Weasels

So sorry Aussie, it's a very distressing situation to be in

Just one small thing that I found helped when J started crawling, was that I heavily rewarded the dogs for moving away when he came toward/ too close to them. Gave them an acceptable behaviour they could easily implement to be in control of the situation, as long as I made sure they had an escape route. Otherwise just everything you're already doing. Hugs

A different opinion: my dog would find it extremely stressful to be in an environment where verbal and physical punishments were used on other dogs, even if no such punishments were used on him.

Consider whether you want your dog to be in such a stressful, scary and joyless environment.

If you do go, make sure no one ever uses your dog as a training example as you can't control what they may do (they may not listen to your instructions).

Yes this was the clincher for me. I tried out a club in Adelaide that was like this and it just stressed out my dogs too much having people yelling and pulling chains right behind them while heeling in a circle. Watching people being told to yank their tiny puppies around and getting told to punish my naturally obedient worker for not doing something she'd never been taught to do was crap too, but the effect it had on my dogs who normally love training was the deciding factor in never going back.

Edit: having said that, they did really well at a mixed-philosophy club in WA because the location was bigger and they did heeling in a row instead of circles so were less affected by what others were doing

According to The Taxonomy of Australian Mammals (2015) the dingo is now Canis familiaris. Which makes more sense to me based on phylogeny (its relationship to other canids) and reproduction, than either Canis lupus or Canis dingo.

Denise Fenzi's follow-up blog > http://denisefenzi.com/2015/12/31/controversy/

Edit: I tell my dogs no all the time. It means 'no, you aren't getting the rest of my lunch so you might as well sod off now'

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Fighting will occur when dogs want the same thing, which is why I manage my two entire bitches very carefully, they both have high value for the same resources. It's also why I can easily have my Beagle run with either of my Mals (they don't want the same things). I haven't had any problems with my three but I also have very clear rules and my dogs don't free run together 24/7, so they aren't in situations where they can learn to compete and fight over resources.

Hierarchy among dogs is fluid, it can change all the time. Dogs with little or no rank or pack drive will still fight other dogs over resources. I prefer not to guess who might sit where, and instead focus on establishing clear boundaries and rules. My dogs aren't left to their own devices, they always know what behaviour I expect of them, and what they should be doing. Fighting with each other isn't on that list ;)

considering that there is usually only one bitch in a pack allowed to reproduce I guess without 24/7 supervision you wouldn't be able to use both for breeding, so this is IMO a very unique scenario. For sure you have a lot of experience with your dogs, nerveless I doubt that the dogs' knowledge about your expectations would prevent them from fighting to sort out the rank if left for some time without supervision.

That's generally only the case in low-resource environments. Give them enough food and water and it's on like donkey kong.

Constantly. I think good manners being automatic is a good thing :)

But since having a toddler I also find myself acknowledging their feelings and telling them what's about to happen. That's probably a bit OTT

Or maybe they just think 'e-collar your dog or have them die horribly' is a false dichotomy.

You say, 'This is not an off lead area. Please control your dog by following the law and putting it on lead.'

Yep. Or don't say anything. The person with the offlead dog has the responsibility to keep theirs away from any on-lead dogs. Don't worry about the other owner and just focus on helping your little buddy.

I think that the use of e-collars requires EXCEPTIONALLY good skills and timing to be used properly. Most people can't deliver a food reward in a timely way...whether or not the e-collar works more quickly is arguable but I think the risk of fallout is much greater. Particularly because it's about the dog's perception about what it is being punished for.

That's pretty much my position too. Plus I don't trust the equipment to work consistently and not to malfunction. Plus I have sensitive dogs. Weez was bitten by an electric fence 2 years ago and he still acts unpredictably in the area it happened. The physical pain would have sucked but it's the confusion and that really messed with him, especially since paddocks used to be one of his few happy places. So although we have a high risk of snakebite I rely on mowing mowing mowing, keeping the prey population down, and supervision. Any training to leave reptiles alone we can safely get in is just a bonus.

But aside from 'high risk/last resort' situations, who wouldn't want to take the quickest possible route to the same (or better) result? I find it interesting that dog training is probably one of the only areas where some people seem to think that doing things a harder, longer way means the end result is better.

I always want to achieve results with my dogs and others in the fastest possible time frame. I would think there was something wrong with my handling if I plugged away at the same method for a long time with no or little result.

Why do people choose to be vegetarian, or boycott Nestle, or decide not to smack their kids? We map out our personal lines in the sand on how we interact with the world and try to live by them as best we can. Some people choose to draw the line at yelling, some at collars, others at pliers on the ears. We constantly weigh up which course of action is most acceptable to everyone's wellbeing and will all come to different conclusions about how that path looks.

I'm yet to find a trainer in SA I would trust to use a clicker with my dogs let alone a collar remote.

My dogs would absolutely try to drag a tree along!

After trying a few restraint options I currently walk Weez in a blackdog tracking (y-front) harness.

It's pretty good, my only small issue is some fabric sticks out the side which looks weird but probably doesn't affect anything. I still walk Chess on a sighthound collar but might buy her a y-front harness too if I ever have some spare spondoolies.

I don't really care if he pulls though. He only walks on lead 1-2 times a fortnight, he mostly runs around nude in paddocks.

I would wait too. High needs babies are all-consuming to live with if you end up with one. And things like trying to walk 2 dogs with a pram (I couldn't do it, but fortunately my bub loved to be worn in a carrier) and getting to training around nap times can be tough. It may well be fine of course! But it's impossible to say ahead of time.

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The Fenzi dog sports academy offer excellent online courses which include heelwork

http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com

Thinking of you DB x

I haven't used my doog belt in years, wasn't practical. I just wear cargo pants, and cargo shorts when I used to run.

I generally let my dogs choose who they want to say hi to, with the exception of leashed dogs which I call them away from. If approached I leave Weez to his own devices because he's pretty large and has good dog social skills but I manage Chess's interactions more closely because she thinks she's people and doesn't speak dog well.

It's the catch-22 of research - if you do/find something that makes sense, people say it's obvious and a waste of time. If you do/find something that contradicts people's expectations, they say you're an idiot/in the pocket of agribusiness/a bleeding heart/have no real-world experience. It's a tough gig and I don't envy students especially in the current funding climate.

Also, everything TSD said.

E- I always figured as long as I was being accused of bias equally from both sides of a debate I was doing ok

We switched from Eagle Pack to BH some time ago purely due to cost. The kelps did fine on both but they're pretty robust.

I assumed by 'number 1 breeder' they meant 'highest volume breeder'

I've had dogs wear down their canine teeth and one vet said it was from the abrasiveness of tennis balls so they are banned at my place - maybe check with your vet.

My border collies (so working dogs) are also obsessive with balls but also anything that I can throw/they can throw and retrieve. They probably see it as work and attention.

My girl Chess had worn down teeth when we adopted her, so we don't use tennis balls either. I buy the coloured bouncy balls from rebel sport instead which are smooth and surprisingly durable.

The lack of fuzziness has in no way diminished her all-consuming obsession :laugh:

I was prepared to have some level of empathy for this woman, as someone with two working dogs who don't like kids and a fussy insomiac baby. But no, she is just a failure of a human being.

Yes it can be hard, sometimes when you get 2 minutes to yourself and a dog puts her nose on your hand it can feel like just another someone who wants a piece of you instead of a little devoted family member saying "I need some time too please". But she took on and is responsible for every life in her care. She needs to grow the f*** up.