Joan of Arc

Our big move is on today and tomorrow and so by Tusday night we will be in Albury - so that means we will be starting our babies (18 weeks) at obedience training also - hopefully this week. Wont have internet for a few days t a couple of weeks (go Telstra) so will catch up with everyones' training successful when back on line. GOOD LUCK GUYS

Well until you can teach your GSD to stop barking you will have to make some effort to block the view: Approach the neighbours and ask them about putting some lattice etc up so the dog cant see into thier yard. Alternatively dont attach it to the fence put it about 500ml off teh fence that way they have to trespass to damage it. Grow roses, or a rapidly growing vine on it. You can always take it down in about 12 months. And of course consult the ownsers of your place. There are other methods you can use - some here would flame me for suggesting them but some include citronella collars ( which are successful for some dogs), and depending n which state you live in there are other methods that are legal but some would suggest not nice. However there are methods such as bark collars that emit a high pitched reminder etc. What ever steps you take it has to be to stop the barking habit from beginning - we have Labs and their great barkers - so we have had a little bit of experience in stopping barking. Good luck

Oh have fun guys and please let us know how you all go this weekend. Its is such a hoot to work with your best mate and have them just so eager to oblige you - and once you start to have those few little wins where he/she will sit and stay on a hand signal etc you will feel a little euphoric. Plus your mates are more fun then because they are not going feral all the time. Good luck

Yep its a visit to the vet IMO. Our yellow boy has a scratching, chewing thing happening and has had for about 3 years. Vet can't find the cause, diet, grasses, any number of possibilities but we have go give him a tablet every three or four days and it keeps it at bay. Check your yard for plants that are known to irritate dogs and cats, I really only know some of their common names but things like - creeping jesus, olive oil plant, even pattersons curse can irritate. We have trid stop chew and other products but nothing works. Good luck

shellbyville is correct, don't over excercise your babies too much, in fact unless you are separating them form each other for a good 3 - 5 hours each day I would say then dont really need the extra exercise just yet. shellbyville is also correct in that two lab babies the same age will play really rough together and in fact sometimes our neighbours have commented that I was out and they were a little worried becasue they thought the pups were trying to kill each other - Labs play hard and work hard. So despite you desire to keep them as loveable pets - adn I admire you for takingall the right steps - I would stronly recommend that they learn to be crated or kennelled so that you are able to keep them separate for a couple of hours each day. this also enforces the need for rest, Labs will sleep when there is nothing else to do - and Lab babies need lots of sleep. If you want to walk them keep it under 10 - 15 min until they are at least 6 mths. Remembner your babies are the same age as mine

Oh Yeah!! Go the double trouble We kept two pups from our littler - I can show you double trouble No gardens, no covers left on dog beds, can't always get out the back door, can't kennel them all day because they howl and yelp. But the good side is we are having a great time with them, we now have 4 labradors, our boy, the two girls and thier mother. It does mean extra toast for breakfast We have had to keep a really old 3 seater lounge so OH can nurse 4 dogs at once :p OH does have to go for 2 walks every night - big dog grade and puppy grade Would we have it any other way NO. Lets face it, if you can afford it, can spare the time and energy and have the room go for it. My only advice woul dbe avoid litter partners - ours do have that rough play sorting our the top of the ladder bit happening at teh moment - teh neighbours are sure they are fighting to the death. Go to puppy schools, go to the park,visit lots of ppl with dogs, walk around at obedience clubs, dog shows etc and maybe wait until he is 6 months old then get anohter, but order now if you have to. :D Everything goes better in twos - ppl, goldfish, birds - why not dogs

Pax Please accept this post as proof of my intention to join your Utopian DOg Training Club. COuld you please give me details of training times and days etc and the annual and weekly costs involved. You have hit the nail on the head This is what should be happening.

We kept our pups till 10 weeks

Quality of instruction is first and foremost, if you dont have that it is highly unlikely that you will achieve results. If you all happen to end up firends etc then that's great but dont lose sight of the fact that you are there for a reason. And it doesn't really matter if that reason is to achieve a well behaved and well socialised pet or if you are seeking to go to the top of the obedience levels, you need the instruction so you can learn, then you can successfully train your dog. Like others here I gave up on our club because we spent half the night sitting in a cold paddock in a chair with the dog sitting on the frosty ground. That's becuase the trianing became so poor and the approach from the club committee was so 'different' that many instructors left and we were donw to one or two instructors to about 30 - 35 members. So those of us who were up to working off lead had to regress. Looking forward to new club in new town when we move.

We had frineds who ignored out advice and went to Bark Busters to train thier ACD pup. Not sure how long they went for but when we visited after the training was 'complete' the dog still misbehaved, wet in the house, and was disobedient to teh max. Just happened that there were about 30 ppl there making lots of noise and dropping things etc and I noticed the dog didn't flinch. At first thougth he was well socialised but watched all evening, never came when he was called etc. Suggested friends visit the vet and guess what? The dog was deaf and do you think Bark Busters had noticed? NO.

What a fantastic doghouse have shown OH and he is working on the next project now - well after we move next week - but the plans are in his head the idea of a tunnel to the house has more merit than you think Obedience / agility pple will see the benefit of a tunnel and I think its a fantastic entertainer for the pups. Well done for a great idea

We had a Lab that used to herd the chooks back into their fowl house every night. Never touched a feather on them and Labs are 'bird' dogs. But get him near a wild duck and with a rifle in your hand and it was game on. He knew the difference but he did once kill a rooster because it would continually chase him - never got another rooster and he never hurt another chook. I think once he learns right from wrong the chooks and kids are pretty safe.

Ditto to SAS 'Please dont do Bark Busters' There are much better ways of trianing than using thier ideas and if your boy is anxiuos they wont help one bit. Join the local obedience club - that will help him socialise, you to learn how others cope with these things and as the others said, learn to train yourself and your dog and then you can deicide if your really cut out to train other people and thier dogs.

We have 4 Labs: One 3.8yo male, one 2 yo bitch and two of her babies at 16 weeks. Destruction was the main form of entertainment when we had the entire litter of 8 rampaging around teh back yard but not now. All the suggestions you have already recieved actually work Save your garden - electric fence Stop digging - pepper in holes if dog returns to a hole Boredom - Fill a Kong with meat and stuff the ends with cheese or peanut butter, give this to the pup as you are leaving home and he will busy licking and chewing while you are out. Boredom - The plactic milk bottle or empty Coke bottle - cut a couple of little holes in the sides, put a small amount of biscuits in it and he will amuse himself getting the biscuits out - you might have to show him how to use it at first. Make sure he has an area where he can retire too - his own fenced off section with his kennel and when it is quite time he should be put in his own area - labs sleep heaps and if you put him in his area and give him his Kong before you go out he is contained and entertained. make sure you buy the correct size Kong. Take heart there is light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn't possibly lie to you adn say he'll grow out of it next week because he wont but by the time he is 12mths he will have improved and at 3 you'll wonder what happened to that destructo puppy. By 3 -4 you will have teh most loving and faithfull lifelong companion you could wish for.

MLH already on to that with Trisven13. Organising some get togethers after we move - she has the proposed new address etc. Thought about a trip to dry old Bowna for a run as well. :D Cant wait

I have been a member of our local club for about 3 years and used to train every week. Our club is like the club you have just joined and while it is more passive for all concerned I have stopped going for a few reasons. There are a few breeds that are not food orientated and so this method is not always successful for them - although I have Labs so its not a problem Plus I want my dog to do something because he is asked to not becasue he is worried about where his next meal is coming from and this type of triaing is only based on Pavlov's Dogs - its nothing new. Our boy doesnt enjoy showing an dbecause he had his conformation title I was quite happy not to show him again. But he loves obedience training and had gone to the highest class he could achieve at teh club. So I really wanted to go to the next level and start to learn to trial him but our club went all DELTA on us and nobody is allowed to train off lead no matter how well trained thier dog is. We were supposed to run the course with the dog etc (well I dont need agility work!). We travelled to Albury one week to see what thier training was like and it was fantastic. It is actually righ up our alley - a combination of both of those methods and it really worked for us. Actually OH has been promoted and we are moving to Albury in the next couple of weeks adn I see this as one of the biggest positives - great training and facilities. Now maybe we can do some trialling

Great action shots SAS. I use the same command for wait as I do for stay except that I open the fingers. Never really though the dogs would get the difference at first but they know and comply.

We have an electric fence around the perimeter of our yard - we needed something to keep 4 busy Labradors out of the new gardens. We looked at all the options and then one day mentioned to our vet who is a breeder and a trotter trainer - her advice was to go to the local produce store and get the electric fence from them. Think it cost us about $250 and we had to supply the fence posts. Its battery operated but can be hooked up to solar power. And yep it works

OK No problems - my version is legal but its always handy to know these little tricks. I use PS with my students but no where near as expertly as you do.

Great advice DOgmad. The one bit of information I pass on to people adopting our babies is this - they sleep then wake up and after about 1 -2 minutes they piddle and poop, then they play for about 15 minutes adn the piddle and poop, then they eat and 5 minutes later they piddle and poop. Then they lay down and go to sleep and guess what? Its starts all over agian.

Gee CHloes DAd I hope your not suggesting I'm a plant. If I am can I be a rose without thorns? I hate geraniums and such.

Hey Guys I have Photoshop 7. If anyone is prepared to share a latter version with me I would be ever so grateful. Thansk for all the great tutorial links - I'm inspired to have a go again.

Try having Labradors, they eat everything : Including all sorts of crap - bird crap, duck crap, rabbit crap and kangaroo droppings ;) that's right they're a "You drop it I'll eat it" dog But like busterlove we use the 'leave it' command. Works a treat with the older dogs but the pups just look at you and think " are you for real"

Bl your hide and retrieve game is our favourite for training our Labs for field work. WE dont actually trial but we work our dogs and have started training our pups. Our yellow boy actually gets fed half his dinner that way and loves the game.

JMHO Any bored dog is destructive. Buy his some toys, get a Kong which you can fill with treats and he can spend some time trying to retrieve his treats. He obviously likes being off the ground - get a trampoline bed for him. If you must leave him alone like that - put him in the kitchen and don't give him access to the rest of the house or build a run outside where he is safe adn cant do any damage :D Leave the radio on for him - yes Iknow he's a dog but the sound of human voices might help Alternatively - get a puppy sitter to mind him while you are at work. As a labrador owner (Labs will eat or chew anything they can if allowed to ) I can tell you that no dog feels guilt - emotions are alien events to dogs especially guilt :D Good luck - Franklin will retrain you eventually