Henrietta

Thanks Heidig! It does feel great If I see even just slight changes and see her confidence growing, it just really makes my day. ...and I annoy all my family/friends by going on about it. The Shih tzu in your avatar is beautiful :D Is that the boy you rescued? Em

Thanks Sammykins and Heidig! I will definitely keep these methods in mind if she shows too much nervousness on walks because I think they are very good ways of distracting dogs from their fear now that they have been suggested. I would never have thought of it myself. So far so good though. I am very happy to say that she has been improving heaps since I stopped giving her treats at what I didn't realise was inappropriate times Today she went for her longest walk ever (which wasn't that far, she's only a pup!) and she enjoyed it way too much lol. No it was really pleasing to see her acting like a confident dog that actually wanted to be out and about. She was excited with all the sights and sounds. Sammykins - I know what you mean about getting them comfortable with a particular route, it can take a while, but once they are ok it seems easier when you try something different because their confidence is so much better. Definitely not perfect, but a pretty good start! Heidig I can relate to you completely when you say that you are so proud of your boy! :D I was sooo excited, I just wanted to brag brag brag about my dog that enjoyed walking on a lead :D. You must have been just so happy with his progress, especially considering his background (ie no walks, obviously a bit nervous with people etc). Congrats and thanks for the advice

Too right SparkyTansy

I added it up and got 72. Weird, I did it twice and still came up with the same answer, so I have to be missing something here. It had not extra points given though, it didn't have any of the good extras at all.

Go in peace Page until you are with your family, friends and Jet once more:rainbowbridge: Deepest condolences to family, friends and Jet and my prayers and thoughts are with them

Thanks SparkyTansy! My little rat is just great. I've had her for nearly two months now and it's been a ball Just an update too. She is enjoying her walks more now and although she isn't anywhere near perfect, she is a bit more enthusiastic. She still stops when she hears a dog barking but now I can just call her and she will follow. I am giving her treats less often now, so that she doesn't get mixed messages about what I expect when we are walking. I am just constantly praising her when she is going well and giving her a treat when we get to the corner. She was more confident this week at puppy school too, which I'm very proud of. So it's been a great start so far... thanks for the help everyone, it's really appreciated! Sorry, a bit off-topic but... she just chewed up my instruction manual for my brand new mp3 player serves me right for leaving it on the floor. I can't remember leaving it there but I must of Oh well no one reads them anyway I suppose At least it wasn't the carpet again, she managed to find where the two pieces join and unravel it a good bit...ahh the joys of puppyhood I think I better go play now...

Hi Poodle Wrangler, I had the opposite happen I thought it was the norm to give three rounds of puppy vaccinations before the yearly booster shots. However, my vet said that the third shot was not necessary. I had the C4 at 6 weeks and the normal one (C4 I am pretty sure)with Kennel Cough at 12 weeks. Yes, I was a bit confused too, but the vet reassured me this was fine. The last experience I had with a pup was my parent's dog back in 2001 and I think she got all three. I don't know why this is, maybe if you are in a certain location they recommend the three. Or maybe two is just the norm now. Sorry I'm not much help but I'm sure someone else will know for sure though.

Seriously Mak, I probably got it wrong - adding up is not my forte so you should probably check it again to be sure. I should probably double check the one I did earlier for Supercoat too

Hey Mak, Hopefully this is accurate, but I did the calculations for the Hills Science Diet puppy small bites. I got 60, but if I added on 5 points for endorsement (I suppose heaps of vets recommend it) it comes to 65. Em.

Thanks Vickie - Shine looks so good for only doing it 3 times! He can certainly turn very sharply. Like you said I suppose it just like him doing his zoomies ;) Some really interesting stuff here. Thanks too Sidoney for the body awareness excercises. I think this thread should be pinned Extremely helpful for those of us who don't know where to start.

That's a great post Hesapandabear

I added up Supercoat puppy - hopefully correctly. If I can count garlic and beet pulp as veges I got 87 If not I counted 84. Let me know if someone got a different score. Oh, and that's without the extra marks for Dr Harry's endorsement.

Yeah lol her ears are the biggest part of her Her name is Abby. Do you mind me asking what you feed yours, their coats are great ;) . My girl is on Supercoat Puppy at the moment, but I was wondering if you had any recommendation? A bit off-topic, I saw your dog food thread Great thread - very interesting and it's got me thinking, I'm just about to do the calculations on Supercoat puppy.

Oh wow, Honeychild they are beautiful I love the photo of them wrestling on the couch Your two have such beautiful coats! What are their names? I think you are right, they say you can't stop at one!

Ok, the first one is of her the week we got her Here she is now And sleeping Hopefully I have fixed them so they aren't as big... Honeychild you will have to return the favour and post some piccys of yours please. I can't get enough of them

Oooh of course! I just have to remember how to post photos One tic.

She caught on quite quickly, eventually she started pulling out everything she knew before i even said it because she knew it would get her treats, She really seems to enjoy it, even if shes not the smartest cookie I had thought i might put her into agility just for fun when shes old enough, to burn off a bit of steam because shes soo full of beans, cant really see that happening anytime soon though he he Honeychild, I was hoping to put my girl into agility when she is old enough to see if she enjoys it too Obedience first though - really looking forward to it! Hehe, I had to laugh at your description of your girl doing everything she knew because she knew she'd get treats. Mine's a bit like that at the moment, very food motivated. Suprised me about the chi, everyone I had spoken to had said they were fussy.... ha! not mine. She'd eat everything and some more if I'd let her. Maybe she just hasn't developed her more discerning tastes yet

honeychild Thanks honeychild. I will definitely keep you posted with her progress, you'll have to do the same if you have a breakthrough too We can bounce ideas off eachother. Good luck! By the way, the chi in your avatar is gorgeous How did your chi go at obedience despite being a bit reluctant on the lead?

Thanks Vickie and Sidoney for this thread. You are right - there are heaps of us agility newbies who are keen to learn more. Although, it'll be a bit before I start training my dog for agility, it is great to get as many tips and info as you can. Thanks again guys Yes Vickie, that makes a lot of sense, although I wouldn't have thought of the importance of these exercises myself I suppose you could do some of those running with you type exercises when dogs are a little bit younger (not the recommended 12-14 months to start agility training) as long as you didn't over do it of course. Would that be too much physical stress or is it kind of the same as mucking around in the yard anyway? Cheers, Em

Thanks Tony, It's amazing how sometimes you can't figure out the most obvious things Maybe instead of rewarding her for stopping and coming back to me, I should just encourage her to follow me and then when she is doing really well ie. no stops - then give her a treat. She has a very high food drive. Yes I think she is pretty smart - sometimes to the point that she is smarter than me.... *sigh* Nevermind, I'm sure if we work at it, we will get there :D Cheers, Em

Thanks Mystiqviewwbcs for your help. Abby hasn't been left unsupervised with my parents dog because I am a bit cautious when it comes to rough play. When they do get a little boisterous (and they do) we do a time out. We try and do this before it gets out of hand, but of course there is a possiblity that some rough play has fightened her. She shows no fear towards my parent's dog, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she definitely hasn't had a fright does it? I'm trying to think back to whether I can remember her experiencing anything whilst out on a walk that could've frightened her but I can't think of anything obvious. I thought she had just come out of a fear period, during which she hadn't seemed to display any signs of fear and we introduced her to household things like dishwasher, blender, washing machine etc without making a big fuss of her (trying to just go on like nothing's happening etc). I have tried not to make a habit of picking her up when she is scared. For example, the other day when a GSD with owner (beautiful ex-police dog ) came by on the road while we were having a walk and Abby was starting to look a little scared. I encourage her to walk a bit further and asked her to sit and when she looked calm I praised her. However, I have picked her up to let our elderly neighbours pat her, but she likes this particular neighbour. That's the only circumstance in which I have picked her up. Do you think I should cease this? Thanks so much for your response, I will definitely be making sure I am confident and positive around her and I'll keep up her training :rolleyes: It may take a little time, but that is no worries. Hopefully her obedience classes will continue to boost her confidence too. Cheers, Em

My Chi Abby is nearly 14weeks old. I starting taking her out walks after she had her vaccinations, firstly taking her out to the front yard letting her explore (only our backyard is fenced so she hadn't seen a great deal of the front yard) or sometimes just in the backyard to get her used to her leash. I used treats to encourage her to walk beside me and heaps of praise when she was doing well. We have now moved on from the front yard and have starting walking down the street or around the opposite corner (I try and mix things up) I did exactly the same with her as I did in the front yard (praise and treats). At first she was reluctant but with some encouragement she seem to be enjoying it. When we can, my parents also bring their dog, whom Abby is very friendly with and kind of looks up to (if you know what I mean). She was fine when my parent's dog came with us, but now she is starting to seem really nervous. She just decides she doesn't want to go any further and just sits there and stops. I can encourage her to follow me again with a treat but she soon stops again. She stops when a dog on our street barks, when a car comes or just whenever she feels like it She has been attending puppy preschool and she loves the people there, and the small dogs but she seems to be wary of the bigger dogs. Also, when we go walking I'll see a neighbour out and go and have a chat and some people she likes, but with strange men or if there are too many people (there were three people out gardening this morning) then she acts all nervous and barks and doesn't want to be patted. I'm concerned that I am somehow nurturing the fear, but I ignore it or distract her and praise her good behaviour. I try and make it an enjoyable experience, I let her stop to sniff things if she wants but if she is just stationary for no reason I call her and praise her when she follows. I had a thought that maybe she was going through a late fear period? If so, is it best to just give the walks a miss until she is back to her old self? It goes without saying that I want her to be well socialised and happy, I just want to do the best for her but at the moment I'm not sure what that is She is booked in to start obedience when she is 17 weeks old (can't wait!) and I'm unsure if she'll be ok. She is responded well to basic training at home such as sit and stay etc. Just 5 mins at a time type stuff. I am pretty concerned, is it at all normal behaviour ie fear period or is it something that I have to nip in the bud straight away? Please any suggestions or advice is welcome. Sorry, stupidly long post!

How very strong Page and her family are ;) My thoughts and prayers are with them