KitKat

I have one, not innotek, but the same idea.....i love it. My older dog is an escape artist from hell, i have a fenced yard that would keep in any normal dog...and many abnormal ones. But my 40kg Rotti x goes straight underneath it! And yes it does have concrete surrounds underneath the cyclone fence/wire, but he chews off the clips that hold the cyclone fence stuff to the bead wire at the bottom and rolls straight out. He doesn't do it for any particular reason other then because he can and i think somewhere along the line it became a game for him. I have had my invisable fence for about 18 months now, and i can honestly say that i have probably zapped myself more then the dog has. He quickly learnt the boundry adn will back off when he hears the warning beep that the collar emits. Me on the other hand...well...the less said the better There is a range of settings and my fence is set amongst the lowest as it didn't take much to teach my boy. The collar isn't exactly stylish but it does the trick and my dog isn't bothered by it. I rent and so this boost to my fencing is great as i can take it with me when i move. I also have peace of mind as my dog isn't wondering the streets getting picked up by the Council, isn't running the chance of getting hit by a car, isn't getting into barneys with other dogs. He's not annoying neighbours or having kids (and their parents) think he's scary because he's black and tan. I did a lot of research into the zappy fence idea and was very picky about the model/type i got. But i am happy with the one i have and my dog is safe and sound. I would not recommend them for every instance...but for me it's worked wonders.

Yes you can get 'ready made' BARF...if you do a seach on BARF in this forum and the General forum you'll be bombarded with info Happy reading

Skyes Dalimit I might have to take you up on that offer...and omg...i forgot about the whole undogly start times! abzndbonnie - Just a basic run down from this site I have found a place on the way to Beenleigh that is offering basic sniffer/tracking training so i might have to check them out as well. Info here

hehehe he looks a tad grumpy in that shot! and the 'flashed' eyes really add to the grumpy look :D

That's a great pic of your boy :D a handsome little 'Bear' cub :D This was Bronx at nine weeks...hehehe, it's again not the best shot...but cute still

:D At the expo most people just assumed Bronx was fully grown, but they asked his age anyway and were usually fairly stunned when told he was only 8 months it was funny to watch the reactions tho..lol

Yup...Bronx was at last weight in which was only about two weeks ago, but he seems to be in mid growth spurt again which is fun to watch..lol. He was 11kg at 8 weeks, lol..he was just this furry ball of big feet If you crop and 'resize' the pic's it should work, even do it in increments will they show up as under 40k...if that doesn't work email me the pic's and i'll have a crack at them when i get home tonight :D

Yup...he's a long coat, not a really hairy long coat tho it seems...but he does seem to be growing it in at the moment to I've been of the idea that GSD's (and most other large breed dogs) grow upwards till they are about 12 months, then grow outwards (fill out/broaden) till they are about 2yrs...and that they may not completely finish till they are around three yrs old..as in the skull might broaden a smidge more etc etc. Holly...am i even close to correct? :D (it's handy having those in the know about :D )

Cripes...i have a lardy GSD! Well the latest vet that i have decided not to go back to said that he was expecting Bronx to be hugely obese when he saw the age and weight come up on his pc before i went in to the 'office' with him. He said that a GSD Bronx's age should not weigh more then 20-25 kg's :D And i'm sorta going...but he's healthy, parents were big-ish, longcoated and big boned, not overweight, ...and even the vet couldn't disagree with me there...but he did a rib check to be sure..lol EFS

My GSD boy is a week over 8 months old now :D As to pup...i have to be careful with that term as i often call my 9yr old rotti x 'pup' The expo i was talking about as the Pet & Animal Expo in Brissie...they are held in a couple of states each year...i know one was held in Melbourne as well but i can't remember where else. this isn't the clearest pic..lol, but it's one of the latest i have of him I lied...this one is the latest one i have...lol, him playing with the 3month old BC pup Kara :D

Sorry about that :D I was at the pet expo on the weekend with my GSD boy, and one of the deals going was a two for one with SD so i thought about it for a smidge. I asked the lady if she had any of the large breed puppy available, was told there was none left but the normal puppy would be fine...my 40kg (not pudgy) pup was sitting next to me...lol, i'd rather go the food that's made for larger breeds then not...just in case and all that. So i decided against the SD on the day, i'll decide again at another sale But because of that i thought i'd just ask you which type you were feeding your boy before saying anything about it all :D

Thanks for that FHR ;) Also glad to hear it's not one of the more expensive sports! Hmm...and so the fact that Bronx already likes hunting down my socks and slippers is a good thing? And thanks to you also Dogdayz....hehe we'll have to compare notes on how the dogs go :D

I'm looking to start my Bronx in tracking training this year...and was just wondering if anyone knows of places to train? and have you trained with them and what did you think? Any suggestions/recomendations? Thanks all PS...also...generally/roughly what are the costs involved with doing tracking?

The large breed puppy food is the way to go

One lil question...are you feeding him the normal puppy SD or the large breed puppy version? As to feeling the ribs, i would answer that questions but...i know what to feel for but i don't know how to explain it :D

Aloveen is great stuff, the plush puppy range is awsome but the Squirt range is also very very good and smells terrific! (it's made by the same people that make Fudge hair products)

I think as long as you have his attention and that he is focused on you it isn't a big deal which direction his eyes are looking. Some dogs seem to prefer looking at their handler and others prefer listening to/for them.

My boys both listen for everything i do...but if they are out front of me they watch me and keep good eye contact which proves handy at times...lol. But when i got back into obedience with my older boy i was told that he should try and keep eye contact all the time. I found that annoying i must admit because my dog wasn't paying as much attention to what was in front of him. So now i encourage them to listen and watch...the GSD pup looks funny as his ears fold back to hear me better...lol, at least the Rotti X looks more subtle doing it with his floppy ears! I bought a new clicker at the pet expo so am starting to give that a go with the nice basic 'watch' comand

It's not unusual, some dogs prefer the comfort of their own home. But perhaps teach your girl to pee on command... that way you can at least make sure she's not getting too full a bladder. My pup tends not to go to the toilet when we are out on walks unless he's told to...my older dog on the other hand will pee on everything he can cock his leg at and will usually manage to do a poo on the return journey just so i can use up one of the bags i carry

The travel calm ginger tablets are good, they are natural herbal tablets and the added bonus is if you get motion sickness you can take them as well but they are easy to get (from chemist, look in the herbal stuff area) and they aren't expensive.

Perhaps the rescue remedy?

Excuse me??? i couldn't care less which way you decide to train your dog, different dogs work better with different methods to start with. My comments were to point out that a check chain is just like any other tool...and that a halti can be used to ill effect just like any other...it's not the tool around the neck of the dog that can be a problem but the tool at the other end of the lead.

These are just training tools, they are not designed to 'hurt' the dog...if it's hurting the dog the handler is doing it wrong. Halti's are often used incorectly as people see them used on tv...go to their local supermarket and pick one up. Then they'll put it on their dog, many times incorectly fitted, and go from there. No training, know experiance and no knowledge of how to use their new training tool. I've seen people 'helicopter' their dog while using a halti...he had no more control over his dog with a halti then he did or would using anything - but the handler would not take any direction from the instructors. Check chains are used as a check and release, check and release - not as a tug, pull tug, strain, pull tug which unfortuantely some people do, and that's just the handler using the check chain incorrectly. Any tool can be used incorectly but so often people want a quick fix - and most of the training tools don't come with instructions - and many out there wouldn't read them if they did. Adited to add...there is no reason to feel sorry for my dogs...they hear the rattle of the check chains and they start leaping around like happy lunatics, but i also have big boofy dogs and the little tags they get from the checks do little to even bother them, but to do get the gist that i'm not impressed.

when Missy took a break from telling us of her interest in the lure...Jack was kind enough to fill the gap All in all it was a good day...a long day considering a few of us were used to the summer cup's half day effort but it was all good. It was also great to meet up with a few of the Dol'ers See you all next time! :D

Ok...see everyone there!