Aidan3

Ahh, got it. Is there some resistance to this in the dog world? I found out the other day that a significantly large number of people think weight pulling is cruel. That surprised me.

That might be what I'm looking for, thanks. Although my dog does not pull I think it is the twisting on the body that is uncomfortable, the straps end up in the wrong places.

Is the difference with this one with the padding?

I was surprised that it was a law here, but I didn't say it was stupid. Over the top, maybe. There is no way my dog can do either of those things attached to a Springer, and believe me she has tried Despite this, the extra road width required can be a nuisance to drivers on many roads so I avoid them.

That's the first time I've heard of that in Tassie! So that would only apply to public roads? And if I were to clip the leash to a hands-free belt instead of the Springer, that would be OK? Did Cesar make the rule? Sorry, not sure of the reference concerning CM?

What are people's preferences for a harness to use when running on a Springer beside a bike? My GSD likes to stay well clear of the bike and back a little, but I don't think she is comfortable in this harness. I would like to get her something more comfortable.

Sounds like she's had a couple of bad experiences and you're the completely innocent common denominator. One way or another, you're associated with it. Dogmad's suggestion of going somewhere by car is a good one. You need to find a way to build up the positive experiences again so she knows she is safe with you.

I'm not saying this is the case, but it could be the case that he has learned not to do it in front of you. If it is the case, then it does give you some hope that he can learn not to do it while you aren't there, also. Erny's anxiety wrap suggestion is worth a try. Some people use a kid's t-shirt, you can also use a horse polo bandage in warmer weather. There are videos on YouTube demonstrating the wrapping procedure.

That's a thought worth exploring and experimenting with. I was trying to think what to colour it with, black texta maybe? There are a whole bunch of neurological conditions that result in people (or animals) misidentifying parts of their bodies. Sometimes the solutions are intriguing.

Good point, they do cover every possibility. I sometimes wonder if over-disclosure is worse than failure to disclose? Looking at those pictures, I can't help but wonder if that white tip on the tail is triggering something?

There is really no need to be scared, I'm wondering if you found balanced, informed opinions or some of the nonsense put out by the anti-drug brigade who think "big-pharma" is out to steal their children and burn their crops? Generally, the sort of drugs that a vet will usually prescribe for this sort of condition has it's effects on "serotonin", which is a chemical that the nervous system relies on. What researchers noticed was that animals who displayed certain kinds of behaviour appeared to have less serotonin than the rest of the population, so they designed drugs to increase serotonin, or increase the action of serotonin, in the brain. This was very effective at remedying certain type of behaviour and mood disorders. Some of the early drugs (e.g Redux) had some nasty side-effects, but since then safer and safer alternatives have been found with fewer and fewer side-effects. There are genuine side-effects but the worst of these are not really applicable to an animal not intended for breeding. By all means, address these concerns with your vet. If you balance it up, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks in nearly all cases where a drug is appropriately prescribed.

I just put a dab of zinc cream on the nose, lasts all day.

I can only guess what your vet has prescribed, but that sounds quite expensive. Sometimes you can shop around, or maybe purchase the stronger version and cut the tablets in half (e.g if vet has prescribed 40mg, you might buy the 80mg and cut in half). Your vet should be able to advise.

LCK cherry-picks the literature to support his views.

If he can access these other reinforcers, then that is what he will choose to do until his reinforcement history tells him to choose to heel instead. As Persephone has suggested, use a long line. You can just let it drag behind him, it's just to stop him getting the other rewards. Introduce distractions gradually, setting him up for success and rewarding that success. e.g if he likes balls, I would have someone holding a ball nearby, as he learns to heel nicely while that person holds the ball, then the person might toss the ball in the air and catch it, or bounce it. Keep raising the bar at a rate at which your dog succeeds. Then try it with a friendly dog on-leash nearby. At the end of the session, let them have a play. As for wildlife, you really just need to pick your training grounds so that you can introduce these distractions as he is ready for them. The long line will prevent accidental reinforcement of running off.

http://permaculture.org.au/2008/09/18/huma...-free-download/ Something to read over breakfast

LOL Aidan, I found that one on youtube earlier today! He looks AWESOME! I'd love a dog like that - I love his looks, his size, his attitude he looks like great fun. Will definitely be youtube'ing hunting videos! They are currently sitting at the top of my list. I like little wooden boats, and they would fit quite nicely.

A friend of mine breeds and works them in the US. From what he describes they are probably not ideal for agility or obedience, purely a working terrier.

Lots of potential in this one: If you want to see them at their best there are tons of hunting videos on YouTube featuring Springers, they are brilliant.

http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Step...cess/Steps.html

You could teach him to stop the traffic by holding up his paw in a "stop" sign Another true story, a friend of mine had two dogs. One was a very bright Border Collie, the other from unknown parentage (well I do know, but don't want to offend anyone) who was a little bit... special. One day my friend's mum was coming home and she noticed the special one running around like a goose in the middle of the road while all the cars were stopped, while the BC was up on his hind legs hitting the button on the pedestrian crossing!

Could you explain what this is, please? Not very well When you have two interval schedules of reinforcement running concurrently to see how the animal makes choices, there needs to be a brief period of no reinforcement after each trial otherwise the animal will quickly figure out how to maximise reinforcement rather than making a choice that reflects the frequency or magnitude of the reinforcers on offer. In plain english, it's a set period of time where nothing happens between trials that prevents cheating. ETA: the first half of this article gives an overview of why we study choice behaviour and some of the things that influence choice http://www.clickertraining.com/node/2970

Without seeing it I'd say you just need to clean up that criterion a bit. Ignore when he mouths. Make sure you can always see what he is doing to the target so that you don't reinforce the wrong thing. Or, use a big, flat target that he can't mouth. You get what you click, if you are clicking a variety of responses you will get a variety of responses (and that is OK at first). As you selectively reinforce the response you want more of, you will get fewer of the variations, and more of the response you are clicking on. Unless I specifically want the dog to hold something in place, I have the dog follow the item stopping just short of touching it. This is a bit easier for things like heeling, moving into position etc If you want the dog to hold something in place (like a tape measure) then teach a paw target, when it is strong only click the hardest touches. These tend to be a little longer, so you can then start to build in a bit more duration. Timing can be a bit tricky building duration on something so brief, aim to click the best 2 out of 3 until you have something to work with.

No. The ITI comes in once the dog is touching on cue and we introduce a different signal for the discrimination training. I originally had it for the second phase, which involves training a cue for touching, but I ended up cutting it down to just a 15s pause because Erik was walking away. If he walks away from a training exercise, I know I've got problems! Bringing it in for the third training phase is causing a bit of worry as well, though, as suddenly the reward rate drops and dogs are waiting around a bit between trials. So far those that have made it to phase 3 are coping with the frustration, but it makes me a bit nervous to see frustrated dogs, even if they get over it on their own. I was wondering whether the Boxer had either learned to wait, or had offered the response during an ITI and was unsure what to do because of it. Definitely not the case then. One problem you might have with shelter dogs is having them hungry enough for auto-shaping.

Wow! Great idea. I always have this issue This is a true story. We had a salesperson measuring up part of our house. I was helping him hold the tape in place. My GSD spontaneously, without prompting or intentional training, decided she was going to hold the end of the tape measure in place