Aidan3

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior official position statement pulls no punches: http://avsabonline.org/uploads/position_statements/puppy_socialization.pdf The Australian Veterinary Medicine Association is a little less explicit on this issue: http://www.ava.com.au/policy/610-puppy-socialisation In my own classes I have taken a few extra measures to limit the spread of kennel cough because it is prevalent at the moment.

Seeing as you both probably need a bit of a tune-up I'd suggest starting with something requiring less guess-work, such as a hand target. Ease back into it.

Because most people make a lot of mistakes with their every day recall.

So in an effort to encourage a culture of reporting this sort of animal abuse, which is what the industry needs if it is to stay viable, I hope the RSPCA, police, or whoever you give your tip off to will follow it up. Otherwise all that is left is animal rights activists working undercover.

Yet somehow the police, RSPCA, and other organisations manage to uncover and stop crimes every single day. Go figure! yes but they do it within the legislated powers and not by trespass and without warrant. For GRNSW to act as animal rights and animal lib have, they would have to go vigilante and vigilante activity is not acceptable. Unannounced inspections and encouraging a culture of stamping out illegal and unethical practices would help. As I said, other organisations manage to do it, and it's not rocket science. If it's done properly no-one needs to go vigilante. Under the current body this sort of practice has been allowed to grow. That said, I think giving inspectorate powers to a body funded mostly by charity or commercial activity (the RSPCA) is a huge problem for animal welfare in this country and it needs to be a well regulated and transparent government department. Putting the foxes (GRNSW, for example) in charge of the hen-house inevitably leads to problems.

Yet somehow the police, RSPCA, and other organisations manage to uncover and stop crimes every single day. Go figure!

One of them said (on camera) that the piglets cost him $50 each iirc.

I suppose it will depend on what representation Cesar's business made as to whether they will be successful in suing him or not. Without knowing it's hard to comment.

I second the "Click to Calm" approach. Alternatively, you can sometimes use habituation, just give them so much of the thing that they become bored with it. Sounds like some "Doggy Zen" is in order, though.

Have you read "Control Unleashed", LabLover? Might be worth putting on your reading list.

Yes, it's a little bigger than a matchbox. Designed as an anti-theft or fleet tracking device. It works well wherever both you and your dog are in mobile range (and while the battery is charged). Probably not great if you want your dog to wear it every day.

One of my helpers adopted a Lowchen who was rescued from a puppy mill. Adorable little guy, almost completely blind, but bomb-proof. Not a lot of drive, though. Possibly because of his blindness.

I think it was Kung Lao on here who made one by pouring concrete around a (food grade) ice cream bucket? Fill the bucket with sand first so that it doesn't buckle under the weight of the concrete.

You have to ask your friends to track a specific Tile, as I understand it. There is a similar product, http://www.thetrackr.com/ that sends you co-ordinates when anyone with their app installed is near a lost item, which seems far more useful. I clip a cheap ebay GPS tracker to my dog when we go mountain bike riding. The battery only lasts a day or so, but I can send a text message to him and it updates me with his co-ordinates immediately, so long as he is in mobile phone range. I put a $2 Amaysim sim in it, they will bill me when I rack up $15 of these texts (so never).

I think the Portuguese Water Dog is one of the most under-rated breeds out there. Not sure how they'd go in agility, probably very well.