Erny

Shutzhund - not Breed Specific

It does seem at odds with the lifting of the import restrictions doesn't it? But the way I see/understand it (and please, Steve, correct me if I'm wrong) is that under one legislation we can now import but under another legislation the e-collar is not deemed to have met use requirements unless it has a "C-tick". Is that correct? What legislation has it that a "C-tick" is required? In my readings of the various Acts I've not come across reference to a "C-tick" but I'd like to look it up to better understand it.

This is good news, although I'm not so sure it's much of a majority or even many that are following that protocol as yet. At least down my ways. Must contact the Vets around town to see what their more recent approach is and whether it has changed since I last knew of them.

I don't wait for final vaccs. I recommend starting pre-school at 8 weeks (ie when owner acquires the pup). Mainly because attendance at pre-school is access to an outlet that can teach (especially) new puppy owners on the what to and what not to do's, and how to do it. Not to mention the proximity and interaction with other pups and different (unfamiliar) people the pup is exposed to. However, I recommend that the pups stay away for 7-10 days clear of each puppy vaccination as during this time the immune system will be working to recover from the affects of the vaccine and creating anti-bodies to the diseases the vaccines guard against. Not only that the pup would be exposed to other pups, but also to reduce the stress (which in itself taxes the immune system further) that the pup will incur by merely being at school.

And I've felt it (although in my instance I was the one jumping - over my dog, in fact, in a drop/stay proofing exercise). Sooo much pain that everything went black although I did not lose consciousness. Heaps of swelling for a good week or so after. After that I felt ok on it .... except that I could feel my joint slide if I was walking down-hill. And sometimes, as I was walking, my leg would swing forward seemingly of its own accord - ie I'd lose control of it. Not pleasant and life-activity restricting. And being an active person I hated that I couldn't trust it to not give out on me unexpectedly. The other thing that remained a concern was that whilst my cruciate was snapped, I was placing pressure on the other of the remaining ligaments. Over time this ran the very real and big potential that I could easily cause damage to them as well .... and be left with even less or no ligaments protecting the joint. That could lead to a complete break-down of the joint itself. I had knee reconstruction and have not looked back. Within 24 hours I was on the machine to get the joint moving. Within another 24 hours I was off crutches. The 'fixed' knee is now stronger than the undamaged knee. I know it is vastly different with dogs - both in relation to the surgery itself (I wish they could do dogs the same as my surgeon - who was ahead of his time - did mine) as well as in the fact that us humans can simply be told how to take care of the recovering joint/ligaments. I don't believe it is a case of 6 months crate rest after surgery though and I doubt very much that I would wish that upon my dog if there was another way. I would also be very concerned for the additional stress the dog's joint and remaining supporting ligaments would be carrying in the absence of its cruciate. After all you can't tell your dog to be careful - unless they are uncomfortable they don't know the reality until it happens. Appreciate the information put up in the OP though. Handy to know.

When you join the school/s that you do, do you make it clear to them that you are joining not for their instruction but so that you may simply work your dog in your own way (a way that needs to not be destructive or distracting to the remainder of the class, of course). Instructors (rightly) assume that you have joined for their assistance. Schools, by their very nature, generally will have a particular way or method of instruction/teaching and unless you have previously informed them that you don't wish for their tuition and recommendations to methodology, they can only think that you do. If you tell them up front that you're working things the way you want to for your own reasons then they will at least have a heads up to leave you alone. In my experience, Clubs will leave you to it if they can see that the method/s you use does not interrupt the running of the class; that the method/s you use is serving the purpose of the training that you're doing; and that you have good control over your dog. So if you haven't before, perhaps let them know the purpose of your joining their school. ETA: I agree with not insisting on a change of training tools/management devices if it proves that the dog does not require them.

What Jigsaw said re the 'work your dog' :rolleyes:. If your dogs are truly not scared, then your leadership should be sufficient to be able to command them to lay/settle down. I'd suggest there is some fear mixed in amongst their behaviour. Training in drive is excellent for this sort of thing.

A friend of mine left her dog with me to mind whilst she was away for a week or two. Her dog had cruciate surgery and was in the "exercise for strength/support" stage. The dog could walk quite well on it so the surgery was not obvious, but part of the rehabilitation and building of strength exercise to protect the leg was for the dog to pull into a harness on its walks. Hhhhmmm .... hope none of my prospective clients saw me doing that .. .

Again - I think you've misunderstood. I don't permit my boy to jump on others. And I do not openly invite or encourage him to jump on me either. But it was one behaviour that I compromised on for the sake of another. The jumping won't last forever. But I hope the latter (ie drive) does. I agree. But do you mean that if you saw a trainer with a dog who pulled, you'd assume they couldn't successfully teach LLW to their dog?

You misunderstand me PF. In all the years I've worked taking classes I've not brought my own dog with me. (A) Because I prefer to place my absolute full attention to the members of the class and I know that no matter how hard I try, half my mind will be on my own dog. (B) Because my previous girl was not of the right temperament - too nervy so she'd stress the while. And © because my current boy isn't up to it. When I typed my post (above) I was imagining a client or potential client observing me (not in class environment) walking with my dog and basing their assessment of what they see on whether I was a good trainer or not. I sometimes take my boy with me when I give a lesson or class at PK9's training grounds. He stays in the car for the lesson duration and when that's done I'll bring him out to work him and also to give him a run (*sigh* .... wish I had more space where I live) so it is fully possible that I could be 'judged' by what he's doing as to how good I am. I've been using drive as my predominant training method. RR's often don't have the strong and persistent prey drive for the tug as other breeds can and do, so I really concentrated on building the drive he did have. In the course of his excitement in early training, he would jump up. I didn't encourage it, but I didn't stop to admonish him for it either, preferring at the time to preserve the drive that I had managed to enhance. So this reflects back to someone here saying "if they saw the trainer's dog jump up at them ...".

That's a good post Cosmolo. As I was reading I too agreed that one might look at the trainer's dog, but that's to assume it is not a 'work in progress' or being trained for different reasons/purposes and in a different method that perhaps someone else might not prefer or even understand. It is also possible that the dog was not the trainer's dog from the get go. The dog might be a far better behaved dog than it was when adopted, but some issues can be permanent albeit well enough managed. And a trainer might take on more of a 'hard case' than perhaps the general person would and I don't think that because the dog isn't up to the expectations (which can be subjective any way) of others that it means the trainer is no good or sub-standard.

Similar to what Aiden has said. Working within a lesser distance, I'd return to her and treat her (without releasing her) whilst she's in the sit. A higher reward for maintaining that position may clear up any confusion she might be feeling about the exercise. Build up time (and increase the time between periodic food treats for maintaining the sit/stay) and then build up distance.

I'm interested DNH and have PM'd you with my email address if you wouldn't mind sending through a copy of the new AVA vaccination guidelines to me? Thanks Erny

If the diet change (including beneficial additives) was something which more strongly supported the immune system (or conversely, didn't compromise it), isn't that what it would be about for demodectic mange (and a whole host of other things)?

Is your pup too big/heavy for you to carry and hold? If you think you can, and depending on the wound/injury and whether even doing this would cause an issue, why not take her out for some socialisation/habituation to the world? Things such as sitting with her (holding) at a street cafe - watching people; traffic; hearing noises; and so on and so forth can be very mentally stimulating. Although I did all of this with my boy when he was considerably younger than that, I know that even just such a trip would have him konked out in his crate for a goodly while afterwards . Habituating her to train stations and trains and taking trips in the train to places is something else you can help to tire her out with. Take it gently (as you should with all early habituation/socialisation) so that she doesn't panic (for her confidence sake as well as for her injury sake) but as you are holding her it wouldn't/shouldn't be much unlike being crated anyway??

Only just caught your thread, Elfin. Glad it wasn't the worst news and hoping it is something that resolves completely and without trauma. I think lymph nodes can swell as the result of foreign bodies or can be the reaction to a virus or bacterial infection. I don't know much about them but I suspect them swelling in these instances would be them doing what they are supposed to do to help the body 'fight' what it recognises as something that should not be there.

Sugar content I'm not sure of - but it would at least be a 'good' sugar (if you know what I mean) and as it won't be forming a major part of your dog's diet, I don't think nor have I heard of it being any problem. I have RR's and during times of illness (eg. Canine Cough) I dosed up 3 x a big teaspoon for the first day or two, then down to 2 x daily and then when symptoms ceased reduced it to 1 x teaspoon daily for the next 5 - 7 days. I don't think there's a hard and fast rule for dosage - I just gave it dependent on the severity of symptoms. If the symptoms weren't severe, the dosage isn't quite so frequent and I don't necessarily continue it for the full 5 - 7 days beyond the symptoms disappearing. If I suspect CC but the symptoms are vague and not persistent, I might only give 1 x teaspoon for a couple of days. If the symptoms go away then I might give one more teaspoon the day after symptoms have disappeared. So, dosage is pretty 'loose' if that makes sense. If I feel my dog/s needed to drink more than they were, I put one or two of the daily dosages in a small amount of water - this encourages them to drink as well. But don't over do it. Some can guzzle the water to the point of saturation and that's not desired. It's good stuff to have in the pantry - an excellent stand-by that you can give immediately you suspect illness or general 'off-colour'. I think the earlier you give it (eg. I give it if I just notice my boy being a bit 'flat' .... just in case it is a sign of the onset of something) the better it will work.

On the health side of things - not a lot I can confidently advise as not only am I on the other side of your computer screen, I am not qualified as a Vet or Canine nutritionalist. If you were in Victoria though (I forgot to look to see if you have it written, before I began my post), I'd recommend that you make an appointment to see Dr. Bruce Syme in Castlemain. He understands the digestive system of dogs extremely well and I have every confidence in him. Certainly has been well worth the while for my 2 hour each way trips to see him. But there are also others better qualified than I, here on DOL, who might be able to make some suggestions. As for the toilet training. I don't follow the regime that you do. For me there doesn't seem much point in laying newspaper and allowing them to learn that it is ok to 'go' inside at all. If you had just brought your new pups home I would have advised to take them out every 2 hours for the first one or two nights - regardless of whether they are sleeping. Or, if they are sleeping very soundly then perhaps reset the alarm for another half hour and check on them then. If they were awake, or perhaps sleeping but not heavily, then I'd whisk them out, make no fuss, quietly add in the toilet command at the appropriate time (ie when they were in the middle of it) and whisk them back to bed again. I did this with my boy. The only accident I had was on night number 1 and that was my fault as I mis-read/misjudged timing. By about the 3rd night he was sleeping 6 hours straight through and by the 4th and 5th nights, 7 hours ... without accident. Waking up first thing it was always a hurry to the toilet though (now it's "I might be able to hold on until I've had my breakfast :D.) I also used the crate to assist in toilet training and recommend to many they do likewise. And I had the crate on the floor in my room, so I could hear any stirring or check on pup without having to get out of bed if it proved unnecessary. However, if one of yours still has the runs, then there might not be a clear pattern to follow. I do ask though - is it just that he has sloppy/runny poo, or is it actually diarrhea? Also, if the mess is already made, there's no point remonstrating at all. I'd recommend you simply put pups out of the way and clean up in their absence. Some pups think it's a game when you're down on your hands and knees scrubbing away at the floor. If pup is showing signs of toileting, I work to distract and with as much haste as possible, get pup to come outside.

Dose her up on some Active Manuka Honey (UMF 20+) - purchase from a health food store (yep, it is exxy) - don't bother with the supermarket quality. It won't do her any harm whatsoever and will assist regardless of whether this is Canine Cough or an irritated esophagus.

Oh come on ............... you know you loooove it, K-i ETA: Can I start one up on "off-leash parks and the things people do" ??

The technical term for this is "copraphagia". Some things to consider : Diet : Are your pups doing the best they can on the diet they are on? Health : Are they otherwise in full health? Toilet Training : When did the copraphagia begin? Were they scolded/punished for inappropriate elimination during their house-training? Exercise - especially 'mental'. Are your pups bored? Given their digestive history, I'd be inclined to first consider that they may be attempting to self suppliment for something that is either missing in their diet, or that they are not absorbing from it. Chicken/rice might be ok to 'rest' the digestive system after an upset, but I should think that 3 or 4 days of it is more than what they should need to recover from it (unless something else is wrong and is therefore persisting) and in itself would not be providing a balanced diet for them. I'd also be inclined to re-think what you are doing over-night in the toileting regime. Not sure what you mean by "not being able to control what is happening over-night". What is your toilet-training regime? IE What do you do and how often do you do it?

I think there are two interpretations of "qualified". "Qualified" as in "able/capable" of doing the specific job "Qualified" as in formally 'recognised' qualifications So no wonder it is open to confusion and misinterpretation. Suffice to say that one could be qualified but simultaneously not qualified :p .

Ah - Ok. I think I getcha . I thought you were questioning why Megan's dog needed to be lured or GSP'd. ETA: Anyway - glad he's going well for you Megan . You caught on well too .

Yeah - but as Megan has said, Megan's dog didn't do very well with the instructor Guide Showing and Placing which is why she (Megan) sought some (outside) assistance. Drop had only just begun for her dog so I presume this is why the Croydon instructor suggested lure, but when that didn't work, GSP was tried. Megan's boy has now learnt targeting as well as the 'drop' exercise via "lure" and also "GSP" and was within the first lesson moving off lure and onto positive reward and this should help Megan move on and enjoy and adapt to the Croydon classes. He's a smart little dog and quick learner so he should do well .

Megan didn't have her dog (what a cute little guy that he is ) at Croydon for the pre-puppy & puppy levels.