huski

If you get it right you will end up with a dog that sees another person and connects that 'trigger' to the awesome game they play with you, which means seeing another person will boost the dogs confidence and drive due to what reward history tells them. For a SFE we really want the dog to completely ignore the person examining them, I know showing isn't as strict as obedience (in that the dog will lose points for moving) but the goal is really the same. Building a dogs confidence in the SFE is a really common problem, we have and do use targets but in a slightly different way, this vid may help give you some ideas;

If it's getting a good SFE you need I would be careful not to make her have a high value for other people - if she sees other people and thinks "yes I get treats from these people" you will end up with a dog that can't do a SFE anyway, because it's been conditioned to get and look for treats from other people. I have seen this (getting other people to treat the dog) back fire for this reason heaps of times. You don't need to use a clicker to build her confidence, but I would be training a verbal marker if not a clicker. I would start by playing drive games at home and then once she's confident with the way the game works, work on increasing her confidence in new environments. It may not be something you can rush or hurry her with, and if it was me I would consider getting some professional help to learn how to use her food drive to build confidence. It can without question be done (and I've seen it achieved many times) but it is also something that can get worse with the wrong approach.

for me it would depend on the situation. My instinct is to stand still and avoid eye contact but I'm used to handling and working with trained dogs that, if they saw you as a target, would take screaming and yelling as a cue to bite you. I wouldn't try to keep myself safe from a dog that knew what it was doing with yelling screaming or waving anything around. Some dogs are more likely to be more bark than bite and could be deterred if you made a loud noise etc. Some dogs will make a lot of noise but will back off fast if you threaten them or push back. Not saying that's the right thing to do, but I would read each situation individually and respond differently depending on the dogs behaviour and body language.

Some kids yelling and pointing to my Mal saying "that dog will RIP YOUR ARM OFF!" As I got her out of my car :laugh: and a random who once came up to me and said that I should "put some pit bull" into her and she'd make a great pigging dog. Delightful.

I understand how clubs reason that you need to do obed before agility, their line of thinking is that you need off leash control to do agility but it's an old fashioned way to look at it (much like the boring way many clubs teach obed is old fashioned too - there is absolutely no reason for obedience to be boring!) If you teach your dog to engage with you and get them wanting to work with you and earn the rewards you have to offer, you won't have any problems working off leash and you won't need to teach heel work etc to achieve it. Once you have that foundation right and a dog that wants to engage with you, you can apply it to any sport.

Hey allyandbonnie, it's so lovely to see someone so committed to training and passionate about it. I watched the agility video you posted earlier and I thought how you used the chair was really clever, you are a better handler than some adults I know! I was so impressed I showed the video to Steve (K9Pro) and told him how passionate you are about training. We can't help you with classes as you're in VIC but Steve liked your video and thought you might find one of our treat pouches (http://www.k9pro.com.au/dog-treat-pouch.html) useful, and wants to give you one :) your choice of black or purple just shoot me a PM with your details and I'll pop one in the post for you

Allyandbonnie I just wanted to say you remind me so much of myself, I have always been 'dog crazy' and even now I am an adult, have lived out of home for years and work full time in the industry my mum will still say 'can we stop talking about dogs for two minutes' :laugh: :laugh: You show great initiative and passion, stick with it and it won't be long before you have a bit more independence and can learn more and do more things Me too, I am the same :laugh: OH puts up with me talking about dogs all the time :laugh: The only difference now is that I have a tiny bit more self control when it comes to talking about dogs with people who aren't also crazy dog people :laugh:

Allyandbonnie I just wanted to say you remind me so much of myself, I have always been 'dog crazy' and even now I am an adult, have lived out of home for years and work full time in the industry my mum will still say 'can we stop talking about dogs for two minutes' :laugh: :laugh: You show great initiative and passion, stick with it and it won't be long before you have a bit more independence and can learn more and do more things

I have a working line Malinois and she has an exceptionally high prey drive, but she is great with my cat and as she has been taught from day one how to get (appropriate) prey drive satisfaction she has never looked at my cat as a prey item. She will sleep on my bed next to the cat all night, I have never had a problem with them together. IME with the right management and training there is no reason you can't have a prey driven dog live safely with a cat.

Very sorry to hear there Monika

I have owned a DA dog before and I was hyper vigilant about handling him especially if I took him somewhere like obedience club. You have to know your dogs limitations. Personally if I owned a dog that was highly aggressive if other dogs got in it's space I wouldn't sit down in a place that's heavily saturated with other dogs (essentially giving you no out if another dog owner did the wrong thing). I would have been way too paranoid and worried about something going wrong. There is a difference between a dog that doesn't appreciate rude dogs getting their face and a dog that wants to maul other dogs that come near it.

Going just off the description in your OP, I would say both parties need to shoulder some blame. If the owner of the large dog knows their dog is reactive or aggressive, they should be more aware of the environment around them. Did they fail to notice the small dog was close by? We can all be caught unawares at times, but in a environment like a dog training club or classes, that is a time IMO to be very aware of your surroundings and to be watching your dog closely. If this is a dog training club/classes do they have a yellow ribbon rule or similar for dogs that need space? The owner with the puppy also needs to be more careful and responsible, if they are new dog owner or new to the club they may need a reminder to be more aware of what their dog is doing. Any time I have my dogs out for training, they have my 100% undivided attention. If I have to stop to adjust something, grab something from my training bag or talk to someone even for 10 seconds, I always put my dogs in a down stay so I clearly tell them what they should be doing when I'm not working them. This stops them from disengaging from me, getting distracted, wandering off etc. When I was instructing at my local obedience club we had announcements prior to classes starting and would always remind every one to give each other space, be aware of any dog wearing a yellow ribbon etc. If it is a problem with members becoming a bit lax with their dogs then it could be worthwhile to give everyone a reminder to be aware of their environment and responsible handle their dogs.

Well done everyone on all the brags

If people can't responsibly manage intact dogs then desexing is likely the best option for them, but other pet owners being irresponsible isn't going to impact in any way shape or form on my decision to desex or leave my dogs entire. Desexing their dogs also won't make those irresponsible owners responsible, it will just stop them being able to breed with their dog. They will still continue to manage it irresponsibly.

A few people on the beagle group called wanting to buy it (out of concern for the pup) and the pet shop refused saying it wouldn't be for sale until it's leg had heeled. Just how long were they planning to leave that poor pup in that tiny glass cage he already looks much bigger than he did in the original pics I saw a couple of weeks ago.

If you knew this how come you didn't report it? Not stirring, just genuinely curious as to why if people were aware of it they would not call RSPCA/Store/Shopping Centre or did you report it and it is only getting more publicity as it has gone viral? It was posted on a beagle page I'm on. I haven't seen the pup myself but one of the members did. It was reported to the RSPCA back then and complaints were made to the shopping centre and store. No action seemed to be taken until Oscars Law got involved and pushed for more action (which is how it also went viral).

The pup has been there with it's leg in the cast for weeks. Glad it's got more attention now

I understand why people are pro-desexing but personally I won't desex my dogs unless there's a medical reason that requires it. This is long, but well worth watching IMO.

Just a portion of raw egg shell - wasn't anything exciting (unless you're my cat and then she thinks it's worth checking the bowl! Lol)

I can't free feed Shandi as she's such a guts! (And I only feed raw so it could get a bit manky)

Nobody messes with Fat Shandi! She had finished eating so didn't care. "Pathetic cat eating the dregs of my meal" lol

Just caught my cat Shandi sticking her paw through the crate bars and into Wisdom's food bowl to scrape out the leftovers! Greedy bugger! There is not much she wouldn't do to get food :laugh: Cracked me up so just had to share :)

Definitely nothing wrong with a check chain used correctly though I personally find a properly fitted martingale collar more effective.

Hehe, just opened this thread and saw your comment. Thanks VM! Do you have a trainer you are working with at the moment or classes you are going to? Training loose leash walking is not about the tool you use (that just gives you leverage) but understanding how to teach the dog that pulling doesn't get it where it wants to go. What are your goals for your pup? The pic in my avatar is my dog Daisy doing heel work for obedience which I train very differently to loose leash walking. When we are walking down the street she still walks happily next to me but she's calm and relaxed. Whereas in heel work I want a dog that is in a high state of arousal, working in drive with loads of focus and animation. You can have both but they are two very different things and we train them very differently.

Your best bet is to see a professional. This kind of behavior can easily get worse as you've already experienced By letting her greet other dogs when she acts this way you've also reinforced to her that displaying that behavioir is rewarding and will end in you allowing her to greet other dogs. Getting help from a reputable trainer will give you the ability to control and modify her behavior.