megan_

Ask him about hte type of dog that he wants. How much exercise will it get? How much time with the family? There are many allergy friendly dogs around (if the allergy is to hair and not to dander etc). They do have very different temperaments though and might not suite everyone.

the problem with "yes" is that you use it a lot in normal conversation, whereas a clicker is a special marker. I only use the clicker for free shaping. This way my boy sees the clicker and knows he has to try different things. His eyes light up when I bring out the clicker and he immediately starts touching things with his nose and paw! As a general marker I use a verbal command ("yes").

This pup is 6 months old and 10kg (so not tiny). If this were my dog and he was still active and drinking water, I'd give him a bland diet for a few days. If he didn't pick up by day 3, off to the vets. Yes, it could be the start of IBS, but very, very unlikely. Lots of pups get upset tummies. Mine get the occasional muccussy stool after too much rich food (lamb necks).

What about a mini schnauzer? Mine seem to be smart - they cope with my awful handling. I don't compete in agility or obedience, but if I put in the effort I think they could do well. both also have a great prey drive. when my firl is focused on something she can be very quick - even with those stumpy MS legs.

My dogs always stay at All Breeds Kennels in Lyndhurst and get a daily training session from Erny (Judi from ProK9 in real life). They absoultely love it. I want the training so they don't get bored. It has also helped my fearful girl become more confident. To the OP - I highly recommend All Breeds and Erny. The kennels themselves aren't fancy-schmansy, but are fully air-conditioned/heated (most aren't in Melbourne) and they get 3 play times a day (a lot of the very fancy ones get 2, or you have to pay for each session). The staff are also really great and handled by girl as per my instructions and didn't fuss over her. It was more cost effective for me to send them to All Breeds and have training than it would have been to send them to one of the fru-fru kennels. ETA: I have two mini schnauzers and I always talk to Erny (and sometimes call her Erny in real life...) about what I want her to focus on. Most of the stuff is just for fun anyway (trick training) with some more 'serious" stuff thrown in if required.

I suggest buying/borrowing the Really Reliable Recall DVD - it explains a lot of concepts that need to work together to get a recall. I think you also need to build up her level of distraction very slowly, to ensure she gets a win 99.99% of the time. With the long line, if she doesn't look back when you call her name, jiggle the lead. When she looks back give her a "good girl" then call 'come" in your most exciting voice. Run backwards with a "pup, pup, pup", moving your hands (I clap ). When she comes to you, your reward needs to be really good. Break her treat into tiny little pieces and give them to her slowly. If she loves a pat and rub, get down to her level and give her a cuddle. Basically, if you're not looking like a crazy lady then you aren't going to be exciting enough. Then, and this is the most important bit, release her. Don't ever call her just when you're wanting to leave, otherwise she'll learn that coming to you means the end of fun. If, when you call come, she ignores you, I'd walk up to her and use a non reward marker (mine is "too bad") only let her have 1m of leash and walk for a minute, not letting her play or sniff. Basically, the rules are "if you listen to me, we have fun,. If you don't fun stops". Some other tips which might help: * When you are at home, you can play the name game with her. Hide and call her name in a happy voice. When she comes to you, treat, play etc. This helps teach her to respond to her name and to find you (rather than you chasing after her). * Try reducing using her name unless you want something from her. If you use her name all the time it will lose its meaning. Make "Honey" a special word. I talk to my dogs all the time so I have some nicknames that I use. When you do use her name and she responds, praise her. * I can't remember where I learnt this recall technique, but I'm trying it out now and it seems to be effective. Basically get 10 of her favourite treats. These treats must only be used for this exercise. When she is near you (just naturally, you don't call her), say your recall word and give her a treat. Do this 10 times a day for 3 weeks (always when the dog is near you). After 3 weeks, stand in another room and use the word. If she runs to you then the conditioning has worked. If not, go back to step 1. Repeat and build up. Th RRR trainer says that dogs need to be given a lot of off leash time even when they're not 100% trained otherwise the risk of them running off is greater. The caveat though is that this must always be in a safe place. If she was my dog, I'd only take her to fenced parks for now.

They are staff x's - dozens of these are put down every day, and they haven't attacked and killed other dogs. It is all very well to say that these dogs don't deserve to die, but what can realistically happen to them? No rescue group would ever take them on - the liability would be too much. The owner is a moron and couldn't be trusted to look after them.

Ill have a chat to them on the weekend. I agree KL - it was a really large bone, way to big for a small dog. I also have two dogs and worry that they might fight over food (unlikely, but why take the risk).

OT but my cousin has a 5 month old standard schnauzer puppy, and a 13 year old mini schnauzer. They both get along very well. She is a quieter dog though (the puppy) and they get plenty of time apart. To the OP - The people who take on the kelpie will have to do a LOT of work, regardless of what work you do with the dog. Do they really want a kelpie? I know people who want one because they are smart and loyal dogs - they don't realise that you need to put in a lot of work with a smart, energetic dog.

It is fresh and uncooked - it still has pink bits in the bone. I haven't ever given him a bone this big. It was really hard. RE; baits in bone, this is what I thought. There may have been some meat on the bone but he hasn't eaten it. I assume that someone would use steak instead to ensure all the poison was eaten.

When I got home today Fergus was eating strange bone that I definitely didn't give him - it is very big (looks like beef spine??). I am very worried about poisoning. I phoned the emergency vet and they said if it was snail bait he would have reacted immediately. However, if it was rat bait it would take 3 - 5 days to show and it wouldn't show up on a blood test yet. I really hope that it was some well meaning soul who thought they were giving him a treat. My only consolation is that if someone were baiting a dog, surely they would put it in a piece of meat that would be eaten whole and not a bone with meat on it?

Yes, it is extraordinary isn't it? They don't seem to have the mental capacity to put the two things together. His dogs would go being held and probably wagging their tails. The other poor little things went in fear, horror and pain. And that is what their owner, poor poor man , will be living with for the rest of his life. Yes - and you don't leave a fence unrepaired so your kids can go roaming.

My guess is when they see what a Lagotto costs, they may reconsider that. Yip. Also, does he know that there are 3 poodle sizes? Many people don't and wrongly assume that the mini poodles are the very small ones. The toys are very small, but I've seen some reasonably sized minis.

Lucy chewed through my dog belt - and ate the zipper - to get to a few treats. The toys definitely need to be used while under supervision!

I have the brick puzzle and the tornado - my dogs love "puzzle time".

Most dog behaviour books say that the cocked head is a calming signal - the dog doesn't understand what is being asked of it. My dogs do this if I put on my "talking to the dogs" and just say random words.

That isn't correct either. You can have a delayed reaction. My cousin got a dog and her husdand and child were fine for a few months. They then both reacted severly (at different times) and had to go to emergency. Both were fine after the dog was responsibly rehomed.

It depends. Some people are allergic to the skin (dander) and some are allergic to the hair.

That's a bit rude, a full on teenage Wei is not for everyone. Finding the dog that is suitable is all that is needed. I dont know about that... I'd probably be pretty defensive if it was my breed too. The dog is only behaving exactly the way you would expect a dog of that breed and age to act. The OP made a mistake in choosing a Wei (or any large breed, high energy dog) if she cannot/does not want to deal with that kind of behaviour. But no point in flaming now, the deed is done, she is returning the dog and I think she has learnt her lesson too. I disagree, just because one individual of a breed does not suit a situation does not mean the OP shouldn't have a dog. This dog also sounds as if it has not had a lot of groundwork put into it before the OP took it on, if it had it could well have been much more suitable. head to the wei forum & read there A wei might not be the right dog for this person, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't own any dog. I couldn't handle a wei but have two well loved mini schnauzers. Also, rescues have settling in periods for a reason. During that time it is perfectly acceptable - even encouraged - that if someone isn't happy with the dog they return them. It isn't rehoming the dog - it is simply not going through with the adoption.

you obviously haven't read many of Jed's posts. She is not a BYB breeding because puppies are cute.

Mine eat grass and they get a combination of EP Holistic and raw. There output is fine and their health is good. Some dogs just like eating grass. Maybe the dog roll is contributing to the stink? I find if I feed too much raw my girl gets an upset tummy, hence the combo.

Gillypoo - no one is saying GSD's are nasty. They are saying some dogs have different playing styles and they can get hurt. Not all dogs are meant to play together. If I had a chi I wouldn't let it play with large dogs at a park

I go to off leash parks all the time. I have a tiny, tiny back yard so my dog needs to run. Mine are also small (~10kgs) so I don't let them play with larger dogs or dogs that have very different playing styles (eg dogs who like wrestling, my boy loves to run and be chased). Most of the time I only let him play with dogs that I know or dogs that are smaller enough for me to physically stop them if things turn nasty. I honestly believe that while some large dogs may play well with small ones, it isn't worth the risk unless I know them very well. I wouldn't imagine that a GSD and a toy poodle have similar playing styles anyway. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but I wouldn't risk it.

Personally, when I feed BARF I don't do the pattie thing - I think they're contrary to what DrB originally promoted. I use meaty bones (chicken wings and lamb necks), occasionally give them a bit of offal, and vege slop thing with a few sardines. I wouldn't feed my dogs mince as it doesn't contain bone (unless it is pet-grade chicken mince) and their teeth don't get cleaned.

It depends on what they do too. I opted for pre-blood tests and having a nurse in with the vet. Some vets are cheap because they don't have all the monitoring equipment