The Spotted Devil

Me too. Not only do the dogs wake up, but I have to get up to walk them at 5.30.. snake avoidance tactic. Yep, roll on the weekend. :rolleyes: PF - I now get up at 5.45am to walk Zig too......not to avoid the snakes but to avoid the idiot dog walkers on the beach Not sure that daylight savings will make them any less idiots though :p

A very brief reply for you as I have to dash.....I find this is pretty normal behaviour as Spring and Summer come upon us. My cats start waking up earlier and earlier and my pup has just started to do the same (doesn't help that the cats run absolutely amok ). It will actually make it easier when daylight savings comes in as it will be darker at 6am. I try and keep the house very dark - make sure you close all the curtains and block out any early light (tape up paper on the windows if you have to!) If pup is sleeping in a crate cover it with a blanket to keep it dark as well. The other morning, the girls were tearing around the house and of course Zig woke up too....I got up, walked calmly into the laundry, asked him to go back to bed and put a few biscuits in his puppy kong to keep him busy....I didn't hear another peep out of him until I got him up. Good luck :rolleyes:

Austen - have a look at the link I gave you for the bed Ziggy has now (as opposed to the one he ate) - they are excellent and appear very comfy

Well spotted soon to be Dally owner....take good note

I've got one of these for my young Dally's crate - he's had it for a month and hasn't destroyed it which is pretty damn impressive I just lie an old blanket over the top and he sleeps like the baby he is He did have one of these but it ended up like this.... He was so proud

I'm totally outdone by all the wonderful achievements on this thread but.....I was so proud of my pup today - I haven't made it to an obedience club yet (show training, shows, Uni etc etc) but have been doing clicker training and fun toy games/training at home. Zig just loves it and it's a good way to keep him out of mischief ;) I'm really positive that he now "gets" the heeling position - baby steps I know but it was so great to see the puzzled frown disappear to be replaced by an enthusiastic gallop to the heel position from a distance. Training is so much fun with a mad dog :D And a question - I'm working on the finish and, at this stage, am perfectly happy with him moving from a sit in front of me to any position on my left hand side (he normally stands and wags his silly tail). When he's ready should I introduce the sit OR should I work on getting him closer to my left side first? I'm thinking the latter but would be interested in opinions. Thanks

:p I really want a poodle

That is the advice I was given by my vet I also weigh my pup monthly.

My ACD was a very protective dog and thus a bit of a barker. My Dally pup only barks when there is a knock at the front door or if he is fast asleep in his bed and is woken up suddenly (usually by the cats running amok :p ). He's still at that age where barking scares himself more than anyone else I don't use any of the options - instead when pup barks I praise him then call him to me (more praise) and then tell him "no more". If he barks again I repeat "no more". This method has worked really well for me. ETA: Zig already knew the concept of "no more" from when we were playing with a toy so it was fairly easy to transfer the command. I do it in a light, firm tone rather than raising my voice if that makes sense. I also trust his bark too....he was going off his nut at the lounge room window and I couldn't see a thing - until 2 teenage kids scaled next door neighbour's fence. Boy did they get a fright....although that could have been from my language ;)

I know it's not quite as old your girl, but my first obedience dog was an ACD who I didn't do anything with until she was 2 years old. Prior to that she was my dad's dog but he did nothing with her. I had a ball with Dolly - she taught me soooo much and, despite me, gained her CDX in good style, had a ball with agility (couldn't quite get that elusive 3rd leg for AD :D ) and was a fabulous 'tricks' dog. All the mental activity did wonders for her....I just wish I knew then about dog training what I know now....she had so much more potential.

Cats are such delightfully fussy creatures as a rule that the manufacturers of cat food go to great length to make the food highly palatable. Plus cat food is high in protein so dogs just LOVE it Which is, of course, one reason why cats should not be regularly fed dog food. But....back to the cats vs dogs food issue. I have two cats and they eat in the kitchen. Pup is not allowed in the kitchen but that doesn't stop him trying! My cats, like my pup, have been trained to eat the food in front of them or it gets picked up and put away - to my way of thinking it is a better way to control who eats what (one kit is a real guts!) and you also know who is eating and thus, who might be a bit off colour. So....cats get breakfast, dinner and a small supper (they are in mint condition) behind closed doors in the kitchen - they gobble it up, dishes are picked up and washed. Pup has his biscuits in a treat ball in the lounge room twice a day - everyone separated, happy and full of food :D

Personally, I wouldn't use a soft crate for initial crate training.....I think it would be a very expensive exercise :D not to mention dangerous if pup decides to ingest it too. I have a plastic (airline type) crate for young Zig - I leave the door off and have it in the laundry....he loves it :D Every single time he goes to bed he gets a few biscuits in his puppy kong (from his ration)....last thing at night he gets a chicken wing too. You only have to tell him that it's "time for bye byes" and he's in his crate before you can say "good boy!" Oh and when he first arrived home (at 8 weeks), he was already paper trained, so I left newspaper near his crate and never had to get up in the night to let him out. Within 7-10 days he only toileted overnight 3 or 4 times and then never again. I've recently purchased a soft crate for showing/traveling but young Zig (now 10 months) has required some supervision to ensure he doesn't try and dig his way out. Have a look on e-bay - there are some bargains to be had...even new crates.

So sorry but.... :cool: Glad you found the shoe!!!

LP - do what I did and get a Dally ;) If Zig is anything to go by - that's taking "Testing" to a WHOLE new level!!!! :p Apparently he's the "low maintenance" model :p

Nutbags, the lot of ya! :p Moderate drive BCs for me, the high drive is just not what I want (moderate for a BC is probably higher than high in other breeds tho). I do agree with the statement that it's easier to control drive than create it so low drive is not for me either. Where is your sense of adventure!?!?! I think i'd like a high drive BC one day (or a kelpie) just to *really* test myself!!!! I must admit - moderate to high drive dogs are the best LP - do what I did and get a Dally

Given the chance, my pup (now 10 months old) will hump anything inanimate he can get his paws on....cushions, pillows, his bed, his blanket It's usually when he's hyped up (that happens a lot with Dallies ) so before he gets to that stage I tell him to "Steady", meaning "slow down".....if he grabs at something I calmly tell him to "Leave" - he's really good about it now although I still wouldn't trust him on his own in the lounge room for more than 30 seconds.

I have a 10 month old "nutter" - he is so intense but get the clicker out or a toy and he's in heaven They are exhausting but a whole lot of fun!

Very interesting thread. My last dog needed to be kept fresh for the obedience ring although that was probably more to do with my lack of experience than anything else. My young lad has yet to make his foray into the world of trialling but the best he has ever worked in the show ring was after a good gallop in a free run enclosure 20 mins prior to going in the ring....I think it bodes of things to come

With a young child around I'd be nipping this in the bud quick smart as puppies just don't know their own strength. I would start by practising without your child present - when puppy jumps up, stand up straight, cross your arms and IGNORE the unwanted behaviour - with a persistent puppy, even saying "No" or "Down" is better than no attention at all and you unintentionally reinforce the behaviour. The very second that puppy has 4 paws on the ground, calmly reward her with praise, pat or a tiny treat (whatever motivates her best). When she has mastered this, you can progress to giving no attention until puppy volunteers a "sit". Then have puppy on lead and introduce your child into the situation.....you must also educate your child - no running, no screaming, no waving hands around - you cannot expect puppy not to respond to these stimuli initially. It may be a case of 2 steps forward, one step back - you must be consistent and persistent - set the rules from day one and be firm but fair. Needless to say, please never ever leave puppy and child together unsupervised and ensure puppy has a quiet place (such as a crate) to retreat to when she is tired. And let her eat in peace!!!

I don't have a pup that is protective of his food - he will in fact bring me his treat ball full of biscuits in the hope that I'll play with him. However, with a pup that is resource guarding I would prefer to teach the pup that all good things come from me - i.e. have an empty bowl and slowly place food a bit at a time in the bowl - rather than putting pressure on a pup by having it thinking I was going to take his food away. Just my opinion of course

Cazz you need to remember that dogs don't have the same sense of 'self' that we humans do - so a dog won't compare having 4 legs vs 3 legs. Rather, the focus is on feeling pain or muscular weakness etc. Does that make sense? A lot of older dogs and cats go blind/deaf and have little trouble adjusting....because they don't have an awareness that they are losing something....they simply adjust and cope. Neither me nor the vet realised that my old cat was completely blind until she had to stay at the clinic over night in an unfamiliar cage. She had just got used to finding her way around our house....even the stuff that OH left on the floor wasn't a problem for her! You will know what is the best thing to do when the time comes.

I know of a Springer Spaniel on another forum that was hit by a car and the owner did everything possible to save the front leg - operations, natural therapy, essences - everything we could suggest she tried. Eventually the decision was made to take the leg off at the shoulder - it was a really tough time (for both owner and dog) and the dog was quite lethargic at first, but has slowly perked up, the muscles are developing nicely and the dog now appears so much happier than before the op. She races around on her 3 legs and has no trouble keeping up with other dogs. For the owner in question amputating was certainly a last resort and she has had a really good outcome. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Poor little dog RIP Hope your dogs stay safe and I really hope it's NOT parvo.

20 years ago I was working at Applecross Vet Clinic in WA (which perhaps you would know, showdog?) while I was at school and I will never, ever forget the stench of parvo puppies when I would walk into the kennel rooms in the morning. Just awful.

Good on you! If parvo is prevalent in your area, have a talk to your vet about 6 monthly vaccinations specifically for Parvo - I know we are all trying to get away from over-vaccination but this is often recommended for dogs in high risk areas. I don't know what else to suggest :rolleyes: especially as this dog is so close and you'll have to walk your dogs at some point. ETA: It might be worth putting your dogs in the car and driving somewhere for a walk.