mita

Found! I stored them away because they'd proved helpful. Pick any that you think are relevant. How to Build Confidence in a Timid or Under-confident Dog. * Encourge her to do chasey games, when a treat or toy is tied at the end of a string. And she's encouraged to chase it. Apparently that helps the submissive dog to 'feel' & act more dominantly. * Try to protect the dog's personal space. Do not let strangers overwhelm him, etc. You may not be aware of a passersby actually petting the dog. It is amazing what really goes on. Do not allow people (even family members) to pet the dog on the top of the head or behind his ears. Instead, pat and scratch the dog on his chest and neck. This is much less threatening to a dog. * Teach the dog how to play with you. Entice the dog for a game of chase, with the dog chasing you. If he won't chase you while you're running, try crawling, yes really. Crawl on the floor on all fours away from him, then lie down and roll. Cover your face and make high-pitched whimpering noises. This should entice the dog to come over to you. This is success, praise the dog and then walk away and try it again later. * If the dog is scared of people, instruct people to sit down with their backs facing the dog. Then, hold out a their hand (behind them) for the dog with a food treat in it. Gradually, the person can turn so that they are sideways, and then facing the dog. Avoid eye-contact until the dog is no longer scared of this particular person. * Do not stroke a scared dog and say "It's OK." This is perceived as praise by the dog and will make it more likely that the dog will repeat his fear again next time. Instead, give robust pats on the sides and act happy, pretend there is nothing to be scared about, and if at all possible, remove him from the frightful situation. * Yawning is a calming signal for dogs. When your dog is nervous or unsure of a situation or person, you (and that person) should sit down by your dog, turn your head and focus slightly away from the dog, and yawn continually. I am not talking about 30 seconds of yawning, rather 3-30 minutes of consistent, passive yawning. Try it, over time it should make your dog more comfortable. * It is important to avoid eye-contact, especially if the dog is used to running away or submissive peeing. When you are able to be close to the dog, kneel or sit down so you are on his level and turn your head away from the dog and lick your lips. Continue doing this until the dog either ceases being nervous, or brings their face closer to yours in a gesture of friendship. If/when this occurs, praise the dog's efforts with kind words and a gentle chest rub, however still avoid eye-contact. Whenever you are close to a scared or submissive dog, it is important to avoid eye-contact so the dog will not feel threatened in any way. * If she's food oriented give visitors some little treats to hold in their hands & occasionally drop next to her as they walk by. * Do not over-stimulate or push the dog too far to fast. Let the dog regulate how close he can get to other people, places and things. If you push a scared dog too far, you will create a neurosis that will be more difficult to treat. * If the dog is scared of human contact, even from you, pet the dog unexpectedly as you walk by. Do it quickly and friendly, and then keep walking. The dog will probably be scared and surprised, for if he knew you were going to pet him, he would've run away and not allowed it. By sneaking in friendly petting with no consequences (you simply walk away) the dog will learn that being touched is not a bad thing. * Being scared is very stressful. Exercise is one of the most beneficial ways to relieve stress, so make sure your dog gets plenty of it. If your dog likes other dogs (if you don't know, find out) I strongly recommend that you find a dog for him to play with on a weekly basis (more often, even better). Canine companionship is very important to dogs, and especially a dog that does not trust many humans, another canine can relieve more stress than anything else. Be sure to allow the dogs to romp around and play unrestricted (except for a fence) until they tire out. This may be one of the best therapies that you can give a shy dog.

I was given a list of helpful hints when dealing with a dogl who'd behave much the same way. Fearful & socially timid....to the point of doing that same submissive urination as your dog. They could be helpful until you get some professional advice from a behaviourist. I'll see if I can still find them. They proved very helpful in the case I mentioned.

Another 'yes' from me. The good just keeps rolling on & has far more DOLers pitching in & supporting, than the bad.

Yes, I'd have thought both bits of evidence could be valuable to the police. The bloke certainly wasn't the brightest....walking away and leaving such stuff behind. Maybe he heard your son coming out & took off. He may have been aiming at theft of property (hence the helpful hacksaw) & was feeding the dog to keep it quiet. House 2 doors down was robbed. Strange thing was that heaps of fresh food from fridge was also taken. Made sense when owners discovered their big dog, Max, locked in the garden shed, sleeping off the biggest, free meal of his life. Thieves had put him in there, with the food, to keep him quiet. We've had 2 thieves in separate incidents....one coming into the house & the other trying to get into the car in the carport. On both occasions, the sharp hearing of the tibbies inside the house, sounded the alarm, going ballistic (they only do when there's real danger). Both times, the thieves then took off. One bloke dropped a bag of stuff he'd already managed to nick from our storeroom.

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I was going to say to you, PS, that Clancy's lovely social confidence, was the result of how trusting you've made him feel. Then I saw T's post. As an experienced foster-carer, she KNOWS!

Yes.

Yes, I heard a snake expert giving exactly that same advice. He said to first do everything to disrupt the 'food chain' that snakes come after, like the mice & rats. He also said to look further down the food chain.....like don't leave outside lights on at night. The lights attract the moths etc....which then attract creatures that feed off the moths.....which then attract the snakes that feed off them. He also stressed getting rid of potential 'hiding places' & said that the entire area around the house is better without gardens. The 'open ground', you describe.

What a beautiful thought to make sure you have a beautiful painting of the beautiful Tammy. Bless whoever arranged it.

I've just read in the Guardian newspaper, that there's a little Dachshund called Tara, who's been trained to sniff oil spills in Arctic circle conditions. Along with 2 Border Collies. The training program has been funded by Shell & has been carried out by Norwegian researchers. Another smaller dog making its mark. What surprises me is the choice of a Dachie, with its short legs in those conditions. :)

Lovely to know that Thea's name is living on in your GSD girl!

Sorry to be so late getting on to this thread. Was off-line. I've got your PM. Shall answer with some Tibbie contact details. If you have any photos & details about natures & needs of the 2 tibbies, that would help. Also if your mum can remember the name of the breeder she adopted one tib from. Here's the rescue page of the Tibetan Spaniel Association of Victoria. It has a phone number & email address, for you: http://www.tsavaustralia.com/rescue.htm It's a sad, sad situation, but bless you & your mum for trying to do the best for the tibs. Just adding the info that tibbies tend to be a breed that keeps up well, with age. I've adopted an 8 yr old from a breeder.....& she's now nearly 12 yrs old and has not one health problem.

I thought the name Irish must be from the Luck of the Irish! (BTW, the contraception rate for catholic women is, these days, the same as that for women generally. That sectarian stereotyping belongs in the past :) ) She's so lucky to have you, your parents & most of the neighbours looking out for her. I can understand how you're trying so hard to get her a better life. Not that you're wanting AWL Qld to take her....but I wonder if anyone there would have some tips about how to catch her long enough to get her desexed? I think they once had a program to do just that for feral/permanently stray cats.

That's a delightful story. Thanks for posting it.

Agree! When someone is aware of what goes into ethical rescue, then the cost makes sense. YG, your response provides that information. I wonder if there's a way of weaving such facts into the Pet Rescue profile.....without making it too long?

That's interesting about the schipperkes' doing search & rescue work. I googled & found this US site. http://www.sarschips.net/home-old.htm The wonderful little corgi is a real trail-blazer, showing that the littlies can do it, too. And bring advantages with them. I hope her achievements will encourage more use of small breeds.

She's as pretty as she's clever. Great to see the smaller dogs, like a Corgi. working in rescue. It's an advantage to be small, in some cases. An air crash disaster expert in the US has trained his 2 tibbies to go inside crashed planes (taking a camera lead). He says the smaller dogs can get thro' tangled wreckage, are lighter so they less displace stuff further & are able to get close to any survivor. At first he said rescue services personnel would laugh when he'd turn up at practice sessions with 2 small dogs under his arms. Until they saw what the 'smallies' could achieve... I bet this little Corgi might have experienced some of that, too....until she strutted her competent self! And changed minds.

I agree about different breeds behaving differently re the eye-gazing. I actually found the breed I came to like because of how they gazed directly at people.....before I even knew what they were. I went to the Royal Brisbane looking for a small breed to be a housedog (we'd always had working breeds). So I checked out the Toy breeds. Many seemed twittery & twitchy to me. Then I came upon a row of small dogs I'd never seen before. They sat calmly & looked me straight in the eye, holding eye contact with soft brown eyes. Wasn't long before I owned one, a tibbie. Since then, I've heard other people say they've been drawn in by that same calm, eye contact. I once heard a radio program about dogs' eyes & sight. It said that such little dogs have flatter faces when seen face on & they have largish eyes because they gaze to make contact as a people-focused breed. Totally different meaning from when the working dogs fixed their gaze. .

I agree with you, Sheridan.

Rockingham, south of Perth Well done, Rockingham. Here's hoping other councils take the hint.

I've agreed with you in another thread about this point. Step 1 in combating puppy farming activities is to look at all existing laws. And if any of them can address the problem. If so, how can they be better enforced. Or even just tweaked, in some way. And that includes looking at consumer law which may need to be expanded to cover the welfare issues at critical point-of-sale. UQ research mentioned a significant issue in 'dumping' of dogs was that they did not live up to the owners' 'expectations'. But it's first necessary to look at what is wanted in the care & breeding of dogs. If that were done, AWL NSW would find that making 'breeders' pay $500 a year is actually encouraging large-scale operations where commercial aims trump socialisation. If the AWL NSW is trying to get dogs to 'stick' in pet homes, their 'plan' is in the opposite direction. It encourages 'farming' approaches. So they need to draw on more expert advice. And present a plan that encourages & supports puppies being bred in more 'human family' context. Once again, UQ research pointed to the vital importance of socialising puppies (& breeding them from a well- socialised mother dog). Puppies coming from such a background were far less likely to develop the characteristics linked with high dumping rate.

There were 3 lists, Sheridan. Breed Clubs, Social Breed Clubs & Breed Rescues. They were published at the back of the magazine. I had the Breed Rescues list (a contact person & a phone no were given). My photocopy went out of date as rescues, contacts & phone numbers changed.

We certainly do Sheridan! Often we are so busy, it is hard to search for them all in one place(apart from DOL) The Dogs Qld magazine for its members used to have a page on which was listed all the breed rescues with contact details. I'm not a member but someone gave me a photocopy of that page. However, over the years, it went out of date. I don't know if they still publish such a list, but it was jolly useful.

Michelleva, you have my understanding. OK, even if it's accepted it was accidental in that the dog broke its lead to charge you. The owner bears taking responsibility for the consequences. Your leg was barrelled into, causing real pain and you were understandably shaken at a dog charging you & your sheltie. I would expect an apology from the man, genuine concern if you'd been injured and checking that you were OK, before moving on with his dog. Not unrealistic expectations. There are people out there who are civil in such circumstances. A dog once broke away when a man was getting it out of a car....next to where I was walking the 2 shelties. It charged my dogs. The shelties' leads tangled my legs & pulled me over. The man was decent. He was as shocked as I was & raced to help me (after he secured his dog.). His only concern was that I (& my shelties) were OK. He couldn't stop apologising & said it had taught him to put the dog's lead on in the car. I've also had a speeding huge GSD come flying across a park, straight at my 2 shelties on a lead. I'm not afraid of dogs, but my heart nearly stopped. I screamed 'Stop!', just as the owner way on the other side, whistled the GSD, which stopped. Not a word of concern from the owner.....who had just watched his big dog charging at a small lady with 2 little shelties. It was a park that required dogs be on leash. No civil response from that man.

I just found a beautiful tribute to Thea, the GSD girl, who was owned by the nuns of Jamberoo Abbey, south of Sydney. ABC made a program in that Abbey a few years back & Thea became a star because she was the much loved pet who had free run of the place. The TV crew nicknamed her 'Mother Rex'. Old age caught up with her & she was helped to sleep in December: http://www.jamberooabbey.org.au/html/news2/thea.htm

Great news about Rusty. I love how he left wearing his Sunday best & smiling. Look forward to hearing and seeing more about Max. These little dogs are so lucky that rescuers are there for them!