lovemesideways

Not directed at yourself Snoopy, but all I can say to that is wow! The quality of obedience training in this country must be extraordinary in its ineptness if can take 3 years and 2 trainers to train a dog to walk to heel without pulling or lunging. Just wow! How many countries have you trained dogs in, itsadogslife? I saw Willow myself for a few classes, after she had already learned some bad habits and I've got to say, Snoopy21 has done a really good job with her. Willow is a strong dog, a Dane x Lab from memory, so she had learned how to use her size advantage. A more experienced handler wouldn't have made as many mistakes along the way, good for them, but not everyone comes experienced and not everyone has a biddable dog they can easily control. I've worked with a good variety of dogs now, and while the principles stay the same, no two dogs are the same either genetically, or in their learning history. +2! If I had tried to train my GSD with the same basic training that was incredibly successful with my Lab, I would have a out of control/border line dangerous dog by now! Some dogs are just more difficult to train, whether it be the tool or the trainer using it, there's no simple black and white answer. A strong, driven dog with a history of success at pulling their owner around, plus a owner who is non-confrontational can be a difficult combo! That why we're lucky to have so many different tools and training methods to our advantage !

010/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr 010/366 011/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr 011/366 I'm trying to be brave and adventurous and try new things. Its hard though

Wagsalot and K9Pro both sell them Check their websites!

+2, let me know if I can help. I hope he is ok! Fingers and paws crossed here.

Vet. NOW Better to be safe than sorry. Much Much better.

Whilst training a solid foundation is the key to any training, to take your training beyond that sometimes different tools are needed. Dogs are not simple programmable machines, you can't simply say that all problems stem from a lack of foundation or a lack of leadership. There is a lot more too it than that.

I noticed my puppy has a wart on his inner lip a few weeks ago, I've seen these on dogs before (My friends GSD had one) and they have always just simply fallen off. However Roscoes seem to be spreading badly He has one from having 1 on his lip, to 2 on his lip/inner mouth, and roughly 5 small ones on his Tongue! I have been reading up on this and seems like the general consensus is that it will go away on its own, he has no trouble eating/drinking and they do not seem to be bothering him in any way. So should I just be keeping at eye on this, or is there something a vet can do to make it go away? I don't want more of them developing, and I don't want him passing it on to another dog.

logoDSC_0116copyfinal by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr My photo of the day. Im not great with "landscape" style photos. Tried for something different!

Why do you hate to say it?? Theres nothing wrong with a front attached harness! The best trainer will use whatever tool is correct for the individual dog !

Oh they do test you don't they! It's a matter of always being prepared and one step ahead you can't relax with them can you thing is there really is no standard. Every dog is different and the trick is to not be afraid to go well thats not working and 1) why do we think it's not (handler issue etc) and 2) what's the most effective way of fixing it so it does work and the dog learns in an effective manner. You have to get really creative sometimes but sometimes thinking outside the box and just giving an idea a shot can really help. I did it once with my bitch who had a hesitation problem, I would give a command and she would baulk. So I tied up the dog and hid just out of sight. I gave the command and another trainer heavily rewarded her for me. We fixed the baulking problem in no time despite the fact it went against what he thought would be good for the dog. Yeah they certainly do. I thought I was soo prepared, and then this 8 week old, super confident "I dont need you" puppy comes trotting in, 2 hour car ride home he didn't stop howling, first time in my yard he just trots right off, doesn't look back. No amount of puppy calling would get his attention . I thought I was going to die! I tried to do it on my own for a week, no doubt making things loads worse, before caving in and calling for help! (Luckily I did, imagine the horror he would have been at almost 6 months!!)Hes going brilliant now, thanks to the help I'm getting, but every day is something new. What was the idea behind you tying her up and being out of sight?

Thanks for the reply, very interesting. And don't worry, not stepping on anyones toes ! Its not advice for me to follow specifically, just a hypothetical to get another opinion on the difference in training when the standard just does not work! From someone who owns working dogs! (Getting a working line breed certainly changes your perspective I was a bit of a cocky shit before. Lol..)

01/52 Weeks of Riddick by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Riddick the most handsome boy ever Week 1 (a shot I just got around to editing! )

007/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Day 7 Stonecutter and her dog Ziva, my favourite shot out of the zillion I took! logoDSC_0001copy by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Day 8! Alien plant ;) Not my fav, but love the colours

Nekhbet, out of curiosity, How would your strategy differ with a very high drive puppy to whom correction of any type on a flat collar or martingale is completely ineffective?

01/52 Weeks of Dogs by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Week 1, Roscoe, "Lets Go!" :D Hes such a handsome boy, I find it hard to pick just one picture.

First, just because a dog is nervous/timid/shy does not mean they have been abused. It could simple be poor socialisation during critical periods. (one of the Many problems pet store puppies suffer from ) So I would not assume abuse straight away unless you know for a fact. Has her recall always been bad? Did you train it from the day you got her? There could be a negative association to the word, so change it up. Pick a new word and start totally fresh like she's a 8 week old puppy. Don't feed her so she's extra hungry, handful of nice smelly treats (like cabonossi or cheese), wave them around it front of her nose to get her interested. Walk backwards saying your new recall word, like "Here!" and feed her as you go. Always walking backwards so she following you. This means she will be more interested as she has to "chase" the food a little, which is exciting. Plus you're reinforcing her following you and coming to you You hold her by the collar, have your daughter wave food in front of her and say her name really excited, being as fun and interesting as possible, running backwards away. Then when your daughter calls her with the new word, you release and dog will run to your daughter (have the long line on so you can make sure she does). Daughter rewards her heavily, still moving backwards away from the dog. Also, reinforce any and all behaviour that involves her coming to you throughout the day. She walks past you in the house. "yes! Good girl" treat. She's in the yard and looks at you at all, mark it and throw her a treat. Stop feeding her regularly and instead feed her through training. (written on iPhone so hopefully it makes sense)

006/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Day 6! Love captain Mav! Haha, hes so cute :D http://ayearofphotography.blogspot.com/ Ive started a blog too to try and follow the project and keep a track of the journey.

005/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Tried for something different today. Its not perfect but I like it. !

Ive been looking around at places to sell photos online, I have never sold a photo and the only place I've ever had them is Redbubble and Deviant Art. Was hoping some of you would have had experience in selling your photos, where you did it. What websites if it was online, or where offline? http://www.redbubble.com/people/lovemesideways photos can be seen there. Most of them aren't really good enough to sell in my opinion, but its something I would like to look into.

Ok I did it, and I honestly hate it. I guess thats the point of this, maybe after 52 weeks I'll be able to take a photo of myself without gagging a little. 01/52 Weeks of Self Portraits by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr

004/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr Todays photo!

Loving everyones shots so far! :D Your mobile shot is lovely Helen! Todays shot, 003/366 Days by Jen Martin Photography, on Flickr The set

I love this! Probably a stupid question, but do the shapes you're making with your hands mean anything? 5 - 2 - W. :p So 52 Weeks. (it took me a while to figure it out )

Ok I'm going to try for 52 weeks of self portraits as well! I might start a blog to follow all these projects of mine.

Honestly doesn't surprise me. I worked at a daycare in Sydney for about 4 days before I quit. Some of the practices I saw included, tossing food into a group of dogs (ignoring the loud growling and fights that would break out). Allowing other dogs to attack the new dogs (because they where the bosses and needed to establish rank apparently). Also they had a strict cleaning routine, which would have been awesome, except it meant the 40+ dogs where herded into small crowded pens where fights would break out while the staff cleaned the main floors. The final straw was one of the staff screaming at a 5 month old Black Labrador puppy who was digging in the water bowl, and smacking it across the face. Not somewhere I would ever leave my dog, not if you paid me a million dollars.