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Awesome, thanks heaps for your help!

Thankyou!!

Thanks, this is really useful advice. We do all of the usual things that would otherwise contribute to boredom barking - walking, stimulation, time with family, food, plenty of toys. I think the idea of a buffer zone is useful, or having ctv cameras to observe Harvey's behaviour when we're not home. The other dogs surrounding us have resumed their usual noisy barking, and Harvey has barked maybe 3 times in the last fortnight (two of which were today, both times he was crated in response). I'm not convinced he is the problem, however, a diary to essentially 'prove' (or disprove') this to the council/complaining neighbour may be necessary. Gah. Neighbours!

I apologise, I haven't read the entire thread - but has anyone had any issues with Aussies barking? Our (very aggressive) neighbour complained that he barks constantly when we're out - while I am dubious as to the accuracy of her claims (she aggressively told me we'd done absolutely nothing since she first complained to us 3 months ago, which is completely untrue) the reality is, I have to do something. The council's website was unhelpful - suggested all the things we do already, he is walked regularly, fed twice a day, we play with him, has plenty of toys to play with and a bed to sleep on. He is completely quiet when we are home, and has been taught (via crate training) not to bark, so that at worst, we get a single bark, and then stops. The neighbourhood is full of barking dogs - there is one near us (next to the complaining neighbour) who yaps constantly, however it has been eerily quiet the last couple of days, so I suspect she's complaining/threatening everyone, however this helps me not. I also suspect that because Harvey has a rather loud, robust bark that he gets a greater proportion of the blame. Irrespective, the issue needs dealing with! I considered that it was separation anxiety - he can be quiet clingy - but he doesn't whine to come inside if we're home and he's outside unless we've been out all day. And even then, his whining is ignored (because I don't want to reinforce the behaviour). Anyway, here is a picture of the lovely Harvey. He very helpfully sat himself and his toy on top of a pile of crocheted squares I was about to post off to a charity.

Cherry is adorable!!! Look at the facials in the second picture!!

YES!! All I had to do was *think* about taking Scrimp and Lil with me the other day, for Scrimp to later (as I was about to leave) bark at me as if to say, "well? Aren't we coming?"... gah!

Not my post I'm afraid. You still haven't answered the question Rhaps.. what sort of "work" do people who want APBTs want them to perform. Last time I checked we were talking about a particular case and a particular dog.. the one most people posting in this thread are concerned about. My background is dog sports, not much showing until now. I know some owners of working bred herding breeds and I know how seriously they take the responsiblity for owning a dog like that in suburbia. I don't know how you've concluded I think APBT owners no nothing about working dogs, I just don't know what "work" their owners expect them to perform. How many of them do any kind of "work" at all? Not your post? Who said it was? I wasn't responding to a post of yours, I was responding to Warley. As for what work pit bulls can perform. Wait, your background is dog sports and you have no idea what work pit bulls can be expected to perform? ... Pit bulls are deployed in many official fields from drug detection to tracking and trailing. They have been known to work as assistance dogs, also. Aside from that, think of any dog sport you can. Pit bulls are versatile enough to do just about all of them. Weight pulling, high jump, agility, flyball, obedience, frisbee, dock jumping - they can also excel at complex tricks. Do a little you-tubing perhaps. Absolutely, but nobody is disputing this. What I understood to be poodlefan's point, was that the onus of having a working breed, or a breed with a very high intelligence and activity requirements (poodles included!) is the high demand the dogs have for socialisation, activity, stimulation and exercise. BSL doesn't enable this to occur. Sucks, but that's simply the law, and to not abide by it is to risk the dog's life. Not providing this stimulation leads to frustrated, bored and destructive dogs. Poodlefan doesn't appear to be disputing the fact that pitbulls can do any of the above activities you described, but rather-- all of the above is pretty difficult with BSL. At least, that's what it seems like to me.

Canine Interaction is where I took my dogs. They're in Croydon Park, so not terribly close unfortunately, but Megan is fantastic and is definitely worth a phone call or email - if for nothing else but to recommend another trainer for a private consult (and the trainer she recommends is awesome as well). Megan has a beautiful BC as well.

I misread the title as having something to do with hit-dogs as well. ;) My dogs do the same, the trainer said it is a good idea to take them out seperately so that they're accustomed to it. I must admit, easier said than done, as I had completely forgotten this instruction till I read this thread. I don't see the harm in giving Ruger a bone while you take Fly out.

Well, I tried trimming it and she yipped in pain. It's sitting at a funny angle (like, right out from her leg) and it hurts to touch. So, I dunno.

Hey all, Last night Lil tore her dew claw when running through some bushes (or something) while we were out walking. It's not torn off, but is hanging at a funny angle and appears to be quite sore- she yipped when she lay on it funny last night and has been limping a little (though it hasn't stopped her jumping all over Scrimp, unsuprisingly). It's not bleeding, so I'm in two minds as to whether I should leave it, bandage it, trim it or...? I thought if I bandaged it it might sit flatter and reduce the risk of catching on something- having said that she may just pull the bandage off, so that'd be kinda pointless. I could trim it, but I was also concerned about giving the nail an edge that might catch on something? Any thoughts?

Slightly OT, but what's the deal with the harmony harnesses? We have an easy walk, but I reckon it's too big for Lil, particularly across the chest. I was looking at the kumalong (it's fairly cheap) because the design looks the same. I tried to get in touch with Jenny but no luck.

Which is a good sign for Scrimp! I was going to order a new martingale for Lil, may as well order a plain old martingale for Scrimp too, see how the little fella handles it.

Yeah... It occured to me when I was writing these posts that I tend to think that it is as much for my peace of mind than anything else. My partner walks him on a flat collar, I just worry that I can't control him if he has some kind of altercation with another dog (and even still, last time that happened, before the dog got to him he was trying to turn me to leave).

So the leverage isn't the same as for a martingale, fitted high on the neck? I *think* the instructions recommend fitting the nose strap very loosely (ours is very loose) so the pressure on the nose band is minimal, if at all (I mean, Scrimp doesn't pull anyway). Sorry, I'm straying off topic, it's just an interesting topic.

In the interim would something akin to a Blackdog Infin-8 collar be a viable option? Because the lead attaches at the back of the neck (behind the ears) with a martingale, I can't see that it has the same potential for head snapping. It can be used without the face strap, simply as a martingale, as well. I use one of Scrimp- he doesn't pull, so I could walk him on a flat collar, but I am not strong enough to hold him if he were to lunge at something (which almost never happens, but I don't want to take the risk).

Because it is possible that some dogs will pair the sound of the chain with the correction. Not that I use this 'pairing' to any great degree, but it can be handy for very soft and/or nervous/sensitive dogs. I think to, because I'm used to it. That makes perfect sense.

Yeah, that's what I noticed with mine. The chain one is just too big, it slips down and ends up sitting on Lil's shoulders, so it's actually more annoying if it's loose, I think (I'm assuming this is the case, I notice she does a big shake sometimes when it's loose, like, to get it off her back). But I bought that not realising how small her neck was (she's always smaller than I imagine).

Thanks Erny How come you prefer the chain martingales? The only chain martingale I have used has been a size too big, so couldn't be adjusted to sit nicely on the neck and was kind of ineffective. I really like the webbing martingale that I had, though.

Aah! We were just talking about this in the other thread This is the limited slip And this is the martingale That is sold on the Callicoma website. I can see how they're different, I just don't get how the limited slip works differently (If that makes sense). I always thought that a martingale WAS limited slip.

She lives at home, so it's her parents, sister, BIL, neices and nephews... OOOH. Now I follow. Definitely agree with Poodlefan regarding the crating. Keeps it very simple and very clear that the dog isn't to be interacted with.

They've got nice limited slip collars- are the limited slip any different or more effective than the martingale? I've lost Lil's martingale so I'm using a chain martingale which is too big so it doesn't sit nicely on her neck.

Firstly, it's great that she acknowledges the dog has issues, that's the first step. As far as the family, how much can she not control what the family members do? Apart from her kids (who the dog growls at?) and her partner... I just reckon if they take the "Let's get on top of these behavioural issues otherwise she's going to end up biting one of the kids" angle, that might help. Kinda puts everything in to perspective when you look at it like that. If her kids are 1- primary school age it should be pretty easy to explain to them not to feed the dog from the table (deliberately). I hope. I suppose otherwise the alternative might have to be to put the dog in another room while their eating, which I imagine would make it bark a lot... and cause more stress to dog and family. That's awesome, you're a good friend for being so dedicated and caring. Poor dog and family though- it can't be a happy relationship for any of them.

She bites her owner! This dog rules the roost, no questions asked- and not happily either, it's obviously making her very stressed and unhappy. What will it take to motivate the owner in to action? To bite one of the kids?

I bought a nice kumalong martingale for Lil, which was great...until I lost it. They're very cheap, as well. http://www.kumalong.com.au/ourproducts.shtml