try to find john rogerson, --hes a well known dog behaviourist, and he lives in durham-ish,- sadly i think if the dog lived with someone more assertive you wouldnt be having a lot of these problems, -im pretty sure you're dog see's himself as boss- if you cant sort him out [hopefully you can ,] wouldnt you consider donating him to the army, he sounds like a very clever forward dog, but i would be worried about family members and the public etc as he clearly believes in his own importance, and you cant turn back the clock if something horrific happens to someone,-- sorry, but thats how it comes over-reading your thread id say it would be better having a useful and fulfilled life in the army as having your family living with a time bomb

I understand what you are saying, and beleive me I think I am quite assertive with Max but I do beleive he is showing signs of Beta behaviour (2nd top in the pack) although occaisionally he does show Alpha behaviour (top dog). I've heard that name, John Rogerson before but can't remember where - do you have a contact number for John ? I understand your qualms about Max being a time bomb and indeed a Police Handler has show interest in Max saying he would be ideal in the force - but if Max has a problem I don't want to just pass it on to someone nor do I beleive that a healthy dog should be pts. I think that part of the problem is that I just haven't found the right trainer/behaviourist yet and some of Max's problems may be because of bad advice in the past. A trainer did once tell me that any dog is potentially 'wild' under the surface and any dog given the wrong circumstances could turn and bite.

im not getting at you but i feel its you and the way your life style family etc are that the dog thinks hes better than you--so theres no magic wand asnd whatever trainers could help wouldnt be able to change you and your character, i know you can change things you do etc but the dog has you sussed-as for giving up on him ,i think it could be one of the kindest things you could do for him to let him go to the police dog handler, he will work out his frustrations- i dont think his role in life is as a pet, but i bet hed make an outstanding police-army dog, ----ive not got a contact for john but put the google search on for behaviourists, --other than that if you contact malcom willis perhaps he can advise you

HI

Good idea, Dizzy - John Rogerson is excellent :)

BANger, he is also notoriously hard to get hold of because he gets knackered and needs time off. If you are interested, I have his contact numbers. Phone etc.

The lady i mentioned, Celia Boourne, is an associate of John Rogerson and could be a lifeline if you cannot get hold of JR.

Let me know :) I will push the boat out to get hold of him for you if i can.

LIndsay

Aha thats where I've heard that name before. I've spoke to Celia before and we never got round to John because we decided to send Max for residential training. Having said that I have been in touch with German Shepherd expert today, who happens to know most of the dogs on Max's pedigree - at least on his Sires side - they all had good temprements and some were champions. But on the Dams side after the Gt Grandparents up to yhe Dam she had not heard of, so it may be possible that some 'bad blood' may have got into him at some stage. She has also put us in touch with a well respected trainer in the area (who trains dogs for the movies) and she is going to do an assessment on both me and Max on the 28th of this month so I'll let you know how we get on. Stange as it may seem Max has been the perfect dog today - no stealing stuff, no barking at next door and coming in when he was called. I have managed also to get everyone to ignore Max today so maybe this has been a key factor. But even more strange has been that he hasn't bothered to try and get attention from us - no putting the paw on your lap, no nudging or sleeve pulling or nipping - so who knows maybe something has changed. I'll let you know how we get on.

Lindsay could you e-mail me Johns numbers just in case ?

HI Banger,
Yes of course i will mail you John's number, he is really great and a sound person :)

As I said he may be difficult to get hold of, so if you dont get him on the number i send, do please get back to me as I have a friend who runs a course with him every few months downsouth...she would almost certainly be able to get a contact.

As a last resort, Celia would know how to get hold of him :)

Lindsay

Good luck Banger, lets hope that this time you will be able to sort out his problems.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa - he's a good dog sometimes and I know theres a bottom of the pack dog in him dying to get out lol. I've written a letter to our new proposed trainer with a list of Max's problems - really to give her a chance to back out if she feels she hasn't got the expertise to deal with our problems - so will let all know how we get on.

Dizzy, just curious because I keep seeing it. I hope you don't mind ....I need a translation for "sussed-as." What exactly does it mean?
Thanks & very appreciated in my quest to understand the mother tongue.
eoghania

Eoghania

'Sussed out' means that someone has 'worked/figured something out' it is a term generally associated with those of us from the Midlands upwards of the country.

Bec is from Essex and I'm from North Staffs and she has to ask what I'm saying sometimes when I use terms such as

Vexed - really angry
Mithered - bothered
Werrit/ing - worry/ing
Sneeped - upset
Miffed - upset/cross/angry
Deck it - stop now!
Park it - sit down
tatties - potatos
a brew - cup of tea

I know there are loads more I just can't think of them at this early hour on a Sunday morning lol. Each county has it's own variations just to add complication to the language so each one of my phrases could and does mean something completely different to someone in a different county.

Schip, I'm a hampshire lass and believe it or not we suss people out too :D

I was born and bred in London, and we used Suss, but I thought it came from the old Sus law, where a Police man could stop and search you on Suspiocion of wrongdoing. This caused a lot of bother with minority communities, as it seemed a diproportionate number of them were being stopped in this way, I think it was scrapped.

I thought it came from there to Brainless :-) And didn't it speak volumes that when the sus laws were abandoned, the crime rates shot up!! I know it was scrapped,but I thought they had reintroduce it recently? By the way, thats not a london accent you have now :D

Being bilingual, I find I take on accents very easily from where I live (Bristol since 1988) or who I am with, but cannot do accents on purpose :D

I would just like to point out that I know the meaning of vexed, miffed, tatties and a brew also sussed which is a word I've used since knee high to a grass hopper! :D

Thanks for the lesson on 'North Staffs' speak. :-) Much appreciated...although the Pacific Northwest, where I originate, its common to use "vexed" & "miffed" also. My east coast husband thinks I talk funny sometime. It's that long ago colonization by the Brits in the West. :-)
toodles

there was a whole thread done on slang, i think it was on idle chat,-worth a look, dont know if leigh can stick something on to guide you to it:)

I would if I could, but topics are deleted from Idle Chat after 5 days if they are inactive. Regional Dialect was one of them :-)