NaturallyWild

All the other deterents to interupt the behaviour need to be imployed eg as stated, chicken wire, buried poo, distasteful products, etc. There is quite likely a result of frustration from limited stimulation, so a good idea would be to create as many mind stimulating games to take up the time, eg such as the suggested burying treats in the sand pit, stuffed kongs, hanging toys. The other thing would be to put the digging behaviour under stimulus control - shape the behaviour in the sand pit - once put on cue it will need to be repeated a lot of times before if becomes habit (1000 or so), but no rewarding the behaviour if offered without you asking once it is on cue. Also no need to have the sandpit near the area they are digging, you want them wanting to dig away from it from the beginning. Try to then utilise this cue, rewarding lots when you are around so it is a less attractive thing to do when you are not around (they get no rewards). As i said earlier it is important to interupt the undesirable digging as it is often self rewarding. Doing this you can change the habits/desires from digging anywhere they want to only digging when you ask them to. Hope this helps.

Bob - is a needy dog, who knows what was happening when i was off at the symposium during the day between him and his handler. :p Sardog - they didn't mention andrew once, but did in conversation some how bring up bob as being the name for a dog - i only just managed to contain my laughter. They are now moving to france - will update you when i get back in a couple of weeks.

Anything your dog finds appealing. Toys (tugs, balls, stuffed animals etc), tissues, ice cubes, varieties of food (diced up chuck steak/gravy beef, other types of meat raw or cooked in various ways, cheese, fruits, veggies, etc). Be creative, but also present them in an appealling way eg. if you seem very interested in what you have, they are more likely to as well.

When i last spoke to Dr Bruce Syme he did not suggest to add kibble to his mixtures - doing so is likely to unbalance the calium/phosphorus levels. Instead just adding raw meaty bones with the odd bit of organ meat was suggested. I would suggest you try and contact Bruce via email on his website (vetsallnatural) to get direct confirmation of what he suggests. I personally believe raw meaty bones (meaty being the main part) with about 10-20% organ meat (or total meal once a week) is the main basis of what they should eat. On top of that any left over amounts of vegies (pulsed), fruits and grains (broken & soaked) can be added. It is also possible to add various additives to improve general health (eg vit c, garlic etc) and to potentially help with disease/worm prevention. A top quality supply of the base foods should suffice anyway unless ill health develops. Try and make friends with the local butcher, chicken shop, so you can get cheap supply of meaty bones - saves a lot of money. Try and get a second hand freezer to stick out back/shed so you can get lots. a good website to try is raw meaty bones and you can download a copy of Dr Lonsdales latest book (link is for actual book). I would rarely give dry dog food, but there are a couple of higher quality ones around that could be used on the odd occasion - sometimes better to let the dog go without and clense its system. Best luck Tim

Rest in peace Kal You were lucky to live with someone like Erny who did everything she could to help you. Erny, if you need to talk at any time, me and others are just a call away. While allowing yourself time for grief you can now care for yourself in the same way you cared for Kal. My thoughts are with you Tim

One option is to set him up, and to reward him with like (eg food) for not jumping up (eg just like food refusal training). Time left alone by counter would be a short time to begin with, then extend the time and trying to avoid any self rewarding by pre-empting them jumping on the counter. Doing seperate training with the food bowl (dinner time) and getting your dog to leave it until you say ok will help with this as well. Good luck.

But don't your dogs drive away the gas man

You're right - so many people don't realise the real costs of owning a dog. It's not just a few hundred dollars intitially. Thats were i think that if the price of some initial training is incorporated into the price - they don't realise they've forked out money for something else on top of the dog. Sneaky hey. I also think that many people will continue with training if the initial training is a cheap training session where they can see some results, get a little education and believe that there is a benefit to forking out more money for further training. We've just gotta get that foot in the door sometimes.

Having breeders like HR with requirements on bringing up dogs is definately a way to help. Unfortunately without there being governement licencing requirements for owning dogs such as minimum training, it comes down to educating the community that initial training will prevent sooooooo many problems further down the track. At this stage the more trainers and clubs that can build a relationship with vets, breeders, rescue organisations, get into schools to provide talks and even working with pet shops and puppy farmers, to provide a cheap initial service that will educate the owners that if they put in as much time in the beginning that there will be very little issues for the remaining 10-15yrs of their life with the dog. I think a good option for providers of dogs (ie breeders, rescue organisations etc) is to add a small fee to the cost of the dog which provides a few initial sessions with their local trainers (this is where building good relationships will help). Unfortunately there are always going to be those that sacrifice the needs of the dog for their own needs (particularly as LL said that we live in an ever growing fast fix, throw away society). It just means we need to get smarter at communicating with these people. :rolleyes: Thumbs up to HR and all other breeders and trainers that are trying to improve the situation through owner requirements and education. Its a long hard road until something gets enforced through local government.

Search www.amazon.com as there are tons of natural therapy books for animals at very cheap prices (even after postage). A few suggestions: Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats - Shawn Messonnier The encyclopedia of natural pet care - CJ Puotinen Dr Pitcairn's complete guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats - Richard Pitcairn Lavender oil can be used in an oil burner or could be given straight in food (only a couple of drops) Chamomile is another similar option for nervousness (brew some tea and add to food &/or water). Ttouch (books available) and other physical therapies (bowen, massage etc) are very useful tools. Homeopathic preperations (by a traditional homeopath) Flower essences (rescue remedy is the most commonly used) Diet is probably one of the biggest things that can make a change - eg switching to a raw natural diet. Good luck - if you search much of this on the net you will get some info, but not as much as in books

To me the skipping would be that the dog does not know what best to do to get a reward - a bit like Yanks teeth chattering. Easily fixed i'm guessing - take it back to basics teaching heeling slowly progressing with lots of rewards when the dog is controlling himself as he moves to stay at the side.

Very sorry to hear the news about your mum Lablover. Call or message me if you need a hand at all. Thinking of you and your family.

It's called an "Orbee-Tuff" ball - i think steve is selling them so just email him or google it. ps. Fantastic SAR work with Julie and Andrew (and their dogs of course) - i know who i would be calling if i was lost. 5 people spread over a large area found in 15minutes with 2 dogs - WOW. Tim

A colleague of mine did, although this was about a year ago (initial trial stages here i think??), so it is possible that the formulations have changed. I shouldn't have used the word triple, just stronger, but it was by quite a bit.

Hi there BMP, i would suggest you go and see a 'traditional' homeopath (either vet or human that also works on animals). I have seen some amazing results with homeopathy in cases like this. Sound like your doing very well, but as you said you have high expectations (or hopes). Just make sure your having fun, doesn't really matter if she doesn't "perform" on the day, as long as your seeing some progress over time. As the others said try to ignore (ie don't molly coddle) when she is acting frightened, just create some distance from the area/thing that is causing fear, when she is behaving normal again then pay some attention. If you ever see her showing interest in things she normal wouldn't, lavish her with praise and treats. Have you tried the throw a treat over her head, then throw down treats in front of you as you back away. Keep doing this until she has improved the distance she is prepared to approach to. This is useful for strangers to do, but is best initially done in an environment where she is not showing signs of stress. The only stressful thing should be the new person, and that is the only thing that you have to contend with in reducing the fear. Hope this helps Tim

The problem is that they are providing triple the "strength/dose" which will end up causing more problems both short and long term, when the current lower "strength/dose" provides the same period and amount of protection. Just another product option for the pharmaceuticals and vets to flog to the public ("new and improved" - yet the old one will still available).

Not only do many people blindly take for granted what the vets say in regards to yearly vacs (and many other things), but the government also takes it for granted and imposses laws that to go to a place of dog training or to a kennel/boarding facility you must have the yearly vaccinations. This is something that i brought to the attention of the department of primary industries in victoria, and was told they would look into it by asking the AVA and the companies making the vacs (as if they would tell them to change the law when it makes them money). This was 6 months ago, probably time to ask again i think, particularly if there is media out there about it. Tim

Hi all, was just doing a search on dog training stuff and this is a quote i found on the Department of Primary Industries website in regards to this topic Protection Training Protection training is defined as training a dog to attack people or animals and includes the training of a dog to attack a human wearing padded protective clothing for any purpose including sport. It is not considered appropriate for a member of the community who is not a licensed security guard to have access to an attack trained dog and this is reflected in the strict provisions of the Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act. Dogs that have received this type of training will be declared as a dangerous dog by a Council. DPI link From this it indicates to me that a dog that has Schutzhund training, which is a sport that involves bite work would be required to be classed as a dangerous dog. How they go about obtaining this information from the owners is another matter, and whether the owners come forward with this information. The Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act and the Code of Practice for the Operation of Dog Training Establishments both state that the owner is required to come forward with the details that the dog is about to commence protection work (or bite work in a sport) or is already trained in this asap. Failure to notify will have penalties (don't know what these are exactly). Although someone mentioned that a court ruling allowed a schutzhund trained dog to not be considered dangerous, you never know what the next judge will rule. As with all laws - you can get away with them as long as your not found out by the authorities (usually are found out because there has been an incident).

I second Robert McDowell (one of the best herbalists in Australia). I've also pm'd you details on a homeopath etc. If you use a homeopath, make sure it is a traditional homeopath that looks for a single homeopathic remedy to aid the body. Keep strong, we're all thinking of you. Tim

Hi Vivien, as mentioned if you can seperate them to begin with for initial training (using a distraction like something to chew or get the hubby to train the other at the same time) it will make things easier. In your training you will want to preceed every command with the specific dogs name so they can seperate out who is being asked to do what. With the example that you said where you call one and both come and the one not called steals the reward is not reinforcing the right dog. This situation is a good way of teaching the dog its name though, but you have to make sure that the dog you have talked to is the one that gets the reward. With enough repetitions of the other dog coming and not being rewarded it will start to loose interest (may take a little longer as it was previously rewarded) and this is a good point to change over which dog you are instructing/calling. The other important part of your training with them will be to teach them that it is ok to be apart from each other. They are still young so it is the perfect time to start. Do this in slowly longer periods of time that they are comfortable with (use pleasant distractions like food to begin with if needed). If you don't do this it can become a real pain further down the track if they had to be seperated (eg one had to stay overnight at the vets). Like shoemonster said, how you respond needs to happen on your terms, not just because they were crying - sometimes you need to sit it out, as soon as the crying stops you put them back together (this is where a distraction can be useful - if you get there mind onto something else and they forget about their playmate). Best of luck Tim

I don't know about the YouTube but i do know that photobucket now has video options. Photo Bucket Can't wait to meet Yank.

I tend to us a martingale (nylon style with chain link) but have it set to just short of neck circumference, it's more for a safety thing (less likely to slip this collar than a flat collar) rather than a correction. For dog clubs - go to as many in the area as you can and watch what they do to see if your happy with how they treat the dogs and the results that are achieved Two sites to check for clubs (more positive based, less likely/unlikely to use correction) K9 events APDT

Very well put. If only more dog clubs/vets/pupy schools provided a summary like this before they started training, a lot more people would understand what they are trying to acheive and maybe why somethings are apparently going wrong.

All previous mention techniques (triangle of temptation etc) sound like they would all work. I would also try some of Shirley Chongs techniques (in particular doggy zen - not focusing on food, gets food) Shirley Chong. You need to make sure that as soon as a command is learnt that the food is no longer held in the hand (otherwise it becomes a bribe). This doesn't mean that a food reward doesn't come, but that performing for you might make you give a reward. It might be worthwhile taking things back to basics for a short time where rewards consistently happen for commands but they have to happen without food in the hand (or pretentding that there is food - same as bribing). Clicker training (or using a marker) could definately help as the dog learns that the marker (eg click at the moment he has done what you want) means that food will come (but allows you a bit of time to get that food). There are plenty of websites around. Tim