Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

You don't sound stupid at all, it is one of the most common mistakes people make, thinking that dogs generalise ie once they know sit, they know it everywhere. It does get easier, but to begin with you might well need to almost teach everything from scratch in each new situation, and gradually build...

Just remember it may take him a while to realise he is allowed to think for himself, so reward the tiniest thing to begin with, even if it takes ages for him to get the connection. Try just clicking a look at the target to begin with, build up to movement towards it, then nose touch, then paw touch ...

Ok, I've just watched the video, and I know I wouldn't be able to do it with Horus that way, for the reasons you have just described. Targeting the hand for the food would distract him from realising that it is feet that are important. The way I would do it is to go back to the start, and freeshape ...

When Horus and I go away in the van he is either in his crate, tied to the van, or walking the whole time we are away. He will quite happily walk for 6,7 or more hours with a couple of snack breaks along the way, and he would love to walk for 3 hours a day - I used to when he first came home but tha...

So much to write, and I don't have time just now, but just so you don't feel ignored..... Regarding tricks while distracted - you need to teach the tricks to as close to 100% perfection as you can in the home, anywhere and everywhere in the home, when he is not expecting it and when he is, and then ...

Once they have had a few days to get used to it, try feeding them frozen, it is much cleaner and much less messy if something gets dragged!! It also makes things last a bit longer and slow them down so they chew better. I did wonder how Horus would cope with it, but he tucks into frozen stuff just t...

Absolutely fantastic!!! I knew you could do it, just needed enough reassurance to be confident in doing it. Never ever apologise for asking for more advice either, we will spew advice and reassurance as much as anyone wants if you are willing to try new things and listen, which you have proved you a...

If she likes to play ball but won't give it up, then just have more than one ball and keep swapping them!! I made some really simple jumps out of plumbing pipe - the 1" white stuff you can get in any DIY store. A few lengths of that and a couple of T junctions make a great base and then you jus...

It was fairly obvious Horus was a stress bunny, he couldn't sleep, couldn't be still, couldn't let me out of sight and reacted to literally everything and anything. Bu he is a rescue, and had extreme chronic stress from being kennelled on his own for 18mths even ignoring the stress caused by his abu...

Not funny, but have you seen the making of the fat dog advert? Quite good fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=0 ... feature=iv

There's also a general consensus here is that we don't need a walk at all if it's raining too hard. :lol: Did you get any walks in last year then?!! Our walks vary a huge amount depending on weather, my health, Horus's health and life around us. During the week he has 2-3 toilet breaks of 10-20mins...

When Horus came to me, he was seriously hyperactive, I could walk him for hours and he still couldn't settle, I could train for literally hours at a time, it was crazy. But gradually I realised that he needed more than anything else to learn how to settle and chill. I couldn't use a crate because th...

It's fine to fill the kongs with other stuff, but take into account the calorific value of cheese!! You can also buy the mince, partially defrost it so you can squash it in, and then freeze it again, so you can give meat in the kong if you so wish. But remember, fish is just as important as meat, so...

Just wanted to say, as someone who only moved on to raw a month or so ago, it really isn't as bad as you think. I haven't got all my suppliers etc sorted yet, just managed to get a little chest freezer so can buy in bulk, but until now I have had to rely on what I can get from supermarkets and the p...

How old is he now?