baker_girl

Yes agreed. Which was kind of why I'm not really keen on the option. Yes I think the key is getting her to focus on me away from the distraction. I mean I have tried that and she is quite good....when there is nothing to distract her She just gets so excited to play. I'm hoping in time with persistent training but also once she socialises more around dogs she'll get better. I walk her everyday just to get her out there and experiencing different distractions, situations and environments.

Yeah read a few of the debates too on head halters Ok, I was considering clicker training as read a few good things about it on her but have to admit never done it before so will need to read up on it. So the idea is to click to redirect their attention away from the distraction and then treat but never to just use the clicker to make a distraction noise with no real purpose or goal and no reward? Yes we have obedience booked in for 3 weeks time which is the next class. Trainer said I could just try and hold out until then or try a few suggestions in the meantime. Currently I use a flat collar. When she pulls I try to make a noise to get her attention 'Ah' and then light pull on the leash to correct her back. Sometimes this works and sometimes she is too distracted. In those instances I have made her sit and wait till the distraction passes.

Hi All, My 4 and a half month old pup is learning really fast and training is going great. Our walks have been really enjoyable and I've been really consistent with training on the lead and getting her to walk nicely on a loose lead and not pulling. The biggest thing I am trying to discipline at the moment is not lunging, pulling or jumping whenever we walk past another person or dog. My dog gets really excited and I am finding it hard to know how to control this. I confirmed Basic Obedience training last night and while speaking with the trainer she suggested a few methods to try in the meantime such as: - Distraction techniques ie: light sparying with a water bottle or throwing a can of coins and the ground to get attention and break focus - Stopping and getting the dog to sit and then reward once distraction has gone past - Head Halter on walks for a few weeks to condition the beahviour you want and then test Anyway all those suggestions seemed fine and just considering what might work best. I've used a halti before but to me it was my last option of choice as my theory was I want to stop the beahviour all together rather than just use something that doesn't let her do it. Is this logic ok? I mean she is fine on walks but only when someone walks past does she try to challenge me and get closer to the other person/dog. So I would like to try and correct the problem then when she is doing it not for the entire walk with a Halti. I went to a pet store today just to see if they had any products I could use for distraction like a clicker or spray bottle. I asked the store assistant there and she told me she is also a trainer. She asked me the problem and straightaway before I finished explaining fully, she just told me to switch to a heald halter. I told her I didn't really want to for the same reasons above and she just reiterated how good it is. She told me negative reinforcement won't work as well as positive and that using a halti plus getting the dog to sit and wait and then treating is positive. To me, I always thought the halti was partially a negative reinforcement tool as most dogs really dislike them. I was a bit annoyed with how adamant she was with the product and eventually left because I didn't feel I'd get any other suggestions or options from there. Anyone else ever felt the same way or could offer some useful suggestions?

Walking is my most challenging ongoing training area at the moment. Not that it's bad but mine is only young so I need to keep her focused and reinforcing the training. Do you let them walk at their own pace? No. I want to control the pace we walk at and keep a fast pace while she's on lead and walking in the streets or at parks. Let them Stop, Sniff, Squat and or lift their leg when they want. Once she's released some of her initial energy I will let her sniff, squat etc because I have better control. Or Heal them and control the walk all the way. I'm training her to walk by my side the whole time. If I give her more lead to walk with, she will just pull at the moment.

KitKat, are you able to comment on the difference between the Royal Cannin retail line to the RC Veterinarian line? Both the retail and Vet brands have a specialised GSD or Lab formula in my case. There is a price difference though and I'm wondering if the retail version is just as good or comparable?

Ok thanks. Well I'll try to hold her by the collar gentley yet firmly. If the other dog approaching seems just as excited or off lead as I've experienced on some walks, I do try to avoid the situation all together. She's 4 months old and we've finished the puppy pre school classes which is what I mean by socilisation. The next step is basic obedience but the trainer we'd like to go with has advised waiting until 5 months.

Appropriate behaviour is NOT lunging or jumping at or towards other dogs. The trouble is, the pups are removed from their litter and we humans don't continue the education they would otherwise often learn. This inappropriate and rude 'greeting' is what causes many dog aggression incidents. So yes - it is good if you show your pup the way appropriate greeting and approach should be. Pups need to be shown the way to learning self control, just as human children do in the course of their development. I plan on going to further obedience once she's old enough. At the moment we've finished socialisation classes and just reinforcing the training learnt. To be honest I'm not sure what the best way to show a pup self control or how to do appropriate greetings. If I'm walking and I see another dog approaching, I don't want to completely steer clear because I think it's important to have that socialisation but I try to calm her by either getting her attention as we walk or even getting her to sit if she's overly excited?? Is that what's recommended? Should I just walk straight past so that she isn't so preoccupied with the other dog passing her??

Can I ask...with young pups that display similar beahviour to other dogs when walking, such as lunging or jumping to try and get to the dogs, should this behaviour be corrected early on? I know with young pups they are still excited and want to socialise with other dogs. I try to control my dog and get her to sit or not jump but is this normal beahviour early on?

It's important for large breeds to learn how to behave around small dogs, and for small dogs to get used to large breeds......I won't allow big dogs to jump on little dogs, but they can learn important lessons on how to behave around smallies without being allowed off lead play with them. When it's time for off lead play, I choose two pups at a time that will be compatible. In one class I had all large breeds and one tiny Chi girl.....for that class, she didn't get off lead play with any of the biggies, but with a bit of careful planning, she finished the course totally comfortable in the presence of biggies, and the biggies all learned to be calm & gentle in the presence of smallies. The best way to have a well rounded dog is to make sure they are safely exposed to as many different scenarios as possible....biggies will bump into littlies at some point in their life, and if the owners have learned how to handle the situation, there will be fewer tears at the dog park. I wondered this too sometimes about mixing the sizing of dogs together. I understand that they can all learn things from each other and most of the time it wasn't an issue. But when the dogs were off lead in our class, it was all dogs at the same time. There were quite a few smaller dogs in the mix which were so much more timid than the bigger dogs. I'd watch my lab constantly but sometimes she'd get excited and try to play with the smaller ones and I often got looks from the other owners?? I figure they're all pups and this is how they play and interact but often I felt guilty or bad if my dog was a bit rough while playing with the smaller ones.

Hi, I did puppy pre school through my local vet. The good- - 6 week course - $150 - Plenty of topics covered in class and opportunity to discuss any personal issues you were experiencing - Course included a training hand book - Course included an individual 30 minute session with the trainer to discuss any other concerns, issues, etc - Week 4 of the course was a dog free class the covered dog first aid and emergency situations - Treats were included - Plenty of off lead time to socialise with other pups The bad- - There were about 12 pups in a very small room. It was chaotic at times. I found the classes really helpful.

Hi Chia, I've just booked my pup in for when she's 6 months old to be desexed. I was quoted 11-20kg- $250 and then 21-30kg- $300. I think it goes by weight with most vets? To me your quote doesn't seem over the top? But I don't think there's anything wrong with calling around to compare vet fees.

I researched almost any pet insurer I could find and I found that Pet Plan was the only one I could find that rebates 100% of the bill after the $100 excess. You pay an excess per claim however only once per illness or condition. The only clause I could find with Pet Plan was you needed to keep up annual vacs but not dental check ups as another poster has said? With select or special breeds I recall you paid a slightly higher premium...I think.

I'm at work so can't listen to the video but what's to stop you from grinding too far just like if you were using traditional clippers? This would take longer than using clippers. I couldn't get my dog to sit that still for that long.

Jen, Can I ask who the insurer is? I see pet insurance similar to house and health insurance. You pay a great deal of money to be covered and for the most part you generally don't get to use it. However it is there in times of an emergency. I always get told to put the money aside for my health insurance rather than pay for it each month but in all honesty, if you were putting the money aside how often would it get used for what it's really for??

Hi, When you say antique effect do you mean make the colours sepia?

Hi COOBRI, I don't feed my dog BARF but from doing some research I found that BARF is an acroynm for "Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods" Direct Quote from http://www.ozpets.com.au/articles/191 BARF is about feeding dogs properly. The aim of BARF is to maximise the health, longevity and reproductive capacity of dogs and by so doing, minimise the need for veterinary intervention. How do you feed a dog properly? You feed it the diet that it evolved to eat. It's evolutionary diet. A Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet. A BARF diet. Hope this helps

Hi Everyone, I'm new here. I have a 4 month old lab and it's been many years since caring for a pup so I have found these forums very useful. Wondering if anyone can offer any advice about whether Proban can be used in conjunction with the following products: Advocate, active ingredients are moxidectin & imidacloprid and a Killtix collar, active ingredients are flumethrin a synthetic pyrethroid. Or if anyone is currently treating their pet with this combination of products? The below is an excerpt taken from a vet supply website in regards to the use of Proban. I am just trying to determine if the produts I currently use go against what is recommended? I've had a vet supply website say it's ok because the tick collar and advocate are not OP based products but then the actual manufacture of Proban email me and say yes to Advantix (which is not what I emailed about) but no to Killtix. Even though the website excerpt below states that any pyrethrin based products are ok? Proban should not be used with other organophosphate (OP) based products including rinses, shampoos, sprays, collars & other OP-based oral treatments. It is safe to use with Program, Sentinel, Frontline, Advantage, Capstar and all pyrethrin or permethrin based products. I've had a dog tie from a tick before so I am extremely paranoid plus my area is high risk. I was considering putting my dog on Proban just for the Summer months. Thanks

Hi Guys, I'm new here so hi to all. I've got a 4 month old labrador and it's been quite a few years since I've had a puppy to care for and finding this site full of great advice. I'm especially keeping an eye on this thread because I am currently considering switching my girl from Eukanuba large breed puppy formula. Botheration, I found your info and the website really useful. Thanks. I had a look and the Orijen definately seems to be a great dog food. I was just wondering if you or anyone else who might be using Orijen was concerened at all with the amount of protein in this brand of dog food? The Orijen large breed puppy has 42% protein I noticed. The review comments on the Dog Analysis website did state that this brand might not be great for pups or large breeds due to that. Did you hear any advice otherwise?