Cosmolo

Can i brag on behalf of someone else..? I was really excited to hear that one of our new trainers got her first open obedience pass and third place over the weekend with her gorgeous GSP!! He is the loveliest dog and i am so happy for them! Great photos Grumpette!! Do you have any videos terranik- both dogs sound great!

I think it is very misleading to say "aggressive dogs shouldn't go". Who gets to define aggression? What threshold to aggression is acceptable? Should a dog tolerate being ran at by another? What about being jumped on if the dog is 'friendly'? Should dogs that go to dog parks have to tolerate being mounted? Your going to eliminate most of the dog population if you say dogs that go to dog parks should like EVERY dog. I have a dog here who will very appropriately tell other dogs off for being rude. Many people though- would think she was aggressive if they watched her do this. What about dogs with a low tolerance for other dogs who are exercised off lead, with a reliable recall and owner leaves when other dogs arrive? Is that not okay because of the what if the dog doesn't recall/ dog gets surprised? There are lots of what ifs that people don't think about- what ifs that relate to dogs being dogs, not doing anything terribly wrong. As someone else said- issues often occur with people not understanding their dog has an issue, not often with those who do. Aggressive dogs have as much right as anyone else to be RESPONSIBLY exercised. Dogs are not robots.

Wow, thats insane. The world really has gone mad.

I would desex, separate when you can not directly supervise and intervene if needed and contact a behaviourist. When Razor started mounting Boss, what did you do? How does Boss respond to the mounting?

I'm so sorry Julie and Vaders Mum- unfortunately, accidents happen.

I was fortunate enough to receive a recommendation for Blazeaway kennels from a DOLer when i posted about Jack Russell Terriers. Well, she was spot on and the breeder we got Gilbert from is unbelievably fantastic!! We could not have asked for better and we have exactly what we wanted- temperament, structure, looks- the whole package. We will now always have a JRT in our life and hopefully they will always come from Blazeaway.

Thanks guys- the designer who did this went to school with me and she was brilliant even back then. I hated showing my art work after hers, lol!! There are lots of updates still to come and of course all of our photos- we're looking forward to seeing it progress too.

Aidan, do you think the tryptophan can have an effect when given once a week? I have just started giving my horse the Behave paste and at this stage given when i feel she needs it which is about once a week. I am pretty sure i have noticed an impact but then i don't know if i am imagining things?

Gilbert is coming!! All of the photos etc will be going on over the next few weeks.

Not quite as exciting as K9 Pro's name change revalation but thanks to a wonderful friend, we finally have our new website up and going!!! There is a heap more info and photos to come but we're pretty thrilled with how it looks so far!!! www.underdogtraining.com.au Its amazing how websites go out of date- we used to love the old site and then realised just how 'old' it really was so this revamp was well overdue!

Contact Erny/ Pro K9- she probably has something in that area that would be good. Otherwise i am not sure if K9IQ run puppy classes too. Our closest is in Dandenong.

What K9 Pro said. Its not either or- of course i don't want dogs to bite my hands- gloves or not. But in this freezing cold weather, an accidental graze from a tooth (and shock horror, it happened with one of my own dogs last week) hurts like hell.

I'd be interested in getting some too.

What Tess32 said. Every off lead area is different- the ones we use in Melbourne have always been great. Like Tess32- our dogs NEED that opportunity to exercise in a large space so we use off lead areas for that purpose. I never let all 5 of our dogs play with unknowns at once though and really, except at our training- which is 4-5 days a week, they don't interact with strange dogs at all.

A question for Aidan If it is that the level of correction causes pain, therefore causing a yelp- why is it that subsequent corrections, delivered at the same level more often than not do not elicit the same response. I don't think its as simplistic as stimulus Y causes pain causes yelp- surprise, expectation, understanding, anticipation etc all come into play IMO.

I think when discussing tool use, its worthwhile to discuss 2 things across all tools. What happens to the dog AND handler when each tool is used correctly and appropriately? What happens to the dog when each tool is used incorrectly? I don't think its right to have cross over between these things as we're then comparing tools not on even footing- shouldn't compare a prong used correctly to a headcollar used incorrectly. I still think (and i know some here disagree) that its valuable to think of tools generally in terms of their risk- there are higher risk tools and lower risk tools. My favourite pieces of equipment for training are flat collars, martingales and front connecting harnesses, because in inexperienced hands (which most of my clients are) they are lower risk. I love e collars (prongs are irrelevant because they are not legal here) but i also accept that they are higher risk than the above and for that reason, i am pleased that they have a comparitively high price and are not readily available in most places. My clients that use them are trained to use them correctly- it would be nice if the same could be said for other, higher risk pieces of training equipment.

Very very rarely happens (i can think of 2 occasions with a different dog each time) but i stop it. We run a pack of 5 of different sizes and temperaments and the others either would not tolerate it or could be injured by it. Funily enough the 2 dogs that have done it once each are both the lowest ranked dogs. In the context of my pack, i consider it to be no different to the dogs being rude and pushy with each other- which we don't allow.

I'm so sorry to hear what has happened to poor Sid. I would suggest that once he is fully recovered, your first re introduction to other dogs is supervised by an experienced trainer/ behaviourist and perhaps not in a park- going for a controlled walk with a couple of calm friendly dogs would be a better start. I would definitely report it too. With regards to his friend the staffy- while its not uncommon for dogs to join in, i would take care when re introducing them- again, a nice calm on lead walk together would be a good start, starting at a distance and gradually getting closer. I would not do this until Sid has met a number of other dogs in a controlled manner though. Do you go to training at all? Group training with someone experienced can be a good way to encourage controlled socialisation after such an experience.

From a training point of view, i love both breeds- i would think GSP's are a little easier to come by. One of my trainers has a GSP, so i can find out some good breeders through her if you like. I'm sure many DOLers will be able to recommend different breeders. I find both breeds to be active, outgoing and friendly- i wouldn't call either of them reserved!! Both breeds fantastic to train, haven't met any of either breed with aggression issues but anxiety and excessive excitability are things to look out for with both in my experience.

I agree with what everyone else has said but would like to add that much will depend on the ability of the owner as to whether they can have a harmonious multi dog household of any breed or breed mix. I know some people who could run a variety of dogs without issue, others would create problems accidentally- even with breeds and individuals that are inherently friendly. Normally we have our pack of 5- none are breeds known for their overt friendliness and sociability with other dogs but all 5 have an excellent relationship with each other.

Think its around $3,000?

Lort Smith would be a good price over that way or AAPS would be very cheap but they are in Keysborough. PM or email me if we can help, we're in the area on a regular basis.

Why can't you take one of your other dogs to the clinic?

Does anyone still teach a running contact for contact obstacles? It doesn't seem to be the done thing anymore so i am just curious as to whether anyone still does it and why/ why not?

2 of my dogs have got my hand instead of a tug before and while it hurt like nothing else, i never believed it was intentional. You know your dog- if its completely out of character i would say accident- if it happens repeatedly or you notice other behavioural changes, you can pay a bit more attention. What did he do when he did it? One of mine let go the moment he realised it was hand not toy and then looked horrified. The other stopped immediately too- but that could have been because i dropped to the ground swearing and clutching my hand!!