Erny

I'd settle for one that actually shows up! Ain't that the truth !!!!!

Sn'T ..................... actually - not funny . But, whilst we're on the subject, I also need a good but cheap and qualified electrician as well as a good but cheap plasterer. Oh ..... and a good but cheap outdoor tiler. That should do for now .

Oh - and meant to ask ...... what suburbs in Melbourne are you looking for the Vet to be in? I have met Dr. Steve Wait at Beaconsfield Vet Clinic and in the matters I have had occasion to deal with him, have found him very personable, understanding and compassionate towards animals. I haven't had first hand experience of his desexing talents but can't imagine any problems there. I've heard from a few people who have recommended him for a variety of veterinary services. Don't know what he charges though. Next time I need a Vet it is my intentions to go to him. His clinic is only a stone's throw from the Railway Station too. ETA: Even just for vaccinations, I like to go to a good Vet (not necessarily the cheapest). Because vaccination time is also a time for a general check and I'd like to think my Vet was diligent enough to pick up on things that perhaps I haven't. Not to mention the fact that during those visits my Vet is getting to know my dog, so if more serious or other ailments arise he/she already has a visual and personal knowledge of my dog and of me ..... to a degree, at least. As for puppy school - that's a different matter and one to give some careful consideration to. It's not the Vet Clinic nor even the price that should be priority ...... but the people who run the puppy pre-school. Check out their qualifications/experience. These people can help you make or break your puppy (sometimes for life) at this age.

I need a good but cheap and qualified plumber. Also a good but cheap handyman for the jobs around my house I can't manage to do myself. And a good but cheap and qualified motor mechanic. Sorry Cazz - not having a go. I know what you mean though - I like to save money where I can too. But when it comes down to it I really want a good job done and that doesn't always come with the cheapest price tag. Sometimes the "cheap" can work out the most expensive. What fees have you been quoted? If you put them up here then DOLers may be able to indicate whether, in the general scheme, it's a reasonable price or not. They may also be able to indicate whether they have had first hand experience with the Vet and whether they are likely to recommend them or not.

Wow! All things considered, that's GREAT news!!!! And the first Vet suggested pts??? : Glad you didn't take his word as gospel and act on it straight away. Boy, was HE ever off the mark.

Sounds like the Spring weather we're having here in Melbourne today. Oh well - can't complain. We really need the water here ..... . But the wind can bloomin' well stay away! Thanks Denis. Validation confirmed. See you there.

Thank you Denis!!! How long after registration before validation is processed and we can start posting ?

Oh gosh .... just came back to post a suggestion - and have read your recent post Dogdayz. I hope your dog recovers quickly and that the damage caused is not too serious. My suggestion was going to be to train in something like agility in the backyard. You mention you do training there but he doesn't take much/any notice as the tree is such a strong attraction to him. But something like agility (if he hasn't done agility before you will most likely need to coax him around on lead - rewarding the negotiation of each obstacle with a favourite and special food treat) might strike an interest that he recognises as more fun than the tree, as well as being something that has him very mentally stimulated. But I guess with the tree going, this isn't going to be a problem anymore. Look forward to hearing that he's up and back to normal really soon.

For some reason I find that birds (including maggies) don't swoop me ..... but they will swoop others. Only very rarely do I get swooped. Sorry to the OP for going .... just waiting your response .

Oh? I know the noisies will 'swoop' ESPECIALLY if you are unfamiliar to them. (They can be great 'watch dogs' - ours used to let us know when a stranger walked into the property, or when a snake was around.) But I've never had 'indians' swoop me.

Hi Dogdayz. What is the longest period of time that you've left your dog in the yard (without going out there to interrupt him) and where he has "obsessed" without a break? Oh - and if it's definately "Indian" Minahs ..... I wouldn't worry either - they are definately pests. But if they are "Noisy" Minahs - they are natives. Some people don't like the Noisies ..... but I think they are full of character. ETA: Highlighted .... because conversation wavered and continued - and I didn't want you to miss my question, DD.

No Molasses - I didn't receive your email. But I've just PM'd you with the info. Don't think the hyperlinks will work as they might have with a direct email, so you might need to manually type them in ..... but I figure that's not too much of a big deal . Glad it seems to you that things aren't as bad as seems. Be aware of the instances where this dog is uncertain/fearful and have the owners fully aware of THEIR job to stand in to PREVENT the dog from needing to be afraid.

Am - This is in her reference list : "The books below were important sources for this chapter on visual signals of primates." de Waal, Frans. 1996. Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. de Waal, Fans. 1998. Chimpanzee Politics, Power and Sex Among Apes. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press. Goodall, Jan van Lawick. 1971. In the Shadow of Man. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Snowdon, Charles T. In Press. "Expression of Emotion in Nonhuman Animals." In Handbook of Affective Science. edited by R.J. Davidson, H.H. Goldsmith and K. Scherer. New York : Oxford University Press. Scrum, Shirley C. 1987. Almost Human. New Yord: Random House. ETA: There is another reference in relation to her chapter about "Talking to Each Other". McConnell, Patricia B. 1992. "Louder than Words." AKC Gazette 109 (May) no. 5; 38-43" I don't know the contents of it but going by the title and given the fact she talks about signals -vs- verbal, it might be an article along the lines of what you seek.

That may well be working for you and your dog, Tali (and maybe only for now?). But there are more than just a few dogs where that can create a problem in itself. Remember that in "dog lore" possession of food is 9/10ths of the law. It is rude (from a dog's point of view) for another to take the food they are eating. I agree that it is necessary for us to train our dogs that it is ok for us to do, but you need to be careful to not end up provoking a dog into the aggression that under typical inter-dog circumstances would be normal. If you are doing the "remove the bowl" exercise, I'd be sure to give the dog a 'bonus prize' (eg. A treat even tastier than what is in the bowl) and, having given the dog that treat immediately return the bowl and leave her to eat. The treat is not only a reward for the dog having no qualms about the removal of the bowl, but also serves to create a positive experience for it. I'd also not bug her (not suggesting you are - just a caution) too much with the "bowl removing exercise". Heck - I'd get pretty fed up if someone kept removing my plate from underneath my nose each time I ate.

Not sure what "studies" you're referring to Am. Much of Patricia's writings on the subject are anecdotal and cover numerous pages in her book. Page 3 of "The Other End of the Leash" refers to Wolves of the World where Erik Zimen describes "45 movements that wolves use in social interactions. By comparison he mentions vocalisations only three times." On Page 5 Patricia refers to an experiment that she, along with 2 undergraduate students, Jon Hensersky and Susan Murray did "to see if dogs paid more attention to sound or vision when learning a simple exercise". The result was that "23/24 pups performed better to the hand motion than to the sound." But she also expresses caution about the experiment given possible variables such as motion and sound being of exact same duration; or were pups conditioned to the hand because it was the same one which had fed the pups treats; or sample size of pups need to be larger. If it is more detail of the experiment that she outlines on page 5/6, please let me know and I'll PM you with the info if you require.

;) Thanks LL. There's a few kids I know of that could do with a good tweak on their neck :rolleyes:.

I use it where and when it suits the dog and handler. Very quickly moved away from and transferred to positive reward method - continuous schedule, and then intermittent schedule. Biggest problems people have are usually the result of poor timing/delivery of reward, lure-hand placement and poorly timed introduction/inclusion of verbal command. But a 'show-me' lesson and explanation normally has that sorted fairly well. Other biggest problem is dogs disinterested in food or toys - but works for many. I work on the basis of 5 repetitions with lure and generally speaking find this adequate. Naturally, some dogs less and some a few more.

PW - Ditto what Cosmolo said regarding tail wagging. The belief of "a wagging tail = friendly" is a dangerous one to keep and might result in an unexpected bite injury one day. There are nuances to tail wagging. IE The speed of tail wag; the swing of the tail; the position of the tail. And all of that is further influenced by the dog's other intricate body postures (such as ears, stance, brow, eyes etc. etc. etc).

As per Kelpie-i's post, Birgulparis. Your dog is maturing and the above are signs of HIS impression that HE is higher up the heirarchy ladder than you ..... or at least he is asserting himself knowing the potential of being so. You're ignoring him (which in essence is the correct thing to do) but HE is pushing the boundary - and of course we can't ignore behaviour that hurts us. If you're not sure about what to do regarding re-establishing your leadership (as your dog sees it) then get some help either from a dog school (check that the instructors know and understand dog behaviour and can help you there - obedience training is very good but by itself does not dictate leadership .... that's starts at home ) or have someone give you a private lesson to explain and show you what to do. NILIF is one of the things you can do and is a very good and relatively simple but often effective program. It is all about doing things on YOUR terms and not the dog's. If you feel that you are being challenged by your dog, then get some help in.

Mouthing, left unchecked, can lead to biting as the pup matures. A young child waving arms around is often viewed as simply another litter mate by pups who often mouth each other. It is in this that pups usually learn inhibited bite. BUT although this is normal behaviour for pups, it is up to us to teach pup that this can't be tolerated to humans (adults or children). I can only assume in your case that your pup is exhibiting normal puppy behaviour. It sounds like it but without seeing the pup I can't tell you with any accuracy. One way or the other you need to teach your child how to behave around puppy when things get a bit too excited and also be there to supervise so that puppy can begin to learn how to behave around children. I would strongly urge you to begin attending a reputable puppy/dog school with instructors who have knowledge in this field and who would be able to assess the situation and advise/show you further.

My understanding is that Dr. Russell Mitten at Werribee Veterinary Hospital (Melbourne University) is a canine heart specialist. Is that different to a cardiologist? I took my girl to him when I had cause for concern.

IMO "mouthing" has no emotional intent. It is an action necessary in the early development of teeth and jaws. Left unchecked and coupled with the advancement of maturation, it can lead to "biting" though, which IMO has emotional intent and has nothing to do with teeth and jaw development. ETA: Yes PW, you're right. "Biting" carries with it the intent to harm or for its recipient to go away.

Not forgetting that tone has a bearing too. Otherwise, can you imagine how many times our dogs would lay down whenever Mums say things like "I'm just going to drop Tommy off" or "please, sit down" etc. etc. (Mind you, that has happened once or twice, but the context and intent of my sentence was different ..... therefore tone and infliction was affected.) The problem with a word such as OK is that we might possibly sing it out (eg. friend calling at a distance "don't forget appointment" ...... "yeah! OK!!!" as a response. And in that type of instance, the tone could carry similarities. I have had a trainer tell me that very thing happened to a friend of his many years ago. Dog was heeling off lead .... friend call out and dog owner responded "OK!!!!". Dog released and went to race across the road. This was way back when .....

Yep - seems you do ;). Thank you, I wasn't sure if what I was trying to say was making sense. Yeah - so let's say the dog hears "OK" all the time, any ol' time ..... but you always say "OK" as you finish mixing your dog's feed in his feed bowl (and this example has nothing to do with food refusal training, by the way .... :D). On all other occasions, hearing "OK" may not trigger any symptomatic stimulation from your dog, but when you say "OK" just as you are about to finish mixing his food, you might be able to expect an elevated level of excitement/anticipation from the dog. So in this instance, the word "OK" paired with the action of mixing food in food bowl, might have some bearing. This could be a bad example ................. because you might just as easily be able to cough and inspire a waggier tail from your dog ;) - but I hope you get my meaning. "Syd" wouldn't be a good word to use, assuming the owner gives the "sit" command in English. But perhaps he uses a different word for "sit" altogether? I have found that the word is spreading (pardon the unintended pun), but I agree ........ by comparison, not many people use it and not too many schools teach it.

Yes Wagsalot - that's how it used to be. I had trouble registering a name for my 'other' business some many years ago because of phenatical little similarities. Only to find out, some 6 or 7 years on that ASIC had allowed another business to name EXACTLY the same name as mine, only with one additional word in it. Peeved me no end too, given that I ended up receiving a fair amount of their mail and clientele enquries. That wouldn't have been so bad, but I was concerned about how many of my clients and how much of my mail was re-directed to them. I complained, but ASIC's response went something along the lines of "we can" :D. I seem to recall that I could object further and take issue in the event that I proved loss or some such, but by that time I had already planted in my mind that I would be doing something else as my full time career ;) rather than the work I was in back then, so I didn't bother. Sorry for the offtopic, RSM.