Michael Parkey

Could the sun be bleaching his coat? This seems to happen more often in older dogs than younger.

You might find someone who needs help controlling nuisance animals with non-lethal means. Examples would be geese near airports or on athletic fields, or deer on farms and nurseries. I did a little of the latter with my Australian shepherd for friends whose property was being invaded by a neighbor's exotic red deer.

Just watched the first two episodes--really good! It is a little different perspective on puppy training which makes sense to me.

Agreed!

I am a little confused by terminology. Since one copy of MDR1 (heterozygous) causes some sensitivity to drugs, and two copies (homozygous) increase that sensitivity, wouldn't MDR1 be classified as a codominant or incompletely dominant autosomal mutation? The term "carrier" is no longer valid, of course, since the characteristic is expressed in the heterozygous condition.

I tried to watch the trailer, but got an error message saying the video was not available outside of Australia. Bummer!

I've never purchased one of their leashes, but Lupine Pet's harnesses are indestructible. https://www.lupinepet.com/

The medication might not need to be permanent. If it calms her enough for the other techniques to work and become well trained habits, your friend might be able to taper off the medication later. Good luck!

Wonderful story, thank you! While not as extreme, we went through a similar process after we adopted our Australian shepherd mix Buddy. He was 15 months old, had been abused, and was withdrawn with many fear triggers. He is now nearly twelve, and still surprises us with positive changes in his behavior. It keeps getting better year after year--you can enjoy this for many years to come.

Great video, thanks!

It is a very vague term: "wicked, deviant behavior constituting an immoral, unethical, or unjust departure from ordinary social standards such that it would shock a community."

My Australian shepherd went through a similar phase between 1.5 and 2 years old. All the training I'd done seemed to have disappeared. Then suddenly when he was a little over 2, it all came back. It was as if he knew what he learned along, but didn't have the impulse control to act like he knew it. Keep up the training, dropping back to a simpler level if there are too many problems. Good luck!

Awww!

When we introduced 8 month old Levi to 8 year old Buddy, it went pretty smoothly considering that at that time Buddy was unsocial with other dogs. Buddy did some growling and forbade Levi from getting in Buddy's favorite bed, but that was the worst of it. Over time, Levi insisted that Buddy play with him and eventually Buddy did! Following Levi's example, Buddy became more outgoing and willing to meet strange dogs and humans. Three years later, they are good friends. To clarify, Levi is an intact male border collie and Buddy is an early-neuter male Australian shepherd mix.

The fetch boogeyman has returned. Levi loves fetch, and we often play "adventure fetch" with him. We are lucky to have a very natural greenbelt nearby, with woods, meadows, and a clean creek. Levi must negotiate varied terrain, sometimes swimming to find the ball. It is fascinating to watch him track the ball, first with sight and sound when the ball is moving. If the ball stops out of direct sight, he switches to nose work, sniffing out the ball in some very obscure places. One throw will sometimes occupy him for 10 or 15 minutes as he slowly and methodically searches a likely area. I have learned so much about how dogs perceive the world from watching him do this. This game engages all his abilities. We can use herding type commands to direct him if he if he needs a little help. The game also keeps his attention focused on us so that off-leash distractions are not so tempting. Levi is now 3 1/2, and this game developed slowly over several years starting when he was 8 months old. You might start Bernie with simple fetch without emphasizing the "chase and catch " part, instead focusing on the "find the toy" part.