MrsD

I dont know cos we've only just got our video camera fixed & have never transferred anything from it to computer, but I'm going to be checking out what everyone else uses .

Shek!! we want to see doggy videos - not that sort of dodgy videos :p .

Bel, no there is no club in Qld, although there is one in Melb & one in Sydney. Canine freestyle aka heelwork to music aka doggy dancing is using a combination of heelwork & dog tricks set to music, if you want to see the best, look at the videos in these links Mary Ray Richard Curtis - make sure you check out Thriller, it's one of my favourites & the one that got me interested in it . Carolyn Scott - another excellent one Happy watching . Edited to add, there is a thread in the video section on the forum HERE with other videos to watch as well .

You're welcome PP . My dogs enjoy obedience as well, so I have the best of both worlds but I would absolutely LOVE to do a demo etc, I went to a Mary Ray seminar back in October down the Gold Coast & there were a few people there from Brisbane, so there are SOME people out there who are interested, it's just a matter of getting more . I will send you a PM .

Our GSD has slept outside from day 1, the same as my previous shepherds, never had any problem whatsoever with it . She occasionaly comes inside for a short while if MrD is working in the garden or similar & she follws him upstairs when he comes for a drink etc, but she's certainly not an "inside dog" . Jonty, being a small dog, was bought as an inside dog, & sleeps in a crate in the lounge room, but spends more time outside than he ever does inside of his own free will. And guess what? If I didnt actually go to the back door each night & call him in, he would quite happily sleep outside as well - not that I would let him cos I would wake up to him barking every 10 mins but it just goes to show that you cant predict what a dog will like best. Jarrah sleeps outside in his kennel under the back stairs, but is allowed in the house during the day & in the evenings - he is much more likely to come inside if you open the door to let them in than Jonty. I agree with the bad connotations comment from a couple of posters - plenty of dogs actually prefer being outside.

PP, there are plenty of tracking trials around, the CCCQ publich a booklet of proposed show dates for confirmation, obedience tracking etc which you can view HERE whichs tells you when they are all on. At a quick glance I can see a SS on 18th Feb, trial on 24/25th March, trial on 15th April, another SS on 29th April etc. So as you can see there are a few around. The 2 main clubs in the SEQld area are Evergreen Tracking Club Contact- Mrs D Lamprecht 52 McCormack Road South Kurwongbah 4503 (07) 3886 6452 & All Breed Tracking Club Contact - Ms Deb Sunners 24 Cremin St Upper Mt Gravatt 4122 (07) 3349 2233 I saw that you mentioned you were interested in freestyle, so am I , you arent too far from me, we should meet up one day & brainstorm .

Give the girl a gold star . Shek, it's not a matter of whether he's sensitive to verbal corrections or not, he's obviously not cos you have to use a verbal correction just to get a response. Ask him once & if he doesnt do it, correct him & make him do it. As Nek has said, a dog that choses when he wants to be obedient & when he doesnt or which commands he will obey & which he wont is doing it because he thinks he can ignore you & that you arent as important as you like to think you are. That's not obedient, thats doing whatever he wants.

PP there are certainly a few people interested, I went to the Mary Ray seminar down the Gold Coast back in Oct, there were a few people there from Brisbane & around, we need to see if we can get one of the obedience clubs interested in doing some classes or getting our own club started . You arent too far from me, 2 is better than 1!

You arent teaching him the drop, he knows exactly what to do, the only thing you are teaching him is that he doesnt have to do as he's asked unless he wants to do it!!!

The first 2 are working now, nice work & nice focus in the heeling .

Jejuna, Jonty spins alot when he's excited, but they are very small circles & very fast, he doesnt do it slowly etc as you've described. Most dogs will circle when going to the toilet & when they are settling down to sleep, but what you've described doesnt sound like that. It is probably more just a behaviour that has become a habit than anything else, but is it possible that it's caused by a neurological problem? :rofl:

Brilliant BCN, I particularly love Blairs sidepasses & Perky's backwards weave, especially in her first routine :rofl: :rofl: .

Both of them say they arent available .

$2 for 2 laps? That is soooo cheap ..... or is it a typo?

Cant remember who did them bitty, but the xmas one was posted, pretty sure it was in general section.

One of my Cairns licked a judge thoughly (arms, hands and I think a bit of shoe) during stand for exam in an Open trial but didn't move a foot, so got a good score for the exercise. Well he wasn't showing shyness, fear or aggression was he!! Judge and I were giggling hysterically. Yep, that's what my friend whos an obedience judge always says to me - right after she's stirred Jonty up into a slobbering hysterical mess when she's doing a stand for exam - "he only has to keep one foot in the same spot to get a qualifying score!"

OK, here are a couple of quick videos that MrD took with his phone this afternoon of Jarrah . Doing figure of 8 around my legs (the time he stops just as he goes through my legs he is sniffing my hand cos I had the treat in there ) Jarrah doing Fig 8 Doing roll overs Roll over Doing paw touches with MrD Paws Circling me Around & around And finally spins right & left (with a few jumps thrown in for good measure cos he cant help himself ) Twist & Twirl Hope they work!

I guess it depends on how much pressure etc the training puts on the bones & joints , but I know that many dog sports that require jumping or a lot of running dont advocate even training until much later than 9 months.

Awww my gawwwd Mrs D ..... maybe we are voice twins I dunno, maybe - all I know is everytime I watch that video (I've watched it about 6 times now) I keep thinking "Gawd, that sounds like me!!!!"

No excuse - look at Richard, he went & took dance classes just so he could be a better freestyler . ETA - MrD took some videos with his phone today, but Im not sure if they will work on Youtube as Im sure we'e tried it before & they just came up as an error & wouldnt play. I know someone else had videos posted somewhere else, but I cant remember where now, I'll have to go looking & check it out.

Large dogs growth/bone plates close quite late, depending on the size of the dog. It's well known that large dogs shouldnt do alot of work ie either pounding like running or jarring like jumping or twisting until they are around 18 months to 2 years old. That's why there is a lower age limit of 2 years.

I know that, but its going to be easier to train a dog for trails of whatever when it is that way inclined naturally. ie. trying to train a reluctant retriever with bad water ethics then one that loves water and retrieving, or training a hound to do high level obedience, certainly not impossibly but definately harder to train then your usual mix of Goldens and BCs. I think Working Setters was just referring to the Utility Gundog class in the US since it has so many different facets .

Capalaba Produce, they sells it in 2kg bags for $9.95, better than buying the huge (10kg?) bags, athough they have them too if you want them. Cant remember the price of the large ones, although it was cheaper to buy the bigger one obviously. Kara certainly looks nice, her coat is such a lovely colour .

Jarrah is on livermol & his coat looks great - have you seen the pics in the kelpie thread?

So where's the video of you doing it Julie? I will get MrD to take a short video of Jarrah doing some of his tricks when I get a chance - the freestyle bit will have to wait a while though .