KismetKat

That situation is perfectly understandable - you are in an onleash situation with another dog being offleash! And I too pick my times at visiting the park - I go at busy times. No not busy human times (weekends I especially avoid) but during the week I know of busy dog times when I know at least a couple of her friends will be there. She is fine when she has her mates to play with and other doggy parents to interact with, but a situation with no dog friends, and non-doggy humans barbequing or picnicking or playing touch footy - well best I avoid those till her recall is 100%. Mind you, why so many non-dog people insist on picnicking in dog parks escapes me

That is what I hoped - but this medium leaves itself open to many a msinterpreation of intent. Thus my cautious post. However I still take you to task about offleash parks - sure you might have the "right" to take your dog-aggressive dog there onlead, but I strongly feel it is very irresponsible. You are taking an animal with a problem into an environement you cannot control. it is this sort of thinking ('it is someone elses fault') that is leading us into living in "nanny states". Not taking it personally - and she is better than 5 out of 10 anyways *pokes tongue*

I am unsure how to read your post myszka - it comes across as being slightly aggressive and condecending. I trust tho, that this was not your intention. I wuill tho argue your first scenario - firstly if you expect ME to have 100% control over my dog (small or otherwise), then why not can I expect the same from you? Instead of kicking my (smaller or otherwise) dog, why are you not controlling your own? Secondly, why on EARTH are you walking your known dog-aggressive dog in an offleash park in the first place? 2nd scenario - yes this, and other sundry scenarios that one could imagine, are all reasons why I want I a more reliable recall. She is great at it under most conditions, but does occasionally suffer from 'deaf dog' when totally focused elswhere (possums for instance). i WANT to do something about it. However I guess the main thrust of my post was about the idealogy behind K9's method that the handler is the centre of the dogs universe and playing with other dogs is something of a no no. Thing is, like I said, part of what gives me joy in dog ownership is watchig her play with doggie friends. Is there a middle ground?

OK - not read all 24 pages - but did read the first 5 and then this last one. So sorry if this has been asked/said before. It's SO hard with such a lengthy thread. Firstly, my dog is 2 years old and I don't think I did all that stuff that I am apparently meant to have done in the first 12 months. So, is it too late? Secondly, part of the joy I get out of my dog is watching her romp and play with her doggie friends. I would not give that up for quids as I get so much enjoyment out of it. Their antics make my heart sing. Thirdly - danger of playing. Well I have been going to the same park for 2 years now and at the times I go there are generally the same people/dogs there. I guess they are a 'loose"pack. (????) They know each other and have their special friends and genrally all get on (or ignore). Given the circumstances (regulars) does this make it a semi-controlled environment and is 'semi-controlled' enough? Certainly my dog recently got a bit snappish (and I say snappish, not overly aggressive) with some younger boisterous dogs, but with some advice from Erny and some firm words that now seems all under control. Fourthly - all that being said I do want a reliable recall when offlead. Her recall is fairly good, but yes there are those deaf moments. I want to addresss those which is why I am interested in K9's workshps when he comes down here. But how hardline must one be with a family pet??? I am not after shutzhund stuff, I am just after a dog who will recall no matter what! Or is there very little difference in the level of control/training between stopping a defence dog from biting, and the simple matter of having an errant dog come when called?

Yes. surely the nests of groundnesting birds would have provided the odd treat? But i AM a worrywart - much to their disgust I refuse to buy rollups for the NONfur kids!

thanks gemi - and given the price of FR maybe once a fortnight is enough of a treat? I would worry about the shell tho - like u I think I will crack it open. Mind you, might not be be worse than some of the (unknown crunchy) things she manages to find at the park and crunch up befoe I can collar her...

As my kids only tend to eat things that are 'schnitzled" I do do a bit of egg and breadcrumbing - and generally let the furkid have whatever beaten egg is left (not much). But how good is raw egg for a dog? Should I let her have raw egg more often? Perhaps I should let her have her own raw egg once a week? But hey, I buy freerange - they ain't cheap! What are the benefits (and pitfalls) of raw egg?

what are you feeding?

*jealous* :rolleyes:

Thanks for the answer Bitty. I note that the info comes from As my dog has shown no irritation with my kids shampoo - do you think I should worry?

Can anyone answer this question for me?

Hmm - my dog seems to have a self cleaning coat. Her coat gleams and shines with health. Her white patches stay pristinely white, even thought she might have had a muddy walk earlier. I have no idea how she does it. Perhaps the cat has taught her something? I bath her rarely - only when she rolls in something noxious. Sometimes I bath her cos my husband says she smells too much of dog slobber (she loves to wrestle with other dogs). I also give her at least a thorough rinse after any visit to the dog beach, to get out the salt and sand. I guess she gets a shampoo about every 6 wks to 2 months. I use the kids shampoo - but someone at the park told me human shampoo is meant ot be bad for them. Is this true? Or a ploy by pet shops to get you to buy expensive dog shampoo? My dog doesn;t have any skin conditions.

My SIL feeds her two dogs roo meat - I think partly because it is so lean. When we last visited for a holiday I tried my pooch on it (as that was what the other two were eating) but like your ridgy my dog would not have a bar of it! Back to human grade casserole steak for her! :p Oh, and my SIL's dog certainly don't have a worm problem! Why do you think they need the 'lean' meat?

I must say when it comes to the welfare of sheep I am less concerned by tame sheep in a very controlled environment than I am by live sheep exports - especially when there is no good reason for it as we can do halal slaughtering here.

I think showdog might have the answer - as he has mentioned the breeder and issues to do with larger dogs quite a number of times. I might ask him casually next time I see him if he ever takes the dog back to the breeder for a visit. He seems to conchy for the dog to have worms.

I wonder if all this politics and stuff with the ANKC taking over herding is the reason the country show I used to go to (with the competitors being just local farmers and their farm dogs) stopped having the herding trial competitions. ??

Vicki - the very first question I asked (ages ago now) about this was the welfare of the sheep - the answer was reassuring. The situation is very controlled, the sheep are 'well dogged' (I beleive that is the right expression) and I for one, if my dog wasn't working out, would happily pull up stumps and call it quits. As to the breeds allowed - well I suspect my dog has BC, kelpie and maybe even some Corgi - so that's three! Mind you I also suspect a dash of Foxy terrier as well. It's all a bit hard to tell. However she certainly has a lot of sheepdog traits. As for your 'at worst' scenario - I can't imagine anyone here letting their dog get into such a situation.

Thanks guys - I feel so much better! I was so worried I should pull out cos me and my dog would seem dropkicks and totally non suited to the task. But I know she's a smart dog and would love to see her to just have a chance (with patience) to see if she is up to the task. I will do some work over the summer break from dog school practising more in distracting environments -in fact I am already doing that cos at times she gets very distracted at the dog park (mainly by possum smells) and after advice from DOLers have found a squeeker toy a handy thing to have in my handbag.

well he looks positively fat compared with the dog I am posting about. But no, he's not fat. Looks like a regular pup to me - but I am not an expert on the breed. Hopefully one will come along soon.

YB - thanks - I feel a bit better. My dog, when she has seen sheep, tends to be ultra quiet and very intent (and pulls on the lead a lot!). But I also suspect she has some terrier in her - and can be quite excitable. She is ALL over anyone who comes to the house - but after about 5 mins she stops bouncing off walls and is perfectly calm. So maybe after a short time of embarrassing me, she might just settle down (tho I don't know if she will start the 'bouncing' with sheep - her one interaction with one was to lick it on the nose and wag her tail! But hey, maybe that was just a taste test? Would it be a good idea to try drops and sits when she is on the run? Drops have been an ongoing issue with her - she knows what it means but just couldn't be bothered unless a treat is involved (in which case she sets a speed record for flinging herself to the ground). I've spent the last month really concentrating on this at mealtimes - and she is getting a lot better - but just can't imagine her, being some distance from me, responding to a 'drop" command at this stage.

Thanks yb. I must admit my own experience of herding trials was back in the early 90s. We used to go regularly to the "show" at my husbands home town (he's a country boy) and they would have trials there - but the competitors were laconic local farmers and it would be their one and only comp of the year. There seemed very little in the way of commands - just the odd tilt of the head and the occasional whistle. It was amazing to watch these dogs as what they were meant to do was quite complicated - from memory they had to split the flock, send one lot up a race, and then pen another. In the late 90s the show stopped having the trials - I don't know why. I must admit I am beginning to feel a bit intimidated by the 'beginners' day. My dog is good on recall but is fascinated by sheep - I suspect the distraction would be too much that recall may not be effective. I've never used 'stop' - but she knows "sit" and "drop" - but have never tried these 'on the run" (as it were). Perhaps this 'beginners' day is too advanced? I am not seriously contemplating herding - just thought it would be a fun day out and maybe a 'channel' for my dogs fixation with farm animals (particularly sheep).

an "informal" recall? Is that coming back but without sitting at the handlers knees? Also is the term 'sit' used differently? And i've not used the word 'stop' in any training so far. Perhaps someone who's been before can explain some of the peculiarities of herding work. Loved all the pics btw.

I also feed my dog vegies Belle - tho I don't do the raw thing of the BARF diet which many follow here. And showdog, I would call the dog 'skinny' rather than merely 'lean'. You can just about see every bone it its body.

Book me in! Incoming mail dave!

and, let's face it, dog balls are ugly! :rolleyes: