huski

Yep mum is coming down with me to stay in the cabin (but she isn't attending the workshop/s). Will see how we go, but I'm doing all day saturday and all day sunday so I don't want to push Mish too much

Me Are you going both days Lisa? We are officially booked in for the weekend I haven't booked the saturday night session cos I think we will be too stuffed...

Woot! Can't wait for this Who else is planning to attend?

Ditto. I found it really quick to teach. I just use the word 'heel' which is probably wrong but works well ETA: I just lured Daisy behind me and into the heel position with the treat, and then phased out the lure and just used my right hand to signal the command.

Oh God MCM, I am so very sorry to hear this. I know there are not enough words that could comfort you right now, but I just want to let you know we are all here for you Run free Angus, you beautiful boy :rolleyes:

yep - will PM you

Run free Benny :D

How exciting Deb Can't wait to see pics, bichons are such cute little puppas!

Me three (or is it fourth now?). The craziest thing is now that evil pup is almost two years old, we have even come around to the idea of having another one again although not for some time - but mum is even keen for another beagle

Toileting training with a pup that has been in a pet store for two months will be difficult because she has had been 'trained' to toilet whenever, wherever, including in the area she sleeps and eats. You've only had her since saturday - so not even a week yet. You need to give her time when it comes to toilet training etc - comparing her to you old dog won't help because he was a pup almost twenty years ago :D When it comes to toilet training, do have an outside grassed area that you want her to go on? I would try to encourage her to toilet there more than anywhere else, and would leave paper out for her at night time. Watch her like a hawk and as soon as she goes to toilet inside, take her out to the grass and when she toilets there give her BIG praise. I would also read up about crate training.

Oh the poor little love :D It's not just large dogs that can snap without warning - any size dog is capable of dog on dog aggression. There are two mini foxies at my local park that are savage little things and will go any dog regardless of its size. Do you have any friends with friendly dogs that you can socialise Brodie with? Especially friends with larger, friendly dogs so that she doesn't develop a fear of bigger dogs?

Ditto. If done properly I think its a great opportunity for some socialisation.

Say wha? She's posted a thread about getting a new pup, I thought it would be pretty normal for people to ask what breed it is

Ditto, am still wondering what breed it is too is there a reason its all hush hush

Hamish McBeth also do leather/colourful martingales: http://www.hamishmcbeth.com/products/produ...tegoryNumber=40

Oh, they're nice Luke. I tend to prefer the thicker handles and leash, but if I wanted thinner rounded ones I'd be heading there! damn dogs, they make me spend so much money on them

I got mine from K9 Force for under a $100 - I have a 4ft premium and a 6ft standard and they are both great: http://www.k9force.net/index.html?row2col2=leashes.html But I just wanted a nice, strong, comfy leather leash for walks. The 4ft is a great size for just walks.

We use a really short leash for obedience work because its nice and light, but we also do off lead work so we don't need a really long lead for stays etc. For walks I have both a 6 ft and 4 ft leather leash, I like them both - I like the 6 ft esp if I am doing some recall work or jogging because it gives the dogs a bit of room to move. If I wanted a leash purely for walking, I would go with the 4ft.

I feed my beagle and husky in the morning and the morning only, to keep them lean as they put weight on very easily and feeding in the morning is supposed to help with weight control. Cherry I feed twice a day, morning and night.

I would definitely be interested in the whole weekend - would just depend on the cost of the seminar + accommodation. I would probably prefer a room on my own as I'd have Micha with me and he does not mix well with other dogs. ETA: Unless there were people coming without dogs then I'm happy to share!

I still don't walk Micha and Daisy together unless someone comes with me so we can have a dog each. Micha is worse around other dogs if Daisy is with us, so I would prefer not to have to control him and Daisy on my own. That and they encourage each other to pull, and will play with each other as we're walking! As others have said, separately they are more often than not angels. I have tried walking them on joint leads and it was bloody awful... much easier with separate leads

Not really unusual - beagles are known for being evil but I found her very different to my Sibe when it comes to training. There are some similarities though: they are both stubborn, head strong and VERY strong willed! The other thing I found with Mish was he changed a lot once he got to about two years of age. He calmed down a lot and focused easier. We have had training difficulties as he had bad experiences with other dogs when he was younger and I have had to deal with him being dog aggressive/dominant. That is a real challenge and something that needs constant management. However, he is so happy to come out with me and have new experiences and he does like to do new and exciting things. I have found if I make training exciting and I am full of energy he works so much better - I take high value treats like roast chicken and a squeaky toy or ball to reward him with. He doesn't like tug toys as much as my beagle does, so instead I rev him up by running with and changing direction suddenly and getting him excited. As I have said before the benefit of training a stubborn or strong willed breed like a Sibe is that it is SO very rewarding when you make progress. I personally find biddable "easier" breeds boring.... I'd take a tricky dog any day!!

I love it! Perfect example IMO. People who think Sibes are stupid or untrainable often look at it from the wrong angle. I didn't get a Sibe expecting him to train like a border or any of the other more popular obedience dogs. It's the same with my beagle - yes she's not the world's easiest dog to train in obedience but take her out lurecoursing or get her on a scent and she does her job perfectly.

Like Kavik said, you need to remember what Sibes were bred for and what their instincts are. They aren't bred to be a classically "biddable" breed. They are bred to think for themselves and be independent in nature. Someone once told me the difference with Sibes compared to others dogs is: if you had a breed like a Goldie on a sled and told it to turn, it would turn instantly - and straight into the nearby tree. A sibe however would wait, and turn AFTER the tree :D I actually find Micha very easy to teach things to. He's incredibly intelligent and works things out very quickly. However, he will only do something if he sees a point to it - that's the challenge I think Micha, for a sibe, is a fairly easy dog. Even our trainer remarked he is very calm for a Sibe ;) Don't get me started on the beagle though - I found her MUCH harder to train than Micha.

Oh my god WS, I am so sorry to hear this. Satu got to live the happiest time of her life with you, even though it was for such a short period. Run free beautiful girl