megan_

I agree Greytmate. The people who think that all dogs are equal are the real reason why we'll land up having all dogs banned. What kind of person wants a dog that is HA (not just weary)?

Cosmolo's walks are training walks so are more expensive -but your dog gets training too. Woofers have a sliding scale. I pay $25 per walk three tomes per week. My boy had known them since he was a pup and has a great recall. If your dog doesn't have a good recall with a range of people, I think they can do an on lead walk with your dog only

Immonm Y iPhone so I can't see the byline- what area of melbourene? I'm in SE melbourne and use underdog (cosmolo on this forum) for onlead training walks and woofers world for off leash walks

All the lagottos I've met (all 2 of them!) have been very nervy. They have good owners that have put a lot of work into them too.

serves me right for not reading it properly :-).

Where did they call for a breed ban? They said "dogs like this shouldn't be in suburbia". I read that as "dogs who are HA and attack without provocation. I tend to agree with them there.

Have you tried tugging? At agility on Sunday, someone used a leaf as a motivator for their dog, so the possibilities are endless! The great thing about food is that it is instant and quick. Once you know what your dog likes, you can transfer that value to food too.

someone also posted about leaving the food in different spots when training (eg on the bench, out of reach of the dog), using a marker word when the dog gets it right and then running with the dog to get the treat. This way the dog doesn't assume no treat on you = no treat. I've stopped using a treat bag all together and just use a jacket with pockets.

If you post in the rescue section I'm sure they'll be snapped up quickly

Great post dee_lee. Adding to the mix is that the vast majority of dog owners don't have a clue and even if you manage your dog and only take it for walks on leash etc, you will often encounter off leash dogs. If you politely ask people to keep their dog away, they more often than not ignore you or have no control over their dog. Something as simple as going for a walk becomes a stressful, risky experience. I am no expert on dog behaviour, but I don't believe that many dogs can actually be truely rehabilitated (ie never having to worry about DA again). It is easy to say that the dog's behaviour should be managed, but it is a very hard (and often impossible) thing to do. ETA: We have responsbility to our dogs, but also to the community, our families and other pets.

I "think" Baby Dragon has a list of harnesses that have actually passed crash testing.

yeah, that was Sandgrubber's intent...join a dog forum over many years, makes thousands of posts, just to turn us Aussies into Yanks. BTW, the difference between their and there has nothing to do with Amercianisation, so I don't know what you're on about. This is a dog forum. If you want to correct basic English all the time I suggest you become a primary school teacher.

Huh? It is naive to think all dogs ate the same. If all dog owners understood their breed charactaristics and managed the accordingly their would be far fewer aggressive incidents and parks would be s lot safer. The most anti bsl people will tell you this. Caesar Milan - who loves and owns pitbulls- talks about their da tendencies and how they need to be managed. A whippets tendencies are different to a gsd's. If all breeds are the same we should get rod of most of them and have one dog available in small, medium and large

Bull breeds have the tendency to be da - not all are, but they were originally bred for fighting - and killing - other dogs. What's a DA Breed??????

I assume you mean mini schnauzers? Schnauzers (the name for the standard variety) are very rare in Australia. I own mini schnauzers (one is a cross and is the lovliest dog who gets on with everyone). A well socialised, well BRED one shouldn't be like this but I agree - I have seen so many crazy devil mini schnauzers. I think this is a case of poor breeding (they're very popular with puppy farmers) and poor socialisation. Too often terrier owners seem to excuse bad behaviour because "that is how terriers are".

Just to reply to this, I don't think it is only yobbos that are the problem. The dog that is in its yard all day isn't going to attack my dogs. I am far more nervous of well meaning owners who think all dogs are the same and that their dog will automatically want to play with other dogs. The staffy-types at my local park that get into trouble are these ones. The ones that have cluey owners that actually interact with their dog away from the packs seem to stay out of trouble.

I do. I don't have a problem with it. I have small dogs so I stay away from large, powerful high prey drive breeds. I don't think this is a bad thing - it is sensible. I also cross the road when I see them, even if they're on leash. One lunge and my guys are dead. My dogs safety is my priority, not someone else's feelings.

As the owner of an ex-puppy farm dog I fully understand someone returning one. I love her with all my heart but it is very, very hard work and very, very stressful - and expensive too. Not everyone - most people in fact - can look after an ex-puppy farm dog. I would be suprised if she was adopted out before foster and rehab.

I've used Erny at All Breeds, but yes, she's a bit busy at the moment. I believe Cosmolo (Tamara from Underdog) does a similar thing at Abba Kennels and I'd highly recommend her.

When my boy was a puppy I used a dog walking service to visit him and play - from about 14 weeks. They then started taking him on little walks and it grew from there. He loves them and they still visit 3 years on. I don't know where you are but they service bayside and SE suburbs (woofers world). Mr cosmolo walks my spechul girl once a week too. Just remember that it is normal to feel guilty, but dogs are resilient and often adjust to the bumps in the road. I'm away from home 12 hours a day during the week - not ideal, but they cope. I walk them before and after work, have the dog walkers and do agility on the weekend- they seem to cope fine.

I find it I try to keep too still I get tense - and I don't want training to be like that. So I just relax and smile. If I move, I move - my dogs just need to get used to how I am :-)

Regardless of the laws, two loose dogs in an accident with your kids in the car is a recipe for disaster (not aimed at the OP, who is asking for solutions!). Mine are in seatbelts. I realise they aren't real seatbelts but it means they won't be projectiles in an accident. If you have a wagon can you put crates in the back? Personally, I'm not a fan of crates in cars unless well fitted because they can move around a fait bit in an accident too.

you can adjust the treat release thing on the bob-a-lot.

I bought one from clickertraining.com/store for about $13 + postage (and I bought other stuff so the postage landed up being a few dollars per item. Even though I entered in an international address the shipping charge didn't update?).

PF, I feel the need to clarify. I only ever go around the perimeter, and in Victoria there is no restriction on the public bringing their dog to a show other than the Royal, as another poster has explained. I certainly haven't seen any signs out and about? She is very comfortable in large crowds. We belong to more than one dog training club and she does agility. I am not using the two shows that I went to as a subsitute for dealing with behavioural issues (I'm pretty sure that both Erny and Cosmolo could attest to that). Rather, it is one of the few environments where I don't have someone trying to pat her because she is cute and when I say "please just ignore her" non-dog savvy people crouch down and talk to her in a baby voice. I have never experienced that at a show because most people are focusing on their own dog and not on her. If I thought for a second that she would react in this environment then she wouldn't be there. KCC isn't a law-free area for non-ANKC members. If one of my dogs attacks anyone, I will still be legally liable for the damages, have a dangerous dog declaration and you could still sue me civily. You'd also have plently of witnesses. As I said in my original post, I have never had any indiction that I was doing the wrong thing. If it is such a big deal we won't step a foot on the showgrounds ever again . Megz - I have no expection of being covered by the CC's public liability insurance - that is why I have my own.