Willem

http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/5a8c0861-1d4c-424a-9bcd-ae9c4304fb5e/files/blue-green-algae-cyanobacteria-and-water-quality-fs.pdf ...some good information about this algae (bacteria) problem.

I didn't desex my dog (female)...she just went through her first season (13 month old) and it wasn't an 'inconvenience'. Main reason for not desexing for me are: high risk of incontinence (why should I trade one inconvenience with another which then I have to medicate?) higher risk of reduced live expectancy. significant higher risk of adverse effects for booster vaccination. discharge not a big issue for us as she is most of the time in the backyard; her bed is in the laundry and the floor is quickly wiped plus she kept herself pretty clean (might be different for people living in a flat). I like entire dogs. ETA: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/30/neutering-health-risks.aspx http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.2005.227.1102?journalCode=javma&

..I think we pretty much there, this morning when we saw the first dog on the horizon she remained in 'drop' till the other dog was right in front of her snout. I didn't have to reinforce 'stay' and 'drop', no tension on the leash, tail was wagging of course. She just went through her fist heat (first heat came pretty late with 13 month?), and the hormones may also play a role for becoming more 'matured'?

...that is my guess, there might have been never a need for him to learn for getting the treat, the only 'command' he likely follows (I'm speculating) is the recall as he can't get the reward without being close to the owner.

...'wags his tail and gets excited'..because he gets a treat?...you might have 'disarmed' yourself by giving him a reward / treat without having him to make the 'right choice'!...consequently there is no need for him for 'seeking' the right choice. If this is the case: no treats anymore (from no one) except for the right choice.

@ the OP: did you rule out any medical causes? ....e.g. problem with the tail, anal sacs, spine?...how does he respond to other commands e.g. 'drop'?

„Heiner Brand 03“ von Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, Lizenziert unter CC BY-SA 3.0 über Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heiner_Brand_03.jpg#/media/File:Heiner_Brand_03.jpg you mean something like this :D ?

'hm, I thought the name refers to the German word for moustache which is 'Schnurbart' or 'Schnauzbart' or 'Schnauzer' because of the dog's distinctively bearded snout?...

the test for heartworm is a simple snaptest...(they sell them even on Ebay)...it is easily done and requires only a few drops of blood (blood should be taken by a qualified person so) and gets immediate results.

to my knowledge the testing should be done before administering any anti heartworm drug because if the dog would already be heartworm infested, the drug may kill him: the drug kills the worms and the dead worms in the body will cause implications (heart, lunge) and finally the dog's death. Hence if you administered anti heartworm drugs for 4.5 years without side effects IMO it is unlikely that your dog has heartworms....but I'm not a vet and there are always exceptions. ETA: ...if you don't know the dog's medical history, the testing is of course also required to ensure that the dog is heartworm free as a positive test result (=dog has heartworms) would require immediate treatment. Some dogs might survive without treatment if it is only 1 worm, but I guess there would always be side effects (low energy level, no endurance etc.).

huski, the link works, but the links in your article don't...?.... BTW we never visited a puppy school with our dog, nevertheless she had a too high value for other dogs (it's vanishing now more and more so). ETA: ...the links actually seem to work but only to reach a webpage saying 'Not Found'.

Werewolf ...'were' (or 'wer') = archaic term for adult male humans :)

the larvae in the mosquito need a very specific temperature profile: it needs 2 weeks of temperature at or above 27 deg C and will die if the temperature drops below 14 deg C during this period....so one colder night in these 14 days and there is no risk. Hence I administer heartworm drugs only in summer here in the Illawarra.

you could also add some 'crazy walking' to the training. If you have a bigger dog and if it is an obsessive puller also just trying 'anchoring' yourself while the dogs is still pulling might be a little bit exhausting. The dog has some advantages here: 4 legs vs 2 legs which gives him more grip and a lower centre of gravity which gives him more balance - as long as he can pull in a straight line. But we have the advantage knowing the physics respectively technical mechanic...and we can use it. If you just stop you might still find yourself in a tug of war and the fight will be won by the party that can apply the highest force....which is hopefully you :) . Now 'anchoring' yourself is pretty much the same as going backwards - action&reaction, so if the dog pulls with 300 newton (equals lifting a 30 kg weight from the ground) you also have to respond with 300 newton to stop him and this might become exhausting over time. However, if you pull him sideways instead into the opposite direction you will reduce the required force dramatically, one reason is the technical mechanic behind this as you split up the force into 2 components, the other reason is that the dog is pretty bad in responding to a sideway pull and would loose its balance, so if the dog feels the force pulling sideways he reduces the pulling force to regain balance (that is why haltis and harnesses where the leash is attached to the front work). So when using these physics we might end up requiring 5 newton to control the initial 300 newton...and that is more to my liking. You don't have to work in the opposite direction (high force required) to teach the dog to follow you: a slight change in direction is already enough to take the 'reward' (the aim the dog is pulling to) from the dog. The smaller the angle, the smaller the force required to respond to the force the dog applies...and you can refine this method by doing 'crazy walking': with the dog at your side you change the direction every few seconds...every 1 second if required. You can train this actually whether the dog is pulling or not...you walk crazy for just half a minute, but that might include already 15 changes in direction so there is a very high repetition. The big benefit for me is that I train the dog with very little force - stopping when the dog pulls is often 'all or nothing'. I want my dog that she responds to this tiny little bit of tension in the leash so that I would be able to hold the leash just with my finger tips (not a good idea to do this in an uncontrolled environment as the dog might will catch you on surprise). I'm sure there are some 'cray walking clips' on YouTube if you are interested. There is also a downside so: your neighbours might call the ambulance if they see you 'crazy walking' :D . ETA: ...forgot to mention: it requires a good timing and anticipation so to make a smooth 'crazy walk' sequence.

I stumbled over this when reading through the 'Studies about Dogs'section (see #30) here on the forum...it seems that a booster has some serious risks so a titer test seems to be preferable before taking an unnecessary risk.

A human can rarely claim to know what a dog knows. A dog might be able to respond to a cue in a specific context (place, state of excitement etc) but that cue is unknown in a different context. This is because dogs are largely crap at generalising. So your understanding of what "ignore" means is clearly different to what Corvus (or any of the rest of us) mean by it. when Corvus (or Bob Bailey) study training methods - they do not concern themselves with what the dog might know or understand or feel. Only what the dog does or doesn't do. The dog's response. So no response might be considered "ignoring", and dead dogs are very good at that. Changing the definition of a word doesn't make you right and the rest of us wrong. It just makes you impossible to have a useful discussion with. maybe it doesn't help that also people experienced in this realm seem to use the terms loosely, e.g. I found this on the Karen Pryor site: "Clicker trainers use no punishment." Incorrect. Clicker trainers use negative punishment, which is the removal of something the dog wants. For example, ""penalty yards" (TM pending, Lana Horton)" is a common method used in teaching loose leash walking. The dog sees something it wants. As long as the dog walks nicely, the trainer lets it walk toward what it wants. However, if the dog pulls, the trainer walks the dog backwards. Walk nicely; get what you want—positive reinforcement. Pull; lose what you want—negative punishment. This method is extremely clear to the dog, because getting or losing what it wants is controlled by the dog's actions. wrt the example the author of this article uses for negative punishment: yes, the dog loose what he wants, but the measure she applies (walking the dog backwards) requires that she applies also tension on the leash and force....which is positive punishment / aversive, or?...when Karen P. talks about the 'roast chicken on the table' (see my last post) she calls it aversive...

she does, the 'sportful' discussions here and in other threads helped a lot too :)

to get back to the article this thread started with here some comments / statements from people that are recognized - at least somehow - as experts in this realm and mentioned in the previous posts: Bob Baily when asked 'Do you consider yourself a clicker trainer? Why or why not?': I am not a clicker trainer. I have used a clicker, and quite successfully. Keller and Marian Breland were using clickers in 1943. In the modern use of the name CLICKER TRAINER, punishment, especially positive punishment, is "disallowed." I allow myself to use punishment if I believe it is necessary to accomplish the task and if the task merits the use of punishment. I rarely have need of punishment.' source: http://www.clickersolutions.com/interviews/bailey.htm Cesar Millan (from the book 'Be The Pack Leader' / page 44 - ISBN 978 0 340 97645 6): 'What I do is rehabilitation, although I absolutely 100% believe in positive reinforcement techniques for training purposes and rehabilitation, too, whenever possible. My philosophy about discipline and correction with any animal, for any purpose, is that they should always be applied with the least force necessary to accomplish the behaviour you asking for. And I do use positive reinforcement and food rewards all the time, in the appropriate situation. But I also believe there is a time and a place for every technique. The issue that many in the "positive-only" school of behaviour seem to have with me is that they believe I should be using treats and clickers to redirect some of the behaviour that I choose to correct with energy, body language, eye contact, and physical touch. I believe my techniques work on very difficult aggressive, obsessive, or anxious cases because they are a simple, common-sense approach based entirely on Mother Nature.' Karen Pryor in a discussion about 'Aversive or Punishment': ...'If in real life you have to wade in with an aversive to stop something from happening—if you must yank a baby away from the light socket, stop a dog from grabbing the roast chicken off the table—so be it. Animals do reprimand (the official biologist term) their young and each other. You'll have interrupted or stopped a dangerous event. Just don't kid yourself that you've taught or guaranteed any particular change for the future.' source: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1395

some updates (from the morning walk): bumped into 3 dogs, no playtime allowed, 1 dog she ignored nearly totally (we were in trainings mode playing fetch and other stuff), the 2 others we passed triggered her interest, some pulling at the leash, but not obsessive ... I think she is pretty good socialized, however, there is always something new: this morning 2 guys slept in swags at the place (kind of lookout point) where I often train her. She never saw this before, 2 green bulky monster caterpillars with 'internal' movement....definitely a threat that needs to be addressed :D ...she barked at them and pulled in their direction, luckily I still had her on the leash and the guys survived :D . There is also one car (parked) where she shows a similar behaviour. I can't recognize anything abnormal, it is a normal station wagon, no fancy addons, nothing hiding under the car, no one inside...maybe some scent that triggers it. She is growing up pretty fast, 4 month ago she was a puppy that was very submissive and went nuts every time she saw another dog... when I look at the photo (taking on our morning walk yesterday) I can't believe that it is just 3 month ago when I started this thread.

A human can rarely claim to know what a dog knows. A dog might be able to respond to a cue in a specific context (place, state of excitement etc) but that cue is unknown in a different context. This is because dogs are largely crap at generalising. So your understanding of what "ignore" means is clearly different to what Corvus (or any of the rest of us) mean by it. when Corvus (or Bob Bailey) study training methods - they do not concern themselves with what the dog might know or understand or feel. Only what the dog does or doesn't do. The dog's response. So no response might be considered "ignoring", and dead dogs are very good at that. Changing the definition of a word doesn't make you right and the rest of us wrong. It just makes you impossible to have a useful discussion with. ok, got it (sorry, didn't recognized that the majority of this forum are scientist and behaviourists who speak a different language than the minority of normal mortals respectively having difficulties to understand what I mean :) )

if you read Corvus' article she mentioned above (here the link) it makes actually a pretty interesting reading; I have to read it a few times more for a better digestion :) (it is pretty theoretical), but what I can take from my first reading is: for the most efficient trainings outcome you have to maintain the optimal affective state and arousal level - which IMO makes sense. To high or to low or a negative emotion and the trainings result will be compromised. The challenge: I guess it is pretty tricky to determine these optimal windows, and also if you would know it (I guess the optimum thresholds will also change over time which makes it even harder) it would be pretty tricky to maintain it. Me too having sometimes problems that she goes nuts during agility...so according to the above the best approach is to get her back into these 'windows' (where ever they are) where she is still interested in the training, but not over-aroused. Agility is a far more complex training than what I do with the flick pole, here actually I want her overaroused for training the 'break-up' response as that's the task of this game! - the task in agility is obviously different.

I understand that some people prefer that their dog doesn't get overexcited or reach a high aroused state (and they may have good reasons for this), but I don't want a 'robot' dog, so if my dog gets overexcited it is o.k....as long as I still can control it and can break it up if required. Hence the training with the flirt / flick pole...when the rag moves in front of her she trembles ...everything in her is just waiting for the 'Take-it'...and then bang she goes nuts....while she is chasing the rag in a very high aroused state I can train LEAVE-IT (she comes back to me in heel position), DROP...STAND, SIT...and all happens in a controlled environment....that works for my dog, other dogs might find this game boring so or their only play it on the 'usual treat earning scheme' at a lower arousal level (which doesn't give the same results).

I guess there are some merits in the following quote: ...'Too often, however, modem dog owners try to solve behavior problems by analyzing or explaining why the dog is misbehaving. With the exception of genetically induced behavioral anomalies (which are hard to diagnose and pin down) it is rarely productive to ask why a dog does what it does. Identify the behavior (not the cause of the behavior). Then identify something you can reinforce that will replace that behavior-and the stuff you don’t want will go away by itself'.

...I can live with this...

...and that is just nonsense, a dead dog can't ignore you. Ignoring means that the dog knows the cue but decide to ignore you and does something else (and that's just undesirable behaviour). You tell us that your dog ran to a fence and barked at another dog...and you didn't make an effort to recall him? ...if you didn't it would be pretty slack, if you did your dog ignored you obviously because he decided that it is more fun to bark at the other dog....not much room for other interpretations. Your statement that your dog couldn't hear you because it was in an aroused state ...well, would be plausible from someone with little experience in dog training...