percyk

as for heeling ive had easy dogs and hard dogs but the method is the same stick to a loose lead -dogs will pull against a taut lead when hes walking by your side reward with a treat if he starts moving ahead of you - dont tighten - just let him go and then turn sharply and go the other way he will have to go behind you keep calling heel and as he levels with you feed him the great treat and praise i have walked like this for many blocks - virtually getting nowhere but the dogs eventually get the idea that there is no sense in pulling ahead of me cos we will go the opposite way again practise this in your yard first break it up with a few sits and drops too talk to people about your options with collars when i first started it was chokers for everyone and worn pretty high then in the 80s chokers were frowned upon and when i did obedience we just used a flat collar now i use martingales the hardest thing is to keep walking and practising and not abandon the walk- (perhaps drive to your destination for exercise so the whole session isnt hellish ) it can be so frustrating and your arm can hurt even with a little one mine used to start trying to catch up with each other if we all walked together so id do the opposite and make them walk the other way and reward my latest dog is learning not to rush home on our way back no matter how tempting it is i wont let him go past me and im last home if the kids are ahead of me ( hes very good otherwise when we are heading off he heels quite well and midway hes excellent) as for cars - ive not had a chaser but again id desensitise - get his treats go sit him down on a leash and plug away like any desensitisation you can distract him with a command /toy or treat as a car goes by and praise choose a quiet location and build up face him away at first and make sure you dont start somewhere where he is close to cars - maybe start further up where he can see them but cant see the wheels and start before he starts to react- then as he begins to reacts you distract= hes got to understand that the reward is for ignoring the cars and focussing on you not on the cars

oh you poor thing i had a gsd he got out once as a pup and i found him ( after neighbour phoned work ) trying to get back IN lol he was my shadow so recall was never a problem now i have an alpha bitch here - a little thing she is and my son can get her back no matter how far she goes she will slink back to him and lie on her back- he uses no treats but she is his dog totally even though hes hardly here anymore i get her back with a loud piercing call and i used to rattle the dog biscuit box when she was little- hnow she has mellowed and she doesnt try to get out id work with your dog in a room somewhere he cant escape from and practise recall all of the time during the day too - incidentally and for just a few times so he doesnt get bored- do not take him out into the open where he will be distracted and you cant get him back i play hide and seek with my new ones when they join the family- (ill go hide in another room - we have arches that connect other rooms and you can virtually sneak around the house) and im armed with the best of treats -bbq chicken and the dog is awaiting its meal so is very motivated! this really helps in the beginning with my dogs - later we do it in the yard- again when hungry sometimes i get the others to join so a reticent pup gets the idea faster -'something good is going tohappen when i get there!' so when i call one - they all race one is 8 yrs old now and she still gets to practise recall at home so find out what he loves is he food driven ? does he love a particular noisy toy or fluffy thing on string? once you know how to get him to come to you for that the going gets easier i assume youre never calling him back in frustrated tone and that you are encouraging him the minute he turns his head go back to the absolute basics and break it down if you have to so that means if hes even turning to you ( in small room like laundry or bathroom) then he gets rewarded - i have always used a leash - a long one initially to make him come if he doesnt - not drag but remind him you have to be more incredibly interesting than anything he knows above all dont set up 'failure situations' if you know hes not going to come go get him the more times he doesnt come the more hell think he doesnt have to have you ever tried running away from him? does he tend to follow? i have a few dogs and they stick together - one of them has excellent recall and he gets the others back cos they dont like being apart when theyre out off leash somewhere i found that with my aussie terrier who had hopeless recall - the gsd i had at the same time would start pelting back and so would she but she never did bond to me that well- she loved my dad though and was his shadow so go figure - i bought herand trained her and she ended up being a little traitor ( kidding cos my dad was like francis of assissi when it came to all animals lol i could never compete!) id invest in a run in the meantime and keep him in it when youre out can you keep him inside at all for a few hours or is he still destructive? i wish you the best they are the best of dogs but i know some can be challenging dont give up it seems youve got him so far from a rough start!

thanks Poodlefan spent the day with her today walked on the beach with all of our dogs her pup seemed fine she can now put on his collar - she fed him bbq chicken the last time she took off and put on the collar a few times and he was fine when i handled him today he does jump a little to lick my kids faces and gets a little excited when hes running with them on the flat but she reckons hes mouthing less i pulled him off her dishwasher when the door was down and he didnt object - i just said NO firmly and pulled him then made him sit hes hopeless at eye contact have to call him several times to get his attention - thats why im thinking hes got either deerhound or whippet in him lol he just doesnt look you in the eye- dont dominant dogs look you in the eye?

another thing Poodlefan (and i hate when you read quite the opposite to what youve been doing lol but ...) what about the theory that negative reinforcement can make these kind of pups more aggressive...? depends what you mean about neg reinforcement i suppose - just a choker chain correction, a sharp 'no'? definitely no alpha rolls hey lol If you put a pup in a position where it feels the need to defend itself Percy, then I would agree with that. Aggression is tricky stuff - that's why I said your friend should summon a professional. However, there's a big difference between ignoring aggression and punishing it in manner that may provoke more of it. Make sure she gets in someone who's experienced. If she was in Sydney, I'd suggest K9Force. Sometimes folk will insist that a pup growling is "only playing". Regrettably this isn't always the case. on central coast Poodlefan what a bummer if it continues and she cant get on top of it she dug up some article tonight about a guy in the us who had a growling dog who wouldnt let him get him out of his crate without trying to bite- shes going see if she can find his book or training video on sale somewhere - the link wasnt working

another thing Poodlefan (and i hate when you read quite the opposite to what youve been doing lol but ...) what about the theory that negative reinforcement can make these kind of pups more aggressive...? depends what you mean about neg reinforcement i suppose - just a choker chain correction, a sharp 'no'? definitely no alpha rolls hey lol

thats the trouble with vaccinations isnt it! we dont take our dogs out early enough i feel this big pup has been out for a couple of weeks ( we took to my shops once for a coffee and he was great with people and ignored other dogs) i talked to her tonight and she saysthat he jumps up when she is walking him initially to mouth at her at times but stops ok when she corrects - walks well at heel for a pup i had a turn of the lead with him - he was tired so cooperated lol as for the dominance i dont know see... he was lying on his back and letting her smaller dogs chew at him and he was puppy pouncing a lot and being vocal in a playful way - so i dont think the dogs are an issue funny how he accepts being dominated by them and not her... as for fear...hes not impressed by big dogs - a lab came over to sniff at the shops and he slunk away - no growling and he sticks close to his owner hes very sweet most of the time - lots of licking and he does that paw thing too -as if he is offering a shake - and i believe that to be a sign of deference/ respect?? he doesnt like his collar taken off so she uses chicken to bribe him every time she takes off his walking collar to distract him from growling and shying away otherwise he isnt hand shy and doesnt mind his snout being clamped or his head played with - i looked into his mouth , touched him all over .stood over him... rolled him over gently in play to scratch belly- this he all accepted i havent seen the actual incidents so can only go by what she says and hes been very well behaved around my little dogs who paid him no attention after the first sniff or two she told me that a friend of hers looked into professional intervention ( dont quote me but i think it was by the dog whisperer people) and they wanted 175 per session- wonder if that would be right? dont know anything about them really so i couldnt recommend anyone the behaviourist i met about 20 years ago would be in her 80s i suspect and i dont remember her name she was good ( i think) but i have so little experience with their kind so would have to go on other people's recommendations. thanks for your post!

hey didnt think of dingo blood wonder if the big skull is a dominant gene like i said i thought rough collie or sighthound from the long snout thanks for your input Poodlefan!

i visited a friend who has three dogs two older ones and a new bigger pup who is fast outgrowing the older smaller dogs she has been reading what she can about pack behaviour and belongs to another forum so far she has had various view points presented to her about her pup growling at her ( i have limited experience with this - my dogs havent been growlers except for one standard poodle which was a bought as a childs pet and subsequently returned to the breeder after a behaviourist assessed him) what happens is this the male pup is confident round people and has been socialised - will be going to obedience when he turns 14 weeks and his shots uptodate but when he is corrected - eg grabbing food from the counter ( my friend pulls him off by the collar and says no) he will growl and he has begun to growl at times when he is in his basket none of my dogs have been growlers except on occasion when theyre with a bone and another dog settles too close and certainly never to me or the kids she is hoping obedience will help she does walk all the three dogs together and there is no problem one of her dogs is more possessive of her and is trying hard to fit the pup into a more submissive rung on the ladder any tips here folk ? has anybody started with such a dog and actually tamed the beast successfully? she is not using any harsh punishments -tries to distract and rewards for good behaviour the dog seems to have lots of potential and is quite obedient im sure there is sighthound in him - suddenly his nose has become awfully long! they got him from a litter out in the sticks - bit of an impulse buy i think and im not sure how she will cope with a big pup - judging by his paws he will be a pretty big boy im not very good at breed interpretation but i think hed have grey or whippet in him but his coat is pretty silky with a bit of feathering on his floppy ears his mother was a total bitzer - so many things in her that the owner didnt know what she was- looked a bit like a thinly built german shepherd cross my friend says- mother was very sociable but father was unknown she's got pretty big things planned for him and is determined to make it work but is worried that her alpha is not working ( yep she knows about all the things you do to establish leadership but the pup is still growling so she isnt very effective im guessing in every encounter)

hope the bich does well! funny little things they are like big owlheads but sweet as... !

But isn't that 'cause of the time zone difference?? Hell, I don't care what breed of pup it is... I just want to know where did she brung it? Topic title: We Brought A Puppy yes a common error Pug rescue but dont mean a thing to a kind heart do it? lol lots of people dont speak or write or spell proper and some are pretty embarrassed by the fact and some are oblivious to it and live quite well without all the constraints of the english language personally id prefer someone who says 'filum' and 'advertiesement' and is a good soul to someone who has perfect private/ old school grammar and looks down their nose at others if anything, it is the education system that has failed

dont give up on being nice lol if thats what you do best if you were being nice then it should rest easy on your mind others can interpret it as they see fit just keep the niceness afloat helps the world get round its day

could be wrong but i think Deb was saying that she didnt have a designer dog with an oodle mix i think she was just saying that her circumstances are pretty stable and that she has rescued an animal before the italian bit i took as a joke cos i think she might be a bit on the 'whooooooa ' side of things when dolers do this kind of thing it's not all that confusing just let Deb be Deb until proven otherwise

i sleep with pups til theyre toilet trained generally theyre still going once through the night at 8 weeks even though they might pee at midnight - my last effort for the night before bed then durng the ninth week they can hold out til about 430 or 5 ( this is assuming you still toilet at midnight) by the end of the ninth week they can go through til 6 and then by ten they can go to the loo at 10 30 - 11 00 and not stir til 6 - 630 it comes quickly but i find that if you stick with taking them out they really learn quicker than letting them puddle in the laundry i tie a long leash round my arm and the minute they move i whisk em downstairs it's hard in winter but worth it! during the day though it varies some are great and can hold on others pee every ten minutes even at ten weeks the less accidents theyhave the better - each time they pee inside they have missed the opportunity to associate the yard with the toileting behaviour

I was just giving Phoebe a bit of a groom to try and get some of the mud etc of her legs. I was doing her tail when I noticed a lump about the size of a 5 cent coin in diameter- quite a firm ,solid lump Hi Colleen it is a worry but it may be nothing my dog had a lump on his tail hes only young it went away by itself he acquired it aftera walk looked like something my dachsie had years ago wasnt painful it was firm but not rock hard took a couple of months to return to normal

i give little dogs the chicken wing tips

thanks Annedal - dont get out there much but it's good to know

i dont leave my dogs with a bone we are on bone alert at our house my dachsie years ago had a problem with a bone- never want to see that happen again so someone has to be within view of the dog who has a bone we feed chicken necks and there are no scoffers here but i still insist on vigilance i often am tempted to leave them with a bone but when theyre outside they just bury them and then it becomes a walking on eggshells situation for everyone so i give them a little food to take the edge off their hunger and train at the same time then they get their necks then their top up with mince etc

so whitener can be used on ligh coloured t dogs not just white dogs? ill have a look, Miranda, at the Christensen range thanks also shepmax and ellz!

thanks for your replies Westemum i talked to the vet yesterday - was getting the cats vaccinated and was chatting about dog diets now this vet does not push products on to me i think she knows that with so many animals im not going to spend a fortune on all the little things that maybe a onedogowner might butthe one thing she kept saying is that there are plenty of good foods out there like royal canin ( and they dont stock anything but science diet) that have got the product just right and we should give up on trying to feed the right combos of everything to me it's like the formula vs breast debate i dont know what to think really maybe it's better to feed a pup a really good mix and then cross over to a natural diet just in case youre not getting the proportions right? what do you think? i mean none of my dogs have ever been sickly not one has died of cancer the last one lived til 18 and ate everything i am in a state of confusion again anyway i cooked up the mince with some frozen veges and brown rice put a smidge of vegemite into it and they all wolfed it down wont buy it again though cos im over cooking for the dogs dont mind mixing stuff but id rather give it raw or i dont see the purpose ill go read up on the nutrition threads again

ok thanks guys i never buy stuff online does anyone know of shops that stock it i will ring and ask aniimal house people i think theyre in the southern suburbs of sydney from memory btw is it bad to try to soften a dogs coat? im not talking wire-haired breeds but an already silky coat im just wondering of the buildup- you know what they say about pantene leaving a buildup that needs to be removed after a while?

thanks Shepmax - so do you buy it online? Do you consider it good value? Ive read the testimonials but you never know if theyre fair dinkum

does anyone use these shampoos? what have the results been like? i dont usually buy the fancy stuff and i dont wash the dogs all that often like show people do i likethe aloveen range personally but wondered if i could have a change with something equally nice thanks

Thanks Westiemum i too think it's safer to give the human grade mince but succumbed and bought this one noone ate it tonight so i threw this lots out still have the bag in the fridge though ill go get some premium mince from aldi tomorrow

id be taking her down to toilet to the designated area and just waiting til she goes - it takes time but worth it in the long run i had one pup who used to do that because i think he was anxious about being far away from me - as if he didnt trust that iwouldnt disappear on him but now hes over a year old he happily trots down to either of the two areas we have set aside if you havea similar flooring for patio and inside then the dogs can confuse the two just be patient they dont mean to displease you and it seems the dog is doing very well overall you could try putting some soiled paper out to the area you want and making that area smell to inspire him