Joan of Arc

Hi Mercedes - Yep I had a good chat with your OH. I've got his card here and will give him a call to arrange some training when I get a chance. Glad he enjoyed the seminar, there was lots to learn. WS OH looks forward to hearing from you and doing some more training with like minded people. He is dead keen on retrieving trials but not sure where to go to learn and train so maybe you could assist him there. I am hoping to attend next year's seminar with him as I am also a F&G person and just love watching dogs work. OH has veiwed photos and thinks they are fantastic - thanks again for sharing and look forward to meeting you.

Good luck Dee_al and dont forget to post your results in out thread

WS my OH went to that seminar and had a ball. He came back with a new approach and has so far stuck to it. He is certainly interested in attending any further seminars. He was the tall redhead with the yellow lab - I believe she was the noisy one on the weekend I'm off to look at your pictures now. Great pictures thanks for sharing We are also in Albury

Contact Kyeamba Smith Kennel CLub in Wagga Wagga. Not sure if there is anything in Griffith but I know they do agility on sunday mornings and obedience on Wednesday nights.

No Karrilab she will learn that there are times when the door is open and times when it must be closed. Labradors are very intelligent - they have it worked out while your still thinking about it :D

I agree with Shellbyville. Certainly have your existing girl desexed before the pup arrives and give her time to settle and fully recover from her operation before bringing a new member into your household. WE have 3 entire girls and an entire male. They all run together, play togehter and I have never heard a snarl or growl towards each other from any of them. Two of them are full litter sisters and over the years I have heard stories about raising litter siblings together and one being submissive etc - I see no evidence of that here. We have lots of visitors that bring thier dogs, often entire dogs or bitches and they all just play together, no aggro, no worries. Like Shellbyville I believe it is in the nature of your dogs, but I also believe it comes from the nature of the owners. You must be the Alpha male and female in your house and they must understand that they are living in your pack.

Hi Dont know if this helps but we have a yellow lab boy who is 5 yrs next month. He was diagnosed with Atopic dermatitis at 6 - 8 motnhs and has been taking the magic blue tablets ever since. I am not happy with him using so many steroids and so contacted robert McDowell who does naturopathic treatments for animals. Our boy has been on his treatment for aabout 12 days and he seems to be improving. His coat has a better feel, it appears to be less course and feels like it has some oil in it. He looks fitter and has lost weight. I feel he is scratching less - I would say about 25% less. Certainly worth a try.

Hi Loraine Thanks for that info, yes it was Robert McDowell and I have sent him an email. Thank you

Can anyone help me here? I once contacted a canine naturopath / homeopath who I am sure was in Bathurst NSW or very close too. Unfortunately I dont remember his name and would like to contact him again. Can someome help me with his name plese? Or if not perhaps you also know a reputable natural therapies person.

Hi Squeak I'm not an obedience instructor but I am a teacher and can I say that there are certainly times when I wonder why. However I must say that I think the reasons I enjoy teaching are the same reasons I would probably enjoy instructing if I ever wanted to (not that I do). 1. I enjoy helping other people 2. I enjoy passing on any knowledge I may have gained through others 3. I get a real buzz out of watching my students when they finally 'get it' - you know 'when the light comes on' 4. That is the greatest buzz I got from taking our dogs to obedience training - that buzz when they 'got it' and did it correctly for the first time. If I could share that buzz feeling with someone else or help them to feel it I would feel a rich person.

We allowed a family to adopt a pup from our last litter at a greatly reduced price. It wasnt really that they couldnt afford to full price but they had a child with a severe illness that had totalled thier financial situation. The family was known to members of our extended family and we were assured they could look after her. They have since moved to ACT, they have kept in touch, the child is now recovering and thier Lab puppy is her constant companion. We get emails with updates on a regular basis and a bi- monthly photo. I have never regretted my actions although at the time several local people told me I was mad to allow them to take her so cheaply. But then I didnt have the litter to make money - given that we alos dontated a pup to a worthy cause.

Congratulations, you have turned a corner that will be rewarded with a loving member of your family. The Kongs were a great idea.

OMG Michelle - I'm so sorry to hear that :cool: Will was a lovely boy and I can't imagine your pain. He was Guido's half brother and had that same happy dog temperament. RIP two boys. OMG Michelle, I like BL I cant I magine how you must be feeling but deepest sympathies from both of us here plus Will's family at this end. Again like BL we share bloodlines that are very special, the greatest temperament, so loving and faithful. I couldnt cope if we were to loose Maddie or her girls. RIP Will and Schak. :D

YOu must make going to his bed an enjoyable experience. Every time he goes in when you ask him tell him he is a good boy and reward him with a little treat. Try putting a bone or chew toy in with him when he is put to bed. I would also recommend you cover the crate.

And just how gorgeous is your girl now!!! No dont tolerate the nipping business and you must work hard to let her know that it is not ok. there are several ways of doing it and in some ways you have to find what works best for you. Can I ask how old the children are because that will help determine how they deal with it.

Hi Mercedes, Only just gotten back online. Damn computer decided to die on me. Harry is doing so well. I finally managed to find a bell for our back door. It has only been up for a week so only early days yet but he seems to be getting the idea. I will take some updated photos tomorrow and put up for you. He is getting so big! A real cuddly baby who just loves his tummy being rubbed. Harry gets his 2nd needle on Friday as well as Advantage (I think that's what its called) to cover worming, heart worm and fleas etc. Is that what you use on your labs? I use Advantage for control of fleas and tics etc, although we dont have either here if we go to shows etc and the dogs are exposed when we swim them etc. We vary the worming tablets we use of onlyto try and avoid thier systems getting used to a certain brand - not sure that happens but its a school of thought so just run with it. But usually use Drontal All Wormer.

You don't have to get rid of the coffee table... just everything on it I had a beautiful red wine stain on my cream carpet where OH put his wine glass down just before I let Guido in for some inside time. :D He had a big waggy ass (the labrador.. not the OH) I just have tiles now and it's much easier. I wish I'd gotten black tiles though Black tiles!! Only work if you have Black Labrador! We would have to have grey tiles - you know Yellow and Black Labradors

Just checking on Daphne's progress.

Hi Labmummy, Just thought I'd check in and see how you and your Lab puppy are going. DId you try the bell and did it work? Of course photos are always nice.

Chicken frames, roo tails, and lamb bones such as necks or flaps but certainly no beef.

A few people had also told me the same thing about the froggy thing - that it is a sign of great hips. So I watched my dogs and I have 2 that do it regularly - one just came back with hip score of 3:4. and the other has always done it and still does and she has crap hips. :D This is a whole other topic that would rage for ages. I can tell you that different vets also have different opinions on hip scoring. It is my understanding that the score you achieve can be affected by your vet's efficiency in achieving the position that Wyburn requires to achieve a consistent reading. The only way for a true consitent reading would be for all dogs to go to him and be xrayed etc. When you are looking at a breed average of 12 some of the scores mentioned here are not that bad. Our black girl rarely lays in the frog position and she is 0/0 all round, The yellow boy is 3/5 hips and he lays like that all the time has done since 8 weeks and is now 5. I have been interested in other peoples' responses to this topic for a couple of years and have asked the different vets we know. thier general opinion is that it has very little to do with hip scores and more to do with the general health of the dog. If your dog is fit and gets plenty of running exercise - suitable for age and breed - then they are often very comfortable in the frog position. Having said that all our bitches are fitter, faster and more energetic than our boy is or has ever been. They all lay in that position sometimes but he prefers it. Now I am not certain I am sold on all this info I just know what I have been told.

Does Bailey sit on command? Will he stay? I have used the sit stay method with one of our girls to great success but with her sister she is just so excited we are still working on it. Teach Bailey to sit and stay, give him a bed or spot in the lounge room or family room etc (if he is an indoor dog). When you have visitors you send him to his bed in that room and tell him to stay. The visitors should virtually ignore his presence while he is being controlled in the stay. Eventually he will get used to the people being in the room and will calm down. Once he has calmed down you can release him and he will learn to greet your visitors in a calmer manner. Of course there a heaps of professional trianers that visit DOL and maybe able to give you some better advice.

Well I'm no expert in animal behaviour but I wouldn't allow one of my dogs to growl at me, even if they or I thought it was at play. When you want to take the toy off him, try offering him a piece of bait - sausage, dog biscuit, meat ,cheese - you get the idea. As soon as he smells the bait he will become interested in complying. Put the bait under his nose with one hand, say "give" or "release" what ever you choose and then as soon as he releases the tug toy use a brideg word so he knows he has been good. I simply say 'yes' but others use 'bingo' or what ever, and as soon as he releases it, say 'yes' and treat him to his sausage. Eventually he will associate giving the toy to you with something good and the growling will stop. But you have to repeat this exercise for about 3 minutes at least twice a day until he does it automatically. Good luck.

Try putting peanut butter in the end of the Kong, fill it up and use the peanut butter to seal both ends.

Oh well if you had come to us for a puppy my OH would have given you the best adivice He amazed and horrified one lady that was adopting one of our babies when he looked at her very serioulsy and asked "do you have a coffee table?" when she replied in the affirmative he very poker faced said to her " oh well you'll have to get rid of it" Took her a while to get a grip and then he explained that he was joking about the way the pups tail was wagging and how Labrador tails are the same height as a coffee table Standard joke here.