Simply Grand

I'm so glad to read your update :) It made me a little teary And I do think she was meant to be yours. I've had my first ever foster dog here for over three months now (she's been in foster for health reasons until she could be cleared to go up for adoption). I met her the day she was born, looked after her, her mum and littermates in the shelter, brought her home when she left mum and litter at 8 weeks and have raised her ever since, she is now 5 months and 3 days old. She's sweet and I'm proud of how she's growing up BUT she doesn't feel like 'mine', I will miss her and worry about her when she goes to her new home but I don't want to keep her. I was worried that i wouldn't be able to give her up because I couldn't have given up my own dogs at 5 months old but now I actually think, nope she's not meant to be mine. So, that's my long winded way of saying, you had that bond with Bonnie from the start so I do believe she really was yours from the start :)

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Oh he's gorgeous :D And it sounds like he's landed in a great home with you, yay!

I've been wondering since first seeing this what the cat's usual reaction to dogs is and whether she would have chased off the dog whether the child was there or not, just because it would be interesting to know. However, as Caz said, whatever the motivation that cat saved that little boy from a situation that without doubt would have been much worse had she not been there. Good kitty :)

Happy birthday beautiful Penny! You are gorgeous

Oh cool, i'll see what I can work out

It's the same day as Million Paws walk, which I'd already committed to being at! I so wanted to go sledding Eta - and to meet everyone! Lisa, I was so looking forward to introducing Quinn and Nova

Stop going to the dog park. You need CONTROLLED socialisation. There is nothing wrong with your dog not loving random dogs at the dog park. Can you find a good training club near you where you and your dog can go and be around other dogs on lead without forced interaction? Or even better, can you have a session with a recommended behaviourist to set up a program that will help you? In response to your question, yes you can certainly retrain him :)

Perse, noooo, don't compare anything you've done with this idiot! I suppose he may have been "training" something like that but I was just reading a blog post he wrote about that "umbilical" (dog tethered to your waist) training method and its very focused on the dog physically following the human and "learning its place in the pack". http://bradpattisondogtraining.com/like-a-newborn-again/ Here's a quote "WHO WAS LEADING? Hopefully your answer was you. But don’t fret if you were walking behind your dog, it just means that he sees you as the insignificant one in the pack. "

Unbelievable! That's not training, the dog has no idea what he wants it to do and you're right Terri, he's setting it up for failure. I assume its supposed to be part of his program to teach the dog that owner is "alpha" apparently by repeatedly demonstrating that the dog has no control over anything and will receive random physical abuse regularly. I dunno, most of us manage to have our dogs under pretty good control without deliberately running ourselves at trees

There's another clip on YouTube where he's ranting in the street about people not liking him coz he's a threat to the dog training world because he's exploded the myth of treats.

Yes, and I suspect the balding is a masculinity issue for him too. Slapping some dogs should help.

If you have a spare 15 mins, here he is apparently 'taming a wild dog' (or talking crap and showing off about how great he is when he actually doesnt seem to know what the hell he's doing while seriously risking a bite from a very concerned dog).

There is a video on youtube of his screaming at a client at his group lessons in front of everyone else. The owners look as whipped as their dogs. All she did was question why he did what he did and he went into a tirade of how crap her dog was and how good his was so how dare she question him. I get OH to watch it and then quiz him on what he thinks is wrong with it :laugh: only value in it Is it this one? I just saw it. What a jerk

Exactly Perse.

Here's a link to some "useful" advice on his website: http://bradpattisondogtraining.com/how-to-tell-your-dog-youre-the-boss/ ETA - note the comment that "some totally household dominant dogs may urinate or defecate during this exercise" (because that's totally how dominant dogs react ) and "while this training method may sound severe...your dog will love you for it".

It's really weird, those clips don't show the extent of what he does (nothing against you kirty, the last clip shows the lengths he goes to to hide what he does). When I first heard about him and was searching for stuff online I thought it really strange that there was so little to be found. And he has SO much negative feedback. It's creepy, and as Law said, scary that people listen to him.

I'd much rather Elle Woods than him!

What is it that makes you want a Border Collie? As others have said, it could definitely work but it really depends what you are looking for in a dog. I think an Aussie Shepherd could also work, I don't believe they are any more temperamental than any other breed and in my experience are pretty tolerant. My girl looooves kids and is very tolerant physically, happy to be laid on, poked, picked up, kissed etc etc. Only issue is she's very boisterous around kids because she doesn't have much exposure to them so they are super exciting.

I think the guy is American, or maybe Canadian.

I've heard about it and seen some short clips. I tried to find actual episodes on YouTube but couldn't find anything. The guy has a website with some very *interesting* advice. A bit I heard about was something about him meeting a dog for the first time when it was hiding under a bed being confronted by him and obviously a video camera staring at it and he seemed to think it was bad behaviour that it was growling and wouldn't come out

My only experience with whelping and newborns is in a kennels (shelter) environment and after experiencing that (4 litters in the last 5 months) I'd love a private, easy clean environment like your laundry if I ever do it myself! I've seen how messy it gets really fast.

Fantastic, simple, practical advice :)

Prepare for the need for a c section or other vet intervention, see if your vet can be on call or discuss the possibility with your local emergency vet. Read as much as you can about whelping and what to watch out for. If possible talk to your girl's breeder, explain the situation and see if they'd be willing to be on hand for advice. Take a deep breath, plan for the worst but think positive :) ETA - bitches do this all the time, they are amazing :) . Your girl is only a pup but she may surprise you, and if you need it it sounds like you're committed to find the necessary help.

She's due next week, that's super late term termination. Do your research, let her have the pups, spay her ASAP after that and I agree, desex the pups before you rehome them. It won't be a popular view but plenty of unplanned, unregistered puppies are born every day and it isn't the end of the world. Just do not let it happen again! ETA - contact RSPCA QLD if you can't find a vet that will early desex puppies, they should be able to refer you to someone. ETA also - read through the Breeders Forum on here, lots of helpful info :)