huski

That is a great clip! She is so beautiful!

Awesome video Huski :D

Happy Birthday Blaze

She is just stunning! Blaze

Thanks guys, I love her so much!!

Gosh she's grown up to look like Wiz so much!!

Are you planning on competing in any dog sports with her? She'd make such an awesome agility dog and there aren't many Mals who do agility, which is a shame.

Yeah she does look a lot like Wiz in some ways and is different in others, just like their personalities too.

My only real goal is competition obedience, agility doesn't really appeal to me tbh! But she is super speedy so I am sure she would be great at it!

I wouldn't use the 10mm for a 35kg dog - we use them most for pups and smaller dogs.

The Syn Tek lines are definitely super strong, we use them to restrain dogs in bite work etc, so we need to trust it is equipment that can't break. The thing I love most about it though is that unlike nylon lines they don't retain water and can easily wipe clean if they get dirty.

I personally prefer the style of the DT Fun harness, but the works is very popular for the large reflective strap which is great if you walk early morning or late evenings.

My favourite general use harness is the Webmaster harness by Ruffwear, it doesn't have velcro for patches but you can sew them/attach them on if you were that way inclined. The Webmaster isn't as easy to put on the dog as the DT harnesses though.

ETA: 10m is a very long line. It usually gives me the s**** if I use a 10m line for anything other than tracking, it is SO long and gets tangled and you end up with excess line 99% of the time. I find for most applications, 5m is plenty of length, though I guess it would also depend how far away from you the dog would be working - if you are the point where you are doing big distance control exercises though I don't see the need for a 10m line anyway. The 5m would just be there as insurance.

Thanks guys, I love her so much. Hard to believe she was ever this small!

It was my puppy Blaze's first birthday last week, and I thought I would share with DOL the video I made to celebrate, showing what she has learnt from birth until 12 months :)

There is stress in all learning, and stress doesn't automatically = a bad thing. In this case the trouble is most likely caused by the dog not being clear on what the owner wants him to do, not that being trained to sit itself is stressful. It's not like they want him to learn to do a complex task. I would guess this is more handler error (no intended offense OP) than the dog being too stressed to learn.

I only ever train a drop from a stand, even with pups, as I train a fold back down so it is definitely doable - if you search YouTube for fold back down videos you'll probably find some.

If luring the treat is making him raise his front paws you don't have the treat in the correct position. Maybe you could post a video so we can see what you are doing :)

Skip:

I took my nervous kelpie to two. The first was great. 9 people in a circle ist week and we played pass the puppy. I wanted to keep some of the cute fluffy ones and u should have seen other owners faces holding my crazy kelpie pup. Funnily she came back to me pretty quick! Next there was food thrown done and all the pups had a forage and gradually started to interact. It depends on pup size in the group too how much freedom they get.

Pass the puppy and food thrown on the ground would be two things I'd be less than happy with.

Agreed - neither are things I would include in our puppy classes!

huski, the link works, but the links in your article don't...?....

BTW we never visited a puppy school with our dog, nevertheless she had a too high value for other dogs (it's vanishing now more and more so).

ETA: ...the links actually seem to work but only to reach a webpage saying 'Not Found'.

Sorry I am having some trouble with the backend, will fix it up as soon as I can.

Obviously visiting a poorly management and poorly run puppy school is not the only one way a dog might develop too high a value for other dogs.

Many people seem to think socialisation is just about exposure, but it is actually about setting value for new experiences. Every time I take a puppy out, I am watching their behaviour, and the way they interact with new environments/other people/dogs/etc and assessing what value they are displaying for these distractions and adjusting my training accordingly.

With any pup I raise I aim to have a pup who is generally disinterested in people and other dogs. I usually have this down pretty early on. For eg, this is my pup at 13 weeks, working in a high level distraction (a dog trial).

A great puppy school is invaluable, but a bad puppy school can negatively effect your dog for life. I wrote a blog post on this topic a while back that you might find useful :) http://blog.k9pro.com.au/puppy-schools/

Importing semen would be OK with breeds that have large litters but with something that might only have 2 or 3 puppies with a good natural mating it's a risky proposition I think.

actually there is no guarantee that you will get a large litter anytime.

Yep there is no guarantee for any breed. Some people say AI will generally produce smaller litters in any breed, but it's really not something science has proven either way. We did a back to back AI, same bitch and same frozen semen, same vet, exactly the same process - first litter we had 4 the second one we had 10.

Who will be breeding the dog? Who will be raising the puppies and how will you split profit/costs?

If you have solid life skills the dog should understand to chill out and not to look for drive satisfaction when you are doing things like loose leash walking. But when training to that level, if you are waiting until the dog is in drive for something else you are too late - you have missed signals of arousal levels rising. You give yourself next to nothing to work with if you're waiting until the dogs drive is peaking. You're too late by then.

My dogs are trained in drive and can still recall and maintain obedience when highly aroused, but if the dog understands loose leash walking (or you know what to look for) they don't get to that point when you're practicing life skills. My dogs know when they are doing a drive related exercise and when they aren't because I made those commands and the off switch very strong.

The aim when loose leash walking isn't about position but teaching the dog to keep their arousal levels low. A dog that is pulling on the leash is generally over stimulated by the environment and is more likely to be reactive than a dog that is chilled out and is keeping their heart rate low.

Denise Fenzi's follow-up blog > http://denisefenzi.com/2015/12/31/controversy/

Edit: I tell my dogs no all the time. It means 'no, you aren't getting the rest of my lunch so you might as well sod off now'

Love it and so so true - this argument could and does go around in circles forever....

100% agree, and I usually find the most vocal are the quietest when you ask them to show you their dogs. Funny that.

It's not about what you think is capable of doing more damage, the damage is not measurable because the consequences for the dog can be severe either way. getting given lots of treats doesn't mean the dogs needs are actually being met. I see severe behaviour cases all the time where the dogs have never been given a physical correction, yet they still have severe behavioral problems. It's incorrect and naive to assume that the only real damage that can be done to a dog is caused by misuse of physical corrections. There are many factors that can contribute to a dog becoming stressed, anxious, fearful etc.

I don't want my dogs to have a high value for others. I prefer my dogs to see other dogs and think "meh". If I had my dogs out and they barked at other dogs we passed I would consider it a sign their arousal is too high considering I've asked them to chill out and walk nicely with me.

Dogs can learn to pull on any collar or tool, I've seen dogs pulling like steam trains on prong collars. It's just a tool, success is in the user

I wouldn't find it acceptable for my dogs to bark at others, either.

I haven't got time to go through the whole article but it's clear to me that the person who wrote it doesn't understand reward based training, how to use it or why it works - and faster than aversive based training.

Here's what I've got so far.

But most of the more emotional statements - just look like crap to me. It does explain the trouble I have explaining to my brother and the old school trainers at the old school club (and yes some of them are well over 80 and refuse to even listen).

This cult believes that a dog should never be corrected for bad behavior and that a dog should live in a world without framework, boundaries or consequences. Living in this type of environment makes a dog hyper, hysterical, aggressive and unable to function out in the world.

The reward based trainers I follow, are not permissive. They do not allow their dogs to behave badly. They set up their dogs for success by starting their training in a low distraction environment - eg a small boring room in the home - not the crazy yank and crank paddock bashing fest that is most obedience dog club classes for beginners.

The obedience clubs are the ones punishing dogs for friendly behaviour - so 7 years ago - there were quite a few instructors who could not let their dogs near any other dogs. And during my time in that environment - I watched one instructor have the worst time getting her dog to recall. All the old school trainers believed it was impossible to train a dog to stay or recall before it was 12 months old and they hated puppy classes.

Could it be that hyper, hysterical aggressive dogs - might come from puppy farms where they get no propper human or dog socialisations before they go to their new homes. And the new homes belong to people where both parents work all day and the kids are at school all day. In the "Old days" - there was always someone home to keep the puppy out of trouble.

The rabid attacks on Ceasar Millan are a case in point

There's plenty of youtube video of Ceasar Milan that clearly show that what he does encourages dog bites. Even he says "do not try this at home" but I meet people every day that do try that at home - and they get bitten and their dog gets progressively more and more aggressive. There is lots of animal training science available now that shows that CM's methods actually slow the dog's ability to learn what is required. Counter productive at best, and dangerours at worst.

Positive Only holds sway in the training world.

I don't think this is true. The obedience clubs in this state are very slow to change over to best practice as proved by scientific study over and over. But if you'd like an anecdote - Black Caviar was trained using rewards, and never hit in a race.

Take those dolphins out into the Open Ocean and then prove how well PO works. (Yes, the Navy did do some work with dolphins out in the Open Ocean…but the dolphins wore muzzles that prevented them from eating.

Pretty sure Bob Bailey did not muzzle the dolphins - how can you reward a dolphin with fish if it is muzzled? Before Bob Bailey - I don't know what methods the Navy used. He probably did start the training off in a "controlled environment" where the dolphin could not nick off. I'm certain the Albatross he also trained for the Navy were not muzzled, and neither was the McCaw and other birds that do free flights at Adelaide Zoo. The McCaw did indeed nick off during a training session recently but as soon as it was found - it was very happy to return of its own accord to the trainers arm.

When PO training hits the real world, the real ocean, it falls apart the same as it does when PO trained dogs venture out into the world.

There's a world wide dog sport that challenges the validity of this. It's called Agility. You cannot get a fast dog with punishment. And these dogs will ignore all the distractions - other dogs running and barking in the next ring. Everything - to run with their owners. Most of them will hold a most excellent sit stay and not nick off to attack another dog. Better than I've seen in obedience classes where it's common with dogs that have been trained in a low distraction environment (no running and flapping and screaming during the stay practice at dog club) and then brought to compete in a high distraction environment.

The other issue that is overlooked about these wonderfully trained dolphins is that they are trained by PROFESSIONALS.

Nice back flip - it works or it doesn't. How do you feel about the person who brings you cake (or money or whatever you desire) in exchange for simple tasks - being good for santa - vs the person who gives you a speeding ticket, even when you thought you weren't speeding (limit changed, sign missing). Is it better for an amateur trainer to be using punishment and being nasty to their dog or to use rewards. The fall out for getting punishment wrong can be extreme, where if you get rewards wrong - all you need is a coach for better timing and mechanics and you can fix it.

You can't fix the trauma associated with years of badly done (amateur) yank and crank. How many dogs do we see out pullling like a freight train on their "slip" collar? Wouldn't be better if they were pulling on a flat collar, or hanging with the owner for a stream of treats (no pulling oooh). Neither is right but one is more successful than the other. With my dog - using a slip chain and yanking - meant I got a dog that did not want to walk to the park. For YEARS. Took me two years with good timing, rewards and a flat collar before she looked forward to a walk.

You don't need a clicker. And yes it's very precise but you don't need it. "yes" will do. "good dog" works. Shoving a treat in the dogs mouth works. Catch up, the science has moved on. How many of us feel a rush of pleasure when we see "approved" on the machine when we pay at the supermarket? I do.

Exquisite timing is more important when you're using punishment/averisves. If your timing is not perfect - it's not going to discourage a behaviour and then it's abuse. Hence CM does actually manage to train dogs while his casual students fail - because he has supurb timing. But the fall out is still bad. He and his students get bitten.

Using aversives is equivalent to teaching a child how to spell by hitting it with a ruler or just scolding it each time it makes a wrong guess about what letter comes next. And not telling the child what word it is they have to spell.

I think you've used a lot of broad generalizations there, MRB.

Bad training is bad training whether you are using rewards or giving corrections. Neither are of benefit to the dog. If a dog has been incorrectly rewarded and bad behaviour reinforced, that doesn't make it better than a dog given a poorly timed correction. Both can have extreme consequences for the dog. Both have done damage. For every example of poorly used corrections I can give you an example of poorly used rewards... But that doesn't mean neither are effective when used properly.

Learning how to effectively use all quadrants of operant conditioning is a vital skill IMO. You could easily use your last paragraph to describe the pressure a dog can feel when free shaping. It's naive to believe there is no stress involved in "positive only" training, or that stress is a bad thing. Stress is present in all learning and dogs need to learn how to work through stress. You can use all four quadrants of OC in one training session, you don't have to pick one and only ever use that. A good trainer can instinctively adjust their methods or approach as the dog requires.

there is a lot of skill involved in using rewards properly, and they can be an extremely powerful tool. It doesn't make sense to me to say then, that using rewards incorrectly somehow does less damage or it is easy to fix things dogs learn incorrectly from rewards. my experience is actually the opposite, which is why I train everything with food or prey rewards.

I don't understand the purpose of bashing other trainers to make a point or to make your training approach look good. If I see a trainer spend a lot of time bashing other methods (and this happens a lot on "both sides") I wonder why they have so much time to spare, and why they need to bring down others to promote their methods. Nothing makes a bigger statement than the results you get, IMO. you can argue about who is right until the cows come home but show me your dogs, and your clients dogs, then we can really judge ability.

Thanks for the rec everyone!

We don't have any suitable DLPs running at the moment, but we always have ways to assist interstate clients, DanC feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

The short answer is: no it is never too late to develop drive in your dog. :)

I had equipment fail when we first had our husky Micha. I still have the K9 Pro leash I bought to replace it, it is over 10 years old. It failed exactly like the pic you posted in your OP.

Sorry the pics aren't showing for you, we had trouble with the server losing them when we changed over and I am slowly updating all the articles with missing images. Here is another one that does have pics - http://blog.k9pro.com.au/how-safe-is-your-dogs-collar/

Nowadays I obviously have a LOT of equipment, especially with three dogs. When you handle dogs like this you can't afford to have equipment that could break;

If you want to do comp obed I would definitely go a GSD

If it's something that you think you might want to look at in the future you need to take that into account when selecting your dog as not every dog will be suitable, you'd likely be looking at a working line GSD for eg over a show line one.

I would also consider if you want a dog that will just be a deterrent/ watch dog that will alert bark or if you wanted to get a dog with a view of training it in personal protection. Two very different things but if you are interested in training and want to take on that level of commitment it's worth researching and talking to trainers and breeders to see if it would be something you're interested in.

A good GSD is a great choice if you don't mind the insane amount of shedding. I personally prefer a nice GSD to a Dobe, though I do like how sleek and athletic Dobes look. I also find GSDs in general a bit more trainable than Dobes. They tend to have more drive which can make them easier to motivate.