Weasels

Long leads are good, just be careful if the dog is tethered to something they can sometimes get a run up and a nasty snap at the end of the leash. My boy did this once on a 10 m lead while I was distracted, he was wearing a collar and flipped over from the neck down, it still makes me feel ill just thinking about it (he was fine, but I learned a lesson).

BC I didn't think you were about to be harsh on your dog, I was talking about your neighbour. It can be easy to think that people are generally well-informed and caring dog owners after spending too much time on DOL, but then when you mingle in the real world and hear things like 'I'll let her have at least one litter just so the children can see puppies being born" or "i have complete dominance over my dog, so he does whatever I say (without actually doing any training)". I don't have any idea how to deal with these people in a constructive way, so I sympathise but I'm lacking in actual advice I'm afraid

BClove I'm not sure about being too 'soft', positive training can take a bit longer with something self-rewarding like jumping up, but I think it is still worlds better than punitive methods which can have unpredictable effect on a dog's psyche (and hence behaviour). To the people who say 'you should have control of your dog at all times', this is in the OP's home, she isn't taking him down to the local park and letting him terrorise the local children. Training takes time, and pups don't always have the best self-control. If a random dog jumps up on me, I always fold my arms and turn my back, not because I mind being jumped on, but so I don't sabotage anyone's training. Then no-one gets offended. But if someone drops randomly into your home and threatens violence to one of your family members, that's a pretty jerk move I'd say.

Sorry to OT but I just wanted to thank Powerlegs for this tip! We recently got a lot of cheap roo bones and while my boy loves them, my girl just looks at us like "yes, where are the real bones please?" (she is fine with raw beef, lamb and chicken just not roo). She will then wait until our boy has stripped the roo meat off his bone and try to steal it to chew But we seared the outside and she got stuck in straight away! One less issue between our dogs

I got quite upset just reading the wikipedia page on red dog a few years ago I'm sure the movie will crush me. I do wonder though whether this will be positive or negative for kelpies generally. They might get some more being rescued, but will they go to suitable homes? Will BYB's breed more to cash in on the kids nagging about wanting a 'red dog'? Hmmmm.....

link broken? ETA: http://www.riverlandweekly.com.au/blog/archives/3597

Has anyone tried the Walkyguard style barriers? (http://www.ozpetshop.com.au/product_info.php/products_id/1964) We are planning to get a different car later in the year, so I like that is is adjustable to different vehicles, but does anyone have any reviews? Our current car isn't a crate-friendly shape.

CD could you put some artificial grass or a sandpit in the courtyard so it is more like what they are used to toileting on?

This happens all the time at the dog beach I go to. Almost everyone I regularly walk with has been skittled at some stage. I've rolled my ankle over a GSD. We just make sure there's no serious damage, brush off the sand and laugh it off as part of being dog people. And pay closer attention next time! It seems that no matter how much room they have to play they always want to do so around people's legs. Sounds like you did all you could, settled the play once you noticed the dog was sore, and were considerate to the other owner. i just keep a permanent eye on the dogs around and try to yell a warning if 75 kg of writhing, playing dogs is barelling their way!

Could you get her to pull against an object, rather than away from you? Attach a harness to a box or somthing, and stand in front of her and call her to you? Hopefully that way she will see it as different to leash walking and it won't sabotage your loose lead training in the process

Well I am trying to escape the evils of PCR failure (or DNA extraction failure) Or I'm "researching" ummmm dog stuff - right! Aww sorry to hear they aren't working I'm putting off editing. So close and yet so far! Yeah I figure reading dog stuff is like the time-use equivalent of a dodgy tax write-off

I think it says on the websites of these tests that they aren't recognised by anyone, you still need papers to have a purebred pedigree dog. It's just marketed as being for the owners' curiosity. Although one possible use I can think of is finding out if you have a breed susceptible to certain genetic problems, like ivermectin sensitivity jinx Maybe we are both spending too much time on here!

excellent, I hope it works out! I had a great moment this morning when I was able to put a collar on my girl while she was still eating a meaty bone! She didn't make a sound. I was so pleased So this is definitely a manageable problem!

I think it says on the websites of these tests that they aren't recognised by anyone, you still need papers to have a purebred pedigree dog. It's just marketed as being for the owners' curiosity. Although one possible use I can think of is finding out if you have a breed susceptible to certain genetic problems, like ivermectin sensitivity

My girl Fox will start a two-tone howl when an ambulance goes by She isn't upset, just 'singing along'.

I just had a thought on being over-threshold too. If something out of my control does happen, like a kid barreling along the path towards us on a skateboard, I just shove as many treats as I can lay my hands on into my dog's mouth without worrying about any cue words. The intention is to short-circuit the extreme reaction long enough for the stimulus to pass, so the dog doesn't get a chance to practice the unwanted behaviour. Then we can go back to the threshold level we were at before without having (potentially) sabotaged the cue word in a too-exciting situation.

Excellent thank you!

Sounds like a helpful article, I might have to order the magazine to keep it on hand....then of course I will have to buy some other doggy stuff to justify the shipping charge.... ;)

too cute

Thanks for the clarification Sheena, that's why I suggested checking out the book too I must admit I conflate the two. For consistent stimuli like our other dog I expect the behaviour 'on cue', but he does check in anyway since he's a stomach on legs. But I use the same command when we are out and there is something like a bike going past or are running screaming children and I try to train coming up and checking in with me, followed by a 'heel' if it's something to stay away from, or an 'off-you-go' if it's, say, a friendly dog to go play with. But as I said, I just adapted this to deal with my own dog's issues, YMMV and if problems persist consult a professional ETA: I think a bit of the confusion is also that Sheena was originally talking about motion reactiveness and Dandybrush was talking about breaking concentration, which are a bit different. My boy has both problems, so I use the more prolonged distraction, initiated by a "whosthat" for his obsessiveness. I use offering an alternative behaviour and the doggy version of cognitive behaviour therapy (via treats) for addressing his desire to run off and bark at fast-moving things.

it is indeed a small world. I was surprised that they even attempted to discriminate between kelpies and coolies, because as far as I know both breeds are only about 75 generations old, and coolies aren't yet an ANKC recognised breed? (I think?) My girl does have a light mask around her eyes tho, which could be a coolie trait, but without knowing her history we'll never know how accurate the test was (which works to their advantage, at the risk of being cynical...)

My usual treat is the 4legs brand beef/chicken/lamb, pasta and vegie balls from the supermarket, which I break into quarters. I would probably start with a high value treat to try to set your dog up for success like MEH and Sheena said, then once she's getting the hang of it you could mix it up a bit.

Oh no he looks at her no problem, I wanted him to look at me. My boy already had a basis in clicker training, so I got my OH to play fetch with my girl at home and I would sit next to Weasel. When he seemed to relax even a bit, I would say very quickly and excitedly "Whosthat!" and he would snap his head around to me for just a second, and I would click and treat that. I just kept doing that to get longer looks to me and when he was even more intense, then moved it out to the park, then to agility where there is a lot of excitement and fun dogs, then finally to herding where there are just the most stimulating things in the world for a kelpie, sheep. Once he started to offer more attention, I also added some other tricks after the first look so he would forget about the other dog for a few seconds, then a few minutes, then he'd offer the attention unsolicited. It might not be the textbook method (I haven't read control unleashed yet), so I'd recommend checking that out, but it's how we muddled through :D

MalteseLuna we seem to be in the same field I'm your WA counterpart with the kelpies I would guess that they could do good breed testing these days if they really wanted to, but it probably wouldn't be cost effective. Also I believe these people are the some ones that enforce the patents preventing breast cancer research, so there's something to consider too

Dandybrush, that is exactly what my boy was doing, cos my girl is very fetch-obsessed. He still does the intense kelpie stare on her sometimes but now I can get his attention away if I need it. When we are out playing fetch with both dogs now he will wander off and sniff, meet other dogs or check in on me probably 50% of the time, so much less obsessive. As I typed this he started off focussed on her, but now he is lying next to me almost asleep, while she is still desperately trying to get me to play.