huski

Yep, seven and a half months is far too old - puppy pre school is generally run for pups from 8-16 weeks at the oldest. I would look for a training club instead, there are a couple on the GC http://www.goldcoastdogobedience.com/ http://www.vippetfoods.com.au/dogclub/

No they aren't Isn't their use just restricted in certain states?

If it's causing fights between him and the other dog, yes, I would, until he learns that they aren't "his" toys and to prevent any fighting from escalating. Or - keep them seperated and just leave him with one toy instead of several. If I leave toys out for the dogs when I am not home, they are still my toys, I am just allowing them to play with them. What does he do if he is guarding his toys and you try to take them off him?

He needs to learn that resources like food and toys are not something he can control. I recommend reading up on NILIF (nothing in life is free): http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm http://www.k9force.net/index.html?row2col2=nilif.html And implementing the triangle of temptation with him, it works wonders for my beagle: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 I wouldn't be leaving a range of toys for him to play with. In fact, I would be inclined to put all the dog toys in a box and only take them out and let the dog play with them on MY terms only, and only one toy at a time. Any time the dog wants to play with the toy he would have to pay for it first. I also wouldn't feed them together, I would do TOT with each one individually. Your biggest mistake was letting him get away with the behaviour when he first started doing it, because you thought it was cute, he's learnt he can win with it and as such the behaviour has escalated. He needs to learn that things like toys, food and even attentions/pats are not something he can take ownership of, because they are resources that YOU own and control.

Thanks heaps for the feedback guys. It makes me more confident I am making the right decision switching vets!

Thanks Tony. The vet I'm looking at getting to do a house visit actually works at Animal Options one day a week So I'm just deciding if I should drive down to Ormeau or get a house visit really.

I would go a squeaky toy, plush toy, ball or tug depending on which one I like the look of most

Hi everyone I am looking at alternatives to standard vets, and have been looking at more holistic vets who are open to raw feeding and offer titre testing etc. Does anyone have any recommendations in Brisbane (north preferably). I have come across a vet named Kathy Cornack who does house consults, has anyone used her or can recommend her? She offers titre testing at a very reasonable price too. TIA

If you want to look into feeding a raw diet to a pup, you need to do your research. I strongly recommend reading Dr Ian Billinghurst's book, "Grow Your Pup with Bones" as it will guide you what and how to feed.

Because dogs are not horses and their necks are not designed to take any kind of force. The pulling and jerking that happens can cause serious neck injury. I would NEVER use any type of head collar nor recommend them for this reason. What ML said I also wonder what happens when people take the head collar off, most dogs I see revert back to pulling so I also question just how much it teaches the dog - they are more often than not used as a quick fix.

I would get sit solid first and then move on to other commands like stand or down. Work on him sitting nicely and taking the treat without jumping up and even increase the time he can stay in the sit (i.e. a few seconds). Get him to do it on voice command only and/or hand signal only. Once I have a command solid I decrease the amount of treats I give, but only when it's solid and the dog definitely understands what I'm asking them.

So would many dogs but it doesn't change the fact that it's the best option for him if you can't afford surgery. You posted here asking for advice and you got it, much the same way you posted asking for advice with your last dog. What does a woman giving birth have anything to do with a dog who has OCD? Exercising him as much as you are is going to make him WORSE. If you can't afford to do the surgery and refuse to keep him confined and calm, or stop over exercising him, perhaps the kindest option is to have him PTS (and make sure you don't disregard our advice next time about buying from a BYB).

I don't think anyone has bashed labs, in fact most people have said they like them but they just aren't the breed for them.

Have PM'd you some suggestions, TM

Tashasmum, a good trainer will show YOU how to walk her without her pulling and will instill confidence in you to handle her. I am always dubious about boarding and training facilities because often they train the dog but not the owner, which is a the most crucial aspect of dog training - training US to train the dog properly. Where are you located? Maybe we could recommend a more reputable trainer or training club for you to try

What is boring about them? Genuine question, I am going to collect my lab puppy next weekend and am very curiuos to hear your answer. Nothing in particular, the same reason I find BCs, goldies etc a bit boring, maybe it's because they are quite popular and you see them around a lot. They just don't appeal to me as a dog I would want to own and train etc.

I don't mind labs, I just find them a bit boring My friend has a chocolate lab named Oprah and I love her, just not for me.

Don't forget you can ask your breeder for info too, they should give you a puppy pack with some info in it anyway when you pick your puppy up.

I agree with the above Cos - that's essentially what I want too Although I don't really care if my dogs want to play with others, like Daisy now - she's not fussed about other dogs and if I take her to a DOL meet she will only occassionally play with others, and that doesn't bother me at all. Poodlefan: I wouldn't expect a dog to have 100% focus on me all the time but I do want 100% focus when I command it. What I don't want is to be competing for my dog's focus because they've been socialised (and trained) in a way that encourages them to see other experiences and distractions as more exciting than me. Like Cos said above - I think training and socialisation can go hand in hand, and I wouldn't socialise a dog to assign a high value to something (as opposed to a low value) if I then have to retrain them to focus on me and ignore it later on.

Oh, I definitely agree But sadly I think there is a lot of misinterpration when it comes what socialisation is and that's when you see people starting to run into problems.

I don't see heightened arousal as a goal of socialisation Huski. Tolerance and perhaps enjoyment, but not heightened excitement. I guess 'socialisation' can have different meanings to different people - you only need to look at the number of dogs you see whose owners intentionally socialised them to see other dogs as super exciting and an instance where they think it's good for a dog to have heightened excitement, the number of dogs who can't walk past another one without getting excited, barking, jumping, wanting to engage in play etc. And the owners don't see a problem with it because their dog has been 'well socialised'.

I think it goes back to having different words for a similar thing, why would a dog obey you if they don't see you as someone worth listening to? The dog has to see you as relatively high value to want to listen to you in the first place. And I agree I would make something exciting if the dog had a negative value for it and it was impacting on the dog's confidence. I don't think I worded my post the right way... I was wondering if a dog that has been neutralised would be less likely to find new experiences distracting than a dog who has been socialised to see everything as super exciting and in some cases, more exciting than whatever the handler could offer. I guess I have always thought that to get my dog's focus I have to be higher value than whatever it is they are distracted by. And again I don't want a dog that finds nothing but me exciting, but a dog that sees me and what I can offer as the *most* exciting thing there is. I don't think you're saying anything that different to what I am trying to, Nekhbet - going by the above post your dogs do see you as higher value than anything else. And again my interpretation of 'neutralisation' isn't that you don't socialise your dog, just that you do it in a controlled manner where you don't inadvertently teach your dog that various distractions (like other dogs) are way more exciting than you or what you have to offer.

But, and this is a serious question for those who understand this all better than I do, would a dog who has been neutralised to see various distractions as of a low value and nothing as exciting as what the owner has to offer i.e. the dog has been conditioned to see everything that's good/exciting as coming through the owner, be less likely to be easily distracted by 'new' experiences like seeing a kangaroo? And less likely to seek it out (say as a prey drive thing) because it looks to the owner for permission first? I mean in comparison to a dog who is trained with the traditional socialisation method of assigning a high positive value to new experiences like other people and other dogs and as such, the dog has been conditioned to seek rewards/satisfaction away from the handler.

I recall asking Steve in the latest of the neutralisation/socialisation threads if you could have different 'levels' of neutralisation, which he said you could, like you've said above - a dog can have a mild positive value for something (if you think of it on a scale of 0-10). I'm happy for my dogs to enjoy each other's company, although I would like Daisy to be a little less attached to Micha because he is quite a big distraction for her.

I feel the same way as Staranais has said here: And also that there probably aren't really that many occassions my dogs do play with others anyway - even now, Micha and Daisy play with each other, but rarely play with dogs outside of our 'pack'. I might take Daisy to a DOL meet every couple of months and even then she's not fussed by other dogs, a quick sniff and she's happy - she'd much rather be scenting. I like that she's not obsessed with other dogs. When I get another dog I'll be aiming for that 'meh' factor, a dog that knows how to interact with others but isn't that fussed when it comes to playing with other dogs. ETA: Cos... is this the thread you mean? http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=165253 Aussienot wrote a good post in the above thread, that I think encapsulates what I want when I next raise a pup: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?s=&a...t&p=3641064