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    Can I ask a trick training question here?

    I've taught several dogs to fetch beer from the fridge and have never had a problem with them getting into the fridge when they shouldn't - but I also didn't tend to leave the towel hooked to the handle when I wasn't there. I recommended to my students to use a separate fridge just in case ...
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    Would you ever sell a puppy to an owner unseen?

    I'm really thankful that there are breeders who still trust their gut feelings and will ship to people unseen! Up here in Alaska it's hard to find the right pups, especially chow pups. Of the four dogs I currently have, three were sent to me sight-unseen. Trick came from New Jersey 12 years...
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    The American Vet Society of Animal Behavior Speaks out against Milan type trainers

    Interesting thread. I am of the opinion that there IS a certain level of "pack" theory that applies to dogs. I feel that dogs build a familial relationship with the other dogs, people, cats, etc. that they live with and that makes up their family group (or pack, if you may). While I know...
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    Places you've traveled and longest car ride.

    I used to really love road trips. I've driven the Alaska-Canada highway numerous times, three times with horses (once with a horse in the back of my pick-up!) and other times going out to dog shows. Longest road trip was the 10,000 mile round-trip from here to St. Louis and back for the 2000...
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    Teaching Heel as a position not an action

    I use a combination of stationary and moving when I work on heel position. I kind of mix it up a bit and throw in a lot of play in the middle to keep the dogs up and happy. I've just started working Tazer on a formal heel position (it's about time, she's 16 months old .. *L* .. but I don't...
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    Training dogs for movies, TV & commercials

    Joel, thanks for coming on here and sharing your expertise! I always thought it would be really interesting to train animals for movies, etc. I have been training/showing in performance events for about 20 years now and really enjoy finding ways to teach my dogs new behaviors. A couple of...
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    OTCH dogs

    I admire those who earn OTCHs, but for myself it's just never been a big goal. Part of that is because OTCH points are really low in Alaska (since the OB and UB classes are so small) and partly because I get tired of doing the same old thing over and over and over. I was really disappointed...
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    Who is the best?

    Sorry, just getting back to this thread! Hey Zoom! Just popped back in this past week after taking a break for a few months. It's doubtful that I'll breed Khana. Am going to give it some last thoughts over the next few months and then probably have her spayed. I just don't think that my...
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    What breeds would you never own?

    Oh, I am SO proud of you guys! I only saw "chow" listed a few times and I think that was mostly done by newbies .. *LOL* I LOVE my incredibly sweet, friendly, fuzzy, loving chowkids! For me, if I were going to pick dogs by looks, I just adore naturally upright ears - so that would leave...
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    Who is the best?

    In looking at chows for the past several years, I find myself tremendously blessed to have a bitch from the Redcloud lines. The more I live with her, the more I see the health testing done on her relatives ... I'm just extremely impressed with the breeders working toward chows of wonderful...
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    Results of a shock collar on my chihuahua

    This is always such a volatile subject - on this forum it's "never use a shock collar" and you get yelled at if you've every used one, and on the GSD forum it's "go buy a shock collar" and you get yelled at if you say "nooo, don't use shock!". After much soul searching, I did buy a shock...
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    What's so bad about breeding 'designer' dogs?

    A year or so ago I did an extensive search for "doodle" breeders (and I agree with those who dislike the word - how serious CAN you take someone who uses that as part of the breed name?). This is what I found: The vast majority of doodle breeders were in the early stages of crossing -...
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    Iditarod 2008 Death & Injury Statistics

    Oh geez. You continue to generalize and all that does is make you look like someone incapable of understanding common sense concepts. First of all, you keep using the phrase "Iditarod kennel". The Iditarod race doesn't HAVE kennels. Competitive mushers compete in more races than just the...
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    Iditarod 2008 Death & Injury Statistics

    Living in Alaska all my life, and being a vet tech for a veterinarian who not only did pre-race health checks but also was an Iditarod vet at one point, I've had a bit of an inside look beyond what most people probably get. Is there abuse within the sport? Certainly, but the IDITAROD race is...
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    Ugh

    Aching in all the joints sounds like you may have rheumatoid arthritis. I was diagnosed with this several years ago. Classic symptoms are pain and inflammation in the hands, wrists, shoulders but it can show up in any joint (and does - I've had all my joints hurt at one point or another). And...
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    Are you...

    I actually am quite good at keeping my temper at bay (and I have a very hot temper - I come by it honestly, my Dad was a hot-head - working with animals taught me control). But I would say that I come across as confrontational at times, although I'm not angry when I do it. I just get very...
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    Are you so much in love with your breed......

    I think you see more of the "I'll only have this breed of dog" on the forums that are breed specific. I know there are a number of people on both my chow forum and my GSD forum who ONLY want those particular breeds. Chazhound is much more relaxed. When I was younger I was open to more...
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    Please I would like to get opinions on this breeder!

    A bit about health testing for the original poster: The information the breeder is giving on health testing is exactly what BAD breeders say about their dogs. "They've always been healthy so there's no need to health test", etc. No one should ever buy from a breeder who fails to do the...
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    Differences - Reactivity/Aggression

    I find these statements to be a little contradictory. One one hand you're saying that they turn aggressive when corrected, but that positive methods don't make a dent in the behavior. If positive doesn't work, and correction creates aggression, does that mean the dogs are hopeless? I...
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    Hand Signal for "Stand"

    I used to find the stand the most difficult for the dogs I was training, but I switched around my training and have found now that the dogs take to stand really easily. I don't teach sit for a long time. I start with stand and down and I teach the dogs how to down from a stand and then...
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