kateykateykatey

She's fantastic, can be hard to get an appointment with (I think she might be at Mawson Lakes now, mostly) but well worth it.

The kong has been excellent for Scrimpy, our vet suggested it as a way of self soothing anxiety and dealing with boredom. Don't put butter in it! Much too fatty.

Do you take your dogs to regular chiropractors, or specialised pet chiropractors? I'm just curious because my OH's father is a chiro, and he adjusts the dogs, but I wasn't sure if there was many pet chiros around. My aunt has a horse chiro in qld, mind you.

Oh, oh, also, does your council have a local yellow pages? We do, which lists a bunch of dog schools here. They might be able to help, if nothing else? just an idea...

Which part of the hills? Up my way, in Tea Tree Gully, is Mark Singer. I have *no* idea what he's like as a trainer, so this isn't a recommendation in that sense, just that I looked at his website and thought he seemed interesting. He uses correction as well as praise, if that was a characteristic you're looking for.. And as I said in the other thread, Vets4Pets have a Behavioural vet, who is very good. Not sure if any of that is close, or not, though.

This thread should be renamed "The Kate/Katie/Katey thread" The Vets4Pets vet clinics at Ridgehaven, Golden Grove, Angle Vale etc have a behavioural vet who is also really good, IIRC her name is Nicola Patterson. Also, this guy Mark Singer is in Golden Grove, and he does private dog behavioural lessons as well. I have no idea what he's like, however, just that he's local. EDIT: spelt me own name wrong! ;)

You might need to open the tab that says Dog Desensitisation Files but down the bottom of that section is an mp3 of thunder and fireworks.

I've seen it available for free download online, including from dog training websites (trying to find the link now).

WOW! This is fantastic! Started this on Scrimp tonight, we're trying to overcome dog-to-dog aggression when walking and I think that this is good groundwork for attempting to deal with the problem. He already knows to wait before being fed, and looked at me straight away. To make sure I'm perfectly clear, (I've read the whole thread, but I like to make doubly certain! ) 1. Dog is tied up (to a chair on the deck). 2. I go inside, take my sweet time about getting food ready. 3. Dog is calm, I come outside, and put his food bowl in a spot where he thinks that maybe it's not for him. (is this correct?? ) 4. I stand on his right side. 5. He looks at me, I say, "YES" and "OK" to free him. 6. He runs to his food, and eats. 7. Can I move his bowl? I just moved it out of the walkway, I wasn't sure if that mattered. 8. I went straight inside afterwards. 9. I increase the time he looks at me for, then distance, then add distraction. I'd already started teaching him "Eyes to me", which is a long and cumbersome command. Is YES supposed to be the same command?? He struggles to do anything remotely obedient (except sit, and heel, somewhat) when we're walking. I'm assuming the TOT will make some super headway in to changing this?? *fingers crossed* btw, CONGRATULATIONS ROM! That was a great story!

Where do you live, Katiek? (fantastic name, I should add!)

LOL! Don't stress! I run out of all sorts of things all the time! My brain is so full of bus timetables, after school sports, assignments that need to be written, lectures I've just had, random txts from my brother in WA and nagging kids... Not to mention OH telling me boring stories about how fantastic his job is...that stuff just...gets...forgotten! Douglas Adams was of the opinion that we could only remember a certain number of things at any one time, and every time we remembered something new, another thing would be forgotten. I'm sure my brain works this way sometimes. I was about to go in to a Human Biology exam last year and couldn't for the life of me remember the word "lungs"

that's terrible!

WA! What kind of hours? I'm not sure why I'm asking, I don't have an abundance of time in between uni and the girls, but I'm vaguely curious.

Regard walking your dog with your daughter to school - pleasantly and with no dog/dog issues - as your ultimate goal. To achieve that goal there are likely to be things that you need to change and that are inconvenient and to a degree impractical in the meantime. Don't think of it as something that must be forever, but merely a direction away from the 'norm' until you can return to your usual routine, but in a more ideal and pleasant way. that's a good point. Just that I watch "it's me or the dog" and Victoria whats-her-name always recommends marching off in the other direction as a response to pulling and unsociable behaviour, but that's always in the park...it occurs to me now that this is *practice* and that of course it's necessary. (silly that I hadn't thought of that sooner ) Out of interest, how much does a session with a behaviourist/trainer cost?

oh no! Please, tell!

I should add that we got Scrimp from Sandy Creek Dog Sanctuary when he was two. I don't know if he has been socialised with other dogs, but I feel some of his pulling is from a desire for socialisation as much as some male dog dominance things. I've only seen him be at all 'aggressive' to male dogs that aren't desexed such as my brother's Viszla, who was also quite young at the time (but fully grown). I want to iron out some of these issues before introducing another dog in to the household, because I'm not keen on walking a dog that wants to pull with another dog that might be otherwise fine on the lead... I'm not sure if they learn each other's bad habits or not? thanks guys

Hey guys, I hope asking this question here is appropriate. I'm simply after some advice and suggestions on a plan of action for My 7 year old Border Collie x 'Scrimp' has a few issues with manners when walking. He's a very clever dog, and recently I taught him how to drop (which was a challenge, because he is stubborn) and then later to roll, and roll over. He responded well to this, though lately rolling over is accompanied with some play biting of the wrist-- that I'm not sure how to discourage. The biggest issue with Scrimp is his outside manners. When walking, he will generally heel well, and sits when I stop (usually). But he pulls at the site of another dog, to the extent that if the dog is ahead of him he is fixated, and may yelp, howl and lurch if I slow down to maintain a greater distance between us. We walk with a gentle leader, but this doesn't deter him from pulling- even though I'm sure it's uncomfortable. I've taught him to "leave" following some instructions I read on the net (ie, presenting two fists with treats and giving the command "leave" and rewarding from the other hand when successful) but I can't get him to either take rewards on walks, or even focus that much on simple commands when on walks. He's too fixated on whatever else is around him. I know that he learns commands well, but this is at home. It's difficult to get him to do anything while on the lead. Recently while walking I've tried to get him to sit and drop-- just to get him used to basic commands while not at home, but this he does with reluctance, he's interested in whether or not another dog will show up! :rolleyes: I know dog obedience classes are an obvious answer here, but what to do while walking? It's not practical for me to turn around and march off in the opposite direction at the sight of another dog and Scrimp's bad behaviour-- I'd never get anywhere (and we walk my daughters to school and back). Any other suggestions? I think he needs to be socialised more (again, dog obedience) but what else? He's been to DO before, and because we got him when he was 2 we think he's had training previously, so I imagine he's going to fit in to that well again, but I've got to figure out how to fit it in the timetable between kids' sports, dance, my sport and my partner's sports... it's on the to-do list. Thanks in advance... sorry for the long post...