DogsAndTheMob

Probably not. German shepherds are a late-maturing breed with a strong drives, including prey drive. Although it is certainly possible to find a GSD with lower prey drive, this requires considerable knowledge of the breed and bloodlines within the breed. You will need skill to train a German shepherd or any working breed dog to ignore cats and poultry, and you will need time and probably mentoring to acquire that skill. Before you get any dog, but particularly a large working breed dog, you need to think about your future circumstances. A six year old German shepherd is a highly athletic, energetic, driven dog that needs a lot of on-going training and mental and physical exercise. GSDs are also a breed that many landlords don't regard favourably. Where will you be living when you're 25, and will you still have time for a GSD?

You were very fortunate with your previous dog. The only sort of puppy I would expect NOT to dig in a soft garden bed is a stuffed toy. To you, it's a garden; to her, it's a playground just waiting to be explored, with soft, diggable soil, interesting smells and worms and insects to dig up. If you plan to leave her unsupervised in the garden, she needs to be separated from recently cultivated gardens. She needs her own digging area, and she needs the mental stimulation of a good training program. Even then, expect some damage to lawns and established gardens.

Could she arrange for your visit to coincide with a behaviourist's consultation? If you don't know the dog's history, there are many possible causes. Perhaps you look like someone he knew "before". (Is it possible that you, as a vet nurse, held the dog for veterinary treatment?) It's impossible to guess the causes and triggers over the internet, but a behaviourist on the spot might identify what's happening. Has the rescue organisation offered any advice or assistance?

I've been fortunate; I've never waited more than 2 or 3 months. I would wait a year or so, but no more. These days, I grab the moment, because I've learnt that changes in circumstances can turn the right time to raise a puppy or participate in a dog sport into the wrong time. In the past, my participation in dog sports has been interrupted by injury, changes in work hours and changes in the health of a relative. Also, I think, waiting too long would load a burden of expectation onto the puppy. Even when I know the parentage of the litter for several generations and have carefully chosen the most suitable puppy, there's still an element of chance. One of my dogs gets so miserably car-sick that he hates travelling, and is so sensitive that one shouting obedience instructor ruined his enjoyment of obedience work away from home. After that experience, I chose my last puppy with hopes for the future, but let the plans unfold as she grew. It would be more difficult to accept the vagaries of chance if I'd waited years for that puppy.

When I was in Sydney a year or so ago, I saw volunteers for a wonderful project supporting homeless people and their pets. Conversely, I have heard negative stories about retirement villages and false advertising of pet-friendly policies, although I'm not sure how true these stories are; it would be interesting to get feedback from other DOLers.

Dementia dog study aims to prove effectiveness of assistance dogs Once again, I'm wowed by the ways in which dogs can help people. They are so versatile.

I bought a puppy from interstate late last year, and I visited the breeder twice before I collected the puppy - once before the litter was born and a second time when the puppies were six weeks old. I felt it was well-worth the expense and inconvenience of the interstate trips, because I hope she'll be a member of my family for the next 15+ years. l couldn't be happier with my girl.

I agree with the comments about the quiz's limitations but I still see it as a valuable tool to get people thinking about canine body language. I've looked at a few other quizzes and it was by far the best. Another quiz (which had vets as the target readership, I think!) compared a husky with a rose-eared cross-breed, and based the interpretation on ear position. Most rose-eared dogs can't lift their ears, and my husky almost never put her ears down or back.

I got 14/19 also. I thought I saw slight uncertainty in the way the Rhodesian Ridgeback's eyebrows drew together. I had trouble judging the moods of the dog on the porch (hackles not visible) and the crouching GSD (tail not visible). I thought the short-haired chihuahua was extremely frightened.

Look at these beautiful, hard-working spaniels! Weed detection dogs saving the Snowies

Look at these beautiful, hard-working spaniels! Weed detection dogs saving the Snowies

Look at these beautiful, hard-working spaniels! Weed detection dogs saving the Snowies

I think this quiz on canine body language is worth sharing. What do you think?

I wouldn't exercise a Japanese Spitz in a dog park. A large dog could kill him in seconds.

Isn't this dog adorable! I love the starburst of hair on her face. Sadly, I don't have space for one more. https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/573104

Looking after pets in emergencies; why having a plan can be vital There are further useful links in this story, including this one on protecting animals in emergencies.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11915778 No pet left behind; lessons learned from Katrina

So... a 3 dog (and 2 cat) night?

I've trained and competed in other dog sports, including the scent work obedience exercises, but never Noseworks (although it's on my to-do list) so I'm not sure how useful this is, but for what it's worth: If I have a problem with parts of an exercise, I like to separate out those parts to work on. You don't want to not reward a good find because he bumped the boxes. Initially, I would work with obstacles very different to boxes - say cones/witches' hats, and train in a different place from that where I train nosework. Start with two cones and get him moving between the cones. This would be easier with a training buddy, but could be done by moving around the space yourself. Click and treat when he moves between the cones without touching either one. Gradually adjust your position so that he's moving obliquely through the cones; you want him to start weaving wide around the cones. Jackpot! Once he's doing that, add more cones. When he's reliably moving amongst a set of cones without touching any, add a box with the scent. If he continues to avoid touching the cones, start adding unscented boxes. Needless to say, you don't want to reinforce the habit of knocking over boxes, so do your scent work with the cement boxes while you're training on the cones.

Beautiful to watch, Corvus. She seems to use both sight and scent, although at one point about half way through she was obviously following a scent trail.

She certainly has brilliant instincts, in that case. She was so methodical. Honey has a tendency to range more widely, which may be genetic. She's mostly American bloodlines, and American brittanies are reportedly wider ranging because they've been bred to work with hunters on horseback.

Yes! Asking my Brittany to heel early in the morning when the dew (and presumably the smell of nocturnal animals) is on the ground is like asking my Border Collie to heel alongside a paddock with sheep in it. I loved watching your Springers work, TSD. I could see so many similarities to the way Honey runs in the paddock. I wonder how much of the difference is because your dogs are trained gundogs, and how much is breed difference.

I imagine someone has already pointed you to This thread.. it is a wonderful resource for puppy owners.

You may have been very unlucky to have problems with dog fights. My parents were (registered) breeders of GSDs and border collies, so I grew up with dogs and I've owned between two and four dogs constantly for the last thirty years. Fighting dogs have been a rarity. Based on my observations, I would anticipate more problems if the dogs were similar in age. Most of the households of dogs I've watched have been heirarchical, although there have been those dogs who couldn't care less. Even when the older dogs grew frail, the younger ones haven't challenged their position. I can only remember two exceptions to this: when my parents' two oldest and most senior dogs died within days of each other, the bitch two down the new heirarchy attacked the new "top dog" - a bitch a year or so older than her; also, a husky I owned walked into my house as an eight week old puppy expecting to be boss. She was the runt of her litter and I think she may have been hand-raised, away from her litter mates. However, I act to prevent problems developing. Puppies are not allowed to harass older dogs, and older dogs are not allowed to bully puppies. I watch the dogs constantly when they are together, and separate them without fuss if either looks uncomfortable. I allow the older dog licence to rebuke a pesky puppy with a curl of the lip or a growl, but not more. If there is friction, the puppy goes into the crate, and the older dog is placed on a down stay. If possible, older dogs have a retreat that they can reach but the puppy cannot - a piece of furniture that they're allowed to jump on, or an area behind a barrier that they can jump over but the puppy cannot. Always remember, people who tell you to "let them sort it out for themselves" will not volunteer to pay your vet bills after a dog fight.

When I was a teenager, my mother and I twice raised puppies from the same litter in the same household. Of the four puppies, one became an obedience champion. The other three obtained their CDX (obedience) titles and had UD (obedience) qualifications when their trialling careers were curtailed. However, for the most part, they were managed, housed and trained separately. I trained my dogs and they slept in my bedroom. My mother trained her dogs and they slept in her room. Would I raise two puppies from the same litter by myself? No. I see too many disadvantages. * The bonding issue is real and I don't want to be the "third wheel" in the relationship between myself and my dogs. * It's difficult to train two puppies at the same time. If one puppy jumps up on a visitor/ chases the cat/ pushes through the door but the other sits quietly, which do you respond to? You can never scold one puppy for fear of worrying the other. Even rewarding good behaviour can be problematic with a second puppy pushing in to share the praise and treat. * If you take both puppies outside for a toilet break or training, chances are they'd rather play. If you leave one inside, he may be "caught short" or find mischief to explore while you're outside. I would, however, get one puppy, keeping my options open for getting a second one a few months later depending on circumstances. There are few sights as delightful as two youngsters playing together. In the 80s, I got a border collie puppy and then, four months later my husband got a German shepherd puppy, but I trained both dogs. The border collie was high energy, even for that breed, and I think he would have been miserable without another youngster to play with - although our backyard soon looked like a bomb site! The BC had no problem bonding to me. He obtained his first CD qualification at 10 months and went on to gain his CD, CDX and UD titles (UDX did not exist at the time). The GSD obtained her CD title but was a "sullen" dog to train. I'm not sure how much of her "sullenness " was because she had bonded to the BC, not to me or my husband. Vislas are very sensitive dogs in comparison to many German shepherds, labs and cattle dogs. (Of course, there are exceptions to this rule!) Unless you are very comfortable training sensitive dogs, you might also be wise to get one visla, and wait until she's half-grown before deciding whether you want another visla or a different breed.