip to step 2. Change directions. If you continue forward your dog is rewarded with every step by getting where they want to go. 3. Praise (low level) whenever your dog is not pulling to positively reinforce walking nicely on lead. Extra tips: let you dog have full length of a decent size lead and let them walk wherever they want, stop and sniff, toilet etc but be sure to be the one to decide where, when and how long you stop. Don't let your dog dictate to you. Practice as much as you can before you go for an ctual walk to get the concept across to your dog. Change directions often to encourage your dog to keep an eye out for where you are going, this makes them less likely to pull. Be persistant, this method works, but only if you are more stubborn than your dog! DONT give in to an established puller, they will learn walking nicely on lead is in their best interests only if you are consistent. I agree about the heeling, keep it short and simple, increase in small increments. Taking your dog for a walk and making them heel all the way is no fun for them!

I used to call him 'old goat' affectionately, of course (dunno where that came from tho). I kept expecting the neighbours to report us to the RSPCA or something! He looked terrible in the last 6 mths, dull coat, a bag of bones, blind, deaf etc, but he never seemed to be in any pain (medicated for arthritis) and the vet agreed. Passed away peacefully in his sleep. Many fond memories.

Trifecta, I've never heard this so thanks for the heads up! Do you know anywhere I can get more information? Cairo, your dog is beautiful and I hope he gets better. My last GSD lived to be 20...every winter we would say he wouldn't survive and every summer we would say he wouldn't survive but he just kept on truckin! I think a supplement like sashas blend or Vets All Natural joint formula is a great idea for older dogs, esp. of breeds more likely to have joint probs. I'd consider a physiotherapist. I know there is a great place in Doveton (if you live in Melbourne, VIC) called 'Dogs In Motion'. They also have a swimming pool which is a great way to excersise, especially for dogs that can't be excersised the traditional way. All the best.

Here, here! I feel for you guys having to put up with this sort of dangerous behaviour (from dogs and owners alike). At my club a dog without a reliable on lead recall would certainly not be considered advanced level. We also have strict rules on aggressive dogs: Dogs with aggression issues are not allowed in advanced because it involves off lead work. Dogs with aggression issues must wear a bright orange lead so others can clearly see it is not safe to approach. Said dogs must not be left unattended at any time. Should a similar incident occur (and it has) the dog is demoted from advanced until the issue is declared under control by a senior trainer. The owner would be required to muzzle the dog and keep it on an orange lead at all times. If they refused they would quite simply be asked to leave the class. It's so unfortunate that your safety and that of your dogs, as well as your enjoyment of and commitment to training and doing the right thing has been marred by someone who most certainly should have known better.

Im starting this thread hoping to get as many suggestions for socialisation as possible. That way those of us with pups have a great list to work with to ensure our dogs grow to be confident in all situations. If you have a great place to take your pup for socialisation, please post! Don't forget to include novel items too not just people, places and animals!

Personally I would either change your CR (saying 'good'girl) and/or look at how you are saying it. If you use too much excitement in your tone its easy for the dog to think it is praise for the end of the excersise, or simply become over excited. Use low and slow praise. A heel is a very intense excersise for any dog to learn, especially a young dog with a short attention span (which certainly doesn't mean they are incapable). Ensure you work it slowly, 3 steps of quality heeling is better than 10 sloppy steps. Look at when you are giving your food reward too. I'm not saying this applies to you but I often see owners in obedience classes reward their dogs at inappropriate times. Personally I wouldn't attempt to teach the heel at all until I'd taught my dog not to pull on the lead.

Yep. My old GSD (long since gone now) cracked a cooked lamb leg bone when chewing away happily. One end peirced the inside of his throat and the bone split in half lengthwise and got jammed over his teeth and gums. Very sore doggy and a very costly trip to the vet where they prised it off with pliers. Iv'e since been told that you can use a desert spoon pointing down if its over the top teeth or up if its the bottom to prise the bone away but I'd rather not risk it! My brothers dog got a splinter of bone from a cooked lamb chop lodged in its bowel sideways. Every time the dog tried to go to the toilet it screamed in agony. Another costly visit to the vet....

I got a GSD from the RSPCA when he was 2 yrs. It took over a year to get his appetite up, he use to starve himself for up to a week at a time and I couldn't walk him regularly or he would lose too much weight! His problems were mainly a result of his extremely nervous disposition, but I resolved the issue when I switched to a natural diet. I also found that fasting 1 day a week helps. Now I have trouble keeping him out of the rubbish bin!! I'm proud as punch at the moment because he's almost a tad overweight!

I'm personally of the opinion that commercial pet food is not as good as a more natural diet. Check out the B.A.R.F. diet (web search) and a product called Vet's All Natural. If you're an avid reader, try "give your dog a bone" by Dr. Ian Billinghurst. Miranda, I once saw a mini foxy whelp rottweiler pups. Not pretty.

Congrats on the record Kate, but can i suggest that for the time being you avoid walking the same route, that way you can avoid the 'i know the way, lets race home' syndrome. Even just find a spot and walk back and forth until the pulling behaviour is under control.

Kate, I agree with Rusky on the dog pulls, stop, change direction method. It's important to note however, consistency is key. Pulling on the lead is often so very frustrating that people eventually give up because they want to get to where they are going sometime today! Unfortunately this creates a dog that pulls even more. Hang in there, be 100% consistent in not allowing pulling to go unchecked and your dog will see that pulling never gets him where he wants to go. On the other hand, if your dog doesn't pull not only does he gets to go where he wants, he gets praise from you!