dogdude

Hi Rexy Pups training is going great. O.H has her dropping, and moving into heel position with great unbroken focus, which she can hold for several minutes. Her training is only T.O.T based atm at home, but Laura has obviously done some loose lead walking work with her, because she is great on lead while on her walks. I really cant work out where the dog is getting her reference point for the heel position though, because O.H looks like the Goodyear Blimp atm, due to give birth on Easter Sunday. Hi Prodigybxr! Fits in the crumbledoore ok Hows that Open training going? I have done no group stay practice at all yet. Probably see you at FOO soon ? I have a feeling that I may run into drive problems towards the end of Open work. It is a fair bit longer than the Novice length of time. Hi Pax! I would love to see pics of anyones dog equipment. My broad jump atm is two rotten fence palings held in a semi upright postion with broken bricks lol, works well. I would like to see the High jump that your husband made. Always looking for good idea's to steal for new and improved models!

Ok............I finally got off my bum and made Oscar a high jump for learning Open obedience work and beyond. Just needs a lick of paint to finish it off, but I gave it a test run this morning and took some pics. The uprights are made of aluminum angle and channel, and the fill in's are pine. The materials cost about $200 (including the boards not pictured). Base board retaining bolts End view of base board Test run! Just for aww factor

Hi JulesP! Pups training is going great. Stasi has built up her focus to about 4 minutes, and she drops well too, while maintaining focus. She is now teaching her heel position (static), and extending her focus time even longer. Whats pups name? Poppy? ETA Pup learn't how to pull washing off the line today :D :p

I had one from a saddlery but found it a little too heavy. I got a free one when I purchased a Leerburg dvd a few weeks ago and it is the perfect size.

Well done Jaybeece! Sounds like you are winning! :D Ok........................need a highjump for my Open work...............will get off my bum today and make one. Forked out $150 for alluminium cause I want it light weight but strong.........so I hope I don't stuff it up!! :p

The N.D.T.F course is probably the most popular. You will have to travel to Melbourne for a couple of block sessions though as I understand it.

Better to not have either on the sofa, then he won't have anything fuss about. IMO the bed and couch is close property of Alpha..........not for lower pack members. Its hard not to want them up there (and I have been just as guilty as anyone for it) but I learn't my lesson the hard way. The first thing I did when I brought home the new pup was to nurse it 24/7. Now she has the beanbag.

Great photo's Arya!! Love the second heeling one Lookout competitors at Hastings trial!! Here comes the new Tess!! Fantastic to hear of her progress. Oscar is going along ok in his Open work, having a bit of trouble riding out anticipation in the C.O.P though. Still have no solid jump To make things worse...........I was told by my club that there is to be no actual learning work in the Open class this year??? Just run throughs???? I will have to clear this up when they resume

Erny from Pro K9 (of this forum) gave me some advice on this topic the other day for a friends dog. It is wise to first look at why he is doing it rather than just trying to stop it. Get your dog checked out by a Vet to rule out intestinal parisites or desease to start off with. Traces of blood or fungal presence will often be attractive to a dog. There are many causes for it though.............it can also be behavior related.....in which case getting accessed by a trainer will help.

Gee...there is a lot of reading in that thread..............I was looking for something interesting to read.....Thanks BP! Good luck, and I hope you get your problem soughted R&A

Ruby&Axel 3 Questions: How old is Ruby? : Do you think that she was a social dog before the attack? : How many dogs do you think that Ruby should meet before you class her as socialised? :How often are further attacks going to happen if she continues to meet packs of strange dogs in an uncontrolled enviroment? (Yes.......I have been to a Kepala meet before, and there was more than one aggressive dominant dog there running around totally uncontrolled) (that is why I no longer choose to go there) I understand that the initial attack happened at an obedience club, but at least they are generally a controlled enviroment.

Hi Ruby&Axel Two things I wouldn't do with a dog with those problems is A: Take it to Kepala (problem will only get worse) and B: praise and cuddle dog while it is fearfull. I wouldn't worry about her not wanting to play with other dogs.............she is obviously quite comfortable about it. Nothing to be sad about. I wish my own dog would be less interested in other dogs! I think it is great that she thinks you are more interesting!

I just waited to my dogs stitches were out.

I dont think anybody disagrees with his suggestions as far as ideas for the magazine goes...........its the personal snipes and manner which are the problem. To me they are both as bad as each other. They both have methods that will help people...........so why don't they just leave out the dribble??

I honestly don't know why Dogs Victoria print the dribble from either of them (personal snipes). They are only coming accross as childish extremists for mine. Ahh.....now I can put a face to the AKA's! ETA I think that he has a lot of great knowledge to share regarding trialling and training, and it's a bit of a shame that some of his strong views (and the way they are expressed) get in the way of being a closer member of the forum.

My advice is to stay well away from dog parks because they are just not a controlled enviroment to socialise your dog, especially a pup. There is a di#*head around every corner who thinks that their dog is "just being a dog" with no regard to your one. The general public are generally not good at reading dog. Your dog doesn't need to meet a hundred dogs to be well socialised. The main point is that she meets a few good ones under controlled circumstances. It only takes one bad one to ruin her, so don't play a numbers game if you can help it.

Ha.........not quite a 199,.........geez..........i'd still be bragging about it otherwise. He did have good form though towards the end of last year though, couldn't be happier with him. There is going to be some tough competition in Open and beyond this year if the likes of Prodigy, Sue T, and yourself make a good transformation into the higher levels this year, and of course L.P is well on her way already!! They are all really high scoring dogs. Really looking forward to competing against some of the really top triallers (you know the ones lol) and pick their brains on methods and the like. I am not sure when exactly our first Open trial will be (as I said) but I would like to have the patience to wait for the cooler months. That is why Warnambool is on the radar (almost always cooler by 5-6 degrees than Melbourne.) Helps his drive. Warringal is just around the corner from me, so that sounds good, and Easter trial because he normally works well on that ground during FOO! I still need to proof his out of site group stays when club starts back. Have done no work on that area since late November! Anyway..........see you and LP at FOO.

That will depend if you are a balanced trainer or not, who proofs your exercises. I would be interested in your method though. I have had no problems when removing the barrier.

I get the dog to learn C.O.P behind a low barrier. This will cause a folded drop if you stand her up close to it. The barrier will also encourage push up sit, and will check the dog for creeping. Add the recall later when there is no creeping and no barrier. Very easy to train!! Make sure the drop signal will be the same one as D.O.R.

Yes, I would have to agree that broad jump is a bit of a nothing exercise, and I think that there is more chances to lose points in it, compared to C.O.P.

Oh yeah, to answer your other observation re- Flinks dvd..........................In his defence, he wanted the handler to push the dog slightly off balance with his foot, but the handler began actually kicking his dog. If you listen carefully, Flinks tells the handler to ease up. It did appear a little o.t.t.

Hi Arya Yes...........I intend to go to FOO in Feb, and I am madly teaching him Open work atm, as I wouldn't mind entering either the Warnambool double, Warringal, or Easter trial at KCC, as long as I think he is ready. At this stage we still have some work to do as I do not have a high jump set. His D.O.R is coming along nicely, and so is C.O.P. Arya, I have tried to build up prey drive using a tether and various toys, tugs, ball on a rope etc, but he won't even chase a ball unless I ask him to formally. Even the cat walks all over him!! He will moderately tug without any vigour, and thats about it. He will chase a ball without much intent if the pup is playing too. His food drive however is almost off the dial at night time, and moderately good during the day. The new pup is like the energiser bunny, and will chase, and tug all day long. Of course, if you can find something that kicks in his prey drive Arya (must be in there somewhere), then I will gratefully use it! While we were training the other night, there was an APB X RR that was totally ball obsessive, and had the most steely focus that I think I have seen. He zoomed around us as if we were invisible when the ball was out, and the girl played with him for a long time. To the girls credit, it was obvious that she had taught him self control, as he seemed so relaxed, but also so switched on. Would love to do some work with a dog like that. Such a waste! (of a comp dog) See ya at FOO! P.S: What trials are you zoning in on? I take it Southern will be on the radar? Maybe Hastings?

Thanks for your reply K9 I look forward to the workshop.

Hi K9 I have just received the Leerburg dvd on drive training, and I can see what you mean by "a lot of work" (which doesn't bother me), but I am very dissapointed that my trialling dog has next to no prey drive. He does however have a good level of food drive, which I have used to train him to a very good competitive level. The thing I really want to access is his "night time drive level". His food drive is I reckon a good 30% stronger, and I want to carry this into a morning trial!!!!!!!! I alternate feeding to both morning and night as part of the training. I do not feed outside training time. It seems that no matter how hungry he is in the morning, the drive levels are polls appart when you compare them to the night time. Why do you think this is, and how do I carry it through????????? My 15 week old pup is displaying a strong prey drive which I am very excited about, and I am building on it. I will also be attending your Melbourne workshop with Erny. My dogs are Staffordshire BTs.

Hi deelee A Clear, consistant and effective message is the key to gettting a dog to walk on a loose lead. An experinced person will be of great help showing you how to acheive this. It is much better to have them there watching what you are doing rather than getting instruction over the net, timing is everthing.