Erny

I'm holding my breath for you KL, and hoping with my heart.

How far into her herding training are you?

I don't know, Moosepup. I know they use them in recovery, and I'm sure they used a heat mat for the duration my girl was on the table, but I don't know if that's standard procedure. As Rappie said - she isn't and can't say for your instance, but it would make sense to me if it was caused this way because wouldn't the dog be on its back with back legs splayed for that op? And perhaps some of the antiseptic ran down and pooled in that area? Just guessing. Like Rappie, I don't want this to seem as though I am pointing fingers - just trying to help puzzle it out for you.

When my avatar girl (now gone, but not forgotten, bless her cotton socks) had a series of surgeries, I'm sure I remember there being a heat mat on the operating table. Is that standard procedure?

It's just the extra 'attention' that puppy can perceive from it. I found with my own boy that cleaning up in his absence made quite a big difference. Before that, he enjoyed what he thought was a fun game of 'chase the cleaning cloth and/or bark at the spray cleaner' I was using. Even having Mum or Dad on their hands and knees (ie closer to puppy) can be a reinforcement to some. Or even just the mere fact that Mum or Dad are sooooooo interested in puppy's 'do-do'.

In part, yes it could be that you don't have the respect you need from her and perhaps learning to be calm and assertive (amongst other things) will help. Could also be in the other part that your handling technique needs improvement. I notice here (for example) that the trainer demonstrated to you "to go in the opposite direction from where she was pulling", yet even in this one small instance, I see you've modified that to "stopping and being a tree". I'm not suggesting the latter doesn't work for some, but I wonder if there's an element of inconsistency creeping into your dog's training? Having one lesson from the trainer when you picked your dog up from the boarding/training kennels is good (and necessary). But remember, your dog comes home knowing far more about obedience than you do and one (by comparison) short lesson doesn't generally teach people the co-ordination and timing they need to be able to "push the buttons the training installed" (in a manner of speaking). I'd suggest that your dog doesn't understand that you want her to exhibit the training the trainer has given her and that she's picked up that notion by your body language and different handling style/skill. I'd fully recommend that you take some lessons from a trainer so that you can improve your handling skills and I bet you your dog will recognise the instant that you are consistent and more clear, and will respond accordingly. One of the dogs I trained when he was in for boarding and training went home a wonderfully obedience skilled dog. The owner was given the 'hand over' lesson and also a membership to a dog training club so she could continue to learn and improve her handling skills. I didn't see her at training after the 'hand over', until 6 months later, when she sought me out because of how her dog's training had 'slipped' backwards. I worked with the dog for only about 5 or 10 minutes and all of the skills he had been taught rose to the surface. The owner continued with going to lessons after that, as it proved to her that it wasn't the dog's problem, it was that she hadn't worried about learning herself. The fact the dog was already trained made it easier for her to learn, as once she managed to "push the right button" (again, manner of speaking) the dog was able to respond in a way that made it very clear she'd done the right thing. And of course once the owner's action was reinforced by the reward of the dog's appropriate response, she sought to repeat the "right moves" in her handling. There are some here who are opposed to dogs being sent for boarding and training. I'm not. But I completely agree that the owner still needs to learn. It is easier to learn the beginnings of handling with a trained dog (more often than not). Same, in a way, as it is easier to learn how to ride properly (especially at competition dressage levels, for example) if the rider can learn on a horse trained in the dressage moves.

Hi Kavik. Whether there is a way of motivating Diesel to enjoy his training or not, you obviously aren't. So take a break and relax. Do the stuff you both enjoy (eg. relaxing walks etc) and allow yourself to chill. So long as you both enjoy doing this, then it is good and right enough. Who knows. Maybe things could change. If they do, let them. But in the meantime, don't try to force it as it is obviously not making either of you happy. Just chuck in a bit of obedience throughout the walks. Sometimes easy stuff. Sometimes stuff that is more demanding. But for the most part, just walk. Start enjoying. :D ETA: Maybe Diesel isn't a 'motivated' dog. Maybe he is . And if he is, maybe you're trying too hard. So the way I figure it, relaxing about it and going with the flow a bit can only be for the better, whichever way it goes.

NEVER let him up on the bed when HE asks. IF you're going to have him on your bed from time to time, make it by invitation only ..... not by HIS suggestion. Ignore his 'requests' and if necessary (if he persists to the point of not being able to ignore him, or he pushes beyond the point of 'asking' and attempts to get up) gruffly tell him to go to his (own) bed/mat. Teach him that if he 'asks' the answer will ALWAYS be "no". At the moment, he's only doing what he's been taught. IE That if he asks, you will let him. You need to clarify your message. ETA: For the short term at least, I'd be not inviting him up at all. Let him get used to the fact that it is more likely to NOT occur, rather than have him anticipating that there's a good chance it will.

DW - I've been following but not posting .... it cheers me to hear of the positive results you are seeing for Diesel at the moment, and the hope that the treatment you have sought has given you all. Well done and hope it all continues to just get better and better for you. Erny

"Use"? Ewes? :wink: 2 x C3 as a pup. Because my boy had his 2nd C3 at 12 weeks and not 14 weeks as otherwise would have been preferred, I will be giving him a booster at 15 months of age. But after that, unless I find I have good reason to, I don't plan to vaccinate him again. If he'd had his 2nd C3 at 14 weeks then that would have been it.

How old is your puppy? I wouldn't use any correctional collar/tool on a pup.

I am well aware of Dr Dodds' vaccination protocol and I very much follow them and I completely concur that there has been and continues to be (to a lessening degree) the habit of over-vaccinating our dogs to their detriment. I just wasn't sure whether that's what you were referring to or whether you had some other interpretation of 'new' vaccination protocol. However, I still disagree that this will give you the guarantee against the possibility of contracting the disease, as you seem to claim it does.

I wouldn't do the annual injectable heartworm. I follow a different (minimalist) vaccination protocol as I feel we bombard our dogs with too many drugs, but if you feel you must vaccinate yearly avoid vaccinating and treatment for heartworm at the same time. It's enough that the yearly vaccination taxes the immune system, but double the whammy with other treatments and it adds unnecessary strain to the system.

What do you regard as the "new vaccination protocol" and the "right vaccine" ?

That's not the case, Oakway. Vaccination is no guarantee against it. Regardless, a new puppy is generally not fully vaccinated by the time it comes to the new owner.

Well there you go .... you learn something every day. I didn't know that. Thanks.

If you're going to take out pet insurance, I'd take it out straight away. Some breeders have an insurance plan which I think covers for 6 weeks (?) after the pups are picked up by their new owners. This gives you time to apply for a continuance of that insurance in your own name, assuming that's the insurance company you want to run with.

Jabbawok .... it seems to me you are in a most precarious and impossible position. I don't know how old you are and it is only my assumption that you are a minor? You are not responsible for your parents. It should be the other way around. Of course we, like yourself, feel very much concerned for your family dog, but when push comes to shove you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Unless you can do something and if your parents won't, I don't have a solution to this problem.

It sounds as though she has torn a ligament. This occurred to me once, many years ago when I was kicked by a horse. After I went through the initial phase of nausea and then set to finish off feeding-up (it had to be done) I didn't feel any pain, yet I had this weird sensation that my knee was giving way as I walked. I put the feed buckets down and grabbed my leg and noticed that my knee was able to bend from side to side. Yet I was still able to walk on it to an good extent. The point of this is to demonstrate that pain doesn't have to be a part of it and with other ligaments surrounding the knee I did still have use of it. But it wasn't stable. And had I continued I would most likely have caused damage to the bone. It would also have caused extreme stress to the other ligaments supporting the knee and chances are they too would have eventually snapped which I expect would have resulted in a crippling of my knee and complete loss of control (and hence use) of it. A visit to casualty proved that one of the ligaments was almost completely torn. Prescribed treatment for me was complete rest for 6 weeks (crutches and a splint to totally immobilise it) whilst the ligament formed the scar tissue it needed to heal. If your folks' dog has not been rested, the damage it initially did could have worsened. If your parents don't have it seen to and refuse to partake in the treatment that is required for it to mend, they might be seen to be in breach of the "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act" and be open to the penalties that can be imposed pursuant to that.

I'd break up the two things and teach them to her separately. I would crate train (naturally, the crate is not a substitute for toilet training, but is a training aid in that respect) and just concentrate on teaching pup that the routine is to get outside and THEN to toilet. In the meantime, I'd be making a game of the doggy door so that puppy habituates to it and isn't worried about it when it is introduced later on. Obviously, break it down into increments, beginning with the doggy door flap being held open - just getting puppy used to going through the hole in the door. Then hang something like a piece of cardboard so it can flap (as the doggy door would) and gently slide across pup's back etc. Work this in increments until you feel she's pretty confident about going in and out via the doggy door. But don't worry about using it as part of the toilet training regime in the very early days. When you get her out of her crate in the morning, for example, one of the first things she'll probably want and need to do is pee ..... don't spend time fluffing around with getting her through the doggy door. Just get her outside. As things start to become a bit more routine and controlled (including her bladder), then you can add in the 'go through the doggy door to go to the toilet sequence'. Example : out of crate, through doggy door, then toilet. And of course skip the 'crate' step in the routine for the many times that she isn't crated but gets to the time when she should be wanting to toilet.

Nope - that link just takes me to photo-bucket with "page not found". Not good enough. We think you're fibbing about having this puppy. Erny stamps foot and demands the photographic evidence ......

Of course, without seeing your dog I can't be conclusive about it, but one thing I honed in on from what you wrote is what I've highlighted in the quote from your post, above. Not sure if it was just a manner of speech or whether it is a reflection of your attitude, but one of the things that might help you is to be firmer - ie calm and assertive. If you stop and carry him to the car each time he'll learn this is how it is done and is highly likely to become one of his methods of getting you to do what he wants. Be a leader . Set the boundaries. Reduce the fuss you make when he behaves like this (which will reduce the reinforcement he gets from it) and be a bit matter of fact about walking to the car. Praise him for confident behaviour. Avoid reinforcement for the 'freezing' behaviour.

Is that for your two dogs, IR? If not, it is considerably more than what I pay for what seems to be the same cover with the same insurance company.

I would recommend that you enrole yourself and Haru to puppy school - being shown how to manage the mouthing that Haru is doing is by far (IMO) the best and clearest form of learning. It's not just a matter of teething, the reasons for puppies mouthing. It is a normal action and is about jaw development and also setting themselves up in play for how their responses should be for when they are older. So yes, it is important that you learn to know how to manage it whilst your puppy goes through this development stage and so that your puppy can be learning from you the responses and interactions that are acceptable. What you do depends on the sensitivities of your pup. You can start by crying "ouch!", putting an upset look on your face (yes - pups and dogs are more tuned to body and face language and sounds/tones rather than the actual words we use) and walking away (stopping the play that perhaps he was enjoying before) and perhaps just calmly then putting him in his puppy pen to chill out a little. I find this is a good place to start, but quite often isn't enough to cover all situations, but at least until you get to puppy school with him it will give you a 'tool' to begin with. If you let us know where you are located, I'm sure amongst us we'll be able to suggest some puppy school choices for you to attend.

Sorry - it was blunt, but trust it wasn't offensive to you. It was an eye opening question meant to help you answer your own question to your problem and to look at the things you do in your every day interactions with your dog. I think we often know our own answers to our problems but sub-consciously (or sometimes not) don't want to address them for our own emotional 'needs' reasons. (Although different, a bit like why the Nicobate is still sitting unopened on my kitchen bench, waiting for me to address an issue of smoking that I'd rather forget about and not move out of my comfort zone.) I do think many of us could do with a dose of CM's philosophy (which really isn't just his own philosophy, but he does write/explain it the most succinctly that I've seen). IE : Exercise, Discipline, Affection ..... in that order. And more of the Exercise and Discipline IMO. The affection part a dog does need, but we humans seem to need it most and therefore ply our dogs thickly with it. I'm not saying change how you feel about your dog (ie of course, still love him), but change how you show how you feel by reducing the amount of affection display and filling it with more of the exercise and discipline. Sometimes it is a matter of taking a step back a little and let your dogs breath. Give your dog jobs to do. Allow your dog to feel the structure of his position by knowing that he has to do something (that you want) to get something he wants. It will help form the platform of the 'balance' that you are now seeking. There is likely some work needed on the barking issue as there would now be some learnt behaviour there (and K9 Force will be able to help you with that), but being your dog's 'leader' will make it easier to turn that around. Follow the NILIF program - religiously. And make it so that you instigate all interactions (rather than your dog instigating them). Put these things into practice before you see K9 Force will help much. Also, use the TOT program that he wrote and is now a 'sticky' at the top of this forum. Glad you have the appointment with K9 Force. He will help you a lot. As for the barking complaint/s - let the strata folk know that you are taking steps to address the issue, ask for their patience and let them know you understand and respect their concerns and are working on the matter to improve and resolve it, but that it just doesn't happen over-night.