Staranais

If you mean what ultimate evolutionary advantage does play behaviour serve, I'd say it serves lots of ultimate purposes in both animals and in humans. Social bonding, practicing social roles, practicing hunting techniques, passing on the culture of the group. I'd say the proximate goal of play is to have fun. "Fun" is the immediate emotional reward that the animal gets for play, and evolution provides this reward as by playing the animal is doing something that is advantageous for its survival/reproduction (honing survival skills & group cohesion).

I didn't read the whole thing, but I've got to say I'm always rather suspicious of anyone who says that "a growing body of scientific evidence" supports their claims - but then doesn't give any references to this evidence!

This is very true. I've read that dogs do not feel remorse/guilt and that 'look' they get when they've done something wrong is simply appeasement behaviour but honestly if you saw Elbie after he has done something naughty - he looks extremely guilty and remorseful and if it's appeasement conduct, it must be in his genetic code because he certainly never learned that appeases us It's true. I think the slippery slope is when people start to punish the dog because it looks guilty and therefore they assume it "knows" it's done wrong. I have no idea whether dogs are capable of feeling guilt or not, but even if they are it doesn't make that a good or fair training technique! To be fair though, I also know some humans who say sorry to appease people, without actually feeling any guilt, so are they any different to the dog? It's an interesting subject. I guess some people would say I'm anthropomorphic for believing that dogs can feel affection and love - but I think they're doing the opposite when they deny that dogs share this ability with humans - and I guess until we find a way to talk to dogs we'll never know who is right.

If she's that agile & toy driven, a USAR home might want her?

If you're talking about the extreme cases where people are clearly living in a fantasy land as regarding the motives and intellectual capabilities of their dogs, then I agree that's a bit silly, and often deleterious to the dog. But otherwise, this question is a bit pointless, since everyone here is human - we all interpret what our dogs do from our own (human) frame of reference, even if we try our best to be objective. Just like our dogs can only interpret what we do from their own canine frame of reference. Plus, dogs do have many similar qualities to humans, and since none of us can directly ask a dog what they think, different people will believe different things about dog emotional & intellectual lives. Some people will say it's anthropomorphic to believe that dogs can feel love or anger or jealousy, for example, other people think it is blindingly obvious that their dogs can feel these emotions.

Some dogs cope better with simultaneously learning different tricks than others do. If your dog is getting confused, I'd only teach one at a time. If you really have to teach both simultaneously for some reason, how about teaching both in different rooms. Highly food motivated would work well too, IMO - it's the fact that the dog is really motivated to earn something that matters, not what the dog is motivated to get. Skipping breakfast can be a good idea, if you want to use food & your dog isn't very food motivated. If he's scratching & biting, I'd wonder if you've increased your criteria too quickly, he sounds frustrated. I'd go back a few steps until you're getting 80% right responses to the cue first time & he looks happy and confident, then only increase your criteria for reward slowly from there. I know when I teach scent work things, if my dog isn't 100% clear on what I want, we don't make it any harder until the confusion is cleared up. Good luck!

What are the new regulations?

Would they be receptive to you having the dogs there, but to go for a walk together on leash before dinner, then separate them (put yours in your car, or tie them up separately or put in separate rooms) afterwards during dinner? Or maybe have dinner, then go for an after dinner walk together with all the dogs?

Could be either reason. I'd stop the putting rubbish in a bin, for now, if you can, or else make sure the props/cue/location you're using for both tricks are very different, in case he's getting them confused. If his reward isn't good enough then I guess he might be amusing himself by playing with the boxes. His general attitude towards training (how engaged he is) should tell you if the reward is good enough. It also sounds like he may not be entirely sure what exactly is earning the reward, so is experimenting with behaviours to see which gets rewarded - this is a good thing, by the way, far better than him responding to confusion by giving up. So to deal with that, make sure you do your best to mark the desired behaviour quickly & consistently so he's getting the most accurate feedback possible. You may also want to make it a step or two easier - go back to the last level he was successful at, and increase the difficulty slowly from there - only ever make it harder when he's getting 80% of the trials correctly first time. Hope that helps.

I have one of those K9Pro ones for my girl and really like it, it is very soft. But, I'm pretty sure they don't come in purple! Oh they come in heaps of colours - black, black and BLACK I have one too. Love it You can have any colour you like... so long as it's black?

I have one of those K9Pro ones for my girl and really like it, it is very soft. But, I'm pretty sure they don't come in purple!

Often it's very early pregnancy and nothing much is visible. It's a bit hard but I wouldn't call that part of it the most difficult, if the puppies or kittens aren't wanted and if they are not going to well-vetted homes then it's often better that way- definitely for kittens!! I can't stand people who think it's ok to let their cat have more female kittens outdoors that eventually go semi feral and continue to breed. I too am more upset being involved in PTS adult animals than with desexing pregnant animals. Desexing pregnant animals is a bit sad I guess, but it's nothing like as bad as looking in the eyes of a healthy, friendly dog that you're about to kill.

Not if they're straight.

I understand that someone has to do that, but I simply couldn't work in a place like that. Too soft.

Interesting. Is she defensive, do you think - I'm wondering if he attacked her when you were eating in the past, and she now associates you preparing food as being a trigger for his aggression, so wants to get in first & defend herself? Either way, you'll need pro help. If you say where you are, perhaps someone will have a recommendation for someone good you can see.

I don't tell people that my dog sometimes gets to eat scraps off the plates after dinner. But, if they come into the kitchen to help do the dishes, they'll see it for themselves! I guess my dog does lick her own genitalia, but I've seen guys scratch their balls before dinner too, and god knows what horrible things most kids put in their mouths.

Will be interesting to see what the bloodwork shows tomorrow - could suggest something like meningitis, or discospondylitis, or another infectious etiology? Hope it's nothing serious. Checking for ticks is a good idea. I'd be suprised if it was something as simple as a muscle spasm or tear with a temperature of nearly 40, but could be dead wrong, & seeing a good chiro won't hurt.

Yes, and no, I think. You do get a little desensitised, or you simply couldn't do the job without getting very depressed. But, I still find some clients and some cases very distressing. They tell us in class that veterinarians have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession, so you do have to wonder if dealing with this type of thing day in and day out does take its toll on some people.

Some ideas: It's an awkward shape or feeling in his mouth, so he picks it up repeatedly until it feels right in his mouth? Or perhaps he just is too excited to get the reward to concentrate on holding it? Or, your rewards aren't good enough, so he's getting bored & playing with the bottle to reward himself? I'd first attempt to fix by making it really easy (e.g. don't put it too far away & use something he likes to hold), then if he drops it I'd be giving a NRM and gently taking it off him, putting it back, & asking him to try again. If he's not motivated, then perhaps work on engagement until he's willing to play the game with you.

Yes that's right, Sue. I muzzle my dog to prevent her eating possums - because of 1080 - and it comes with the added benefit that it helps protect any protected fauna she might come across. It doesn't stop the need for training my dog to leave possums alone, it just gives an extra margin of safety for everyone.

If your dog was in an offleash area and under effective control, then she had the problem, not you - muzzle or no muzzle.

I wouldn't tie my dog out either, especially if I knew they were DA sometimes. The club I go to has a rule that no dogs are to be tied out, and I think it's a good one. Too much risk of incidents if the tied up dog feels trapped or cornered by another dog or person.

Why the sarcasm? All I've seen in this thread are people offering constructive suggestions as to how they feel their sport can be improved. Why mock people for doing that? As far as I'm aware, you don't need to be prepared to become a judge in order to discuss or submit rule changes. Also no one, as far as I've seen, has suggested that judges learn any more languages whatsoever.

If it was already dead when it was frozen then that's not necessarily a cruelty case (depending on how it died), it's merely bizarre.

My dog does not eat from my plate, or at meal times with me. I don't like her learning to expect food whenever I'm eating. She doesn't beg, but if she's a pain at all when people are eating I'll tell her to go lie down in her crate or go outside. She sometimes gets left overs from the meal after we're finished eating, but she works for those.