megan_

A standard and a rotti and a sharpei? Might have the same problems that you'd have with a staffy? From the standards that I've sen I wouldn't call them laid back or cruzy with other dogs. The minis are far more like this. Don't standards need to be hand stripped for showing, or is that only the minis?

http://www.theage.com.au/national/pit-bull...00128-mzsi.html

that said, Barney definitely isn't on the register - his coat is all wrong! He looks like an F1 cross

And as much as I HATE BYB's and puppy farmers, not everyone producing a non-AKNC dog is a backyard shyster as you put it . There are ethical breeders producing White Shepards and Australian Bulldogs that aren't shysters - and yet their dogs aren't recognised by the AKNC 9neither are boerbuls, lurchers etc).

Have you tried one of the prescription diets from Hills or Eukaneuba? They reeeally help the dog recover from gastro etc. I used this with my boy and then slowly (after a month or so on the rescrited diet) introduced a chicken wing, then back to the prescription diet to check that all was settled, another chicken wing etc.

I would be really worried about him not getting enough calcium (assuming that the mince if of the beef variety and not chicken which contains a lot of bone - but not much meat)- does he get any bones to eat? Personally, I think you either need to research raw very well (and BARF is just one raw diet) or stick to a high quality kibble and give hima chicken wing/lamb neck every few days. A good commercial diet is much better than a really crap "natural" one.

Unfortunately some people are just dog brokers and/or hoarders and use the rescue tag to appear legitimate.

other animals are restrained though. You are lucky you don't have an extremely prey driven dog. You are richly blessed ;-)

Funnily enough everyone I know who has titles doesn't train at a club and doesn't recommend it either. Many people I have spoken to say that clubs are for pet owners (too much distraction, not enough flexibility with methods etc). The club I used to train at only taught luring, for example. No one was ever encouraged to tug with the dog - it was pot luck who your trainer was.

Not as simple though as producing and F1 cross as the final outcome, that will not produce puppies that are true to type. The majority of cross-bred dog breeders aim only to produce F1 crosses, so any cross-breed argument in the development of a "breed" is a moot point. The end result of the breed development of the Golden Retriever was a dog that bred true to type, known as a purebred. There was also a rationale behind the development of the breed, something like a retriever that also was a good swimmer. There is no sane rationale for the current breeding of cross-breeds, the only driving force being money. but the OP asked the question if cross-breeders did all the "right" things (trying to breed true to type, health testing etc) would everyone still be against it? That is the question being asked, not "how do we all feel about those puppy farmers churning out dd's for profit?".

Well then, don't go to his establishment - easy. I really wish Roxy Lady would come into this thread and comment about your extended family in the manner that you did about hers. But then, she's got too much class .

This thread started out really useful. but then the usual suspects came in. Pity. BTW - my cousin who has 10 kids loves going away with her hubby once a year. Her only stipulation is that there must be no kids around. Apparently that makes her evil and no one should cater to her needs. Pity.

This thread started out really useful. but then the usual suspects came in. Pity. BTW - my cousin who has 10 kids loves going away with her hubby once a year. Her only stipulation is that there must be no kids around. Apparently that makes her evil and no one should cater to her needs. Pity.

It's called Market Research, Chewbacca. yeah, if people don't want to respond they don't need to.

Pure bred is different from pedigreed.

no - it isn't promoting cross breeds at all. Cosmolo -= if they were doing these things and making intelligent crosses (ie working towards a standard, compatible breeds, bred for a real reason etc) then I wouldn't have a problem with them. That is how most breeds today have been developed.

well done on the BF. Incident 1 I don't think you can blame the dog. Many a good dog has nipped when being woken up. I agree that you should get some professional advice. Also, assess how YOUR relationhsip has changed with the dogs. Are they getting the same amount of attention? Are you going out more? Has their routine changed? Maybe also keep the dogs off the bed.

for that whole post spottychick but particularly the bolded parts. I bet it was just trying to get the toy and got carried away. How long you reckon it'll take before 'someone who knows the family' comes in and tells us we're all being big meanies who don't know anything about the situation? yip - no way a 4 year old could fight off a staffy that meant business

Lucy Recall General socialisation, especially with people Some clicker training with shaping for fun (eg get in the box) Getting her into the heel position. This is hard becasue she jsut doesn't "get" luring Stop barking once I've answered the door Fergus Tricks for fun Heeling - haven't really tried it with him

Is this Glen Eira vet?

Oh wow, that's pretty good then. Which insurance do you use? Maybe it's something to consider for our new puppy even though we haven't used it for our cats. Cats seem to cost a lot less when they need to go to the vet...and being indoor cats it's usually a very rare occurance. PetPlan

It all depends. A bad bout of gastro cost me $3800! I got $3700 back. He was under 2 years old when he got it, so even if I had saved his insurance mone, I wouldn't have had enough to cover the treatment.

Agree 100%. Cesar says that you shouldn't try any of the stuff he does at home without a professional consult! He is also dealing with some very difficult dogs and the methods he uses (eg rolling) aren't applicable to most dogs. I do like his mantra Exercise then Discipline then Affection - keep that in mind when dealing with your dog and things will go a lot more smoothly. Save your money and use it for classes.

So you've decided to take it easy then?

This is one method, but some trainers (eg Uta Bindels) don't advocate luring when using the clicker. Rather, they prefer free shaping. Also, I believe that, with the clicker training methodology, you must ALWAYS give the dog a treat after you have clicked - even if you have clicked in error. A click is a promise that you will treat. To answer the OP's question, I could be wrong here but Uta believes that the click is also a release, so the exercise is over the second you have clicked - so the "move to get the treat" is not being re-inforced - the dog is free to move where it likes. I hope someone from teh seminar comes along and explains it better than me! She is a 5 times World Champion so must know what she's talking about.