The Spotted Devil

Good on you and Jovi! It was a good day all around! The NFC are a great idea and it's good to see folk using them. It's a quiet few months for agility anyway with the Nationals looming so good timing :) I'm going to work in an agility trial in SA before the retrieving nationals if I can get the time off....means I will definitely take Zig but he will have a ball.

Nice one Kavik Yay! Love the creative handling on the distance challenge and too much speed is NEVER a bad thing lol.

Woo hoo! Another great weekend of agility trialling. Ziggy had a wonderful day, running lovely tight lines and thus turning the tables on the less experienced Em by beating her times and taking around 3 seconds off his usual times. Zig ended up with 2 Masters Jumping and 2 Masters Agility quallies from 5 runs, coming 1st in his height for all of them. He didn't disgrace himself in the overall placings either. Em had 2 Masters Jumping quallies from 3 runs and she really enjoyed herself, which is pretty much my only goal with her at the moment. Both dogs knocked one (different) bar (my handling fault) in the other very tough Masters Jumping course but otherwise nailed all the really difficult bits. Super proud of both of them and we all had a hoot. A few folk commented on my timely verbals and blind crosses which was pretty cool. I helped with set up on Friday afternoon, arrived at 6.15am on Saturday for set up, provided a quiche, bread, esky and ice sheets, helped change over the rings and even stewarded when it all got a bit much for one of our wonderful helpers. A lazy day beckons for Zig and I although I'm not sure Em agrees...

I fall into this category too. Even the cats are fed separately and removed from where the dogs are eating as they are both piggies and will try to pinch the dog food. I am quite a good observer (my other half not so much which is an interesting comparison) and can pick up very subtle behaviours in my own dogs and others I come across. In the long run this probably means that I nip any unwanted behaviours in the bud in my own home very, very quickly so they don't ever get to the point where we need to have a "show down" if that makes sense. So how much is management and how much is genetics is anyone's guess.

I can highly recommend Dr Moss Siddle at Dandenong Ranges Veterinary Clinic in Mt Dandenong/Olinda. He will give a regular C3 signed off for 3 years (the current labelling actually allows for this) and we have KC and a check up done yearly. My dogs come in contact with a lot of other dogs through training, trialling and boarding and KC is a requirement for club memberships so I am happy to do that annually. There is no doubt stress is a huge factor with KC.

She looks super DD! All healed from that injury by the looks of it! We had our last session of the SG fundamentals course tonight. Going to miss the lessons heaps but plenty to work on. Just thrilled with Em - confidence is up and so are the bars. It's amazing how much this handling system has changed things up for all 3 of us :) I really have fallen in love with agility all over again.

I'm with Jess!

I haven't watched the video Vickie but what you describe sounds completely normal!

It's not something I do or intend to do. Nor have I been told to do it. I take more care of my dog's physical health than my own as it is lol

Agree. Good on you HazyWal and hugs to the lovely Stan and Maddie :) x

DOLer: Aiden2

That is a LOT of commercial treats for a little tummy in my opinion. Keep it simple. Use daily meals for training (cooked chicken for high distraction environments) and give some dry food mixed with raw mince stuffed in Kongs and raw meaty bones to keep him busy. However without being able to see the pup's condition I'd be advising a vet check first.

Never forgotten Jed.

kallistar, you take such a genuine interest in others and I just wanted to say I think it's lovely. You always have words of encouragement and support and come across as a very generous person :) x

Snooza D1000 here x 2. Dally and Springer proof :)

Steph - talk to his breeder about his lines too. I know some Dally boys that look mature at 12 months but I always understood that Zig was from late maturing lines. He looked skinny and lanky for aaaages. He hit 4 and I just went WOW! I swear he continues to look better with age and I'm really not doing anything differently.

The first time the footage captures the dog, it's body language was quite alarming. What was extremely disturbing was how still the child was (and unaware of the dog) when the dog launched at his leg. I wonder if the child was vocalising - not ANY excuse for the dog's behaviour but determining motivation can be educational. I wonder whether the dog had been used for hunting. The cat was simply amazing. Cats are EXTREMELY good at bluffing dogs but his timing was just extraordinary. And the way he just kept chasing the dog!!! Talk about lucky.

Sweetie pie! Have fun!!!

Great minds and all that teeks

Cool - thanks FHRP - was hoping you'd pop your head in! Must have photos and updates please spoilt spaniel lab :D I had fun with Miss Feral tonight….the trialling scene is quiet at the moment (field season) so I've been focussing on agility and, whilst she really enjoys it, it just doesn't seem to satisfy her. So I'm back to working on lining at the moment and I took her somewhere different to train and stretched out the distance…..laid out several piles (1-2 dummies each) in a straight line and then lined her up at an angle so she had to run past 2 piles to get to the 3rd pile. Did it from both angles and she was holding her line so much better by the end. She was still off her nut so I finished off with a heap of hand thrown single marks, leaving her in a sit and walking out - changed up the distances, angles, arc etc and she did pretty well. A beautiful 2.5km walk with both dogs around the local lake and Em couldn't resist a dip - on leash unfortunately for her otherwise she would have been out in the middle chasing down the local birdlife!

Where are you based?

I waited more than 2 years the first time. There were other circumstances that surrounded this decision (timing for finding a rental house and the right breeder with an available pup) but that first loss cut deeply. I selected a VERY different breed and the opposite sex because I was worried about comparing them. When I had my beloved 18 year old Burmese cat put to sleep not long after my aforementioned 17 year old dog the emptiness was unbearable. I was fortunate enough to find a wonderful Burmese kitten available relatively soon after - she was a different colour but I still thought it was too soon to love another so fiercely. I was wrong and I lost her last year after 8 perfect years together. My house has not been empty for a long while - my very different Dally, a Springer, the wonderful kitten's mother and a foster kitten/failure - and I have learnt that there is plenty of room in my heart for them all.

These look pretty good: http://www.beseen4dogs.co.nz Otherwise I have one of these but I can't remember walking Em in it at night: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2809&ParentCat=119

From ABC news: Police say the terrier has been seized and its 57-year-old owner is expected to face legal action.

Ziggy loves, loves, loves his coat! He will nudge it gently if he's cold and I forget to put it on him. Em wears it only when her teeth are literally chattering and she's either curled up in the back of the car in a ball or so focussed on getting back in the icy water for the next retrieve that she barely notices she's wearing it. Jules your girl looks super gorgeous in the red!