icedmice

LOL, I meant at the other end of a heel. When you come to a stop, is there a right and wrong foot to stop on? The reason you use your left for to go into a heel is because your dog is heeling to your left leg. It's for that reason I said to stop on your left foot. But even if you stop on your right you still bring your left foot up anyway. Obedience .... the sport for those with OCD!

Question: Does it matter which foot you halt on? Is there a right and wrong foot? Why? I was instructing a class tonight and corrected by the chief training instructor. I just want to make sure I give the correct information. I've actually found resources that contrast that opinion and have trained my own dogs the way I instructed. I've made a point of researching, I have no problem instructing a particular way if it helps people that want to take training to a trail level. BTW: Both dogs (and handlers) that went for graduation tonight from my intermediate class after me pointing out footwork and posture, which was a bit sloppy, graduated :) ! I'm a proud mamma hen :) . They can start earning titles and learning more advanced stuff now :D.

I also use the term 'evidence' loosely. It's what AA considers to be proof anyway.

I doubt the AA video evidence will have anything to do with the case. For that matter, it's not clear what the charges actually do relate to. True, still, the footage is public now. What has been seen cannot be unseen :/ .

The concern here the way the 'evidence' was gathered was unlawful. If she does loose in court what sort of precedence does that set? Is the AA footage going to be used in court? and even if it isn't, has putting it on national television compromised the integrity of the jury? I breed small domestic animals, they are kept in my house, does that mean a home invasion is justifiable to provide evidence to court? A lot of people have puppies raised in the house, would you like people breaking in just to make sure your practice is up to their standard? By the way, their standard is that nobody should breed any animals. Whether or not people agree with what they see and how her establishment is set up is not the issue, if there are problems, there are lawful avenues that can be pursued. Unfortunately, outcomes aren't always what you would have hoped, but the world doesn't revolve around your personal ethical standards. The issue is the media supporting criminals and what doors this opens for copy cats.

My comments on AA were before I saw the sons footage. They were a vicious and vindictive bunch. I stopped commenting, apparently if you question their precious AA perspective be prepared to Don a flame suit! Originally they said they had 50 dogs but I only counted around 30 in the sons shoot. It could have been an exaggeration or maybe she did rehome a few because it was getting a bit much. It didn't need to get blown out of proportion whatever the case. Cruelty is a bit much to claim considering they're in better condition than most pet dogs that show up at the pound. Still no news as to what the exact charges are and from one of her daughter's comments on Facebook there is no court case that she knows of. Maybe they've been a bit slack at raiding properties and so had to drag up an old story? We might as well just not own any pets or eat any animal products or live in a house because everything is cruelty. Shame some people can't be so passionate about how they treat other people. It's just a story I've been following for curiosities sake since it first showed on Today Tonight. I might be out of place commenting because I'm not a dog breeder. But thought I'd share some material I've found.

This is a video Stephen Thompson (son of Carol) submitted on facebook. I found it by chance after commenting on Animals Australia. I actually found some of the horrific comments more offensive than the condition of the dogs. Clearly these people don't have much compassion for human beings. Yeah it's not how I'd keep my dogs, I don't necessarily think this set up is ideal for collies, but if you use your common sense, they wouldn't win shows if they were that badly neglected. They aren't a puppy farm like AA is advertising. I don't see rows of kennels with pregnant or nursing bitches with nipples dragging on the ground from being bred over and over. As I said on AA, I'm not supporting this persons actions. At the same time I don't think she is the spawn of Satan and there is more to the story. Just a warning (rated 18+): there is pretty crude offensive language in the video. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=650933848250950

LOVE IT... great photos! This is my favorite: A wild juvenile eastern brown snake, I was very privileged to get that close, I had to give it some space when it had enough of being paparazzied.

Local dog behaLocal dog behaviour experts say shocking attacks could be prevented by increasing owners’ awareness of aggression. Melissa Wildy reports. http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/17396706/dog-behaviour-can-t-be-cured/

LOL :D . I bet your lab would sooner savage a sausage. Actually - she has savaged my Pittie cross girl a couple of times... we keep them separate now, as we know that the Lab is most likely going to be the victor when they scrap. But, as for the sausages... well... she's a Labrahoover, what else should we expect? *grin* T. That's no good . I hope that your girl wasn't hurt. My staffy is made of rubber, she runs smack bang into a pole and will come back with a big grin on her face. She chipped a tooth being a berk. Funny thing though, she got bitten by an ant once, it wasn't even a big bush ant, just a regular sized one, and you'd swear blind she was being tortured!

OOPS, called myself a bogan ROFL.

LOL :D . I bet your lab would sooner savage a sausage.

I commented "particularly", perhaps "notably" would have been a better word. Meaning a growing proportion of..people that own them are less than reputable. Never said ALL. I've seen more American Bulldogs in pound than should be there. A lot of people that own American Bulldogs are doing the breed no favors. The term bogans was used to refer to crossing breeds for a particular mean look and nothing more, and I stand by that generalization. Nobody with an ounce of common sense would do that. I also own a staffy and there is nothing I despise more than people that own one to improve their tough guy image and breed them randomly.

Thats a good point Jules, most people want you to perform miricles with their dogs with just one training session a week. For my class I print up training notes on the lesson of whatever I am trying to teach them, hoping that they will go home & read the notes & practice. I find this works quite well with most. I strongly agree, all my best training happened at home. There's just too much going on at training that distracts you and the dog. We have so many dropping out, but I also notice some instructors loosing patience with handlers. I prefer to point out when a handler did something really well over when they made a mistake. Most people know when they make a mistake, I prefer to ask, if they'd like to attempt it again, like the stand for exam. Or I make a general statement to the whole class, don't forget XYZ. I have two left feet and when I started training, plus I'm a naturally anxious/sensitive person. I remember being in tears more than once by insensitive comments like "Oh look, she's a bad example". I felt like handing over the lead and saying, well if you think you can do a better job, be my guest. I have also heard insensitive comments made to other handlers and they haven't returned. It's all beside the point, I don't think cold is a huge issue to this dog, but it could be one of several factors. I think I'm more insecure being a new instructor when others say, you should have done this or that. I'm not instructing trial level classes, only intermediate ones.

There are two white American Bulldogs at Campbelltown pound currently. They definitely exist and growing in popularity rapidly particularly among less reputable owners. There are quite a few out there that have been crossed with other bully types too, no doubt by bogans who want a mean looking dog.