Reddii

I've decided to get back into obedience with my boy because he just loves it and is really good without too much effort. Of all the clubs this one seems to have the times that suit us best. Is anyone training out there at the moment? What is the club like in terms of training methods/tools they allow? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Any heads up would be appreciated. Cheers. Tony

Hey there, We do two on, two off, just because that's what was taught to do and the dogs seem to both cope with it OK. The one thing I don't like about it is that I can't 're-cue' it. I was watching one of the trainers the other night who has taught her dog to nose touch at the end of the contact and can get him to do it 10 or 12 times and reinforce the behaviour each time. Neither of my two were taught targetting like that so we are working on it at present and will slowly introduce it into our training to try and move to this style of contact. It still seems to be basically 2o 2o, but just a little easier to understand. Cheers. Tony BTW - the new thing with CK is working. Just have to get OH out of bed to come down to the park with the camera one morning. Other than that I might be able to show you Sunday night if you are coming.

Sorry to be harsh, but I don't think you are listening to what a few people have said. I know you are spending the time you have with your dogs, but if you have active young dogs then all the exercise in the world is only going to get them fit and mean that they are going to be able to go for longer and be more destructive because they do so. You perhaps have to think about what you are doing with them. It's great you are playing with your pups, but if you want them to settle and sleep the night through then nothing beats training, training and more training. Don't think it has to be hard core obedience, it can be fun stuff like tricks or agility (OK, a base in obedience helps), or frisbee, what ever, just make them think. Chasing a soccer ball doesn't make them think, it gets them fit and wanting more. Don't get me wrong, I love nothing more than seeing a fit dog, but I work similar hours to what you do (just about to head home now in fact), but I'm out the door and off to flyball, then tomorrow morning we'll be working on freestyle frisbee - Friday night is our only night off some sort of structured training either at home or at a club and even then we will probably do something. It only has to be 10 or 15 minutes per dog, but make sure they are thinking.

oops - don't worry, just got the email from Kerri.

Hey there, When was the exposure so we know when to keep the dogs out of circulation until? Cheers. Tony

The ANKC regulations are here. ANKC Agility Regulations The ADAA rules are here. ADAA rules Basically both rules specify a circumference of about 2500 mm at the exit. Thanks heaps for that. I didn't even think to look in the rules!!!! ;)

I've got the tunnel sorted, just need to do the cloth. I sewed up one (OK, I sewed 6 inches, OH did the rest) and it's a bit tight for the full length, so I thought I should do a bit more research before trying again.

Wow, that's quick.....GREAT STUFF!!

I'm always going on about my dogs upside, well, there is a downside as well....... Last week in the mock agility trial on Wed night Mr CK learned the hard way that just because you can single bound flyball hurdles does not mean you can single bound all hurdles. He went over the first hurdle beautifully, took off for the second hurdle at the start of a sequence and then crashed straight into it on the way back down and slid along on his nose. He pulled up a bit sore on one of his hind legs and really didn't appreciate two days locked in the house just to make sure! Oh well......he's OK and ran really well Saturday a/noon and yesterday, but I"m still not sure agility will be done at anything less than 110%.

I know, so close, yet so far away! One step at a time though - she just seems to take such big steps for such a little dog, I really am spoiled with that one. (gush) I always wanted a chocolate dog, but it just didn't end up that way, that's why I just love watching your 'family'. I may come knocking in 5 or 6 years time!

Great work everyone. Seems to be the time of year when it is all coming together. ML, I still love your dogs - they are beautiful! My brag was Xena's first title leg towards her FDA. She was brilliant, even managing to catch one I threw into the trees on the end of the short field (didn't see it because I had to turn my back thinking she was gonig to hit a tree!). I am so proud of her - 3 months ago for some reason she wouldn't (as opposed to couldn't) catch a frisbee, but has turned it all around and is loving it. Mr CK went pretty well too, but didn't get a lot of help from his handler - he's not as driven to catch as Xena so needs better throws to begin with. Just missed his Quali as well.

Sorry, couldn't help it!!! BTW - AWESOME work at the club comp. I can only dream of having the patience to get my two to that level.

The points from the flyball nationals in Canberra have just gone up and Miss Xena now has her FDCh title after just her second comp!!! It's only a small brag since she is pretty much wind her up and let her go, but it is one that I am very proud of, she's only about 21 months and ran for 3 days with only 1 error!!! Now we just have to get her agility title! AND, not sport related, but.......we were playing frisbee in the park this morning when some other dogs turned up (how rude, it is OUR park after all! :D ) Normally Xena just shuts down totally and we have to leave, but kept going this morning and she was so good. When they came over to her (two largish GSD's) after she had caught the frisbee she would drop it and go and stand 3m away, wait for them to head back to their owner, then pick up the frisbee and come back to me!! WOO HOO! 2 months ago she wouldn't even catch the bloody thing for some reason, let along bring it back if she missed it. Seems she is well and truly back just can't wait for Sunday's Flyng Fidos day!

I can't imagine doing anything except playing flyball at a flyball comp. I think it is a bit rude to ask other people to pay for something if they aren't aware of what is actually going on. I'm not sure what is happening, but it sure sounds strange.

With my limited experience of two dogs under two I've come across an interesting question. I've been thinking about this one a bit in the last couple of weeks as my boy changes from a BC with the attitude of a couch potato into a 16 month old BC puppy. The question has come to be because: My girl who is of unknown parentage (pure working dog, and likely to be pure BC) and has been with us since 6 weeks of age started life very quietly, but was played with constantly if not trained until the age of about 4 months. At 4 months we started her training and continue it now in agility, frisbee, flyball and very limited obedience, by 7 months she was a complete nutter/psycho BC and remains that way at 21 months. Very high drive, but with an off switch that generally works. She's a joy to train because she just wants to work and to please, but will find her own jobs if she isn't given one for a day or so. :p Think of all the behaviours that make people wary of owning BC's and she has many of them - destructive when bored, digs - not because she is bored, but because she sees me digging in the garden and is 'helping' - she digs in the same spots I do, constantly wandering, never stops playing or asking to play. (fortunately she doesn't bark, nip or try to escape). To me she is the best dog in the world, if sometimes a little tiring. My boy on the other hand is from show lines that have an amazing temperament and an on/off switch like you would not believe. Think 100% into the job to off in .5 of a second. He has always been really laid back until you ask him to work and then he sometimes has been excited, but often just gone through the motions because I asked him to. Until recently......There is no doubt he is a much more relaxed dog in general, but I've noticed him begin to do the 'normal' BC things that Xena was doing at six months like rocking on 3 legs, bouncing around/herding when you are playing or running with him, asking to work more when the game is over (only to a point) etc etc. The problem is that at 4 months he cracked an elbow and spent the next 6 months on lead/confined to a small run. While he got a lot of training and attention/grooming in that time he got very little play/excitement so we could protect his sore leg. Once we got him right he was still very laid back and it is only in the last month or so (now 16 moths) that he is beginning to show signs of drive, to the point in the last couple of days where he is rivalling Xena for wanting to work/play. So my question is - if you keep a dog confined/subdued in their ealy development stages like we did, does it inhibit the development of drive or would he have developed this way and on this schedule so to speak any way?

Thanks DD. For us it's a bit hard to train at different grounds every day - I'm agility trialling, not obedience. We are out all the time and get to new places as much as possible, but as for exercises - bit difficult to lug all the stuff around. We do go back over the basics every day at home and then sequence twice a week at training AND I don't accept anything in a trial I wouldn't be happy to accept in training. Agree though that we need to do more work in strange environments - I figure that trialling away from 'home' as much as possible and being prepared to sometimes pick up faults etc as a result of requiring perfection is something I'm going to have to accept if I want to get really good.

SOOOOOOOOO true. Even with my girl who is really focussed and doesn't really care about too much except working I sometimes have troubles. eg: at a new (to her) venue for a trial I have to be really carful or she is a 50/50 chance of running off to explore. It will improve with time I'm told.

Sorry, but this is the exact same problem I have with my boy. (now 16 month BC) He's a really good boy and his focus is improving all the time, but he still has a really puppy brain. It's just been a matter of working with him all the time and really rewarding the good behaviour with either play or food. Funny - the biggest improvement we've seen in him has been in the last month. We took him away to the flyball nationals and I sat for 2 days on the side of the ring with him watching the other dogs. By the end of it he was amost dragging me into the ring he was getting that excited. Ever since he's been super focussed and super keen to work! For me it's just been time, work and patience. If I really want focus in a hurry then his favourite squeaky toy does the trick. Only problem is his focus is on the toy, not on me.

I feed Royal Canin, plus ad in about 1/3 of what ever we win. At the moment it's Advance and Super Coat. Dogs don't seem to have suffered as a result, but since changing to RC their coats have never been better.

There is no such thing as the 'tug harder' method, it's just bad training and prats like this give everyone who does know how to correctly use a correction chain when appropriate a bad name I know there is know such thing as the 'tug harder method', I just put a name to how they told us to train. "If your dog is not responding or continues with the behaviour you need to correct your dog harder". Hence 'tug harder'. I've since learned to use a correction chain FAR more effectively (thanks to my obedience club) and totally agree it is idiots like these guys who give a valid tool a bad name.

Hi Reddii-- It was a boarding kennel on the Gold Coast, unfortunately a rather popular one. I've even seen the brochure at my vet's. This is the first time I have ever come across yank-harder training. Am wondering of it is more wide spread than I thought? Not sure, but I do know that I've gone from a dog that would almost cower when I would return to her on a stay to a dog that trusts me implicitly and will do anything I ask of her as long as she understands what I am asking for. (She would cower because I would only ever leave her and call her back to me, which was fine, but the only time I went back to her was to correct her for breaking a stay or lying down. Bad practice all round really.) I'm not suggesting there is no place for check chains. I still use one for both my dogs on the rare occasion we do obedience work, but definitely don't and don't have to use the tug harder method and would not recommend it to anyone. I haven't heard of anyone else teaching this harshly which is why I wondered.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Just out of curiousity your friend didn't send their dog to a training centre that is also boarding kennels on the Eastern side of Brisbane did they. Sounds very similar to where I (naively) sent one of my dogs. Their mantra was also 'if the dog doesn't do as its told just yank harder'. I've since stopped correction for all but the most hideous of puppy offences to the point where it is VERY rare that my dogs get corrected and as a result have a dog that is working with me, not against me. Big thumbs up to you for working through your problems in that way - I've learned that leadership is just that, leadership, not domination.

I've only recently begun trialling with my girl and so am only doing 2 or 3 runs in a day because they are the only classes I feel we are good enough to run in. That said when she and I are a bit better at this I will use how many runs I think I am capable of doing rather than how many she can do as a yardstick. eg: Last night at training we did 4 different courses (only about 9 elements) 2 or 3 times each, plus some contact work in between and she was still super keen at the end of 1.5 hours. I'm pretty fit, but know that she can out do me any day of the week. Recently in Canberra at the flyball nationals (27/28 deg) Xena did up to about 25 runs on a single day and wanted to know why we were heading home. Over the 3 days I reckon she did about 60 runs (start dog) and her times were the same on Sunday a/noon as on Friday morning. She is a fit high drive dog and I have to pull her up sometimes because if I ask her to do something she will to the best of her ability, no matter how she feels, but I can't see even 10 or 12 x 1 minute runs giving her any grief.

It was really good to be back there for the first time in 12 months!!! I don't think anyone could believe how much Mr CK has grown since his last outing - Damian thought Xena was CK . The guys changed my grip on the frisbee so I had a hard time throwing straight, but changed back to 'my' way for Xena's go and she went really well after she decided not to pick up a cone instead of the disc! (Will be working on getting to throw the 'right' way over the next couple of weeks.) Didn't get to stay for the comp as I had other things on as well, but am really looking forward to the 30th at Fairfield.

Great work everyone. I finally have something GREAT to brag about (well, it's something I've been dreaming of, but wondering if I'd ever really get there.) Xena had her first clear run in Starters Agility last night!!! She was such a good girl - held her stay while I lead out 3 hurdles, watched me perfectly, put up with an ugly rear cross while she went over the A frame (should have been a front cross into it - oops), weved really well and then finished brilliantly. As an added bonus we won the class. I have to apologise to her though, she would have had two if I hadn't stopped a little short on the entry to the tunnel in Starters jumpers - although she was past me and had committed to the tunnel she still saw me stop and turned around to see why. (still a little green - she is only 21 months!) We had to settle for second in this one, beaten by a clear run. All in all GREAT night and I can't wait for next weekends comp. Cheers. Tony