Elbie, Hoover, Dodge & Friends!

[KumaAkita]

yay... Happy Boofday Miss Ava :D

On the topic of MDTP and positive/negative training... I think that there needs to be an element of cause and effect, meaning that good behaviour = reward, bad behaviour = punishment. To me punishment doesn't need to be physical violence, but the expression of "I will not tolerate that behaviour". By way of example, when Kuma was younger he would get really rambunctious with us during play - bouncy/bitey/ouchie... The consequence was that he was removed from play (either put outside or in "time out"). Once he was calm he was rewarded with more play. Rinse and repeat. My extensive experience has led me to the realisation that negative isn't a rolled up newspaper to the snout, but the showing of displeasure.

I've been keeping up with the daily journal noted here before - poor Dju, she means well but has a bit of a hard time making a decision on the right path FOR HER. Previous interactions have all been quite convivial (on the Spitz thread before moving to her solo act) and excellent advice had been given. I think some people have a limit to tolerating the same conversation over and over again.

The number of threads that get closed/pounced on never ceases to amaze me. I feel that in times gone past, many of these discussions would have concluded with Pistols at Dawn.

ooohh... aaaannnnnd.... Voting has commenced for the Spitz Calendar, if you're interested vote for me Think you can work out which piccies are mine There are some great photos on the thread, gunna be hard for me to pick my faves. Is it poor form to vote for myself??

[minxy]

yay... Happy Boofday Miss Ava :D

On the topic of MDTP and positive/negative training... I think that there needs to be an element of cause and effect, meaning that good behaviour = reward, bad behaviour = punishment. To me punishment doesn't need to be physical violence, but the expression of "I will not tolerate that behaviour". By way of example, when Kuma was younger he would get really rambunctious with us during play - bouncy/bitey/ouchie... The consequence was that he was removed from play (either put outside or in "time out"). Once he was calm he was rewarded with more play. Rinse and repeat. My extensive experience has led me to the realisation that negative isn't a rolled up newspaper to the snout, but the showing of displeasure.

I've been keeping up with the daily journal noted here before - poor Dju, she means well but has a bit of a hard time making a decision on the right path FOR HER. Previous interactions have all been quite convivial (on the Spitz thread before moving to her solo act) and excellent advice had been given. I think some people have a limit to tolerating the same conversation over and over again.

The number of threads that get closed/pounced on never ceases to amaze me. I feel that in times gone past, many of these discussions would have concluded with Pistols at Dawn.

ooohh... aaaannnnnd.... Voting has commenced for the Spitz Calendar, if you're interested vote for me Think you can work out which piccies are mine There are some great photos on the thread, gunna be hard for me to pick my faves. Is it poor form to vote for myself??

I do feel a bit sorry for Dju. She's never had a dog AT ALL before, so I think some people forget what it's like to really have no idea what you're doing.

I maaaay have voted for one of my own photos

I figure we can't compete with hundreds of fluffy lappies, so Kyojin deserved at least one vote

I voted for one of Kuma's too. I only did one vote per dog, and tried to spread it around a lot so that everyone gets a chance

[Niques]

Is it poor form to vote for myself??

Never poor form to vote for yourself

Happy Birthday Ava!! :D

I have to sometimes wonder if James is trying to be as embarrassing as possible. This morning he found a puddle at the end of a footpath. I'm not talking a big puddle. I mean one that was probably only 2cm deep. At its deepest point. He proceeded to lie down on top of it and roll about like a lunatic. It was both bizarre and hilarious to watch. And a wee bit embarrassing to be holding the leash connected to the crazy dog

[Clastic]

ooohh... aaaannnnnd.... Voting has commenced for the Spitz Calendar, if you're interested vote for me Think you can work out which piccies are mine :D There are some great photos on the thread, gunna be hard for me to pick my faves. Is it poor form to vote for myself??

I voted last night, sure did take a while for me to decide though! Kuma & Kyojin both got votes from me!

[koalathebear]

Happy Birthday Ava! Such a big girl now – you've come a long way from Little Blob! :D

*

Max#1: Do you mean the dog fight thread? Thankfully that thread went back on track and the antagonist backed away. :|

Crossing fingers, toes and eyes that you get a MDTP next year. It's very important … I hope the same thing for us. I'm pretty certain Elbie and OH will have a good instructor for silver because we've been told who is supposed to be taking silver repeats and OH approves of her. I have no idea who will take Hoover's bronze class.

As for positive/negative reinforcement. When we were looking to get Hoover, one of the breeders asked me if I followed Cesar Millan's teachings. I said that we didn't alpha roll Elbie, we preferred to stick to more positive methods although we were firm and we do use a spray bottle. In any case we had heard that Kelpies are very sensitive dogs that don't respond well to harsh treatment. His voice changed and we got an email a bit later saying that there was no dog available for us after all even though he had sent us an email earlier that he'd be able to get us a pup He also said this: "Canberra is well known as a area without a top level dog trainer. This can become a problem if training methods are all treat based or don't include negative reinforcement. There isn't even a professional there that can help with common problems."

I'm almost certain that I didn't get the pup because he thought I was going to be all soft and la la with the dog. Our dogs mostly receive positive reinforcement but we have certainly raised our voices with him very loudly when they've gone near electric cables/jumped up on the bed or sofa/put paws up on the counter and that sort of thing. We use a spray bottle as necessary – so far not necessary on Hoover because he's very sensitive to correction. Just speaking harshly with Hoover and his ears kind of droop, his eyes sag and he looks down at the ground as if his heart is breaking. Elbie's much more defiant and will out-glare you when you scold him Our most 'powerful' punishment for the doggies is to tether them for a minute or so. Sometimes they get put outside. If they're being rowdy, one of them gets put into a crate to calm down – usually Hoover because he's usually the one harassing Elbie who just wants to be left alone

Argh. I used to adore the rain before dogs but now it means restless dogs, wet paws, mud and dogs that will not go out to toilet! So far we've been able to get them outside but trying to get them to Poo Corner is impossible as they're just going all over the yard but last night … last night … we went into the kitchen and noticed that one of the monsters instead of barking to be let out had stealthily plonked two pieces of poo on our kitchen floor

At first, we assumed it was Hoover so OH rapidly said: "I'll take Hoover out," leaving me to deal with the stinky clean-up. After he got back, we discussed it further and decided it could have been either of the monsters because they wander freely from the study into the kitchen and neither of us had noticed when the Deed had taken place, so OH said that it was possible that poor Hoover had been Falsely Accused It's quite vexing because it's been months since Elbie has had an accident like that inside and weeks since Hoover has!!!

I want to vote on the Spitz photos but will do it from home because there are so many photos and it's confusing!

[minxy]

Happy Birthday Ava! Such a big girl now – you've come a long way from Little Blob!

*

Max#1: Do you mean the dog fight thread? Thankfully that thread went back on track and the antagonist backed away. :|

Crossing fingers, toes and eyes that you get a MDTP next year. It's very important … I hope the same thing for us. I'm pretty certain Elbie and OH will have a good instructor for silver because we've been told who is supposed to be taking silver repeats and OH approves of her. I have no idea who will take Hoover's bronze class.

As for positive/negative reinforcement. When we were looking to get Hoover, one of the breeders asked me if I followed Cesar Millan's teachings. I said that we didn't alpha roll Elbie, we preferred to stick to more positive methods although we were firm and we do use a spray bottle. In any case we had heard that Kelpies are very sensitive dogs that don't respond well to harsh treatment. His voice changed and we got an email a bit later saying that there was no dog available for us after all even though he had sent us an email earlier that he'd be able to get us a pup He also said this: "Canberra is well known as a area without a top level dog trainer. This can become a problem if training methods are all treat based or don't include negative reinforcement. There isn't even a professional there that can help with common problems."

I'm almost certain that I didn't get the pup because he thought I was going to be all soft and la la with the dog. Our dogs mostly receive positive reinforcement but we have certainly raised our voices with him very loudly when they've gone near electric cables/jumped up on the bed or sofa/put paws up on the counter and that sort of thing. We use a spray bottle as necessary – so far not necessary on Hoover because he's very sensitive to correction. Just speaking harshly with Hoover and his ears kind of droop, his eyes sag and he looks down at the ground as if his heart is breaking. Elbie's much more defiant and will out-glare you when you scold him Our most 'powerful' punishment for the doggies is to tether them for a minute or so. Sometimes they get put outside. If they're being rowdy, one of them gets put into a crate to calm down – usually Hoover because he's usually the one harassing Elbie who just wants to be left alone

Argh. I used to adore the rain before dogs but now it means restless dogs, wet paws, mud and dogs that will not go out to toilet! So far we've been able to get them outside but trying to get them to Poo Corner is impossible as they're just going all over the yard but last night … last night … we went into the kitchen and noticed that one of the monsters instead of barking to be let out had stealthily plonked two pieces of poo on our kitchen floor

At first, we assumed it was Hoover so OH rapidly said: "I'll take Hoover out," leaving me to deal with the stinky clean-up. After he got back, we discussed it further and decided it could have been either of the monsters because they wander freely from the study into the kitchen and neither of us had noticed when the Deed had taken place, so OH said that it was possible that poor Hoover had been Falsely Accused It's quite vexing because it's been months since Elbie has had an accident like that inside and weeks since Hoover has!!!

I want to vote on the Spitz photos but will do it from home because there are so many photos and it's confusing!

I did up an excel spreadsheet to help me vote!

It was very confusing otherwise :D

[KumaAkita]

I just had a look - man, it's going to be challenging... something to do at home and definitely not at work!

[whiskedaway]

yay... Happy Boofday Miss Ava

On the topic of MDTP and positive/negative training... I think that there needs to be an element of cause and effect, meaning that good behaviour = reward, bad behaviour = punishment. To me punishment doesn't need to be physical violence, but the expression of "I will not tolerate that behaviour". By way of example, when Kuma was younger he would get really rambunctious with us during play - bouncy/bitey/ouchie... The consequence was that he was removed from play (either put outside or in "time out"). Once he was calm he was rewarded with more play. Rinse and repeat. My extensive experience has led me to the realisation that negative isn't a rolled up newspaper to the snout, but the showing of displeasure.

I've been keeping up with the daily journal noted here before - poor Dju, she means well but has a bit of a hard time making a decision on the right path FOR HER. Previous interactions have all been quite convivial (on the Spitz thread before moving to her solo act) and excellent advice had been given. I think some people have a limit to tolerating the same conversation over and over again.

The number of threads that get closed/pounced on never ceases to amaze me. I feel that in times gone past, many of these discussions would have concluded with Pistols at Dawn.

ooohh... aaaannnnnd.... Voting has commenced for the Spitz Calendar, if you're interested vote for me Think you can work out which piccies are mine :D There are some great photos on the thread, gunna be hard for me to pick my faves. Is it poor form to vote for myself??

Lurking as usual... I think this is the first time I've posted in this thread actually.

But you're right, people are just sick of the same conversations. Excellent advice has been given, but unfortunately she keeps looking for differing opinions.

And I voted for myself. I agree, you don't want too many lappies, even though I love them. I picked one dog per owner, and a range of different breeds. Actually, I probably voted for my own breed less than I voted for the Akitas!

[minxy]

Yea, I think I managed to get a vote in for each breed. I know I managed to even get a Vallhund in. It is sooo hard though! I started off by listing every person that submitted an entry, thinking I'd make sure that every person got a vote. Then realised we had like twice as many people as I could vote for. I will admit that I crossed off people I had never seen on the forum before since they just seemed to appear as soon as the competition came about

[minxy]

Oh and Akira definitely got a vote from me

[whiskedaway]

I will admit that I crossed off people I had never seen on the forum before since they just seemed to appear as soon as the competition came about

I did the same thing. I want dogs that I know in the calendar (because I'll be buying a calendar) not ones I don't know.

[betsy]

I have yet to vote - but will need a bit of time I think!

Happy Birthday Ava - Ziggy sends you virtual bitey-face and body slams

I have been most amused by the direction of some threads on DOL lately - there always seems to be at least one per day where anything is possible!

The rain has been most annoying here. Makes the dog crazy and muddy. NOT a good combination I thought as I was cleaning mud off the walls (and the floor, and me, and the couch ) And the long term forecast is for a wet summer!

We are just back from a lovely walk with a friend and her 1yo lab girl. There were lots of big puddles and they were able to be off leash for a decent part of it so they are now well and truly exhausted. Its quite good because they generally play together well, lots of running etc. Only one embarrasing episode of humping :D

I'll pop a few random photos on - a slightly cleaner dog than the one that is by the back door at the moment.....

Taking pause from a fav game

Soccer ball death shake (note unused clam shell in background)

Surveying the back yard whilst attempting tongue lolling record

Pretending to be a floor mat

[lilli_star]

I's sick

[betsy]

the tv show re dogs/intelligence etc is on SBS now - interesting so far!

[koalathebear]

lilli_star: Sorry you're poorly! What's wrong? I hope you feel better soon!!!

I did up an excel spreadsheet to help me vote!

It was very confusing otherwise

Yup. There are some polling sites that allow you to upload photos to go with each choice. It's a lot easier that way!! :D

I have been most amused by the direction of some threads on DOL lately - there always seems to be at least one per day where anything is possible!

Yes, absolutely. Sometimes it seems to me that the direction of the thread is determined by the intervention of some of the long-termers. I've seen threads with almost the same subject go very, very different ways depending on who jumps in to support OP and who attacks OP. Someone was saying that the DOL Pack Psychology wasn't unlike Dog Packs. I find that a bit scary.

The thread that has annoyed me today is this one. I've seen it before - someone's made to feel bad so they then go and pick on someone weaker - presumably it makes one feel better You will always be able to tell when a thread has made me peevish because I find I start writing as if I'm at work

The rain has been most annoying here. Makes the dog crazy and muddy. NOT a good combination I thought as I was cleaning mud off the walls (and the floor, and me, and the couch ) And the long term forecast is for a wet summer!

Sympathy! I love the rain so much normally but with doggies it's so frustrating! We don't have so much mud here fortunately but there are wet paws and unlike wuffles' gang, my two don't wait to have their paws dried nor do they know how to wipe their feet on the doormat. OH has to lie in wait with a towel.

Gorgeous photos of Ziggy - his lovely colouring is extra apparent!

[lilli_star]

Either what I ate for dinner last night (nothing out of the ordinary), or a bug picked up from kids at school I was sick last night and stupidly went to school this morning, but came home at lunch and slept for the rest of the day. Just had some toast and Vegemite, so hopefully that will do the trick.

I was going to msg you KTB to see if you had seen that thread. I saw it before Little Miss All About The Rules got on her high horse and made that post

[ravenau1]

I have no idea if fruit is bad for dogs, but my ex Husband grew up on an orchard, and the family Golden Retriever used to help himself to peaches and nectarines off the trees every season and it didn't do him any harm :D

The whole debate about training methods does my head in sometimes. It's all pretty confusing to me so I am going to go with my own - What Makes Sense To Me - method and of course figure out what suits the doggy! I've read a heap of dog training books in the last few months (from all different 'camps' of thought) and the one that resonated most with me was Victoria Stillwell's book It's Me or the Dog (same as the TV series). I think I probably got the most out of that one. But like my OH said when we were discussing techniques and a training plan the other night - "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy" . It really will depend in large part on the dog!

Niques: lol at James in the puddle! That would have been something to see!

Betsy: Great pics! Love the chewed ball, looks like it's much loved!

Lilli_star: Oh dear! What's wrong?

Just saw your post. Sounds nasty! Hope you feel better soon!

Can non-Spitz people vote in the Spitz Calender? I used to own one, does that count?

We are going to go and visit our puppy on Saturday only 8 days to go until we pick her up! Though OH's work has changes his shifts around, so instead of being able to pick her up first thing in the morning we now have to wait until early evening!

edited because Lilli_star posted while I was lollygagging.

Edited December 1, 2010 by ravenau1

[koalathebear]

Either what I ate for dinner last night (nothing out of the ordinary), or a bug picked up from kids at school I was sick last night and stupidly went to school this morning, but came home at lunch and slept for the rest of the day. Just had some toast and Vegemite, so hopefully that will do the trick.

Urgh. Poor you. I hate it when my tummy is not happy. Some hot tea might also help to settle the stomach. I hope you feel better soon!!!

I was going to msg you KTB to see if you had seen that thread. I saw it before Little Miss All About The Rules got on her high horse and made that post

Yeah and when one's going to be a stickler for the rules, one should read the rules which say:

The primary purpose of this forum is to promote and discuss pure bred dogs (as recognised by the ANKC) so we ask you respect our aim when visiting here. If you own a cross breed dog, you are also welcome here, but we ask that you refer to it by it's proper name (eg a pug-x or cavalier-x instead of the designer term 'pugalier'). Please do not start threads asking what breeds people think make up your cross-bred dog or to express your outrage at the latest designer dog you saw. We prefer to concentrate our discussion on the pure bred dog (ANKC recognised).

So she was in compliance unless she called it a Teacup Kelpiedor and said that everyone should totally go out and get one from their local pet shop now. Yes, still a bit peevish sorry.

In other news, Hoover has the most graceless 'sit' ever. Doesn't he look appalling?

Also, I have to make a rescue video for this dog urgently. The photos aren't very good, I have no video footage except the dog sniffing and the dog's name is Goofy, which seems so weird given that in every single photo of the dog - he looks miserable. The problem is, his long-term carers are going to kick him out apparently so he needs a home asap - I've been told I can change his name. So far, I can only think of Patch because I didn't like the suggestion of "Pirate Pete". If anyone else has any suggestions I would be eternally grateful.

Edited December 1, 2010 by koalathebear

[lilli_star]

Awww, KTB, Goofy/Patch looks like a sweetie! I wonder why he's being moved on so quickly? Especially when it says "No kill"??? So many needy doglets out there

[wuffles]

Awww I just love Ziggy, but of course I am biased. Ava sends body slams and bitey face back at him

Ohh lilli_star that's no good Get better soon!

KTB the first name that popped into my head was "Charles" I think because he looked so proper and Charles seemed fitting...

The lucky girl got another present today from her lovely breeder and she was very excited

Here are some pictures tonight.

Little Miss Grumpy had to sit still while I take a photo of her with her present.

:D

My two furry models!

"Please share with me, Satchy!" "NO!" *whomp*