Ruffles

K9: he will not be trying to protect you as in for your own safety, he may be resource guarding you or be fear aggressive, only an observation will tell. Regardless, its a leadership issue. I recognise that now. I have started with NILIF and even in the last day or two we appear to be making progress and I am now very conscious of things like me walking through doors first etc. K9: so if he can do that so easily it wont be commanding any respect when you give him his food so easily, you need to take this much further... How would you suggest we take this further? I only noticed the other night too that when he's eating he will leave the kitchen 4 or 5 times and come into the bedroom, look at me, then walk back out and continue eating. Would this coincide with him checking what his 'subordinates' are upto? I have stopped acknowledging his presence when he does this, no eye contact nothing.

This does sound Like Loki ALOT. I Have tried getting him to sit but he goes mental the closer they get to me. He is also not particularly motivated by food. But I will give it ago. Although, one thing I havent tried (because I'm fearful of the outcome) is to have both our dogs out and be approached by another dog. I would be interested to see if he becomes aggressive when Rinsey is around because the other dog wouldnt pose a threat to all three of us Oh god is he protective at home! Especially when my OH isnt home. He will get up at the slightest noise, sometimes ones I dont even hear and will not calm down until I get up and tell him that its ok. Thanks jaybeece it seems that you have similar problems with your boy. I will definately try your ideas! Loki also seems to have sleeping problems... He wakes up going absolutely off-tap and will not quieten down until I go and see him. Would this be the same problem do you think??

LOL Me? Party? Nah I've got two dogs at home who I'd rather spend time with haha I was thinking of going to the Scoresby one. Its only about 20-25 mins from our new place Via the free way and I might know some people because I actually live about 2 mins from Chesterfield farm right now.

yeah that either lol. Well we are moving to Narre Warren but since I work Saturdays I wont be able to get to the Berwick one so at this point in time I dont know Any suggestions?

Loki is not food driven at all so yes, I would be able to recall him without him stopping for food. We got asked to leave obedience remember But we are going to start with ADT next month because they dont discriminate against breed. NILIF... I get it now! I will search and read some more and start on asserting myself as soon as I get home. Thanks heaps guys for the clarification! Keep the ideas comin! eta: Of course dogs are food driven but Loki would rather a pat than eating under normal circumstances

Ok, Just read the Triangle of Temptation training technique. Loki will not eat until he is told to, nor will he stare at his food till he is allowed to eat it. He will watch me or my OH until he is told OK. If you put down his bowl and leave the room he will sit by it and wait, sometimes for half an hour until you come and tell him its ok so we definately have that down pat! So I shouldnt let him seek me out for attention etc? I should go to him?

But what about the watching me constantly issue ? It seems to be a protective thing when he gets nasty towards other dogs... I should have added that if my OH has him on the lead and I am near them and a dog approaches me he arks up too.

Loki (9 month old Amstaff) developed some, what we thought was dog aggression a few months ago. Since it first developed we have tested and tried a few different situations and it appears that he will make a fuss when on the lead if a dog is approaching ME or in my vacinity. We will be at a dog show and His breeder can take him out no worries but as soon as I have him he becomes nasty. My OH takes him out to play with other dogs and he never has a problem with him. Also, just in the last week he will not let me be alone. If I am in the bathroom with the door closed (sliding door) he will come and push it open a few inches then go and lay back down. He will do this 5 or 6 times then if I keep closing the door he will open it and sit between the door and the jam so I cant close it again! Loki does this even when my OH is home and in the next room. I am not pregnant so it cant be that! Does anyone have an ideas or suggestions for me? We are going to get him assessed in the next month because whilst his obsessivness isnt causing an issue now I feel that it will only get worse. I am only a small woman (5'3") but he has been given no reason to try and guard me and we certainly dont encourage this sort of thing. Help please? ETA: Do you think he is trying to Dominate me???

My vet charges $70 for c5

It is beautiful. RIP Wolfy You arent sick anymore

I am so sorry to hear of your loss, its a Sad welcome to DOL. Cass will be running free now, on all 4 legs waiting for you! :D RIP Cass

:(I didnt know there was a seminar now its too late. But yeah, just a baby boy still hehe

Will certainly do that... You guys always inspire me to try harder!

He does have a long lead but I thought for that class I'd have him on the short one as he's easier to control... Plus the padded handle is also beneficial, generally we do have him on a long lead at training though. I think there definately is some room to strengthen our Leadership so we'll be working on that. I will more than likely go on Sunday. I would just hate to be looked at like a quitter... And it would be confirming their impression about his breed which is apparently an issue for them. He's funny actually with all his pulling and stuff, the second you put the lead on the ground he says "Stuff that, you might leave me if I go anywhere"... He'll excel at off lead work if we get there and I would just LOVE to show all those people that he's not a monster.

Thanks guys for all your comments, I'll address each post seperately. LABLOVER: Getting rid of Loki's beans equates to some Obedience routines and Gaiting. He doesnt get to run around crazy... That would make him so much worse! I also took him on Rinse's lead which is very short and has a padded handle... probably about 24" for that exact reason of keeping him close. The longer leads we're supposed to train on are A. Slippery when wet, B. Too light and he doesnt respond and C. feel like they will snap and cut my hands to pieces! He is also just 7 months old so has hit that terrible age haha. Tangerine: Loki knows ENOUGH, he just decided he'd forgotton what it means... as with every other command on the day HJD: Bitch on heat is definately a possibility... I had considered that as alot of people down there have no idea about dogs and probably wouldnt know if their bitch was in season or not! They aren't supposed to be down there if they are but as you can see, no one would tell them off for it anyway. I was just going to leave but I thought I should stay to teach him that he cant play up and get his way... perhaps I should have just left Erny: Thanks for your comments, you're my training Guru hehe. Sometimes I think that there is not any leadership issues as at home he is an obediant angel (well as much as a horny little boy dog can be ) but as soon as we get down to training he's a terror. On a lead at home he is great, I even walked Rinse and Loki at the same time the other night, entirely on my own. I've never walked two dogs at the same time especially not ones that have a combined weight that is greater than myself. Now if I didnt have control of my Dog I really doubt that I would have been able to pull that off. I am considering going to training on Sunday just to stick it up them but I'm worried he'll be a trouble maker again then I'll look like a nuff. All in all I really think a new Club is the order of the day... I just dont have alot of money to spend on private training

I am seriously considering another club... I felt very offended by the trainers comments and he said to the rest of the class when I'm sure he thought I couldnt hear "Dont worry, she wont be in your classes anymore" Its just that we are trying to save to buy a house before our new pup is on the way so paying again/more for classes is sort of not an option

I'll give you the abridged version of Sunday mornings horrible events. Took Loki to obedience, half an hour before class started so that he could get rid of his beans. Class began, tried to attack the one dog he hates (began in the 2nd puppy class we ever had). Thats fine, we just try and join the class in between the other dogs but oh no, we cant do that. He is 100% distracted, I cant get him to do anything he is just eyeing of and trying to get to all the other dogs. He pulled me on my ass (grass was slippery as it was raining) so I took him about 6 metres away from the class. Did a few routines to try and get him to focus but it doesnt matter he just wanted to be a monster. Rather than trying to join the class we just listened to the trainer and followed his instructions on the sideline. I should say.. ATTEMPTED to follow his intructions. Even removed from the class he would not focus. He wouldnt even come to me when I called him. No food would attract his attention... I spent half the lesson crying. I persevered, thinking that surely he'd give up being an a$$hole but NO. The trainer came to talk to me after the class had finished. The conversation went something like this:- T "There is no point in you being here, clearly you are not the boss nor do you have control of your dog" Me "This is not the norm, he has never been like this before. I am the boss... For gods sake he is the only dog in the class that can drop on command, he knows his left and right..." T" What breed is he?" Me "American Stafford" T "Oh, well...Its just another name isnt it" Me " We dont even really care about the training part because I know he can do everything, its just the socialisation that he needs" T "Well you can come back next week if you really want to but you cant join the class. You have to train away from the rest of us but just make sure you can hear me... Or you can just stop coming for a while" What do I do!? I am happy to stop for a while and just concentrate on training him at home then perhaps he will forget about the other dogs because he will have more focus or should I keep going to Obedience classes?? He's not trying to attack the other dogs, most of them except for one he just wants to play with. I have read the thread on neutralising and stuff but it works fine and well when there is one or two dogs around but not when there is 15... Advice please?? I will also add that at Dog shows he is relatively calm and settles down after about half an hour but at training he just doesnt stop. This has also only just happened, never before has he been such a terror.

Priceless pets are great. Cheap, excellent service. Vet products Direct are very reasonably priced also. Thumbs up to both!!

We personally feed our pets on Eukanuba but always find whatever your dogs do best on. As for the price of Premium dog food, yes at the time of purchase it seems like a high price to pay but you'll find that it works out cheaper because you are actually feeding them much less. Before we got Rinse they were feeding her 1kg of Chum Dry per day... On Eukanuba Large breed she eats 3cups which is the equivalent, I think of about 400gms. A 15 kilo bag lasts us just over a month per dog. You may also want to explore feeding raw food to your poochies. We feed Half raw/half premium dry diet.

You shouldnt be calling us childish as we are not the ones making comments about what makes you an animal lover... No one cares if you run down Iams or any other company but you are running down the people who use the brands you so hate. This was not a "What do you think about this company" thread it was a "what will help my skinny dogs"... As I said before, all you had to say was "I dont like Iams/Eukanuba.. how about this product".

Loki once got into a box on Liquer Chocolates... ate the whole lot and was fine. Maybe a bit drunk but didnt even get diahorrea (sp?) Just look for an upset tummy and stuff...If he's had chocolate before and not had an adverse reaction I wouldnt be too stressed

Loki is expected to stay on my left on a loose lead but doesnt have to be at heel. Rinse can be on either side, but I prefer my left as I have more control. She NEVER walks on a loose lead so as long as my arm is straight out but not being pulled and I can reach the end of her tail I'm happy

I Love animals and am offended by your comment. I am going to feed my dogs what they do best on and that is Eukanuba. How do you brush your teeth? Or wash your hair or do your washing?? without using products that have, at some point in time been tested on animals? I do not agree with animal testing nor do I try and support it however being told that I do not love animals because I want my pets to be healthy is quite off putting. I do not comment on people buying "supermarket" quality dry food for their dogs so I do not feel it necessary for you to comment on those who use Premium commercial food whether there has been bad publicity about them or not. Sorry to be a bit off topic but you should keep opinions like that to yourself... Or if you must say something let it be along the lines of "I personally dont like Iams/Eukanuba products, how about this product instead"

Canned food wont help as it is full of water and not much else. If you want to feed a dry food try a premium one for active dogs. It has more fat and carbs. I use Eukanuba Performance Large breed for Rinse as its impossible to keep weight on her. You could also try feeding more fatty raw foods... Chicken necks and wings are fatty and with the wings you'd find that they couldnt chomp them down too fast because of the harder bones. Damn you got in first Bloss!

What do you currently feed them? What breeds are they? How old?