imported_Kat

All sounds really good from what you have. Few additional things I add to my pre-puppy class talk is how to fit a collar properly and what is a suitable lead/collar/harness/halti to use on a dog. We also have a ban on choke chains/prongs and chain leads in our dog club and owners are warned that they will not be permitted to participate unless they have a flat nylon/leather collar and a leather/nylon lead. Also proof of up to date vaccinations and licence must be shown before they come onto the floor. Additionally owners are instructed not to feed their dog its dinner before they come to the class, in order to make treats appear more appealing and also so that their dog isn't sluggish or craps on the floor! Finally I do a quick demo of heelwork and obedience distance control with Meg, and tell them that a well trained dog does not come from attending a class every Monday night and that they should practice wee bits every day while the dinner is cooking etc. What club do you train with just out of interest?

Usually dog's ears change with changes in hormones and when they are changing their teeth, are unwell or have temperature or when they are approaching/going through adolescence.

Aww what a nice change from a boring lecture. In my 2nd year of uni we had to do a seminar presentation on a topic of our choice, so I did an idiots guide to dog training...complete with a Meg that I sneaked into uni with a huge group around us to conceal her. She lay under the table at the back of the room for an hour quiet, and then when it was my turn I got up and went to the front and loaded my powerpoint presentation. I started talking then whistled and the ones that didn't know about Meg were gasping hehe. She came bounding to the front of lecture theatre and was very pleased to be in the company of everyone :D When I've had kittens and pups to rear they have always came to my lectures with me too. The lecturers are used to me and my critters by now :wink:

If Rowie didn't show any aggression then it is likely not the first time that she has felt his boot.... Its the thought of any dog , but with your own being hurt it leaves you feeling sickened. :evil:

Aww DAL, incidents do happen. You are certainly being too hard on yourself. The card is a nice idea indeed but as far as the money goes, ask Leeane if the dog actually did need veterinary treatment and ask for a bill. As for Cody, you have come so far with him and now is not the time to pack it all in and regress. You may always have a dog that isn't 100% with other dogs. The social behaviour and skills that a dog shows up to 16 weeks will be the social behaviour that he will always portray through life. You may be able to shape that behaviour slightly into more desirable behaviour but be aware that your dog may not always be of sound temperament. In the instances where Cody is meeting a new dog he should be on his lead and you should act mildly interested in the situation, but don't get into a frenzy that he can sense, which will in turn increase his excitement levels and he will channel that excitement into uncertain aggression towards the other dog. Stay at the classes and give me a howl if you need any behavioural help. :wink:

Some of you lot have been asking me on msn how Holly is doing. You won't even believe that she is the same dog when you see the photos. I gave a full update on Just Dogs community and as I've revision waiting I shall just have to give you the link and let you see for yourselves. :wink: [url]http://groups.msn.com/JustDogs/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=57504&LastModified=4675454606480957674[/url]

Sounds great :D

Just a very quick point before I head to bed. All dogs that do agility have an element of obedience trained in them as well. Dogs can do both obedience and agility and compete in the two different disciplines but obedience is the foundations to a good agility dog. At our dog club we don't let anyone near the agility classes until they have had at least a certain amount of obedience behind them. Meg and I started out going to puppy classes. Then we got more involved and I started watching the championship dogs at Crufts Obedience, and thought wow thats so good, I wish my dog could do that. Training and perseverence and now people comment on [i]my [/i]dog and in another 9 weeks at Crufts my little Meg will be that Champion dog competing in the world championships at Crufts with all eyes on her. A little training can lead to great things but always keep it fun, and no amtter what remember that you always take home the best dog at the end of a class/competition. I know that I always do. :wink:

Hey folks, Meg and I are again doing a canine freestyle routine at Crufts this year but I'm undecided on what song to dance to. At the moment I'm in between Abba Dancin'Queen and Bootscootin' baby 5,6,7,8 one! What do you think? Costume ideas also welcome :D

Raisins are more dangerous than grapes for some reason. Last year in England an agility Hungarian Vizsla called Anya swallowed a 500g bag and died as a result.

From personal experience: In September 2002 I was on a marine field trip. We were wading around in rivers and all sorts of lakes etc. After I got back home about 2 weeks later I started feeling really sick and couldn't hardly move, I was so weak. I thought it was like flu, then my bf got glandular fever and thought maybe that too (perfect timing :P ). My symptoms were sickness, weakness, shaking, hot eyeballs (don't ask:p), feverish, stomach cramps, and fainting. 12 others of my class also went down ill. I took it the worst (probably because I was the only one brave enough or idiotic enough to collect samples from the skanking water :roll: ). I was hit hard with it and spent a week in hospital on transfusions, because my blood wouldn't clot and literally my body was haemorrhaging from the inside out. With hefty doses of antibiotics to combat the bacterial infection my body regained control again, but even from that my immune system now is dampened and my liver enzymes are higher than a normal person of my age and activity. I was lucky that my GP put the pieces of the jigsaw together when I dragged myself into see him and then talked to another GP who agreed, so I got to the hospital in pretty good time then a day later started with the haemorrhaging so in the right place at right time! I see lepto in work with dogs that have been near rats and that is likely how my class contracted it, through skanking dirty river water and my uni should be sued for making us go near it :evil: keep your dogs away from areas of filthy water and don't let them scavenge especially near riverside vegetation. Lepto is certainly not a nice thing to have, for either human or canine, and can persist in the blood up to 10 years later, so reinfection is common if the immune system is dampened at all or compromised.

[img]http://k9orac.com/k9agility/shows2002/ace_balmoral.jpg[/img] This is Ace, one of the dogs that is in our dog club and one of the doggies that Meg hangs with. He is Red and white, not brown and white. I have loads of pics of various red and white, chocolate and whites that I know but i'm still in Netherlands on my BF's computer so I will try remember to get them off my hard drive when i get back. My next BC I would like to be a chocolate red tri colour. Stunning colours but very rare.

BSE (Bovinespongieform encepalopathy) has already been rife in the UK for well over a decade. The human form of CJd (Creutzfeldtzjacobs disease) when I learnt more about it, has resulted in me not eating beef for around 10 years now. CJd takes up to 15 years before the full effects are shown so don't think because one stops eating all beef now that you will never get it..a common misconception. Dogs however can not contract any form of BSE in a canine form and there have never been any documented cases of this. Without going into a great deal of detail this is because the structure of the dogs brain is a lot different from ours and dogs contain different neurotransmitters to us (chemical messengers in the nervous system that deliver messages to tell a muscle to contract for example).

erf poor wee Webby. Just as the others say keep a close eye on him and look out for lethargy, bloating, guarding his abdomen or persistent diarrhoea or constipation. As far as fluids goes, give him small quantities of water little and often but whatever you do, don't let him gorge himself continuously drinking huge bowls of water.

err same Kendalyn. Don't understand the defleas thing! :confused1:

Oh yes this is Meg's finale when she does her Dancin' Queen canine freestyle routine. oki easiest way take your treat and when the dog is in a stand position push the treat under the dogs chin and push his chest back at the same time in a half down so his bum is sticking up in the air. You should be standing with your left hand behind your back (when you have pushed him back) and lunge slightly forward with the treat in the right hand and push it under his chin Tell him bow or whatever command you are using and reward him when he is in position then free him up and tell him hes a great lad. Again repeat it, and as you continue he will begin to automatically push his head under and down. Persevere and do a wee bit every spare moment you get. its a fun thing for him and if he is willing to please, he will love it! If you want to get really adventurous when he has it on command, you will already have taught him the hand signal by the postion that you will have been holding your treat and he shuld jus go by a hand signal when he gets very confident, but take it in wee steps to start and if theres anymore tricks you want to teach him, give me a yell! I love seeing dogs learning something new and getting their brains in gear!

One thing about Sibs is that they are stubborn and will do things on their terms. We have a guy at Agility that used to bring his bitch Zara and she could jump fine, but on her terms..(usually when she was escaping from the ring :lol: !) To be on the safe side get your dog checked out, but also try teaching your dog to jump in and out of the car. Some dogs just aren't natural and need a bit of guidance.

Excellent Cassie! Thanks for taking him in. Another doggie off the streets that will have a warm bed this year! :D

Sorry to say but a tape playing a voice saying No will not have any effect on a barker. Dogs respond more to body language than acoustic language, and additionally the tape will have no effect as the person correcting the dog needs to be there to avert the dog. finally a tape also will have a different pitch and this is why many desensitisation tapes to e.g fireworks are a waste of money as when the dog hears the real thing, they revert back to the old fear behaviour. Its a novelty idea that some buckos with no knowledge may go for, but well educated dog owners and certainly as a canine behaviourist I wouldn't be recommending it.

Photos of holly are now on the picture forum folks. They are a reminder of reality.

Even worse in a separate corrugated iron hut that was pathetic, a Pit Bull bitch has been found. She is possibly the worst case of malnourishment that I have ever seen. Currently she is at our Vets and I went up tonight and geeze I have seen so many underweight dogs but she is just pure bone. We have called her Holly and I sat with her for an hour at her cage tonight. She was just terrified, she had no idea at all how to respond to human company or a lead and wolfed down her food. I gave her biscuits later and so so surprisingly she was incredibly gentle at taking them. This dog breaks my heart, and I am determined to win her trust and get her a good home. With some patience tonight she put a paw forward and licked my hand. She doesn't know how to respond to affection at all. Its so so sad, but tomorrow I am planning to dedicate as much time as possible to show this poor dog how to be affectionate. She is just so unsure and isn't aggressive in any way, and just looks up with these big scared eyes. I will get some photos tomorrow of her because I want to show you all the ultimate of neglect.

Yesterday a puppy farm was busted on the border of N. and S. Ireland. I didn't hear until this morning at 8.00am when I got a phone call as I was out last night. An estimated 60 odd dogs have been picked up. I'm going next week which isn't good but temporarily I've taken in a very hyper Beardie and 3 BC pups. Other breeds were Maltese, CKCS, Goldens to name some. All dogs kept in stinking conditions, and most underweight adults as the pups have taken so much out of them. I'll try get some pics up later on. This is a disaster especially just coming up to Christmas when everyone is so busy, but at times like this all in the province MUST pull together.

Total Bull sh*t legislation :evil: That takes it to the extreme, really. Perhaps they should look at the offending biting dog's owner and ban them from the county too......

Super, thank you :wink:

Always great to hear such wonderful progress :D