SkySoaringMagpie

I agree. I think most self-styled positive trainers don't consider voice corrections corrections. Which is a problem. I had to be hit over the head with it to get it myself. However, I doubt most people describing themselves as balanced call themselves balanced because they say "UH UH". "Balanced" is not code for a positive trainer who doesn't realise they're being negative.

"Balanced trainer" is a blatant euphemism and for that reason I don't consider it a particularly worthwhile description. It basically means someone is prepared to use physical correction. If one is prepared to use physical correction and one is happy to stand behind that, they why not just say as much? People who use physical correction get peeved with people who consider themselves more highly evolved because they don't. It shouldn't be too hard to see why calling yourself "balanced" is just as obnoxious. For the record, I use physical correction in very limited circumstances. I do not consider myself "balanced", I aspire to be fair, reasonable and appropriate but I am the first to admit I'm still climbing the mountain.

Thirded. His puppy books are classics, and with good reason. And they're free downloads.

Awesome! Well done, and pats to Atlas

Troy can do it, just PM him and ask. By the way, have you read Jane Killion's book "When Pigs Fly: Training Success with Impossible Dogs"? If not, read on! Jane is a breeder and trainer of bull terriers and competes in conformation, obedience and agility with them in the USA. This is the training resources page from her website: http://www.madcapbullterriers.com/index_files/Page650.htm She also helps run a mailing list about training bull terriers: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/positivelybts/ Sometimes it can help a lot to trouble-shoot issues with people in your own breed.

Fran, try this question in the training forum. My advice tho' is to let go of worrying about ribbons and passes. I know it's hard, but ultimately what you want is a well trained companion - if that means repeating a term, that's fine. Better to have the behaviour solid than to be promoted beyond what your dog is ready for. Many trainers including top flight trainers have had to repeat or retrain. It is better to go slowly than to have to retrace your steps from the beginning. I did advanced class with my first Saluki 4 times! You are right that nerves will travel down the lead, telling you not to be nervous won't fix that, but one of the things these graduation classes and tests do is give you an opportunity to learn about how you behave when you're nervous and fix it. Treat it as a continuing learning experience, not as a reflection on your worth or your dog's worth. Atlas is a Bull Terrier? Don't compare yourself to people with Border Collies either. Having said that, you and Atlas are probably fine. Obedience testers are not looking for UD style precision when graduating beginners. They're looking for good training habits and a good relationship with your dog. Yes it's important to complete most of the exercises, but a good tester/trainer will already have your training with Atlas pegged. If they think you've performed poorly due to nerves, they may offer you a retest. If they think you're not ready, don't worry. Being in a class where you're more than halfway sorted with the curriculum can be a nice relaxing experience.

I should have put this info into this thread before now. Pam Adams, Soul Companions Saluki Rescue: http://user.digisurf.com.au/soulcompanions/saluki.html

The thing I worry about is if ever my parents babysit the dog and get a little sloppy with the 'rules' I've used to safeguard. eg. no off-leash walking, supervision with small animals, etc. That is a worry, would they be offended if you came up with an alternative solution to them babysitting? I've found it's often only after disaster strikes that people understand why the on-leash and supervision stuff is absolutely necessary. I love my parents and I know they really care about animals but would not leave my dogs with them. What I could do until I'm absolutely certain the dog is fairly well trained is muzzle it when with my parents and just ask them to keep it ON. I know it's a bit excessive, but better to be safe. Muzzles shouldn't be on unsupervised either tho' and the wrong muzzle can be a death sentence. I'd rather see a dog in a dog run than with a muzzle on 24/7. Also, part of the issue with Salukis, especially younger ones, is not them biting, but them being very fast and powerful and "playing soccer" with smaller animals. A muzzle doesn't solve that problem. Re: keeping the animals separate, it's a little bit difficult because cats and dogs will both be indoor. Do I give the dog the reign of the downstairs and the cat upstairs sort of thing? Some people do. I just used to shut doors between them, or the dogs were outside during the day and the cat inside if the weather was good. A good solid cat run is another option. They would all be together when we were around to see what was going on. Would you suggest a retired Grey or a puppy Saluki to be cat-safe? A retired Grey or an older rescue Saluki or retired show Saluki has the advantage of all its adult traits being known and being a steady adult. A good grey rescue will have done a cat test. Pam Adams who runs a Saluki rescue can give you good advice about the right rescue Saluki. So it's not so much breed, as the difference between a puppy and an adult. Early training matters, but if you get a Saluki puppy that is naturally very prey-driven you'll have more work on your hands even with good training. Greys are not necessarily the softer option. You can get very prey-driven Greys and "meh, whatever" Salukis. Generally speaking it's true that Greys are more laid back, but at least one DOLer has had trouble with a very prey-driven Grey. If they don't come through reputable rescue, they can be just as much trouble as a young drivey Saluki. I would probably pick a mature adult of the breed that you are drawn to in your situation but it also depends how long you are prepared to wait.

A lot of people I know have cats and Salukis. Providing you are clear headed about the risks and manage accordingly you will be fine. Do your cats run from a confrontation? That is usually what will trigger prey drive in a sighthound, if it's not moving, they are rarely interested. If the cat holds its ground, particularly if the cat biffs the dog on the nose as a puppy, the dog will generally learn a healthy respect. It's easier to manage if the dog is a single dog too, less chance of the dogs forming a pack. All our cats have died of old age, however we never allowed them to be unsupervised with the dogs and they always had places they could go to escape the dogs. There were also house rules against running and chasing. Given the right set of circumstances, any sighthound (any dog really) is capable of killing a cat. One of the reasons we didn't get another cat when our last cat died was because we have 5 indoor dogs and they're all very drivey. It's not so much that they "turn" it's that they have been bred for thousands of years to chase small running things, and training against that is hard for even experienced people. The chickens are a problem. You won't be able to have a visiting Saluki offlead with your parents chickens but you won't be able to have many dogs offlead with strange chickens. If there are areas on the property where the chooks don't go, you should be fine tho'. If you talk to a breeder about your circumstances, they can pick a puppy that isn't very drivey for you.

Yeah me too. I would certainly never use any of those products as a prophylactic. If there was a severe flea infestation that meant that not using the product was going to be harder on the dog than using it then fine. Otherwise, no.

x 2 x 3

Some video links showing healthy, happy, pure breed Salukis at work - Salukis coursing in one of the countries of origin: Puppies from this hunter/breeder have been exported to Australia and as the country of origin is an FCI country, they will contribute to the gene pool here in Australia. These Salukis are all FCI registered. Salukis lure coursing: Lure coursing is the main option available to demonstrate working ability in countries where open field coursing with live game is banned. It's great fun, and is available in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Salukis also participate in agility: Some Salukis in Australia have completed the ANKC Endurance test where dogs and their handlers gait a 20 kilometre course in a set time. There is plenty of opportunity to participate in dog sport with a Saluki from the right breeder. Australian Saluki breeders have been particularly active in importing bloodlines from overseas, including top coursing lines from Europe. More information on Salukis, including Salukis participating in sport, can be found regularly in the online magazine Saluki Insights, which you can download from www.salukiinsights.com Edited to add Sir Terence Clark's new website on salukis: http://www.saluqi.net/ Sir T is recognised as the leading western expert on country of origin salukis.

This may make me sound like a total hippy but I think you have to be at peace with yourself, including the parts of your presentation that aren't all that endearing or smooth. No-one on DOL is so perfect that they never make an error of judgment, fact or written expression when they write. I know that I can come over sounding pompous, I know that while I usually can control the length of my posts, I'm terrible with overly ornate sentence length and construction (like this one ;)). So I can wind up being unreadable. If I notice I fix it, if I don't notice, well, no-one is going to die because they got bored by one of my posts.

Shirley Chong has made two of her books available for free download from this link: http://www.shirleychong.com/myBooks.html

I agree with Poodlefan. For someone like that, the act of "discipline" is personally very reinforcing. No amount of practical advice about what will work and what won't matters, because ultimately it's about having an avenue to let fly at something that can't retaliate, it's not about training. Occasionally pointing that out to someone will shame them into a rethink, sometimes it won't. Someone came up to me once in my capacity as a volunteer trainer and told me that they had hit their dog - from the look on their face I think they were hoping for a reaction. I just said evenly that that won't work to fix the problem. They then said "oh I know, but I was so angry". A lot of people already know that beating the dog won't work, they do it because they want to and because they can.

I have used FedEx with success to send blood to the US before too - no dramas, there very quickly and not outrageously expensive for an international courier.

That's what I'd work on then. Hard to say without knowing you or the dog or what you plan to do with him, but I think this is good advice: http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/pulling-leash The videos to the right show some of the techniques in action.

Awesome little dog and training - thanks for posting it, I hadn't see it before. Edited to comment that I found the laughing a bit irritating.

Good luck getting a Borzoi to weave between your legs. :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8rG9GIWiNQ Not a Borzoi but a fabulous NZ routine with a Great Dane - not quite weaving but he does go under her legs!

Bonnie makes one of our dogs fart the most obnoxious farts. Normally he's not a farter. That alone was enough to make me switch. As with all dog foods, try it for yourself and see what you think. But keep the clothes pegs handy

Yes it's correct, there have been threads about this here before. Remember tho' that even tho' the import ban may have been lifted, some state and territory law still bans them.

This is a real risk I think, if you have a hammer sometimes everything can look like a nail. It's one reason why I'm not too keen on labeling dogs and more keen on describing and dealing with behaviour. If I were looking for a private consult trainer, I would be testing quietly to see if that person were going to impose Brand X solution without really understanding the problem and/or goal. Corvus' example of someone requiring a halti without the dog showing signs of pulling is a good example.

I have just left or swapped classes when I realised it wasn't going to work - perhaps you don't have that luxury, but I went to a first week and never went back when an instructor tried to insist we change all our cues to the ones he uses. Life is too short.

I've seen a DOL trainer with a jumping dog, but I didn't question their ability to train because on what mattered to them, the dog obeyed. Some competition people keep their dogs a little less well mannered than your average person would because whatever kind of spark they want for their sport is more important. So I think it's very much horses for courses - I will be looking for results in the area I want results in for my dog. Recall is a different matter, but I guess we all have our own criteria! For me the real test comes down to communicating with people. Whether a club volunteer or pro, anyone training people to train dogs needs to be patient, tolerant, and canny with people. That includes dealing with their limitations, ignoring their bullshit and working out in a split second what will be in the best interests of the dog. Sadly, choking the living daylights out of someone who desperately deserves it is rarely in the best interests of the dog. I have to say, I have lost respect for some trainers just by watching their behaviour online. Bullying and baiting tells you a lot about someone's attitude to education practice.

By traditional do you mean using your voice to mark a behaviour and then reward it?