dee lee

Bullyluvr, Ive been looking for the answer to your question for the last 6 months. Last year, after a few months of happy (if not obedient) offleash park play, my once submissive staffy x started playing tug with other dogs necks. We had to turn our back on the offleash park as she cant be trusted. Ive always been sad about that and have wondered if maybe I could teach her to play appropriately. Reading all this reminds me that the offleash park taught her the bad behaviour and that the only way my dog is guaranteed not to get into a dog fight is to keep her on leash. I figure that while the walks on leash may be nowhere near as fun (and with dogdude's advice about you being tops for enjoyment - offleash parks undermine that) at least they keep her alive. Her life is pretty good all things considered.

yay for Dol!!! Glad your dog is walking well Sandra 77- that thread helped me immensely too. Glad my naughty mutt does something positive!!! And as usual Ive got a lot of good tips again here. Shantiah, good idea- havent tried that angle yet. And Ruthless if you give me any more great advice and support Im going to have to come live with you! Actually, forget I said that or you might stop helping me! Good to know Im not the only one.

Please?

Wobbly, my girl (staffyx) started with the same patchy hair loss and lumpy skin but on her head. After our fleas got worse she scratched it and it got larger, scabby and inflamed. I spent $200 last week at the vets to ask what my dogs bald scabby patch on her head was! I got 2weeks worth of antibiotics, a fungal test, some iodine (for $13!!!!) and an "I dont know what it is but I dont think its mange". Was told to call him in 2 weeks if no progress and he'll do a scrape (hope I dont have to, he says it involves a day stay and sedation- is this right?). Ten days on its less inflamed and some peripheral hair has grown back but we are back to the dry scaly skin. No fungal infection though. It doesnt look at all like that GSD on the website. What is going on with all these skin conditions!!!

Ok, so now that Evie has gotten better at loose lead walking we have a new problem. CATS. She hates them and whenever we come across one will go completely nuts. Ive tried all my usual tricks: the old sit-drop-stay-focus, squirt of the water bottle, collar correction, praise when she calms and treat distraction. But nothing gets through once that cat is seen. Basically all I can do is drag her away. Tips?

TSD, I am envious of your dog's responsiveness. You do seem to put the hard work in too which these days puts me to shame I must admit. I have trouble getting my dog motivated to train at all- treats at home are successful but they simply are ignored once we are out the door. I find after many months of this my own motivation has waned and I am frustrated by lack of progress so thus have slacked off. My only objective these days is to have a dog I can walk easily and pleasurably on leash, and that seems too difficult most days.

I feel exactly the same!!! I love the martingale, I feel less guilty about correcting her than I did with a check chain. Mind you its hardly a substitute for a check chain, gives just a gentle reminder. I also am completely confident that she wont bust out/slip out of it- Ive had that happen on a flat collar too. I think Dogdude's advice has been really good on this post, But Dogdude- How does one change it all around??? The TOT works great at home so Im obviously missing something. Any other tips? I read something similar from Steve (k9force) about the same time my dog started developing "issues" and I stopped taking her to offleash parks. It seemed to me then exactly what you are saying was occurring- my dog found everything else more exciting than me. Actually she still does. I just have no concept of how to change that. I expect that Snoopy21 feels much the same.

I have a similar problem and posted about it a couple of months ago, here is the link- http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...&hl=pulling If you skim through the many replies Im sure you will find some great advice, some of which helped me. My dog STILL is easily distracted but Im coping better and hope that one day we will become a well oiled walking machine!! Good luck, Dee

Tony, how would someone deal with this?

Ok have read this pinned thread about 4 times now. Fleas BAAAAD here, especially since our neighbour got majorly infested... (terrace houses, grrr). I give my dog Revolution but it hasnt worked this month, the poor thing has scratched all the fur off the top of her head she is so tormented. In the hopes of a natural solution I tried garlic in the food- no change. I also tried Erny's lemon/rosemary infusion- no change except it actually made the dog's coat quite dull and tacky feeling. So got some capstar- works great but after a couple of days fleas are back on her so i have to readminister. My question is: How long is the capstar actually sposed to work for? Can you give more than one packet? Off to the vets this week to get the poor dogs head seen to. Sooo over these little bloodsuckers... they have cost me so much money.

Hallelujah Dogdude!!! At last a explanation for her crap focus!!! CATS!!! Yes, she is insane over cats, especially since i have been working on her dog issues (which have improved). its interesting, she is crossed wih something fast and taller- we assumed kelpie but as she gets older Ive wondered if she is x whippet since she is quite skinny. whippet x staffy = highly prey focused?!! Would LOOOOVE an ecollar but at over $500 plus a trainer its a little more than I can justify to my (non doggy) OH!! Saving my pennies for it and working hard on that looselead walk in the meantime!

Thanks TSD, The clicker training sounds interesting, I looked into it when I first got my dog but didnt follow up. Might have to rethink. Evie is unbelievably easily distracted- nothing works. I did find she LOOOOVES corned beef though!!! but even if I could trick my MIL into making it for the "kids" again it loses all potency at the park. Maybe the clicker is the answer. Actually its so frustrating, I need to see a trainer but have to keep putting it off thanks to all these bloody interest rate rises!! Renting was easier i swear... ETA: oops, Snoopy21- sorry to hijack your post!

This is very instructive Dogdude, thanks . How do you build drive? And what would be a good enough reward?- At home with my dog I can use food or her ball, but outside of home the only thing she wants is to chase a cat or another dog! Food and ball are of no interest then. Im such a novice about training and since my dog is not one of those eager to please types I get a bit fed up and then lazy. I will admit to slacking off lately, but even when vigilant I seem to get little progress other than what seems to be just her maturing.

Dogdude, I understand the principle of TOT. My dog focuses like a dream at home with TOT. I just have been trying to reinforce the focus whilst out walking by applying the principle there too. As for aversion, I was using a check chain too but have recently switched to a martingale plus waterbottle. Slowly, slowly... Admittedly I havent revisited the TOT at home recently. I probably should.

Snoopy21- you have described my dog!! Good luck, I hope you get her sorted- mine is still a work in progress. I have come to the conclusion that some dogs take longer than others. Im hoping its an age thing for mine. I have tried the TOT and its great at home but outside not so good.

5 minutes? Come to my house I challenge you!!! Its taken me 6 months of solid daily loose lead walk training and dozens of tips from here and other people to get where i can finally enjoy walking my year-old staffy x. And she still needs constant reminders to walk nicely! Whilst I accept some responsibility (because Im told it cant be the dog... ) I dont think loose lead walking is THAT simple. BTW, I now use a blackdog training collar, but I did use a check chain for a few months, purely to keep full control over her and it was a godsend. I think in principle having no training aids IS where we would all like to be, but realistically most people can do with a bit of help at some stage.

thanks guys, Sorry to post a common question- have read earlier hot spot threads when theyve come up but havent needed to apply anything before. Shouldve made notes anyway- she was bound to need something one day!

Lucknow, thats good to know. Hopefully they will be gone soon... I havent had a problem before last month and actually yesterday my neighbour was getting his house sprayed for- you guessed it- fleas! We live in a row of terrace houses so perhaps thats where they came from and why we are having trouble getting rid of them? Settrlvr, none of the humans in the house are getting bitten hence why i have been suprised to find fleas on the dog. Considering the flea bomb, just worried about the effect on kids and animals. Will try natural remedy tonight and see if it makes any difference.

Ok, just noticed the pinned flea topic up above- D'oh!! Thats where I got the lemon + rosemary tip- will let you know Erny! Still interested about the Revolution question though.

Just looking for something i can apply to a hot spot that my staffyx has developed on her head. She gets them occasionally and they usually disappear without help, but she is having a bit of trouble with fleas so is scratching at it and it looks sore now. I will be getting some fish oil capsules but are there any topical creams that people swear by? Can I use olive oil or vitamin E or rosehip oil (all good for human skin)? Thanks.

I am having a hell of a time getting rid of fleas. Ive always used Revolution and had no problems, but now it doesnt seem to be working. I applied it 3 weeks after the last application and while bathing my dog today (I applied it 4 days ago) I found more fleas! It is my understanding Revolution should kill them on contact. Ive searched for other flea posts but rarely is Revolution mentioned- is there a reason why that I dont know about? Im also in the process of letting some lemon and rosemary steep to make a natural flea repellant- anyone used this? (I got the idea from a reply that Erny made on the general forum) Help! my poor baby is itching day and night!

Lablover, At home she is very well behaved- will come, sit, drop, stay, shake, catch, plus will follow directions (ie: get downstairs, on your bed, leave it etc). I have been consistent at reinforcing leadership and she is submissive with me. Step out the door and she is so easily distracted. Her recall, i would imagine, is appalling by now since she has not really been offleash for about 4 months (due to some antisocial behaviour towards other dogs) and i have not worked on it at all in that time. She has gotten better outside since i have been working on her attentiveness. Now the major hiccup is just distraction with other dogs or cats. She still is not consistently loose-lead walking but its a work in progress. I would agree all is not perfect- I have plans to go to a behaviourist/trainer when i can but til then am doing the best I can with lots of good advice.

Sorry, but I didnt think Ruthless was after a club only. I do applaud that - but there still is a gap regardless.

BP, your example is one reason why i veered away from head halters- With a check chain the correction does no damage if done properly but, from anecdotal evidence here, even if you know how to use a head halter properly the dog can lunge and then the damage is done. My dog is particularly easily distracted by certain things when walking and I am positive she would be a prime candidate for the "neck snap". As for being afraid of the checkchain- Evie used to avert her head from it when i went to put it on, but since applying MarkS's prewalk calming attitude she is keen as mustard to put anything on as long as she gets to go for a walk!! But... I am awaiting arrival of my new training collar from blackdog, trying to ease off the checkchain since she doesnt need it AS much (sick of people's comments of how cruel I am too). Looking forward to it.

Hi Ruth, this was my prob when trying to find a school for Evie. The ONLY one I could find in the inner city- east OR west- was the Centennial park dog training club. Lots of puppy preschools, some private classes (that never returned my emails!), but no proper obedience classes/schools. I see a market out there for anyone who is a trainer!!! Funnily enough just spoke today to someone who sent their beagle to Hanrob for a 2 week training session. She was quite happy with it. She rehomed dog recently (moved to appartment) so i cant vouch for it.