RE: New Collie
I am sorry for your loss of Andy, but thrilled to see you're bringing another one into your life. I've always believed the best medicine to heal the hurt of losing one is to "just look" for another dog.
RE: What breed of dog is that?
When we had our first corgi, one man asked about him. I answered "Corgi" I knew this guy wasn't very bright, and didn't want to get into the whole Cardigan vs Pembroke thing, just said "Corgi". He pauses, then says "Naw, what you got yourself here is a cross between a shepherd and a wiener-dog!" :M
RE: Sydney and the Doggie Door
Not for nothing, but doggie doors are the worst thing you can do for your dog.
They need to understand that YOU let them out.
Maybe it's just me but I believe setting your pup on fire is the worst thing you can do for your dog.
Dogs need to understand pack order and that you are in charge. This is a true statement.
Use of a dog door (or not) has no bearing on that concept. My dogs use dog doors. On my terms. When I order "in" or "out", that's where they go, and the locks get a lot of use. THey are allowed on furniture. On my terms. They are allowed to do a lot of things, but only on my terms.
As for how to get your dog through one, the best way is to have a dog who "knows" doggie doors come over and visit. Preferably one she likes to play with. They learn pretty quickly by example. If you have to teach her yourself, start by pushing her in and out a few times, but playfully, with treat rewards on each side. Then leave her alone till dinnertime. If she's outside, make a big show of putting her bowl down, just INSIDE the dog door. Not advocating feeding there all the time, just a few meals until it "clicks" that the flap isn't going to kill her.
RE: How do you train a dog about Traffic?
In defense of the e-collar in these situations:
My dogs are well-trained. The Cattle Dog has a bomb-proof recall that most Obedience competitors would drool over - I can call him off a "squirrel-chase".
Deb
That is truly a life-saving skill.
A recall is so fundamental to a dog. It's like a child learning their ABC's. I know of one dog training club that teaches an entire public service class called "Come When Called" It is that important for any dog, anywhere. That's why it is considered to be an entry-level skill for competition obedience.
With my 4-year-old competition dog, I never question if he is going to come when called. That's a given, be it in the competition ring, or out of the back yard away from the neighbor's cat.
If only the rest of the exercises were that easy to train!
RE: How do you train a dog about Traffic?
I think my first area to correction is to train one dog at a time. My Welsh terrier is very eager to please and learns easily, (male 5 year old) My other terrier is a Lakeland (4 year old female)
My training get sidetracked when they are walked together, and the competition begins. Is there a teqnuqie to get these dogs to work as a unit, and not as adversaries? It sure would make my life easier!
Thank you for your comments and suggestions, they are appreciated.
Best,
Arborist
They need to learn the behaviors separately first, before you can ever expect them to give you the behavior in the face of the added distraction of each other.
Work with each one separately until the "calm" walk, heeling, or whatever your goal is, is good and solid. Then work each one separately on their stays. This might take weeks, could take months. It won't come overnight.
Once the dogs are reliable separately, have a friend or relative take one dog on leash, and you take the other. The spray bottle that Rockhill mentioned will come in handy here, too . If they get too wild in the presence of each other, a little squirt and a firm command to leave each other alone ( I use "Leave It" ).... some vinegar mixed with water in the squirt bottle makes it even more unpleasant.
RE: How do you train a dog about Traffic?
Dogs don't understand traffic. They do, however, understand things like "I am not allowed to step off the curb without permission" or "I have to stay right here in heel position unless I am given permission to leave"
The dog needs a reliable Stay command. A dog does not truly understand "Stay" until he can stay in spite of distractions or temptations. These include moving objects, people and other dogs walking by, loud noises, food, toys, you name it.
If you don't know how to teach a Stay like this, there are plenty of books and resources, or you could take your dogs to a reputable trainer.
RE: Buddy and "The Woolies"
Buddy is beautiful - good job. Is this a local test/train or out of town - would like to see. Thanks
Thanks. This test was in Santa Rosa, far from local! Although we've got plenty of sheep, there aren't any local trials or trainers. There is going to be a corgi-only herding trial in Lakeview Terrace, about 90 minutes away, in March, though :) There are sometimes herding trials in Mojave and out near Inyokern, as there are a couple of trainers out there.
RE: Buddy and "The Woolies"
Really, the topic should be.....
Buddy and "The Hairies" :W but no one would get it.
Mark
:)
True.
And yes, Frank, this was the first time Buddy had ever been around sheep. It was clear from the moment he laid eyes on them that he knew what to do, though.
He is obedience trained, which did make it much easier to stop him. However, the first time I stopped him, he ran through my legs as I was trying to put his leash on! I didn't know why until I saw the video.... the dark sheep had once again broken away from the other two, and Buddy would have none of that!! Once he had brought the flock together again, he was stopped in a down-stay and leashed up without incident.
Buddy and "The Woolies"
Today Buddy took a Herding Instinct Test, sanctioned by the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America. He passed with flying colors, and will be starting regular herding lessons soon.
It's hard to beat the beauty of seeing a dog revel in doing what he was born to do!
Here are a few photos of the test...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/samamph/BuddyHerding.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/samamph/BuddyHerding2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/samamph/BuddyHerding3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/samamph/BuddyPassed.jpg
RE: Pet death question
Sadly, I had this happen about three years ago. Dogs were at home with a sitter looking in on them twice a day. We were in NYC. Two days before we were due to come home, the sitter calls us and says that Zack is in bad shape. We had known this was coming, but I couldn't bring myself to order the sitter (16 years old, close family friend) to do our dirty work. I stayed on the phone while she got him to eat a few bites, then resigned myself to putting him down when we returned two days later. Late in the afternoon the next day we got the awful phone call while I was in the checkout line at Macy's. He was gone, and we were 2500 miles away. I cried all the way back to our hotel. Unable to bring myself to ask the sitter to take care of his final disposition, I called my sister, and she and BIL took care of his final arrangements for us.
RE: Question of the day
papered dogs in my opinion are too high strung for me.
I'd be high-strung if somebody covered me in paper, too!
Seriously, that's a myth. "pure-bred dogs are all hyper" or "pure-bred dogs all have health problems" or "all mutts are smart" or "all mutts bite" are statements that come from the same mindset as "all people of XXX heritage are good athletes" or "all people of XXX nationality are lazy"-- knowing one dog (or a handful) who is hyper does not make the entire breed hyper, just as knowing one human (or a handful) with a certain characteristic does not make their entire race have that characteristic.
That being said, there is nothing wrong with a mutt for a pet. If you want a mutt, the shelter is the way to go. Yes, there's a small adoption fee, but you get a good value for what you pay. I recently looked into our local shelter's fees and found them quite reasonable. And, since I was looking on behalf of my dad, I discovered that there is a sr. citizen discount that knocks the fee down to about $15. What a bargain -- $15 to always have somebody at home glad to see you!
RE: The Mommy Bell (how the puppy is training me)
We had a friend that taught their dog the same method ... ring a bell to go outside. When the neighbor's female went into season, that bell rang 24/7 !!!
RE: Our Next Big Trip
Do you ever trial with AHBA, or just the US Border Collie Handler's Assn?We compete in USBCHA trials only.
That's a looooooong outrun for Corgi legs.
Mark
:)
ANY outrun is long for those little legs! Even the 50-foot "go - out" he does for Utility obedience is a long way on those little stumps!
We are doing a PWCCA / AHBA sanctioned herding instinct test in two weeks. 3-5 very dog-broke sheep in an arena is my idea of herding!
I do have a friend that does large flock ranch trials with his Kelpie. Recently he showed us some video of a trial with conditions like you described -- vast open space, nearly 1000 head of sheep.
RE: Dawg (the cat) is sick, may not make it
I'm sorry for your loss, Julie. It's never easy to lose a pet, but especially hard when it happens so fast, to a pet so young.
Again, our condolences.
RE: Dehydrator
A great and healthy treat for the dogs... slice sweet potatoes about 1/2 inch thick and dehydrate. They make great chewy treats and the dogs love 'em.
This thread is timely, as I've been thinking of trying tomatoes. I got a dehydrator last summer at a yard sale, I think I paid $1 for it. It sat in our garage for nearly a year, then around the 4th of July DH decided he wanted to make jerky. A few adjustments to the recipe and the type of meat, and he's making a batch of gourmet jerky every couple of weeks now. His preferred meat is bottom round roast - the local butcher slices it lunch-meat thin for him.
RE: Sad...having surgery...UPDATED
Poor Puddles! We'll send out healing vibes for the poor little guy.
The support straps mentioned above are a good idea. You will probably need to keep him on crate-rest (think like bed rest for humans), and for a while you may need to carry him out to potty. At least he's a small dog!
Best wishes for a good outcome.
RE: "Tent" crate - anyone use these??
Well, previous posters have summed it up pretty well. I love my soft-sided crates. I have the NOZ2NOZ brand, which has a metal frame. We use them in the car, at shows and trials, and in the RV as well. But I DON'T use them for puppies! Chewing is the obvious problem...even a small puppy can chew right through that canvas and mesh. Dogs also can get through the mesh by frantically digging at it.
As youngsters, my dogs had wire crates for crate training, and airline-style crates for car rides. When they were truly grown up (2 years old in the case of my dogs), they "graduated" to the soft crates.
I'd suggest a folding wire crate for your little guy. If he's going to top out at 25 lbs, you won't need a super large one, and they do fold up and slide under the sofa or bed when not in use. When he's all grown up and well past the chewing or digging stage, you can always get a soft crate then. But that's me, I collect crates, and probably own an average of 2-3 crates per dog, if you were to closely search my house, garage, and motorhome!
RE: Pew! stinky dog
If your not aware, Canidae is now made my Diamond Dog Foods. Check the ingredients on the package. I would recomend a Senior Dog Food with some Glucosamine to ease his aches and pains. I agree that Missing Link is a good supplement and we use it with our show dogs. Also, you could probably add a fish oil tablet to his food to add luster to his coat.
:E
Holy cow! No, I wasn't aware! Thanks for the warning! We're still on a bag of the "old" Canidae, but I wont' buy the new stuff... never trusted Diamond. Buddy's breeder has been raving about Innova, I might give that a try.
As for the original poster's situation, if his gas shows no signs of letting up, the food may be too rich for him. If he was doing fine on his old food, you might consider going back to it, and adding supplements. Missing Link is very good. I swear by Show Stopper for shiny coats, healthy skin, and reduced shedding. They also make a senior version called Young-At-Heart... it is lower fat, and has extra glucosamine.
Since weight is a concern, remember that any supplement (or food) that is going to improve his skin and coat is going to add calories to his diet, and most of those calories will be in the form of fat. If he starts gaining weight, you'll need to reduce the amount of kibble in his bowl.
RE: Pew! stinky dog
Was his previous food a senior formula? Are you feeding dry or canned?
If the answer was canned, stop!
Canidae has recently changed their formula, switching to less grain and more protein. I haven't tried the new formula yet, we buy 40 lbs every other month.
Not knowing whether you have the new stuff or the old, I'd give him some time to let his tummy adjust. You're mixing the old and new, that's a good idea. But give him some time.
The reason I asked if his old food was a senior formula, is that the difference between most regular and senior formulas is the amount of fat, and sometimes the size of the kibble.
If his skin is dry and coat dull, lower fat isn't what you need.
I feed all three of my dogs Canidae All Life Stages... the two young males who are very active, and our 14 1/2 year old female all get the same food. The old girl just gets a smaller portion.
Mine get Show Stopper supplement for their coats, and I cook up a basic chicken, vegetable, and rice mix that they get a spoonful of on each evening's meal.
