huski

I'll check them out then! Pardon my ignorance Huski but do you have a store or are you online? Hey Lexi, we are just an online store. I'll PM you some info :)

The collar lights we stock don't have timers but they don't switch off after a set time. I've left them on for hours. You have to press down quite firmly to turn it on and off so it doesn't turn off itself when the dog is running around. I've been really impressed with the quality.

Which collar light did you have? Some are better than others which is what I found when looking for which brand to stock. the ones we have are visible from 1000 ft away so are quite powerful. I've seen the collars and leads too, but most of our customers want something to attach to their existing collars so I just stuck with the lights and LED balls. However, by all reports the collars are very safe to use, I would only be wary if you have dogs that like to grab onto each others necks in play as it may damage the collar. I have been using the Spot Lit LED collar lights heaps now DLS is over, very useful for my little beagle who likes to forage through the bushes etc if I take her out at night.

Yes the Sydney show is in November this year. Very exciting!

Maybe look at mat training then? It can be easier to start with to teach them to come in and relax in a set place. ETA: if they can learn to switch off and relax in a crate they can do it in the house, I find mat training can be a good next step if you don't want to use the crate.

It makes me feel physically sick watching someone like BP handle dogs. I've seen footage of him before and it's awful.

Hi BC Crazy, there are a few reasons but the main one for me is that you reward a more accurate position if you mark the position and release the dog to reward.

I would crate train him.

A friend of mine fosters her sister who previously whelped the biggest litter of 14! That poor mummy.

We are looking forward to meeting you too, not long to go now :) try not to stress, Steve isn't scared of anything :laugh:

Don't feel terrible HO, we all question ourselves and sometimes in hindsight some things are much clearer. You are right to be cautious in this situation when you don't know what to do. When daisy was 6 months old she growled at me for telling her to get off the lounge, I had no idea what the right response was! Someone on DOL told me to scruff her and growl back at her so I tried that the next time and she took me up on the challenge and snapped back at me. That was almost 8 years ago and boy have I learnt a lot since then. Each situation and dog can be so different, you get better and more confident with more experience and you learn when to be careful or when to be tough etc. It doesn't make you a bad dog mum, we all learn through experience.

The chilly dog coats are my favourite. I have a Great White North coat for Wiz. They are great!

If you have a good relationship with the breeder and trust them 100% there is nothing wrong with that. All of our puppy buyers trusted and wanted Steve to choose for them, they were given very in depth detail about why x pup would suit them best. I don't agree with breeders who say all the pups are the same, there is always some variation even if it's only very minuscule differences.

Every time we have temp tested a litter, the pups matured and have been exactly the same as how we tested them that day. So I do believe it is possible to test temperament accurately, I have done it and seen the results so many times. wanting to select a pup myself isn't about not trusting the breeder at all, but for me, I just don't like to buy a puppy unseen and I want to see how it interacts with it's litter mates etc. Even if my choice aligned 100% with the breeders suggestion I would still want to test it for myself. I understand puppy buyers who trust the breeder to make a decision and I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but for me I like to see the pup first.

That's a good point TSD, it shouldn't just be about the dog getting a reward but sharing in the reward experience with us. the reward on it's own should mean a lot less to the dog than it does when they share it with us. This then helps advance to a dog who won't buy into or show interest in rewards on offer from someone else or even in the environment.

For performance/ sport? I never remove the primary reward completely from training. I can work my dog for quite a long period of time over a number of exercises without rewarding her, but when I say "ready" and trigger her into drive I am guaranteeing she will be given a drive reward if she plays the game by my rules. When I am training a new behavior obviously the rate of reward is higher, vs when you trial and you would do a full run out with no reward until the end when you leave the ring, but it's not often I would replicate a trial run completely in training. Part of what keeps dogs in drive is the thought that reward could come at any time. There are many things outside of sport I might just reward with praise, every day life rewards etc. But when I want high end performance I train my dog to work in prey or food drive.

If she works best for food there's no need to wean her off treats and onto something of less value. Many of our successful competitor clients predominantly train and compete with their dogs in food drive. My beagle daisy was trained 100% with food and Wiz works for both but majority of our training is done in prey with tugs and balls. Work with the dog you have :)

Re dampening drive, this will happen if what you reward for is calm behaviour because that means you are rewarding the dog for being out of drive. There are times when we do want to reward for calm behaviour but when we are training a dog for sport/competition and we want high end performance, that is not a time when rewarding for calmness or classically conditioning positions by sticking food in the dog's mouth will help you. Ask her for a behaviour, such as 'sit'. As soon as her butt hits the ground say 'yes' (or click) and throw the food, or take a few steps back and get her to chase it from your hand. Don't think of her desire to earn the treats as something blocking you from success, it will work in your favour tremendously with a bit of tweaking :)

Some breeders will give you the pup on limited then once it matures and they are happy with how it's developed, and if it's in a performance/working home what you've done/achieved with it, they will change it to main papers to give you the ability to breed Do your research and speak to lots of breeders, watch the dogs they've bred work or compete and choose a breeder who you have a good rapport with and whose dogs you really like.

Great example TSD!

I agree a dog needs to be structurally sound to be fit for purpose but I don't believe a show title is necessary before breeding and it's not something I look for when looking for a pup myself. Structural soundness is very important but the dog also needs to have the right temperament, drive etc to be a good working dog.

I understand why people with a good relationship with their breeder trusts them to decide on a pup for them, and I think that's great if you trust the breeder and feel it's right for you especially when you understand what you want and what to look for. Personally while I would ask the breeder for their opinion I am not a person who would buy a pup unseen or just take one assigned to me without first seeing it with the litter and agreeing it is the right choice. It is just something I like to do to be certain. Many breeders and puppy buyers ask us to temp test litters for them, it doesn't mean the breeder doesn't know what they are doing but they also aren't often experienced or qualified trainers nor do they need to be. Some breeders get worried they won't test the litter objectively and that's fair enough too. Some just want another opinion. You have to do what feels right for you.

Having a dog with a lot of drive for food is a quality problem to have! When training obedience I want speed, high levels of drive and arousal and tonnes of focus - so slowing things down or rewarding for calm behavioir won't get the results I want. The length of time she can hold a position is something you can increase over time once you have a good communication system. My dog is very speedy and can offer behaviours very fast so it's a matter of developing your timing skills too. When you say she looks to your hand a lot, how big a cue is the sight of food and the treat pouch? I intentionally put the treat pouch at my back, I also make sure I don't let the sight of food become a signal or trigger to the dog. Because I use a verbal marker my dogs have no reason to look to my hands, until I have said yes and then I can produce the treat from either hand. If you struggle with this try not having a treat in your hand at all, when you say 'yes' make a bit of a game of pulling out a treat from your treat pouch, so it's not just about handing a treat over. Run back wards while reaching for the treat etc - keep it unpredictable and it will help maintain drive and engagement.

When selecting a puppy to live with kids having a confident puppy with good solid nerves is critical. A nervous, timid or shy puppy won't cope as easily around a noisey/busy household. I have helped temp test litters where every pup runs over to you as soon as they see you, a puppy running over to you or appearing confident isn't a sign it is dominant or the most dominant puppy in the litter. I would never select a puppy that shied away, didn't approach me, or didn't attempt to interact with me. There are a lot of reasons that your friends may have had trouble with their dog not behaving appropriately. If you select a puppy that is shy, scared or hesitant around people you will likely have problems too, just different ones. It is important to pick a puppy that ticks all of your boxes and that has a suitable temperament, nerves etc for living with your family but it is also important to raise them properly to live harmoniously in your household. I always recommend speaking to a reputable training/behaviourist before bringing a puppy home, they can help explain to you how to pick a suitable puppy from the litter, what behaviours and traits to look at etc. They can also help make sure you are prepared for bringing a puppy home and can give you guidance on what to do when you do get your puppy. Breeders can also be helpful when choosing a puppy and I would always ask for their guidance too, but then there are breeders who aren't as good at doing this so it is good to cover all your bases.

You can't put genetics into your dog that aren't there, but you can influence, shape, mould etc what is there. If you fail to raise, train and manage your dog responsibly it can learn bad behaviour and develop behaviour problems regardless of genetics. That is why how we raise our dogs (nurture) and responsibly care for them is so important. Genetics/nature are the foundation on which we can build everything else, but having good genetics isn't enough on its own to make a super dog.