Kavik

Black all the way! No 2 and No 5

I would only be interested in a certain type of dog. My breed of choice shows up in pounds a LOT. So I guess theoretically I could go to the pound if it was no longer possible to go to a breeder. Having one dog from the pound with a temperament issue I would be very careful though. If I did go down that route again I would take someone with me who I trust, who knows what I am looking for and who knows how to temperament test dogs in a shelter environment

A larger dog will be more of a deterrent than a smaller one in terms of appearance, and a darker dog more than a lighter coloured dog. Breeds traditionally seen as guard type dogs again will help with deterrent value, many of these are also great family dogs.

I'm pretty sure it will be online.

Shape Up Dogs foundation. SG's new handling sounded interesting particularly the "continuous movement" she's talking about, but there was no word on courses at that stage and to be honest I'm a bit over the marketing hype when there is so much opportunity out there in online course land. I've been watching Justine's transition from GD to a blend of ST/european handling and I really liked what I saw. Justine runs workshops with SG at SY. Definitely my favourite online course so far. Ketschker turns, effectively a FX followed by a BX. This is Dave handling Darcy demonstrating a K turn at the second bar and a BX at the third: . At the moment I am not using blind crosses. From what I can gather SG is bringing out a handling course next year.

Check into Lupus? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_discoid_lupus_erythematosus

Kaos - Keep him running fast and happy and healthy - Improve our handling and understanding of handling - tight turns, running lines, rear crosses, being where I need to be to give him information - JDM, SD, JDO, passes towards ADM Nitro - Work on tugging and focus in all environments - aim to be able to tug properly in the middle of classes and trials - Get our retrieve good enough to be able to use thrown rewards in training - Start proper obstacle work - continue to improve our body awareness exercises - aim to be able to do some work at agility classes

Some type of pinch collar? If you google images for pinch collar can you find one that looks similar? There are a couple of different styles besides the typical pinch collar.

I was initially sceptical of Its Yer Choice but it has really been great with my puppy! He is good at shaping and will offer behaviours but also knows that mugging the hand or bowl with the treats is not going to get him what he wants. I can shape or tug with treats in a bowl on the ground now and he won't go and try to steal them.

Body awareness exercises :)

VetFriends also has lots of clinics

Awww babies! So cute! :D

Really? what have you been feeding? I reckon it is about normal size. I normally feed Advance but have also fed Pro Plan and several others. Even the puppy food I am feeding Nitro is bigger than the K/D! It is miniscule!

I've met pet dingoes while out and about.

The K/D food is the smallest pieces of dry food I have ever had! Don't think even cat food has smaller pieces? It is so small I find it really difficult to use as training treats.

Zoe is also on K/D. She is a guts though so will eat anything :laugh: She is happy to eat it and even use it for treats for training (she is 14 years old). I did ask the vet about a homemade diet as I thought it might be cheaper, but the vet said that it is difficult to make a homemade diet for this condition. I was told some cottage cheese was OK to give for a treat. From memory the important thing is that any protein be a source that is easy to digest.

I use Asquith Vet as it is close to me. They have been helpful with a range of issues, and have called to check on how the dogs are progressing on medication etc.

I feel a bit mean - mine are done with the hose outside :laugh: Then they are put in the sun to dry before being brushed and allowed inside or to run around.

I also found this video very helpful. I am teaching Nitro to retrieve and did it pretty much this way. Started with teaching a hand touch and then mark for interest and interaction with the object, then mark for object to hand.

Zoe, who is dog aggressive, has had a couple of doggy 'crushes'. One, when I lived with my parents, was an older male Golden Retriever who often wandered on his own, she just adored him! Another was a male Kelpie we met at training, who is owned by a lady who is now a friend of mine who breeds Kelpies. I told her that Zoe was not good with other dogs, and all Zoe wanted to do was flirt with her dog! :laugh:

What have you tried? Is your dog interested in chasing the moving ball if you throw it? Do you want an informal fetch or formal retrieve? How are you behaving when you have tried before? For tugging, the article is good and also I love this video of SG What sort of things does your dog naturally like to put in its mouth and carry around? You can start with one of these things or something similar eg if they like fluffy things start with a fluffy sheepskin or plush toy, if they like rubber toys there are the udder tugs, kongs have one on a rope, or a squeaky ball on a rope, if they like paper you can play fetch with a ball of paper, or a toilet paper roll.

I used a crate to keep Diesel quiet. It is difficult to keep a puppy quiet! A very stressful time!

That is a bit of bad luck! Not sure what you should decide, that is tough. Diesel broke his right hind leg when he was 6 months old - zooming around the yard with Zoe and they collided with each other. It was a spiral fracture and apparently quite nasty as the vet asked me if he had been hit by a car - nope, it was a 13kg Kelpie that he hit! We went to the specialist and he ended up with an external fixator and screws etc - was about $5000, and 9 1/2 years ago now - he turns 10 next month! He hasn't had any further complications with it. The movement in that leg is a bit looser than the other leg, you would only notice it if you are looking for it or are good with structure/movement stuff. He still gets around fine even now that he is getting older.

This is what I do as well :)

I have a dog who is not keen on rude or forward dogs/puppies approaching. I keep a sharp eye out and if I see one approaching I move my dog so that they don't meet, use a body block etc, though owners of forward greeting dogs do not always get the point.