Cosmolo

I think this is absolutely hilarious- i hope its not one of those, you had to be there things! At the end of a day of lecturing NDTF students today, i was sitting on the ground watching another trainer do a demonstration of shaping a dumbell retrieve. The dog had done a number of sessions and was just starting to pick up the dumbell- a really great result. Sitting on my lap watching was my JRT Gilbert while the other 4 dogs were relaxing in a stay around me. The dog doing the demo did really well and on the last repetition, received a big reward and in the process knocked the dumbell underneath a table. The dog was then given to a student to hold while the trainer came over to say a quick hello to all of my dogs who were released to greet. 4 dogs had a happy hello but Gilbert- immediately upon being released and despite the fact there were a few pieces of food dropped on the floor nearby- trots over underneath the table, collects the dumbell perfectly in the middle and trots out, parading around the room trying to give the dumbell to people. He has NEVER done any dumbell work OR any shaped retrieves. It was so gorgeous and he did it so rapidly and trotted around as if to say to the other dog- 'how could you take so long to do something so easy?!!' There were lots of laughs and lots of rewards for him.

If you condition it in the same way, a verbal marker will do the same. No piece of equipment provides good timing- thats up to the handler.

Come and meet these guys! And of course the little man!

Well, time has flown and the event is this Sunday. We would like to thank Prestige Pet, Pets and the City, TROY, Nature Vet, Vets all Natural AND Black Dog Wear for their exceptional donations to Project Underdog. There are going to be some much happier dogs and cats this Christmas and New Year. I also have a number of new elves (nut more are still welcome) so thank you to everyone who is taking Project Underdog to their workplace etc. Please come along on Sunday and support us- even if you can just drop past on your way somewhere. While we realise its a very busy time for all, your support will make a huge difference. We have been working day and night on this and can't wait to see it all start to take shape. Remember- EVERY donation counts and no donation is too small.

I think things like that help to create social awareness though. The idiot in the bank who walks straight up to the counter will get told by 5 other people that doing so is not correct.

Mornington Peninsula council area have large permanent signs with animal related rule reminders on them all over their council area- at the edge of cafe strips and parks or by busy roads. They say things like "Cats must be confined to property 24 hours" etc. I think these are great and don't know why more councils don't have similar? I've found the same Erny- not allowed to provide information sessions through council for free because its against policy.. Crazy!

Given the timidity issues, i would get in touch with an experienced trainer. The barking is a symptom, not the cause. I wouldn't be waiting to enrol in training- i'd be doing it asap!!

Yuppies in fancy cars who live in Brighton- DO dump their dogs. :D Generalisations like that help no one.

Nope- they can't even do that Steve. They can't give ours or any others or a list of every one available in the area. Council policy. And this is a major Melbourne council. I am not sure how to get the ongoing committment that is required. It is scary to think sometimes that when people attend puppy schools- that is them at their most committed- it usually drops away after that and i know many trainers who say the same thing- that its hard to get people to do more than a short puppy pre school.. Will have to give that some thought as i am not sure how to overcome that.

Few issues with the training side of things- Firstly, many councils are not allowed to support businesses. I have a family member who is in charge of a large councils animal management department who has told us he cannot provide our details to anyone because they are not allowed to support business. Hence- if they have a dog with a barking issue etc, that owner will not be provided with training details. Going to obedience training won't deal with some of the issues that result in surrender- jumping fences, excessive barking, destructive behaviour all need to be dealt with privately for the best results. People are already ready to give up so if they went to a few weeks of group training that didn't cover their relevant issues, its pretty unlikely they would keep going. Training still relies on owner committment- no owner committment, no training improvements and the phrase "i tried training and it didn't work" comes into play To answer your question- yes we have enough trainers. BUT we have alot of different types of trainers and training and IMO i think people should be provided with all options and allowed to choose, not required to go to XYZ dog training club for example. Councils, pet shops, breeders can all be part of providing training information to dog owners and this is one thing that does not happen at the moment in many cases.

At the NDN conference, one of the speakers was describing the process they go through when an animal is surrendered. They provide the surrending owner with an invoice- detailing every cost associated with rehoming that animal. Of course most people don't pay it but the idea is that it makes them aware of the costs involved and it provides some understanding of the responsibility involved. Personally i also think that some shelters/ pounds are almost 'too nice' to people surrendering their animals- "Yes of course we will find Fluffy a new home" while re assuring is A) not always true and B) allows people to leave feeling absolutely fine. I much prefer the realistic, though somewhat upsetting approach. "If Fluffy passes his behaviour assessment and if Fluffy passes his health check and IF someone wishes to adopt him within XYZ time frame- then yes, Fluffy may find a new home. The counter arguement to that though is that (A) make it too difficult and they dump their dogs elsewhere (B) You have to be careful about when you tak about Behaviour assessments- do it before they complete a surrender form and then you're likely to get a surrender form full of lies © Shelter/ pound staff deal with enough agro from some of the public and don't want to in any way 'incite' more. (D) Many shelter staff can't then switch from this kind of attitude to the helpful friendly, soft one that people wanting to adopt would like. It does need to be made more difficult- but how do you do that without new law? Wasting water campaigns have done it pretty well- its socially unacceptable in most parts of Aus to hose off your driveway. In theory we could do the same thing with pet surrender- but who is going to pay for it and organise it so that it penetrates every element of community? And does it need to be supported by law in the same way water restrictions etc are? What do we do with the element of society that don't listen and don't care about what is or isn't socially acceptable? ETA- i like the colling off period/ visit from dog trainer. But how would it be funded and how would compliance be encouraged?

Spikespuppy, there are services like that (including one that we do) but they rely pretty heavily on referral from places where people go to purchase a pet because you need to get in before they have the pup. Problem is, the breeders i have spoken to would not support it and the pet shops selling animals certainly wouldn't- even with kick backs.

While i realise its not a scientific study, the evidence regarding pet shops inability to socialise pups properly during their critical period is right in front of me every day, across a wide range of dogs of all breeds. However, there are many scientific studies documenting the importance of this critical period of opportunity and it can clearly be inferred from those that pet shop pups do not receive even the basics of correct socialisation during their critical period.

One question i would ask is what socialisation the pups are receiving until 6 weeks. It would concern me if the pups had no contact whatsoever with anyone except the breeder until after 6 weeks.

There is no way that the critical period socialisation needs of puppies are adequately provided for in a pet shop. When i refer to the poor conditions of pet shop pups- this is the biggest thing for me. In addition, pet shop pups are often harder to train- generally with things like handling- and specifically with something like toilet training. The information regarding #'s of pet shop pups surrendered should be available- its a question on every surrender form i have ever seen, and i have seen a few.

Sounds similar to a dog i saw today! Feel free to pass on our details. Depending on where they are Kelpie i may also be able to help.

I am talking generally. If someone says they are an AL, then they are- but that doesn't mean that every person who shares their view in one area also shares their view in another. And the answer to your questions are No and No.

Possible anxiety about going outside could be it. How long can she hold for over night?

Just because a person protests puppy farming or cruelty, does not make them an animal liberationist and does not make them a supporter of ending dog ownership and breeding.

Not sure- would depend on how it was set up and how membership worked. I wouldn't like it if it was very busy or if there were not quite strict rules for all members regarding dog interaction etc. I'd prefer to hire different services/ facilities privately i think.

I am after some dog related trophies and would really like to order and buy online- does anyone have any suggestions? Or alternately, some beautiful sashes (not just simple ribbons) that i can get whatever i like written on them. All suggestions appreciated!!

Thanks MM, thats fantastic!

A huge thank you to Royal Canin and teh Western Bulldogs Football Club for their extremely generous contributions to Project Underdog. We have also had another raffle prize donated- but its going to be a secret until the day!! Please let me know if you're able to help selling raffle tickets!

Gorgeous photos everyone! Here is a small selection of mine!