Salukifan

I wonder if you are being seduced by the lure of a well trained dog (completely understandable) and judging more on that than breed? I'd be a bit wary of a toy breed baby puppy with a toddler unless you manage the situation very very closely. What sorts of characteristics are you looking for in a dog? I'm hearing biddable and trainable but what else? independent or people focussed? Intense or laid back? Coat type? Social with other dogs? Social with strange people? A watch dog or one who shows the burglars the silverware. How likely are interstate moves in the future?

Depends a bit on why you didn't do well. If you handle her well and she's just not competitive, I doubt people would be concerned. If you showed her dirty, poorly prepared and were a slob and an utter klutz and a tanty chucking poor loser, they might be a bit less impressed But frankly I think you just have to get out there and become known for who you are and people will be more relaxed with a known quantity. Some of us are lucky to start with a really cracking dog but I think most of us earn our dues on good, if not outstanding dogs.

Start with what people are prepared to sell to you and work your way up. Few people are going to sell the best they have to a newb. Too many talk the talk, find showing all too hard and quit. You may have to settle for a decent prospect and use that dog as a stepping stone. Frankly I'd be starting with the dog you have now. Go to shows. Go to a specialty. Read everything you can on the breed. Then figure out who has the dogs you like and approach them.

If you are trying to get hold of your dog for an outcome it considers aversive, then any recall training you have done is likely to become unstuck. I don't try to recall a reluctant dog when it knows very well what's coming is "unwanted" attention. What happens if you start tossing treats into the laundry??

If you can safely keep a bitch in season, I would wait for one season and then desex. It allows for physical maturity and can assist with preventing hormonal incontinence. The mammary cancer risk of waiting for one season is negligible IMO.

Anyone who thinks sighthounds aren't capable of being protective of home and hearth doesn't live with them. My Whippets warning bark when visitors arrive. That bark changes to shrieks of welcome if they recognise a "friend". One of them gave my trash pack guy a good scare and I'd not come in the yard if they didn't know me. Their extended breed standard says they should be prepared to warn off intruders. And they make the best bed mates

Try it with a pup, rather than a dog accustomed to certain 'rules'. I have a dog door so my dogs get to choose. On sunny days, the Whippets spend a fair bit of time outside, but they are inside at night. Colder days all inside. Poodles are mostly inside, especially if I am home.

There's an easy solution to the "my dog is happy/prefers it outside" argument. Leave the door open when you get a puppy and let it choose where it wants to be. Then go from there.

Frankly I preferred the "before" shots. I don't see how putting bow ties on a dog makes it more rehomable.

I'd start with bitter apple spray.

KF, if your friend is sensible in terms of boundaries and likes the unusual, how about one of the giant breeds?

The behavior of a socially awkward person is VERY different when they are home in their own safe surroundings. I own a working breed and Ivy is perfect. I'm a different person when I'm safe at home. Take me out, and I shut down but take me out with Ivy and I'm dandy. So your comment isn't true and you shouldn't judge someone with anxiety as someone who can not successfully own and maintain a working breed. But that is my last word. As I said, all the best with her finding her companion :) Oh FFS, I wasn't judging anyone!! Why must you find offence when none was intended. This is NOT about you. I would certainly never presume to generalise one person's experience of anxiety as the same as everyone's which is WHY I asked about KF's friend's personality in more general terms. I consider people are more than their mental health issues - how judgmental is that? Try to not to personalise everything and open your mind to the suggestion that your experience with your dog is not indicative of everyone's experience with the breed. I know some Belgian Shepherds that are anxious and wary individuals - how good would tht be with an anxious owner. Can I suggest rather than personalising this you consider that your experience of anxiety might not be the same as KF's friend and consider that I might actually asked questions to establish facts, not to judge. Not all anxiety sufferers are socially awkward anyway - that much I do know.

So dealing with the OP's question, you never trained out an unwanted behaviour. Rather, you trained in the one you wanted. Best possible approach but not what the OPs question is asking. How would you have dealt with an experienced sheep chaser?

Other than the fact your friend suffers from anxiety KF, what's her personality like. If she's not a "take charge" kind of gal who's prepared to give a dog very defined boundaries and enforce them, then I don't think any working or protective breed is for her. All dogs need boundaries but the consequences for some breeds who don't get them can be a lot more serious than with others.

So how did you stop them from actually chasing the sheep once they started? Or did you do the extremely sensible thing which was never allow the situation to happen in the first place. That's management not training and IMO the best method of dealing with many of these behaviours. I can recall my dogs off stationary kangaroos - but fleeing ones? Forget it. So I recall my dogs before that happens. That's management, not training. The best cure for dealing with unwanted behaviours is never to allow the dog to develop them. Pulling on lead is the best example I can think of - totally preventable with good management and training. More trainable than most for fixing. But fence jumping, stock chasing, barking.. much much harder.

Tell that to a dog chasing animals. Not only are you dealing with a hardwired instinctive behaviour, from a neurological perspective, the dog may not even be able to hear you - the brain shuts down some areas to focus on the hunt. Some of the solutions I hear for these behaviours are frankly, ridiculous. One good example - training a dog to bark on cue is somehow the cure for unwanted barking. My dogs sit on cue. That certainly doesn't mean they don't sit at other times.

The simple answer to decreasing the incidence of an unwanted behaviour is to make it unrewarding or unpleasant. Here is where the appropriate use of aversives can be the fastest way. People may disagree about what is an appropriate use of negative reinforcement but you will NOT get on top of a highly self rewarding undesired behaviour without one. Even Ian Dunbar endorses the use of electric collars for stock chasing dogs because frankly there is NOTHING you can do is terms of "no reward" or subsitution of behaviour that will deter this behaviour once ingrained. If it happens when you aren't present, you ain't going to have a chance of stopping it. Enter managing the dog better.

You dont have to wait. You can lure it, then get it on cue. Unless you have the patience of a saint, I'm no fan for free shaping this stuff. Show the dog what you want and reward it then FADE THE LURE.

If you are marking the correct behaviour, then it shouldn't be a problem to click then throw the reward. You can build duration up before releasing for the reward.

Not a breed I'd recommend for an hour's walking a day though.

BLACK Labrador. I have no idea why but the standard public perception is that black dogs are "scarier". W

And never alone. Dont underestimate the importance of providing a social animal with company be it human or canine. Even zoos try to keep social animals with company these days. To be quite frank there are plenty of zoo animals that get more social interaction than some dogs. . No argument here but get one that has the best possible temperament and characteristics for the lifestyle you intend to give it and THEN put the work in. And don't be surprised or offended if breeders of dogs bred to be with us every day refuse to sell you a pup that will the majority of its life alone.

Breed clubs are always a great place to start your search. The Cocker Spaniel Society of NSW contact for pups and older dogs is below: Puppy and Older Dog Availability Mrs Betty Richter (02) 9894 7935 (9am - 9pm) Betty is available to discuss, in detail, the needs and requirements of the breed. Suggest you drop the term "English" when talking about dogs with the Cocker folk here. In Australia, the English dog is the Cocker Spaniel and the American dog has the extra word. It's the reverse in the USA. Anyone advertising "English" cockers is to be avoided IMO.

You will have think through how those in beds will have access to a Basset. She will be too big to be on the bed and too short to put her paws up. Similar issues will occur with those in wheelchairs reaching down to her.

Then don't. For the life of me I do not understand WHY people want to put this gear on their dogs when TRAINING is what is required to stop a dog pulling. Most front attach harnesses cross a dog's chest, restricting their front end movement. Why you'd want walk a dog that cannot fully extend its frontl legs beats me. I'm kind of just wondering if there's something about the harnesses I am missing/if my perception of them is wrong but that's how I feel about training aids being prescribed to everyone. I could understand perhaps if your dog is completely unmanageable and you've tried training for a while but Didi's pulling isn't super concerning for me and I'd rather see it through with training first. If they went on, were used to manage the issue while it was corrected and came off again, I'd call the training aids. But mostly it seems, they aren't. They go on and stay on. They are used to manage only.