Erny

Here here !!! Another pedantic editor here: It's 'hear hear', not 'here here' :D And again? Thiss a thred of misspels, in case yu ddnt reelize. LOL

It is 'hear hear'. I knew that :D

Thanks Adnill44. Checked out the Aussie Dog website but didn't see anything there that I'm looking for. "Pet-O" .... not heard of that store, but will continue by web-search tomorrow. Will also check out the Petstock ones you've referred to, KHM. Thanks also . Thanks all. GR - Good luck with picking a pup. Will be hard to decide. They all look gorgeous - only as pups can :D.

See highlite

Why? Are you saying we don't matter as much?

Do apostrophes show up in the sub-titles?

Here here !!! :D

Well, not sure about the Super Striker ............. but your bundlefull of pups have certainly caught my attention . How beautiful they are . Thanks GR. That would be a great toy as well. My client has a little bit of arthritis in her hands - she's not too bad in that she can work reasonably well with them, but they do lose strength and therefore I'm looking for a grip handle that might make it a little easier for her to hold on to. But these are two reasonably good options and the Super Striker would be good because of the four pieces of tug coming off it. Thanks for that ;) . Erny

Ooooh ........ Tug N' Toss "Jolly Balls" - this is close to what I want, but need at least one or even two other handles so owner can grab fairly easily and engage in tug with her dog.

I'm looking for one of these for a client. About basketball size. I thought I'd seen and/or heard of them some time ago, but can't find them via google. With handle/grips on the ball so a bit of tug can be engaged. Did I dream this one up, or do these things exist? And if they do exist, can anyone tell me where I might get them?

Were they aiming for a Mexican Shi$%less ?

I use one of these. Available from me (for us Victorians ) or from Steve, but instead of the "Service Dog" label, I have the "In Training" label. I tell people "my dog is in training". They generally respect that, but with the harness on as well, I'm sure they think it is for something super special such as Assistance Dog; Law Enforcement Dog; or some other "official" engagement. An in awe "oooooh isn't he beautiful .... " accompanied with a bucket load of respect is not an uncommon response and generally has people biding your 'space' and 'leave us alone' wishes. Mind you, all credibility towards my dog being "In Training" for any highfalutin job that they may have assumed is often blown when my dog dives (dragging me in his wake) to grab some interesting piece of garbage (especially loves milk shake cartons or used ice-cream cups) and struts (literally! you should see his strut!! lol) a good part of the way home with the cup either over the end of his nose or lower jaw ;) .

I don't think I'd be satisfied until/unless full body blood work-up was done .............. including thyroid test (USA). But that's me ;). Could be wrong, but I'd like to rule out things that bloods might reveal. To me, the dog just looks Daxxy.

Heard it over the radio too.

I've written to ANKC (with a CC to DogsVic) asking for written confirmation that neither are entertaining any notion of removal of ANY working dog titles from dog pedigrees. I've also asked that they reconsider their negative stance towards Schutzhund and take necessary steps for its acceptance and permit.

My thoughts too, Steve - although I'm not that much of an expert. I didn't like the look of those pustule looking markings on the back leg.

Oh . .... this post has surprised and very much saddened me, Jedi-77, as I think it will to all who read back here. There are no words that will make you feel any better at this early time of grief. Just know that I and others will be thinking of you in support. And RIP Rascal . My girl will be there on the other side to welcome you to a world of comfort and freedom.

Make the sessions SUPER short. Even with the first session just that one "good" sit .... out comes tug/play; win; and finish (whilst he still REALLY wants it). Push for two if you think you can achieve it. But finish on that. You can return to it later. "Lick of the ice-cream .... " . Let the dog's gambling addiction build up first, before you go for more. That's what I'd suggest, anyway. I feel a bit humbled given K9 Pro's presence in this thread. No doubt, he'll have a better suggestion :D.

Taking into account that my training background is aversive methods, so I am relatively new to positive reinforcement methods and I have never used a clicker, my 12 months old Malinois has terrible sits without a reward. His sits are perfect with a toy or food reward to follow and without, I get one maybe two sits, in other words unless he sees what's on offer, he won't work for free Disobeying a known command like he does, I would have in the past administered a leash correction, I can train the behaviour I need, but without using an aversive which he has never experienced to date, where do I go from here, how do I fix it without an aversive to get a reliable sit without a reward on offer:confused: Fiona :D Hi Malsrock - you directed your post to Bedazzledx2, I think .... so I hope you don't mind me throwing in my tuppence . One of the ways I would work to "fix" this problem is that I would have a tug toy on me, but not in sight. I would ask for sit and if I did not get the response, I might correct the dog to the sit. But once corrected to sit, I would then release into the tug reward. Or it might be that I got sit, but it was crappy, but I'd still reward with (then) hidden tug. What I'd be teaching here is not the sit, but that the possibility of reward with the tug is still there, even if the tug is not seen to be on offer. Once your dog realises this, I think you would find the 'gambler' in him would start having him work better for you and you can then begin to use this 'gambling addiction' you've created, to produce better sits. I tend to randomise with my boy with regards to whether his tug is hidden or not. ETA: Kavik posted whilst I was typing .

I was about to come in with a concerned note of alarm that you would have used an e-collar in this instance!! Realising you mean you used an Elizabethan Collar as opposed to an Electronic Collar (I thought you tried punishment.). It's not the first time I've fallen for that :D . Behavioural? Maybe - there would be a cause though and you'd need to look for it. If these things are behavioural often (but not always) they have a basis of anxiety. So look for the pattern of when your dog licks his paws. Is it when there is (for him) a stressful moment/situation that he finds himself in? IE What's happening around your dog at the time the licking occurs? Physical? Yes - it could be allergy based. Whether this is food related or contact related or both ..... that's the difficult part to work out. I won't profess to knowing enough about this stuff to suggest I have the right to advise, but I can tell you that I have had success in the relief of skin allergy symptoms with the use of Calendula Tea. I make up the tea and just stand my dog's paw in the bowl of tea for a minute. Dab dry (including in between the toes). Someone here on DOL suggested to me that for some dogs using Calendula Tea could be problematic because of the fact that Calendula itself is a plant (Dried Marigold Flowers). That's logical and should be taken on board. I know of many people who have successfully used the Calendula even with dogs who have had had grass contact allergies though. But either way - use with caution to begin with. Perhaps just one paw and see how it goes. If it is working, by my experience you should notice a reduction in symptoms inside 24 - 48 hours. If the skin is quite irritated you may need to apply a couple of times a day for the first few days. But if there is any worsening, cease use immediately. All I can tell you is that it has been a godsend for me and through its use I have been able to avoid my boy being administered with chemical drugs that are commonly recommended and used in these cases. ETA: Calendula Tea can help with curing Tinea infections too .

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You can give it straight from the spoon. Assuming she likes it. Most of the dogs I know (including my own) love the stuff, although there has been one I've heard of who has turned its nose up at it. If that's the case for your dog, perhaps mix it with the yoghurt, if that helps. Sometimes I added it to his water only because he didn't seem to be drinking much (2nd day - lethargy was the symptom) and I wanted to ensure he remained hydrated. Worked a treat, but I made the mistake of using too much water (all of which he had guzzled down) and I was kept very busy mopping up accidents for a while after. I dosed my Rhodesian Ridgeback boy at approx 1 teaspoon. I didn't have a strict regime - if he looked sore/coughing, I gave him a teaspoon. I think the first couple of days he might have had about 3 x daily. Then I backed it down to about 2 x daily for the next 2 or 3 days. Then once in a day for the remaining days in the week. In essence - my dose frequency depended on how symptomatic he was. My boy was about 20 weeks old at the time - underweight. So if your dog is adult (sorry - I'd need to go back through the thread to see if you've written that detail) you could probably dose about roughly the same.

How do your dogs figure when you've decided to use it as an interrupter and not a marker?

Hi MurphyMoo. I'm certainly not one that is against the use of anti-bark collar training - K9 Pro would be the first to confirm that . But if the barking is specific - like to things such as the dropping items in the bin (as opposed to the presence of the neighbours), then it might do well to desensitise/habituate to the noise. For example, if his behaviour is not over the top, take him around to your neighbour's bin and drop some items in it. When/if he's ok with that (reward for calm) then ask your neighbour to do it, with you letting Murphy see what's happening. Do it a few times and aim to finish on a calm note. Sometimes it is a matter of noises that the dog doesn't understand - once understood, it can make a difference to the height of reactivity. Sometimes. This might not be enough. But I have from time to time found that it has helped. Even if I am still proceeding to something such as an anti-bark collar.

I hate this 'technique' and avoid it like the plague. It carries with it the very real risk of sensitisation to loud rattly noises and can create bigger problems for the dog, rather than solving them. Sorry to be so blunt, Cowanbree - but I wouldn't touch this technique for this purpose, with a barge pole. It is very much a "Bark Busters" style technique, although that is NOT the reason I am saying I don't like it.