Cosmolo

Most puppy schools will accept puppies that have had their first vaccination and given that you're having a few issues, the sooner the better.

Look at That for sure- but find better obedience classes where you can be taught how to use things like that in a controlled environment.

Depending on your budget they have some gorgeous rooms very similar to what a dog might be used to at home- they are super quiet compared to the normal kennel area which might be beneficial.

Cottage Kennels are also very good.

I'm not convinced that 6 hours in a crate as a temporary solution whilst barking is addressed is the crime it's being made out to be.

It's a temporary solution as part of a behaviour modification program. Granted there may be other solutions that this owner can talk over with k9 pro but it's amazing to me that my crating a dog 24/7 for months for a physical issue is fine and a temporary 6 hours is a no go.

I do NOT agree with crating for long periods for owner convenience but don't think that is what's happening here.

So why is it acceptable to crate 24/7 for short term medical needs?

I know it's not for the same purpose but i had to confine my 6 month old ACD for 4-5 months for far longer in time frame than what has been described here both prior to and after elbow surgery. This dog has a behavioural problem not a physical one but what is being proposed is the same in that it is a temporary management solution. I have no issue with it. Why is it acceptable to use confinement for short term medical management but not short term behavioural management?

Every pet SUPPLY store i have run classes in has used very low traffic areas to conduct puppy school in and disinfected the area. Whilst of course not eliminating the risk, it does reduce it. Are you in an area that has a high incidence of parvo virus? This would influence my decision far more.

Sorry to be negative but yes i think that walking at night would be a significant issue. Almost all of my clients who use walking services of any kind do so because they want their dogs day broken up. They are home themselves at night so don't want the dog gone then.

You need public liability insurance which can be expensive but i wouldn't touch someone else's dog without it.

Given what you're used to and what you'd like i'd strongly suggest looking at a Pointer. A little less full on than most Vizla's and GSP's.

I had a client whose dog had this- was a long hard slog for many months but the dog has recovered now and has a good quality of life.

Super idea Mel- would be very interested in the content.

There was a situation in one welfare organisation where a few volunteers stormed the vet clinic one day and told the vet in there that if they *#*##** euthanased that dog (had shown aggression in multiple contexts including a home environment- dog had been returned) they would #*#*#*#* kill them.

You'd think those volunteers would be asked not to return wouldn't you? They continued to volunteer. And the dog wasn't euthanased. The culture WITHIN some animal welfare organisations is truly disturbing.

Absolutely TSD- unfortunately see it all the time.

There is a serious lack of support when working in animal welfare and unfortunately some of the stress and poor treatment of people comes from within the shelter- co-workers, bosses, committees etc

I can try and get some video of my JRT recalls- he has been trained only with the RRR method and does exactly what Corvus describes. It's gorgeous to watch.

As far as i know in AUS, horses are not permitted in dog food. Would have to double check.

Was wrong- although i'm not sure how credible this source is http://www.australianhorserescue.com/news/resources/horse-slaughter-in-australia-horse-meat-abattoirs-knackeries-wastage-and-related-issues/

I don't find classically conditioned responses hard to train- the only challenge is the number of repetitions required which can vary from dog to dog. Of my 4 current dogs- 2 were trained using more traditional recall training methods and 2 were trained using CC methods. Interestingly, the two trained traditionally have MUCH easier training personalities and SHOULD have the better recalls. But they don't. The terrier and the tricky ACD have the best recalls and they were classically conditioned.

Agree to disagree- sometimes those factors do make it impossible.

Of course i have heard it many times and disagreed many times! That we certainly agree on :)

But i just think it's too simplistic to say that every dog can be taught a reliable recall. There are many factors and sometimes not many safe and appropriate options.

Huski i don't think you understand the point i am trying to make. Something may be theoretically possible but a trainer/ owner may decide that the risk- reward ratio is not worthwhile. So saying it's possible doesn't really matter when the risk to the dog is so high that it's believed to not be in the dogs best interest.

Using a completely different example- if you have a dog come to you with serious aggression issues, whilst training a reliable recall is certainly possible the owner or trainer may deem it not in the dog or the community's best interest for that dog to ever be publicly off lead so whilst you might train the recall in controlled contexts on private land having a 100% of the time recall across a broad range of contexts is unlikely because you are so limited in what contexts you can safely expose that particular dog to. Do you know what i mean?

With regards to turning clients away or failing to get results- we don't do that either. But we certainly make sure their expectations are realistic and explain what would need to be done to get that reliability. A small breed dog with a history of running away and self rewarding and limited alternate motivation is a classic example of a dog where the number of classically conditioned recall repetitions required to achieve reliability may literally outstrip what that dog can eat. Do i say to the client- no we can't train your dog to recall? Or blame their level of commitment when it's still not where it needs to be? No- i tell them that to get what they want they may need to go down the RT route. If the dog is not temperamentally suited to this kind of training then we talk about adjusting expectations- that's not a failure to get results IMO.

I have trained a lot of dogs to recall- various breeds, ages etc. My Jack Russell Terrier has an exceptional recall. I strongly believe the principles in Really Reliable Recalls are extremely successful with the vast majority of dogs.

However- there have been situations where the number of conditioned repetitions required are either impossible or impractical and not because the owner is unwilling to put in the work (although of course there are times where this is a problem).

At that point the owner (in consultation with the trainer) needs to decide whether they are willing AND whether it is in the dogs best interest to utilise a remote training collar to teach a reliable recall.

In addition to these factors there is also a risk- reward element and i understand that many sighthound owners basically say that the risk of an error (that could quickly result in serious injury or death due to the speed of the dogs involved) is not offset by the ability to free run the dog.

Calls are returned within 24 hours, unfortunately sometimes a bit of phone tag takes place. Stuart has the business phone and is in with clients at the moment- email me at [email protected] as i have just got in from clients and starting emails now.

Unfortunately there is no fast solution- the answer lies in building reinforcement history in situations where there are high levels of distraction. Remember the idea of "Who's That" or the "Look at that" game as some here will know it is to actually allow the dog to look at the other dogs but to positively interrupt them before they leap/ lunge/ bark/ become overly aroused etc. Over time you allow them to look for longer and longer before interrupting etc. Make sure you're not waiting for the dog to look at you.

The key with these sorts of exercises is to try as much as possible to keep the dog under threshold- which does mean increasing distance where possible etc. Is your dog receiving regular meals as well as training treats? One way to increase the value of the food rewards and as a result, value for you is to use as much of their daily food allocation in training as you possibly can.

In addition, using games like targeting in situations where there are other dogs is great as it allows the dog to move, jump etc but in a way directed by you.

Keep in mind also that 7 weeks is a short space of time so if you're seeing improvements, you're already doing a good job. You are right to keep him on the lead when other dogs are around. Each time he is off the lead and learns it's more fun to play with other dogs than hang out with you it will extend your training process. Sometimes it's short term pain (controlling situations, increasing distance, not letting him off lead when other dogs are around etc) for long term gain.

Well i asked the question as to whether they were there in the capacity as a trainer and whether the client therefore knew they were posting about it on a public forum. Next time i checked though it was gone.

Does anyone know what happened to the nervous dog thread?