The Spotted Devil

Croydon hasn't yet but there is talk and I think a couple of jumps have been ordered. Vic is behind the other states so it's going to be inevitable. I just use the PVC pipe fittings from Bunnings with the smaller (3/4 inch?) pipes that come in metre lengths - does that help? ETA: The connectors look like this although I can't work out if this is the size I use: http://www.bunnings.com.au/holman-32mm-6m-press-pvc-plain-tees-pvt32_p3142368

Good to hear Leah! Just a note of caution - the weave poles advertised are 500mm gap whilst standard competition poles are 600mm gap - 10 cm will make a huge amount of difference as to how your dog patterns her stride. I have a cheap tunnel and is bloody hopeless - fine for a dog that is trotting through but difficult to pin down and keep stable when a dog is driving through it at speed. I have just made 2 wings for my jumps that cost $22 each using poly pipe and connectors from Bunnings - regular jumps would cost even less obviously. You can buy jump cups from Clean run. If you don't have the $$$ to spend, save for a decent tunnel and make your own cheap jumps. I use upright poles that screw in the ground for weaves (from Clean Run) - not perfect but it does the trick.

Let's be honest. All our breeds have evolved and changed to suit our purposes. You can't select for everything all of the time. There will be extremes in the show ring and extremes in dog sports. In agility and obedience you can title a dog with "passes" but in retrieving trials you have to win to title a dog in Novice and Restricted. It's very, very competitive and it isn't enough that a dog just likes to retrieve. Recently a QND (qualifying Novice dog - 5 finishes) has been introduced to encourage people to stay in the sport and there is a similar proposal going to the National rule change committee for Restricted. In All Age you have to finish 10 trials to earn your AARD - pretty tough when your dog has to pick up 2-3 items of game on each of 3 runs in a specified order and can be DQ'd at any point. You need to win twice to become a Retrieving Champion. An incredibly difficult feat, especially when you are competing against other RetCh. Most breeders of working gun dogs that I know rarely advertise that dogs of their breeding have gained their RRD or AARD. It's only RetCh or FTCH that count. Ten years ago the standard of All Age was equivalent to the current standard in Restricted. Most people like to win so that's also going to add to the selection pressure. The English Springer Spaniel, the Cocker Spaniel and the Welsh Springer Spaniel were originally from the same litter. Now we have split ESS and Cocker lines as well. The ESS used to be a dog that was in the field one day and in the show ring the next so it wasn't unusual to have dual champions. As often happens, people liked different things about the breed and the activities - some didn't like what running in the field did to the ESS coat and stuck with showing. The show ESS has changed - the pendulous ears, the long coat and feathering and excessive skin around the head. The field ESS has also changed - the flashier dogs were winning field trials in the UK so of course that's what was bred. In the US, the field bred ESS is much taller than the UK dogs - because the cover is heavier and it's difficult for a smaller dog to manage. My Dalmatian does pretty well in agility and obedience - he has an amazing temperament and good structure but is of a lighter frame than dogs in the show ring. Perfect for agility and he would be a nice genetic balance for a bitch that was on the coarser side but he's never going to be a Grand Champion in the ring even if I did have the time. Not every dog is capable of doing everything extremely well. Live and let live. Vive le différence!

Oh my CC that's super cute! Did you happen to get video?

I agree that good conformation is essential for a top performance dog. And you shouldn't be breeding on the Limited Register. Then there's the added complexity of the skill of the handler/trainer. But if we talk about the genetic potential of temperament (see the other thread re Nature vs Nurture) we need to consider the genetic potential of working ability. My dogs do pretty well at agility and obedience but the talent my field bred ESS pulls out of her pretty little head in retrieving trials simply blows my mind - you just can't teach some of it. She's not bred for the show ring quite obviously - less coat and feathering, shorter ears, slightly longer than tall (rather than square) - and I'm sure show ESS are considered much more beautiful by many. She struggles to trot when outside the house - either runs flat out or sleeps. But her ability lies in the way she tackles terrain (blackberry is a piece of cake!), her focus to work with me and her desire to retrieve fur and feather that will see her swim 150m through icy water in the middle of winter.

It's not good that he's constantly doing it. It's good that he is offering you a behaviour and trying to earn a reward. Simply start rewarding some other behaviours and only reward the roll over if you have asked for the behaviour. If I gave you a chocolate every time you slammed the door I reckon I could guess what you would start doing. Provided you like chocolate of course!

That's awesome! He's offering a behaviour! My Em was doing that tonight - I was asking her to sit and I moved behind her and asked for "reverse". It's a very funny trick but she started preempting the behaviour. All I did was sit, treat, sit, move behind slightly, treat, sit, move further behind, treat, sit, move further behind, reverse, treat, sit, treat! That's a NORMAL part of learning :)

Put simply, meat is high in phosphorous, low in calcium and bone is high in calcium, low in phosphorous. Correct growth requires the appropriate ratio of Ca:P in the diet - approximately 2:1. Dry food should be balanced already. I prefer to feed RMB that are a nice balance of edible bone and meat eg frozen chicken wings, lamb necks and meaty chicken frames. Unless there is a medical reason (or I'm stuffing a Kong) I would much prefer to feed RMB rather than mince (even if it's minced RMB) - puppies need to learn to chew. Better for teeth and mental activity. Adding calcium to a diet is hit and miss unless you understand what you are already feeding.

For sure Tassie! It's great because the whole idea is to be ahead all the time. The hardest thing is all the verbals - I'm getting better but everyone fell about laughing at my mashed up commands in class tonight. Of course Em still did what I wanted lol - patience of a saint that one! I can't emphasise enough how critical it is to do short training bursts every day. Especially if you're training an older dog that you want to keep trialling.

I have been lead (blindfolded) through the streets by a Guide Dog in training. Not only was it rather nerve wracking but the number of idiots who whistled and tried to distract the dog from it's job was simply incomprehensible.

Wonderful DD! I always had faith in you both :p

It's also about finding a breeder you click with - I had several breeds on my wish list and the Dalmatian was NOT one of them lol. I was recommended to contact a breeder by a work colleague and I was so impressed with their approach and the grilling I got that I then waited 2 years for a Spotty Pup.

Lol - me too!

Goodness I've been slack in this thread - still training lots and think I finally cracked the concept of a double rise combined with a double fall - still needs proofing though. Double rise and 2 bird is a bit easier. Went to 2 days of the Easter trial in Sale and it was very tough cover for such a small dog. Em did ok on the Saturday despite bombing out on the 2nd run. 1st run was a "simple" double memory mark with a lot of dogs not seeing the first mark - made life difficult especially with the wind dragging the scent of the second mark in the dogs' face! Em raced out for the second mark when I sent her but screamed to a halt in expectation of a double fall (damn training!) I let her be and she realised that nothing was coming so took off again and picked it up. The 2nd run was interesting to say the least - there was a lot of scent around as it's duck season and she could not get her nose off the ground! Consequently missed the walk up mark completely. Picked up the short blind (feather) fairly easily but it was a very tight line and angle to the long blind (fur). Ended up running out of whistles due to all the suction (cover and feather) and they tell me she was within 2 metres of the blind but just did not get a whiff. Sunday we bombed on the first run. She watched the 2 marks really well and I lined her up for the long blind (splitting the marks). She took off beautifully but suctioned into the marks. In addition the cover was so heavy that she was struggling to find a way through and thus run a straight line. She was over correcting and it was a tight line so she began to lose confidence with all the stopping. Once the run was finished I did several long hot blinds in the heavy cover - while she did them no problem I could see how difficult it was for her. I was exhausted walking through it! Borrowed a couple of bits of game and ran the blind for the 2nd and 3rd runs which was great training as there was a lot of scent around from the previously thrown marks. Really fun weekend despite getting up at 3.30am to get there in time for vetting on Saturday and put my tent up. I took Zig as well and he had a hoot sprinting flat out at every opportunity. Lots of mud too!

Yes I have a class one night a week (about 12 in the class - we often work in pairs) about an hour from home in addition to my regular agility training night. Em comes to class and I teach Zig myself. Not sure where the next Nats are. Maybe SA?

We have a couple of fellow competitors who also take agility classes - they have flown to QLD twice now to learn the system from SG herself. They are great handlers and great instructors. They made it clear that daily training is essential for this system as there are a fair few new verbals. I've been doing 2-3 short sessions per day. Sounds like you're having fun with Pippa! Nationals this year?

It's funny 'cause it's true lol. It's like they're born with a genetic propensity!

Great to meet you and Bonnie yesterday! I hope you had a great time and enjoyed watching the rings. Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat more - it's always a bit busy!

Thanks Kavik - I feel like I've been "fighting" Zig on tough tunnel call offs lately as he has such a big stride but the new threadle makes so much sense to him - I didn't even have time to say "tunnel, tunnel, tunnel!" or finish the physical cue as he knew exactly what to do. I also like the fact that we keep moving - it borrows a lot from GD but the big difference is that you don't end up flat footed. Great for those of us who can't keep up with our dogs. Still massive room for improvement with all of us - my timing and correct verbals needs more work, Em will only get faster and I suspect Zig will pick up a few more seconds too. Oh, and all this from training at home with 2 jumps (one homemade wing on each) and 1 traffic cone! Em goes to a lesson once a week and I teach Zig the next day.

I use dilute vinegar for a lot of cleaning and I know it works for urine BUT I prefer to use Urine Off. There are a few different brand out there but I think this is the best. Get a black light torch (Urine Off sell them), darken your house and the urine will fluoresce. Don't panic because other things fluoresce also but urine is an obvious pattern. It's not unusual for toileting to regress upon moving house. It's difficult if you are out all day but I would confine him to a hard floor area - I hate the concept of puppy pee pads but maybe it could be an option. When you are home I'd be taking him outside much more regularly. I have an entire male Dally and the smells of previous dogs in the house we bought drove him insane (carpet was revolting) - I let him sniff like crazy, work himself into a lather and then sent him outside to mark his territory. Repeatedly. Until he realised he was still King of his castle. Never had a problem since - even with a bitch in season.

I had the most amazing day of trialling yesterday - pretty much wrote it off as we are only 5 weeks into learning the SG handling system. I was teaching the dogs new commands the day before! Walking the courses is a bit of a challenge and I tried to space the classes out so I didn't have clashes. The folks responsible for the catalogue did an amazing job in that department as well. Ziggy has taken to the new handling system like a duck to water - he's so happy to be getting so much extra information - there were several threadle tunnels in the courses (we'd only ever trained it on a jump!!!) and he nailed all of them. The turn cue is also great for a big striding dog and I actually robbed him of a qually by telling him to turn instead of extend (called a refusal). I swear Zig keeps giving me a look as if to say "couldn't you have handled like this 5 years ago?" Em is a different dog - more confident, faster and she has stopped knocking bars (except when I muck up my handling) - she is still jumping REALLY high but is judging her takeoff as she knows where we are going next. I also tested her contacts in Novice Gamblers (after retraining over the Summer) and she was spot on. Ziggy ended up with 5 quallies from 6 runs: 2 x JDM, 2 x ADM (with a 3rd place!!!) and a Novice Gamblers (4th place). We often just scrape in (or out) for time in JDM but Zig was well under. Em picked up a super JDM pass (she beat Zig!!), missed out on another one as I was too slow and just missed the gamble in Novice Gamblers (distance work out of the tunnel). Handling felt relatively effortless yet I was always ahead of my dogs. Just thrilled to see them so darn happy!!!

2x2 is a great way to teach weaving as it really does emphasise independence. No matter how you are rewarding you are rewarding him for driving through the poles. But the trick is to shape it NOT lure it. The reward value will transfer to the poles eventually but you will always need to reinforce entries, exits and test your criteria and his limitations. I work on running in the opposite direction with Zig to really proof the weaves - very hard but teaches the dog to put his head down and finish his job. Whether you use tug or food vary the delivery. Sometimes on you (great for reinforcement zone), sometimes thrown (by you or someone else - great for drive) and sometimes placed (great for "see? No treats on me!" - handy to have someone pick up the reward if he doesn't meet your criteria - also remote rewarders are awesome for training alone). If my dogs get the reward when they haven't met my criteria just a drooping shoulder from me and a sad "oh well" is enough to make the cheese taste sour. When they succeed I have a huge party with lots of cheering and that is equally as important. If your dog likes to fetch then simply asking him to get it and bring it to you is enough - I do this with Em as her formal retrieve is incredibly reinforcing and reliable. But I make a MUCH bigger deal of it. I love that you are having mad games of tug!!!! What I suggest is that you make those games of 10s duration but ask for a simple behaviour first - set up ONE jump away from training (on low height), do that and have him chase you to tug like crazy. Slowly build up. Tug can be hard because 110% concentration is required. You can't tug and think about something else - people, dogs, food, weather, equipment etc. Simplify, simplify, simplify :) I'm terribly tired after a LONG and successful day of trialling so sing out if anything is incomprehensible or incomplete.

You can absolutely train 2x2 with food - try throwing cheese cubes. If you want to place the food use a bait plate so it's easy to see.

I guess I WANT obstacles to be rewarding. Add in sufficient impulse control and it's magic. You can build up a helluva lot of speed and confidence, especially with the tunnel. And often it's not that the obstacles that are self rewarding it's that the handler is a fraction of a second late with their cue.

For me, it's less about using tug as the ultimate reward at a trial but a lesson for my dogs about choosing the reward I offer them. It spills into agility - take the easy tunnel suck or take the harder back of jump? Em would spit out food to retrieve game to begin with (her ultimate reward) but I need to be able to call her off several types of awesome game and ask her to pick up a dummy in training. Of course you can use food to train agility (I mostly do) but tug is a very handy thing to learn to teach even if you ultimately don't use a lot of it. Freezing cold here trialling today and tug was great to use as part of a warm up - I didn't want Zig chasing down food at top speed until he'd warmed those glutes up.