Knightley's raw nose, Oz Working Dogs is live, a weekend away!

11 months 1 week 6 days old

Knightley at the dog park when he just started
going and made enemies with AJ. Wow, seeing him
there reminds me of how skinny and furless he was!
Now he is so bulky and is covered by a luxurious
mat of silky fur.

Poor Knightley got attacked at the dog park several days ago by a boxer who just doesn't like him. 'AJ' the boxer has disliked Knightley from when they met when Knightley started going to the dog park at 5 months of age. Now that Knightley is getting so very close to full sexual maturity, AJ dislikes him even more, as AJ is 'intact' as well. I think it was over access to the water which you can see in the photo - Knightley assumed it was his turn to drink and AJ went nasty on him. It was all over in a matter of seconds, and we thought Knightley had got away without a scratch - he was wagging his tail!! AJ's owner told us to check him over because last week AJ took a big chunk out of another dog's leg. Eeek. I felt him carefully but didn't see anything, then a minute later looked at him, and saw a bleeding gash on his nose. Poor puppy, although he didn't see to notice! It's healing well now though, I've just been keeping it clean (or trying to) with plain water.

Frankly I think dogs like that shouldn't come to dog parks, especially after repeated incidents - but what can you do?? Maybe they should be allowed to come, but in muzzles. I don't know.

The poor puppy back at our car with his nose gashed up!
Thankfully it was pretty minor but it could have been so
much worse. AJ is pure muscle. Click on the image to see
the poor pup's nose in more detail.

I am very bad for not having written for so long but I have been VERY busy getting http://www.ozworkingdogs.com.au set up and all working. In the time I haven't been doing that I've been sewing quite madly, and in the rest of the time I've been farewelling my old boss (booohooooo) and trying my best to stay healthy. Oz Working Dogs is completely open for business and I am able to mail worldwide. Please pass on the information that we are open for business. I am happy to make one of a kind items too - as long as they are not hideously complicated!                

Some of my new gear for sale on Oz Working Dogs, A) mobility
vest, B) belly band, C) basic small vest, D) patrol vest, E) summer
belly band, E) spine vest.

I went volunteering today and could barely keep my eyes open and am having real trouble now lol..... So I hope you can forgive the shorter post but it really has been hard for me to get to. Starting a small business means a lot of bits and pieces to do, and while the website isn't exactly vast, getting it working has been quite a battle. It's just so awesome to have it working, and a couple of days after going live I am waiting with baited breath for my first order!

My weight loss is going quite well - it continues to go down and that is what really matters. I watch babies a lot - I really can't help it - and I wonder if hubby and I can be successful . Who knows really, but we sure do have a few cards stacked against us. We'll do our best though and just see what happens... Knightley adores kids of all shapes and sizes so he would absolutely love having one around slightly more!

So I'll try to write a more newsy entry soon, but this will have to do you for now. Rest assured we are both alive and kicking just *busy* and very very tired at the end of every day. Thankfully hubby, Knightley and I are going down to the New South Wales south coast this weekend for a short break (only three hours drive), and I absolutely can't wait. I haven't got away since we picked up Knightley 10 months ago. It's to a wonderful working beef farm, right next to the coast, which is pet friendly (with four border collies apparently), and several dog friendly beaches nearby. Hubby and I went there not far into his first trip to Australia, and it has the clearest blue water you have ever seen. We kayaked on the bay and out towards the ocean. That was before I was unwell though, obviously. It will be nice to be back, although this time we are staying about 8 minutes outside the town. Knightley is going to have a ball - I'll try to get a bunch of photos. I need this weekend so very badly.... I'm just about running on empty at the moment! It will be good to give him some experience focussing in a place he has literally never had the ca

Take care internet world - until next time!

Basic training, bit of a break from public work, and dog over-friendliness

9 months 2 weeks 3 days old

So over the last couple of days since the weekend I've been continuing to refresh Level 1 of Sue Ailsby's Training Levels. I am trying to get Knightley's new down (cue is flat!) more solid, so that it will last a lifetime and always be solid and prompt no matter where I ask for it. His previous down I trained with quite a bit of luring, which is why I think it got slower and more reluctant when he was a bit stressed. This time I am trying to train it with mostly shaping and capturing - much better techniques for training a long lasting well trained behaviour. When it is perfect inside, I will start shaping it all over again from the beginning in the backyard and then out in the street and then on the grass with lots of smells around which is Knightley's big challenge place for getting focus. I've also been trying to inject some fun into our training, throwing toys and playing tug in between a few reps, keeping the session high energy and trying to treat often. The more fun I can make training these behaviours, the more fun these behaviours will seem to Knightley later in his work.

We're having a little break from public access socialisation. I don't want to push Knightley too fast, as much as he is coming up to 10 months old, I don't think we should be going out too often in public until he is around a year old. I think the 2-3 times a week we were doing was just a bit too much for this stage. I will stick to once a week for at least the next month, and continue with basic training and a little task training.

The area where we walk every day at least once a day. It's
great for bumping into other dogs, and as a bonus it's lovely
at this time of the year (autumn), and the weather is simply
beautiful, although very chilly overnight! Canberra has by far
the coldest overnight temperatures of the large Australian cities.

I am working on keeping him calm and working on zen on and around grass, and practicing walking with a harness and assistance dog style handle (loose, without forward momentum help) along our normal walk path. The main reason I am practicing along there is because a lot of dogs use the area for their walks and it's a great opportunity to get over his dog over-lovingness. It is the main thing he really needs to work on for his public access permit. When he has to pass a dog (eg tied up outside the shops) he will try really hard to turn around as I walk past to continue watching it, and will pull towards the dog the entire time. Last time we had to past a dog I had him stop near the dog, put him in a sit and fed him treats as he sat there slowly becoming more and more calm. When we walked off he was lovely and calm. I just need to do that a lot!

I am thinking a lot about the trouble I am having with getting access to the public transport here (buses). My request to be able to use a stationary bus in the bus depot has been denied so I am out of luck completely. There are a couple of possibilities in terms of maybe trying a different bus line based across state lines, or even challenging the bus company.... but sigh, it is unlikely those will be good fixes. It is absolutely ridiculous that when Knightley gets his permit he will be allowed on, but I don't intend to get the permit until Knightley is about 18 months old (or more if it takes longer). However, he really needs experience on a bus before he is that old as having him help me use public transport once again was one of my big aims, and the longer he goes without going on the bus the less relaxed he will be when he finally can. The very obvious solution is that I really push forward on the public access training and get our permit before task training is complete. I think I could probably be ready to submit an application for the permit in about three or four months if I really worked at it - and be happy that Knightley was going to be very professional in his behaviour. I could at least demonstrate some assistance retrieve tasks and a little forward momentum/counter balance (and not mention that I wouldn't be using that until Knightley was mature physically). However, I don't know whether it's the right thing to do just to make my training easier (it would make everything easier, not just the buses), as I wouldn't be using him as a working dog for maybe another 5-6 months after getting the permit.

It's hard to believe he is coming up to 10 months old. I frequent a Golden Retriever forum and there are so many nightmare stories about what their puppies start doing in the period between 7 to 12 months - the teenage months really - that I really thought Knightley would probably start going nuts too. This is especially the case because unlike the vast majority of dogs on there Knightley is still intact (he will have a late desexing at about 18 months in order to let his joints fully mature), so has the extra hormones playing havoc during this teenage period we are getting through this period very well. Apart from the very small amount of resource guarding (primarily when holding a large hunk of raw meat, bones and kibble don't do it) nothing has changed during this time period, for which I count myself lucky. I am also thankful the temperament testing I did has proved accurate and the good training foundation I laid down and the masses of research and reading I do continues to teach Knightley be a well mannered (most of the time) member of our little family. He really isn't looking like a puppy anymore though! Whenever I talk to people about Knightley they are surprised he is only 9 months old. I see him as not much of a puppy but not an adult, but he'll always be my fuzzy baby puppy at heart.