Mrs Rusty Bucket

"Landscape Mulch" is a bit vague. If it's locally made it's unlikely to be cocoa but it might pay to ask. I do like pea straw. Frosty likes lawn clippings, compost and newspaper. And she lurves dynamic lifter. Glad Earl is on the mend. I use Besa blocks along the fence line. Frosty also goes around parsley bushes that are going to seed and westringia, but the trick would be getting it established and the bees that like the westringia flowers are a hazard.

I trained one position in stay at a time. I also work on only one component at a time, eg either time or distance (inc out of sight) but not both at once. I also like to vary the context as much as possible but in front of the dinner bowl seems to have the most beneficial impact on other stays. We're getting a little confused at dinner time and I try using the word "chill" instead of "Stay" because I don't care if she sits or lies down as long as she remains in the same spot that I put her, like Susan Garrett has for when her dogs are in their crates. As long as they remain inside the crate, they can do what they like in there. Well, ideally, they do it quietly, not barking their heads off. Ian Dunbar is all for repeating commands as needed. Lesley Nelson says say the command only once. So I think if the dog was parked and not looking like moving, I wouldn't repeat or add a command. When we're working on Stay in front of the dinner bowl, if she changes position before I release her, I put her back in position either by signal, command or luring, and make her wait some more. Doing this consistently has gotten me some good stays. But the trick is regular practice. As for lengths, I think for trial, I'd practice a longer stay than needed. I'd like to be able to get a nice calm stay for as long as I want eg while I help set up agility course etc. We had one dog that would stay while we went up and down the street doing the shopping and banking. She would stay for hours, as if the boss was in the pub, having some beers with his mates. But I'd also vary the time - short and long and medium, so the dog had no particular expectation about how long a stay is supposed to be. This mornings effort at training was tragic. We did lovely off lead heel work out on the race course, and came back into the dog club area and put the lead back on and she's off with the possum poo. There was possum poo out on the race course too. And bugs. Lots of flies etc. And she was stuck to my leg. But come back in for formal on lead heelwork - hello - what strange dog is this? And did a nice couple of agility runs but refused - for some reason to do the last jump. Went under it. Any tips for keeping her nose off the ground? So far, continuous treat feeding seems to be the only thing that works - and then she fills up and loses interest in the treats!!! You think she was a beagle not an ACDx.

Maybe give them a few web links to "crate training" with a note in the letter box.

I agree. My dog heels much better when she's off lead than when she's on. Not sure why. Maybe it's because we practice close heel work with the lead off more often than with the lead on. So I've got some work to do on "generalising". When the lead is on, she feels free to run orbits around me, and I usually let her. I don't see the difference between changing direction as the dog lunges after the cat and not changing direction, she's still going to be doing a somersault at the end of the lead. Changing direction all the time is something we practice - but off lead. There's no leash correction if she isn't paying attention.

My dog currently prefers to chase the cat and somersault at the end of the lead like she's so excited she doesn't even feel the (automatic) correction. Much better to spot the cat (or horse or possum) first and teach her an alternate behaviour that is rewarding like sitting and eating (uber) treats. So she associates sitting and watching cats with pleasure. Instead of the thrill of chasing them. Again a conditioned recall using positive methods seems to work much better for me than one involving yanking on a long line and dragging the dog back to me. I looked up Koehler methods and apart from yanking on the lead to get a dog back to heel - I couldn't figure out what it is. And yes, I've trained using that method, but luring with treats worked better for me.

How do you know it's not "on" now? What do you mean by "caught out"? There are competition herding organisations, and some people offer herding training - ie teach you and your dog how to do herding competitions. There's probably one in your state. http://www.dogsnsw.org.au/activities-a-eve...ng.html?start=6 Pre-test - does your dog like chasing things that move. Eg people, children, joggers, bicycles, seagulls, cats, balls? First herding instinct test. Does your dog seem interested in sheep (or ducks). Good. Second test / first level training - 3 shaggy sheep in a small round yard, one dog on long line with handler and with trainer who has a long stick for keeping dog from getting too "enthusiatic". Note - stick is not supposed to be used for clobbering the dog so much as blocking its path to slow it down. If it's going a bit fast and head butts the stick, that's how it learns to be more steady. It also learns when the long line gets stepped on. Should be done in combination with helpful words like "stop" and "ssh ssh ssh" (go). If dog attacks sheep instead of "moving them" - then I guess you may be "caught out" or this particular BC is a pet only.

Really? Eek! I'd hate someone to PTS my dog if she just happened to escape the yard one day & get caught on someone's property - or is the law only for cats for some reason? No you can't do it to someone's dog here. For getting rid of troublesome dog - you can call your council ranger. In fact even if you want to adopt an unidentified unregistered stray dog - I think you still have to do that. Cats on the other hand... different rules apply. Though I think my council has just required that all cats be microchipped and registered same as dogs, so I guess now the ranger would come and get a cat if you'd managed to catch it. However main culprit cat in my yard belongs to my neighbour so I doubt I'd be packing that one off to the vet for PTS. I'd be more likely to opt for severe hosing and release. But first - of course - I'd have to catch it. Is odd that the cats on both sides of me died within 12 months of me getting puppy. Both were keen prowlers of my yard and learned very early on that puppy LURVES chasing cats. Though one of the cats wouldn't run, dog tried to deafen it by barking but never touched it. Neither neighbour blamed me or the puppy for their cats deaths. Hmm.

Like lilacs Is Privet? Privet is often used as root stock for lilacs. Personally I think it should all be ripped out and destroyed. It's a source of allergic reactions, rashes and weeds. http://www.homelife.com.au/life+ideas/spri...+gardening,3818

All of Canberra is bush suburbs as far as the critters are concerned. There are so many green belts. You get roos in Civic. So is quite a lot of Adelaide - there are foxes living all the way along linear park and quite active in Alberton and Port Adelaide areas, not to mention anywhere with a river corridor or any bush parks nearby. And we've had roos in the Parklands. As well as foxes. And don't get me started about possums. Sigh. I reckon I could make a fortune selling "secret ingredient" dog treats.

I would like to add Ask for free range beef not grain fed next time you eat out in a fancy restaurant. I hate the whole concept of "grain fed beef". I've seen those poor critters standing up to their knees in their own shit until it's time to be killed. That's not right either. I don't think you can argue that puppy farms are ok and battery chook farms are not. It's daft. But I find I don't have time to fight every cause. You do end up picking and choosing. A lot of pigs are raised in "barns" these days where they are sheltered from the sun, they have evaporative cooling. They have fresh straw to lie on, they have room to move and use one corner of their pen for crapping etc so the rest stays pretty nice. And this is because pigs raised like this grow faster, and have more muscle and fat than ones that can't move and have to stand in their own filth. However - the conditions the sows live in when making the piglets before they get on sold to the meat growers - that leaves a lot to be desired. The only way you can be sure you really are getting free range animals - is to buy organic. Because the organisations that certify food "organic", actually go out and spot check the farms. Where as there is no standard or inspection or enforcement of terms like "free range" or "barn raised" etc. And don't get me started on how caged humans in Oz get treated. Grr. These people will be out one day - most of them, and then they need to be able to function. Are our institutions facilitating this? Not in my state.

I got pet insurance australia with the $500 excess. I'm looking for cover for big things like road trauma, busted ACL, snake bite, eating foreign objects that don't come out safely... And those can easily go from $1500 to $15000. Some insurance policies have max limits on a particular disease/trauma. Some have max annual limits. Some have max lifetime (of insured dog) limits. None are unlimited cover. I guess that's because it is possible to spend infinite amounts of money trying to fix up an animal (or human). I think I liked PIA because it didn't expire after the first claim for something like cancer or diabetes which can be ongoing. But it pays to read the fine print. Or maybe look up the review of Pet Insurance at Choice.com.au

So in most states, if a dog is found abandoned, or ownerless, it needs to go to the council pound first, and the council can make some attempt to identify the dog and owner and re-unite them. If within a set period (sometimes 7 days, sometimes less), no owner is found or comes forward, the council may put the dog to sleep or hand it over to a rescue/shelter like RSPCA or AWL or LDCH to find a home for the dog or PTS. I don't know what the rules are in WA. I tried to look it up once but I think it made my head hurt it was so confusing. The RSPCA would know. So theoretically if WA is like other states (perhaps unlikely), then the abandoned pups should have been reported or taken in to the council and then via the council system, ownership could have been transferred to the rescue. At this point the original reporter of abandoned puppies would have no claim on them at all, and would be unlikely to be able to bully the council pound into surrendering them, though payment of an agreed fee or buying a drink at the pub has been known to work in some places to get council staff to do what is not strictly according to the rules. If the southern rescues don't get their act together regards documentaton and verification of ownership, they may find themselves in hot water for "receipt of stolen goods" among other things.

Huski Whatever method you've been using to train that, keep doing it. I got a really good recall with my dog, and then lapsed on the uber treats and the practice, and recall recently went to hell. We're getting back there now with some new uber treats and dedicated practice. Even Susan Garrett mentioned you need to keep working at it. Now she's running an ecourse just on recalls. So congratulations - most beagle owners I know would be insanely jealous, and keep up the good work.

Huski I saw dogs trained in drive with mostly positve re-inforcement, and traditionally trained dogs doing all sorts of not quite right stuff (failing) in the competition ring yesterday. I think one class had a single pass or no pass at all. Even one dog which won the day before, failed yesterday. And it looked superb for most of the heel work, head up, tail wagging, stuck to the handler's leg. But broke the stay before recall. Apparently it was upset by a sibling's barking. Sigh. Other dogs, just like you said, no drive, focus and bored. Though my fave was one that was working really well but decided to do the broad jump by going around to the side and then tip toeing between the slats to the owner instead of jumping over. And this is a dog that likes agility. Butchering an agility element in the obedience ring. It looked so pleased with itself too. I blamed the weather. Hot and windy - first ikky day this season. So many dogs were affected. With so many different training methods failing. Or dogs are not robots. PS - I know a delta trainer face to face. She says I should not say "no" or "oops" to my dog, and should not squirt water at or near her by way of distraction when she's barking and shouldn't be. Delta trainer's dogs are really laid back and well behaved. I've seen her out training a puppy and owner recall with a long line. It wasn't going to happen instantly but the puppy was having a lovely time. But I'm pretty sure not getting a treat is still negative/adversive for the puppy even if it doesn't get told "oops" when it does the wrong thing.

Why? Are you in the habit of teasing people with a tasty mouthful of rotting entrails?

A huge community whose helpful members aren't always online or able to assist. I can't imagine contacting a rescue and saying, 'I've found a stray dog, come and get it' and have someone turn up on the doorstep and say, 'Sure, we'll take this stray dog for you!' A nice notion but frankly unrealistic. That is exactly what loads of the rescues do. In this case it was unrealistic, because the OP was unable to keep the dog safely for the time it would take to find a rescue volunteer to fetch the dog. It's not likley to be instant pickup. Even the council can't do that. But a phone call to a local rescue when nobody else would come would be one more thing to help the dog worth trying.

Are some of us confusing "negative re-inforcement" with "physical correction"? Incidentally the World Championship level agility trainer whose semimar I'm going to as a spectator, would evict any handler that uses the word "NO" at their dog. So I might be in trouble. But yelling "NO!!!" at my dog has never been effective at stopping any behaviour of hers or even getting her attention. I think positive and negative are like training a dog to find something (what you want them to do), using "hot" (good) and "cold" (oops). Ie "yes" or "good" or "click" means she's getting it right and she's going to get a reward (pat/food/play etc) a positive re-inforcement. And "oops" or "nope" or "try again" means she's not going to get a reward for that behaviour, try something different. Not using the word "cold" means finding the right behaviour or hidden treat takes much longer. Imagine playing the game using only "hot" if a step in the right direction is made and not "cold" if a step away is made. Like my recall training. Recall had recently gone to hell. Dog comes out of oval hedge with roast lamb shank bone (arrgghh). Self rewarding. But I have uber treat. So eventually I get her attention without rushing her into swallowing bone, and give the release command (eg "thank you") and throw a handful of highly visible uber treats in her general direction. She has to drop the bone to get the treats (fresh cooked liver and bread cubes). I win. She wins but she doesn't know it exacty. Today I practice recall with the liver. She comes when I call, she gets some liver. If she doesn't - I "hide". Which is slightly more traumatic for her than "oops", she gets really upset when she doesn't know where I am so she tends to be more responsive and quicker next time I call, and that gets her fresh cooked liver treats, which she remembers, and so does every other dog that gets some. I now "own" about five dogs with perfect recall... And I didn't have to use an e-collar once. But I did use a negative reinforcement once. Incidentally another dog trainer, I know - described training his dog with an e-collar for obedience comp and winning but when he looks back at the video now, he isn't proud of it - because that dog is clearly uncomfortable and unhappy, its tail and head are down, and it's cringing the whole way round the course. Where as the ones trained with loads of positive reinforcement - have their heads up and their tails wagging the whole way round. It is possible to get fast results with an ecollar as a very reliable delivery of "oops", but it's also possible to over do it and get a cringing unhappy insecure dog. Oh and for keeping a dogs attention in the face of distractions - one dog I know will be ultra attentive if the owner has blue vein cheese under her fingernails. Is that cheating?

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/con...998174/s31.html The NSW cat laws are a bit pathetic. You definitely want to check with your local council if they have something more definite. Nusciance cat has to be actually damaging something - if it is coming in your yard you can claim it is peeing and crapping there - damaging your garden. But it's a pity that the law doesn't apply to preventing damage to your puppy (or pet finches). In our state - we can take cat to pound, or I know some vets that will put to sleep any cat you catch on your property. Ie they're not allowed to trespass onto other people's property. But that doesn't seem to be the law in NSW. Might be an idea to write your State Rep and ask for that to be fixed up. If you're going to hose it - ideally you catch it first, and then hose the crap out of it while it's in the trap. But this didn't stop certain cats coming into our yard. They just were more careful about doing it only when we weren't around. You can get a motion sensor sprinker though - which might help.

what about native rosemary aka westringia (quite a few varieties), makes nice hedge. Only trouble is with bees when it flowers. But we are learning to keep our noses off bees' tails.

I agree about the red herrings. Puppies were surrendered - puppies were reclaimed. Something went wrong. If nothing else - the "reputable" rescue should be getting more ID info from the people who surrender the puppies - similar to what Cash Converters or other pawn shops are supposed to do eg write down the drivers licence ID, check the photo looks like them, ask for proof of dog rego or ownership, write the car licence plate down and ask to see a recent electricity bill with their name on it ie proof of address. Get them to sign a document of transfer of ownership ie a contract in writing. If this puts off dodgy people, that might be a good thing. What do the RSPCA do? And if people come back and use imtimidating tactics to try to get the puppies back or say they were stolen, the police should be called. Because you don't know if it was the first people that stole the puppies or the second lot of people that stole the puppies. I can see things like this playing out during relationship break ups. He takes the puppies and dumps them and she wants them back or whatever. If there is no proof of ownership, I reckon neither of them have a claim. But at the same time you don't want angry people busting things with baseball bats.

Huski I've just started training drop on recall. A couple of techniques have been suggested, though I'm having trouble getting her to drop when I signal instead of coming to within arms reach and then dropping... First I practice when she's in a stay/wait and sitting, I walk away, turn around, give drop signal, and then signal good dog, and rush back and treat to let her know she's done good. Instructor has suggested that with the moving drop, - to actually run at her after giving the recall signal and as you give the drop signal, instead of standing there until she drops. So she doesn't have to go as far to be in treat range. Um. So far that hasn't made much difference. I'm thinking may be when she's done the drop (too close) - I walk away to the right distance and then say good dog and go back and treat - though not sure how that helps, she needs to drop when I signal. She does it when she's standing still but not when she's moving. Maybe just upping the standard and intially reducing the distance and "oopsing" instead of "treating" for late drops. Ie a short distance, a drop signal really close to the recall signal, and oops if she doesn't, treat if she does. I've also seen some Susan Garrett work where she just randomly give the drops signal, and her dogs do it. Though I'm not entirely sure how they got there. Might have to review crate games DVD. There's a whole bunch of stuff we have stuffed. Especially "break". But that's a whole nother thread.

Tricky but even though you don't have friends or family - there is a huge community here that would assist with doggy transport and care. Someone here would have taken the dog for you if you could have held it for a short time. A crate in the garage might have helped. Maybe you could collect yourself a list of contact numbers for nearby rescue organisations from Pet Rescue or here, just in case you meet that dog or one like it again. For home security (from dogs and bad people) bit of dowling rod to stop the opening of sliding door eg you put it in the sliding track so the door can't be slid open until you take it out. I do this to stop burglars from getting in, in combination with a couple of screws in the "closed end" of the track so the door can't be lifted out while it's in the closed (and dowel rodded) position but can still be lifted out for maintenance if it is fully opened. I doubt the rental people would even notice this kind of security addition you could make. But otherwise - you did the best you could at the time, the available options (police, RSPCA, Council) let you down. Try not to beat yourself up about it. I don't think it's worth going out and buying a crate just in case either.

WA was the only place you could get tails docked, so if they've made it illegal there, then there is no place where it is legal to get tails docked in Australia. As far as I knew, it was legal if a vet in WA did it while the dog/puppy was anaethestised. Has this changed? The Eastern states do not allow it unless the tail is so badly injured or diseased that the best interests of the dog's health requires the tail to be docked - and then it must be done by a veterinarian while the animal is anaethestised. If I was the rescue organisation - I would have gotten some id or the licence plate of the car of the person who gave up the animals and then the person who "reclaimed" them and reported them to RSPCA - for neglect, and police for fraud. Ie they sold the animals when they didn't own them - either to the unknown "buyers" or to the rescue organisation. I'm not sure what part of the process you describe suggests the puppies were stolen - but if there is a suggestion of this, then again - surely the police should be involved. I also don't understand why you think the puppies were "well bred". Crosses are not usually considered "well bred" in the general dog breeder community. They're usually considered unfortunate accidents or the (evil) work of puppy mills or back yard breeders who don't really consider the best interests of the parent dogs or puppies ie health checks from genetic to vaccinations are not likely to be done. Edited for clarity - I knew what I meant but it isn't what I typed.

Oops. You're right.

I use nutro natural choice for my dog. I believe there is a dog groomers on Fullarton Road that stocks Artemis. I don't remember the exact name of the shop but that's the next premium brand I'd consider for my dog. I think the shop is near Ferguson st but I could be wrong. Otherwise I think there are some online suppilers.