Nicole...

Must be a cocker thing... Lomani does the same thing. We have a really short lead and she still tries to do it. It means that she can't lunge so far but if you aren't prepared for it, it can still seem a bit daunting to another dog. I don't know how to fix it, but I am aware she does it and always keep my distance from other dogs when we are at classes, especially if they are dogs I don't know or that I have been warned aren't all that friendly.

Well I didn't think I would contribute here for a while as we aren't trialling yet. But last night we went along to an agility trial to have a look at the sort of courses they were setting for novice and cheer some club mates along. Anyway, they had a fundraiser going which was 36 weave poles in succession. We thought we would have a crack at it and I honestly thought that Lomani would just pull out once she realised she had done more than 12. But she didn't!!!!! She flew through all 36 of them on her first go and in a decent time of 11.17 seconds. :laugh: :rolleyes: It was such a buzz... now I can't wait for her first trial!!!!

Hi Jason, I am by no means an expert as this is only the first dog that I have done agility with, but I just wanted to say that anybody can do agility. I started obedience training with her as a puppy, and used to watch the agility going on thinking that you must have to be an expert to do it. But we decided to give it a go and it has been an amazing experience, definitely something that anybody can do with the right help and dedication! :rolleyes: You'll love it!!!!

I am a big fan of the free shaping method of weaving. That is how we taught Lomani and we are frequently being asked how we taught her and if we can reteach other people's masters level dogs (and we are yet to trial)! I can't remember time frames exactly, but I think we probably spent 1-2 weeks working on just 2 poles, then added the 3rd for a week, then 4 then we added 2 at a time. It would have been a good couple of months before she was consistently doing 12 poles and from that point we worked on slowly increasing speed and distance from the poles. I look at other trainers having to lure their dogs, or hip them through and think how lucky I am that I can send her to weave and work from a distance looking at where we are heading next. I agree with what others have said that you have to make weaving exciting, don't work for it for too long in each session and break it up with games. Be patient, it is well worth it!

We've got all the flash things at our house... our weave poles are garden stakes (the ones made of recycled cardboard or something similar), I got a cheap heavy duty kids tunnel on ebay and we made our own jumps out of electrical conduit pipes and an old motorbike tyre for a tyre jump. I don't think you need the flash stuff, so long as what you have is safe eg jumps that fall off when knocked. We frequently get comments on how great Lomani's weaves are and that is all from the work she does at home with the garden stakes so I don't think it affects training... just make sure the colours are similar to what they will use at club.

We used to have the same problems and these approaches all worked a treat for us. I think the most important one was spending nice time in the car, we even fed her in there for a week or so to establish a positive "relationship" with the car and saw immediate changes. Lomani has gone from a dog that used to run and hide when she realised we were going in the car, to one that spins in circles and sits at the front door in anticipation when we tell her we're going in the car. The other thing we found that helped was keeping up the airflow with a window open or cranking the air con to freezing (take a jumper for yourself!). Persist with it and you will be amazed!

Heidii - there is an agility games trial on April 4 and an agility/jumpers trial on April 25 at the Gold Coast Dog Obedience Training Club at Southport. You can perhaps pop in there for a sticky beak...

We had the same thing with Lomani shortly before Christmas. Started as an occasional cough then got a bit more frequent over the first 2 days. Took her to the vet thinking she had something in her throat (as the first cough happened with a meal), but he diagnosed KC (no sign of anything stuck in her throat and her tonsils were inflamed). He said the incubation period on it was between 5 and 20 days (which had us puzzled as she had had exposure to other dogs only at 22 days prior and 3 days prior so no idea how she got it).

I go to the Gold Coast Dog Obedience Training Club at Southport on Monday nights - their website is http://www.goldcoastdogobedience.com Their foundation class has already started for the year so you would have to see if you can join in or you may need to wait a bit for the next round. I also go to the International Dog School at Benowa on Saturday mornings. They don't have a website but I can PM you a phone number if you are interested. Just let me know. There is no foundation this month, which makes me think a new course may start in March so you could try to get in for that one if that works for you. I'm a huge advocate of using free shaping to train weaves. That is how we were taught at International and Lomani's weaves have always been wonderful. We were assessed for classes this year and the one obstacle that kept a few people back was their weaves, whereas that is something we don't have to work on all that much now.

We found the same problem with feeling like we needed to do more than one session a week so we have joined 2 clubs. I like having the 2 as it is nice to have 2 different instructors and therefore 2 different opinions and approaches to things. I also think it's great for us as this is our first time doing agility so I have limited ideas on what to practice at home so a whole week of working on one bit of homework gets a bit boring for both of us. I am such a novice that I definitely can't comment about whether your dog is ready to move up, but the one thing I would say is that perhaps you haven't been moved up as there is a structured program for you to complete. I am also on the GC and know that at both of my clubs we did a foundation course that ran for 8 weeks. In that time we got exposed to more different equipment and techniques, so perhaps they are holding you back as there is more to do as the class progresses. We had almost finished one foundation course when we joined the second club but still had to do the foundation course there. This didn't bother me though as I think agility is definitely one area where you need a good solid grounding in the basics before you rush on to more advanced things. Which club are you going to Heidii? I go to Gold Coast on a Monday night and International on a Sat morning and can thoroughly recommend both of them!

I have one of those velour sort of clothes brushes. I used it on the couch in desperation the other week and was amazed at how well it worked. Aside from that I'd go for the packing tape around your hand version that someone else recommended... cheap and effective.

We had exactly the same problems with our cocker when she was a bub, but I am happy to say that at 19 months, she is an absolute delight that we have no dramas with... there is light at the end of the tunnel!!!!!! I have a couple of pieces of advice for you... Firstly, cockers need to know who is the boss. I think they have a good understanding of just how adorable they are and as such tend to run with it. Make sure that Casper knows you are the boss. All of the usual hierachy things are important, pretend to eat their food and give them what is left over, don't let them up on the couch or bed, make them wait while you walk through doorways first, etc. These things should all follow over into you getting more respect and more response to your corrections. My little bugger used to grab me by the trouser leg and pull/growl if I dared tell her off initially, but making those sorts of changes stopped her in her tracks. As for the biting, we used the yelp approach. Cockers are a very mouthy breed. Their job is to go and retrieve the bird you just shot down and bring it back to you unharmed. Your yelping helps them to realise what amount of pressure is painful and learn to mouth softly. My dog greets me everyday with a big mouthing up and down my arms, you don't feel a single tooth in the process she is so soft... different story as a pup though! As a pup, if she bit too hard I would say ouch quite loud (my husband's voice was too low for this to work so he had to yelp like a puppy would). If she continued to bite hard immediately after, the second time we would yelp and then remove our hand, cross arms and look away from her or get up and move away. Don't underestimate the power of your attention. Cockers are very people motivated and once they realise that biting you takes your attention away, they soon realise it's not a good thing to do. We had read this in a book to do to stop dogs from jumping up on people and didn't see how it would work. Then we were at my parents house and Lomani was playing with their corgi. She got a bit too boisterous and his reaction was the same. He stayed sitting next to her but looked away from her and her behaviour immediately quietened and was much more sedate when he gave her his attention back and they resumed play. Come join us in the cocker sub forum... sometimes it helps to talk to people who understand this crazy breed!

I got mine on ebay, I can't remember the brand name (it's something like noz2noz) but I remember that you could only find it by searching for sof krate (not soft crate). They were cheaper than a lot of them and mine is really sturdy. Best part is that you can remove the fabric from the frame and throw it in the washing machine. :rolleyes:

I've not seen the different brands available so can't comment, but just something to keep in mind is that some dogs don't like the feel of them... I just got one for Lomani and she won't stand, sit or lie on it! It feels kind of squishy under her feet so she won't go near it. It's serving an excellent purpose of cooling my feet now.... will look at getting her a cool coat me thinks.

I totally agree with everything said so far. Our cocker is home alone all day while my husband and I both work. She sleeps the vast majority of the time we are gone and honestly seems to enjoy the routine of it all. If we are home on the weekends and doing lots around the place, she feels the need to follow us around and you can tell she just wants to sleep... then she'll start dropping hints to get us to leave, and you've never seen a happier look than when we do get ready to go out, so we are confident that she is happy with this situation. The main thing we find with Lomani is that we need to use up her mental energy. If we don't have the time for a walk, we have always done 10 minutes of obedience (and now agility) training. This is just as effective as a long walk in satisfying her, helps to consolidate her learning and stops any destructive behaviour. She has excelled at her training which I am sure is due to this so I can't recommend short training sessions highly enough. You have chosen an excellent breed to add to your family... life will never be the same again

I'll be thinking of you and your little guy all night, sending all the prayers and healing vibes I can muster. I can't imagine what you must be going through.

Welcome to the sunny Gold Coast!!!! I do agility at 2 great clubs. Monday nights is agility at the Gold Coast Dog Obedience Club which is at Southport http://www.goldcoastdogobedience.com/ And Saturday mornings I go to International Dog School which is at Benowa. They don't have a website but if you google them you should find a contact number. Or feel free to PM me for more info. I couldn't recommend both schools more highly. Unfortunately both schools are on break until the start of February though... Withdrawal time!!!!!

If you search OT for ankle braces you'll see a long rambling response from me just a week or so ago that I don't have the time to retype. Hope it helps you though!!!!!!

My cocker loves swimming in areas where she can put herself in and out - beach (doesn't like big waves though), rivers, creeks, etc. And she will also chase the hose or splashes of water if given the chance. But if you put her in the bath (whether we use the basin or the bath) or in the pool, she absolutely hates it. I think it's just that she likes to be in control of the water situation, not submerged in it. So perhaps your pup is the same!

Yelping and withdrawing your hand works well with younger puppies so I presume it would work for an older pup. I would continue to play and if she bites hard again repeat, after the second or third time I'd cross my arms and look away or stand up and ignore her for 30 seconds or so. When she is offering you a good behaviour, then return to the game. You'll be amazed at how valuable your attention is to her and how she will soon work out that biting takes it away!

It might be worthwhile taking him to see an animal physio that uses hydrotherapy so that they can teach you what to do and devise a program. If you say from the outset that that is what you are there for, then they should understand that and not expect you to come back repeatedly.

I'm not sure about Brisbane but we attend 2 great schools on the Gold Coast - International at Benowa and Gold Coast Dog Obedience Club at Southport. I couldn't recommend them more highly!!! I know you asked for Brisbane, but thought I'd chime in with our good ones down here just in case

If you do a search for car sickness you should find lots and lots of topics regarding this. The basics that I've found work well are: -avoid feeding for a few hours before you go -use air con/window down so plenty of fresh air -have play sessions and feeding times in the car while stationary at home - gradually increase how long you spend in there, close the doors etc over time so they build up lots of good car experiences -ginger tablets -restraining with crate or harness/seatbelt attachment so that they can't run around the car and get more anxious -driving carefully especially around corners - the more driving where you can feel yourself having to correct your position to stay upright, the more likely to spew

Has anyone had any experiences with the 2 vet/chiros that currently work with Rowan Kilmartin at Ormeau? I rang up to get Lomani in but the only time I don't work, he is out doing horses, and if I want a Saturday appointment that is months away. I'm only wanting her to have a bit of a chiro check up, not for any particular problems so it can wait, but it's hard to commit to anything on Saturdays at this time of year when there is so much coming up. My other option is the other chiros there but Rowan is the only one that I've heard good recommendations about.

We did a fair bit of obedience with Lomani before switching to agility, but never got to trial level so I haven't got a lot of advice. The main thing I wanted to butt in with is that we had the same problem with Lomani to begin with, in that she was looking at us too much and would walk into obstacles! I don't know what the name of the method is, but we were taught to teach new things by rewarding when she offered the right behaviour. For example, with the weaves we set up the 2 poles and she'd sit there staring at me. When she looked at the poles, we treated, then when she walked towards them, we treated etc until we got her doing more and more poes to perfection. This worked really well and now she looks at me intently while we're training, but if I give a command she knows to look for the item I've said. Hope that helps! Rosie - you definitely need some obedience groundwork to succeed at agility, especially things like stay/wait and the correct level of obedience/maturity for them not to run off on you helps too LOL. We made sure that when we were doing obedience we weren't totally rigid though. We did some work on the right side as well as the left, taught touches early on, and taught her to work from a distance which meant that we didn't have too many problems in the conversion over to agility. I guess it's all about a happy medium.