Cosmolo

greytdog- i have never known that to be the case. If it did happen, it would have been the councils decision, not AAPS. Personally i don't have an issue with mandatory desexing for dogs not registered with the canine council AND who get out and are not registered with the local council. Whats the issue with this? Cross breed, wandering, unregistered dogs getting desexed- i don't see the issue? Legislations like this IS needed to stop Bogun Joe down the road taking his entire unregistered wandering cross breed home to breed with. Provided the exmptions are there for registered purebreds, the young, old or ill- what is the problem?

I have many clients who have used it with success

I answered no to the mandatory reportingof dog bites for the same reasons Erny mentions.

Thats the thing- while its 'generally' not a good idea, i certainly would NOT write off a breeder that was willing to sell two pups together. I don't know Zenchel personally but i do know one of the puppy buyers very well and i have heard nothing but fabulous things about them, and they sold 2 pups together!

There's no real issue doing it that way but instead, i would do 100 repetitions of 'look', treat immediately- without waiting for a response- at home before even attempting it on a walk. Thats what i mean when i talk about conditioning first. It sounds like you're doing a bit of both- which will still work, its just a bit different :D The difference between a marker word (i use yes) and release is that the marker says a reward is coming but the exercise is not necesarily finished, release means the exercise is over. Some people do have their dogs release on the 'yes' but i don't like doing it that way as i want to be able to mark, keep going, then release.

I use a verbal marker not a clicker- personal preference. You should still condition it in the same way though and the marker shoudl ALWAYS mean a reward is coming. If you have been testing the look command out when you're out or the dog is distracted, you have probably done it too soon and the conditioning is not strong enough. Don't use his name either- you'll likely use his name at many other times throughout the day without reward so it loses its potency. I use a marker and release separately- so that i can reward the dog without ending the exercise.

While i agree that 2 pups at the same time is generally not a good idea- there are plenty of ethical breeders who have sold siblings together, including the breeder that won the first MDBA award, who breeds labradors. Why did you want to get two puppies at the same time?

That is a fabulous idea BC4ME- i am sure they would appreciate it. What a lovely vet

Clicker training is a specific marker that tells the dog a reward is coming. It needs to be conditioned first, ie click/ treat/ click/ treat so the dog understand what it is and you then use it to mark behaviours you like. Same can be done with a verbal marker word. Have you conditioned a focus word as yet?

Well done!

It worries me as to who will decide what traits are desirable and what traits are not.. Who decides what is 'better', i don't want anyone making that decision for me, i can choose when i choose from the hundreds of different breeds available or the individuals i see in pound and shelter situations.

I think adopting the pup and paying direct to the vet for desexing Mum would be really great too.

Sorry but he walks in an identical way to my boy who has Hip Dysplasia.. I would certainly get him checked. He's beautiful too!

Chicken wire laid flat, pegged firmly to the ground, covered with mulch with holes cut into it for the plants. Worked really well for us and i only wish we could have done it with our lawn.

Blue7- in my experience, yes absolutely- given stimulation, exercise and companionship

There was scientific reserach presented at a seminar a few years ago about the link between inactivity and obesity.. Sandgrubber- i know plenty of kelpies in suburbia who are perfectly well adapted and i would hate to see them change

I agree with Kelpie i too. NILIF would be something you could start in the meantime though- may help a little and wouldn't do any harm

dancinbcs- the purpose of the classes i mentioned is the same as yours- just a slightly different way of achieving it. While no play would be fine for some puppies, some pups need to develop their social skills, particularly those who have not had a great upbringing from birth to 8 weeks and therefore have no social skills.

Who decided on the list of speakers?

I wouldn't use a high value reward to try to outweigh the distraction- if you condition a response to a look command before using it you won't have to have your reward 'competing' with anything else

Well it depends on what drive, and whether you're looking for pre cursors to drive etc or just drive peak.. I think still photos are very unreliable in terms of whether something 'is' anything. I have seen a few terrific photos that look like one thing but having been there when it was taken, what actually happened was completely different!

WoofPurNay would probably be the closest i would recommend. Unless Erny runs puppy classes at Lyndhurst as well?

See, i would recommend a JRT over a Mini schnauzer based on my experiences PF The questions you ask about the JRT in a park type situations are questions that a variety of breeds and individuals would struggle with- including labs and kelpies- i have lots of examples of both. So IMO much depends on- where you get your dog from, how you train and socialise the dog early on AND having your end goal in mind. For example having a trialling goal and allowing a pup to play with every dog he sees or to be off lead ignoring recalls to chase birds- is not a good idea, regardless of breed. And yes i am familiar with whats required for obedience trials- i don't see any reason why a JRT couldn't do the stays, directed retrieve is IMO more difficult (but i don't see why a Pap or poodle would find it easier? Especially if it was taught through shaping) and scent discrimination- again a difficult exercise but i see no reason why a Pap or poodle would find it easier?

I beg to differ PF Provided correct training is started early- i see no reason why a JRT couldn't be very competitive in obedience. I see lots of focus issues with typically biddable breeds too when training has not been started early enough or the dog has been over socialised.

I completely agree with you- for the most part But providing 'choice' stressed this dog and the small steps we had tried didn't impact the real thing.We probably could have persisted for longer but i decided moedrate stress for a very short time was better than low stress for a long period of time for this girl. She is an unusual dog though- certainly not the norm!