sas

Mabe you'd like to ask those questions again in a different context as I believed I did. You obviously felt you needed to say that I didn't answer you questions, so why don't you e-mail me or give me a call I'm more than happy to answer any questions you felt I didn't answer because it's sending this a little OT now.

Hoping you can see the length of his legs better here.

Ok, just need to convince the OH to bring me.....what time does it start?

GREAT WORK SAS Hope it works out for Cobber soon hes so cute....for flyball purposes anything with a BC cross is highly desirable - does he have longer than usual cocker legs? any idea if hes a fast mover? he has attracted some attention in flyball circles! Yep longer, he doesn't have cocker legs. I'm currently working with him to see what motivates him the most, he's had a yucky tummy the last couple of day so food is a no-go right now, usually cabanose is his favourite, he's a delictae eater though and takes forever to eat it so I have to slice the pieces very finely LOL Toys do motivate him a bit too, he likes chasing toys. I can't get him to play tug of war at the moment, it's like he thinks he's going to get in trouble. He's very gentle on the mouth. He's pretty much like a previous foster who was a GSD x Cattle, when he first came out of the shelter he didn't have a great deal of confidence and it took him just over a month to start acting like a dog his age, he's now doing Agility, I believe he goes to Castle Hill, his name is Ned so if you see him you'll see how much confidence he has these days. I'm sure he'll be able to get hyped up with no problems soon, the outside world is brand new right now so that can be a little over whelming for them to start with. It's almost like he thinks he's going to get in trouble for be a hyper puppy LOL. I think he really needs time with dogs more his size to play with, as he had plenty of puppies to play with at the shelter, my Great Dane is just too big for him. For some reason I have appreciated him be calm probably because he's a puppy and so darn well behaved and haven't purposely tried to hype him up too much because I wasn't sure what type of home he was going to get.....however we have since decided a pet home won't be the best for him, he needs to use his brain. Shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] and I'll shoot you the link to the training video and you can see his body shape as well :D Photo below of Ned:

Ditto to trying another vet or at least have your current vet throughly explain the problem to you. Perhaps it was an infection?

Being broad = small dogs, there are many breds of small dogs, small dogs don't just belong on comforters in peoples lounge rooms. Humanasing (I said I feel you 'maybe' humanasing, I did not say you were) = Social Creatures that need companionship. Dogs need a stable and solid pack, they need to know who their leader is, a dog who understands pack leadership doesn't get stressed/over excited during the day.....it's not about wanting to be with it's human mummy, it's about understanding that the pack leader comes and goes as they please. You can say I have been too broad but I'm not sure how you come to that conclusion. I suggest you go back and read my post again and you'll notice the terms I use such as 'I feel' 'maybe' 'can be'. Pehaps you're rushing through posts or not reading the full post before rushing off to comment?

Lillysmum, What you have said is way too broad and very misleading. Most dogs can be outside whilst their owners are at work. They may need to be conditioned to do so if they are not used to it. Dogs can be conditioned to enjoy the time in the yard, so stop making out as though it is the cruelest thing in the world. There are many items that can be used to entertain a dog in the yard during a working day and many ways to allow it to feel comfortable with its' humans. I've yet to see you actually be helpful to someone asking a question, you seem to pop in your .2 cents worth of negative conversation, why is it that you feel the need to make people feel small and incompetent? Your comments are also lacking education. I feel that you maybe humanasing the relationship between a human and a dog.

I say head to a behaviourist if you've tried what you have and you're not getting the desired result.

Some breeders I have spoken to insist that a puppy never be left alone, other breeders say a dog is a dog and people have to work. It's a catch 22 isn't it, you need to work in order to look after and care for your puppy and keep a roof over your own head, yet some people think that a puppy shouldn't be left for more than 4 hours if at all. I would look into a kennel for your yard to keep your puppy safe, depending on your yard of course and how puppy safe it is. Or as another poster mentioned, look into crate training, I'm not sure that popping a dog in a crate for 10 hours is a terribly healthy thing to do though. Have someone come around and feed puppy it's lunch and have a play etc. Remembering puppies sleep alot as well......no one seems to have mentioned this? I'm not saying that I agree that leaving a puppy unattended for 10 hours is a suitable arrangement but considering this is going to happen I hope that people will give your some good ideas as to how to keep a puppy entertained and calm during this time period. If it were me, I'd be doing short leaves and going longer and longer, showing the puppy that I will return. I'd also be providing things like a sandpit, interactive toys such as treat balls, a shallow paddling pool when the puppy is older. Popping a shower radio outside to keep the normal inside noise going, scatter feeding etc etc. Never giving in to whines or crying etc. Some Great Dane people say that Great Danes can't be out on their own for more than 4 hours....they just can't handle it........bollocks to that! I'm bringing home a puppy next year, I'm fortunate enough to have a dog friendly boss and puppy will be coming to work with me until he's old enough and big enough to be at home with my girl. As to those who said, what happens if the puppy gets sick etc whilst you're not home.......well that could happen to those who only leave their dogs 2 hours, also what about adult dogs are left to their own devices throughout the day. I understand where you are all coming from, but I think there's a need to be a little realistic as well. There are ways this can work and it would be better putting comments to how it could work rather than make the poster feel like an incompetent new puppy owner.

I ignore my dogs if they're challenging me. I ignore them when I get home for about 5 minutes and I pay them no attention if they come to me wanting attention, I do everything on my own terms.....a couple of years ago I would have thought this was a really harsh method. I have had a dog in the past the was aggressive to other dogs, I must admit I have learned alot since then but I did seek help from a behaviourist. How about not setting the dog up for faliure? I.e. you know what faults your dog has, so avoid it until you have done the ground work. I.e I know my girl walks fantastic on her own, but you put her with another dog and she'll pull and be a right cow, so I don't put her in that situation, I go back and do more ground work. These are just my opinions, there are so many different methods. In regards to the blue tounge lizard....well that's just rather tempting isn't it. Teaching the 'leave it' command perhaps? But instinct is instinct isn't it? I'd be more thinking along the lines of providing the lizard with a safe haven that is safe from the dogs.

Happy to take as many videos as people need.....I'm not an agility or flyball trainer so can't really help there, but if someone wants to see him do a certain command/s etc I'm willing to put it all on tape to show how fast he gets it etc.

We unfortunately had to turn one family down, the environment wasn't quite right for him i.e. siting in the backyard not ultilising his talent. A smart dog without interaction or mental stimulation = Run for the hills LOL

I would stay right away from the Alpha roll, but that is just me. I will usually turn in the opposite direction before a dog starts up and then go back and try again, if not successful then we turn around again. I don't lay my hands on my dogs in an aggressive manner, this may work for some people but it's just not my personal style and it's not gaining the end results I would like to see. If you're not able to handle a situation yourself I would suggest you hook up with someone that is able to assist you.

Hi Guys, I wanted you to meet Cobber who is an adorable 7 month old Border Collie x, thought to be crossed with a Cocker due to his size and markings. Cobber just recently came into foster care and in a 2 week period learnt how to Sit, Drop, Stay & Heel. His focus still needs improving and I must admit I have slowed down on the training front as I had been trying to proof what he has learnt to far and we've just come out of the honey moon period. Prior to coming into foster care he had been at the shelter since he was just a bub. He gets along well with any dogs he has met and is fine with small kiddies. Way over the top larger dogs concern him such as a Great Dane running full boar at him in an attempt to intice him to play.....mind you who wouldn't be a little concerned about that! He is an very smart young boy who we'd love to see using his talent in his new home. I could definately see him doing very well in obedience. His focus is improving daily, at the moment when out in public the world is a very interesting place! A companion pooch more his own size would definately allow him to be the puppy is he, as he is very calm and unfortunately Leila doesn't play with him....he's just too little for her. He loves playing fetch and most of the time will bring it back, he's also just learnt that the paddling pool is not just a huge water bowl and loves to play in his sand pit! He house trained in a week and is very well behaved inside, usually just snoozes on his bed or plays with his toys or chew bones, definatelty not an in your face dog. He's a massive cutie! In a 2 hour period that I left him with my parents he had them wrapped around his little paw and was on the bed having cuddles with my mother....this is the Cobber who hasn't been on the bed in our house yet! I do have a short video of a training session with him if you'd like to have a lookie.

Ditto, that would be a really good book to read, I remember the JRT story. It takes times, little by little. Passive aggressive dogs don't snap, they don't need to do anything like that because their confidence/body language tells other dogs what to expect from them. Has pooch had any bad experiences in the past such as larger dogs beign too rough in play or anything like that?

Have you tried creating a positive association with the guests? Can I ask where guests try to pat him? On his head?

I think that is where the mis-understanding is, it's only 5 minutes. I'm definately not saying what you read in books is 100% what anyone should do, I'm putting across a tried and tested method not a random off the wall suggestion. The ignoring method is really hard to comprehend for some people, it can seem mean and harsh, I can understand that some people feel that way.......we as dog owners wouldn't do anything to our dogs that made us uncomfortable or that we didn't agree with, so letting someone know about a training method that has been tried and tested isn't really doing any harm.....is it? It think this is another mis-understanding, what we 'think' is happyness and excitement 'can' be a mixture of aniexty.....is a dog that is happy to see you a bad thing? Of course not! Is a dog that is over-excited something to be concerned about in terms of a calm and balanced mind, yeah if you have some behavioural problems that need to be worked on before they take a notch up.I think you've read my post in the incorrect context and I apologise if I mis-communicated what I said or I didn't come across as clear as I would have liked. Some people love to see over-excited dogs and love to do all the things that trainers say you shouldn't.........there's no problem with that if there are no issues with the dog that you were wanting to work on however this is the Puppy 'Problems' forum. This is my opinion, just like you had your opinon. I challenged you on your opinion and you have challenged me on mine, thank you.

You didn't, it's cool Everyone agreeing would be less interesting

In her book it doesn't say the dog shouldn't be taken anywhere.

Sounds like she's doing really well for age. Are you looking at trialing her?

*shrugs* If that's the way you feel. You obviously disagree with what I said from a training & leadership point of view.

LOL that's pretty funny. Ditto to what everyone else said: Don't say the command word inside the house....looks like your pooch is smarter than what you gave it credit for lol

I feel a dog should be entitled to have it's own space whsilt eating and other dogs shouldn't be entering this space and a dog giving another dog a repremand for this would be fairly typical behaviour. Mind you when does a repremand turn into resource guarding, I guess only you can see how much she is doing it and how much it looks as though she will follow through with her threat. Don't be too annoyed at yourself, these things happen, some dogs can happily be on sofas and beds without climbing up the ladder. Sounds like you're on the right track to putting her back in her place. Ignoring can do the trick even though it's very hard to do initially. Ignore when you come home for about 5 minutes will see you seeing results in about a week. If the dog is challenging you go into full ignore mode, that may be for an afternoon, a day, 2 days until the dog realises there has been a change in leadership in the home. I personaly feel it's ok to have dogs on furniture as long as you're the one who invites them up and they get off when they're told. Good Luck, I'm sure it won't take too long

Toohey, That exactly right....what works for you. The puppy is a dog and not a 'baby' puppy. Giving this dog the right start will save hastles down the track. 'it's a baby who has been on her own all day" This is humanising a dog and this is where issues occur. I'm not saying don't treat your dog like that, many people do and have well balanced dogs, not all dogs are well balanced and generally puppies aren't, they need boundaries and why wouldn't you get this out of the way whilst they are a puppy rather than when they're adult dog with ingrained behaviours. I'm simply saying in terms of training & leadership giving a dog attention whilst it is not conforming is encouraging bad behaviours. Each to their own but I don't think it's fair to give a newbie with a puppy advice that goes against what most books and trainers suggest to do.

I don't think her methods are anything new, they're methods I've read about before from another trainer in the UK. It's a good refresher book. What was the question the lady asked that she got upset about?