~*Shell*~

I've been looking at the Wahl KM2s too - when i used them they were great! I'll be buying my own pair soon!

I've PMed you!

Do you have an approximate price for the items becky? ETA: I hope that pink camo stuff isn't for Louie Pug Hugger!! Is it for your new dog?

Thanks!

When Zero had an ear infection, he didn't get a bad smell to it at all - it just got gunky and when the vet had a look at it, it was a pretty bad infection. I only noticed because he looked like he had some wet, reddish staining around the ear. I used opticlean and some cotton wool to clean his ears - and then we got some ear drops from the vet too. He was a little difficult to treat in the first couple of days - but once his ear stopped being as sore, he was fine and would lie there and let me clean his ear out. Admittedly his ears are a lot bigger so if you're going to go to the vet, I'd ask about the best way to clean them out and maybe book him into a groomer for his ears (my groomer will do a very careful bath and then pluck the ears - Zero doesn't need it really but we do it because his ears are very fluffy on the outside and don't let the air in to them to dry them out) if you don't feel like you can do them yourself.

Hi all I'm training to be a groomer at the moment (by distance - not ideal but I'm not training so i can do it professionally, just training out of interest) and am being asked by a lot of friends and family to groom their dogs, mostly cavs, labs, and poodles but because i don't have any experience with these breeds, is there anywhere i can have a look at what clips these breeds have? Or maybe a website with a "how to" on it? I know labs are mostly just a bath and brush kind of breed, but is it the same with the cavs?

Hey all, I'm wanting to start clicker training with Zero because he has trouble with following through too quickly with a behaviour (trying to teach him "stand" and when he stands, he takes a couple of steps - i'm not fast enough to give a verbal marker so I would like to teach with a clicker (i understand the basics but would like to have a more indepth knowledge) so he can understand the exact point where he gets the behaviour right. Anyone know some good books, or dvds that i could have a look at?

Another vote for Steve at K9Force! He was fantastic! I took m once dog aggressive dog to the park today without a problem! People there were astounded with how well behaved he is!

Zero's the same - i got him at 2, and taught him the basics and now at 4 we're doing more tricks and he's learning so fast. We're even going to start group obedience and agility. He's mellowed out enough to get over his dog aggression too, it was like he's suddenly had his "nice dog" switch flipped!

I hope there's a doberman coming! My old girl Danika was a dobe - gorgeous dogs! Sleek is a good name for a dobe.

I think you have... I only have one dog (Zero) and both of us will be there!

Hehehe - I forgot about Steve (don't tell him that!). Okay - so you'll be the second DOLer! There wil be further notes on what to bring a couple of weeks prior to the actual dates and Shell, i dont have any record of you, have you sent a payment? Yep - I emailed you about that - bank stuffed up and lost it (how can you lose a money transfer - good thing it wasn't thousands of $$) but it should have arrived by now. I emailed you the reciept number on thursday or friday but I'll email you about it again when i get to work today.

Citronella collars (i've only recently learnt) aren't the best - though i would recommend consulting a professional before you go and buy or rent an e-collar. If you haven't used them before, finding the point where the dog recieves a correction can be hard. I'm sure there will be some people along soon who will be able to point you in the right direction state wise, but if you want to know more, have a look at the k9 force website there are some fact sheets on there about e-collars and steve i think only has a couple of kinds (the ones he considers the best) for sale on his website.

Argh! I was all set to take Zero to obedience yesterday and just before we were going to get ready to go, it started raining heavily! Oh well, i spoke to a friend about it and she's going to take her dog next week too and we can see what it's like. Both just need their basic obedience tested before we even think about training for trialling!

Happens here too! If I'm just going outside and put my tracksuit pants and trainers on he doesn't even look up, but if i do the same thing and we're going for a walk, he knows.... creepy dog!

Run free Sally

You'll officially be the first person from DOL i've met in person! How exciting! I'm really looking foward to that weekend! Zero is sooooo much better since I went to see steve last month - nearly a 180 degree turn around from what he was!

Are you going too Ruthless?

Argh - this is what happened to me. I was recommended a trainer who taught with corrections rather than praise. He told me he would clicker train, put a choke chain on Zero and pulled till he threw up. Friends of mine had booked appointments with the trainer and quickly cancelled them after i told them what had happened. Good on your daughter for giving her friend some sound advice!

For the moment I think i want to focus on his commands and us working together rather than looking foward to trialing so I'll have a look at hornsby on sunday and see what happens. It's not expensive to join or for classes so i'll just have a look and if i want to start trialing with him later i can try a different club. How exciting!

Hmmmm.... I might have to go and have a look at a few different places. I think i might have to go and do some obedience work with him first anyway - his recall is terrible atm!

I'll be there with Zero! Quick question B, what do we have to bring on the sunday with our dogs? Should i bring Zero's crate? He's fine with friendly dogs, but if everyone's dogs are dog aggressive, he'll be aggressive too if they bark and lunge at him while he's on lead! ETA: This might do well in general discussion too. A lot of people on there will want to come, though they might not look at the training boards.

Does anyone have any opinions about Hornsby Dog Training Club? They're not too far away from me and Zero travels well in the car... I think he could already do most of the things from the 1st class!

If you find somewhere to take Jedi, let me know TerraNik! You can teach me how you trained him to do all those tricks!! I think we're just about ready to try agility, though a weight in on saturday will tell me for sure. He could probably stand to lose some more kilos - but his back is solid and you can feel his spine, though not his ribs unless you really dig in - i was told that when i could run my fingers up his sides and feel his ribs with a little bit of pressure that he was the right weight. I think i'll step up his obedience at home for a couple of weeks and see how he does...

I also disagree with the off leash park idea. Zero is good there, but even still he has been attacked 3 or 4 times (one was quite severe and he got a bite to the face and lost some fur). He doesn't fight back when he is attacked, but he's not scared of them. If your pup is scared and gets attacked, it may become fear aggressive which is incredibly hard to cure. I would suggest some obedience lessons with other friendly dogs around - good for socialisation and good for focus.