Kavik

Schipps are my favourite little dogs

Glad you are going to get help :) I think a vet visit would also be a good idea, just to make sure you aren't dealing with something medical as well - neurological/sight/hearing etc.

I think out of your list that Cocker Spaniels and Aussie Shepherds would work for you :) Both of these would enjoy the stimulation of some training - tricks or obedience or agility. Fun things for teenagers to do with them :) They have long hair but should be manageable with regular brushing, the Cockers will need regular trips to a groomer for clipping. No breed is perfect for everyone, but if you find the right one, it will be perfect for you :)

I would also recommend having them get some help from a trainer. Lunging at other dogs, if it then also includes some frustration at not being allowed to get to the other dog, can lead to aggression towards other dogs eventually, even if it is not aggressive now. This is from experience with Zoe .

That would depend on the type head collar being used. A dog cannot pull strongly or as said in another post, 'drag a person forward for 100m' unless the dog's head is pointing forward. Not all head collars are the same nor are they equal. It was a Labrador in a gentle leader, just powered on and didn't care one bit!

I've walked some dogs that could pull quite nicely and very strongly in a headcollar!

I also agree that a headcollar or harness are not the best training tools for the situation, and that a good trainer would be very beneficial! Skip, have they tried LAT? May help with the lunging issue long term. http://clickerleash.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/look-at-that-a-counterintuitive-approach-to-dealing-with-reactive-dogs/ This may make me very unpopular, but for equipment I find prong collars much easier to use and more effective than check chains.

I like the security of wire crates for training/trialling/travelling, but I would love to get a soft crate or two for playing extensions of Crate Games!

RIP Dougal

What fish are you keeping?

done :)

Actually, the reason I like it is that it gives you a good target position for the dog to drive to so that you can have fast, independent contacts. I looked at a few other methods, but didn't find anything better for what I wanted. I don't care about nose touching the ground in a trial - would rather have focus forward. Thought about a foot target, experimented with one with Kaos, but kept getting too much looking at me rather than focusing only on the target/driving to the target.

I don't think I will keep the nose touch long term (it is very difficult to keep long term anyway, even looking at SG's dogs).

Anybody here that has done SYCS? Here is our most recent video of our 2o2o contact training

I have seen dogs walk strangely in harnesses - crablike walking, they were pulling on the harness and owner was trying to get them to go in another direction. I don't like the way it impeded their movement, or the lack of control you have compared to eg a collar in directing the dog. So I don't use harnesses.

Sometimes you can't help running across a level 10 distraction lol - yesterday we were training at the park and a bunch of bush turkeys appeared! How am I supposed to compete with bush turkeys? :laugh: but to his credit, once they were a bit further away I was able to get Nitro to tug

Dogs have to be on main register to show, breeders choose whether they go on main or limited :) They are not going to put pups on main register which have a more obvious fault for the showring.

Whereabouts are you? A visit to an agility trial would give you a great idea of the breeds that compete and what they are like. There are some big agility competitions coming up in the next few months, where you are bound to see the majority of Sydney and NSW competitors. It also depends on the hair length/grooming and temperament you like. There is a big difference between the temperament of say a Spaniel and a Kelpie! Smaller breeds: if you don't mind hair - Cocker Spaniel, Shetland Sheepdog, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Poodle (Mini) Medium breeds: Australian Shepherd, Whippet Large breeds: Vizsla, German Shorthaired Pointer (though both of these can be boisterous!)

My general advice with dog parks is - don't.

Nosework is something you could try to keep him busy and happy :) Basically it is scent detection. You can use whatever reward the dog likes, if he finds just holding the ball rewarding you could easily still use that :) If you are only doing it for fun, you can use whatever scent you like.

I do several small training sessions a day (less than 5 mins each) which include some of the following: tugging, recall and chase me games, body awareness games, self control games, agility practice. They also get a walk which includes another quick training session and some off lead running. Once a week they go to agility training and a couple of times a month we do agility competitions.

I'm so sorry

The first property we rented was a battle-ax block, we were the back property, and there was only one fence for our part of the property, no separate back and front yard. So the dogs were able to run in the yard, and to get to the front door you had to walk through the yard with the dogs. This was obviously not ideal, but it was not easy to find rentals which allowed pets. For the most part it presented no problem, either we were there to greet visitors and make sure the dogs didn't get out, or we were able to put them in crates for eg workmen. But we did have one time when the landlord came over unannounced in the evening when it was dark and raining, and Diesel stood and barked at him . Luckily the landlord was understanding, and Diesel only alert barked, nothing more (think he was around 9 months old at the time), but it did give me a fright!

A couple of things I've found with playing tug. * Keep it short and fun :) * Take note of the types of materials your dog likes to put in its mouth, and what types of toys they like and types they don't seem as keen on the feel * Start with toys that they really like, and as you improve then include some they don't like as much * Different dogs play differently, it may take time to figure out your dog's play style * Let your dog feel that he is winning, you can let them 'pull' you if they are giving good weight shift on the toy, give ground to them

I hope your puppy is alright. Go to another vet.