Prydenjoy

What are peoples thoughts about taking kids to dog parks? My dogs love going to the dog park of an afternoon, but I do worry that taking my 20 month old toddler might pose a risk to her if another persons dog is not well socialised to children. Berri has a lot of energy and really needs a good off leash run every day or he loses the plot. Going without Meika is not an option though. What do other people with kids and dogs do?

I started Berri on clomicalm a week ago and am yet to see the results. Not for separation anxiety, just general anxiety and anxiety around children. Find a behaviorist that uses positive motivational methods, they will probably help you to counter condition and desensitise your dog to your absense. In Jean Donaldsons book "The Culture Clash" (truly marvelous book) she recommends putting a radio on in the "manageable" chunks in your separation training. The dog will learn that when the radio is on he doesn't need to stress, because you will be back soon (initially you wont even leave the room, just get up and look like you are leaving, then sit down and give lots of cuddles and praise etc). Of course this will be worked up to you leaving the room for a split second, and ultimately getting longer and longer until you can go and do your general duties and the dog will not work itself up into that state. In conjunction with the right medication (as Poodle Mum suggested it may take 6 weeks to see results) you should have a more happy and relaxed dog. Good luck!

If well socialised and trained, can they be a part of a multi dog house? Could they learn to be gentle with little dogs? I used to walk an Akita, he was one of the most stunning dogs I have ever met.

Ness, you could try randomly giving the command to sit through the day at varying distances, starting closer, and working to further away. Going back to basics means that you'll be able to reward BEFORE she goes down each time, perhaps throw in one or two rewards during the stay, then release. Once you've got speedy sits and some duration work on further and further away until you get back to where you are now. Obviously always release from the sit, without asking for a drop. Perhaps rewarding with a game of tug or something for a job well done? Randomly practicing over and over informally with big rewards seems to get a speedy and keen reaction, and gives you plenty of chances to reinforce the correct behavior.

What Aiden said. Set the dog up for success. I watch a lot of dogs trained by the "set them up for failure, then scream the house down" method and they show so many stress signals, they are so anxious that of course they break. Setting them up for success gives them confidence, and, from what I've seen, much more reliability. Watch your dogs body language, if they are yawning and generally look worried, you may be pushing them too far. Take a step or two back and aim for a happy, relaxed dog.

What's so special about these i squeaks that dogs love them so much? I want one!

Aww thanks heaps everyone!! You're all tops I can't go though as my mums out of town, OH is on call with work and his mum is already tied up looking after other grandkids, so I'll be staying home where I'm needed. It's hard to do things at short notice with dependents! Not to mention the 4 legged kind, I've got mums 3 dogs for a week and my own 2, OH would have been driven mad if I weren't here to control the mob

Which one will you be staying at Kate? If it's walking distance and it's cheap I might have to go to the same one!

I just got off the phone to NDTF to ask about a DVD of the conference this weekend, the lady said there most probably wont be a DVD but proceeded to talk me into going... I can only JUST afford the ticket and travel, and am trying to find a relative or something to stay with. Is anyone sharing accomodation or have a room to spare or anything? If I can't find accommodation I wont be able to go, and I really really want to go!

Berri is spoilt rotten, we break many of the "rules" eg he sleeps on our bed at night and is allowed to bludge food while we are eating (so long as he is polite about it and not trying to leap into our bowls), yet when it comes to training he is 110% switched on and really excells. I just find his motivation (in his case he is very food motivated) and he'll work hard for it. The only thing "different" that I ask people to do when training their dog for obedience is not to free feed (leave kibble out for the dog all day). There are many reasons for this though, and not all are related to obedience. As far as the technical terms etc go give it some time and you'll know it all yourself and wont even be quite sure when or where you learnt it... You kind of just pick it up. Have fun!

I guess it depends on exactly what you want to do, many jobs may say doing a course will help you get the position, but it doesn't HAVE to be the NDTF, any course will show an interest in dogs and if you can back that up with experience with dogs (eg volunteering at your local club) you've got a foot up anyway. The course content really appeals to me in the CASI course, that was my deciding factor.

MM - Roo mince is very lean and low in fats, I'd also be adding an EFA supplement of some form, that could help with the flakes. When you say intolerant to bone do you mean eating whole bones? Some butchers will mince chicken necks etc with offal etc so all you need to do is add veggies and EFA's if minced bone will solve your problem?

I've mowed the lawn before, I do work full time and if I need to mow the lawn I need to find a baby sitter, so isn't as "easy" as it might be otherwise. But if the weekend comes around or I finish work early one day and it hasn't been done (I get promises EVERY day "I'll do it tonight" but the words themselves are meaningless) I'll send Meika off to her nanny or something and mow the lawn myself. Actually, the dog run has been mowed, I made a deal with mum that if her OH cuts the lawn I'd look after her 3 dogs for the week, a deal which my OH isn't happy about but he's got to live with the consequenses of his lazyness! I did a spot test yesterday with the nettle and it looks fine. I'd rather give it to him internally though, he doesn't get bathed often. For a dog with allergies would you bathe them more or less often? I don't him on the whole VAN allergy thing, just the standard VAN that I mix up with a liver/mince mix and some EFA supplements. He's never really had that much of a problem for me to take extra measures before, just a scratch here and there. This is the first time he's actually licked any fur away and had a bare patch. Poor little buddy

Lots of great info in this post, I might actually try Berri and myself on the Aloe! Steve, will the dogs drink it straight or do you have to somehow force feed them, or add it to their water/food??

That's what I was confused about sas, spot testing to see if you can take it internally... He's drunk the tea before, he didn't like it much but he drank it still the same. It seemed to help but then the problem went away for a while (it seems worse when the grass is long, I'm struggling to get OH to mow it at the moment but he's incredibly stubborn and lazy!). What if I added it to his vets all natural and let it soak overnight, then he could eat it in his food? Would eating the leaves, as opposed to drinking them in form of a tea, be bad?

Thanks for all of the great info, I'll try the calendula as well. Can someone explain the spot test? Theoretically, if I apply it to some of his skin he'll have a reaction if he's going to have a reaction to drinking it? So I just make up the tea and dab a bit on his tummy?

Good luck, enjoy the course. After a great deal of thought I've decided to do the CASI course, another one you might want to look into

Berri has allergies, he often has a scratch here or there but I didn't realise it was so bad until I saw a dry, red, bare patch of skin on each of his front legs around his dew claws. I had a closer look and his skin is quite red. He seems to get seasonal allergies (so do I, I feel his pain!) and I've heard that nettle tea can help with that. I have some that I got for him a while ago but haven't used much, I wasn't sure how to use it. Do I make it up into a tea and give it as drinking water? Or am I better off to add it directly to his food? How much would I add for a <4kg dog? If I add it to his water will it hurt little Mango pup? I have some alloveen that I'm rubbing into it, is there anything else I can do to help him? He's on a good diet with plenty of fish oil etc. Would Vitamin E help his skin problems? That is one thing I don't add to his food... How about Ester C? I bought some today for Mango, perhaps it will help him?

Yeah exactly, how many people can actually use it properly? The classes we run we spend a great deal more time trying to get people to use check chains effectively than offering rewards effectively, for the simple reason that when people don't use a check chain effectively the dog is suffering.

We had our family poodle on a check chain when we started training her, she completely shut down and to this day is unwilling to do anything. I'd rather have poor timing on a reward than a punishment. I see people jerking their dogs around for no reason all of the time, the dog doesn't understand why they are constantly being punished. Very sad to see :D

Great idea, start practicing at a distance from the cars so that the urge to chase isn't too overwhelming, and gradually get closer. Eventually seeing a car will be a cue to go to you, as opposed to chasing it.

There's nothing to say even with a head halti that you can't stop and allow the dog to sniff. As for following a scent, well you can train just as effectively whether you use a martingale or the like, or just a head halter and rewards, along with a heel and watch me command. I've never had Berri on a check chain but if I tell him to heel past a distraction he does just that and doesn't take his eyes off mine until I tell him to. It comes down to training more than the tool you use, I guess the tool you use comes down to personal preference.

Haven't read the entire thread, but have you tried a head halter? Hard to pull with a head halter, also great for keeping sniffy noses off the ground as I could imagine would be a problem with a beagle! Perhaps not so suitable for a Cav with a short nose, that being said I did used to have one for my Boxer. Even if you could get one just for the beagle then it would be easier to train the Cav if the Beagle isn't egging it on. I'd be arming myself with plenty of treats when I walk out the door and rewarding for walking nicely, then the walk is more enjoyable for everyone involved! That is how I taught Berri not to go mental every time we walked past another dog, he would pull and snarl and now he hardly bats an eye, in fact now I take him to the off leash park all the time because he's gone from a mental frenzy every time he sees another dog, to a typical playful Pap. The power of rewards is incredible!

I'd be teaching a quiet command, Berri gets a bit barky at times and now when I say quiet he is (usually) quiet. Start by interrupting the barking with the command quiet, and give a reward straight away. Gradually lengthen the time between the command and the reward. At training, if he is barking at something, use a body block and a watch me command, works with Berri, he looks at me, gets treats and forgets about what it is he was barking at. As for night time, I'd be buying a crate and crate training for night time. During the day, plenty of stimulation in the way of stuffed kongs, a dog bungee, a digging pit and large raw meaty bones, as well as maybe some squeeky toys and rope like toys. The owners should spend plenty of time playing with him with those toys when they are home so that they are very valuable to him. Also, rotating them will keep them new and interesting. Hope that helps!

The Vets All Natural looks pretty good to me, but I haven't actually used it - It's terribly expensive! I just use a good diet and fish oil supplements, never had a dog with a dry coat since doing this. Mum even says to me "I've never seen a white dog that shines so much!" so I guess I must be doing something right...