TangerineDream

There's a specialist vet in Blackburn Road opposite the emergency vets.....they are excellent (but not cheap)

I flew to Darwin with my last GSP Cadence to stay with my bestest friend and show and trial in in the Royal......I had to fly out of the showring and across to the obedience ring (they kept shifting me back till I was last in the class for my pattern). We do the heeling ok, Cadence working wide but consistent as usual, pretty jolly good score...I'm starting to think at this stage that me might even get a place as well as a pass......sit stay...fine, down stay....Cadence was coping well with the noises, a night show (his first) and Aboriginal kids beating the heck out of each other with those squeaky blow up baseball bats.......not bad for a dog that loved squeakies in the showring!! ...and then, the GSD next to him rolled over to have a scratch...a really good scratch...literally on top of him...so Cadence stood up...froze, looked at me, looked at the GSD who was still scratching but was now lying where Cadence had been, and he put his head down and walked ever so slowly across the obedience ring towards me.......................................................and sat perfectly straight in front of the handler next to me..... and I couldn't do a thing...and he knew it....... from that point on, he did it every single trial we entered........but we did get 3rd in the entire Obedience competition of the Darwin Royal that year (even if we didn't pass ) Another trial back in Melbourne, he was coming in on the recall when a magpie flew across the ring at eye level about 6" in front of his nose :D he took 2 steps sideways...thought about it....took 2 steps back and came in on the same line he had been travelling on and did a perfectly straight sit in front!!!!!! (what else do you expect a gundog to do????)...& didn't lose any points for the manoevre! Never got a CD on him - he was far too clever for me

I buy bags of chicken mince from chicken shops at $1 per bag, mix with rice and oatmeal and Supercoat chicken...estimate that it costs me 76.5 cents per day to feed 1 32kg, very active GSP who is all muscle, no fat and has a stunning coat. My budget is happy.

My half acre is very uneven and slopes from one corner diagonally 90m to the other with a couple of sizeable dips and a not-very-neat spoon drain crossing it at the end of the house...Tango has always hooned around it at full speed since a baby and learnt very quickly that if he fell at that speed he had to roll through his shoulder and get up and keep going...used to give me palpitations watching a young pup miss his footing and roll, then up and off again at full speed....but he got more sure footed as he grew and he never went through the '2 left feet' stage. Was so pleased that he did this as a youngster because now at 18 months old he is so sure footed (most of the time) that no terrain fazes him.....a couple of weeks ago he chased a flock of white cockies off the log near the water bucket...they moved fairly slowly and by the time he got there they were only 7 - 8 ' above the ground so he just went straight up in the air from a flat gallop (reckon he was up there with them ), missed a cocky by no more than 6" and came down, missed his footing and rather than hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes he dropped into a roll through his shoulder......if he hadn't had as much practice over rough ground and learning to roll through falls as a youngster I think he would have broken his neck.....as it was, he got up and galloped off as if nothing had happened, leaving me and a neighbour just staring at where he'd been.....

One thing that I've found to work very well for nervous pups is to take it one step at a time...your pup needs you around to help with confidence rather than having to go to someone (who is a stranger - I think that would send her 2 steps back). Cadence (GSP) was nervouse as a youngster - I used to go and just sit with him for half an hour in the general location eg: shops or schools or near roads and generally let him get used to it by it being around - I didn't treat him any differently while we were there and slowly but surely he gained confidence, almost because he got bored with it...and then we moved onto the next thing.. Tango had a fear of skate parks when he was young, so I would go and sit within sight a hearing of one (100m away to start with - which was where he'd just start to react) and gradually move closer a few metres at a time as he stopped reacting to the noise and movement - took me a few weeks but he got to the stage that he actually wanted to move towards them rather than away from them. I got bored witless sitting around, but it was worth every minute...he became totally confident. I'd pick 1 thing at a time, and just go and sit in the area...if it's people, go sit somewhere where people walk past so that she gets used to people coming and going and being igored, when she's not reacting anymore and is 'bored' with it, move to somewhere around a shopping area and repeat the process. Take one thing at a time and be prepared to move further back...don't stress and don't encourage here - let her do it all herself, just sit with her and let her crawl over you if she wants.. Lot's of luck - you'll get there, but you might be a bit bored with it....don't rush the process and you might find that it's 2 steps forward, 1 step back for a while, but that's normal. PS: Tango had this mortal fear of barbeques - took me a couple of days to work out what it was......as soon as he heard one or smelt smoke he'd go backwards...solution - we had a barbeque in his run every night for a week :D ....I had the barbeque on top of his kennel and also had a handful of cheese.....everytime he moved towards the bbq I gave him a bit of cheese....he got so comfortable around bbq's I then had to teach him to stay a respectful distance away - but it was a huge difference to the pup I had to carry past a bbq at a show in Bendigo as a baby PS: the cheese thing works well in many fear situations (or salami, something wonderfiul for the pup)

Cadence had arthritis in his last 6 - 12 months and aspirin (Solprin) gave him astounding relief - he went from a dog who didn't want to do anything because it hurt, to standing over you and demanding your toast - worth talking over with your vet......simple but effective.

Awwww....how georgous is he!!!!!! Hope things settle down for you and him.....agree re the protein in the diet. Btw, what diet do you have him on now?

Tango's just hit this stage at exactly 18 months Found him on the dining table again the other day.....walked slowly up to him without taking my eyes off him and he didn't drop his eye contact....till he got slapped across the shoulder (noise not force) - it was the only way he would get off the table and I wasn't going to drag 32kg across a polished pine table He's also taken to staring at me when I give him a command and not complying till I move towards him (even if it's just a weight shift), so last night I started making him comply instantly rather than giving him 5 seconds to think about it - and that's improved things no end....and just to reiterate it, when he was lying on his bed last night after tea I just rolled him on his back and placed a hand gently on his chest.........no way was it an alpha roll, but it was a statement, and he accepted it and closed his eyes....... just waiting for the next challenge.........

nah, he had really low, low, almost non-existent drive. I sent him off with a younger biatch so that he could pass on his temperament with her because I didn't think that I wanted to perpetuate his genes :rolleyes: (that was um, 1987)

The pack structure is strongly vertical - if there are any animals who consider themselves to be exactly at the same level, that's when you are likely to get dominance tussles....if you have 8 pack members, there will be 8 levels in the hierarchy even if the distance between each of the levels is hardly noticeable - you will see who defers to whom if you watch very closely. When I had Dobermanns and a cat (and a husband ) the hierarchy went like this.. TangerineDream (alpha) Tegan (3 year old bitch) Rhiannon (5 year old bitch) Kai (18 month old dog) Paul (32 year old male human) :rolleyes: Jaws (8 year old cat)

In a pair who are fairly easy going and easily matched it is often the bitch who is the most dominant and it sounds like this is the case with your two.

1 x 2mg Polaramine can stop me (69kg) going into anaphylactic shock from an allergic reaction and also worked for Tango last night when he stood on a Euro wasp, so I'd start with 2mg first and see how you go rather than starting with a high dose first up.

My thoughts are with all those touched by the love of a small, sweet child. My tears are for a child who tried her best and is now at peace and with those we have all loved..... RIP

The method that I have used with the last few pups and it works a treat.... pup on lead, start walking silently with your hands both clasped with the lead against your chest...and don't move them., dog rushes ahead, you turn silently and head off in other direction, pup comes to end of lead, discovers that you aren't there about turns and rushes past you again, again, silently, about turn and walk in opposite direction - etc etc etc.........you will most likley get dizzy the first few times you try, but they learn very qiuickly, without you having to correct them, that if they rush past to the end of the lead, you will disappear, and they start to both keep an eye on you (always a good thing) and also to stop pulling because they realise that if they pull you disappear and they have to change direction because they get to the end of the lead and that in itself is a correction.... If pup decides to get creative (which they do during this process) and tries to go around you or wrap you up in the lead, stop for 20 seconds, say nothing, then turn around in the way you have to to untangle yourself without using your hands and off you go again...if it happens again, stop wordlessly, wait then untangle and set off again .... it's a great method...

A method that I've used quite effectively with dogs who lag is to get the handler to 'scuttle' - be shorter than usual with quicker short steps and a cheerful and bouncy voice - could be worth trying. lagging dogs seem to see this as less of a 'threat' possibly?

After having 5 Dobes (Tegan being sooooooo bright that she failed the WAC because she wasn't interested in the threatening drunk...cos she read him so well that she knew that he wasn't really a threat, so she refused to respond ), Tango out-thinks the lot - and Dobes aren't stupid..... I was quite amazed at his speed of learning - he also internalises concepts rather quickly (and then applies them laterally ) - and that really freaked me out.....

Depends on the dog as well as the trainer. You can teach Tango virtually anything in 3 repetitions.

...the flattie manages a couple of shoulder charges as it swings around - and even though the golden is on top a lot of the time, I don't think there's a clear cut dominance that shows up - the flattie is quite happy to roll around even without the goldie on top...more vid please

I'll probably double up on some things, but here goes... suspension bridges different footings like grates, manhole covers aggie shows through sideshow alley Bunnings and large hardware stores skateboard parks opening and closing CD / DVD drives on your computer clothes driers / washing machines hair dryers food processors kitchen exhaust fan - all speeds boardwalks (like the ones through swamps)

I agree wholeheartedly..treat every day as special - love and spoil her.. I lost a Dobe also to this and it is devastating...but quality of life is the most important thing.. :D

Tango's run is b-grade crushed rock and we've just laid screenings in front of the retaining wall and have used scoria. Tango is always chewing on rocks, and often brings them inside to chew, but never swallows them. The less attention paid, the better. If I worry about a rock he has eg: long, sharp etc, I just remove it and drop it in the bin without a word...I used to give him something as a swap, but he started bringing me LOTS of rocks.... :rolleyes: Check droppings - if no rocks, don't worry. [edited cos enter key is faster than brain]

Sleep peacefully Kiah - I feel your sorrow at not being with her but I am joyful because she went so peacefully - which is a real blessing........know that she loved you and know that you did all you could...but take comfort in knowing that she slid gently from this world..... :p

Myzska, How does she react to Flames Daddy - is she ok with blonde men like him and not with dark haired men possibly?

I would be very concerned at a young puppy showing that type of aggression. As the aggression seems to be generally to other dogs and not just as a dominance struggle, I think a behavourist would be a very good idea and I'd do it right now rather than waiting...but I would get a vet check first just to rule out anything physical that might trigger it. Btw, I wouldn't do anything like an alpha roll - I don't think that would help the situation, rather it might make it worse as you don't know what the trigger for the aggression is. Do you know anything about the pup's background? How does she react to people when there are no other dogs around?

I wish Tango would stop reading these threads about Daegon Tango's slow drops are dominance.....I've found that doing random drops at a distance on our walks has sped his drops up no end...I'm getting him to the stage where he doesn't think - he simply reacts and we have a silly game and keep walking - I always do them during the first third of the walk say 3 times, and then no more..has improved his drops in the house too - except when he's overexcited because we are going for a walk ...and I've gone to the loo... Could you please write these posts in Greek or Dutch, or any other language that he can't read