Pretty Miss Emma

I haven't trained a deaf dog, but what I have heard and read is that using something like a torch/laser light to get their attention in terms of recall, using a mini bean bag to throw in their field of view to get their attention, and in terms of many other behaviours just doing intensive work with clear hand signals (so long as you have clear hand signals for each behaviour there really isn't a need for a voice command to go with it - obviously distance may need to be taken into account with this!!). Good luck at giving him a go with his training I think you'll find it challenging at first but probably amazingly rewarding in the end!!!

Thanks for all info/advice thus far!! This I'm already doing, and that's what has spurred me to think slightly more broadly about this. Where I train we have an in-house training program which took me about 12 months to complete with observations, supervised instructing, reading, homework, etc!! And for a while now I've been a "proper instructor"! And I really think doing this has given me some great background. When I started training with Em I loved it, and then I moved on to this and love it even more and it has definitely made me a much better trainer with Kenzie who has a few issues that we are still working on - but I feel I'm much more equipped to deal with her (and not lose my patience!!!). But I do also really love dealing with the classes I teach and helping them with their dogs. Really it's just good alround!! I think that we think along similar lines here! I guess in my head I sort of think if some one has quals it at least means they've gone to some effort to do some learning about the field they are in. Not to say that someone without quals hasn't, as has also been said word of mouth is also very significant (and as a school teacher I see plenty of people with quals who are really useless at the job!!) as is previous experience - you can do a lot of learning without actually having a piece of paper to say that you did it! I guess I also see training as one of those fields where there are people who "just can", there are some who "can learn to" and there are people who no matter how much study they do/want to do it "just never will be able to"!! I think I tend to agree, although once formal quals become available there does seem to be a lot more importance placed on them within the public eye. And I think that is where some of my dilemas come in!! As it is, I'm not in the financial situation to start doing something particularly soon (damn those emergency vets - even though we love them!!). So I will keep plodding along where I train do my instructing and reading every book in our training library!! But I am finding everyone's thoughts most interesting!!

So becoming a dog trainer (well I sort of think of it as owner training!) - unregulated industry where qualification are not essential, however I'm of the belief that they're pretty important. Anyway, once I'm financially viable to be doing a course I'm considering it. I know of NDTF and Delta and have thoroughly assessed the pros and cons of both with several people who have done one or the other. But, are there other courses out there? Particularly that are held with some "esteem". Am happy with distance ed but otherwise looking at Melb based. Am interested to know what people interested in this area have done in terms of becoming qualified. Probably also a question to ask - what do people think about becoming qualified? Is it essential? Would you deal with someone who didn't have a formal qualification? Just interested!

So becoming a dog trainer (well I sort of think of it as owner training!) - unregulated industry where qualification are not essential, however I'm of the belief that they're pretty important. Anyway, once I'm financially viable to be doing a course I'm considering it. I know of NDTF and Delta and have thoroughly assessed the pros and cons of both with several people who have done one or the other. But, are there other courses out there? Particularly that are held with some "esteem". Am happy with distance ed but otherwise looking at Melb based. Am interested to know what people interested in this area have done in terms of becoming qualified. Probably also a question to ask - what do people think about becoming qualified? Is it essential? Would you deal with someone who didn't have a formal qualification? Just interested!

I use the easy walk harness - benefit being I'm not having my arm pulled off. however it is a training aid, dog still needs to learn to walk nicely on a collar (that's the bit we're still working on!!). The harness maymake it easier at training, but if you can persevere with training the flat collar at other times that might be helpful and quicker to transition to using the flat collar all the time.

My dogs are on Nutro (one since pup) and it is all good according to them. However, probably doesn't fit the easily affordable category. Although something to keep in mind is that the better quality kibble usually they need less of in comparison to the cheaper lesser quality kibble (not always the case but I've certainly been able to lessen the quantity I feed to the girls with Nutro compared to what they used to be fed). So just because a bag might cost more by weight doesn't mean it will be used up in the same time frame. But definitely start with what the breeder is feeding.

You think they would be more against cross breeding and poor breeding considering the majority of the dogs that end up in shelter are crossbred or poorly bred. I have nothing against crossbred i have one but i rescued him from a shelter about to be put to sleep in a few days, this is why i dont like BYB because most of them end up in shelters when they are out of the puppy looking stage like my poor boy . Just upsets me especially with the working breeds once they hit that 8mnth to a year you see them in a shelter truly saddens me. I find these comments really interesting and so poorly informed. I don't usually enter pros/cons of RSPCA but the one thing I can say is that they are very against BYBs as they understand that is where most of their animals come from. And certainly there are a lot of people who work there that are not only pro registered breeders but also are registered breeders themselves. They are very much for pet animals being desexed, and unless you are a registered breeder you should not be putting more animals into the wider community. Directly from their website... "The RSPCA recommends purchasing an animal from a shelter or reputable breder. All animals available from RSPCA Adoption Centres are happy, healthy, microchipped and desexed. If RSPCA Adoption Centres don't have the pet you are looking for, please ensure you research a suitable breed and contact a registered breeder to discuss. " Which doesn't really sound like they are anti-pure bred dogs. It sounds like they are pro shelter dogs and if a shelter doesn't have what you are looking for then speak to registered breeders to try to find what you are looking for.

I think the only way to kill them would be to spray an anti-fungal (if there is one available), and that might be questionable too. As they reproduce by dropping spores when they are mature you might be stuck with plucking the young ones so that there are no mature ones to drop more spores. As for identifying them maybe take one to the local plant nursery and see if they can help you. Thye'd also be able to give you information about whether or not they can be killed off. Not sure if it would be the cause of pup's upset tumtum, but always good to be able to eliminate unknown factors!

Update... I at least have 2 happy dogs again!! Kenzie is very glad Emma is home! Emma of course does not understand what "rest" really means! But she is figuring out that if she does too much she gets tired quickly. Had her BGL tested again today and it is slowly coming down, this is very good and I will now just have to be a bit patient!! Hopefully in a months time we will be close to back to normal in both regards to the pneumonia and the diabetes!

I generally use the crate at dog school and competitions. Emma - perfect (as I always say!)! Never had any issues with her in the crate, but I think in her life before me she was crate trained (although it may only have been as a pup when she was shown, with a possibility that she didn't really use one for about 8 years - but if this is the case she remembered!!!). Kenzie - work in progress. She likes her crate in the living room, will take herself in there for a nap, is happy to play "in your house", etc. Move the same crate to dog school, etc and the world is not such a great place!! So we're just going to keep working on that. But as a young pup she slept in a crate every night until about 6 months old then I was happpy for her to just sleep in her bed in my room (space also sort of dictated this!). If I had more room in my room I would consider using it as her every night bed. Oh, and we had to give up on the soft one as she learnt how to open it!!

What you are describing is similar to what I experienced with Emma. Initially she was diagnosed with incontinence (not unusual for an older dog, quite easy to manage). Subsequently, when her incontinence medication seemed to not be very effective, she was diagnosed as being a diabetic. IMO it never hurts to get a full blood screen done at that age just to rule out any big issues, I think the one I got Em cost about $180 but it told us what we needed to know. Aside from the issues she's been having recently she's been having one each year when she gets her vacc just to check up and make sure nothing else is lurking.

I have absolutely nothing to substantiate this suggestion but... You could try putting a dish of cordial or honey beside the bag and maybe that will lure them out??!

Home again! BSL too high but we're just going to monitor her and she's had an increase in her insulin dose - so now I have to also watch for a hypo!! So going to be making the most of all my doggy babysitters over the next week or so! I think she's just happy being home and hopefully that might also help her recovery. Yet again, thankyou well wishers!

You and the other posters who have said they don't like people saying "alot" will LOVE this. Hyperbole and a Half, "The Alot" :cry: :rofl: I recommend check it out if you haven't as you will Thankyou for making me giggle!

This one irks me a lot!! (note: a lot not alot!!). I am so guilty of this I know I do it and I just can't seem to stoppppppppppppppp Admitting you have a problem is the first step!!!!!

Sounding like exactly the same scenario!! I do love your response as to why he doesn't visit anymore, I'm going to steal it from you!!!

Kenzie has a cuddler, she's a BC. I'm guessing looking at the prices (and doing some poor estimation of size in my head) that she has a Large. She also is a curler most of the time, and when she curls up in it she fills about 3/4 of the inside of the bed and she uses the lip as a pillow (it's super cute!!!). My recommendation would be to go to a shop that sells them and try the different sizes out. I had Kenzie in the store I got hers for 30 minutes trying all the different beds they had that I liked and suited how she slept. The store assistant did find it amusing when I kept asking Kenz which bed she wanted!! In the end I had it narrowed down to 2 and I did about 5 repeats of "in your bed" and we bought the one she kept sitting in!! The cuddler! Most supply stores don't care if you do this! Plus whenever I go there now they always look at Kenzie and say "that's the dog who was here choosing it's bed isn't it?"!!!

This one irks me a lot!! (note: a lot not alot!!). I have to say the one on DOL that really really gets my goat is "conformation" vs "confirmation"!!!!! Do people want to conform that the dog confirms or confiorm that the dog conforms!!!!? But it does make for some funny reading some times!!

If I had a bigger yard I'd love a sculpture like that!!! Have people heard of crate man?? Maybe crate dog should start showing up with crate man!!!

And hopefully she's home this afternoon! Have to call the vet again about 2-ish for the real verdict, but they've been happy with her overnight. BSL is slowly coming down. So hopefully just a hiccup and nothing more. I'm still going to keep my fingers and toes crossed! And it's probably a good opportunity for me to train Kenzie to cross her paws! Will let you know the prognosis later. PS - persephone - thankyou for being just absolutely lovely!

Dogs like this are hard work, but I think they can also be so wonderful because they are just so rewarding as they progress and develop confidence!!!! Good on you for taking his issues in your stride, my ratbag sitting having a bit of a mope sounds like a drama queen compared to Digby!!

Apparently I live next door to a "pure-bred Maltese" because "I won't own a Maltese crossed with anything"!! I have to say if it's pure-bred it's the strangest pure-bred I've ever seen (and I've only seen them in pictures, etc). And my previous housemate whose mother used to breed Maltese in the US also agreed strangest looking one ever if it's pure-bred! It does however look like a lovely example of a Maltese x Shih Tzu!!! Which is a shame, when you have someone who would like to own a pure-bred of a type of dog but they are getting something that really just isn't. Mind you I have a lot of issues with this person owning any dog at all, but that's a completely separate issue to what this thread is about!!

Similar rules, but with exceptions!!! Emma is old and perfect - she can pretty much do what she wants! She is allowed offlead anywhere and she is usually always allowed inside if that is where she would like to be (there have to be some perks to being older!!). Kenzie is young and excitable - her rules are much firmer and more clearly defined. Only a couple of places she can be offlead, she must wait for her dinner until I'm ready (I like to give Em a headstart seeing as though she sometimes can't see where her food is!), she is relegated to outside/her crate if she can't be calm when there are people over, etc. But there are also many rules that are the same - although I'm starting to wonder if the rules that are the same are the the things that Emma just does naturally/prefers and I make Kenzie fall into line with her!!!

Don't feel guilty about sending him to pre-school etc. Early childhood educators and primary and secondary teachers are there to help you, they will have dealt with these types of issues before. They can often also be a really good source of support and help (mind you this can come down to the individual person also!). But they will have support and stratgies within their environment. If you're worried just ask them if they've dealt with kids like this before and would they be ok with your son being there (of course legally they probably have to say it's ok, but you'll be able to tell if they really mean it). I know a lot of good educators who relish having kids like this in class as it is good for everyone (we all need to know that not everyone is the same!) and often as an educator you get so much more back from these kids in the end. It never hurts to have a chat with them and even see if you can have maybe a shorter day there where you can help be an observer just incase you are worried how he would deal with the environment - there are schools that are happy for this to happen.

This is interesting - I think you have given me another way to procrastinate, I might have to do some Googling of that!!! Having been a 1 dog household before the ratbag munchkin came along, and her having spent all her time with Emma (or at most only 1 night apart), I'm not used to seeing this behaviour. I think she must know that Em is really unwell, because the other times when she's been away for only a night she's been ok about it. Also when we left Em at the vet yesterday she kept scratching at the door she had gone through to head to the ward, another thing that Kenzie has never done even when Emma had to have sleepovers with the eye vet. I do think dogs know more about what's going on than we give them credit for sometimes, but it's been interesting watching these behaviour changes (thank goodness she's not doing things to make me too concerned - she still thinks dinner time is great!).