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Aidan3

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Everything posted by Aidan3

  1. I have no doubt they can enjoy themselves - however, if there is a scuffle , I am wondering if other dogs grab onto harnesses .... My old GSD used to grab collars. I figured it was better than grabbing skin. I suppose the same would be true for a harness, but perhaps less threatening?
  2. I have almost zero problems with dogs pulling into front attaching harnesses. The sure way to get a dog to pull is a short leash and constant tension. Doesn't matter what they're wearing. I put most reactive dogs in harnesses now so that we can spend more time working on their behaviour around other dogs and less time on teaching them to walk on a loose leash. There are some traditionalists who insist on using a collar but I see no advantage in a collar except to please traditionalists. Front attaching harnesses are not a "constant aversive", they work on the principle of leverage. It's the same with a correctly conditioned head halter, for that matter. Response prevention isn't punishment or negative reinforcement.
  3. I don't feel qualified to have an opinion. I just don't think it's fair to malign vets who are trying to make professional decisions in their clients best interests (some of them will titre, some of them will not).
  4. Interesting article, thanks for sharing. :) I'll still continue to titre instead of vaccinate as I consider my dogs' circumstances fairly low risk. Now if you could vaccinate against stick-fast fleas, I'd be all over that bad boy! What a strange article. Seems the author can't really make her mind up either. This quote is at the end From what limited knowledge I have of vaccinations and antibodies (OK, admittedly pretty limited :) ) what she says doesn't make sense. In humans, we test for antibodies for Rubella all the time in pregnant women. Is she saying the presence of antibodies does not mean the woman are immune? This test has been performed for at least 30 years now. Many years ago I had my daughter tested for Measles antibodies as I don't want her to have the second booster measles shot. The test showed she had the antibodies so my doctor said she didn't need the jab. This is why you should consult your vet. They have studied the immune system and understand its complexities better than most random strangers on the Internet. The article makes sense. The causes of transmissible disease and infection are many and varied and animals have evolved many and varied ways to combat them. Titres indicate just one part of these. More useful for some diseases than others. There is no clear cut answer on this, which is why I think criticisms of vets who don't or won't titre are unfair.
  5. Vets who are described as "behind the times" could also be making sound decisions based on the available evidence. There's nothing wrong with taking a conservative approach when it comes to health and preventable disease.
  6. Modern medications used to treat anxiety should not make a dog feel dopey and should make the dog feel better.
  7. I'm not a vet, but I think it's fair to be skeptical of titering instead of vaccinating. "Correlation doesn't imply causation", and that's all we have with a titre - correlation. It does not measure immunity. http://m.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2010/june/titering_or_vaccines-10182
  8. A dog that might reasonably be described as "dominant" would not display any of these behaviours and I would steer clear of any trainer or behaviourist who described her as such. There is absolutely nothing wrong with medicating an anxious dog and I wouldn't say it was a last resort either. It won't magically solve your aunt's dog's issues but it will make them easier to manage and to modify. Dogs don't all respond in the same way to medication, but if you take a population of anxious dogs and medicate half of them, the medicated half will display significantly fewer anxious behaviours than the unmedicated group. The best advice that you will receive on this will be from a veterinary behaviourist.
  9. How is Schnookums these days?
  10. Wow, Bella had really grown up, don.
  11. FF is used, like most methods in dog training, because of confirmation bias. Trainers believe it is the only way to get a reliable retrieve. It's the same reason people believe that lines are sound or unsound or fit for purpose or only good for the show ring or whatever their bias is.
  12. The safety release is a good feature, but it's just that plastic thing with the holes in it that the leash is tied to. A not-very-skilled person might figure out a way to <cough>simply untie it and tie the leash to the spring instead<cough>.
  13. With all the safe, healthy, friendly dogs getting PTS in shelters every day, I'm a bit cynical about using a dog like this as a form of publicity. If he'd just found himself in a bad situation, as did the Golden that k9Pro took on, that's a different story.
  14. PROOF! The age of entitlement really is over! Even the cats have to protect the family now :laugh:
  15. Cats are one of the few species that don't exhibit contra-freeloading. (Although to be fair, that's probably got more to do with the way we test it than any lazy, entitled attitudes that cats may have).
  16. Yup. That's why I titled this post as I did. Don't need to read minds or make assumptions, cat did good.
  17. My guess is the lady went after the dog because she thought she was safe with the cat nearby.
  18. It was predatory stalking, and legs are a natural target as taking the leg out immobilises the prey. There isn't any sound on the video, but the silence is a bit of a give away, coupled with the intensity. It can be hard, though. Toby, my GSD, stalks other dogs when he sees them at a distance. At first it is hard to figure out what he's doing, but it quickly turns into calming or play signals (which most people miss, so I usually call him to me if we don't know them). The dog that attacked me and my dog acted in the same manner. It is very scary. There was no growling or snarling. No hackles up. Just trot across the road and bang. It's always the quiet ones that worry me the most. The only dogs I've ever been in trouble with are the silent or very quiet ones.
  19. It was predatory stalking, and legs are a natural target as taking the leg out immobilises the prey. There isn't any sound on the video, but the silence is a bit of a give away, coupled with the intensity. It can be hard, though. Toby, my GSD, stalks other dogs when he sees them at a distance. At first it is hard to figure out what he's doing, but it quickly turns into calming or play signals (which most people miss, so I usually call him to me if we don't know them).
  20. Warning, this is quite a disturbing dog attack on a child that thankfully was cut short by the dog being fought off by a cat. The body language of the dog, caught on security camera, is something we should probably familiarise ourselves with. The child required a couple of stitches. http://kdvr.com/2014/05/14/watch-family-cat-saves-boy-from-dog-attack/
  21. hmm no, is it a bit like the one Ian Dunbar talks about, he calls it 'Jazz up and settle down'? Sounds like it. Anyway, it's a good way to settle a dog down quickly who is easily excited, you can use it for times when you need it. At other times, you can just enjoy the crazies!
  22. Do you do that game, I forget the popular name but I think it's what Susan Garrett calls it, "Go Wild, Then Freeze" with her?
  23. It's one of the simplest forms of learning necessary for survival so I'm pretty sure Mishka is getting it. A couple of things: 1. the only way to know if Mishka is getting it is if you see more of the behaviours you click (e.g she tries something again); 2. sometimes dogs don't appear interested in treats because they are highly distracted, or too anxious to eat. Ahh, maybe she doesnt have that much interest in the treat then? maybe shes bored of it? she only gets treats from her dog food Science diet i think its called, and i cant really tempt her with the more enticing things like little pieces of meat or anything because shes very sensitive and theres a lot of foods that actually make her quite sick. the video i watched said that if your dog gets it, they'll hear the click then look for the treat. But is, I was sitting thinking over what to do with her and i had my hand out and she put her paw there, so i thought shake would be neat to teach her and clicked as her paw went there and treated, and then she would put her paw there again and so forth.. before she did it on command, Im going to guess thats the sign she gets it? a little more subtle than Ace was. Most dogs will look for the treat, but the only reliable diagnostic is that they repeat the behaviour - which is good, because that's the whole point of rewarding it! So that's all that really matters. Put aside half or more of her meals for training or to put into a treat dispensing toy so that meals become part of her mental stimulation. We've all got to work for food!
  24. It's one of the simplest forms of learning necessary for survival so I'm pretty sure Mishka is getting it. A couple of things: 1. the only way to know if Mishka is getting it is if you see more of the behaviours you click (e.g she tries something again); 2. sometimes dogs don't appear interested in treats because they are highly distracted, or too anxious to eat.
  25. The only real test of whether they "get" the clicker is to see if behaviours that you click happen more. I never charge the clicker, and it never matters.
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