Mrs Rusty Bucket

Same reason horses don't like to pee on hard surfaces - avoiding splash back.

Hi Ptolomy I'm tempted to get the next two poles set up but I'm still working on the entry arc. Ie I've got about 3/4 of the arc but need more where she starts on the wrong side and runs around to the correct side. My throws started pretty off, but now I'm good at getting the toy ahead of her so she looks along the reward line or near where the next poles or the gap between will eventually be. It's pretty easy to hit that spot when you are square right of the entry point ie on the correct side of the entry or even ahead of it to hit the right exit line but not so easy if you're standing in line with the start of the weave line looking down it (even tho there are only two poles). And then I lob it over her or move wider (left) as she moves towards the poles to get the toy on the exit / reward line. If she looks up or turns back, she's copped the toy on the skull a few times - oops. If she looks ahead and slightly to the right she can just about catch it. And the next trick is to get her to bring it straight back instead of ye old self flagellating victory lap. But I guess that's what makes it fun for her. She doesn't like cheese much and kibble just disappears in the lawn and I find it hard to throw it far enough. Ness's giant food ball treats look easier to throw being the size of golf balls, but I worry that my EH will get full and lose interest.

I don't mind if Frosty gets to be a calendar girl. Especially if I get a calendar or product discount... With photographer's agreement of course. Then again she didn't do any product modelling so maybe next time.

There's a study that Paul McGreevy quoted in his book "A modern dog's life". They do it because they can. It's a normal part of a doggy diet. And if one dog starts on a patch of grass, other dogs may join in eating the "good grass". They may or may not vomit after. For my dog, a post grass eating vomit seems to depend on whether she's swallowed long bits of grass whole or munched short bits. But even the long bits can go straight through (urk). She also sometimes vomits when she hasn't eaten any grass.

I can't resist telling people who tell me they got their puppy from a pet shop - all about puppy mills and where the puppies end up and all the tricks those people use to get people to buy - like splitting the litters up so the puppy is always the last one left of the litter... But too late now, you have your puppy, get the next one somewhere better, and in the meantime, here's all the resources for making sure you have a happy life together now. There is a "labradoodle" at our local dog park who looks more like a (cairn?) terrier to me - complete with wire hair and terrier moustache. And the neighbour's pet shop special schnauzer x spaniel? is starting to look like a wire haired terrier with a bull terrier roman nose. Barbara Streisand effect?

My evil hound just ate the weave poles we were doing beginner 2x2 with. Sigh. They were bamboo stakes for roses... I might try metal stakes with conduit over the top next. Or packing them up after each session.

so does the basic clicker training for working step by step to a comfortable handling of the collar work? eg step one click - treat lots step 2 pat face, click treat repeat lots step 3 pat face and neck - brushing by or near collar click treat lots. Probably safest to start with chin-neck-collar brush-chestpat not brush at back of neck, because dogs more reactive to that, and more comfortable with chest pat usually repeat lots step 4 pat face neck put finger in collar pat chest treat repeat lots step 5 pat face, neck put finger in collar and scratch under collar gently, pat chest, treat.... etc until you have built up to the kind of collar grab you want to do safely. Would take many tiny steps and lots of fave treats / games. you probably want to be able to take collar off and put back on too, so build up to that also alternately - use a second collar eg when my dog has no collar on in the house and the door bell goes, I keep a lead with a nylon slip collar - the sort that loops through the loop, and I put that on, tell her to sit etc. I sometimes give a treat for her to put her head through the loop. You can also get leads, with a ring at one end - to make the loop - lead all in one. And the collar is a flat webbing. It's still a choke collar so it would pay not to apply continous pressure with it. Or you are going to have to have a harness by the front door. I did a lot of very small steps to get my dog to lie upside down in my lap and let me clip her claws. And then I decided I didn't like the clipper. I'm going to have to start again if / when I get the dremmel. step one - sniff dremmel that is off - click, step two, let me touch claw with dremmel that is off...

He wants something. If he gets something, he will probably do it more. If he doesn't, he might stop. Depends if you think it is a problem. You could try giving him something else to do. My dog barks a lot at dinner time. I give her other things to do and little yum treats for doing and she barks less, though I haven't specifically asked her to. The quickest way to shut her up or get her to make much less noise - is to ask her to speak, because I reward the tiniest audible noise, and so that's all she makes when I ask/signal her "what you say?". No more loud barking. weird.

I do think it's stupid they're outlawed, but I also think that users should be trained and licenced (as should dog owners generally) PS - police dog training?

I'm nowhere near Novice obedience. I've got good improvement on my stays from training TOT methods ie she has to do a good stay (including me going out of sight) in front of her dinner (massive temptation). When our stays go to hell, I reduce the distance, or the time or both. So I'm thinking - do your practice same environment but much shorter times out of sight. And shorter distance ie loop behind a person holding a sheet while still near the dog , and straight back. Repeat lots. then gradually work on time or distance but not both at once. Start with time because you won't get distance without it.

I wouldn't recommend use of e-collar in South Australia for anything. Unless you'd like to be arrested. K9Nev is SA on your location "South Africa"? My one exception would be for the "invisible fence" on a property that is too big/awkward to have normal fences put up.

my first post seems to have been eaten. Lemme try again. Fantastic photos Ravyk. I really like the terrier action one. And the one of Frosty woo woo. And the one of Esky with Nandi standing in Esky's mouth. What characters the pair of them, perfectly captured in photo.

Meh I think all dogs can do obedience to some level. I don't see how a deerhound can be expected to go through an agility tunnel though. Has it been done? Again it's a matter of grade/quality. Compare with me - I am not built to be a fast runner, and I don't have particularily good reflexes either, and my hand eye co-ordination is good but not fantastic. With training, I am better, but I will never be as good as those who started with naturally good talent. I am fairly good at being sneaky and analysing play and players and that can help me anticipate the next move and counter it. So I never had a hope in hell of being an olympic hockey player. Some of those players move the ball so fast, I can't even see where it went. But I do love playing at the level I'm at eg 4th grade eg Olympic then State, then Grade 1 - I'm grade 4 club. When I was younger and much fitter, I had a brief stint at grade 2, and benched for grade 1 (in case someone got injured). I think it would be much the same for dogs and dog and handler teams. Some dogs are undone by their "coach", some never have the build/talent but can do better with a great coach. Whether a great coach would be happy with only a grade 4 dog - I don't know. Some are. Some are not. Some will coach at several levels, because if you can get more out of a grade 4 team, what could you do with a grade 1 team? Ie if you can get a "hard to train" dog to work, imagine what you could do with an easy to train one. Although the easy to train one - would learn from your mistakes or bad techniques too. Interesting.

Frosty was not the least bit worn out after that, despite doing zoomies with Esky and Asia and others, early on, and zoomies trying to get Pele to join in at the end. And we did two laps of the local oval, and more zoomies after I got the washing in this evening. I'm knackered and I feel sunburned for some reason. I've never seen the evil chocolate stuff disappear so quick either. I read mention of mud cake in the set up thread and wonder what happend to that. (Earl?). I'm still trying to figure out which dog goes with who, and who goes with what nick name. I didn't think Esky was a shit at all. And certainly not the only dog to try cadge food. Mine included. I admit I haven't spent much time with "Arctic" breeds, so antics of Husky and Lappy are all new to me.

I've pretty much given up trying to feed my dog bones. If it doesn't get her going in, it gets her coming out. We had another dog nearly die from eating minced chicken bones - though I think they may have been cooked. Butcher talked parent into buying "chicken mince for dogs" instead of for humans, and failed to mention it was minced carcass and should not have been cooked. That butcher - doesn't work as a butcher any more. I feed carrots instead. Or those small beef rawhides. I can't give her big ones as she eats them too quickly and they come back to haunt us.

I use a food dispensing ball for guzzle guts the neighbour's beagle. The old beagle gets her food separate, and the greedy guts gets hers in the ball.

If you paid by credit card, write to the credit card people (eg mastercard or visa not the bank), and explain that you did not receive what you paid for (eg a healthy puppy with papers), and ask for your money back from them. I've had money refunded me a few times using this approach.

Hi Sweettooth Seems like you did everything right and have been severely punished for it. Even if you had rented through an agency, they probably would not have done an inspection for 6 months. It's unfair and sad that your home got trashed. All the dogs. It seems like you need some help and guidance from experienced rescue people. Maybe you could find someone to guide you on pet rescue, or ask your local vet for ideas. If you can find someone who will list all the dogs on pet rescue for you, that would help increase the number of potential homes for your unexpected tribe.

about the recall, about turn and halts and stays one of our instructors is classic for do as I say, not as you think I say... So she will say leave your dog, forward, halt - and not say "about turn" so we're practicing the stay with our backs to our dogs. I can hear when mine breaks - her collar jingles, but the instructor also tells us. It does seem like good practice, depending what dog does when it breaks. Mine used to nick off and greet everybody at dog club just out of grab range. Not good. Bit of TOT seems to be sorting that. The instructor also gets us to walk back to and then past our dog in stay and then loop back. Last time I trained (yesterday was flooded out), I couldn't hear most of her turn calls, so I'd be heading across the paddocks and she hadn't noticed... Or sometimes she'd do a routine and I wouldn't hear "exercise complete" or you can stop now, and again - I'd be headed to the creek or football oval or doing the heel work instructions she gave the next team. Oops.

Not the gina ford guide The Ian Dunbar guide to puppies http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/digit...aining-textbook How old is puppy, has it had all its vaccinations (the last one - two weeks ago)? Is "obedience training" really "puppy preschool"? In a vet practice or similar? Then vaccinations won't matter as much. If it's a normal dog club - best to wait until all the vaccination boosters are done, and puppy's tummy has settled. You can still do basics in short sessions at home. There's helpful video how tos linked on the dogstardaily website PS chop sausage up, put in zip lock snack bag and into freezer - or use for daily little training sessions - like a reward for going in the right place, or ear prick when he hears his name, or when he comes when called.

I used to watch my puppy and when she gave the washing that special look - I'd tell her "uh uh". If that wasn't working, I got out the pump up water pistol. She never really ever got to find out how much fun it is to pull things off the line. And now she's not interested. I guess I was lucky. I find the same kind of strategy works on the parrots that chew all the new buds off the roses. If you can get the first one, the first time it lands on the rose bush and give it a hard time, they don't come back till next season. But if the first one gets a taste of rose buds and enjoys, they all come back over and over no matter how hard you work at chasing them off.

Tah for the answers. I've also noticed different techqies for some of the about turns. There's one where the handler turns in the opposite direction to the dog and passes the lead behind their back, which even when I play back in slo mo, I can't wrap my head around. I find it easier to do left about turn and encourage dog to move her butt around. And the difference between CDD end the recall and the other classes would explain why our instructors don't like to teach "finish" any more in case the dog anticipates. So I mix it up which way I end, having taught her finish in grade 1. we end up doing a lot of doggy circle work if she finishes too far ahead of my leg (when she's anticipating food). No food for dogs out of position, though I do feed her on some recalls when she's in front of me. And for agility there's no rules about where she needs to be to get the treat because it's not for being in the right spot.

obedience comp techniques, strategies or rules? Figure eight - when you enter does it matter if you go around the left or the right person first? I was told, go around the person that takes your dog on the inside of you with you on the outside. Is this a rule or just a strategy? I imagine if your dog is a bit nervous of new people or too friendly it might work better if you go the other way. And when you go out, do you go on whatever trajectory you're on or does it always need to be at right angles to the line made by the people/cones defining the figure 8 Also when you do a recall, when do you "return to your dog" ie the dog sits still while you walk around the dog to get back to the heel position, and when do you ask the dog to "finish" ie it returns to the heel position while you stand still. I think each method would result in you facing the opposite direction so it might matter to a judge who doesn't want to crash you into the boundary. Also about straight lines, Huski, the only way I can get them is to aim for some fixed point in the distance eg line up a light pole and a tree (basic boating navigation technique), but then you can't watch your dog. When I was doing "grade 5", the class before we start ccd classes, I used to leave a bag or a long line at my starting point and aim for that and have arguments with the person next to me who wasn't aiming for anything and travelled into me.

I think kids should ask first too. I have two favourite refrains when dealing with kids. She's NOT a TOY. She doesn't like Hugs. She doesn't like being patted on the head any more than you do. She does like her tummy rubbed. and ONE at a TIME or you will scare her and then she might bite. I tend to answer kids questions "why is she licking me?" with "you taste good", which backs off a few kids who are familiar with "Little Red Riding Hood". And I've taught my dog a bunch of useful tricks that help manage the kids too. Like "roll over" for belly rub, and "shake hands".

Inez Any chance your friend could have a discussion with the breeder. If she's really unhappy she should be able to return the puppy if she doesn't want it any more (better than it going to the pound or a puppy mill). But if she wants to compete with the puppy - maybe there is some other dog sport she'd enjoy? Agility? Flyball? Herding? Earth dog? Tracking? I hate competitions where judges opinions decide winners. I like there to be something more defined in who wins, eg Agility may have a small part for the Judges opinion but even that can be reduced or made easy for judge to get right.