Kavik

The little bit I've read on these dogs suggests they have a rather serious temperament!

They are pretty :)

They look pretty cool too!

Glad you were pleasantly surprised :laugh: She is probably the most famous trainer with a Pry Shep :laugh:

There are a LOT of breeds not in Australia! In this thread there are a few mentioned, there are many others! Agility is definitely a sport! While all dogs can compete in agility, and this is one great thing about the sport, lots of crossbreeds do well, there is a reason why some breeds are more popular all over the world at the top levels. Agility is changing all over the world, and becoming a sport which requires speed, agility, accuracy and turning ability. Courses are becoming more difficult, obstacle training techniques are improving,and handling techniques more complex. Most people in agility are not interested in breeding, just training and competing :) I think there are some breeds not yet in Australia that would be fun to own and train and compete in agility with.

Sort of following on from the East European Shepherd thread, and some discussions with others, I got to thinking about what breeds I would interested in that are not yet in Australia. Since my main interest is agility, the breeds I am interested in are some that would be ideal for that sport. Here are some that I think would be great to try: Mudi Pyrenean Shepherd What breeds do people wish were in Australia?

Muzzling helps keep everybody safe. My dogs are very people friendly, love everybody, and they are generally good at the vet, but do not always like it when the vet has to touch something that is sore. Diesel is fine, but the Kelpies can be more sensitive under that sort of pressure. I have no problem with muzzling them if they are causing a problem at the vet, so that the vet can do their job and find out what the problem is, without being bitten. It does not mean the dog is bad, or that you are a bad owner. It is simply for safety. The vet won't think badly of you or your dog.

I agree with Kirty - take her to the vet just to visit, give treats, have the receptionist/nurse give her a treat, etc and leave. Make it a positive experience. It also might be a good idea to get her used to wearing a muzzle, just in case she has to be muzzled again, so she is used to it. A good reminder - I should do that too, a good thing to get them used to in any case!

OK so here is our update! Kaos - we have our JDM title and just got JDM2! (we are much better at Jumping lol), only need 1 more qually for JDO and 2 more for ADM. Tight turns and back of jump verbals have much improved and helping us so much in Masters level courses! Nitro - Lots of improvement in all areas but he is still very distracted by the environment at training and trials - more work to be done there! We are now doing jump grids, tunnel work, spins, multi-wraps around poles, running the plank and 2o2o for contacts, as well as tugging, retrieve and out of tug.

Dogs can take a while to get comfortable and act in their fears. My own dog was extremely fearful and it took her 18 months to work up the "courage" to show aggression rather than extreme avoidance . No doubt I didn't handle things 100. % correctly, but many dogs live happy lives without their owners actively managing their aggression. Tippy - I agree with HW's post.as the owner of a fear aggressive dog,I will never get a fearful or aggressive dog ever again . I love her dearly but it is very stressful and , to be perfectly honest, the stress negatively impacted my life for a number of years. I was stressed and guilt ridden ( all these well meaning people constantly suggesting that I see XYZ who will cure my dog/if I'm committed she'd be cured etc etc). It isn't just about love and being committed. You need a certain skill set to rehabilitate a FA dog and I don't have those skills. Only you will know if you do. As of at as management goes, a very respected behaviourist told me that management isn't enough . You can't guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong, no one will ever leave a door open etc. you need double doors on each exit point, locked gates, rooms they lock with keys do visitors can't let the dog out. Even then. , one mistake can end in disaster. I'm the same as megan - I hope I never have another aggressive dog. The stress and guilt of dealing with Zoe's dog aggression also negatively impacted my life for several years. It had a huge impact on my confidence as well, and for a while I contemplated not ever getting another dog. Which probably seems shocking to those that know me well in real life, as my life revolves around my dogs, but the experience with Zoe really did crush me for a while.

Inappropriate is recommending the dog be put to sleep for what comes across as a management issue. MY OWN Ridgie is not comfortable with strangers in his face or rude dogs and is therefore managed accordingly... But I guess I'd better forget about common sense and make an appointment with the vets instead. What a cop out. The owner has already made it clear that the dog was responding well to training. The owners made the mistake of leaving the dog in the yard and allowing a tradie to enter when they knew the dog was uncomfortable/unsafe with strangers. The owners are the ones that bought a dog that may have not been the best fit for their lifestyle and now no longer want to deal with it. And still the dog pays. As you said, your own dog is well managed and you understand the situation and his triggers :) Nobody is saying to have your dog PTS. However, if the OP does not understand the situation and the dog's triggers and is not comfortable with the amount of time, work, money it will probably take to help this dog, nobody would blame them if they decide to PTS. It is a hard road with a dog with aggression issues, very emotional and stressful. Not everybody is willing to do that, and that is fine.

I agree with Sir Snook. You can't say that the dog would be fine or not fine without seeing it. With the help of a professional, the dog may improve, but most likely will always need careful management and handling, and having had a dog that didn't like other dogs I know how stressful it can be to have a dog which will always require careful management and handling. It would be irresponsible to try to rehome a dog which is displaying the behaviour described by the OP. If the OP feels they cannot cope with the training, rehabilitation, and careful management and handling the dog will need, there really is only one other option.

The Vebo Pet crates are great! Very sturdy and strong, the wire doesn't bend like some of the other crates I've had, and the price is fantastic! The only downside is that they are quite heavy and thick when folded down. But so far the best quality wire crates I've had!

I'm using dog rolls (semi-moist food) as treats for Nitro :) Can't remember which brand at the top of my head. I experimented with a few to find one which remains firm when cut into small cubes. Lots of different 'flavours' to choose from :)

I think Eukanuba also has one? I remember there was one other brand, I alternated the brands with Zoe.

I try to use lots of different toys! But of course dogs have their favourites, and if I am working in a distracting environment, or working on something new or something I really want to get right, or at a competition etc I will use their favourite. If it is just a tugging or tugging/shaping session at home I mix up the toys so that they will play with a variety of toys.

With the toy, one thing which may help is an impulse control game called Its Yer Choice. Here is an example with food (may be easier to start with food and then transfer the idea to toys) And with toys This also helps to build great focus forward I have found!

Agility is tricky in a way that obedience isn't - you need all that equipment! Unless you have a LOT of space and a LOT of money, you will need to go to a club at some point to be able to access competition grade equipment and work on your handling. Unless you decide to get private lessons with other competitors who do have competition grade equipment (there are several around Sydney who do this) but it is a lot more expensive than a club. That being said, you can do a LOT of your foundation work at home with minimal or even no equipment, before you go to a club. Although I own a bit of equipment, most of the time I only really need a couple of jumps to practice the handling I am working on. You can train your contacts on stairs, or a travel plank that you can make at home, and body awareness work makes up the majority of what I train at home, which doesn't require proper agility equipment.

I love Clean Run! :) They have great DVDs from most of the trainers that I have mentioned, and lots and lots of toys!

There is a lot of information out there, it can be very confusing! :) Sport trainers in all disciplines are now advocating rewards based training, and building your reward system through relationship building/engagement games such as tug or through playing active games with food. As to the specifics, that is personal choice. There are many international trainers which are fantastic and which conduct online courses or have produced DVDs which cover their program from puppy foundation right through to competition. I had a good look around at how various trainers were training, and the methods they used, and picked one that suited me and what I wanted to train. I found it easiest to pick one trainer who had a comprehensive training program and follow that, and introduce elements of others only if they didn't clash, so I didn't confuse myself and my dog! For me, since I train primarily competitive agility, I looked at international trainers which train agility. There are some differences in obedience and agility, and some differences in the way these trainers approach some aspects of training, so it pays to do some research into it. Some agility trainers which have great programs include: Susan Garrett Silvia Trkman Greg Derrett Justine Davenport Linda Mecklenburg And many others I don't compete in obedience, so don't have as many trainers which do this primarily in my repertoire, but the main one which comes to mind is Michael Ellis As to the socialisation thing, that is complicated, and again lots of different opinions! I am still undecided as to what I think about neutralisation vs socialisation, and in a way think it depends on the dog. Also think about the background and goals of the trainers. Leerburg comes from a background of training protection dogs, and while he has mellowed considerably, some of his perspective is still from training that type of temperament. Hope that helps!

I had a chat to my vet about trying a homemade diet for Zoe when she was diagnosed with kidney failure, but they were pretty adamant that K/D was the best way to go.

Does he do this mainly when he is excited? If so, then maybe calming down your interactions would help. With Kaos I have to gee him up to get him into his optimal arousal for training, but with Nitro I have to do things much more calmly or he gets overaroused (and will bark/occasionally mouth). It has taken me a while to work out the best way to do this since I am so used to working with Kaos :laugh:

Yes, the ones in Steve's link are not likely to be high prey drive :) I would avoid German Shepherd World.

Sounds like you have a handful :) A trainer should be able to help you with his behaviour. Instead of trying to wear him out physically, training will help to wear him out mentally and also training will help with your relationship. Training doesn't just mean obedience training, trick training is also great and also lots of fun :) Since he seems to like to use his mouth, maybe you could direct this to more appropriate items like toys, and getting him to retrieve objects.

No. She ran an online contact training course in 2012 I think it was? or 2013? I think that is now her preferred way of doing things, rather than DVDs.