gsdog2

If you do a search you'll find lots of threads here regarding people who train in drive - Steve would be my suggestion too ;)

Whoops ..... double post :D

I'm so sorry this has happened to you as you're obviously a very caring breeder and I'm sure it's something you'll never get over. I guess all I can say is I'm looking at this from the point of view of a concerned person who see's these dogs being used as a money-making machine. I can't help thinking they're more upset at the loss of their money not their pups.

No I'm not saying that at all, no-one has the right to steal someone else's pups. I would give them "more" sympathy if they were caring owners (forget whether they're registered breeders) who didn't breed with their bitch every season. That's why I say they're just a money making machine

No, I understand that Steve. Living so close to these people, and owning a number of dogs myself, of course it's not great to know that there are people stealing someone else's pups almost literally under my nose. I guess I just hate seeing these people looking so concerned in the paper when (call me cynical) to me these dogs are just a money making machine for them. They are not the most well-looked after dogs in the neighbourhood put it that way.

I live very close to this "breeder" and all I can say is did it occur to anyone how these pups could be accessed in the middle of the night? These same people bred with the same dog and bitch in her last season They're not registered breeders (dare I say backyard breeders) who have just lost a lot of money They're only microchipped because the law says they have to before you sell the pups.

I thought the same thing - my longhair GSD was 5-6mths before she had her adult coat. It's very obvious with a longhair when they've changed from puppy to adult coat (and it continues to change as they get older), but I wouldn't imagine any breed would have adult coat at 9 wks

I'm thinking it's due to stress too, but maybe more the trauma of the whole ordeal as he was scratching before he started wearing the collar I rang the vet hospital this morning regarding the drain and apparently the vet told the nurse she left two inches of the drain sticking out because it would be more secure and easier to get at when they remove it I've had a look at the wound and drain this morning - the actual incision is about two inches from where the drain is. I think I would prefer they leave the drain the length it is, as it ensures the fluids leaking from the drain are not flowing back onto the wound (it's hanging away from his neck). When I mentioned this to the nurse she then proceeded to tell me that was the "other" reason it was so long - yeah sure!!!

Thanks for the quick reply ES and Rysup :p We'll look at possibly trimming the drain tomorrow morning - might give the vet a quick call first. The collar is to stop him getting at the stitches, but with so much drain sticking out it wouldn't take much for him to pull it out. Unfortunately he's developed quite a bad (all over) itch since this all started, and at 3 years of age he's NEVER scratched in his life!! Not sure what that's all about Rysup I hope your Amstaff's ok now :D

The purpose of the sugery today was to drain any possible fluid and/or remove any splinters that may have been left in wound. Unfortunately nothing was found so the vet debrided the area, inserted a drain and closed the wound with 2 inches of drain left hanging from the wound . I wouldn't have thought it needed to be that long either ;) . It seems to be more of a risk than a help at that length.

This is it - I'm not sure. What would they be trying to achieve with such a long drainage tube?

If anyone could give advice/suggestions here, all will be gratefully accepted. A week ago my sons dog got a stick caught in the back of his throat (soft palate), so after a quick trip to vet and surgery to remove remnant splinters and AB's ($1800 in total ) he was home again on Monday. All was fine until yesterday (Sunday) when his neck started to swell and after another trip to vet he was in again for surgery this morning. This time though they made an incision on the outside to see if any fluid could be drained or remaining splinters to be found. Unfortunately there was nothing to be found, however to be cautious a drain was inserted (another $700 today ). My son has just phoned me concerned his dog might pull the drainage tube out and has sent me a photo of what it looks like. The poor dog has been sent home with 2 inches of drainage tube sticking out!!! It's so long it's bending in half when it catches on the Elisabethan collar, which he needs as he is trying to scratch at it. Is this the way drainage tubes are being inserted these days??? I'm not happy, but would like to know whether this is usual before ringing the vet tomorrow morning.

'Startled' - really? I live in the same city this attack happened and I haven't read anywhere that the dog was startled. It was working! Why would you say 'fear bite'??? Come on people - we're not talking about someones backyard pet here, it's a 'working' dog. If anything, as Staranais said, the police should have had a guard posted at the door. Copied and pasted from the article. As David ran inside calling out to his mother, the startled german shepherd latched on to his leg, biting it "to the bone Still sounds like a fear bite to me the kid was not attacking the officer so it should not have reacted. Or maybe It's the handlers fault the dog should only be aggressive when the handler wants it to. That's a 'description' from a journalist (in their words) - not a quote from police or witnesses. It's called sensationalism

'Startled' - really? I live in the same city this attack happened and I haven't read anywhere that the dog was startled. It was working! Why would you say 'fear bite'??? Come on people - we're not talking about someones backyard pet here, it's a 'working' dog. If anything, as Staranais said, the police should have had a guard posted at the door.

Thanks for that - I was hoping to have a bit of time to think about it (it seems February's a busy month next year), but maybe I shouldn't 'think about it' for too long

The 'Application to Register' form says:- Seminar attendance is unlimited however; handler & dog teams working with Mia at the seminar are limited to10 per day. To make application please fill out the attached form. But that might not be the case, Yesmaam

It says here:- http://www.metrodogsport.com/mia%20skogster%20flyer.pdf $200.00 for two days (without your dog) with a $100 non-refundable deposit on registration.

The heading of this thread is 'Videos That Have Inspired You' and that's exactly what this video has done - luv it!!!!! Can anyone give me some hints on how to get such a quick out of the tug (and without an instant rebite) - and no, not screaming and yelling "mine, mine, mine ....." lol

Sorry I can't help you as I'm in Qld, I wouldn't even know anyone up here who boards while training I'm just curious as to what you might require in "advanced" training?

Someone's going to ask the question so it may as well be me - Why don't you train them yourself instead of sending them away

I agree with frufru :D . In fact I would start by visiting any of the vets closest to you now, asking the nurse/receptionist if they have any advice for you regarding bringing home your new puppy (maybe not during peak consult times :D ). That will give you a starting point, then I would use vaccination time to meet the vet and again ask lots of questions. Something important to me is a 24/7 service (I don't want to be sent off to yet another vet because my vet is only available 5-6 days a week, closing at 6.00pm). If you're not happy with their response go to another vet for the next vaccination. There is a fantastic specialist service at Underwood and you might like to Google "VSS Underwood" to have a look at the services available there (you will need a referral if you require their services). Contrats on your soon-to-be new addition :D

Guilty as charged officer (the bolded bit) and unfortunately some of us are born "coordinationally challenged" and it's not something that is easy to change. Doesn't mean I don't like to play tug with my dog though. Hell I am never going to be an expert, my dog doesn't target my hands, but he is faster than me, and occassionally i get a nip, does that mean I should never be playing tug because I am not good enough and am unlikely to ever be??? Seems kind of elitist. X 2

So, the judge has said to take up position and sit your dog and you give the command "sit", then the judge says leave your dog and while others use the command "stay", you want to say "sit" again? Some people don't use a 'stay' they train that sit means sit still, I'm guessing this is what the OP is doing hence wanting to say sit instead of stay. This is what I do as well. In some dogs it cuts the confusion of too many commands. Sit means sit until you are released irrespective of what is going on around you. The only release words for my dog are 'finish' or 'come'. We use the same approach to her drop as well. It seems to have improved her stability on stays. So as Tiggy said, I repeat the command of the position I want the dog to hold when I leave, be it sit, drop or stand. Ok, that's interesting - it didn't occur to me that you could use the same (sit) command twice in the group sit/stays

So, the judge has said to take up position and sit your dog and you give the command "sit", then the judge says leave your dog and while others use the command "stay", you want to say "sit" again?

I recently had my 20mth old GSD visit the dermatologist. In the end it would have been cheaper to have gone there right from the beginning instead of persisting with the vet for the last 18mths and spending $2000 on drugs, special diets, creams etc, guessing whether it was skin, food or environmentally related