Rave

You know I'd always heard the stories of males showing up when a female is in heat, so when I finally had a girl go through a heat, I was ready to beat them off with sticks (lol). Can't say I saw one strange dog during her entire heat. I walked her (on leash) on the two-mile trail by our house and she was off-leash romping through the fields at my house. This of course is purely anecdotal, but I did find it amusing I was so worried about strange male dogs showing up and not one did. Lucky I guess.

I mixed sand in with the paint and that worked well too. And I put in a LOT. I used the play sand you get for kids, just because that's all the store had.

Don't let the length of the video deter you. You can get a lot out of watching the 1:30. Trust me, this method is highly effective, more so than traditional methods.

Must be something in the name. My Wick turns 10 in a few weeks and still is laying it down.

So happy to see him saved!

Everyone should watch this video on a great technique to teach drop it:

Mine only shred when they're lacking in exercise, which has been more frequent than usual during this recent heat wave. All I can suggest is to exercise the mind and the body. If she's a rescue, this is probably what she's learned to do to cope with excess energy and/or stress. You may have to work at it to get her to understand play with you if she's already learned how to play by herself. Maybe try some calming treats to take the edge off and break the bad habit. I did just remember one toy the dogs loved that resembled shredding. We took the shell of an old toy that was on the large side and stuffed it with the shells of other old destuffed toys. The dogs enjoyed ripping out the insides and it was easy to put back together for the next time. Just a thought...

A friend of mine has has good results with "Happy Traveler", which is a calming supplement. She got it at Whole Foods, but I saw it on Amazon as well. Worth a shot! And so's the thundershirt, although it does not work for all dogs, it does work for some and the latter swear by it.

He looks so sweet!!! Let us know when he's for sure out of trouble.

Hype sez BOX IS FUN cuz I get to RUN! Stopping is for sissies sis! ;-) But seriously, Hype's my first dog teaching this way and we're in the early stages, so I'm looking forward to reading responses. :-) Have heard good things and seen good results from others.

I can't stand blind crosses. I used to do them, and then at one trial my dog was on the teeter and I turned my head (away from her) as she was doing the teeter and she took that movement to mean a blind cross and she was off behind me before I even realized what happened. Yeah not a fan. Do them if you want (obviously), but I've seen too many dogs cutting behind handlers to go off course for my tastes.

Wow, I'm impressed!! Was this a national event? I will add though I have seen firsthand dog-dog aggression at trials and one case of dog-people aggression. I have heard from very reliable sources of other incidents as well. So yes it does happen, but I don't think it's because they're agility dogs or whatever, but because there are a few stupid people out there, as there are in any venue.

The more tired their jaws are from chewing something appropriate, the less likely they will be to chew something inappropriate.

It's apples and oranges really, i.e. two entirely different sets of handling, each with their own challenges. "Point and go" works well on a NADAC course, or a Starters level course, but not so much on a Masters level course.

It's a common mistake to use cold or cool water, but this is actually counterproductive to cooling the dog. Cold causes constriction of the blood vessels, which slows blood flow thereby slowing the cooling process. This is why you always ice an acute injury with swelling. Bottom line - Listen to your vet and not people on the internet. Next time you're talking with your vet, ask them this question. I know every vet I've ever talked to about overheating (and it's been many since one of my dogs has a very low tolerance because of other issues) has recommended what I've stated above. But don't take my word for it, ask for yourself!!

Yep definitely do what works best for your pup and you. Another alternative is to just hold the pup's collar until it settles. Also be fair, don't expect a pup to settle when it hasn't been exercised enough yet.

Very good point. When one of my dogs was overheating really bad, I called my vet friend and she said the most important thing was to get her wet and not to use cold or cool water, but room temperature/tepid water. She also said on the way to the ER vet to have the windows down and not the A/C on. Not a problem since it was only 70 degrees out.

Puppies need a LOT of feedback, both positive and negative. Negative feedback is not punishment. Punishment would be like your parents telling you "go to your room without supper" and negative feedback would be like them telling you "take your elbows off the table". A simple "eh-eh" paired with you immediately stopping the behavior and THEN redirection will teach your pup not to do something. Simply redirecting will not always achieve this same goal because the pup never learns what he was doing was inappropriate. And snapping is definitely inappropriate bratty behavior. When a pup snaps, I tell them "eh-eh" as I gently hold their mouth shut until they stop snapping. If they struggle, I hold them gently but firmly - do NOT put them down. This is also how I get them to calm down. Stroke and massage the pup while talking soothingly until he relaxes. The first time you try this it will take a lot longer to get the pup to relax, but the more you do it, the quicker the relaxing reaction will be. The pup will soon learn "eh-eh" means what they're doing in inappropriate and you can then just use the verbal as they get older.

Cool coats and shaved bellies (if they're not smooth-coated dogs already) are what I use in addition to fans, but the best thing is acclimation. Only use a wet cool coat (with or w/o a fan) to bring a dog's temp back down after running - check on them often. Take it off once they've stopped panting. Use a dry cool coat to reflect the sun off a dark-colored dog. http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=918&ParentCat=152 Also, get shade panels for your vehicle and/or canopy/tent. http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=564&ParentCat=254 (<< this isn't the best place to buy them, just a pic for reference. Find an online greenhouse store and you can get much bigger and better ones for cheaper. The higher shade factors are better, but the bigger ones can be doubled up to increase shade factor too.)

You know one of the great things about your puppies and your dogs in general? You can train them however you damn well please. :-) If I want to drill my puppy, I can do it; If I want to train them to do jumps from an early age, I can. My puppy - My training. If I don't want to do any training, well that's my prerogative too. And yours. Have fun training puppies! Or not!

My advise is to stop letting silly things like this bother you, and really, to stop caring what people might think of you and your dog. Agility people can drive you crazy if you let them. So don't. Do what you do for yourself, not for someone else. As Dr. Seuss says... “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

That USED to be the protocol for some vets, however since the preventative meds are not 100% effective even when given properly all year long, testing needs to be done. A friend of mine just had her dog diagnosed with heartworms and she was religious about giving it the first of every month, 12 months a year. There has even been studies done recently on heartworms possibly becoming resistant. Some vets are now recommending testing every 6 months in areas where mosquitos are bad. And with that warm winter most of us had, mosquitos are going to be bad this summer. Do your dog a favor and get him tested. Julie: Your phone is smarter than you are! haha Pretty soon you'll be forgetting punctuation and not capping letters like the rest of us. ;-)

Heartworm tests need to be done yearly. Most vet offices will deny a refill until you come back in for a test. If the last one was done 6-14-11, your dog is due again.

Oddly enough, I assumed every good dog owner did this with their puppies, whether in a class that has it or not. It's a crucial part of socialization! Every puppy class I've taught or attended has done this. And good breeders will have started doing these things before you even pick up your pup. If they're not, I might be looking elsewhere for a pup!

Early morning or late evening walks, preferably near bodies of water or kiddie pools. Indoor treadmill. Work on the Fitpaws ball. Mind games. Indoor fetch. Indoor agility training.