dogdude

Just touching on what Monelite was talking about (mock trials etc) There are fantastic Tuesday night mock trials down here in Melbourne (Run by Friends Of Obedience or FOO) They have real judges and stewards, and are great practice...just like a real trial. They start back mid October at K.C.C park. You just have to be a member of Dogs Victoria to enter, and booking is essential. $5 entry. Not sure if there is anything like that available in N.S.W? Maybe contact Dogs N.S.W?

Your dogs don't need to be exceptionally talented to win trials. Many are won by average dogs that are just very reliable performers. I once had a class win because my dog was the only dog that dropped in a very muddy ring. Some days all of the top performers seem to have off days, and a suprisingly average dog wins. Many "average dogs" can be trial winners in the right hands too. I meant similar to that. If your dogs have no physical or mental ailments, and posess some drive for something.....they are potential trial winners.

My advice is to refrain from entering until you have full confidence in yourself and your dog, then you will be amazed at just how badly trained the average punters trialling dog is. Its good to have high expectations if you are going to make it worth doing. A good recipe for success is to keep going to the trials, find the podium regulars and get mentored. The obedience world is an easy going and friendly one compared to other K9 competitions. Most will get an ego boost if you show interest in their recipe for success. Try to find someone who is a regular winner of the higher classes. Also, when you do enter........think about how you are going to show the judge just how well you work as a team, rather than thinking about "being judged". Being a confident handler will show in your dogs work.

I differ in opinion on this matter, although its not a really important point in the scheme of things. Personally, I prefer the flip, but in Oscars case, he just did not hit heel position accurately every time, so changed it to go behind. I don't try to avoid anticipation by changing things periodically. The dog is trying to show you how well he thinks he knows the exercise, and how switched on he is, so IMO, you simply need to show him how to control himself in the process. There is nothing more embarrassing than giving a go behind signal during a trial, and they do a flip finish! Build on what they know!

Oh........good to see at least a couple of dolers on the results board!! Congrats BC and Kallistar

The chin hold is only gently done, and it must be the dogs choice to keep hold of it. It sounds like it could be a motivation related problem.

Flat collar for a puppy, then after that, it will depend on what style of training you choose.

i) B/T, B/T, SBT (also, about to teach new SBT pup) ii)Teen, teen, teen. iii)No, no, no. iv)FR FR FR v)Each dog learnt faster than the previous. Non of these dogs showed any interest in chasing balls/fetch. My latest however does.

Hi Monelite Purely my experience when I tried it on my first two trialling dogs. Perhaps I was a crap clicker trainer, or maybe because they were Bull Terriers? I here the same complaints all the time on dol (that it often takes a long time to teach to non retreiving dogs). Perhaps a slight exaggeration. Hi squeak Yes, don't move on until you get a calm and solid hold. This is normally the easy part. The hardest part of the whole exercise is to make them reach for it. Nobody talks about F/R particulary over the net, because there are too many "do's and don'ts" involved. And its not so much to do with wether the dog is suitable for the method, but more to do with wether the handler is suitable. From what I understand, it is still the most common method used to teach retreive in the U.S, particulary in the gundog community. Like all aversive type methods, the pressure used should be as light as necessary to get a good response. This varys from dog to dog. If its just a grounding that you want in the method, I have a good book you can borrow. PM your mailing address.

Hi Kavik: To speed up the send and return,... try releasing your dog to a food target placed behind you, as soon as the dog turns to come back to you. You can also start off by turning, and throwing an easily seen food target behind you, as soon as he turns. Dont worry about what he does with the dumbell after release (as long as he knows the exercise.) Doing this every now and again has given Oscar at least three extra gears.

I am a bit confused. Why are you attempting to pick the dumbell up if there is no hold?????? Go back to the start. Teach hold, and do not try anything else till you get one. Work for the dogs dinner for this. It is a simple, and non complicated exercise, as long as your timing is right. Using her dinner will put more value on getting it right. It will also make you think twice about your timing. I use the stay command while teaching this, as they already understand that there is a no movement element involved, and will more often than not hold it calmly. Use the same methods as you used in teaching stay (non reward word helps, and calmly repeat exercise showing no emotion at all. )Talk to the dog in a neutral tone, and mark and release when she's made the right choice. Gently help her as you have been doing if necessary. I think a non reward marker is very usefull for this exercise, if used properly, without emotion. The dog then has to be taught to reach a couple of centimetres for it from the hand. Then a little further from your body, and so forth. Skipping any of the steps will have you hitting brick walls. I prefer to used the forced method (yes, with ear pinch) for teaching the dog the understanding of the mechanics of the exercise......then after a real understanding is evident, (normally no more than 7-14 days from start to finish), I then change back to using positive motivation only. Teaching it that way saves me months of frustration, but its not for the novice to do without supervision.

Ok...........Stop teasing..............Little people? Marajuana plants?

I would'nt bother. You will only need one once. Ask your dog obedience club. Most have their own. There is one at most trials. Take your dog down and measure it.

Hi Erny Did you click on the link at the top of the web page? That will give you the complete range, and pictures that are large enough to see most of the detail.

This is a Stafford breeders website that makes seriously blingy leather leads and collars NICE LEADS AND COLLARS

. Oops! Yes...sorry! Can't remember anything in the Trialling Rulebook concerning lead type.......just collars.

For walking, a four foot lead (I cant stand dogs sniffing to the end of the lead while exercising them) (free sniff time is off lead) Obedience training is all off lead (they have a four footer at obedience club to keep the rule book in check) I like the Rogz stuff.

Yes, a voice command is good for this exercise. Also, a fast and reactive dog also helps. I have been working on faster reaction times by marking the first sign of motion during the exercises. Obviously, you do need a dog that already knows the exercises though.

O/T, but getting back to the point of choosing a puppy for drive training... I'm reading a Schutz training book borrowed from the forum, and it suggests that a pup that is a natural retriever often makes a good drive training prospect. It talks at length about reaction tests to choose one. Also naturally inquisitive and confident personalaties help. Schutzhund Theory And Training Methods by Susan Barwig and Stewart Hilliard It also names some non traditional breeds that can make good Schutz prospects (although not under Australian Schutz rules) : Australian Shepherd, Lab, Staffordshire BT, and Bull Terrier.

I think prey drive training is more about how the item is used..........just like food drive training. Many people train with food, but many dont understand how to use it properly. And no......I dont think all dogs can be efficiently trained using prey drive. I think it is great to train a high drive dog though. Ruthless: I got it from Petstock, but I have seen them everywhere. Try Kmart.

This is what I used to build drive. Its a fluffy, squeeky one. Now I use a training tuggie as in the Balabanov dvds.

You can get fluffy, sqeeky tuggies from pet stock and Kmart. The one I used to get my pup tugging was a short roped tuggie with a bit of fur on the end, and a bit in the middle.It has a bit of padded meshy stuff in between the furry bits. I think they're called Tuff Stuff or something like that. The fur bits dont last long with a stafford though, but I only needed it about 2 weeks till I used that energy to transfer onto a proper training tuggie. Cost about $13

Get rid of the check chain for a start. Use a flat collar, no heel commands......just walks and happy times till she gets used to the lead. Bring a food lure with you for encouragment when needed, and take it slow.

Off lead parks are full of twits like these people. Thats why you should avoid them like the plague. There are very few people with common sense or regard for others out there. You would get better odds trying to pick up the soap in a prison shower block.

Hi Snoozie As Ptolomy suggested, you really need to find a successful trialling mentor, to teach you how to fine tune your dog for trialling. Not sure about anyone else, but I have specific rewarding sequences as a trial is approaching, that I know, suits my dog, and will help him acheive the level of concentration and drive needed to score well. Its something that I have played with since beggining trialling, and I am still learning new things to do for improvement. What you need to remember is trialling is a game, and not real everyday stuff that you would expect your dog to perform at the level required in a trial. (ok....maybe recall) To score well in a trial, the dog needs to be ultra motivated, and highly driven to perform as close to perfection as posible. If you dont use food as motivation, you need to find something else that the dog will walk over hot coals for. Trialling is all about avoiding each and every point deduction, and needs the training broken down into little pieces to address each and every problem that may incure the slightest penalty. Just a small example, many top triallers wouldn't dream of doing block heeling (as in what the local obedience club drills each Sunday morning), and only marry up all of the work during a trial or a trial run through. They also make sure that they vary their training grounds daily during trial preperation, to get the dog tuned in to strange, smelly, and distractive enviroments, and will scratch at the 11th hour if somethings not right. One memory still stands out fresh in my mind during a Gina O'Keefe seminar I attended. Gina asked a student of the seminar to demonstrate an exercise with her dog, which it performed ok.....just not perfectly, and she commented that "see"........."that dog is nowhere near trialling stage", and you wouldn't waste your time at a trail just yet" (or words to that effect). The owner appeared gobsmacked, as it already had a title! Gina meant no malice in the comment.....but it did highlight to me the difference in expectation the top triallers have on their own dogs, in order to be as successful as they are. The first thing I did when I got home, was scratch my dog from his debut trial (following weekend) and spent another couple of months working towards our new expectations, and ended up with a Highest Score In Trial at his debut trial. One thing I have noticed with my new pup and the prey drive method of training, is that it produces a performance that you basically dont have to continually tinker with to get a good performance, compared with using food drive for motivation (JMO anyway) Oops...didnt mean to write an essay......sorry!