Tangwyn

hey t, Is this Candy's first trial? Where's my pics then if she's all grown up enough to compete??? So cute! KG

Thanks rubyroo The weather was very, very kind to us don't you think? Stinger's a lovely dog - so much energy and enthusiasm! Is he your only?

Hi, Sorry guys for the delay in reply - haven't been online very much! Spectators are welcome however I expect with the wind and rain it won't be an entirely pleasant day to be sitting outside! Perfect gundog weather though! :p Lablover - great news about the duck season! Swamps filled up then? Have noticed a heap more ducks in NSW but very doubtful we'll ever get a season back! No Easter trial for me this year. Pepper won't be competitive in AA until next season. I'm giving him a test run in a couple of May trials but that will be it for this year. He only just turned 2 in Nov and I don't want to put him under too much pressure. How are your guys doing?

Bumping for last calls

Oh... he must have been competing up until the last weeks. An incredible man really with so much drive and commitment for his dogs and competition. Godspeed Garry...

This Valentine’s Day… Do something special for the gundog in your life… Retrieving for Gundogs; Training Day When: Saturday 14th February, 2009 From 10am until 3pm Where: Marulan area What: A full program of activities including: o Practical demonstrations o Introduction to the gun, game and water retrieves o Small groups and plenty of opportunity to practise with your own dog. Cost: Due to generous support by club members and triallers this training day is FREE . A BBQ lunch will be included. Bring: a chair to sit on, your dog, and a lead to restrain it, and enjoy a day out with the experienced and friendly members of the Working Gundog Club. For further information, directions to the training ground & for catering purposes, please book in before 1st February 2009 by contacting: Mary Law on (02) 4455 6350 home 0408 287 645 mobile or [email protected] email (Preferred option) Please provide your name, dog’s name, number of persons attending (for catering purposes) and your contact details. See below for program outline. Proudly presented by: The Working Gundog Club of NSW Inc Affiliated with Dogs NSW Retrieving for Gundogs Training Day Schedule 10am SESSION 1 – GUNS, GAME and LAND RETRIEVES Pre-requisites: ➢ Heel ➢ Recall ➢ Basic Retrieve with Dummy and/or Game 1. Demonstration – Novice land mark 2. Introduction to gun safety/handling 3. Introduction to gunfire for dogs 4. Game 5. Practise basic land retrieves BREAK FOR LUNCH 12pm – 1pm 1pm SESSION 2 – WATER RETRIEVES 6. Demonstration – Novice water mark 7. Introduction to water 8. Practise basic water retrieves

Hi All, A friendly reminder that this event is on next weekend. My email address has changed so please direct any bookings or enquiries to [email protected] or call the phone numbers listed. Looking forward to seeing you there! Cheers Kirsty

Got a Gundog? Give Retrieving a Go ! Retrieving for Gundogs; Introduction and Training Day When: Sunday 19 October, 2008 From 10am until 2.30pm Where: The Bill Spilstead Complex for Canine Affairs 44 Luddenham Rd, Erskine Park Gundog Working Area What: A full program of activities including: o Practical demonstrations o Theory of training for retrieving o Introduction to marks and blinds o Opportunities to practise with your own dog Cost: $10 per dog: to be collected on the day There will be a BBQ lunch included in the cost. Bring: a chair to sit on, your dog, and a lead to restrain it, and enjoy a day out with the experienced and friendly members of the Working Gundog Club. For further information & for catering purposes, please book in before 12 October by contacting: Jane Vella (02) 9628 5987 or Kirsty Gray 0431 517 509 email:[email protected] SCHEDULE An Introduction to Retrieving Theory and Practical SESSION 1 – MARKED RETRIEVES Pre-requisites: ➢ Heel ➢ Recall 1. Appropriate use of praise and correction 2. Fetch - Hold - Give 3. Fetch on long lead/Single Mark 4. Exposure to terrain 5. Demonstration - a puppy retrieve 6. Demonstration - Single Mark 7. Demonstration - Double Mark 8. Group Practice BREAK FOR LUNCH SESSION 2 – BLIND RETRIEVES 9. Why control? 10. Basic Whistle Drill Sit / Stay/ Come / Stop on Recall 11.Three-handed casting drill 12. Line to a pile 13.Demonstration – Retrieving an unsighted bird NB. The AGM of the Working Gundog Club will be held in the Amenities Building commencing at 3pm. ALL WELCOME.

Hi there, He used to run Perennial Dog Training with his wife. Last I heard he had moved to Brisbane. Not sure where he is now.

That looks great! Thanks! I think the blurring is better as it still retains the feel that the dogs are in the house on their beds. They've got that cosy look.... Keeping the blurred effect is there a way to "rub out" the black speaker beside the alert dog's face? I really must get myself photoshop...

Hi All, I took this photo of some friends' Labs and would really love to enlarge and frame it for them. Is there any way to make the background more neutral but still have it look relatively "unworked" when it is enlarged? Any advice gratefully received! Cheers Kirsty

I think this technique works on the basis of "hotspotting" which basically means that dogs will avoid an area where they have had a sufficiently bad experience. People who use e-collars for retriever training use the hotspotting technique to get dogs to avoid taking certain routes out or back on a retrieve. Loudly scolding or verbally and physically abusing a piece of furniture is probably just enough to make the dog think it better steer clear of that area.

How old's the pup?

Ha! Ha! I run the same risk I'm afraid. In Retrieving Trials dogs aren't permitted to wear a collar either - its habit to work the dog "nude" and I'm used to taking it all off and handing it to the steward

I agree completely. In fact, unless the dog is being worked on lead I would like to see the collar removed completely at any level of obedience competition. It is a training aid which I have seen utilised in between exercises without penalty from the judge. Can anyone provide an explanation for why the collar is left on the dog for off lead work?

I agree with Wayne here. I think pack drive is largely either inherent in a pup or it isn't. I'm not sure if there are many ways to actually build pack drive in pups. I have seen pups who have had very little "bonding" time with people have very high pack drive and other pups that have heaps of work put into them that have very little pack drive. I think pack drive is directly related to the biddability or trainability or a pup and that's definitely what I'm looking for! Lablover, I hope everything works out with Pepper!

Hi there, I would definitely consider a Sheltie - I have taken two of them through to CDX titles with no worries at all - but they shed ALOT of hair. I didn't have temperament problems with mine but, like any breed, you need to get stock from the right bloodline. If I was buying myself a small breed right now it would be a Toy Poodle for sure. I think they've got it all - non-shed coat, intelligence, trainability and high drive. Happy choosing!

Hi there, To me, 5 - 7 times a day seems too much. I'd cut it back to once or twice a day. I'm not familiar with training dogs for bite work but have successfully built retrieve drive in young dogs with apparently low prey/retrieve drive. You want your pup to think about the tug toy or whatever as the highlight of his day. You can increase the value of the object by limiting access. Also, I wouldn't panic about a 5 month old displaying limited drive. My young dog looked like a bag of poo (no retrieve drive) until he turned 6 or 7 months old. Now he's a crazy retriever!

In terms of drives I would choose high pack drive over hunt/prey drive any day. I have found that it is easy to build hunt/prey/food drives but almost impossible to build pack drive. Dogs with very low pack drive are difficult to train even if they are desperate to get a tug toy, bird, or food. And besides that, its no fun being around a dog that doesn't give two hoots about you!

Hi, Do you label Ness as low drive in agility because she is slower than you woud like?

Hi there, We use the term "perving" in detector dogs as well! For us it means that the dog investigates smells or scents for the sake of their own interest rather than engaging in the search as directed. A dog might perve on a bag because it has food or other dog smells on it. To me, there are a few reasons why a dog may engage in mis-directed investigation of its environment, all of them result in a loss of focussed hunt drive; 1) Unrealistic expectation that the novice dog generalises trained behaviours to new environment 2) No consequence for disobedience 3) Reward not of high enough value to keep dog focussed on correct outcome 4) If dog regularly "marks" areas it has investigated then micturition drive may actually be higher than hunt drive. I know that some working dog trainers assess potential recruits' drive to mark territory and they will drop dogs if the drive is too high. What type of training are you engaging in with this dog in public environments? Is it just obedience work at this stage? If so, I would concentrate on rewards for correct behaviour and consequences for disobedience and loss of focus. You can taylor the consequence to the temperament of your dog. Take a few steps back and build a strong foundation on lead in testing environments before moving to off lead work where it is more difficult to get a well timed correction in. Good luck!

The Working Gundog Club on NSW in conjunction with the Newcastle All Breeds Dog Training Club is holding a Gundog Retrieving - Beginners Information Day Where: Hillsborough Park When: Sunday 7 Oct 2007 starting at 12:30 Cost: $3 We will be having demonstrations, activities and advice about Retrieving trials and Gundog working tests. Gundog equipment (dummies) will also be for sale. What to Bring: Please bring a retrieving toy your dog likes - not a dumbell and preferably not a ball. You will also need a way to restrain your dog when not working - either a lead and stake or a crate - and a chair for yourself. Oh, and dont forget your dog. For more info please contact Colleen Davis on 0411026990 or 0249677781. Helpers and participants all welcome.

Hi there, Dogs are pretty bright. They soon learn who knows what they're doing and hence who to listen to. I don't think there's much chance of your OH stuffing up your training. The most likely outcome is as you have described... dogs listen to you and ignore OH. This has been the case with all my dogs and my OHs (BTW I've had way more dogs than OHs! :rolleyes: ) My CDX dogs wouldn't even sit when asked by my partner because they assumed he had no idea what he was on about! If your partner isn't interested in listening to your advice on training and he's not doing any actual harm to the dogs then let him carry on. He'll give up eventually and either take your advice or start trick training as someone has already suggested. Its definitely a bit of a balancing act to keep a man happy and feeling like he's making a valuable contribution as well as maintaining the parameters you've put in place to have well-trained and obedient dogs... Good luck!

Hmmm... I guess we're assuming that in tracking a human scent that the dog would have ongoing exposure to the same odour? In this case, of course a dog's scenting capability won't be reduced by exhaling as he is constantly re-exposed to the scent. What about a detector dog that exhales just as it passes over the top of an odour in a single envelope packed tightly and vertically into a tray with 400 other letters? How will a dog detect an odour if it never inhales it and thus never exposes intranasal cilia to odour molecules? In terms of tracking, how much do people believe panting affects odour detection? What about in a more refined detection environment?

How much exercise does she get?