R00

Google is your friend

here is her site in German

http://www.uta-bindels.de/

I tried google and nothing came up ..wierd!

Who is she? And where do I find some more info? Website?

Hey guys,

Well, caper is now 14 weeks and in almost all respects doing great. His biting has subsided and he is really coming into his own. He's such a gorgeous little cocker!!

We now have a bit of an issue. Everytime my other half leaves the house, whether it be for work, to put the garbage out etc, Casper goes crazy. Well, maybe crazy is a bit extreme. He starts off by crying at the door, this then turns to his scratching and crying at the door and then into full blown barking. Until either i distract him somehow or until he comes back into the house.

Whenever i leave the house he cries a little but doesnt fret as much as when oh leaves.

Any suggestions? We have tried leaving through different doors and I have tried distracting him but to no avail.

Cheers

Use the triangle of temptation from K9 , posted at the top. And also don't make a fuss when you arrive home or leave. As I rule I NEVER NEVER say goodbye to my dogs, I just leave. Otherwise you are providing a cue to your dog that will let him know you are going , likewise when you arrive home do not make a fuss as you can reinforce to the dog that ALL IS OK NOW because mum and dad are home, strengthening the dogs feeling that it is bad when you are not around.

Finally stop mothering the dog , give him some space and ignore him when you are at home everynow and then. When mine were pups I would just ignore them for ages at a time to teach them to be on their own especially in a family where owners go to work etc. I know it is hard to stop playing with puppies but it is important IMO. - this does not mean neglect your dogs, just give them some space.

If you don't nip this in the backside it will turn into a nightmare.

As far as I am aware there are DOLers at all those clubs

Why don't you want to use food?

no real reason, just never have except to fine tune a particular action. It is a bit like my ace in the pocket I am not closed minded to it.

I know where they are, I was just interested in knowing where the Dolers go so I will know someone when I go. It wont be for a while however.

Roo on Northern Beaches there is one group trains at Deep Creek, Narrabeen, then Northern Suburbs Dog Club at St Ives Showground.

I think Poocow goes to the Narrabeen one, it is Manly Warringah Dog Training or the like.

She could probably tell you.

I enquired of them but the lady said you have to use food rewards, which is not my thing.

I think also depends on the health of your dog doing agility. Jake has mild HD so I thought best not in the end.

That is why I asked as I too don't like the food reward aspect. I went down a couple of times to watch at Narrabeen.

Where do the Sydney Agility DOL'ers go to do agility?

How old is too old for a dog to start?

My Triangle of temptation program is also a sticky here, get that running in your pack as a foundation & see what impact it has.

In my opinion this is a great program to use. If you don't use it you are doing a disservice to yourself and your dog I used it with only one of my dogs due to outside reasons, and the one I used it on displayed the the most respect and he was very head strong.

Roo - sounds like no playing at all inside is a good way to go. He associates play with outside and calmness with inside, correct ?

IMO exactly! no confusion, inside is for sleeping and hanging out with his best mate! Outside is for going nuts.

The mat is a great idea - unfortunatley there seem two gears with this little pup, (11wko) 'fast' and 'sleep'.

Fast = outside

sleep = Crate

In between = inside hanging out with boss

You need to get the dog to learn running in the house is not acceptable. I try and teach my dogs that even getting into second gear = go outside without me i.e not rewarding it.

I use "slow down' as the command, if you notice a marked difference in speed :-) then give praise for the first couple of times it only has be a notch slower if no reponse dog is picked up and put outside. Nothing said and no attention just a straight pick up and walk out side and shut the door, 5 mins later dog let back in to repeat process.

I had two staffies under 12 months old who knew in no uncertain terms to be calm inside and for the most part they were. also I never let them play around with each other inside so there is no confusion to what is allowed in the house.

Drop K9 force an email, you need to be aware of the difference in agression and competitive play. It is during this early period that you get the dog you want. The time you put into learning about training methods etc will be well spent.

I highly reccommend using the TOT for the very simple reason that it teaches the dog to tie out and not carry on like a pork chop and will help teach the dog that YOU provide all the enjoyment in his world, not others andnot other dogs.

The idea is that he never gets the toy to take away and "attack" you are to use it as a reward - the game is the reward. It has nothing to do with agility or getting a working dog, just another way to reward the dog, no different to giving a treat when your dog obeys a command. You give him a game of tug for 5 secs as the reward. Much easier keeping a small tug toy in your pocket than a pocket full of nibbles.

IMO if your dog is displaying a high level of prey drive you may as well use it, or you may end up with problems down the track as you try and suppress it. The dog will find other ways to satisfy its desire for drive. Chewing stuff, chasing stuff or just being a pain in the back side from frustration

Just my view

Roo

My 11 weeker is totally in to fetching a toy but the tussle over it when he brings it back seems to be his favourite part of the game. The thing that I'm not sure about is the growling. He shows a lot of determination to hang on to it which makes me think that the game is not in the fetch but in the tug of war that results.

At first I didn't worry so much because I was just interested in getting him to understated the concept of fetch and retrieve but now I'm worried that I'm encouraging a bad habit. When he plays with his favourite fluffy toy he growls too. I've assumed that this is entirely normal and healthy behaviour for a pup. However sometimes he can lunge and bite at a toy (any toy when it involves a fetch game). I always terminate the game when he does this though.

What I do is offer him a treat in exchange for the toy and this does work. But only if there is a treat in the bargain. Otherwise he growls and tugs. I usually don't let him win - only sometimes.

Am I encouraging a bad habit? Should I be offering a treat? How long do I have to be offering a treat in exchange for the toy before he gives it back readily?

IMO you have a winner here, a perfect dog to train in prey drive. It would be well worth your time and effort to at least drop either Steve at K9 an email or one of the other trainers that frequent this forum. Steve is the guy who wrote the triangle of temptation (posted at the very top of the training forum) I have done a few one on one sessions with him and they were well worth the money.

Basically the thing to do at this early stage is to 'control' the game, let the dog tug (but don't throw the toy away first - you don't want the retrieving bit becoming the reward) get the dog to tug using a command then stop it by letting the toy go limp and providing a command i.e 'enough' (still holding it) once the dog relaxes and realises the game has stopped he will let go at this stage you restart it.

The end result over time is a dog who sees the tug or the toy in action as the reward for doing something. It is similar to seeing the focus a dog has with its owner who is throwing a ball. This is the very quick and dirty outline as I don't have much time this morning.

Cheers

Roo

ETA; Stop with the food treat ASAP. You want the dog to see the game of tug as his reward. If you use both you will be training in food drive and prey drive, it will more than likely end up with confusion. The dog will do something thinking he will be getting 'paid' and if he is expecting food and you give him a tug or vice versa then he will be unsure what the pay off is and will be unsure whether he can be bothered or not. The key is to ensure the dog is very clear what the reward is.

Daisy used to pull washing off the line. One day she just stopped doing it..?

You seriously expect me to believe a staffy 'just' stopped doing something......... you sure Daisy ain't broken?

Thanks for the help guys, i have decided to give this one a miss... the painful wait of finding the right pup is killing me (been looking for over a month)

I asked her about the eye testing last night, and she told me essentially that 'we don't do eye testing', it wasn't the fact that she didn't. But the tone of her voice... i'm glad i held back.

Obviously if i'm paying good money ($800~) for a pup, i would like to be assured that the dog comes from a healthy background.

However, can someone comment on what i should be expecting as a bare minimium (or rank level of important of the below)

L2-Hga

HC

Hip Dysplasia

I'm assuming that the other defects such as Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV), Ectropion can not be really tested. But just a case of good genetics?

Sorry about the endless questions, but i feel the need to ask.

:p

Ask Emmark nicely if you can have one of her upcoming pups.... I have one...2nd best dog ever. (Don't ask why she is the second best dog) Today we were out and about all day and she was so relaxed and happy to be cruising around. She is the black girl in my sign pic

Yep, you are in prime chewing age and those lovely hard yet soft kids plastic things are like heaven to a staffy's jaws.

When my dog was that age she ate everything in the yard and in the house that we left lying around. The spray stuff (I think most commercial ones are ok) worked but generally she would just get into something else. At 18 months she seems to have gotten better but I think that is mostly because there is nothing left in the yard for her to chew!

Have you tried kongs, bones etc? At her worst phase I would chuck her a chicken wing if I was going inside for even 5 mins. When going out we would make sure she had been for a long walk (a tired puppy is a good puppy) and leave her an assortment of toys, a frozen kong (the only kind for a staffy!) and a marrow bone. Pretty successful.

These days she is even too lazy to chew her kongs properly, but I still never leave anything lying around I don't want chewed.

Good luck!

That about sums it up!

Put pup in crate and DO NOT let out until the pup has settled. END OF STORY

No letting the pup on your bed, no feeling sorry for the pup, no wondering if the pup will feel left out because another dog gets to walk around the house. The job of a leader is to be firm but fair. Be very careful what you are inadvertingly teaching what can be a very stubborn breed. You are the boss!!! Start acting like one Your dog does not live in a democracy!

Also now that you probably sewn some minor bad habits read this http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Extinction

If someone's gained some reward every time for a particular behavior, the

behavior will persist. If suddenly the reward stops coming, it's likely

that the person or animal will not immediately give up the behavior.

Instead, they'll try it again and again, harder, faster, more emphatically.

It's a burst of activity. If the reward still doesn't come, eventually

the behavior will extinguish, or become extinct. So, the burst of behavior

before extinction of the behavior is called an "extinction burst".

My favorite example is the elevator button. Let's say you ride the same

elevator every day. You get in, you push the button for your floor, and

you're rewarded by the doors closing and the elevator taking you to your

destination. One day you get in and push the button, and nothing happens.

Do you immediately say, "Oh, this must not work anymore, I'll just take the

stairs to the 11th floor"? Or do you push the button again? And again?

And harder? And faster? And in special sequences? That's the extinction

burst.

You also need to keep in mind ,your dog doesn't get a choice. Don't muck around too much, just be firm and straight to the point , hold him, stick the lead on and go walking. you are the boss. ( this doesn't mean be mean to the dog)

As everyone else has stated feed separatly.

Another thing, make sure the dogs know you are the leader. You should be able to take the bone from your dogs mouth with no fuss, you need to work on this and/to ensure the dog respects you and understand their position in the pack....at the bottom! And it ain't a democratic pack.

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101

The above link is the answer to you problems.

Yep, get out there and play in it. Don't pander to any fear/ doubts etc. You are the pack leader, the dog should take his/her cues from you. Don't change your voice tone or anything, just business as usual.

When Erik was still very young, a storm started while I was out, as soon as it did I rang the wife and told her to get Erik out in it chasing a ball, stick whatever. Roll around in the grass etc.

and remember that when you take pooch out at night for toilet, there should be no playing. Off to toilet ( on lead) and good verbal reward then back in bed.

The other trick is to not take the dog out of the crate straight away in the mornings i.e walk past it a couple of times. That way the dog doesn't see you as the 'cue' that s/he will be let out.

A final hint do not succumb to letting your dog out when they wake up in the morning. Both my dogs stay sleeping till I get up, not the other way around

Not much to add, just giving moral support. Keep at it My staffy was a nightmare to toilet train, I honestly was starting to think he would never get it. But he did.

Also can anyone please tell me what size crate to get for a Staffy? I've been looking around, checking all the different sizes and can't make up my mind.

Any help?

you need to get an intermediate size. Depending on the brand approx 76cm long X 53 cm wide X 61cm high. I have two different brands and they are slightly different dimensions but close enough. You may be able to go a little smaller seeing as you are getting a girl again depending on the size steps the brand uses