4 Paws

Defianetly my choice as well

Just noticed a Gentle Leader Calming cap on a product update I get from a wholesaler A bit of information- http://www.petexpertise.com/index.php?targ...d=29800#petdesc The Gentle Leader Calming Cap is a wonderful tool for easing a dog’s anxiety in high-stress situations allowing an opportunity for easier vet visits, dog-to-dog or dog-to-people interactions and travel. The Calming Cap reduces visual stimuli and lowers the dog’s emotional arousal helping him to remain comfortable, overcome fearfulness, and increase confidence. The single-panel sheer fabric window does not blind your dog, but filters his vision like trying to see under low-light conditions. Dogs can still see well enough to go on walks and play fetch. Most dogs accept the Cap easily. Groomers-for trims & nail clippings Veterinarians-for vaccinations, blood samples, exams, and other procedures on fractious or frightened dogs Trainers & Behaviorists-for use in desensitization, easing dog-dog and dog-people introductions and separation anxiety Pet Owners-for curbing explosive barking when visually stimulated and reducing anxiety in cars, during travel, and on vet visits Available in four sizes! Novato dog behaviorist Trish King can get even the most nervous dog to go for a car ride or visit the veterinarian. The Gentle Leader Calming Cap she created helps quell angst or aggression for dogs in stressful situations. "The calming cap can be used to relax dogs during nail trims, medical procedures and social interactions," said King, director of behavior and training at the Marin Humane Society. "It's a great tool for anyone who needs to calm an anxious dog, including groomers, veterinarians and trainers." The dog's vision is filtered through a gauze-like fabric that gives dogs enough sight to navigate surroundings but reduces visual stimuli that can cause anxiety, Humane Society spokeswoman Sheri Cardo said. "I did not want the dogs to be blinded," King said. "They can see shades - light and dark - they just cannot see specifics." King got the idea for the cap in 2002 when a client - whose Australian shepherd/chow mix enrolled in her "Difficult Dog Class" at the Humane Society - complained that the dog barked excessively while riding in the car. "Together we came up with a scarf-type thing to put over the dog's eyes in the car and it worked well," King said. "The first time, the dog tried to get it off. The second time she just accepted it and the third time she went to sleep." Though originally designed to calm dogs that got excitable traveling in cars, applications of the cap evolved. "People started to use it and said it worked for other things," King said. In 2003 another client had problems with two great Pyrenees. "They would spin in the car," King said. "I suggested they try it and the dogs fell asleep." San Anselmo resident Jean Mansen said her malamute, Kodiak, suffers from severe motion sickness. "He is terrified of being in a car and gets incredibly car sick, so much so he would start drooling when he walked by a car and started throwing up after being in a car for about two minutes," Mansen said. At nearly 3 years old, Kodiak never outgrew the ailment. Mansen tried several remedies including medications, homeopathic methods and behavior modification techniques. Everything changed about a year ago with the purchase of a cap. "Trish did a private consultation for us at home because we could not take Kodiak anywhere," Mansen said. "She had never used it on a dog with motion sickness before but we got one and he was so much better. He still is nervous near cars and still drools a little bit but he never threw up and now he goes up to Lake Tahoe with us. It works and keeps working." At first, two women in Turlock sewed the caps by hand. In 2005, Premier Pet Products based in Richmond, Va., which manufactures and distributes pet products, approached King to produce and market the cap. "We are always excited to produce safe, humane products that help animals," said Sharon Bennett, Premier's chief executive officer. "In the professional market, we saw an opportunity to give veterinarians, groomers, trainers and animal shelter staff an effective tool to allow for easier handling and interactions. "Above all else, we viewed the calming cap as a device to create stronger bonds between dog and owner." The cap attaches to a dog collar with Velcro straps. King said the Marin Humane Society has sold 500 to 600 caps around the country. The item has been offered through Premier for about six months. "We knew it would be a valuable product for many pets," Bennett said. Would be interesting to know how well it works for dogs needing something like this

Rally-O is an exciting new competition that offers an 'alternative' to more traditional obedience trials. The dog and handler compete in a course laid out by the judge, however unlike traditional competitive obedience, dogs and handlers follow signs placed on the course rather than cues called by the judge. Dogs and handlers move at their own pace through the course following the instructions laid out at each 'station'. During the progression through the course, handlers are able to talk to their dogs, praise and encourage them, clap their hands, pat their legs or use any means of verbal encouragement. Although the handler is not allowed to physically touch to reward the dog, neither are they allowed to give corrections; loud or harsh cues or intimidating gestures will be severely penalised. Rally-O is not yet a recognised 'dog sport' in Australia Taken from here http://www.boroondaradogtraining.com.au/rally.htm Sounds Like fun

I'm not a big fan of headcollars either but have one of these Newtrix Easyway headcollars,recommended by Dr Ian Dunbar and they are an excellent fit.Clips behind the head,not under the muzzle. http://www.pawzazzpetz.com.au/gpage6.html They have a padding on the nose part

I feel your pain here's a link to a thread I started a few weeks ago as I was having trouble with my foxie dropping.There may be a few suggestions in it that may help http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=149645

have you thought about spitting the treats from your mouth for the time being

Just rang a vet and they said it should pass through ok,just to keep an eye on him. he thinks it would soften,not get hard,lets hope so,now I'll just be following him around to find the result , great

oh,I am sooo tempted

Daughter just came up and told me our foxie just ate a piece of bluetak about the size of a 10cent piece but a ball of it.Should we be worried?

Hey,if I can get a foxie to drop anyone can get a dog to drop.I only started training him 2 weeks ago and we've progressed 2 classes in that time at obedience.Must say I'm dumbfounded as I normally train my shepherds and have never spent any time with the foxie Good Luck with it all

Hi there Felix, to sharpen a CERAMIC blade top cutter, a special machine has to be used, it is a machine that has NO vibrations at all so you don't get CHIPS on the edges of the tynes, and it spins very high, when you put the cutter on the plate the cutter GLOWS like a light, and very fine dust comes of it, it has a diamond DEAD flat plate, there are only 7 machines worldwide, nicestman77. now lucky we didn't have anything nasty to say about him

At a meeting for our training club last night there was discussion in regard to people having to show there dogs vaccanation cert to be able to train when we are training on public grounds(showground) Somone mentioned another local club that trains at a park does not make members show proof of vacc Just wonder what other clubs stance is on vaccanations.WE have to show when joining and renewing

http://clipperbladesharpening.webs.com/ Highly Recommend Colin is also a member on DOL

I'm currently reading -So your dog's not Lassie-Tips for training Difficult Dogs and Independent Breeds A worthwhile read if you can find a copy.I brought this one 2nd hand on ebay but it has a sticker on the back from Collins Booksellers

Bugger,I know they wern't taking any new wholesale customers a while ago,seemed strange to me

anyone know who the wholesaler is?Wouldn't mind stocking them as well

Thankyou guy's. Terrorbull,are yours around the same price as lovemypet?

Just purchased one of these balls from Leerburg and can't believe one of my gsd's who never plays at all is actually interested in and was running after it and retrieving it so now wish I brought a few more. It's designed to be used with the Chuckit launcher.Its not an actual tennis ball,more a rubber ball. Anyone seen anything like these in Aust?would love to grab a few more

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/rloftus/click.htm

thankyou,see sonething so easy and you don't think of it when your other dogs have just got it and you've never really had to think about it

Perhaps look at NZ Green Lip Muscles and see if they may assist your dog. I use them and they reduce inflamation. This is what I use as a preventative on young dogs rather than the joint supplements. Alison,do you give the actual dried green lipped muscles or is it a powder or capsule form? I was sent dried green lipped muscles as a sample to try and my dogs quite enjoyed them.What dosage do you give?

thankyou for the suggestions,will give them a try He is not clicker trained.Any ideas how to keep him in a drop for longer than a few seconds as well?.He tends to pop up fairly quickly after been giving the verbal marker and the teat

Ok,so I own 2 german shepherds and have obedience them both with no problems what so ever.We attend the local obedience club and progressed through the levels very fast,having both in the top level within about 4-5 months.Now my challenge is our foxie.He is about 6 years old and I've never done any training with him apart from sit basically.He's not really my type of dog as obviously I love my gsd's but after watching our club flyball members the other day I deceided I'd like to see about the possibility of him doing flyball so deceided I'd get him up to scratch on some basic obedience. Now he will sit lovely,even doing an auto sit and heels quite well and I've got him doing quite good stays in a couple of days but we're struggling with the drops.He will drop the front part of his body after luring with food but usually ends up with the bum end still up a bit.He is totally food focused so has learned very quickly to drop to be able to get the treats but I'm struggling to get the rear end down I'm going to take him to obedience on Sat and don't want to look like a fool after having such well trained german shepherds Any suggestions

Still waiting for approval,they did ask the importer for more info the other day so maybe it's getting closer to be approved for import

I think these are the harness's wolfgirl has http://cgi.ebay.com/Sporn-Simple-Control-D...S:B:SRCH:US:101