WickAndArtoo

Also there many in the group with dogs who also have thyroid issues, so you will be in good company.

If it were me I would trust your instincts it is my opinion (and I have had success with this) that if a person or animal is scared you don't do something that would make them MORE scared. The CARE protocol that the two online pages I mentioned are based off of this ideal. You can look over that website without the approval of the group and you will get a great idea of what everyone there will recommend and be talking about. They are very adamant about picking your trainers carefully, and it is best to work with a veterinary behaviorist as opposed to just any old trainer because many times for a fearful aggressive dog the rough techniques will make the dog more scared and therefore increase his (the dogs) belief that the particular stimulus causes bad things to happen. However the entire program can easily be done be on your own, which is what we did/do. I am excited to see you in the group, it has been the most life changing thing me and my boy Wick have ever found or experienced, just alone having others to talk to about it with is amazing but the transformation in Wick is such a relief!

If you have a Facebook I really recommend you join the group "reactive dogs" And I also recommend visiting the website (which is the backbone of the Facebook page) careforreactivedogs.com I cannot expressed how much these tools have helped me and my fear reactive dog. He is happy and relaxed when he used to be a lunging barking fiasco. All it took was proper desensitization and counter conditioning. The facebook page is incredible because you have a group of wonderful supportive and experienced friends that understand what you are going through. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! And yes, "break" would have been a better release word choice but unfortunately I didnt have that foresight when I trained the boys... next time though!

My dogs and I have been working on stays and impulse control. I am always using weird words to test their release cue they love this game and are very good at it. We have used a lot of "o" words but today one hung us up, "okra" which is hard for obvious reasons. These guys are very smart (not trying to brag, as it has nothing to do with me at all) and generally learn a new concept within one or two goes at it, but in this case they were still confused after about 5 tries (I mixed in a ton of successes to not lose confidence). My question is it too hard?? By BC Artoo did seem to figure it out, but he wasn't confident in his new learning as he would realease himself and then stop before eating the treat just in case he was wrong (what a good boy right?!? LOL) the Aussie wasn't sure and refused to leave his stay at all because at that point he thought okay and okra were the same word and he wasn't allowed to release if this is too hard I don't want to confused them, but if this is doable than I would love to further their learning. Thank you so much, any advice is appreciated!!

Okay this might be random and weird there is a chance it could help... One time my heel hurt so bad in one spot... Visibly I couldn't see or feel ANYTHING other than a bit of tenderness so I just figured I had stepped on a sticker and it was lasting a little longer (there are a lot of goats heads here) but by the next day I couldn't walk on my heel it hurt so bad... So I dug in there and found the worlds tiniest sliver of glass that had embedded enough that you couldn't see any break in the skin, but it was small enough that you couldn't feel it with the fingers either. As soon as I dug it out the pain dossapeared. Immediately when I read your post it seemed like there might be something tiny in there that the vet is missing... It just might be worth getting a second opinion since he is still in pain.

I have seriously considered using it on myself too, it smells so good. I will have to try that scent next, I think I saw it at the store when I bought this one. My Aussie mix loves rolling in anything stinky, but dead worms are his absolute favorite ...

Oh my gosh I love the nickname "Teflon Fur" but seriously that is exactly like Artoo! I am so glad that I asked because I am just amazed by it and was kinda feeling weird about not bathing him, but there really was no reason to until now. I guess it kinda evens out for you with your fluffster Even though wick requires more grooming, he is luckily black so usually it's just when he gets sap or sticks stuck in his fur lol.

Oh my gosh I love the nickname "Teflon Fur" but seriously that is exactly like Artoo! I am so glad that I asked because I am just amazed by it and was kinda feeling weird about not bathing him, but there really was no reason to until now. I guess it kinda evens out for you with your fluffster Even though wick requires more grooming, he is luckily black so usually it's just when he gets sap or sticks stuck in his fur lol.

Just out of curiosity, how often does everyone bathe their dogs? And do you use shampoo everytime etc and why. I am a first time dog owner in the sense that these are my first two dogs in my life Wick our Aussie mix has long fur so I bathe him when it seems a little raggedy and I want to do a full groom session (about every 1-2 months) sometimes it's more often if he needs it... Artoo has short fur (the bc) and all the dirt etc falls right off of him, in fact it took until today for me to give him a bath (nearly a year) because this week he started to smell doggish and not in a good way! I do brush them and trim nails etc regularly, but I kinda live by the motto if they are healthy and don't look or smell dirty then live and let live. I am not a clean freak about germs or dirt (but I am a tidy freak). So I just was curious how everyone else decides it's time! We use this WONDERFUL shampoo+conditioner called "buddy wash" from our natural dog store in town that is Lavendar and Mint flavored. It leaves our long haired Wick smelling amazing for days even though I rinse him thoroughly. Any one have fun tips or stories about their bathing process? Pictures would be fun too

We try a new food almost everytime and then I keep track of which ones worked and which ones didn't (and never use the ones that didn't sit well or that the dogs avoided ever again). Personally I think it's less about the protein and more about what the works best for the dog. It REALLY varies between companies, for example a chicken food from one company they will do great on and then chicken from another and they don't, so I have given up on preferring one protein over another... However my dogs seem to like the taste of some proteins better than others so if I'm trying a new brand I like to see if they have lamb or turkey first, because I like it when the boys get excited about their food.

How did the vet visit go?! Excited to hear the results and praying they gave you a thumbs up

Ah that makes sense why you are arguing against it. The individual doesn't need to bring the crate to the sheep, it's just a tool to teach the dog impulse control and using the technique you can transfer the skills learned.

You would not have the dog in the crate in front of sheep unless you were certain it could hold its position with absolute certainty (the door is left open)... The dog would have to be highly advanced at that point, it's exactly like a down stay, you wouldn't have the dog try one unless you had worked up to the point of that level of distraction... You wouldn't hold it back from what it wanted or dampen the drive, which is why it's used so much in the agility work, it's only focus is building impulse control, the entire point is teaching the dog to choose to stay in position.

Gloria, I'm just curious if you are familiar with what crate games is? Because if done the way it is meant to be practiced it is the same as a down stay... It's merely teaching the dog impulse control in a position that is held... Not a restraint causing the opposition reflex.