Diva

A good article - I esp like the reference to thinking about how real prey run in designing a course. Back in the late eighties/early nineties when I was more in touch with the breed overseas I heard of several Borzoi killed coursing, it was very rare but it did happen - sometimes from running into an obstacle or a bad fall. Didn't hear much about them being injured by the wire.

Only thing mine have ever gotten caught in their throats was a half chewed rawhide treat, and even then they were able to get it back out themselves. They eat bones everyday but are OK with those so far.

Halal shops are good for goat - not necessarily cheap ($8 kg here) but they usually carry it for their client base. Also around here game meat and Asian butchers have it. My dogs much prefer rabbit though, hope you have luck with it.

I did this too, not for fighting but for my neighbours' dog and one of mine trying to dig under to say hello to each other. I used the poop method and it worked to stop the digging. In a way it was a shame, they just like each other and my dog is far bigger than the holes ever get, but the other dog is smaller and if it got into my yard it could possibly get out under my gate to the road. Not sure it would work for mine if the motivation was stronger.

It has worked well for me when I've used it - usually for unwelcome attention seeking behaviours or jealousy-type reactions. Any behaviour where withdrawal of attention and isolation from the pack is the opposite of what they are trying to achieve.

It can be nothing serious, but it can also be the first and only pre-crisis sign of a disorder that causes internal bleeding like Immune Mediated Haemolytic Anemia - I don't want to worry you as it probably is nothing serious, but it can be. Speaking from personal experience.

IMO, it may well improve with little intervention as her confidence grows with age and good experiences, especially if you stay matter of fact and don't make a fuss. She is just being super polite and showing her respect for the older dogs. Don't let dogs whose intentions you doubt near her or large groups of dogs overwhelm her, but don't make a big deal out of avoiding them either, just take charge and move away calmly. The weeing is just part of the submissive display. I'm not sure why you descibe it as fear agression in the thread title though, to me it's not at all aggressive?

Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth according to those shots, you must be telling fibs

Poor boy, give him a cuddle from me

Probably, IMHO, as behaviours occur in more than one context - tail wagging isn't necessarily friendly and many dogs will growl in play. I have taught growling on cue and it didn't make that dog any less friendly, but I would say I didn't find the growl entirely convincing - convincing enough for a non- dog person to be fooled, but to me she always sounded a bit 'acting', LOL. For people I have heard theories that assuming the physical posture can feed back and change the actual mood/brain chemistry, but don't know about dogs. Speaking of acting, it occurs to me that professional trainers of film/TV dogs must do this succesfully all the time. I don't think of it as 'lying' though.

I feed pig tails to my guys, but they are big dogs. Sometimes the tails I get have the whole rear end bit attached and sometimes its only the real tail bit. The fat content doesn't bother them but then they are a breed which I have often been told needs a bit of a fattier diet than some, and they love pork. So not necessarily a recommendation for any other dog, but it's a popular meal at our place. (on the other hand they also lurve chicken feet, so maybe they are just gross )

This buffer zone - I call it the 'air lock' - is what I use with 3 sighthounds and a very busy street only a block away. They are suprisingly good about not going through open gates and doors, but this gives me comfort just in case. The front verandah has a gate, which makes the verandah the buffer zone for the front door, and the driveway has both the main gate to the street and an inner gate into the garden/dog run main part of the back yard. You always have to have left two gates/doors at my place open for the dogs to get out. (If I could fence the front yard I would but not allowed in the ACT.) IMHO, I think there are two parts to training her out of this, one is a good recall in case she does get out, but the first step is training respect for the front door so she knows she never goes through it off lead. Easy to teach to a dog that doesn't already have experience of bolting, but with good advice (like Erny's and Nekhbet's) should be possible?

I think Australia has only banned irradiation of imported cat food, not dog food. Last week I heard a report on this on the radio- authorities (AQIS maybe?) still weren't convinced irradiation of food caused problems for dogs, but did accept it did for cats.

I thought they did accept them Not here in my town they don't. =[ They do in Canberra.

Suki you'll probably get more response to that question if you post it as a new thread in the training forum.

;) I'd go out a door and gently shut it in his face. Peeling him off your pants if necessary, and making the itneraction as low intensity as possible, no eye contact or talking etc, just gentle shunning.

I wouldn't put it down to a 'pecking order' issue at his age, some puppies are just mouthier than others and to him it's a great game. Some of the things you are doing sound like they are unintentionally reinforcing the behaviour, making it more fun - like the growly noises - and if you are switching between different methods you'll not be giving any of them time to really work. I think you need some help from a trainer, but for what it's worth the reaction that has always worked best for me is to stop interacting and walk away when he bites. Return to play after a few minutes, if he bites again you get up and walk away again, immediately. It's the same as the time out except you are leaving, it's instantaneous because you don't need to go through the process of putting him in the pen/outside, and it doesn't raise his excitement level as some of the other responses can. Mark the undesired behaviour with an ouch if you want, but nothing else, all attention ceases. You can expect the biting to get worse before it gets better - it's called an extinction burst - it's a behaviour that's worked for him before so he's just going to try harder for a while before giving up on it. Consistency and timing in your response is the key, and not accidently rewarding the behaviour you don't want. Play calmly with him, don't rev him up until you train an 'off' switch. Re your feeding regime, some dry foods have been alleged to make hyper dogs much more so, never had it happen myself but have heard it asserted. If you've noticed it, avoid those foods.

I feed raw chicken, duck, turkey, lamb and rabbit regularly- other meats as well of course but they are the one with edible-size bones. I have big dogs and am sure some bone gets swallowed in pieces, but I'm comfortable with the diet and haven't had any problems over many dogs and years. However, some people feed one bone once and have a problem with choking or intestinal blockage, so I'm not about to recommend anything as completely safe. It's just what works for me.

Yes - the vet hasn't been specific, but from what I have read it sounds like Thrombocytopenia. Jessie had a very bad reaction to her last vaccinations (Nov 2008) and now I am wondering if this is related? Some think overvaccination is a cause, I'm sure you'll get lots of responses on that. I thought thrombocytopenia was fairly treatable, but your vet seems more pessimistic than that?

Troppo, there are a number of autoimmune conditions which affect dogs, you may need to be more specific as to what you vet suspects to get relevant advice. I have had a dog survive immune mediated haemolytic anemia, but your description sounds different to his symptoms. I hope it's a good outcome for Jessie, autoimmune diseases are very frustrating and heartbreaking.

I second Miranda's post, don't let an angry emoticon make you feel worse about a situation I'm sure you already feel bad about. Just give your dog a hug, he holds no grudges.

RIP Mitts, and thanks to those who made her last days in the pound a little less scary and a little more loving than they would have been otherwise.

To me it's a list of behavioural criteria not a temperament test - a bit of basic training would fix most of those criteria for most dogs. I also didn't see anything in that list of criteria that an aloof breed should not be able to pass, and I own/have owned breeds whose standards decribe aloofness with strangers. Aloofness shouldn't excuse shyness or sharpness, an aloof breed should be able to accept - but not fawn over - a friendly stranger. If these people are genuinely trying to rebilitate the breed's image good on them. In an ideal world all adult rescue dogs would be so trained before adoption. I know of course that resources don't allow that, sadly. I don't know if a trained CAO would pass that test, but most CAO are still genuine livestock guarding dogs as far as I know, chosen with their special characteristics in mind. If they ever got as popular as pit bulls maybe the same hard decisions would be being made - lets hope they are spared that and kept as working dogs. Criteria suitable for their role in life as LGDs is hardly the same as that for dogs kept as pets. Edited for typos

Liver should be no more than about 5% of the total diet, but some is considered necessary. Another 5% can be made up of other offal - my dogs love lamb kidneys, but it can be anything. Heart is generally counted as a muscle meat and not in the 10% total offal.

The only dogs I have had get it have been the C5 vaccinated ones. The one who isn't vaccinated for it because of an allergic reaction never picked it up even when the others got it.