huski

I am still at a loss for words to explain what this little dog meant to me and I am still so devastated by her loss.

Steve wrote a lovely tribute for Daisy that some of you may have seen on the K9 Pro Facebook page so I thought I'd share it here.

Quote

Vale Daisy – Evil Beagle.

About 12 or so years ago, I met a young lady on a dog forum I would participate in sometimes.

She had a lot to say, not about anything in particular, just a lot to say.

Anyway, I was running a seminar in Queensland where she lived and she attended with her Husky, the seminar was on Training in drive and by the end of it she had asked me a number of questions about her other (untrainable) dog, the Beagle.

She let me know that the training system was awesome but it would not work on her Beagle, who had been to trainers, and Obedience clubs and, I stopped listening to be honest, but I told her that I guaranteed that my system would in fact work, even on her supposed, Evil Beagle Daisy.

We began a Distance Learning program on Daisy and low and behold, she not only improved but she was stunning, even for an Evil Beagle.

The dog that once wanted to scent so much that she would ignore the club instructors checking her, steak under her nose, recalls and any interruption was now highly engaged with her handler, looking great in Obedience and becoming very reliable.

One of the stories I remember her sending me was when her club was doing a judges training or demo or something, like I said this girl has a lot to say…

They asked for a dog to judge and the called Daisy.

Daisy ran an outstanding routine and on video the judges were heard to say “get that dog out of CCD, she is amazing”.

Daisy went on to demonstrate her skills at many of my seminars and workshops for some time after that.

I ran another workshop at my home in Kurrajong Heights, Daisy came to participate and did some great work, and I could regale you with many a story about her high points, but that really would not describe Daisy and why she was Evil.

An example was that between workshop appearance Daisy was in her dressing room (my office) and thought it may be a great ideal to rip up the carpet on the floor!

This was serenaded with a “Woo Woo Woo” when the door was finally opened to see what the fuss was about.

From time to time I would get urgent calls of help from Queensland because Daisy had stolen and eaten a complete loaf of bread, or a whole bar of chocolate, or medicine, or bin scraps.

This was no average dog…

The upshot of her challenging behaviours motivated her owner, Bec Chin, to learn more and more about training.

It became an obsession for her, motivated by Evil Beagle.

Bec was offered a job at K9Pro and as most will know, now works here as a highly skilled trainer.

In the time Bec has been here, stories about Daisy often come out, like when Daisy would run downstairs when Bec was eating breakfast and bark at the door.

Bec would go downstairs to see who was there and Daisy would run upstairs and polish off Becs breakfast!

The sad thing is that the happened quite a few times…

At various times, many clients over the last nearly 13 years will remember a little Beagle coming into my lessons, workshops and seminars and working her little Old Lady butt off in drive whilst dogs barked at her, lunged and tried to get her attention, Daisy was part of many a success story, including mine.

Dogs can have such an impact on our lives and is often not until they are gone that we realise just how much.

Daisy was one of the biggest influencers on Bec’s life, she discovered various training styles, found a career she loves and is thriving in it.

I have done countless demonstrations of amazing dogs such as Malinois, Border Collies etc demonstrating many things, but often at the end I will get “my god check out that Beagle!” lol.

To ignore that Daisy has been a credit to my training would be impossible, like most dogs in our world, Daisy has such a positive effect on every person and dog she has met.

Sadly, a few weeks ago, Bec asked me to look at Daisy as she was lethargic and not behaving like herself. This was around midnight and I told Becs we should wake our vet and go and see her.

We did and met Karen Hedburg at her surgery just before 1am, in which Daisy had a very large tumour on her spleen burst.

She was bleeding internally, and it was touch and go.

Karen operated and saved her life that night and before long Daisy was bounding around woo woo wooing again, although Karen did say that she might have a week, a month or a year.

Daisy had a few off days and a few good days but yesterday was her last day.

Her job is done, she came to Bec, motivated her to change career to something she loves and motivated her to be damn good at it, now that is done, she has dusted herself off and moved on.

Her pain now all gone, her aging bones are no longer a little sore in the morning and she won’t know a cold breeze again, she is at peace.

Of course, none of us that knew her are, it is our time to suffer the loss of the Evil Beagle.

- Steve

Hi JHunt

Bec from K9 Pro here, I do all the puppy training, so you'd be coming to see me if you book in for a puppy raising consult.

I don't get on DOL much these days but I just wanted to address the question you had about what age to bring your pup home. Steve also breeds dogs, and recommends they go to their new home at 8 weeks for a number of reasons. There are a couple of blog posts Steve has written that I think may really help give you some insight into why we recommend this, and also some insight into how we approach raising pups.

http://www.k9protraining.com.au/socialisation-what-is-it-exactly/

http://blog.k9pro.com.au/distraction-proof-your-pup/

http://blog.k9pro.com.au/so-you-want-a-german-shepherd/

Feel free to email me directly bec @ k9pro.com.au (just take out the spaces) if you have any other questions.

PS thanks guys for the recs, I really love working with you and your pups, they are awesome

On 10/08/2018 at 7:11 PM, juice said:

Interesting as I emailed the problem and was told the lead had a 12 month warranty which had run out so nothing they could do . 

I’m not sure who you spoke to Juice but as I said all of our hardware has a lifetime guarantee and we don’t and never have had a 12 month warranty on any of our leashes. If it is faulty we can definitely assist you. As I said pop me an email and I’m happy to look into it for you. 

On 8/7/2018 at 10:21 PM, Gau said:

Looking to get some tug toys to play with my dog.

 

Also a long lead that is not nylon as they break super easy with my dog - had a 25m one which I only used twice before tearing. One small cut to any part and it'll tear a line through it easy.

Maybe something like this http://k9pro.com.au/long-line-syn-tek-10m-x-16mm/  - open to recommendations too

 

Also did I read that dolforums get a discount code? Can't seem to access/find it but I remember reading about it.

There is a DOL discount code Gau, it is DOLERSSAVE and gives you a 5% discount. 

Syn Tek is great as a long line as it is stronger than leather but lighter, and non-absorbent unlike nylon.

On 8/8/2018 at 6:56 AM, juice said:

i have 2 Syntec leads from them, they are great leads,good when wet and look like new still. However the first one i bought has a different clip and when my dog shakes her head it can come undone! not great with a powerful dog.I did contact them about it and tbh they didn't give a shit.

The new ones have a different clasp so hope this one is ok. ( the dodgy one has a brass fitting).

Hi Juice

Not sure who you spoke to at the time, but happy to look into this for you, just shoot me an email to [email protected] 

On 8/8/2018 at 7:47 AM, dwynwen said:

Thats a worry - i have two syntec leashes with the brass clips thay have not let me down in years of use (also powerfuls dogs)

 

i notice they now seem to use stainless steel fittings - they used to make a point of saying how good the brass ines were ... interesting .

 

do we still have someone from k9pro here?  

 

I have always had good cs from them.

We still have brass snaps on all of our leather leashes, the only reason we switched to stainless steel with Syn Tek is because we wanted them to match the collars which have stainless steel fittings. 

All of our leather leashes and long lines are still made with brass snaps, they are great and all of our hardware has a life time guarantee. 

I don't check into DOL much these days but anyone can contact me via K9 Pro and I am happy to help  

It's not so much about which dogs aren't suitable for beginners but getting a dog that suits your life style and needs. The more drive a dog has the more potential it has to go right or wrong. The two biggest issues I see with dog owners are those that get dogs with either weak nerve or too much drive for their life style or skill level. You can upskill of course, but it's hard if that's not what you wanted to do. Novice owners I work with who get high drive dogs for sport for eg do very well with them as they have a purpose and need for a dog with more drive. 

Hey Zoeh! I do puppy raising consults at K9 Pro from our training facility in Richmond/Londonderry which I know is a bit more of a drive than you are looking for, but our program is tailored to your needs, we design a puppy raising program for you and help you implement it at home via email support. Most of my owners then come back for follow up lessons every 4 weeks or so. You can read more about our services here http://k9protraining.com.au/getting-a-puppy/

We have all remaining stock of the old style harnesses on clearance now 

http://k9pro.com.au/front-range-harness-old-stock/

We got the new style in a few weeks ago, I love the new colours! http://k9pro.com.au/new-front-range-harness-by-ruffwear/

Definitely a buddy bowl http://k9pro.com.au/buddy-bowl-spill-proof-bowl/

We only have a small number of kennels but are booked out 3-4 months ahead of time all year round.

I'm not surprised by that. I've seen Steves videos, cant image there'd be too many better places to leave your dog.

Thanks SM! :)

We only have a small number of kennels but are booked out 3-4 months ahead of time all year round.

It's not trauma lol, but adrenaline as he's going into drive for food. When this happens it can cause an adrenaline quiver, you will often see the dog start to jaw chatter too. Totally normal response.

I wouldn't buy a pup from a breeder that didn't do a lot of work with the litter between 0-8 weeks. Genetics are the foundation you build on with training. I wouldn't underestimate the importance of early imprinting. We see a huge difference between pups that have had next to nothing done with the breeder to develop/imprint them, vs breeders who do development and imprinting.

Haha oppps! Reading fail right there lol thanks for pointing that out.

Could I ask, would this harness be suitable to carry:

Large drink bottle (for dog)

EMT kit

And at least 2 medium to large Molle patches for being able to carry a hunch of other stuff?

Yes, if you bought the packs with it, however you do need to gradually work your dog up to carrying that much weight. We have a back pack conditioning program we can send you if you purchase the EQ.

I had a close look over this website recently....

Only issue is they don't make one big enough (that I can see unless they sell extension straps?)

Max size for girth is 73cm - Pepper is 81cm!

Hi Pepperotti

The max size for girth is actually 105cm (the size chart shows this as 'around waist'). It goes to a max of 73cm around their neck. Have another look at the size guide pic in the comments :)

Great to have your feedback on them Huski. I am really torn which ones to order from k9pro, I can't find any reviews on the internet for the EQ Pro plenty on the ruffwear ones though!

The Webmaster would be my choice over the Front range, it's a really great harness. EQ Dog is a new brand we bought into Australia. It's made in Europe and is a relatively new company.

How funny Huski - I was looking at those ones too!!

I really like them as they are very versatile and I like that you can choose to add the saddlebags to make it a back pack later, as the other harness/backpack combos have to be bought as one product.

We just bought in a new harness from EQDog called the Pro Harness, and I really like it. It has 4 different attachment points including a front clip. It's a Y front harness which IMO is good for running/jogging also http://k9pro.com.au/eqdog-pro-harness/

My rewards don't usually mean we are done working on something but in this case, she seems to think it does? I probably taught her it that way or something I don't rightly recall, but it is a pain to undo!

If you aren't sure, the dog has zero chance of getting it either ;)

The position is good for stationary or when only going one or two steps

Can she maintain the position if you step side ways? or backwards? or turn left or right? This clip of young puppy Blaze a few month ago might give you some insight into what I mean when I ask for a really solid understanding of position;

When you say staying in heel after receiving a reward, wouldn't the reward terminate the exercise? Wondering if you mean getting the dog back into heel position after rewarding them?

Assuming you are talking about competition heel work, if the dog is lagging behind and forging in front it sounds like they don't have a solid understanding of heel position. I don't add forward motion until my dogs can execute heel position precisely and consistently. That may be one area where you are going wrong.

Yes, my dogs are always crated when visitors arrive. They don't bark or carry on and accept it's ok if I bring someone in the house and have put them in their crates. If I had a knock on the door I wasn't expecting I might bring one of the girls with me to see who it was and that's a signal to them that I wasn't expecting someone.

More Malinois. That is all :D :D

I have had the Mals called Greyhounds on a number of occasions

!!!!!

Oh Dear ;)

Yep, doberman cops the same as well. But funny enough, it was also while we had a greyhound, and they would be standing side by side. ????

Yeah LOL! "What's that crossed with" or "What kind of GSD or GSD x is that" is pretty common and I can't blame people for not recognizing what is a pretty uncommon breed but Greyhound does make me giggle.

I have had the Mals called Greyhounds on a number of occasions

A couple of things I consider when talking about socialisation:

1) Socialisation isn't just about giving a pup a new experience - but assigning that experience a value AND teaching them how to behave in new environments. Every time I take a puppy out it is a chance for me to test what value they have for things they experience and come across and how well they engage with me in different environments and around different distractions.

2) In regards to the vacuum cleaner example, being neutral or having a low positive value for something isn't an issue, it IS an issue when the dog is so driven by a specific distraction like other dogs or people or a particular item that they can't control themselves or engage with you around it.

3) Easily one of the biggest mistakes I see owners make is taking pups out and letting them confidently pull on the leash engaging everything in the environment except for them (the owners). This develops a pup that starts to think you are the fun police by slowing them down to get where they want to go, and you are teaching them to disengage from and ignore you in favour of other things in the environment. I always want to make sure that no matter the environment or distraction my pup can engage with me. That doesn't mean I want them to ignore everything, but that no matter what they are doing I can easily get their focus and attention back on me.

4) As we start to teach pups more things, you need to assign the correct arousal level to each exercise. Walking nicely on the leash = low level arousal. Competition heel work = high level arousal. etc