Brennan's Mum

I love this site on Facebook Sh#t My Pet Ruined. I don't have a photo, but Brennan did chew my laptop charger into pieces when she was a pup. Cost me $95 to replace.

Someone's not a Patricia McConnell fan

It was from a '94 performance so seventeen years ago I think it is a testament to how amazing dogs are, the work and training that both handler and dog put into their training. Generally I look at dog training, particularly for sports and tricks as a puzzle; you have several small pieces which must be 'fitted correctly' in order to complete the puzzle and see the full picture. Simple analogy...works for me anyway ;) I am hoping to tag along to the RAAF Family Day at the end of the year with my bestie and her family to see a demo from the local RAAF dog handlers. It's always interested me..partly because it often involves German Shepherds, and how impressive it looks. It's only since I got Brennan that I started to look into how they went about training each piece of the puzzle. The person with the experience is a DOLer, and I was speaking to her out of some of my questions. I think the thing which really blew my mind more then anything was the dumbbell retrieve of the fire-lit dumbbell.

I just found this video whilst chatting with my friend who worked as a Military Dog Handler. Surprised I didn't see it earlier- my family watched a LOT of Military Tattoo's growing up. According to my friend it's not all that difficult to train if you follow the steps--but boy it looks impressive put together

Another vote for Jane Harper

I'm so sorry for your loss . I tell my dog I love her every day...it is a little ritual- she means the world to me

Or you could try The Book Depository. They have free postage and are pretty cheap. I have always gotten my orders within the 2 weeks. They have many dog books as well as other books.

Just out of curiosity is your Mum a horse person? Many horse people feel that a horse with light eyes cannot be trusted and I myself cannot stand dogs with light eyes (ie. when the standard calls for otherwise) - I do agree to a point. Nope-- not a horse person, in fact no one in my family has ever had much to do with horses other then driving past a field and seeing them.

My Mum once told me when I was 9 that German Shepherds 'with amber eyes were nasty and could 'turn''. She then told me prior to getting Brennan that 'female GSDs can 'turn''. I asked her why if she is scared of German Shepherds did she have a GSD x Kelpie who was mostly German Shepherd when I was born? and with me as a toddler?...apparently the small amount of Kelpie made the difference . Turns out she had been bitten on the face by a female purebred German Shepherd and she was a bit wary. Now she is fine-- or at least she is fine with my dog...I don't know if I'd get her to a specialty show anytime soon though. Apart from GSDs, Rottweilers, and Dobermans were also capable of 'turning'. ACDs were added to that list after a families ACD bit a friends brother on the face during a child birthday party. Border Collies also 'have a nasty streak'. This is from seeing her friends getting a BC pup and keeping it in a small enclosed fence area with 2 ten minute walks a day and little other human interaction or training. I do recall one day prior to getting Brennan that I snapped at her and pointed out that 'Every dog on the planet is capable of ''turning'' even her Maltese x Shih Tzu'. She also bought her dog ( the cross breed) from a byb. She told me how cross breeds are healthier, and less prone to diseases and how her breeder is a reputable breeder. I think she confused the fact that her ''breeder'' is a lovely person ( and she is) to mean that she is reputable . Last 'pearler' she said was that she should buy the cross breed from the pet store in Adelaide because if it's not good for them to be in the stores then she'd be 'saving it'. Needless to say my Mum and I have had several conversations about reputable breeders/ backyard breeders/ puppy mills/pet shops. Most of the time she tells me that 'I am obsessed' or 'fanatical'. Though she is learning--she want's another dog but she is going to go to a shelter to look for a Maltese x type dog. Last time she tried to get me to go near a pet store I stood muttering 'Puppy farms/ Vile places/ Disgrace/ Should not be here/ Registered-Reputable breeder' --just loud enough for the staff to hear . She's learning...I think hearing it from other people helps--makes her realise that it is not 'just her daughter' who feels this way.

Brennan's not a fan of walking or being in the rain...which suits me just fine .

There are a few breeds which can lay claim to the nickname ''Sheppies''; the 4 Belgian Shepherd breeds, the Australian Shepherd and of course the German Shepherd. With German Shepherds I say- Sheppies, GSDs With Australian Shepherds I say- Aussies With Belgian Shepherds I will say- ''The Belgians'' or; Belgian Malinois--Mals Belgian Tervuren--Tervs Belgian Groenendael-- Belgian G's Belgian Laekenois- I just refer to them as Laekenois. I don't know if they are formal nicknames but they are what I say .

Can watch a lot of them on You Tube which is where I've watched them .

Love all animals, but Wolves and Dogs are my favourite animals. Admittedly I am not too keen on Snakes, Insects, Sharks or Fish

Aww, so cute.

There is Kathy Koppellis Mcleod. I have also heard of Honey Gross Richardson, although couldn't find a website for her. I am sure another DOLer could supply more information regarding Honey.

Some one shared this on FB and it gave me a smile,so I thought why not share it with DOLers . According to the other video, the dog only does this for breakfast and not his evening meal.

http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/81686-general-heath-information/ Post number 2 I hope it helps.

I could feed my dog 5kgs of pumpkin a day. Just because he eats 5kgs of it doesn't mean his body isn't being starved of nutrition leading to massive weight loss. Fillers do exactly that, fill you up and give you little to no nutrition for it. Honestly if I had your dog, other than taking it to a good vet to see if there are any underlying diseases, etc. I would be feeding him at lib [leaving a decent amount of good dry food out at all times] to allow the dog to regulate its food and put some weight back on. Once he has reached a better wieght then go back to feeding him a few times a day. I am absolutely horrified at the condition of that dog, especially that it is supposed to be an assistance dog. I am not at all surprised the RSPCA have been around to check him out-I am surprised they didn't take him off of you! If I ever saw someone's dog like that I would report them. You need to wake up to reality, stop make excuses especially ones with are anatomically impossible! There are a number of vets and vet nurses on this site...they know the anatomy of a dog! [Guess where the human stomach is...oh within the ribcage! Fancy that] Your dog is STARVING on the diet it is on. Something NEEDS to change! No one is going to condemn you a bad owner if you listen to the advice given and act accordingly for the dogs benefit. However, denying the obvious and letting your poor dog suffer... Well said. I agree, you have been given some wonderful advice on this forum from some well informed people.

Another vote for 2 separate crates. Also agree that if they are not crate trained the wire crate may be the best option.

Wow, that's brilliant- especially considering there are some people who are scared of Rotti's

He's so cute, and fluffy. Will be interesting to see him grow, you are going to have to post lots and lots of photo's for us

Aww...Cavvie's are such gorgeous dogs, Welcome, Lily

How horrifying for the Blind lady and her dog , truly a nightmare for the poor lady. I hope the dog can continue to work. What would be the likely course of action? would the Guide dog have to be reviewed for any sign of potential behavioural changes/ issues?

Nooooooooo not again. I'll give it a try... Training-- try some obedience training and throw in a bit of trick training for some extra fun. Play-- after a bit of 'work' ( training) you can follow it up with some fun play ie 'Fetch'/Tug Walk your dog-- I often take my dog to a nearby grassy area near a football field. We will sit on the hill, do some training and also have a cuddle and a fuss.

How often do we see rants about stupid things other owners do? Well this is the opposite. As some of you know, I am currently working with Brennan to modify her reactivity around other dogs. In the 3 weeks since we saw the behaviourist things have been fantastic. Thursday morning, we are out for our walk and notice a loose JRT. We cross the road, and Brennan is non reactive. The JRT then sees us and proceeds to run towards us barking. I keep walking, and Brennan remains below threshold--no reaction at all (HUGE improvement). Anyway, we just manage to shake the JRT when we come across some people in the process of moving house. I could see from a 25m distance that they have their black Labrador out the front of the house unleashed. Immediately I go to cross the road, as I am crossing the road the people seeing Brennan call their dog. The Lab ( who has incidentally not moved at all) turns and returns to his owner immediately . I was so impressed with these people-- not only did they have effective control over their dog, but they saw me and Brennan and immediately went to ensure they had control of their dog. Just thought it'd be nice to rave about a positive experience