Erny

Sometimes not, BB, surprising as that may be. Sometimes it takes a diplomatic approach to have the owner open-minded and trustful enough to allow you to lead the way. It doesn't happen often but I have had to work with and through some resistance against 'change'.

Well done to you both, Vicki and Huski. Great work and you deserve the moments of immense pride you both felt at your dog's achievements.

Also, think about whether you (inadvertently or otherwise) reinforce your dog for the extreme submission she seems to be exhibiting, at other times. For example : She greets you in full submission and you tell her she is a good girl, as you bend down to give her a belly rub. Get the picture? Sometimes this reinforced behaviour changes from what it originally began as (ie submission) and then becomes a learnt response that dogs use to avoid things. That doesn't mean she is being naughty, it just means she's learnt that it works for her. So then it becomes a matter of being calm, being assertive, but gentling her through her misunderstandings so that you can begin to reward her for the more confident behaviour and the command responses that you want. Perhaps it's a bit about your training technique too - that's not a criticism, it's just that there could be a different way of managing things that is a bit clearer to your dog (if she is confused). Or maybe a different technique would be helpful to her. If she knows "drop" then perhaps if you work on building drive and then using that drive to train in, her confidence will grow and her command responses will be enhanced. That's just one other way, as an example.

Apart from a fully waterproof jacket, plastic 'over' trousers have been a godsend for me. Not only for when I'm out with my own dog and it's raining - keep me dry top and bottom and therefore comfortable and warm ..... which means I'm more ready to go out in weather where others might not. But also because, as a trainer, I often find myself kneeling to assist other people with their (especially) smaller dogs or pups. Stops my jeans soaking up the water from the wet ground and also helps to save the knees in my jeans full stop. I think Rays Outdoors would be the ones to have what you need, but there is also Aussie Disposals.

Of course "education" is a very big key factor, BB, and is something I (and I expect all of us) who are in contact with people in a 'teaching' capacity do. But we're talking about the real world with all the humans in it, flaws and all, and the fact that it isn't so black and white as to be able to simply expect that the needs and capabilities of dog-owners are always going to match those of their chosen dogs. Far better, IMO, to structure training (and I include methods and the different training tool styles in that) to give them a start that they want and are capable of fairly quickly. Either that will be enough for what both they and their dog requires, or it will at least be the 'light bulb' moment that motivates their enthusiasm for more and gives them an opportunity to achieve exactly that (ie 'more'). Talking within reason as obviously what the owner wants/is willing to do has to be something that is not harmful to the dog and that will also give the owner and the dog the (at least) beginnings of success so they can see it CAN be done.

I agree in essence, that this is the ideal and to strive to achieve the behaviour we want and extinguish the behaviour we don't this way is the optimum. But it is not always possible to do this in an efficient manner with some dogs, and to not be efficient isn't always or necessarily often the best thing for the dog either. Consequently, my aim is to work with teaching what TO do first and foremost, and then, if corrections are required, it is only for the residual unwanted behaviour which hopefully has reduced, meaning less corrections than if approaching training from the opposite angle. With some of the more difficult dogs that are presented for training (and remember that some people 'present' for training when they themselves are at their wits end, which means the dog has a lot of learnt over the top unwanted behaviour experience under its belt), a correction might be needed as a manner of saying 'stop!' even if its action produces a startle effect rather than a learning effect in this first instance. That opens the door of opportunity (and this is where good timing comes in) to then show the dog the "TO do" behaviours that will achieve it better things. As far as equipment is concerned - there is no one "better" training tool and they should all be embraced for what they do and can accomplish. If only the dog was to be taken into account, I do have my preferences (but even they aren't set in stone because every dog is an individual). Thing is we do need to take into account the owners, their capabilities and what they want and also the environment and situation they live in. Because when it is all said and done, if it's not to their liking and abilities they aren't going to be willing to move forward and work/interact with their dog. And the real loser in that equation is going to be the dog. So it is a matter of looking at the big picture and not the picture that we'd prefer to paint for ourselves. Therefore, no training tool or method should be excluded from the 'art' of dog training, speaking generally. ETA: I am speaking generally and that includes all behaviours, whether they be from an obedience training point of view (eg. sit, drop, pulling on lead), or a general problematic behaviour (eg. reactivity/excitement/rushing to other dogs ) pov.

Did Tom adopt the ACD pup? From the photo's here and in the other site, he looked quite taken with it .

Ahhh .... thanks Ruthless. Well, I wish many good forever homes for the dogs who need them. And I do commend Pedigree for their advertisements and for activities such as "Yellow Dog Day".

Hi Encouraging .... how long is a "while" ? If it is cough, it shouldn't be going on for too long, especially if it is only a mild case. My boy picked up canine cough (mild dose) when he was a pup. Coughing gone within 24 hours and he was back to bouncing within 48 hours.

I've not heard about it either, although I presume it relates to a celebration and acknowledgement of assistance and/or therapy dogs?

Ok - fair enough. I didn't know from your post nor understand that he had issues with raw feeding. Sorry for my mini-outburst (so to speak). You haven't mentioned what he is like with chicken?

I'm not a showie so perhaps I don't appreciate the finer points in these things. But for me, the priority is the health of the dog first rather than worrying over marks on its coat and if BARF proved the best for this dog, then from me, that's what it would have. I certainly wouldn't insist on dry dog food and stumble around with supplements to try to bolster its diet for weight gain because I'm scared its coat might get tinged if I were to give it food that was more natural and obviously in this case, preferred. And if that's what Judges are looking for (ie set the diet aside for blue ribbon's sake), then I'm a bit flabbergasted and in wonderment of where showing is taking our dogs and what the primary objective is. By staining, do you mean on/around its mouth, or its butt? Just curious.

Then why not "raw necks etc"? (I presume the "etc" means other whole raw foods - chicken wings and so on.) ETA: Feeling "ribby" isn't necessarily a bad thing - in fact, you should be able to feel your dog's ribs when you run your hand lightly across the rib cage. They should have a light cover over them so they aren't protruding, but provided that's not happening and that there's a light cover over hip bones as well, then that's quite good.

Active Manuka Honey (UMF 20+ or higher). It's not cheap and unattainable if you live in Western Australia.

Hey Encouraging ..... Is there a reason why you need to make your font so big and bold? I feel as though it is screaming at me, but perhaps you have good reason for it? Regards the food - I guess it would be a matter of carefully and thoroughly investigating the labels to determine what is in one yet not in the other. Diet can and does affect behaviour, but not so often does it do it to that extreme extent, in my experience.

:D Don't say that too loudly or they just might think up a law about it. I guess that would go under the "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Wet Dogs Amendment) Act"

I wouldn't touch the heartworm preventative injection. If you live in a cold climate you'd probably find you didn't need to give a preventative at all - especially now with the winter season upon us. The test is pretty quick.

Honest - it is a huge long story if only to explain why I even fleetingly thought of Wheatbix for my boy. If I told you the looooong story you'd probably say "oh ...." and consider it quite boring. It relates to sloppy poo and a digestive system that isn't functioning as it should and a dog that won't eat many of the foods that he used to.

LOL ... thanks Spotty. Didn't notice until you pointed out double post. Silly gremlins.

LOL ..... I took 'safe' meaning good/not harmful in any way. I'm not completely opposed to some grain in the dog's general food either - but I know that wheat is often avoided, which is why I wasn't sure if Wheatbix would be such a good idea. I have a personal interest in knowing/clarifying this (which is why I posted) but won't go into the why's and wherefore's as that will just spin another thread around and onto my own dog (and he has enough of his own threads to last a lifetime, me thinks ). Cheers Erny

MTS .... you should come holiday in sunny Melbourne . Our nice autumn weather continues to put on a show, albeit that it is now officially winter. Cold mornings (and foggy - but I quite like fog) and it comes down cold later in the afternoon, but lovely in between. And the cold either end of the day isn't so bad either - makes to encourage nice brisk walking . But beware our dog laws .

I tend to agree with BB's post/response. I've asked a question about the food that was the original subject of this thread, and it hasn't even been graced with an acknowledgement let alone an answer.

Contact Mark Singer. http://caninetraining.com.au/ "Bark Busters" is a franchise name only. There's lots of "Bark Buster" companies around. Just because it might be well known, that's only because of advertising the name. It doesn't give you any guarantee or assurance that the actual person who works with you and your dog know what they are doing, have any or much expertise or have more than one rabbit to pull out of their hat to suit your dog.

I'm just curious. There's often discussions about preferences towards not feeding grains to dogs; discussions that suggest they aren't good, cause allergy symptoms etc. etc. So how come is Wheatbix "safe" ?