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My dogs have been to the RSPCA classes and 2 obedience clubs and they loooved the RSPCA classes. So did I. Both mine have continued on through obedience and sports, which we do through a club now. I can tell you the ACT RSPCA classes were excellent, classes small, lots of individual attention and great trainers, cant tell you if the quality is the same over there though.

You might want to check out this article, about carpal arthritis occuring in performance dogs without front dew claws. http://jandemellobordercollie.com/DewClaws.htm

What about tracking? I've been looking into it and it looks like a friendly fun activity with minimal equipment that once learnt you could do for enjoyment with like minded people (I guess like orienteering). If you had a tracking group in Goulburn I would definately join.

I have two dogs trialling in agility and competing in flyball. One started flyball first and then picked up agility about 6mths later and the other started agility then did flyball. The dog that started agility first did pick up flyball much quicker. There were some initial confusions between the two sports - esp around jumps in agility, but we ironed that all out before we started trialling in agility (we started competing in flyball first). The only big confusion now is the dogs think its alright to bark their heads off at agility! I think the main thing is for the handler to be clear with their instructions and signals for each sport. Then the dog knows what is expected of them and what is coming up. I dont use the same command to mark the start for each sport ('get the ball' in flyball and 'ok' with a hand drop in agility), and there are only two commands I use in both (go and over) and even then I use them differently.

I brought electronic copies of all three volumes online. A bit harder to read electronically but a HUGE saving (less than $20). I think I got it from Oztion or one of the other Australian auction sites.

LostyJai - how old is Shiro, because it sounds very much like adolescent or youthful behaviour. Keroppiyo, Buffy is definately entering adolescence. Remember these can be difficult times, even when the dogs are desexed. They are testing boundries, learning to be an adult, but still getting puppy urges, becoming defiant, a little bit antisocial (or over social), get selective deafness and their brains turn to mush. Sound familiar? Heck, not a lot of difference to human adolescence. A lot of dogs are surrendered as adolescents because people cant manage their behaviour. But part of adolescence is asking questions and learning right from wrong, and trying as it is, it is your job as leader to show your dog the right way. First of all, it will get better. It would be a good idea to keep the dogs in training while they get through this period. Join your local obedience club and go to regular classes for a while. And remember a tired adolescent is the best sort - so lots of stimulation and exercise will help. If you are worried about the pulling and lunging on lead you could try a Gentle Leader head collar or a Sporn harness. You might want to try to NILF (Nothing in Life is Free) approach as it may help give them focus - you will find quite a bit on DOL and the internet. Keroppiyo - positive methods probably will be more useful for dealing with an adolescent and you should always train in a way you feel comfortable. But you can still be fair but firm, positive but set boundries and limits. Definately keep up the training, and maybe look for a club that only uses methods you are happy with.

I put cat litter clumping clay in the lid of a large plastic container I got from the reject shop (lined the tray with some plastic) and brought some fake turf from Bunnings that I punched extra holes in (same as Laffy but I wash mine down with laundry soap). My dogs use it no problem (once they worked out what it was), its super easy to clean out the clumping clay and so far has lastest 2yrs and cost me about $40 to make. Heaps cheaper than the puppy pads I was using and cheaper and easier than the pup loo.

I use www.dogfood.com.au - they are super quick and cheap. I think you'll find them heaps cheaper than vetnpet, and they sell pretty much all dog (and cat) stuff - not just food. Plus I can use paypal which is my preferred payment method for safety reasons.

Both Canberra Animal Hospital in Lyneham and the Animal Medical Centre in Phillip have veterinary behaviourists. They will assess the dog, and provide advice (and a report on methods to use), although they dont do all the work for you, its up to the owner to follow through.

We often do fly-gility at flyball training. Its a great change for the dogs - they have fun, and it teaches them to focus ahead and just keep going. Plus it really revs them up. Its hard for my dogs though - they do both flyball and agility and still get a bit confused why I'm not at the end of the tunnel when they run through it. Mind you, its good practice for agility as it teaches them to work a long, long way away from you. It also proves that a ball focused dog will go to any measures to get that ball!

I found teaching my small, fearful dog to play ball, and then playing ball around big, friendly dogs made a huge difference. That way she meets dogs without them being in her face, and focusing on the ball keeps her from focusing on the other dogs. But it only helps doing it around stable, gentle and friendly bigger dogs. The biggest difference has been doing flyball though. She will always be a little timid around bigger dogs, but doesn't bark and growl now.

From Eagle Pack - they have been brought out which is why they are changing the packaging. Current supply issues are due to the new changes and the sale. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What I can tell you is that some formulas may change marginally, however in saying this we pride ourselves in quality assurance and wellness for the animals who eat our products. Well Pet who now owns Eagle Pack have been investigating all products used in their foods and you can be assured that if something is taken away from a formula it will be in the best interest of the product Large and Giant Breed Puppy will lose the Glucosamine from the mix as after considerable internal investigations they have found that puppies do not require Glucosamine for health joints. As you would only too well know that dogs are like humans, and humans only require Glucosamine to strengthen bones after they have reached a certain age and so it is with puppies. However, at this point we have not been advised of other exclusions or inclusions. I believe you were also interested to know why we add Dried Beet Pulp to our food. We do this to assist with- digestion in the gut as this does aid dogs digestive tract. It is certainly a "filler" but a useful one. We have very little "filler’s" in our product as opposed to other brands but as it is a very small amount, we consider it to be important for the balance of the formula.

Well I got my ebay ordered furminator and it looks the same as the one I brought for $120 from Petbarn - package is a bit damaged so I don't know if that means they have done some creative repackaging. It is in Furminator packaging. I guess I will know if it works the same when I use it tonight. Still, $100 cheaper than Petbarn, it has me wondering... Anyone else order one from ebay?

That's positive news then - particularly about the excess salt. I also have a dog thats allergic to shellfish and was getting sick on the glucosamine in the chicken formula so its all good from my perspective.

I use both 4-legs and chunkers - cut them in half or thirds for smaller sized treats and freeze them in snack-sized bags as well. In summer the dogs actually like eating them still frozen, but they do defrost pretty quickly. 4-legs do a puppy variety. The good thing about both these is they are a complete meal - so you can use them for meals if you like, and 4-legs has a suggested feeding amount listed. My dogs get pretty bored with dry treats (and if we are at class will nick off and sit by the person with better treats) so if you do dry use a variety of flavours. Its always handy to have some dried liver around for a quick treat.