Red Fox

Why? Because they refuse to support people who are destroying the breeds that they are working so hard to preserve and improve?

Awesome so nobody's calling her a "Cavoodle" or "Poovalier" so what's the issue? Are pictures not to be taken of innocent cross bed dogs? Would you care if he'd chosen a kelpie X cattle dog? The issue is that Peter Alexander is a big company. Their catalogues are distributed to hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom will be easily influenced by what they see. "oooohhhhh pink PJ's, must get some" ... "OOOhhhh DD dog, must get one!" And sadly these DD's are a dime a dozen at the local pet shop as the latest 'must have' right now for anyone who wants one I suppose the 'breed' here (cav x poodle) becomes an issue as it's one that is commonly pumped out by PF's and BYB's but then the same could be said about certain purebreeds too... including some that were on the original list. At the end of the day this dog could be a pound dog or a rescue for all anyone knows and she is certainly a much loved pet. However it will be interesting to see how she (along with the others) are 'marketed' in the catalogue. And to be honest I (personally) am disappointed that the PA team strayed from the original list. It *was* a brilliant opportunity to promote purebreed dogs... I'd equally have loved to see some advertising done strictly with pound dogs - regardless of breed.

Doesn't look like it! Hmmm... unless she is a rescue I think these owners got ripped off! I was really hoping she was just an ungroomed poodle... Wheren't they originally looking for a white standard poodle in a show clip though eta, just had a look at the piccie and have to give the owner credit that she at least named the dog as a cross and not with a stupid DD name ...and is that a Xolo I see backing the purebreeds? You are right though. A BIG company like PA could do a lot to raise awareness of BYB and puppy farming.

Is that the add where the guy wins the lotto and lets all the dogs out of the pound? Off to Youtube to have a look :p

Kei didn't like the 'oodly dog We had a look through earlier and he started making a funny little howling noise at that pic as if to say "Nooooooooo!" or perhaps he was just hungry and saying "stop looking at the bloody computer screen woman and get me my dinner" could have been either ;) Is the whippet a DOL dog? He is lovely looking, very regal. Not particularly taken with any of the others that were chosen. I did spot a few DOL dogs in the fan photos though eta, just saw the dally ;) didn't see that one earlier on?

Agreed. Just because a dog can survive on a vegetarian diet, doesn't mean it will thrive or even do reasonably well on one. Unless there is some kind of medical problem that is preventing the dog from eating meat/animal products then why would you want to do that? Dogs are not humans, they have no desire to eat 'ethically' or 'save the environment' they need what they need and that includes meat/bones/organ meat, as an owner it's your responsibility to provide that (in the form of fresh or commercial food). Thats the reality of owning a dog. answer = ridiculous!

Ruffwear are good. I dont have a backpack but do have a webmaster harness (which is essentially what is underneath the backpack) and am very happy with it http://waggle.com.au/dog-supplies-m2/dog-b...acks-c14/page-1

In answer to your question, yes training is necessary BUT training at a club is optional

This probably has to do with the fact that you can't trial a dog in a harness. No point moving up through the classes with the eventual goal of putting an obedience title on the dog if you can't work your dog on a collar... efs

Awww... how could anyone resist Emmy? Good luck to all the danes too

I received this link in an email today and thought I'd post it here in case any Sydney DOLers are interested. It's a photo call for the the Peter Alexander catalogue. Pure breeds only http://peteralexander.com.au/tem/PA_peters...Click=photocall "Hello Sydney-siders, and general dog lovers! I am doing a photo shoot for my next catalogue in Sydney on the 17th or 18th of June and I'm needing some really 'posh' looking dogs for my shoot. So, who has a gorgeous dog and is free to come to Alexandria (Sydney) for an hour on either of these dates? I am going to be very fussy about which dogs I use so I would need to see a photo first, 'a bit like a model casting'. You would be rewarded for your time with a PA gift voucher plus your dog would be named in my catalogue! What I am after are the following pure breeds ... Bull dog or French bull dog Chihuahua Giant white groomed poodle Afghan White boxer Labrador / Golden Retriever puppy that is white or blonde Dachshund Chow Dalmatian Great Dane Shar Pei All you need to do is simply post your dog's photo on my page by Monday 14th June! If you live near Alexandria in Sydney (that's where the shoot is) and your dog is interested in being a star please respond. Love "

The injection that your vet has mentioned is for heartworm only. It wont cover anything else, it is very expensive, you will still have to give a 3 monthly intestinal wormer (and personally I would never do it due to the associated risks). We use Intercepter here, (one every 6 weeks) which covers heartworm and intestinal worms. We've never had a flea problem so i don't treat for that (though you could try Sentinal if you have fleas in your area, or think you may come into contact with them. It wont kill fleas but will stop them breeding if any land on your dog). Interceptor is also quite cost effective. Depending on the size of your dog it works out to be approx $55-$85 per year. Sentinal is a little more expensive at $125-$155. Still, it is MUCH cheaper than giving the injection + intestinal wormers 3-4 times per year + flea treatment! As you're in SA you really dont need to worry about ticks. Heartworm, I'm in two minds about.. I'd prefer not to but we are in an area that seems to be infested with mozzies (near the river) so I'm not willing to risk it without more info. The city may be different?.. I'm not keen on the spot ons either. They are toxic to cats and if I remember correctly there was a story about a dog who lay down in it's crate after treatment and the spot on melted the plastic tray!! Not sure that's something I'd like to use on my dogs skin! I get my stuff from here: http://www.petcareshop.com.au/index.php?cPath=24

K9 Pro for leather leashses and now awesome leather collars!! AirDogs do fur tugs and foxtails. Otherwise you could try your local op shop for old fur coats. Ebay is good for this too

Stormy, do you find that the GWN is a lot warmer than the sweaters? I'm thinking about ordering Kei one for the colder nights when the sweater is just not warm enough.

Hear this all the time OMG, I have heard that too The stupidest one I have heard is that : If you want to train a dog anything you need to break their spirit first Ummm... no

BB has his points to make. Some of them I think have been misunderstood. Some I agree with. Some I don't. But then I view many posts from different people in the same way. Everyone's entitled and I think the above is a bit nasty and that people are tending to gang and jump a bit too much and easily. X2 x3 There is a lot that can be gained from listening, whether you agree or not

Could the diet have simply been too high in protein? Innova and Artemis are both grain free foods as far as I'm aware (though I'm not sure if they are also high protein??) Or it could even be a reaction to a certain ingredient or protein source. Have you tried a more natural diet such as BARF? What are you feeding now? Might be worthwhile bringing it up with your vet to see what they suggest.

Agreed and agreed Lanabanana- There's been some great info in this thread and lots of differing opinions, but tempting as it is don't go off and try them all. Find a good trainer (perhaps a couple of private lessons), find a tool and method that works for your dog and stick to it. As with anything consistancy is the key If you plan to try the clicker you are going to need to build up a strong foundation with it first which is fairly simple but may take some time. Another thing to keep in mind is that a large excited dog, a clicker and a pouch full of treats is not the easiest of things to juggle. One thing you could consider is to use a marker word as opposed to a clicker. There are downfalls (you have to be careful to use the same word and the same tone of voice where-as a clicker is a consistant and distinct sound) but if you can manage then it's one less thing to juggle and may help with your timing. Just a thought.

No, but I think it's made for a very interesting discussion

Good question. If I was genuinely concerned that the dog might redirect to the handler I would suggest a head halter, either a Gentle Leader or the Black Dog model so that the handler can control the dog's head and mouth easily. But if you put an aggressive dog in a head collar would it not be lunging all over the place too? Why would you not muzzle the dog instead? (again, genuine questin) I think people do get dependent on correction collars. But the problem there though is not the tool it's the method - if you are becoming relient on ANY tool then you are not training llw correctly. I didn't think you would. But keeping in mind that this is a public forum it is worthwhile pointing that out What would you use on a dog that you thought was likely to redirect Cosmolo?

Yeah I dont think so either so hopefully he will come back and clarify. You know Steve spies on us though ....he's probably reading this thread right now!

Sorry, perhaps that was the wrong choice of words. You'd want to break the dogs attention before he actually reached that stage and walking away may achieve that... But are you saying that if the dog does reach that stage, if the dog is that far gone, that you really have the leverage to simply walk away? Would the dog not be pulling all over the place by that stage? Lunging, carrying on etc? Would it really be that easy? And as I just asked Aidan, what would you do if the dog then turned his agression on the handler? I'm not trying to argue, I'm simply curious.

Provided the owner doesn't pander to this (i.e worry about it, remove the head collar, let the dog go back to pulling on a flat collar) then it usually passes soon enough. Personally, of all the dogs I have ever introduced to a head collar, none of them have ever done this. Of dogs I have worked with where the owner has made the decision (on their own) to get a head collar and then turned up at class with it on without introducing it as I would have, the dogs work just fine and get over the loss of freedom to pull very quickly. But this is extremely hard to do when you have an emotional attachment to the dog. Yup, horses for courses. Some people see the dog having a minor hissy fit because they can't get their way any more, others see the dog as shut down. You can imagine what some people might think when their dog squeals the first time it lunges on a prong collar. We're all different, that's why I like to deal with data rather than opinions. I personally don't consider it reasonable to cut off a dog's air supply when I know that there are effective alternatives but I do not judge you personally for reagarding this as a reasonable option. If you get a chance Google "Milgram Experiment" and see how readily we can be conditioned to accept some things as normal where otherwise we would not (for e.g., would you let someone do this to your child, even if it meant your child would learn not to do something very harmful to himself or others?) I might.. but to be completely honest with you I'm not a 'follower' of sorts. I form my own oppinions and need to have a great deal of respect (and trust) in someone for them to sway me. Regardless, I think that when we are talking about cutting off a dogs air supply that we are not refering to your average pet. It's an extreme measure used for extreme cases, but still very viable in the right situation. Okay, so lets say you do have an extremely agressive dog. What if that dog then turns his aggression on the handler? How would you use the harness to control that behaviour then? lol, I might. He would be one of the very few people who could sway my beliefs. Anyhow, I'm not doubting you on this, it's common sense that a dog could not pull forwards on a front connecting harness. I'm just not sure how you would handle an agressive dog in a one, that's all.

More personal attacks instead of a cogent argument. No doubt there would be some trainers who think the advice (which, for the record, I did not give) is "stupid" and others who would not. What does that prove? There have been several reputable trainers who specialise in this field posting in this thread. Are you suggesting that Cosmolo, Erny and K9Pro aren't "reputable"? More personal attacks. Aidan, I dont think that's what BB was trying to suggest at all. How many times has it been said, that the only thing two trainers will agree on is that the third is wrong?

Provided the owner doesn't pander to this (i.e worry about it, remove the head collar, let the dog go back to pulling on a flat collar) then it usually passes soon enough. Personally, of all the dogs I have ever introduced to a head collar, none of them have ever done this. Of dogs I have worked with where the owner has made the decision (on their own) to get a head collar and then turned up at class with it on without introducing it as I would have, the dogs work just fine and get over the loss of freedom to pull very quickly. But this is extremely hard to do when you have an emotional attachment to the dog. Nah, not quite. For starters I am presuming you are a man ... Where I think we disagree is that (correct me if I'm wrong) you think that in some cases that a head collar is a viable option. I do not. The front connecting harness on the other hand I do not have enough first hand knowledge of to base my oppinion. However, you did state earlier on (in response to BB's hyperthetical) that if a dog went over threshold in a no pull harness that the owner could "simply walk away". This I'm not so convinced about. How to you snap a dog out of fight drive in a harness? (or any drive really). I also tend to agree with BB that you dont need strength to use a DD collar and "choke the dog out" - but you do need knowledge of how to do it correctly. But again, that is getting off the topic of llw..