Alpha

Kristen44, Been there, done that, and I sympathize with you...as petsearch said be familiar with your councils regs although ours went against their regs and when pulled up on it just double talked their way around it anyway ;) I agree with the fact that the council will see you in the good light as you have already attempted to rectify the solution with the bark collar and other means. Keep your own diary when home of when your dog barks and why or if another neighboring dog barks. I would think that council would require a diary from the neighbor, but that did not stop our council acting without one with a nasty letter. You have a right to see a copy of the diary but be aware that they cannot/will not tell you who the complainant is ( like you cannot guess ) Compare it with any diary you may have for similar/same period and point out any discrepancies ( ie: neighbor stating dog was barking when you where out walking the dog or the dog was inside with you asleep...I love these ones) if the matter continues,you could go to mediation..that would show council that you seriously wish to resolve the issue. Dispute Resolution Centres are FREE and fantastic, we did it with our complainants( much to their wonder) and two of the four decided it wasn't so much barking anyway and only signed the complaint to be a "good neighbor" to the others and they other two we got to sign an agreement that they would approach us if the dogs were annoying them. WIN/WIN council has no more complaints to deal with and when they do , council refer them to the agreement they signed and they don't approach us because "they don't like us and we are unapproachable" :p ;) GOOD LUCK!!!

Cry not for me , For I am content At peace, at rest, Free. Miss me please, For I will miss you The ear rubs, cuddles, games and walks, All are with me for eternity. Speak of me often, Words help to heal, Memories stay with you forever And laughter will help you understand. Remember me well, For photographs fade with light Yet snapshots of your mind remain forever today. I was but a small part of your life But you were my life, All I did was for you and with you. Now I ask you remember me With a knowing smile And I will wait for you forever At the rainbow bridge. S. Hatton,2006

Insofar as retiring from competition, it depends on the dogs abilities and physical needs for their age. Gem works a like dream (always has) but I was concerned about joint damage as she bolted about an agility course as she was 7 yo, so we slowly withdrew from it. She's happy working a ring, loves the attention ( I'm sure) on vets advice after x rays, she had a course of Cartrovin at 7 to help starve off the onset of any joint/arthritic problems. MY instincts stopped me jumping her at 8...didn't and hasn't stopped her!!! I retired her from obedience competition at 9. At 14 yo, she still does her best heeling when she goes to the "retired" comps at club fundays and when she has an audience. She strains at the lead to get to near the agility equipment and I see the longing in her eyes as she watches Lawson. I might have retied her too soon...I'll never be sure, I know she loves it and if she ever showed signs of not liking it..I'd stop. I really think she's one of those dream dogs who love to do things with you. We still muck about with scent discrimination and such, heeling is is for crowded places, walking nicely in front is reward for being elderly. Retrieving ANYTHING is a game for her to teach the children...."You must take the article from my mouth AFTER I sit, not before or I must return from whence I came and we have to start again" Know your dog, and you'll know when

I can sum it up in one phrase...green eyed , someone does not like it that so many of us can think outside the square and can see the sense in methodologies advocated and taught by the likes of Erny and Denis. How truly juvenile and unwarranted.

The kid's only 10 (actually 11) but I forget my kids have grown up around dogs and know what you mean when you say " papers", "breeder", etc. Feel free to use the paper in the laundry quip, Jed...I only repeated what she said.

I thought as much but I don't proclaim to know it all, glad to hear that it's not the norm or even that acceptable. I will put her on the right track this afternoon regarding it. I did think it'd be damn annoying too. The child was bought the pup by her parents for a birthday present, mum and dad know little about dogs but got an indoor dog. I can't get much info from this kid as when I asked if she got him from a breeder...she said yes, a lady with lots of puppies I asked if the dog had papers and she told me they put paper down in the laundry for the dog :rolleyes: , when I explained about papers, she said he has have them for his needles Just now when she dropped by with the dog, she told me he was "between 4 and 9 weeks old" I explained he could not be 4 weeks old ( too big IMO) and he's be too young to leave his mum. I have explained to her about the face blowing and she seems to get it, doesn't seem to be overly "bitey" anyway. I know what you mean, PW, I used that method too but this is a CKCS with a small muzzle and I wouldn't like this kid grabbing this dog too much ( she was a bit too heavy with the "hands on" with Lawson as a pup and I had to stop he a few times) I have told her she needs to tell him firmly,in a deep voice "No" not shout or yell. I even showed her with Lawson a few times( bought him inside already revved up ;) ) SO thanks again everyone

Purely trainable to a manageable level - I too don't think that there can be a complete 'cure' for the dog - but appropriate management can be achieved. I agree with this comment...training to a manageable level or even a level where the dog "switches on" for work but you would still have to be cautious at other times. Have been there, done that and know someone with a now retired UD titled dog which could not cope with being approached by strangers due to maltreatment by previous owners but could work a ring, be approached by any judge or steward once in a ring..out of the ring a different story, very aggro. Yes, it is a lot of work on top of just training and teaching them the routines, you also have to have eyes in the back of your head and judge a class as you approach and ascertain where you will place you and your dog in the line up. Much of it comes naturally after a while and just is second nature, if you never know anything different ( and I did not until my second dog ) then it's just how it is for you and your dog.

I would've thought that the fact that you have taken the responsibility to A) decide to use a muzzle B) recognised and identified your dogs aggression and the triggers and C) have joined an obedience club which allows your dog to socialise in a controlled environment would've been enough for any instructor to see you know something and are taking steps towards what clubs are meant to help promote. I'm with others; put your case to the president or a letter to the training/instructors committee...alternative ( if feasible) find another club...they don't deserve responsible,and knowledgeable folk like you as members ;)

We had a Monopoly house swallowed a while ago, I called the vet ( distraught 10 year old kids are easily calmed with a call to a vet)and they have a database for size,age, breed, object that the nurse can look up and tell you whether to come in or "watch and sort" or apply soft food diet to help it pass. It was brilliant idea.

The little girl in our areahas got a a puppy. It 's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a lovely boy. However I noticed that when ever he mouths her ( he is only 9 weeks old) she blows in his face O asked her why she does this and she said the owner ( breeder) told her to when he bit Now I have not heard of this as a way to stop/limit puppies mouthing and have never used this method ( a stern "no" has sufficed) but I do know that years ago there was a dog at obedience club that was very aggro towards people and it was found the boy who owned him was blowing in the dogs face ;) I don't want to lead this kid on the wrong path as they seem to want to go to puppy school and have asked me about obedience training. So if any one could let me know about this I'd appreciate it

Well, lemme see, a decade ago when I started using mine many instructors at the club I belonged to had them, a lot of owners at the beach where i take my dogs have them or the other type ( one that goes under the tongue and is used by NZ herding team, which I also have one of). I get asked at training where I got mine and now I just hand mine off to any one who wants to look at it. Generally, any one who'd like to get their dogs full attention before calling it.

I have a "silent whistle" I got it years ago from a mail order place called Noonbarra Dog Supplies which doesn't seem to exist any more I'm told that my type is now very popular. This is the type I have. I find it very good for long distances and once the dog has trained to the it, they return on the sound alone. Initially I would use the whistle to get my dogs attention then call their name, now they come on the whistle...very handy if other dogs are about which you are unsure of or you are unsure of your dogs reaction ( as I had to be with Tolkien). The whistle also remove the chance the your dog is reading the anxiety in your voice when you call, something I was told was very obvious in me

I was introduced to the use of a prong collar about 14 years ago by a very well known and respected instructor. At the time our then 2 year old ACD had never been trained for anything and a walk entailed you being dragged about by this 22kg raging male hormone. I started obedience work and was told by one instructor that my dog would be better off dead as he was dog aggressive. This was not strictly true as my mentor was later to prove to me that it was only a particular type of dog whom he was aggressive towards and it more than likely related to being attacked as a pup by the same type of dog. That information in hand, we worked on his attention to me which was fine if he was not bored, we worked in short, rewarding spurts with exercises he was able to accomplish and lots of rewards. He was still head strong and reluctant to heel....over several months we tried many avenues; inclusive of a fixed collar in lieu of the then mandatory correction chain. We also tried a "halti" both with it connected tot he correction chain and without. Being determined to enter the obedience ring but with a recalcitrant heeler ...it was suggested we use a prong collar. I was shown the collar one afternoon at a training session which only a few of us attended, we were told how it worked and that it was not always along term solution, we were also told it was illegal, we all tried the collar around our own wrists to confirm that it did not hurt or injure. I was and always will be grateful for the information,training and advice I so freely got at the session ( and in later years it was reconfirmed at a K9 training session). I used a prong collar with great success over a decade ago, I only had to use it about 10 days ; I forget because the joy I got from being able to enter a trail ring 2 months later out weighed any thing before that. Even now with the myriad of training products, styles,methodologies and advice available I would still utilize such an aid again if the need arose and was needed.

Might get there, Dasha and will definitely be on the look out for you if I do.

Kelpie-i no apology needed.It s a forum, exchange of ideas,opinions and views. That's what I LUV about this place. Sorry to OP for highjack from topic at hand