The Spotted Devil

The Springer Devil won Restricted today for her RRD title :) She did some nice work for 170 points. No AA tomorrow so we'll be running non competing. A wine or two tonight methinks :D

That is freaking awesome!

My working Springer is much the same - has endless energy for shaping, agility, obedience etc but retrieving is the only thing that leaves her head in her paws although she does have a super off switch. There's a whole retrieving thread in the training forum when you've got time... the start of it coincided with Em coming home so all her training is in there :)

Re agility check out Susan Garrett - serious competitors generally hold off on weave/jump training for ages but there is bucket loads you can do now. Have fun and look forward to some updates! There are retriever training days in Sydney - I will get back to you with a link. Here you go: http://www.australianworkingretrievercentral.org.au/bb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3167 Have fun!

Ziggy started anticipating the drop after ONE DOR run through - but he is like that :laugh: So I only play the 2 food game with him and he does lovely DOR in the ring. You can also throw the treat over their head behind them to keep them guessing on occasion. I only do one out of four or five food throws - on grass I use cheese cubes broken into quarters.

agree Absolutely Lucky dogs, owner and breeder too!!!

alpha bet - I've often thought "standing tall" was why my Dally gets targeted - just his natural stance. That and the white probably stands out like the proverbial!

I'm hoping the latter :D

He sounds awesome Is he from Vic? I know of a more field type litter that would be 6 months old now. Check out Susan Garrett website/DVDs for lots of self control vs motivation games...they are designed primarily for agility but I use some for my retrieving dog too. Great for crazy youngsters!

I love this game I use it to build motivation for a start - awesome warm up before going in the ring and for training. Perfect for puppies. It teaches the dog not to ferret around for food because as soon as they put their head up you throw another piece of food. As for sits and drops on the run it's brilliant - as the dog turns and comes sprinting back you occasionally throw in a sit/drop. If the dog responds fast enough for your criteria, verbal marker and release to another piece of thrown food. It's about FAST responses NOT duration. If they don't respond quickly enough "ah well", stop the game and then have another go. I never practice proper drop on recalls and my Em can whistle sit at a 100m.

Yeh DD and Elsie That's Congratulations You guys

Hey Tassie! I think you're underestimating him!!!! He is very sensitive to your body/voice (hence why he pulled into you) - I reckon he would nail the LOP and the pinwheel. Although I understand what you mean - I've got to go between a lanky, long striding Dally and a slightly insane buzz box - was learning last week about Em's take off point for LOP - oh my, but it's YEARS earlier than Zig's :laugh: He responded really well to your call out of the tunnel - push him I reckon :p

He looks lovely Tassie! I actually think he has improved quite a bit My 2 cents....I would be doing a lead out pivot on those first 2 jumps (provided it looks as it does on course as it does in the video if you get my meaning). Also he has enough drive for you to send him on independent pinwheels - he doesn't need babysitting and that would give you enough time to get in position. He has lovely forward focus too. Nice work!

Oh wow! GB that's awesome! I have mother and daughter Burmese cats and they are such a wonderful team.

My entire male Dally is an absolute target - 99% of males can't stand him and 100% of the girls (even the grumpy ones) adore him. There can be a fight going on next to him and he'll just be wagging his tail and whining to start training. I've had an Aussie Shep (neutered male) lunge at his throat whilst he was doing prancy, focused heel work. He's the one that will be stood over in group stays. Or flirted with as the case may be :laugh: Even in controlled situations (eg trials) I watch other dogs like a hawk, we do our ring warm ups with room to move and he only gets to free run with bitches. He doesn't stare at other dogs but they all stare at him. I go to quiet ovals for training and pack up when other dogs turn up. He will stand there and let me defend him but if I can't he will. He's a strong, confident lad and will not take any nonsense when cornered.

For what it's worth, Kirst, you (obviously) are very well informed and it sounds to me like you are making the right decision I know that won't make it any easier right now but I hope it will on reflection. My heart goes out to you. You always show an amazing commitment to the animals in your care and Champa (in all his norty moments especially) is yet another example of this. Take care my friend xxx

Very sorry to head this Kirst Champa has been one helluva PITA at times, bless him, but I know how much you love him. No advice but I'm thinking of you xxx

:laugh: Just make sure it's super comfortable and Em will not need much encouragement!

Plenty who would debate that! Including poor Em who had to get me out of a pickle in a trial over the weekend :laugh: The only thing I would say is keep everything light and fun and stop before your dog has had enough :)

Cottage Kennels would be my recommendation for boarding.

That's a shame BB! Some sort of desire to retrieve is great even if they don't deliver to hand. Just a reminder for all attendees to bring lunch and beverages for yourself plus water for your dogs. If you are coming as a raw beginner to work with me please bring a generous amount of small, soft, yummy treats for your dog.....cheese, 4 Legs, cooked/raw chicken, cooked sausage etc etc. Absolutely A grade treats please (and a variety) as it will be a highly distracting environment and we want to set them up for success

I think you will enjoy it :) You may well have some experienced folk running youngsters in Nov/Ex which should make things easier.

Good on you for helping out! I won't be there unfortunately :) Now, it depends which ring you are in - if it's Masters most of the competitors know the drill and should make your life easier although many will be in multiple rings with multiple dogs! If you are in a Novice ring you might need to inform the newbies of the procedure - they are likely to be a bit more flustered/nervous. If someone is in another ring they should come and tell you they may have a clash - mark the catalogue next to their name so you will know they might not be ready when you need them. It's fine to run dogs out of order provided you inform the person recording times etc what number dog is entering the ring. It's really helpful to tell competitors the next 3, 4 or 5 dogs to enter the ring once you have a few dogs in the marshalling area - then we know who we are running after (especially if it's running out of order) and when to start warming up etc. There tends to be many more 500 height dogs so you may have to juggle the running order more for them. If someone is rushing between rings/dogs and getting stressed, please cut them some slack as most of us try to be in the right place at the right time. I will add anything else as I think of it!

Thanks rubyroo! Here's a pic of the girl with her prizes from both days...

Welcome CaseyKay! Great to hear about the NZ trialling scene :) Scout sounds like she's coming along beautifully! We had our first weekend out competing since the Nationals with not a lot of training. On Saturday the first run was a double mark with handler in a gully so we couldn't see our dogs once they went over the ridgeline. Em picked up the 2nd bird down easily and I sent her for the 1st bird down. I'm not sure how she went as I couldn't see her but she took forever! Finally the judge said "call your dog" and kept repeating it. I must have whistled her 15 times It turns out she picked up the bird ok but the wing was covering her eyes. She was trying to find me and nearly ended up at the cars. The wind was strong and swirly and everytime I whistled she would spring, spring, spring trying to pinpoint the sound. Eventually she found me but I don't think we were penalised too badly. In the 2nd run I managed to turn a mark and a blind into a double blind but Em handled really well to pick up what was essentially a long-ish run/swim down a channel. Of course we were severely pinged for handling on a mark but she then pulled off an awesome double rise in the final run to pick up 3rd place! The judge made a special mention of her 3rd run at presentations - she ran it exactly as he would have wished :) It was her first double rise on a trial and I just stood there whilst she did all the work! Today Em was super consistent and came 1st for her efforts :) The first run was a long-ish mark over a small crest and a two bird. She nailed the mark, watched the two bird go up and fetched it up with a bit of hunting but no commands. Top scored this run. The second run was a walk up mark and a blind with lots of things for the handler to remember... leave dog in hide behind fallen tree, fire at blind, reload, call dog, close gun, walk up mark, send, move to pegs, take delivery, send for blind. Em did all this pretty smoothly although she did put her cute Spaniel head over the tree with her paws up - cheeky girl didn't leave the area though! On the blind, I stopped her, called her in a bit, stopped her, cast left back and she got it. Third run was a double mark. Memory mark was across the river and go to bird was in the middle of a paddock with not much for the dogs to get their bearings. She picked up both without a command but had to hunt a bit more on the memory mark. All in all I was very pleased. Work between the pegs, selection and handling were great except where she was let down by her handler. Memory marks have dropped off a bit with the lack of training but they weren't too bad. She had so much fun and wagged enough to power a small country town :D