laffi

Yes I shaped it too, I know it can be done. I just don't think it's as easy as the multiple touches so I decided to stick to these. I totally agree.

I think it's much harder to teach the dog to hold the nose on a target for a long time as opposed to keep on touching the target. When you clicker train this you are more likely get more touches rather than longer ones when you are shaping it.

Yes, this is also what Susan Garrett teaches. It's a very clear criteria for the dog I think.

I audited the NSW box work and intermediate sessions. It was AMAZING ! Just remember to practice your circle work

I have used quite a lot different products and I would say Malaseb (diluted) works the best by miles.

oh, ok...what's the difference??? I thought BARF was raw food??? Well BARF is raw but not all raw is BARF. Raw can be just raw meaty bones, or prey model diet etc etc BARF requires much more work than for example prey model diet.

Yes, you do have to hold something in your hand when you click. I have a wrist band and my clicker is on my wrist so I don't have to hold it all the time. You only use the clicker during the learning stage. Once the dog knows the behavior you put a cue on it and don't click anymore. I don't know what you mean by 'two different situations'. Once the dog knows a behavior like heel they should know it in all the situations.

I cook some diced carrots & either peas ,beans or brocolli in the microwave for a few minutes How about raw meaty bones and meet, what are you feeding? before I started switching to the barf diet I was feeding him supercoat dry & my dog can & vegies he will not touch bones --- I know strange dog , which is one of the reasons I want him on the barf barf diet as it has bones in it what meat/bones are you feeding? they could be too rich or too fatty (like marrow bones or lamb flaps)

I cook some diced carrots & either peas ,beans or brocolli in the microwave for a few minutes How about raw meaty bones and meet, what are you feeding?

Sorry I still don't understand why can't you clicker train a gun dog even if you want to do field/retrieving trials in the future. I have a 2yo golden retriever. We compete in agility and I mainly use clicker training for that. We also started training for CD and I also do it using clicker training mostly. I am also looking into starting to train for field trials and am also going to use the clicker.

No. But thanks for the suggestion. Do you prefer a raw diet because it'd be closer to the dog's original diet? I prefer it because it's more healthy. I have not found a lot of dry foods that contain a sufficient amount of meat. Most of them are full of grains that are just fillers (dogs can't digest them very well).

The ingredients look pretty bad (I would never feed this to my dog). Have you tried raw diet?

Just to clarify, Artemis is not an australian company. They are american. They do make great good though

I would NEVER send my dog for training. I believe training is building a relationship with your dog and no one can do it for you. If I were you I would list clearly all the issues you have and work on them one by one. Try to find a local club and a trainer you can work with. If you do want a personal trainer or animal behaviorist, please ask here for recommendations as there is a lot of terrible ones out there. It sounds to me like you have a very active, young and bored border collie. Without training these working breed dogs will become a nuisance.

Thank you so much corvus! That sounds fantastic I will be more than happy to show you some frisbee. My aussie was a natural so it didn't take long. However my golden isn't as fast and doesn't have as much drive, so teaching her was/is much harder. I also have a great 'how to teach frisbee' DVD. Let me know if you want to borrow it

It's actually not too bad. I would like it to be more like half of that but it's not too bad.

Cal Nat is still very good but its expensive and I now have to start watching what I spend. The basic SC lines are full of fillers yes (and I wouldn't touch it) but if you look at the link, the special care lines are made without fillers for sensitive stomachs. They must be a new line? That is why I want to get some asap while I have Cal Nat left so I can switch her over slowly If she doesn't do well then I will go back to CN. It does look pretty good looking at the ingredients although I don't like how salt is so high on the list (#5).

I am willing to drive to a nice place so it doesn't necessary have to be the Shire

how unlucky That's right

OK, I decided I want to enter ET this year What are the good places in Sydney where you can bike with your dog without getting arrested ?

I think it's a goldie thing. My golden retriever loves the smallest dogs :rolleyes: We have a chi in our agility club and Laffi (my golden) adores him.

Yes, he's panting more in the crate, although he has been fine the past two nights since I first wrote this post. I am wondering if he was distressed being in there because over the weekend we were in the country and he slept in his crate outside - we didn't hear him until too late and he'd gone to the toilet in his crate, the poor thing. We were horrifed that we'd let that happen but it did so I guess we learned the hard way.Do you think he would 'forget' that he'd pooped in there eventually, thus the panting is subsiding. (all that said, when he came out for toilet in the night on the same night he was panting he drank GALLONS of water). thanks everyone I don't think he is lying in his crate at night thinking about this tragic night in the country. However it is possible that he is less comfortable in his crate and a little more stressed. I would do a little more crate training with him (giving him heaps of treats for being in the crate etc). Btw drinking a lot of water can also be a sign of illness. I don't think we can determine here if he is sick and that's why he pants and drinks a lot. Or if he is stressed, pants and therefore gets thirsty.

Panting can be a sign of distress or pain . Please keep an eye on him.

:rolleyes: