dandybrush Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) I grew up in Brisbane and my parents are still there. They just sent me a pic of their flooded backyard I can only imagine what fun my puppers would have in a flooded backyard.... we are going up there for Xmas and probably taking the dogs, I know we are crazy, 15 hours in a car with two dogs.For those few horrible weeks in Canberra we have been known to go for our walks at 5:30am oh oh oh wuffles, can we organise a doggy play date if you are coming up??? i would love to meet your pups my water baby, raz, is having a ball, i've been walking in the rain most days and at the park the pond is flooded and just yesterday he was having zoomies through the puddles Edited October 11, 2010 by dandybrush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genabee Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Fingers crossed, Wizzle! I have an obedience question for you all, since all seem to be into it . At what age did you start classes with your dogs? And what sort of things did you do at home before you started classes? While I have had dogs before I've never actually been involved in a class situation. Thanks Ravenau1!! I started puppy school with G smack on 8 weeks (she came home on the Thursday, and we started school on the Sunday)... before then I was really only worrying about where she went to the toilet - not in my house!! Oh, and I would always make her sit and stay before receiving food. This was soooooo much easier after one lesson at puppy school though, because I had learnt a better way of getting her to sit. The first couple of times I put her on the lead to do it, because she would just run off! Since then, we have added other things into her pre-dinner exercises!! She still gets excited and tries to anticipate what I am going to ask her to do!!! Puppy school lasted 4 weeks and by the end of it, she was sitting more or less on command, staying for the length of the passage way, she would 'wait' and I could get her to drop with food! She was also excellent with name recognition and usually came when called. I had also taught her 'high five' and 'touch'... I started obedience with her at about 16 weeks (at a club, as opposed to a behaviouralist where we did puppy school). The first couple of weeks were a bit of a rehash, because she had done it all before and we had well and truly mastered it all by this point. Now that she is in Bronze (has been for a couple of months now), the anti has been upped! While it is very important to me that our dog is well behaved and has 'manners', I also do it largely for the socialisation. We don't have friends with dogs, so I believe it is good for her to see some regular faces regularly. And to play with people who understand dog behaviour and will expect from her, what I do. Drives me nuts when I walk her and people throw themselves at her and get her all worked up! I have generally found her to be better behaved at home, since we started obedience. Can't recommend it enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Thanks KTB. I think I might get worse before I get better somehow... It is still early days yet, but it looks like Wee Wizzle is on board! (Please if anyone is a FB friend don't mention it - we haven't told anyone yet). ooohhh... congrats and good luck Ike is a little shiba inu he is about 4 and a half months old, he is doing well at puppy school, only 1 lesson before his graduation hopefully he does well, I'm very keen to do more with him after this, thanks of the hot tip on the place on Mitchell. Many thanks If you're thinking of heading to BDOC, best bet is to get your name on the list for Term 1 2011 now. Their beginners classes are always pretty popular, and you'll be competing with those who got puppies for Christmas! You know, it's funny, I have a friend who has a dog named Kuma, but she's a Shih Tzu! I think it's Japanese for bear? I always thought it was an odd name for a small chinese dog lol. I do have a good friend in QLD who has an akita named Toshi, which I believe is Japanese too but I think it's a girls name. Must ask! Yep, it's Japanese for Bear... that's a whole lotta name for a little dog! I have an obedience question for you all, since all seem to be into it . At what age did you start classes with your dogs? And what sort of things did you do at home before you started classes? While I have had dogs before I've never actually been involved in a class situation. We started puppy preschool when Kuma was around 14 weeks old, before we got there he could sit (kinda) and that's about it. The puppy preschool we went to taught us sit, down, stay, leave it and walking on lead. Mostly, it was about socialisation for the dogs. We went off and did beginners at a proper obedience school when he was 9 months old. He knew most of the commands they taught us in that beginners class, but it was more focussed than the puppy preschool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clastic Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I have an obedience question for you all, since all seem to be into it . At what age did you start classes with your dogs? And what sort of things did you do at home before you started classes? While I have had dogs before I've never actually been involved in a class situation. We took Mars to our Vet's "puppy school" when he was 12 weeks old, he started actual obedience classes at the club when he was 6 months old. When he first arrived at 8 weeks we were teaching him to 'sit' and 'wait', mainly during meal times. Then he was taught 'stay', 'drop' and 'shake'. Thats all I knew at the time so couldn't really teach any more... my water baby, raz, is having a ball, i've been walking in the rain most days and at the park the pond is flooded and just yesterday he was having zoomies through the puddles Any photos...? Mine aren't big fans of playing in water, they really need someone else to show them how. Both tolerate stepping in water, but don't find it very exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandybrush Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) no i didnt take my camera with me...it was raining again he was very cute haha, doesnt take much encouragement to get him jumping in water. I have to watch him though he will jump in any water he sees, which can be unsafe, so i have to spot the water before he does Edited October 11, 2010 by dandybrush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 yeah i was thinking of taking ike to bdoc.. will they take him if he is fresh out of puppy school?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 oh oh oh wuffles, can we organise a doggy play date if you are coming up??? i would love to meet your pups my water baby, raz, is having a ball, i've been walking in the rain most days and at the park the pond is flooded and just yesterday he was having zoomies through the puddles Haha yep, if we make it up with the puppers we will definitely organise something! Even if we end up leaving the dogs here we should catch up, I don't think we did last year... Satch is a water baby as well, he is always trying to drag us into puddles, lakes, creeks, ponds You have to be careful because he'll be walking nicely on leash then all of a sudden do a giant lunge towards the water! Ava started puppy preschool at 14 weeks, then we started obedience at about 19 weeks. I was training her from the time she came home at 12 weeks, to sit, down, wait for food, stay, loose leash walking and basic tricks. I also socialised her with known, vaccinated dogs really early (before she was fully vaccinated) and was doing things like taking her to the shops and just sitting and watching people. OH took Ava for a run this morning! He had her off leash most of the way (just on lead through the streets) and he said she was brilliant. Didn't tire her out though, I threw a toy for her a few times in the backyard afterwards and she was still running and leaping enthusiastically! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) yeah i was thinking of taking ike to bdoc.. will they take him if he is fresh out of puppy school?? As long as your pup is at least 12 weeks and is fully vaccinated, then he can come to class at BDOC. There's one shiba inu at BDOC named Nugget - so cute. Web page is here. Unfortunately you can't start enrolments for next year yet until they put the info up on the website. You'll find that beginners has pups of all levels - partially trained to no training whatsoever. All sizes and breeds, too. The first week is a briefing for owners so you don't bring your pup, pups join in the second week. ETA: Elbie started going to puppy classes at about 12 weeks. He was about 17 weeks when we started going to obedience class but we had started basic training with him at home from the time we got him - sitting, waiting for food, dropping etc. We don't have plans for him to become Wonder Dog or anything - just wanted him socialised, occupied etc and it was something to do with him apart from playing at home and taking him for a walk. wuffles is very impressive with Ava - she hasn't mentioned it but from what I could see, there were only two passes from silver last term and wuffles and Ava were one of the two. Last week, silver was divided into 'new' silvers and people who were repeating silver. There were a LOT of repeating silvers, so wuffles and Ava were extra impressive to have passed. Edited October 11, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandybrush Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 oh oh oh wuffles, can we organise a doggy play date if you are coming up??? i would love to meet your pups my water baby, raz, is having a ball, i've been walking in the rain most days and at the park the pond is flooded and just yesterday he was having zoomies through the puddles Haha yep, if we make it up with the puppers we will definitely organise something! Even if we end up leaving the dogs here we should catch up, I don't think we did last year... Satch is a water baby as well, he is always trying to drag us into puddles, lakes, creeks, ponds You have to be careful because he'll be walking nicely on leash then all of a sudden do a giant lunge towards the water! OH took Ava for a run this morning! He had her off leash most of the way (just on lead through the streets) and he said she was brilliant. Didn't tire her out though, I threw a toy for her a few times in the backyard afterwards and she was still running and leaping enthusiastically! I still have to work on raz's on leash skills :D great work with Ava yes definately, you should come too our place, see our house and meet raz anyway i think we played pool years ago maybe satch and raz would do zoomies together then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niques Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Look at those innocent eyes "Stick? What stick?" We started puppy school at the vet (we were already friendly with the owner of the vet surgery pre-dog) at 12 weeks, which was an unavoidable mistake. Unfortunately they only have classes 5-weekly, but I wish we could've gotten him in earlier. That was mainly owner education, with small chunks of off-lead play with similar-tempered dogs and basic sit/down/stay help. At 16 weeks we did a puppy obedience short course with one of the vet nurses with more impact on walking nicely and obtaining focus. At 6 months we started proper obedience. As for things to work on at home, most of the dogs in his beginner's class could only sit - it really is for the very beginners so I don't think you could come under-prepared. However, I found working on his stay (best started with simply waiting for meals) at an early age, to be the best thing I've done with this dog. At this point he's really quite solid with his stays (the recall after the stay, on the other hand...not so much ). Other than that, as much socialisation you can get with pleasant dogs and people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 OH took Ava for a run this morning! He had her off leash most of the way (just on lead through the streets) and he said she was brilliant. Didn't tire her out though, I threw a toy for her a few times in the backyard afterwards and she was still running and leaping enthusiastically! That is awesome wuffles! We are NEVER going to trust Elbie off-lead in a public place. We just don't trust him ... it might be the border collie in him but when he sees cars, sometimes he lunges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 yeah i cant have ike off the leash... apparently once he is off.. good lock trying to get him back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) yeah i cant have ike off the leash... apparently once he is off.. good lock trying to get him back Don't worry foxyboi - I hear it's a breed thing. The Shiba Inu pages I've read all say that the shiba isn't the greatest in terms of off-leash walking. They are independent and curious. ETA: I wonder what my chances are of teaching Elbie to walk on the backs of sheep. See the kelpie thread here. What an awesome talent!!! Edited October 11, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 lol he sure is independent and curious.. even on the leash sometimes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandybrush Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 i thought i would never trust raz off leash, now he is off heaps - not by roads, only in parks or in walking tracks or in the bush. however i have left him off to walk home once - he was buggered and walked beside me the whole way, but it was late and i didnt see any other dogs or pple it not that i dont trust him, which i do maybe 70% of the time but i would hate for that 30% to cause him to get hit by a car or endangered in any way, so i just would rather not tempt fate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genabee Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 So, I was feeling a bit more spritely earlier this morning, and the sun was out, the air was warm... so I took G for a walk to this oval we have around the corner. We are practising her off lead skills too. So while I don't remove the lead from her, I do drop it and let her run around. I go armed with a ball and treats - she does really well, normally come back when she is called, even with the other dogs around. Proud Mum moment! I was so scared to start at first, but I was told to let her do it when there are other dogs around, as she is only going to run to them! And not off down the street!! So far, so good! There was a gentleman walking two dogs - apparently he was dog sitting for his son. One was a big blind thing, the other was about the same size as G. Have no idea what breeds... Anyway, in her excitement, G jumped up at this (super tall) bloke. I reprimanded her, as we don't allow jumping on anyone!! He said to me 'You shouldn't tell her off for that! Dogs are dogs, let her be one'. I simply said to him 'We don't let her jump in our house, I am pregnant' and left it at that. Apart from the obvious, I used to HATE it (still do quite frankly) if I went to someone's house and their dog jumped on me, regardless of the size and breed. It annoys me when G does it to me, not that she does it all that often mind you. I couldn't believe this bloke said that!!!! What if he had been a little kid? G would easily be head height of a little person when she does that... So, to reiterate my comment earlier, I like socialising G with dogs and dog owners who understand and share the same basic manners!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 wuffles is very impressive with Ava - she hasn't mentioned it but from what I could see, there were only two passes from silver last term and wuffles and Ava were one of the two. Last week, silver was divided into 'new' silvers and people who were repeating silver. There were a LOT of repeating silvers, so wuffles and Ava were extra impressive to have passed. Awww, thanks KTB. I do have an awfully wonderful little dog though so that has definitely helped. That is awesome wuffles! We are NEVER going to trust Elbie off-lead in a public place. We just don't trust him ... it might be the border collie in him but when he sees cars, sometimes he lunges I think Elbie would be fine off leash. Working breeds generally are. Sure, don't walk him near cars, but I wouldn't do that anyway! Ava loves to chase birdies and also loves other people and dogs. I have found that generally a "leave it" or "UH UH" will break her focus on the distraction and get her back to me. I am just always watching carefully to make sure no really big distractions come along (eg. if someone is jogging towards us). If they do, as soon as I catch a glimpse of them I call Ava to me, reward big, and pop her back on leash until it's passed. We've had maybe two or three times when I haven't been paying enough attention and Ava has taken herself off to see another dog or person, in which case I apologise profusely and learn from the experience She is getting a lot better the older she gets. The past few weeks she has been passing walking people off leash with only a quick hello then back to me Satch doesn't get let off leash, except in the local reserve on occasion when he's behaving (not like today when he decided dancing around me playing the "you can't catch me game" was fun ). He is not like Elbie and Ava. He doesn't even come to you when you try to call him over in the house to get pats. There was a gentleman walking two dogs - apparently he was dog sitting for his son. One was a big blind thing, the other was about the same size as G. Have no idea what breeds... Anyway, in her excitement, G jumped up at this (super tall) bloke. I reprimanded her, as we don't allow jumping on anyone!! He said to me 'You shouldn't tell her off for that! Dogs are dogs, let her be one'. I hear you! Ava still jumps up on people in excitement and it drives me crazy. She doesn't try it on OH or me because she knows she won't get rewarded for it, but strangers and other people still pat her when she does it, so she's not going to stop, is she??? Grrr. Although I will admit that sometimes little dogs jump up on me at the dog park and I don't even realise they're jumping up, seeing as our boofers are 20kg and 36kg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) I hear you! Ava still jumps up on people in excitement and it drives me crazy. She doesn't try it on OH or me because she knows she won't get rewarded for it, but strangers and other people still pat her when she does it, so she's not going to stop, is she??? That's why OH and I are always happy that you're strict with Elbie and make him sit first before you pat him. At home he gets no pats until he sits. Some people will still play with the little monster even though he's bouncing around like a tennis ball. I think the difference is that some people don't mind dogs jumping - they like "paws up" dogs. It's hard to get the consistency of training though if some people will still pat my monster dog when he's jumping. He is getting a LOT better though - he'll plonk his butt on the ground and make an infuriated "pat me" honking noise. Edited October 11, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Kuma will probably NEVER be off leash. I could just see him taking off the in the general direction of something way more interesting that me and I would probably never see him again. hurmmm, jumping dogs. Kuma is only allowed to jump up on us when we ask for it. If he's not given the "up" cue, then he's in big twubble. I thought it was best to teach "up" rather than have a giant boofer taking it upon himself to do it. Though, if he were a smaller dog I would probably not allow it at all. Sounds a bit backwards, eh? His "up" is paws on legs, or graduating to paws on shoulders. It is a breed thing, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) As we need a photo quickly. A trip down Elborino memory lane ... i.e. Elbie before he became a long-snouted wedgehead. OH has just let me know that the new vaccuum cleaner will arrive in Canberra between 12-2pm tomorrow. Edited October 12, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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