Amy cut her paw in the stream in Thursday afternoon. I washed it as soon as we got home and it didnt bleed much. She showed no signs it was hurting her. I have kept her in the garden since it happened. Hubby walked her in Saturday : but she didnt limp. I got it checked today by vet as it seemed not to heal. But its fine. They gave us some ear solution as her ears looked a bit manky. Anyway, posting to say our first walk was a nightmare, pulling and scared of all the garden noises. (dogs and people),. What a silly Billy she is.
Re: light duties. Sorry poor little Amy has a poorly paw, hope its better real soon . The scarey outside world , yes I rememeber those times with Sam : The best thing to do is to keep taking her, just very short walks and trying not to saturate her too much every time, so yes , socialising with the outside world is very important to their developement but not too much at once or she may become even more fearful . Try not to get anxious yourself , as this does pass down the lead, so, the more relaxed you are, the more relaxed Amy will become
Re: light duties. so sorry for amy take kates advice it is working with jasper.....he was scared of traffic, took kates advice small steps, short road lead walks, sitting at the roadside.....he is much better , only took time and patience
Re: light duties. Bless her, I still remember getting about 4 steps out of our gate when Riley flatly refused to go any further cos it was all a bit too much. Needless to say that didn't last long and my nosey little parker thinks the whole world is there just for his entertainment Hope her paw feels better soon and she's enjoying her walks
Re: light duties. Hi Jade Glad to hear she is ok, it puts your mind at rest to see a vet I find. I also have ear trouble! I'm not a huge fan of "walks" with Charlie now, although tried at first. Now, I go places (in the car) where we can be off lead and have fun and practise "walking" (which is what we call heel) off lead, and for socialisation I take him (in the car) to one place and we stay there. We have a little go, longer each day, "walking" with distractions. For example, this morning we went in the car to a wood and he had a walk off lead, and this afternoon we sat outside Wimbledon station for 20 mins (huge amount of traffic and people, and all sorts of weird things - people with collection tins, students in fancy dress) then we just had a very short walk back to the car through the taxi rank where he said hello to all the bored cabbies waiting for fares (who were glad of the distraction). I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing or not, i'm a complete beginner, but so glad I gave up trying to get Charlie, pulling and nervous, down a road on a lead for his outside experiences. Although if we have to walk down a street, it's getting easier and easier to do so.
Re: light duties. Jade have a google of Thornit powder for manky ears, might be of some use, and it's always be good for us to have some in the cupboard. I can't give any medical advice obviously but for a general part of grooming we swear by it. Julie I know exactly what you mean, it can be quite a panicky feeling when your making them do something they don't appear to want to do!! It feraks me out a bit, 'til I know the pups moves. As you say though, it does get easier with time. Charlie's confidence will build, as will yours. Good idea about the station. We use Tesco entrance, hubbie stands there while I take my time shopping. Even the customer services ladies all come out and cuddle them! Not the hubbie of course, he's not nearly as pretty as any of the dogs, and I'm including Harry in that. It gets them used to noise, handling. And you meet some lovely doggie people too. And every chat seems to turn to poo...Aren't we an sophisticated lot! A lot of garden centres where we live allow dogs, Charlies a favourite at our local one now, so much so the owners son has to run to the house to get their dog to play! They have a romp around the site! It's lovely.
Re: light duties. A garden centre - that's a great idea, why didn't I think of that? We go to Pets at Home a lot. I don't really need things, I buy most of my stuff online, but it's a great place to meet new kids, and Charlie loves watching the rabbits. Often parents will ask if their kids can pat Charlie, which is fantastic (I don't say "that's why I'm here" in case I'm rumbled, although I think the till staff are getting suspicious about the number of times I go in for a single small bag of treats). Great, a garden centre it is this afternoon.
Re: light duties. Get well soon Amy. I'm so envious of all the places you are allowed to take your dogs,we are allowed........nowhere!!I have got very good at talking to strangers in the street and have even been invited into a few people's gardens......I could be a serial killer with a labrador as my cover.......hmmmm thinking about it maybe that's why no one has taken me up on the return invite....it's nothing to do with the inviting swimming pool and tempting golf course at the bottom of the garden! He he
Re: light duties. Angela - you have to be so inventive! Good job Dexter has such dedicated parents! Although, I'm not doing much better at finding suitable classes. After seeing Obi's classes, I set off to try to find something better (don't want to go back to the church hall now). But nothing doing. I've started asking other dog owners on our walk each morning. This morning, a dog walker told me he was trying to set up outside classes with a trainer to expand his business, but the council (owner of the common and parks) say no unless the outside area is fenced as lots of dogs getting trained would be a danger to the public. Which is a bit mad, as we were stood talking in an open space, there were at least 10 dogs off lead in sight...so not sure how organised control of about the same number of dogs would be a danger. Bah. Still hoping I might be able to gate crash a dog club during my hols in the country...
Re: light duties. Julie,Australia has got something to teach I can tell you.Obis class just looked so well organized and focused and methodical. Learning that Rachael has completed an Instructors Course and something you said yesterday has ignited a spark I have got to say......Now we aren't preparing for the opening of ADTA ( Angela's Dog Training Academy....yes,I thought it had a special ring to it too!!!)but I have started researching on line courses related to dog behaviour .....then talking to Chris he said well if you are thinking of doing it,make sure you go with a recognized body with proper accreditation as you never know how far you might want to take it.Im under no illusions of my current ability and skill set but it's something I think I would really enjoy,so while I'm only at the research stage so far....watch this space!If only to help me understand Dexter better and have a productive focus to my time while I'm not working it would be valuable. Could you ask a school if you could use their playground to set something up?seems such a waste when your enquiries have found someone who is willing to do it,might be an idea...
Re: light duties. 2 fantastic ideas - ADTA does sound good (don't drop the idea...just a matter of time...), and I bet you have a great time learning. That sounds like a wonderful idea. And a playground, of course. There is a school at the top of the road. Right... let's see what we can do here.
Re: light duties. Angela, I think it's a great idea as well - to get some qualifications and look at starting up classes. I hope that you find a good class, Julie. There would have to be heaps of good obedience clubs in the UK, one would have thought. It's a shame that there are barriers to an outdoor club starting in your area. Obedience training is mostly done on lead at our club (except for recalls), up until the higher levels. Any chance of getting a community grant of some kind to fence an area...? The instructors' course I did was just run by our club and qualified participants only to teach the lower four levels of classes at that club - nowhere outside the club. But it was a good course and we had to do a written and practical exam. I'm sure I've forgotten most of now! Our club certainly is well resourced and organised and runs on the efforts of hard working volunteers. It is 30 years old this year. There are a few other good clubs in this area too. I know that they are on the other side of the planet to most people on this site but I will put up links to their websites so you can get an idea of what a good club offers (and what ADTA might comprise in the future ). Plus, some of them give details of the curriculum so you can get an idea of what a basic class involves. All clubs use 'positive motivational' methods. My club (ordinary looking website but great club http://www.actcdc.org.au/ Links to past issues of the club magazine 'The Good Companion' here - some good reading here for those who are interested: http://www.actcdc.org.au/new/actcdc_011.htm Belconnen club: http://www.bdoc.asn.au/ Tuggeranong club: http://www.tdtc.asn.au/ (this club uses clicker training in all classes) Queanbeyan club: http://www.queanbeyandogs.org.au/ Curriculum outlines here towards bottom of page: http://www.queanbeyandogs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2
Re: light duties. Thanks for the tips everyone - our vets run puppy parties so we're starting that next week. We go to the first session without her, then she goes with us after that. I haven't done much to get her used to her lead yet - any tips? I was thinking of getting the vet to recommend a harness when she has her second jab next week. Think our first trip may be to the beach. We're all going a bit stir crazy!
Re: light duties. NHM - read Pippa's articles on lead training before you start! I made the mistake of putting a collar and lead on Charlie for puppy class and I'm back tracking madly now. And her post clarifying when and why harness, and when and why collar. Rachel - there are lots of clubs and classes, it's just none around me that looks like Obi's. I'm in central london right now, and the classes are all run by companies - inside in quite small spaces - that no doubt wouldn't take the risk of outside classes. I absolutely need to find a decent club, I'm sure we'd benefit from the kind of thing you've shown us and in the links you post - but either I'm not looking in the right place, or I'm just in the wrong place. I'm sure outside London it would be more sensible.
Re: light duties. Julie, you have no doubt looked here, but what about the list of KC accredited clubs on the KC website: http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/findaclub/area/Default.aspx?id=9 Having a look through, it does seem that indoor and/or private clubs are common.... But, with a decent sized hall, indoor training could be fine. Especially in the middle of winter In a lot of ways the UK is much more dog friendly than here - dogs allowed in pubs, on trains etc, in nature reserves....
Re: light duties. [quote author=JulieT link=topic=1943.msg16058#msg16058 date=1373451800] Angela - you have to be so inventive! Good job Dexter has such dedicated parents! Although, I'm not doing much better at finding suitable classes. After seeing Obi's classes, I set off to try to find something better (don't want to go back to the church hall now). But nothing doing. I've started asking other dog owners on our walk each morning. This morning, a dog walker told me he was trying to set up outside classes with a trainer to expand his business, but the council (owner of the common and parks) say no unless the outside area is fenced as lots of dogs getting trained would be a danger to the public. Which is a bit mad, as we were stood talking in an open space, there were at least 10 dogs off lead in sight...so not sure how organised control of about the same number of dogs would be a danger. Bah. Still hoping I might be able to gate crash a dog club during my hols in the country... [/quote] Have you had a look at the Kennel Club website for a training club? There are a few with KC accredited trainers in London.
