huski

My dog is always secured in a harness in my car so she doesn't have free reign to move around the car.

That is disgusting, I would have gone off my head. Nutcases.

I will drop my dogs home to then go back out to the shops if its hot but when it's cold and you are only going in for a couple of minutes I genuinely cannot see what the problem is? What about when you are driving and need to stop for petrol? You can't go back home and then back to the servo. I totally agree dogs should never be left in hot cars but never left in the car EVER? I don't understand the logic. You are dog savvy. Unfortunately the dog owning population is not dog savvy and don't understand logic. I've seen 2 large Bernese crammed in the back of a small vehicle on a hot day, i've seen anxious smalls yapping not understanding where their owners have gone even for 5 mins. I've seen things liked that too, but it doesn't make me feel that leaving a dog in a car is always wrong and should never be done. People that aren't dog savvy do a lot of things I don't agree with but that doesn't change my actions when I know I am responsible.

I will drop my dogs home to then go back out to the shops if its hot but when it's cold and you are only going in for a couple of minutes I genuinely cannot see what the problem is? What about when you are driving and need to stop for petrol? You can't go back home and then back to the servo. I totally agree dogs should never be left in hot cars but never left in the car EVER? I don't understand the logic.

I think it depends too. I take my dog to work so sometimes on the way home at night I will run into the shops. But I only ever leave her in the car if its cool. It was 12 degrees here the other day and I left her in the car for a few minutes. I don't see that as a risk IMO.

I have Wisdom (aka WIZBANG! Or Wiz or Bang or BangBang) and we also have Venom.

She sounds perfect! Just shoot me an email with your details [email protected] and I'll shoot you through some more info :)

Hey Juice, A lot of the kids told us today when we ran the canine safety course that they have owned bull breeds before. We had our young Malinois Wisdom there today and none of them were scared of her either, they were super excited and keen to learn how to approach her safely so they could pat her. We could really see from spending time with the kids today how much a program like this would benefit them, a lot of them really love dogs and you can see how involving dogs would be a great way for them to learn.

Hi guys We (K9Pro) have been working with the charity Boystown to put together a new pet therapy program to help improve literacy skills and self esteem of disadvantaged children. The pet therapy program will involve a team of volunteers and their dogs visiting the San Miguel Family Centre, a service of BoysTown, once a week. The kids will be able to do things such as read to the dogs one on one in a relaxing and stress free environment, help us train the dogs by reading training instructions to the handlers and learning how to behave correctly around dogs. Further details are on our blog here. We would love to hear from anyone who is in the area or can get to the centre (the centre is located in North Richmond) who feels they have a dog suitable for therapy work and might be interested in volunteering. You'd need to be available regularly on a week day afternoon. Every dog participating needs to pass an official temperament test (conducted by Steve Courtney) to be eligible for the program. There are no costs associated with this, but not every dog will be eligible. Be sure to let us know if you are interested! We are about to head off to the centre for the rest of the afternoon to conduct a dog safety course for a group of the kids there, but I will be around to respond to queries tonight.

Micha - we wanted a name that was fitting for a husky and Micha is a Russian name. Daisy - I had a lot of beagle names picked out but when we saw her we just knew she had to be Daisy. Wisdom - I didn't name wiz, and I didn't like her name for ages but I love it now as it fits her perfectly. She was always going to have a W name as she was from the W litter. She gets Wizbang or Wiz for short!

For people who have large numbers especially younger dogs how do you give them all the attention they require? Do you ever find it hard to give them one on one time? I looked after six recently (half young working dogs) and I couldn't fathom how I would manage it full time. Even if your dogs are lower drive etc how do you share cuddle time? Etc Having said that non dog people seem to think having three is a lot :laugh:

I think it depends on the dogs you have too. I have always wanted more dogs. I currently have three but my Mal is more than enough just on her own and I can't imagine having anymore. I also don't WANT anymore right now. I couldn't imagine before only wanting one dog and being happy to only have one, but I would easily have just my mal. The other two are easy dogs so are no trouble but Wiz just takes up so much time, I can't imagine having another dog or pup like her to work with too. I will eventually, but that is a long way away. (Famous last words lol) And without making it sound unfair to my other dogs, I love Wiz so much and she is everything I want in a dog it is hard to explain but I no longer have any desire to get any more dogs because she is all I want/ need (still love my other dogs to pieces too of course). :)

Dogs that have a high prey drive and aren't given an appropriate outlet to satisfy that drive are going to look for others ways to get drive satisfaction and we might not like those options. As someone else mentioned prey drive isn't the same as aggression, a dog that bites another animal out of prey drive doesn't equate to a dog that would bite a person. Dogs with a high prey drive (assuming as well they have a solid temperament, good structure etc) are highly desirable for many working and sport homes, when you know how to use their drive to your advantage it gives you an amazing working dog. The same dog in a home that isn't equipped with the desire or knowledge of how to train and live with a dog like that could be a complete disaster. My working line Mal has a super high prey drive, but she also has to learn to control it and when to switch on and off. I do a lot of social training with her so that she knows if we are going for a casual walk or chilling at the shops or in an environment where I want her to be relaxed, she won't look for or expect a prey reward (she can very easily be triggered in to prey drive so has to learn to control this - bikes, trolleys, scooters, kids playing ball etc any kind of movement would easily trigger her if she didn't have 'rules' in place to teach her how to behave). This article might give you a bit more info on prey drive :) http://k9pro.com.au/services/understanding-drives/

My beagle would sniff food out and my Mal would catch it! And she would protect me from anything dangerous on the island. My Sibe would look pretty :laugh:

A pups genetics are there from day one. You can see what's there genetically if you know what and how to look for it.

At first I couldn't believe she actually moved it (I found the brick sitting in the middle of my lawn the first time with no idea how it got there). She's very powerful but she's not that big. But nope it was definitely her! Funny dog :) and she has endless energy. I often joke I would love to have her figure she's a ball of muscle and super skinny :laugh:

I think a good and breed appropriate temperament is crucial for both dog and bitch. Who would want to breed a dog (of either sex) with an undesirable temperament?

Haha! I haven't had anything destroyed (my puppy is now 14 months) however she will make a toy out of anything and loves to run around carrying things. Planks of wood, the door mat, the cats bowl, a house brick! :laugh:

I haven't read anyone in the thread say they don't vaccinate their dogs. All my dogs have been vaccinated. I just don't do it yearly and don't continue to vaccinate past a certain age When the AVA recommends three yearly vaccination it's not just something you've read on the Internet.

Why is it ok to use a ball reward, but not a food reward? What is the difference between using praise and affection and using food? If your dog is rewarded by praise, doesn't it come to expect and look for that like it would food? Like any method using food in training needs to be done correctly to get the most out of it. Hi Husky, I don't use a ball reward. I throw the ball for him because I know he enjoys it. I play with him, walk him, and interact with him in mutually happy ways - it's part of being a responsible dog owner. He doesn't have to earn every enjoyable activity I have with him. He doesn't only get cuddles and praise and affection during training....it's just ALSO part of what happens during training.Why does everything have to be earned? He doesn't have to earn his walks, he gets them because he needs them and enjoys them. I know he enjoys those things, and he has a right to live a happy and enjoyable lifestyle. He doesn't have to work for every pleasant thing in his life. He has a basic right to be fed, simply because he is a living animal, not because he's earned it by doing something I want him to do. My human family don't have to "earn" the right to a decent meal, to games in the park with me, why should my dog? OK, so I'm a failure because the food-reward training led my dogs to constantly expect treats. I'll wear that hat. I'm human, I fail in some things. But I've found something I can do successfully, and a method I can grasp and see the value in. So just get off my back and stop trying to turn this into some sort of competition or challenge! Ok... not a competition or challenge, was just a question out of interest to understand your perspective.

Why is it ok to use a ball reward, but not a food reward? What is the difference between using praise and affection and using food? If your dog is rewarded by praise, doesn't it come to expect and look for that like it would food? Like any method using food in training needs to be done correctly to get the most out of it.

I don't vaccinate yearly and I don't vaccinate older dogs past a certain age unless I have to. I have no intention of vaccinating my 10 year old again.

I think the most useful thing is to find a good mentor or trainer or training club that can help you set off on the right path to achieve your goals. If you are going to invest money into getting more knowledge/experience I'd definitely suggest investing it in actual training with a professional is the best way to start. DVDs, books etc are all great to read and have on hand but sometimes having too much info on hand can be confusing and overwhelming for new puppy owners. Nothing beats having experienced people on hand to look at your dog and help you formulate a training plan that works for both of you. A lot of agility clubs will run foundation classes for puppies so may be worth looking if there is something like that in your area?

With pups it's about training them to have more value for you than other dogs. I aim for my pups to have a neutral value for other dogs, that is they don't think other dogs are particularly exciting. If your dog doesn't have a high value for other dogs they won't go silly trying to get to them. This article might help explain it; http://k9pro.com.au/services/socialisation-what-is-it-exactly/

I can't say I really ever have dogs refuse to eat in my house! Everyone eats everything they are given with gusto here :laugh: