Cosmolo

llama or alpaca- yes. And a curly coat retriever as she breeds both Curly coats and JRT's

Jeff- can i ask your opinion on whether or not chemical changes in a person would produce different responses to scenarios presented? My OH has done a fair amount of PP work (he's not home now or i'd ask him the same question!) but my experience is limited.

Its terrible- the more photos i see, the more excited i get and the more my patience is stretched! Will be worth the wait- but i still hate waiting!

Thanks! I will look forward to the photos. I do prefer the neater look

Sorry I don't have his registered name but i am sure Viki would be happy to let you know

Both Erny and I are south east.

We have dealt with many- including Georgie who is ours- and the most fearful dog i have ever met. ( she is the beautiful white dog in my signature) ETA what Erny said- whereabouts are you located?

Thanks Leigh- we're super excited and can't wait. Our dogs will love the new addition too!

Potential sire is Rupert- he was bred by the breeder but lives with a family in Tasmania. Or did you mean his show name I think they're all pretty beautiful- and i love who willing the breeder has been- sending photos and info, answering questions and letting me post them here etc.

http://s382.photobucket.com/albums/oo264/cosmolo111/ Uploaded to photobucket account instead. Hope it works!

I have the photos but they are all bitmap images and i can't work out how to convert them to jpegs : (

I think the offer applies to Victorians too? As a few of the trainers mentioned are VIC based. I don't think the trainers involved are going to push dogs until they shutdown- certainly wouldn't need to go that far to prove a certain dog won't protect you. I understand both sides here. I think there is something to be said (IN SOME CASES) for a dogs response to the chemical changes wihin a person under stress that MAY lead them to protect you (or themselves!) when they otherwise would not- in an instinct test for example. But i also think there are many dogs that owners think would protect them that actually would not.

Just a quick update. I am keeping in touch with the breeder, mating is still planned for 3-4 months away so this is going to determine how patient i really am! She has just sent me some photos of Mum and potential Dad- she is choosing between 2. I will just check that its okay to post them and then i will- its not quite puppy pics but they are pretty dam cute!! She has also said we are top of her list and we can choose first (once she has decided if she is keeping one herself) which i find very exciting. This will actually be the first dog i have been able to choose from a litter so i can't wait- actually i can, because i have to!

I just wanted to say that was a really articulate, well thought out and clear post Willow. I think it is a skill to be able to respectfully disagree or openly share different beliefs when it comes to training tools (as this is often not the case!) and i thought the posts by Willow and Erny were very good in this respect.

I've seen an old style halti fit and work well.

Just to add, there are some dogs that may bark and react with a threatening person approaching that will still turn tail and run when directly challenged.

I am very interested in both. Whats the difference between the jumps? sorry if its really obvious- long day!

What things do the girls like to do with Scout? make these things contingent on them interacting with him in a certain way. eg- if you're not calm and still when puppy jumps, you don't get to play ball with puppy later etc. Also make certain training exercises great games for the kids with rewards for them as well as puppy- it means they still interact but you're guiding the type of interaction rather than just having to say no!

No i don't think its too long at all, especially if you have built up to this gradually- JMO

The amstaffs i know would do nothing.

Teach a happy bark on command- anything more can be very problematic. I don't think there are many breeds where you could be certain of guarding behaviour- much will depend on the individual.

Have the puppies been socialised outside the home by the breeder? The amount of socialisation and experience these pups have had will influence how easy or difficult they may be.

What the others said plus- From a training point of view, while it can ge good to give yourself a little time to get to know the dogs before training, it is important to commence training soon, particularly if there are any 'teething problems'. 1-2 weeks settling in time should be plenty and you can then get to know your dog more through obedience and training when you commence. Have the puppies been well socialised by the breeder?

Does that mean he is still howling when you go out to feed him?

Yes, i have a friend with 8 Mals and another with 4 huskys. If you can't ignore, crate train, bring the pup in and gradually work to get the pup back outside once the howling has subsided. Pup has larnd that howling gets your attention- good or bad. Separating them means your others are less likely to join in so by doing this you'd reduce the noise by half to start with. I wouldn't use a bark collar on a 12 week old because i think you're better off finding a way to teach the pup that howling won't get them what they want. Even if the collar was effective, likely that he would become collar smart and you would be using a collar forever or that the pup would desensitise and you would need to use something else anyway.