yogibear

I have tried to organise a few days like this where people get together to swap ideas help with distractions and generally have a bit of fun Years ago a few of us used to go to a aclub together and we would all go in the ring at once it was a lot of fun someone could be sending their dog to the box at the same time as someone doing a retrive over the high jump and another doing a recall across the ring we would do scent discrim with two sets of articles and two dogs things like that it was fun we chatted and called out to each other to watch out laughed and swapped ideas God i miss that bunch yb

I dont trian at clubs anymore i guess i out grew them lol. We were having a discussion similar to this the other day about the amount of pressure poepl put on pups its like the they ae sponges comment has gone haywire and people are forgetting to let them be pups and let them have lots of fun doing it. One person i spoke to recently was complaining of their dogs temprement saying he just isnt interested in obedience he is 1 and all the time he was watching me play with a atuggy with my pup and looked desperate for a game funny i have never seen this guy play with his dog talk about serious yb

It was at kc park no it was herding but it listened to her when asked to stop and get back well it listened better than some of the others that were at a higher level mind you as i said i could be all wrong just the dogs i saw didnt work neatly like the one on vickies video they tended to run a lot for the inexperienced being me it looked like dogs chasing sheep im comparing this to vickies video though which is what i would have thought it should look like yb

Hi lablover i too would have thought the dog would benefit from training away from the distraction on the main stop and recall then built up to working and coming away from sheep shows what i know lol yb

Hi Loove the video very nice work i went to my first herding trial ankc one that is and thought most of the dogs seemed out of control rushing the shep splitting themup they had a ball but it wasnt what i expected the one dog i saw and i did not see al the dogs but the one that i thought was really good and clever was a dog that had extensive background in obedience and really listened to her handler is it different when introducing dogs that may not have all the right instincts to sheep or is it done the same way yb

So you cant get any of your money back yb

vca is open to herding breeds and associate herding dogs which i think are associaes that have herding breeds in them yb

Nah i met Paul years ago through a friend have always joked about comeing to one of his workshops with a whippet but now i have a sheltie real herding breed :D i would like to give herding a go and would love to do some work with Paul as i trust his judgement yb

Siimilar to paul mcphails weekends then yb

i would be interested in something like that yb

Yeah i know what you mean about the stickers fingers crossed you go up in the next few weeks then yb

Hi I was given a coloured sticker when i joined so you would assume they only had to look at it to see what class the person should be in. The members comp is a little bit away yet so maybe it will be sorted by then you you could have gone up a class too.. I agree though i dont do stays with suspicious dogs when they are all going to be off lead yb

Hi Dogdayz Maybe it was simply because of the shortage of instructors sunday i know most were away so it could be dealt with before next class yb

hi i meant to add im surproised the instructor didnt intervene i had a phone conversation with him and he was very up on how aggression should be handled so i wonder why he didnt get involved yb

hi guys I saw the incident too i would write to the committee and let them know your concerns i was in the next class and believe was keeping one eye on the dog in case it came my way yb

Hi Abbey Glad to help yup start with a closed hand and dont add the cue till she is touching your hand when you hold it out in a few different spots the idea is you want her to reach for the hand that shows she has put the touching as the way to get the click ok and remeber to charge the clicker first ok have a look at the links i gave you for a good starting point and if you get stuck just yell. yb

Hi abbey Are you able to get to kcc park i will be there around ten o clock tomorrow with a friend we are doing some work on dealing with stressy dogs we will be using targetting and clicker will be around for about an hour. I could show you what i am talking about. Im also there most Sunday mornings at present yb

Hi Abbey actually you use the clicker to shape the target ok they work well together and for your heeling a taget may be the solution Dogs like to see where they are going i wouldnt fret too much if he isnt looking at your face many dogs that get high scores dont Last week i spent some time working on a similar issue with a friends dog who tend to look ahead instead of up at hre face we used a target stick a wodden spoon and started with getting her dog to follow the target then we asked for the behaviour with the dog in heel just for the first few strides using the touch cue and keeping it just up above her dogs head worked a treat as it is easier for the dog to focus on touching the stick than looking in your eyes yb

Forgot to add with the closed hand dont have food in it the idea is they get a reward for touching the hand try not to use food to motivate the dog to offer the behaviour that is where a lot of people come unstuck sometimes a lure is easier but if you us it get the food out of the hand quickly this is why targetting is sog ood you can use the target to position the dog rather than luring the dog http://www.k9events.com/clicker4.html here are some well writtien articles

Hi Abby Its a pity your club doesnt go on to trial work as it is very beneficial to have someone who has been there help you get started. Targetting is basicaly getting the dog to touch a target which cn be the end of a wodden spoon a target stick or your hand . I start with my closed hand and hold it out close to my dogs nose they are curious and will usually sniff it so you can click and treat for the sniff once you have your dog nosing your hand when you hold it out start moving it to different places close to the dog and click and treat for a touch you can then build up the lenngth of time they hold their nose there and add a cue i use touch. Once they get the idea you can have them follow the target change the target easily to something else or even start sending them to touch a target it can be a lot of fun . the eye contact game is also good for attenttion I start in the lounge sitting down with some treats and a clicker at first depending on the dog i would make sounds until they look up at my face and then click and treat some dogs like to stare at the food in your lap hoping to levitate it into their mouths you can try holding a piece of food up to your face or eating a piece remeber as soon as he looks up at you click and treat. this is good for your timing hope this helps im hopeless at explaining things via words if i get time i will make a couple of short video clips demonstarting both exercises for you and you can have a look at them yb

hi abbie they have little frog clicker keyrings in the 2 dollar shop in langwarrin Some pet stores do have them too. Dpes your dog know how to touch a target id start with that before trying the box game. Does your club have any clicker trainers there that can help you get started yb

Hi Nat I think so its easier to get the hang of clicker training when you can see the dogs progress. yb

Hi guys Free shaping like 101 things to do with a box is a lot of fun but can also be very stressfull for some dogs personally i prefer to begin with teaching dogs to target your hand or a stick i use a wooden spoon get them touching it with their nose then build on getting them to follow it its simple and both dog and handler pick it up quickly it teaches the dog that by trying he will succeed and its clear what you want whereas 101 things to do with a box isnt clear there is a lot of guess work going on and if the rate of reinforcement isnt high enough it can be confusing and frustrating for the dog and handler especially if the dog is a crossover and has never learned that by trying things it can gain reinforcement. yb

Hi guys I would reccomend going to Ginas intro to Clicker workshop there you will get a good basic understanding in a hands on enviroment with a very experienced trainer. there are a lot of people out there using a lot of variations to the method and sometimes things dont always go the way books say they should. Getting help from someone who has experience to start off is definately a good way to start.. yb

Hi Helen good for you. I would reccomend Ginas workshops to anyone who can get there it will be a lot of fun and very informative yb