wuffles

Do you think that's because that's what she's used to, though, rather than just being restless? My girl could certainly go and go and go, but she knows that evenings are for resting and hanging out, so she rarely tries anything. Not saying that's definitely the case, but it's interesting :)

Interestingly, I think my anxiety-prone girl is better the more you allow/expect her to "chill" and "relax". Routine is essentially the most important thing to her. Giving her more exercise or training than she is used to doesn't make her more chilled. It almost fires her up.

That's the reason why you won't find it in any of the other parks. It was recommended against by the working group that helped set them up. It's unsafe if folk don't know what they are doing and frankly I think its a crash hazard in an offlead area. I was there one day when a young Akita actually ran head first into a concrete tunnel and knocked herself out Thankfully the vet was just down the road and there was no lasting damage, but it was so scary

Forde has "agility" equipment. IMO it's not particularly safe for the dogs to use the equipment but each to their own! It's a tiny park though, not really enough room to run around much. And it's tan bark, not grass! Nice and quiet though :D Casey is just down the road. It's a nice big park, no equipment but lots of trees, rocks, exploring places.

I wonder if they're going to do their Christmas shipping offer again? There are some toys I want not on the list this time! :laugh:

My big boy is too.

melzawelza, I applied the test you link to, to my two dogs. Of course hypothetically as I don't know how they would react in a kennel environment, so I tended to mark them a bit tough as to what they COULD do in that environment. One scored 80, the other 105. The one who scored 105, I would call the more stable dog :laugh: Interesting that I would call both of mine completely dog friendly, however they both wouldn't score too well on that part of the test (wonder what the points would be if they stood stiff, high tail wag, hackles, head high.... then play bowed)

IMO it depends on their definition of "overt aggression" and the situation.

I can't help either, however, one of my dogs suddenly developed a fear of, well... eating. He wouldn't eat out of his bowl, or take biscuits from our hand, but would still eat off the ground in a different spot (ie. inside the house). If you put his bowl down with food he'd back away from it looking frightened. He gradually got better over the course of about 3-4 weeks and we haven't had any issues since. We (and the vet) actually concluded in his case that he had most likely been stung by a bee/insect while eating, as the day it started I did notice quite a few bees hanging around. He is also a bit special, so I think for some dogs it doesn't take much to build that negative association Good luck finding answers

Mine like bully sticks the best, they also seem to be best for their teeth. They do stink though!

WOW Tassie, that is an amazing brag for you and Kirra! I am super impressed!

My parents' neighbours' have a lovely 7 month old toy poodle and they are in their 90s. He is much loved, well looked after and completely happy.

I think the "average" dog is $300 but I looked on their site and they had some puppies for $650 and some for $900.

Simply Grand - As a pup, Ava was a little flirty social butterfly with anyone and everyone, including dogs. Once she hit about 18 months she decided she was a big girl and is now reserved around strange people and dogs. She is also very, very protective. But put her in a group of people/dogs she knows and she reverts to the flirty social butterfly :)

I agree on the talking - she probably didn't need it but I kept saying "good staaaay... goooood staaayyy" just in case :laugh:

Yep Tassie we were all a bit surprised :laugh: But for the record no dogs had any trouble with the honor exercise, and none had trouble ignoring the other dog while going around the course.

Not all the same, all require different skills! We have a Squirrel Dude, Twist N Treat, Kong, Buster Cube, a different (smaller) cube, a Kong Leo Genius... I rotate them each day :)

My dog does obedience, rally obedience and agility. After teaching the basics of each, she doesn't get confused :) If you want to be the top competitor in your chosen sport/discipline then I would say stick with one, but if you just want to have fun then dogs can definitely be allrounders.

Bumping this up because our trial was yesterday! Just thought I'd mention that the two honor signs were smack bang in the middle of the course so make sure you practice for that if you are doing Excellent!! I just assumed that the exercise would be done near the start/finish but they were both in the middle (and one quite close to a jump) :)

Well done Spartan, Jazz, Gabby and any other superstars I've missed! We had our first two Rally Excellent courses last night and got a Q in both. We also have a bunch of different breeds competing here in Canberra. One of my friends got her first Rally Novice Q with her jack russell x pug, and another with a little terrier cross Just a note on the pivot ST, I have a bung right knee and foot, and I don't find it difficult... I lift my heel while keeping my toes on the ground and no judges have had a problem with that I think the most difficult for some handlers are multiple serpentines or spirals because those can make you so dizzy! However I do believe some of the exercises are difficult for older dogs... but I guess still passable, so you just have to find what works for you and your dog.

Snook, was there a reason some dogs can see it and some can't, even on the newer TVs? We have a plasma, one of my dogs is an avid TV watcher but the other appears to simply not be able to see anything on it (or maybe he just doesn't know what it is). If a cat comes on TV, Ava watches it on the screen whereas Satchmo just stares intently at the speakers.

Oh, just thought I'd add, the dogs can stick their heads through the edges of the WalkyGuard which isn't desirable. I discouraged it but they still did it.

I think ours was the older version. It should fit a Liberty wagon but don't quote me on it :)

dandybrush our WalkyGuard survived a pretty nasty head on crash with both dogs in the back (50kg+ worth of dog). To be fair they were asleep so didn't really hit the bars :p They are pretty sturdy. Edited to add: They actually don't fit all cars, they wouldn't fit in our Mazda 323. They also didn't fit in the Toyota Corolla wagon but we put them in backwards which worked :p

Gosh thank you everyone for your stories. Until now I'd really only been able to find horror stories so this makes me feel better. I'm going to talk to the chiro vet for a second opinion, then take it from there.