dogdude

I think that not all dogs make fantastic competition dogs. I once owned a Bull Terrier that just did not have it in him no matter what method I tried. He just ended up going back to doing what he done best (entertainer and lounge lizard) I was a reasonably experienced trainer at the time, and had already trained a trial winning BT. Disapointing, but no use flogging a dead horse and upsetting both of you. There does need to be a certain spark present to be a great comp dog. Half is genetic and the other half is trained.The more of the genetic stuff, the better for comp.

I think that idea may have some merit gsdog2. Erny: I think that volunteering to be a ring Steward before you trial is a great way to expose yourself to what goes on in a trial ring. The worst part of your first trial is not knowing how the judges behave etc, and you can get a good relaxed grip on what happens inside the ring. I was actually suprised at just how informal my first judge was. They really want you to succeed at the end of the day.

Well.......I certainly don't think obedience is an elitist sport by any means. Anyone with any dog can enter, but like any sport.....you need to train to a certain level to be competitive or to acheive a goal. If I get a bunch of mates together to play the Australian cricket side with next to no training then I would expect to be crucified by the competition. It would be demoralising to fail so miserably if I truly beleived that I was good enough to win because someone told me that I was. Every dog club that I have ever been to has a ring to do run throughs with. You should get all of the practice that you need in there rather than at a trial. If your dog can really heel.....then the off lead part is irelevant. Of course I think that CCD class is fanatastic..........but only if the dog is ready (for newby handlers anyway). Really....a trial is not much different to a normal Sunday training day doing run throughs in class 4 or 5. Yes there will be strange dogs and new smells, but if you always vary your training grounds during home training when at the higher levels, and you dog has been socialised.........then it won't be that bigger deal for the dog and they will adapt quickly. I know all about your problems in the country, and I lived very close to where you do FP, and entered the same trials. Maybe a weekend trip to the city may be the go once "you" think your dog is ready.

I'm not so sure about the merits of entering CCD for a number of reasons. I often hear instructors trying to do the right thing by encouraging people to just enter to "have a go". Obedience trialling is a sport of precision, and I think instructors need to keep encouraging students to have the patience to refrain from entering until the dog is ready. They need to explain that their dog will only get one CCD (or other) title........so spend the extra time to make it..... a) worth the money that you spend on a trial weekend..........and b) make it memorable, and at least give your dog every chance of winning your ring or better. Not everyone wants to win, but at least you won't have to enter scores of trials to get your title. Unfortunately some instructors do not have the experience (even instructors that trial themselves) to know when a dog is ready. The instructors record in the ring is a good yardstick to go by, and I would advise any newby to trialling to seek a successful one out to get an opinion. They will not always be at your club. Melbourne does have a place to go to get a qualified opinion (Friends Of Obedience run throughs at KCC Park), but you can always go to a trial and ask the handler of a high scoring dog to take a quick look at your work too. Most people will chuffed that you value their opinion, and will be only too pleased to help. Once your dog is "ready",.........it won't matter if there is a lead on or not. You will have all of the confidence in the world to enter your first trial, whatever class that you decide to enter!!!

I've been told that I have a good head for radio.....does that count???? Best of luck........will watch out for you and Moses!!

1.5 metres from memory.

I train at Northern dog obedience in Moonee Ponds....they have an agility class, but you would need off lead control first. There would probably be agility equipment at the Keilor club too, but the best place to go for just agility is the Victorian club in Altona. You will need to book in and perhaps go on a waiting list though.

I train it TOT style in a static position, using a lure and word marker at first, before releasing to food bowl/target increasing focus time each session. When the dog holds unbroken focus for a good few minutes, I will then start to add hand signal and take one step and halt, before releasing to target. I then slowly increase the amount of steps while walking in a straight line before halt/release........and break off if dog loses focus and jog backwards and reward the dog for re-focus with the lure, before resuming original line. When the dog gets more advanced, I will release while on the move, and mix the reward time up. I no longer do block heeling other than in run throughs or trials. All turns are practiced off two or three steps before coming to a halt. I get dog to keep focus mid turn by dropping lure mid turn. All basic heeling practice is done in large circles in each direction to let the dog think about nothing but focus and postion. I find that this helps alot with teaching balance quicker, which I estimate can take up to a year for the dog to remain evenly balanced in all directions while looking upward. Try it yourself.......it is very hard walking around and turning with your head looking straight up. They put alot of faith in where you are leading them so I always practice on nice even ground.

Hi Superminty...long time no see.......Ha I think the Leerburg one is based on food spitting? With Oscar I use a combination of things to build his drive. I fast once a week (twice on a trialling week, but give him extra large feeds) He watches other dog eat on fasting days too. I also think it is important to feed in the morning, which most trialling times are, so hunger peaks at the right time, and the dogs body clock gets used to recharging at that time. His feed comes mostly from a target bag, and the running to and from the bag seems to make it more exciting for him. I also play two food game sepperate to any formal work as part of his weekly training, and occasionally before we start to warm up. I always use a release command, and also mark periodically, even when he has a good understanding during the longer exercises. I would not call my dog super drivey........but I think that I have maximised what I do have using these methods. I would also ask Rino what methods he uses......now thats a food drivey dog!!

Not as silly as it sounds! If he's happy.....so am I! It is definately what he does to get comfy!

Yes Luvinshep, but I have seen it before Handler obviously walked way too slow in her normal pace,...handler problem. Erny, I am more often than not coming back to my dog after his long down stay to find him in the frog position If I could just work out how to get him to assume that position from the beggining! So far has not affected his score but........... Bloody Staffy

My choices would all be trialling based, which would limit contenders somewhat...........so I think I would love to train with U.S based Diane Bauman for her ability to obtain many perfect scores of 200 in a trial, using multiple non working breeds. All those 200s must count for something worth knowing. She is also a competitor on the world stage in agility, as well as a seasoned seminar holder. There are also many great trialling guru's here like Gina O' Keefe (who I would also like to spend a week training with), and also 5 or 6 great handlers here in Melbourne that always figure in the results columns on the trialling circuit who occasionally obtain the magical 200.

No....most trialling dogs that are switched on will offer a "crouch style" drop on the move, and do not go down on one hip. For the C.O.P, a folded style drop is essential in avoiding the dog creeping out of postion. I taught it with a lump of steel on the ground. Walked dog up to it in a stand and came to a stop just before it. Dog had to fold backward to avoid it. It can also be taught on top of a stair. Stand dog almost up to the edge and then give drop signal. Dog has to fold back.

I'm not quite sure what your instructor is trying to get at? There is no disadvantage in the dog lying on its hip.........infact it is an advantage during the drop stay. If the dog is dropping normally during the heel pattern.......there is no problem at all. Do you intend to trial?? In the higher classes you need to hold very long stays out of sight. It would be very uncomfortable for a dog to be lying in that position for that period of time. I actually make sure my dog "is" lying on his hip. Does your instructor trial? ETA: If the dog is lying completely on its side in a trial, then it has assumed the "dead dog postion" and would NQ. If that is what she does, and you do not intend to trial.......who cares???! Dog is staying........dog is doing what it is told. Many instructors get caught up trying to fine tune pet owners who couldnt care less. Most exercises will have to be retaught if you later decide to trial anyway, so don't worry.

She looks great Shoey!!!

Congrats Seita! I will be monitoring your progress with interest as I have a pup that I want to train in prey drive for trialling.

Firstly....to get a consistantly great D.O.R out of Oscar is Goal number one,(atm I would call it 80% as he sometimes comes to a stop on his forehand) then to get a qualifying score over 196. As long as we make progress on the D.O.R, then I think we are a couple of months away from being trial ready, mainly due to having no distractions to proof with over the summer break. Looking forward to dog club resuming tommorrow!

My advice is to get the behavioral problem soughted first........then retrain the retrieve properly. You were on a wing and a prayer using that method anyway. Open trail goes for much longer than novice........and nearing the end of it your dog will be less "playfull".

I agree that walking straight is the hardest thing to get used to. The most important thing about working out your footwork IMO is the smoothness of your turns. This of course will depend on what your feet are doing timing wise..............but I don't put all that much emphasis on exactly keeping my footprints the same on each turn, but rather think about (and practice without dog) the actual smoothness of the turn...........imagine you are on rails, and try to keep the pace smooth and consistant throughout the turn, machine like smooth! As long as you don't exagerate it, it will look natural. I find dogs that have not been taught to remain balanced, looking upward and focusing through the turn are more "footprint reliable". Where you place your feet is a lot more important to that kind of dog. My first trialling dog was a footprint reliable dog. He was quicker to teach heel to competition standard, but you will get a much higher scoring dog if you teach balance with a higher focal point. I would say that it was a year before Oscar displayed consistantly comfortable balance through all directions in the turns.

A good old book for trialling and footwork technique is Beyond Basic Dog training. Although her base methods are old news the thoughts behind each exercise are great. It covers many of the "need to think abouts" regarding trialling. Author is Diane Bauman.

Hi Leopuppy04! Ok...I think overall for a young dog she looks great! I wouldn't worry about the slight confusion with the stand, that's all quite normal for a green dog. Time will clear that up. The only thing that I could pick up that will cause you long term problems is that you are overlooking focus at key times. The most notable is after each halt, she is looking forwards and not looking for hand signals. She also shifts focus on some turns. She is looking at getting around your legs rather than looking for hand signals. I would be doing some turn work, and mark and drop reward mid turn. It was quite a long heel pattern, and she may or may not always do that. Bit hard to pick on just one video! I thought she was great position wise. The recall was too short to make any assumptions about technically. Nice work. Potential trial winner there!

Thanks FHPR and BC.........I stand corrected. Should not have commented...never competed in CCD. It all seems a bit odd to me though........I think that once you have the passes then that should be it. I would rather see a complete newby pick up a sash or trophy than seeing an already qualified dog win it! I feel a bit the same as far as UD dogs competing in CDX class. They can enter as many times as they want. I know thats why its called "Open", but that is not really fair IMO.

If they are booked out Melton D.O.C?

As far as I know.........You can compete in CCD as long as you have not entered a Novice trial regardless of how many passes you have.

Nice jump Pax! Hubby done well! Great pic by the way too. ReXy: Will try to get some more in the morning :D I did post a recent one in the Stafford thread. She is going through another growth spurt, and is a little all over the place atm. JulesP: Hi! I did actually purchase one length of alloy that was a slightly different size and wasted $30 but shhhhh! Wife sitting just behind me! Prodigy: Umm.......Which trials do you plan to enter?? :p (looks for pencil used to scratch entries) :p