Erny

That's what I'd do to. Both from a practicality point of view and a socialisation point of view. Ease her into the 'grooming' side of things. Let her get used to things bit by bit starting at low intensity. My boy's 7.5 mo (RR) and I bathed him in the bath tub yesterday (with rubber mats). It was his second intro to having a bath (RR's don't need them very often and the first bath was just to intro him to it). Rubber mats so he'd not slip and so he'd feel secure. In our 'tripping around' when we've been out and about seeing and getting used to the world, we passed by a mobile groomer who was doing a job elsewhere and asked if she'd help out by letting him be exposed to such things. He met her, went inside the grooming trailer and then with us at a bit of a distance, she started up the blower dryer. Slow and steady wins the race. I would use something other than wool wash too. Too much of a detergent for my liking, be it on a pup or adult dog.

What's the difference? The mobile groomer coming to you or you going to a groomer? I don't see any.

Are you suggesting/thinking that whatever it might be coated with has caused Henschke's behaviour? How old is Henschke? (I know you've said in other posts but I can't recall.) You might find that it is age related and where he might be 'testing' boundaries. We work through these behaviours as pups and think they are 'gone'. But if you look closely enough as they approach those 'teenage' equivalent months, you'll often find them pushing (sometimes even just obscurely) and if you aren't consistent with your vigilance as you were when they are pups, the behaviour can pop right back in. Also, I believe they go through a secondary teething stage, like as if the teeth are 'settling' in. And that can promote the urge to chew, tear and rip.

And I'm sorry. I read the title as "Is it too late to train a 3 and 1 year old?" ... missed the "crate" part. The answer is still "no, it's not too late" but I need to nick out now so have no time for details/tips. I'll return, and unless there are posts which give you the tips you need to get started, I'll provide further response. Lots of people do and have crate trained their dogs, so I'm sure they'll be happy to help you by giving you ideas on what to do and how. :rolleyes:

Absolutely NOT too late. Hard to give you tips unless you let us know what they know, what you're trying/wanting to teach them and what troubles you are having. We don't know your dogs and haven't had the opportunity to see them. Although one tip I guess I CAN give .... have you thought about joining a good dog school or taking on some one-on-one professional help?

I didn't really begin to train Mandela to any obedience commands until he was about 5 months old. What he did learn in the interim was only because he 'offered' the behaviour, and I chose to 'shape' it so that it would be easier for me later on. Once he learnt the exercise, I left it be. I concentrated mainly on playing tug and just to break that up a bit, some ball fetch. But mainly building drive. I do somewhat more of the obedience exercises he now knows and work that into my "drive training" routine, but it is still a lot of tug and play. I am pushing for a bit more (eg. maintaining 'sit' under distraction, but I don't do a lot of it. I keep it simple. And keep it fun. I use TOT and this has helped with 'focus' immensely. I can put him in a sit and wave his tug toy around, but he watches me, not the tug. I do a little of the 'difficult' and a bit more of the easy, and I make it fast. The greater percentage of time is spent tugging and running around. When I have him out I only recall if I know he is highly likely to come back. If I'm not certain, I go get him or do something else that encourages the recall and then I throw in the command. I've not had him fail a recall command yet and don't want him to at the moment (or ever, although I expect that is likely to happen at some stage). If I am in an environment where the distractions are too high for me to be completely confident of a recall and where I can't NOT try to recall him away from something, then he's on lead or a long-line. Mandela loooooooves other dogs. They are the highest distraction for him at the moment. I was down the park the other day, thinking that due to the lateness it was unlikely anyone else would pop along. Wrong! From behind the thicket of trees two people each with a dog came. This was about 20 metres away from us and we were headed in their direction. Mandela went to run towards them and I quickly called his drive "on-switch" followed by "come" and he stopped sharp and short, turned on a sixpence and flew back to me and enjoyed his game of tug, ignoring the other two people and their dogs. I was very pleased ;). I don't over work the recall, but when I do I go all out to make sure that it is 'value' when he gives it. I don't fully trust it yet but I'm happy to be patient and spend my time playing in drive and having fun, with just the odd sit, drop, and heel (position only at this point) thrown in. I'm adding in the stay work. But I don't practice each of the commands every session nor even every day. He's only been in this world for 7 months. I'm happy to ask for more incrementally, but not expect too much. ETA: I didn't mean to turn this into a "this is what I do" ..... the purpose of this post was to agree with what Persephone said above. You can have much time fun with just a little bit of practice here and there on the obedience for it to still work.

I agree. And did not mean to infer that all training issues are solved with control of resources, if your post was directed to me or in response to mine. Calm assertiveness. Not everything on the dog's terms. "Fun" is motivational. IMO it should always comprise a part of any relationship.

Nekhbet .... you mean you didn't try to pass it off as a "NEW" training technique? Or a purposeful distraction?

Ummmmm .... would you please clarify what you mean? Because the way I'm reading it, this is essentially "leadership", which is what I'm saying.

K - .... I know what you mean.

Corvus - that's your dog. And some dogs are ok with it. The one's that I've dealt with who have had issues have benefited greatly by a change in the owner's interactions with them. That's my experience.

A little... I've just finished the first Balabanov DVD, just start The Game. I'd need to transfer the value of food up to tug (or his orbee). In a mildly distracting environments, he's not particularly interested in tug. love using drive to train and agree with Tony. It is worth trying. You can use food instead, although I admit, I find using the tug easier so if I can, I do. Try doing a little of tug (in very low distraction environment) and food treating for that. You might find that will help in building your boy's interest in the tug, where food reward will become less and less required. When you incrementally add distraction, take a step backwards in the training and go back to using the food reward for the tugging. When that's ok, reduce off the food rewards the stronger your dog's interest becomes in the tug. Then when you add higher distraction, go back to the food reward again. You get the drift? ETA: Move away from food treat rewards as soon as you can, as the risk with this method is that your boy will learn to only tug for a very short moment, then expecting the food treat. The aim of this is to promote drive for the tug, rather than expectation of the food reward. Also, into the "TOT" program. That is very complimentary to drive training. In fact, I can see how on its own it can be and IS drive training and would work well with dogs who have no interest in the 'chase' phase of prey drive.

Well ... whoever he is, IMO he's lost credibility for saying that. Hhhhhmmm .... wonder what school he went to get that idea, and whether he's bothered to research beyond what he's been taught/told.

And he said why? And he was referencing to a 'bone here and there' rather than regularly? He explained this? Bet he didn't. I hate sweeping statements without detail and reinforcing accurate explanation. Especially via the media channels, as so many people 'out there' hang on their very words and take them so literally.

There's a difference, and the big difference is the dog's focus due to respect (ie perception of leadership by the owner) -vs- the dog perceiving itself as higher in the pecking order. Difference between the owner having the dog work for all his/her attentions -vs- the owner doting attention and affection on the dog at every turn for absolutely nothing. The latter teaches the dog to govern the owner, but the dog can't govern the owner if the owner is not there ..... and so anxiety builds during the owner's absence. It's more complex than that (learnt behaviours etc. etc.), but this IMO is an answer to you in a nutshell.

Corvus : I googled "canine cataracts drops" and many links came up on it. Below is one of them (I haven't read it through). Might be worth looking into it more indepth and perhaps raising the topic with your Vet? Dog Cataracts - Canine Cataract Eye Drops

Perhaps I'd need to read more to understand her personality more and to hence appreciate her writing style more than I did.

Vet for diagnosis and advice pertaining to treatment options first. As an aside to the above (but not as a substitute) I read about some eye drops that are used on dogs with cataracts with some good success. I might be wrong as it was quite a long time ago I read about it and my memory is a bit hazy as I haven't revisited the subject, but I think the drops were originally designed for use on humans but were found to be more successful on dogs than they were on humans.

I've already read this article and commented on it elsewhere. I don't like the way it reads (especially the first few para's). I think it reads as just as manipulating as what the author claims others who don't agree with the minimalistic vaccine protocol do. She has some points and they do make sense, even though her reasoning is not scientifically supported and the stories given are anecdotal. Personally, I agree with minimalistic vaccine protocol, so what I say above has nothing to do with my point of view to the subject.

I wipe out with 50/50 mix of white vinegar/water, using cotton wool balls. Vinegar provides an environment not congenial to mites. BUT I don't pour the mix into the ear - just wipe. And I repeat frequently (ie each day for a number of days until the 'evidence' disappears.) If it continues, I'd suggest a Vet visit. I tend to find the water/vinegar does help a lot, but if the ear is quite infested something from your Vet might be required.

I have used it. I do use it. And I have recommended it to certain people (for their dogs) when they've reported skin/coat issues and also certain behaviour issues. I have found it very good and people have communicated to me the success they too have gained from feeding the diet. The grain is only mainly there for roughage. It is supposed to come out the other end. You are supposed to see it.

So long as YOU are recognised as the leader by each one and all of your dogs, I would suggest you not worry about the dogs' own order that they've sorted for themselves. The only time I suggest to clients that they observe which of their dogs is the "top dog" and be strategic in what they do and how they do it is when there are pre-existing issues. Once whatever issue/s are sorted though, i like the aim to be that the human 'leader' can do what they want to whoever they want in whatever order. I admit I tend to be conscientious about randomising this. Hierarchy can change. Eg. As one dog becomes older and the youngest come into 'prime'. But also, what WE think of as a dog signaling it is or isn't the "top dog" to another, isn't necessarily the case. Eg. Top Dog might well submit to another who wants the ball. Yet in other aspects it might well demonstrate its hierarchy to the other dog. Yes, it can be confusing, which is why it is best (as I said, in the absence of pre-existing aggression issues) to simply concentrate on YOU being the leader to both and all of your dogs and not worry about their order.

Thanks Erny, I didn't know they couldn't digest them properly. Most if not all fruit and vegies need to be broken down before ingestion so that the dog can make the most of the nourishment they provide. I juice all my fruit and vegies for the dog, adding the juice back to the pulp (although often taking a swig of the juice for myself first ).

The only thing is that as much of the goodness in apples as possible won't be being digested and absorbed. I give my boy an apple here and there, for something to chew on between bones. But I do include apples when I'm preparing what others are now calling 'slops'.

If you've been using the e-collar as Steve and I do (ie low stim, negative reinforcement) then IMO you would not have been suppressing drive. I'm not entirely sure what you're asking here. If you are using drive training to train your dog, then I wouldn't be switching methods over. Do you have to use the dog-school's own method when you go there? Have you spoken to them? IMO, if the method is achieving command response and if it is not disruptive to the class in general, then I can't see why a dog school should object to it. Just don't expect them to provide you with tuition in what you are doing if it is different to what they generally teach.