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  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    September 26, 2016 at 10:51 am in reply to: Victoria's out of control bulldog
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    I watched that episode and the thing that worried me most was Victoria describing the dog’s actions as “play” albeit rough play. I wonder how often the dog got away with nipping that poor boy. The dog just seemed to be able to do what it wanted, whether it was humping the neighbour or biting the son. The dog was also urinating and defecating all over the house including the beds. Just an overall lack of any discipline or leadership. This was particularly apparent with the father of the house who completely spoiled the dog. I hope it turned out alright in the end. If I remember the son had a better relationship with the dog but the humping was unresolved.

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    June 9, 2016 at 8:08 am in reply to: Speak Command = more than one bark!
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    thanks Sharon – I’ll check that out.  I’ll try anything.

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    June 8, 2016 at 5:49 am in reply to: Path of Destruction
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    Hi Victoria,
    Agree 100% with Judy. I have very high energy dogs (mostly Border Collies and a Mali). I could exercise my collies for 5 hours a day and they would still be hyper. Mental stimulation is key to tiring them out enough that they don’t feel the need to trash the house. If you work your dog’s mind half as much as its body you will find you have a much more relaxed and contented dog. Probably she’ll be grateful for the downtime 🙂
    Agility, obedience, hide and seek, games are all beneficial.

    We found with our last young collie, leaving high value treats hidden in a room worked well. Obviously be careful where you put them so the dog doesn’t destroy your belongings trying to get them. We made them increasingly hard to get at though so he had to figure it out and make more effort to get the things he wanted.

    Really important too, as Judy said, not to make your leaving the house a big deal.

    Good luck

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    June 7, 2016 at 3:29 pm in reply to: Speak Command = more than one bark!
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    We only have 800 people on the island where I live and just about everyone knows my dogs now.  They are all good at not trying to interfere when they are working and have their harnesses on.  I first really noticed the problem when doing people searches.  Just to be safe, I only use my lab/collie mix for that now.  We have to patrol bars and I can’t always guarantee drunks will keep their hands to themselves.  Quma just does buildings/vehicles and baggage now out of the way of the public.  We do have a good group of local volunteers who are happy to stooge for me so Quma can do people search on them as I know they will not try to touch her. It’s good as it allows her the opportunity to relax in her work and get more used to being around crowds of people.  Don’t mention the M word to Quma.  Funnily enough she barked at the muzzle the first time she saw it.  We’re slowly desensitizing her too it.  The watchword with everything is slowly.  She’s easily put off so I’m careful that nothing is too stressful or frightening for her.  It’s all about building confidence for now.  Hoping to be a position to start introducing a decoy in a couple of months.  I’m having to train one of the local police officers in how to do it so we’re actually working on that away from the dog in parallel with her other training.  I’ve discovered I make a really good Police Dog lol. The plan being he’ll be on the ball when he gets to actually work with Quma.  Saw your video with Tazer, thought you were doing an excellent job.  Really good handling.

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    June 7, 2016 at 12:47 pm in reply to: Speak Command = more than one bark!
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    Thanks – that’s a good idea. I’ll give it a go. At the moment we’re working very hard at obedience. Quma (my Mali) is a certified drugs dog and excels at that work (she has a very good prey drive). Her only downside is that she wasn’t socialised properly as a youngster. I got her at just under a year old. She had spent a lot of time in kennels without much interaction. She is a bit head shy and has snapped (not badly but enough) at people who have approached her despite my asking them not to. The obedience work has really improved her confidence and the customs and police staff I work with have all commented at how much more relaxed she is. The police would like to develop her as a more general purpose dog. We have done some man trailing etc. which has gone well as she understands the hide and seek game well. She just stands or sits quietly though when she finds the hider. Where we live there isn’t too much call for chasing and bringing people down as such but a good public disorder dog who can bark convincingly and protect the handler if need be would fit it well. The bark is there, I think she just forgets to actually let it out……..it’s quite funny sometimes watching her snap her jaws like an alligator.

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    May 15, 2016 at 10:35 am in reply to: Horrible "Agitating Work" with Belgium Malinois
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    I’ve only just started down this road with Quma. She’s a few months off her 3rd birthday but is only now ready in terms of her maturity and confidence. And even having said that, I’m going very slowly with her (and hopefully with Mike’s help) to ensure that it is the right thing for her done the right way. At the moment she really enjoys her “bite” training – or attacking and wrestling the tug toy as she sees it. No fear, no stress. That poor puppy is likely going to have a miserable life or be destroyed for biting when it shouldn’t. To me what that guy is doing is abuse and he should be prosecuted. He seems a typical bully unfortunately – brave when the dogs is less that 6 months old and tethered!

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    May 14, 2016 at 11:07 pm in reply to: Horrible "Agitating Work" with Belgium Malinois
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    Saw this on a FB group that I’m a member of.  Heartened that I didn’t see one comment advocating this idiot’s methods.  Apparently he’s from Australia but that’s the only info anyone seems to have.

     

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    May 13, 2016 at 5:51 am in reply to: The Case of Cobbler Rumpel
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    Maria, First off it’s great to hear that you have been willing to try homing so many rescue dogs. If you don’t know the full history of the dogs then it will always make life a bit more challenging I guess. I think Mike’s advice is spot on. For what it’s worth I can tell you how we deal with new dogs and large packs although I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation as extreme as yours. To give you some background, I own 5 dogs, 2 of which are working dogs (drug detection dogs). All of my dogs bar one are collies or collie mixes and very high energy and excitable. The other dog is a Malinois, also high energy but more reserved and nervous than the collies. We also board dogs that transit the island where I live as they are moved from the UK to our sister island of St Helena and back as people move to and fro for work contracts. We can have up to 14 dogs living in the house (and yes on the furniture 🙁 ) at any one time. Some dogs may stay a few days, some a few weeks and one, who arrived pregnant, stayed 6 months and had pups in my bedroom – I gave the owners a bit of grief about that! Kept one of the pups though 🙂 Anyway when I collect the dogs they are at the end of a 12 day sea voyage, I never know what they will be like and they can be any breed. We’ve had everything from little terriers to rotties. Some are well socialised, some aren’t. We always try to do everything we can not to set the dogs up to fail. They are introduced to our dogs in a large neutral area (usually the beach). We learnt early on that the dogs needed to feel that they could retreat and get away if need be. We then usually go for a long walk that doesn’t include any fetch games or toys. We also try an stay a bit aloof – it’s hard not to feel that you should show a new and unsure dog extra affection but we’ve found simply not drawing attention to the newbie seems to help our dogs accept it into the pack much more quickly. I guess we like to think we’re good at reading body language but the dogs get on so much easier without our interference. We’ve got pretty good at feigning indifference when the dogs are all together although we’re obviously keeping a watchful eye. Back at the house we have no toys or treats left out for them to compete and fall out over. Our dogs are all good at meal times so, unless the owners have told us otherwise, we feed the new dog alongside ours but for the first few days we stay close in case there are any issues. If the new dog has a habit of being food aggressive or over greedy and stealing our dogs food, we just move it to the other end of the yard and separate them a bit until they are all finished eating. We also remove all the food bowls afterwards. We have had the odd fight (usually between female dogs) but spotting the cause early on and removing it is key. In 20 years of doing this we have had no serious incidents or injuries and by the time the dogs move on they have settled well into the house and its sad to see them go. We’ve taken on dogs that people have said can’t be homed with other males, other females, any dogs, can’t be homed with children etc. and been successful. One that springs to mind was a beautiful GSD (Sable). We were her 3rd home and were told she would kill any other female dogs and she didn’t like children. One day I’ll find and post the photos of her curled up with our rescue bitch collie and out walking with my daughter who was about 6 or 7 at the time and took Sable everywhere on the lead. I guess what I’m trying to say, albeit in a long-winded way is that you shouldn’t give up and with consistency and a firm approach you will succeed. Just don’t set them up to fail and be sure that you can spot the triggers. I agree with Mike about separating the dogs if need be but be extra vigilant if you re-introduce them after separation. Think you have a long road to travel but it will be worth it. Good luck.

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    May 4, 2016 at 11:24 am in reply to: The positive ONLY cult
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    Brilliant posts by all. I’ve come across extremes in dog ownership/training. From those who believe that as humans we are dominant and all other creatures should fear us (Have you heard the phrase, “the more you kick a dog, the more loyal it becomes?” – can’t tell you how angry that makes me), to those who have “fur babies” who are anthropomorphised into clothes wearing dolls and denied the ability to indulge in natural behaviours. It’s funny but when I had my daughter 14 years ago and my friends were laughing that I wouldn’t waste money on bottles etc but would probably just give her a dog bowl, they weren’t far wrong. By that I mean that as a new, and very scared parent with no clear idea on what to do, I applied the same rules to raising baby as I did with my dogs. Be clear, be consistent, provide a feeling of security, of being loved and respected, have boundaries and stick to them, ensure there are consequences should the boundaries be crossed and ensure that both me and my husband are singing from the same hymn sheet. I love my daughter very much and the best way I can demonstrate that is to be her Mother first and not her best friend. I have a duty to ensure she has all she needs which is not necessarily the same as all she wants, so she not only survives but has the best possible life. That includes not being a problem for other people. I think it’s worked as she’s a happy, respectful, fun teenager with a positive outlook. Same approach with the dogs. On the subject of “punishment” we have used e-collars in the past with excellent results. Anyone meeting my dogs will see there is no fear or hesitancy if we put the collars on them. I think in 10 years I’ve only ever used them above the minimum setting once.
    For me the key is balance and proportionality. I tend to use the word consequences rather that punishment as people seem to find it less emotive but it amounts to the same thing. As a Police Officer I see the effect of “no consequences” all of the time. Why should people stick to the rules if they can “get away” with not doing so? Why would we think our dogs are any different?

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    May 3, 2016 at 3:42 am in reply to: Foundation Style Certification?
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    Foundation Training Course online would be awesome. I live on a small island 5000+ miles away from you guys and have limited leave periods. Also, can’t get my dogs off island very easily. Any access to experienced trainers and techniques is always welcome. I’m the only dog handler here and have had to work my way through by reading as much as possible, watching videos and having occasional access to professionals (either through the military base or the once a year the Government fly out an assessor to licence me and the dogs). I know I can be better and by being so, improve the dogs as well.

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    April 29, 2016 at 10:25 am in reply to: High Prey / low defence drive
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    thanks Michael, I completely agree.  I have noticed when we have been doing Customs work that I have to be very careful and tell people not to try and touch her – I usually just say it’s because she’s working and so isn’t allowed play with strangers.  However the main reason is that she can be a bit sharp.  She does not like people approaching her and standing over her or putting their hands near her head.  She will snap at them, mostly as she can’t escape them as she is on the leash.  She is pretty obedient.  If I ask her to sit/stay she will wait and I can leave her in the middle of the warehouse with forklifts banging around (obviously not near where the dog is), and people walking up and down and she won’t move as long as they ignore her completely as all the staff know to do.  I have been working a lot on basic obedience, heel, sit, down, stay and she is responsive.  Her recall is good 98% of the time – although if she is exercising with all of my dogs and there’s a rabbit to be chased then I’m afraid it all goes a bit wrong.  Pack mentality takes over.  She and the other dogs will come back but at the initial instant of the chase I have no hope of stopping them.  It’s about 30 to 40 seconds before I can get their attention.  Having said that, we have feral sheep and I can now stop all the dogs before the chase.  I think they have figured out chasing sheep has consequences but rabbits are fair game.  I know I need to work on getting her to stop/sit/down at distance from me and would really appreciate some guidance with that.  We did have a situation yesterday when an acquaintance of mine came to the house when we were out.  I have 7 dogs at the house at the moment (2 are boarding) and the guy took the decision to come through the gate.  The dogs don’t know him particularly well and apparently Quma had a good go at grabbing his leg.  Luckily he’s a military guy and had his fatigues on and they withstood her teeth quite well.  Also, luckily, he’s big enough to admit he was an idiot for entering the house without permission so to speak.  What it did show me is that Quma has got some instinct to protect.  If you can help me build her defensive skills and confidence and also give me some pointers on how to keep her from becoming a liability or out of control that would be fantastic.  Yes I want her to protect me but only from real threats not the whole world!!

  • Caroline Yon

    Member
    May 2, 2016 at 4:18 pm in reply to: Which collar
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    Hi Judy, thanks. Sometimes it’s nice just to get a second opinion – especially when it tallies with your own thoughts lol.