huski

It won't be agility huski - dog is too young, at least for ANKC agility trialling. Can you tell I know nothing about agility??

What discipline are you trialling in? Obedience, agility etc? I think it is less about age and more about the dog as an individual. Have you done any mock trials/ring run outs with her?

It's obviously appropriate enough to assume what the trainer has done to date isn't working otherwise the OP would have no reason to post about it.............would she???. It's obvious the trainer is a friend of yours Huski..........how about separating friendship and training ability and you may just see a different perspective of the situation Oh please, it's behaviour that has only just started showing itself again, the OP had yet to contact the trainer for advice when she posted this thread and wasn't asking for advice on the behaviour specifically but wondering how desexing would assist with it. She's said more than once that she's happy with the trainer. This isn't about friendship, but the fact that apart from the OP I am the only other person in this thread who has the first idea about the competency of the trainer. How you could possibly have vaguest idea on the knowledge or expertise of the trainer from tiny information the OP has given us is beyond me. You've made many incorrect assumptions in this thread already BB, give up before you continue to make yourself look like even more of a condescending idiot

Woohooo goooooo Rubystar!! That's a brilliant brag, well done!!

Can I just clarify that the trainer the OP is seeing is not a "purely positive" trainer by any means and would have no problem using an e-collar or prong or any other form of corrections if and when it is appropriate.

Gooooo Nik and Jedi!!! Not long till Jedi has CD on the end of his name

Are you referring to the OP? Where on earth has it been said the kids are left to deal with the dog on their own?? Here Huski Ah ok - to me that didn't sound intentional, but rather an accident and that the OP does not normally leave her kids alone with the dog.

The OP never said her kids are left alone to handle the dog. All that was said was that the trainer has recommended the OP avoid putting her kids in a situation where they could get hurt - and you jumped on That with no other knowledge of the dog, the OP or the trainer and assumed the trainer was rubbish and that the OP needed a new one. I am not taking this personally at all, and I am not sure what information you think I could be withholding. I know the trainer and have had her work with my dogs, so I Know what kind of methods she uses and how capable she is, thus I am in a far better position than you to know if the OP needs a new trainer. What more information would you like? I can show you her website and you can read the story of my dog Micha that's on it if you are so desperate to know more. How you could know so much about the OP, her dog and the trainer from such little information is beyond me.

:p Are you referring to the OP? Where on earth has it been said the kids are left to deal with the dog on their own??

You are assuming a lot there, BB. A dog that gets excited when it sees other dogs is not DA. No one is questioning the seriousness of the dog mouthing at the kids, but there is not always a quick fix for behaviourial problems and how effectively they are managed relies on many factors, not just the dog, but the capability of the owner/family/etc/ No one has said that the dog should not be corrected, but that for the safety of the kids all efforts should be made to avoid putting them in a situation where the dog might act inappropriately. Or do you think the OP should intentionally put her kids in a situation where the dog is going to bite the kids, so she can punish him??

I don't know of any reputable trainer who would use it as a training method, RnL. And that includes trainers who happily use all kinds of aversives, from e-collars to prongs to leash corrections etc.

What Huski is doing, is telling the OP it's all good and the trainer is doing a great job...........I disagree, I think the trainer is messing around with a dangerous situation and doesn't know how to correct it effectively.........just my opinion And you are basing that on ONE brief comment that about a behaviour that has just resurfaced. As Cosmolo posted earlier, sometimes there are no quick fixes for behaviourial problems and it's not about the dog but what the family and owner is capable of doing. You have no idea how the OP has been told to correct the dog for this behaviour, you have no idea the extent of the training program the dog is on, nor what the actual problem is. I know the trainer in real life, I have seen her work with dogs including my own, I am 110% confident of her ability to help the OP. You haven't even seen the dog, yet this trainer has, how can you possibly think you know what the problem is or how best to fix it when all you have to go on are a couple of posts in an internet forum? How about you come meet the dog, and the trainer, and then share with us your "expert" opinion?

I'm not sure I would say anything is my specialty But the behaviourist the OP is working with helped me tremendously with my dog aggressive dog, just as she has helped many others, aggression is an area she does specialise in and I would suggest she has worked with more aggressive dogs than you have... which is getting off topic as that is not the problem the OP is having anyway. ETA: And whilst she has also helped me a lot with Daisy as well as Micha especially in the early days when she was a real challenge and we were going through an awful adolescent period, I've worked with a different trainer for the training in drive stuff we do (just in case you were using Daisy as a guide).

Why are you so condescending? I don't even use a clicker. I have had the privilege of working with trainers who have vast experience, much more than you do, with working security/PP/police dogs etc and I am more than confident their advice and knowledge regarding aggression in dogs is sound. I am not saying that handling a dog exhibiting peak aggression is impossible, but talking about the process you would undergo to train aggressive dogs. I'm not talking about security dogs driven by civil aggression either. Do you honestly think that waiting until an aggressive dog is in drive peak, functioning from the lower cortex of the brain, is really the optimum time to teach the dog it has options other than aggression? Considering the trainer the OP is consulting with has taught me how to deliver appropriate corrections to my own dogs I can assure you that you are talking utter crap. Why are you arguing and questioning the people who actually know this trainer in real life? You can't possible have a clue what kind of trainer they are from one statement, regarding avoiding situations where the kids could get hurt, in this thread.

Wow that's so far off the mark it's not even funny - but good to see that you know so much about a trainer you've never met, and have no idea what is actually involved in the OP's training program. I'm sure you are aware that for some dogs attempting to correct them when they are displaying peak aggression is pointless because their adrenaline is so high their pain threshold changes and they don't even register the correction - there are many benefits in avoiding situations where an aggressive dog goes into drive peak.

I don't and can't foresee any time when I will, but I do feed my dogs tinned mackeral, tinned sardines, natural yoghurt, egg etc. Lots of ways to mix it up if you are just feeding dried food I feed two of mine on raw but one on a combination of dry and nice 'extras'. ETA: I often use the same analogy as Dyzney, most canned food is the doggy equivalent of MacDonalds.

Well said Cos - I agree with you totally. We are also hardly getting a complete picture of the OP's training program, considering also that the behaviour has just resurfaced and she hasn't yet been able to talk to the trainer about it and what to do next. I try to avoid putting my DA dog in a situation where he is going to aggress, that does not mean I do not know how to handle him when he does, but that it is always better to do my best NOT to put him in that situation, for many reasons. That also doesn't mean there aren't many other things we do and have done that has improved his behaviour dramatically.

Happy birthday Julie!! Hope you had a wonderful day.

The OP is already seeing a very reputable behaviourist. Lucy'sMama, have you talked to the trainer recently about his behaviour towards the kids and how it is still occuring/not improving? I am 110% confident, as I am sure you are too, that she will be able to help you with this problem. One of the most important things is to make sure you communicate with her regularly and clearly so she can know what is working and what isn't. you obviously know something we dont You're quite right, I know which behaviourist the OP is consulting with and I know her very well. Lucy'sMama: Sounds good - perhaps other posters in this thread can take the fact you haven't yet had a chat with the trainer about this behaviour resurfacing into account instead of immediately questioning them and telling you to find a new one.

How so? She already said she will be talking to the trainer about it and that she will be seeing her for another session. The OP wasn't posted for training advice, she was asking about how desexing may or may not effect the dog's behaviour.

The OP is already seeing a very reputable behaviourist. Lucy'sMama, have you talked to the trainer recently about his behaviour towards the kids and how it is still occuring/not improving? I am 110% confident, as I am sure you are too, that she will be able to help you with this problem. One of the most important things is to make sure you communicate with her regularly and clearly so she can know what is working and what isn't.

Thanks RS, releasing her to the reward behind her makes sense The two food game is not a great game to play with Daisy, I avoid anything that encourages her to put her nose to the ground

Does she have a good understanding of a drop at that distance? Darcy has a good DOR which I never really trained, but I can drop her from any distance where she can see/hear the command. Zee at 11 months did a lovely DOR the other night (I was experimenting ), and she will also drop from about 50 m out. I think so, if I have her in a sit or stand from that distance I can get her to down it just seems to be when I've called her and she's recalling that her response is delayed. ETA: don't think I've ever tried it 50 metres out though!! Hmmm something to try LOL.

Oh oh I have a heel work piccie too! TERRIBLE photo of me but look at my little girl

Ok question for those who have trained a good drop on recall: I have started training this very very casually for a bit of fun. I found that if I set Daisy up for a recall only a relatively short distance from me, her DOR is perfect. Nice snappy down the instant I give the command. If I attempt it from a longer distance she does not get it as quickly and may have quite a delay in between me giving the command and complying - is this normal? Does everyone start training it with the dog only a short distance away? Is it just a matter of slowly and slightly increasing the distance?