The Spotted Devil

Speaking of channel swims Headed to Sale last night for the State Champs, set up the tent and enjoyed a pleasant evening of BBQ, drinks and chatter. Em and I drew number 10 so only got to watch the first dog run as it was a hike back to the car. I said I'd be thrilled if I remembered the run and fired the gun no problem. If she picked up a bird I would be ecstatic. She picked up a bird :D Only one, mind you, as we ran out of whistles and got called in but I am so proud of her and have so many positives to take away. Over 40 entries so we were split over 2 runs under 2 judges. For our first run we were given 4 shells - reload at our own discretion....walk up, fire at the blind anywhere between the starting pegs and firing point. Move to the firing point. Fire at the mark (long!) Leave. Send for across water blind. Send for the long mark. Double fall goes up. Leave. Deliver the long mark. Pick up the blind. I was reasonably relaxed and focused and Miss Em was wired up and as high as a kite :laugh: Walk up went smoothly. Fired at the blind and reloaded - the girl was steady as a rock. Bit of handler error here though - should have angled the gun more so she was looking to the left rather than at the expanse of water. Trap for young players! Lined her up for the mark. Watch. Leave. All good. Should have also reloaded here to enable more time to think about the mark. Lined her up for the blind. Swim. Blind. Back! Em ran hard off my leg (yay) hit the water and decided to show me what a lovely channel swim she could do Had to handle a LOT as she was convinced that swimming back to Sale was the key to success. Bat shit crazy dog :laugh: She stopped well (yay), took backs well but really struggled with left overs. I stayed super calm (people in the gallery said my voice didn't change - yay!) and I think that really helped. Finally she was in a position that I could give her a left back and she took off like a bullet straight to the blind on the edge of the water. A really great reward for taking the correct handle (yay). Took a lovely line back to me - no cheating (yay). Delivered beautifully (yay). Lined up for the mark. Nice and focused. Sent her and she took off like a bullet! She was so quick and was much further away than I expected when the double fall went up. I remembered to fire (yay) but Em has never had a double fall in a trial and it was super close. So excited that people were throwing birds at her :laugh: She wanted it bad!!! It was hard work to keep her off it but she took every stop whistle and cast - just didn't hold the cast line long enough (something that has happened before). Finally cast her back and she took off towards the long mark. Pulled up a little short and started drifting towards the blind. Stopped her and the judge tapped me on the shoulder to call her in as we had run out of whistles. Very fair call and we had plenty of opportunity. So many positives to pull out of today and I was super proud of her. She had so much fun and tried her little heart out. The gallery were all cheering for her too :D Had a nice chat with the judge later who said I had a lot to be pleased with and lots of generous comments from others too. I'm still grinning - it's like being back in Novice again :laugh: SO glad I entered. Lost 6 dogs from that run (1st group) and 6 dogs from 2nd run (2nd group). Currently watching 2nd run (1st group) - triple mark and it's confuzzling a good number of very good dogs!!!

The CR folk have suggested a few to try.....might get several just so we can rotate them :D Oh and a lead for Em and a.........

My vet told me the labelling has changed - something about annually or as directed by the vet. You don't need to show a cert at dog events. Just sign the entry form that says they are covered and not unwell.

Maybe your local vet needs to read this. Why don't you simply take your dogs for their core vaccinations every three years? My understanding it that its exactly the same vaccination as given annually. Your vet can't force you to vaccinate your dogs annually. Of course, if you vaccinate for Kennel Cough that's annual anyway. Solves the "annual check up" argument. Exactly what I have done. My vet is great and was happy to be educated :D He uses the regular vaccine and signs off on it as due in 3 years. I told him I will spend more money with the clinic (teeth, bloods etc) if I stay as a client.

And this afternoon was just a simple memory mark and a channel swim to a hot blind, both on game. A couple of handles in water to keep her in the middle of the channel but other than that I was pretty happy :)

Thanks rubyroo - kinda in over our heads. Will be happy to remember the first run and not forget to fire the gun really :laugh: Good work on the water call throughs - I have found "not cheating" one of the toughest things to generalise. Sometimes she's amazing and sometimes she's downright awful!!! Sticking to basics this morning.....set Em up facing me with a pile of 4 dummies behind her to work on left vs right backs. She mucked up the first one but was fine after that so hopefully just a re-visit was what was needed. Pulled out 3 items of game for some "leave" work. Oh my, but this brought her completely undone! It was good, though, as I have been unable to reproduce this lack of impulse control using dummies. I threw one item and she just couldn't concentrate on the next mark which is exactly what happened on Sunday at the trial. I quietly said "oh well" and picked it up. This was enough to get her focussed as she had just missed out on her favourite thing! I threw it again. Leave. Hmmm....not too bad but not her best. Threw the 2nd one. Send for the 2nd one. Reward. I picked up the 1st one. Ran it again and she was absolutely spot on so I let her pick up the first one as well. Ran it again but added a third mark. She nailed that so was allowed to pick up the 2nd, then 1st mark down. Placed one out as a hot blind. Watch the 1st mark. Pick up the blind. Watch the two bird. Leave the two bird. Pick up the 1st mark. Pick up the two bird. Damn but she was so so pleased with herself :D

Thanks ness!

Unfortunately Zig is a 'tearer' of fleece so the braided tugs last about 30 seconds :laugh:

Very fitting! Happy Birthday and Gotcha Day Billy

Love it Tassie! Is it a tough tug??? I need something for Zig that is tough yet has fur somewhere.

I will see if I can get in touch with her - she shows as well and does tracking. Even if we organise another time away from the ring you will still be able to pick the differences. Welshies don't have a show/working split either.

Cos there's a lovely Welshie doing agility in Vic. Less intense than Em (remembering that she is working line) - you should come to a trial one day and see them side by side :)

Personally I think it is possible to create some food guarding issues by constantly interrupting pups when they are eating. If someone kept putting their hand on my plate or near my face when I was eating and threatening to take my food away I'd get pretty growly too. In fact I do when one of my cats tries to pinch something! Remember that growling is a warning and reprimanding a dog for doing so is generally considered one of THE worst ideas ever. My pups and dogs are allowed to eat in peace with no interruption from cats, dogs or humans. Generally they don't eat out of bowls but have their food scattered or in a food toy. They are taught a "give" command (swap toy for food for example) and a highly rewarded "sit". If I really need them to give up their dinner or something in their mouth I ask them to sit or give. They offer the behaviour. I remove the item. They get a reward. If I had a young dog that was resource guarding I would remove the food receptacle completely and scatter dry food in the backyard or feed their entire ration as training - teach them that all good things come from me as opposed to me taking things from them. If you are unsure about what to do I would suggest you seek professional advice - and seek out a recommendation for one on here.

This morning I just did a short session of walking baseball with 3 dummies - pretty good all up - the occasional incorrect cast but stopped and re-cast fine. The main issue was with left vs right backs so will try to tighten that up tomorrow. This afternoon Mr TSD helped with the X marking drill again. Shorter angle in marks were SO much better - she pulled up right on top of them. The last angle back wasn't quite as accurate but she only saw the first half of the arc (trees etc in the way) - judged the depth pretty well but just took a little more time hunting it up - very pleased though. I pulled out a couple of different game items last night as she will be exposed to several novel ones over the next few weeks. I shaped them as per usual and she was super quick to generalise. Today I set up a blind with the small game (she has run the line once before but I did not let her see me place it) and had Mr TSD throw the larger game as a memory mark. She nearly had a nervous breakdown when I said "leave" Took a super line to the blind but then started to get suctioned in to the mark. Stop. Leave. Cast right over and she had a lightbulb moment - took off like a bullet to the blind, hunted up the small game (better than a boring dummy :D) and came flying back. Huge reward and then let her get the memory mark. At least she shouldn't balk at novel game. What a great note to finish on, and so we did.

Thank you Tassie :D It makes my heart sing to think we can train a dog to perform such a complex behaviour with such joy Oh DD! Ain't that always the way!!! My Em did a similar thing at a retrieving trial on Sunday - all this stuff that she can do with her eyes shut was SUCH a struggle for her! OK, so it didn't help that I'd had 3 hours sleep after working a 16 hour day but gee I had to use a lot of whistles :laugh: However, thinking back I have been stretching her on some concepts the last few weeks and I suspect she lost a bit of confidence in herself. Back to basics this week and she is firing like the reliable little feral I know and love :D

He's a sweetie :) Cartrophen is excellent stuff but it is not pain relief. Old dogs can be incredibly stoic and it's things like a difficulty in getting up that can indicate they are in pain. I would chat with the vet about pain relief. If you try it and it makes no difference then so be it. Can you restrict him to a few rooms with access to outside that only have rugs?

Never not funny :laugh: Hope the dog is ok :)

LMAO Mine are good. But not THAT good. Thank DOG

No problem! Look forward to catching up :D Just gotta say, Emmy's got her groove back Keeping to plan, she had another short concept session this afternoon: watch a hand thrown short mark. Leave. Watch Mr TSD throw a longer mark. Pick up the long mark. Pick up the short mark. First long mark was across moderate cover, then short cover, then heavy cover and actually landing in short cover. No problem with the "leave" concept but did over run the long mark. Didn't reward that one nor did I let her pick up the memory mark. Second long mark was a similar set up and she absolutely smashed the cover and judged the depth really, really well. Went to town with the rewards same as this morning and let her pick up the memory mark. Third long mark was similar but was across water instead of the heavy cover. Little devil absolutely nailed it!!! My commands were much better and she nearly exploded with excitement when I said "Swim! Watch!" Smashed through the reeds straight across the water, got out, picked up the dummy and came back nearly as hard. Not even a hint of cheating or hesitation. Very, very pleased and I made sure she knew about it!

I just found this video on our club's website: http://www.cdodc.com.au/agility/ Some fantastic footage of Zig at about 40 seconds in. I know I'm biased but

Croydon does agility, obedience, flyball and Rally O. Website here

You would be welcome to come and watch :) I am entered but really it's for the experience as neither Em or I are ready. It runs over 3 days (Friday to Sunday) and is a "sudden death" type competition. One incorrect or failed retrieve and you're out! There will be some amazing dogs and handlers/trainers there. Once we bomb out I will be stewarding. You would be best to meet us at the Sale greyhound club for vetting in the morning and then join the convoy to the (private) property. If you would like to attend on any of the days send me a PM and I can stay in touch via email/mobile.

Revisiting some basic concepts... Yesterday I had Mr TSD help me with an X marking drill in moderate cover on a hill in the Arboretum - went to the abandoned golf course first but just too many dogs running about with no recall. Angle back marks were spot on but angle in marks were average. Swapped ends and had Mr TSD throw the angle in marks only - so much improvement!!! Left her at home last night and took Zig to agility. I just want her focussed on retrieving for the next few weeks. This morning I placed 3 dummies out as hot blinds in a moderately treed area - let Em watch me do it. Back to the starting peg - hand throw a very close, tempting mark. Leave. Send for blind. I picked up the memory mark on the first one but let her get the memory mark on the next 2 as she picked up all 3 blinds without a whistle. Really focussed on how I rewarded this one - good girl when she picked up the blind, a happy bumper on delivery, then a cheese jackpot when she brought the happy bumper back. Lots of bird life but she payed no interest once she was training.

I have a couple of Snooza D1000 beds. Dalmatian and Springer proof :D

Look forward to seeing you this weekend fetchin'......already a few familiar faces from WA at yesterday's trial. I'm camping at the grounds next door to the Greyhound track so nice and close for morning briefings etc but I will be coming back home during the week as I have a lot on at the moment. Great work rubyroo! Sounds like you are breaking things down and building them up again which is always the best approach. Speaking of which..... Think I "broke" Em last week - pushed her on a couple of concepts and some basics have deteriorated so back to simple stuff this week and building confidence. I worked for the AEC on election day - started at 7.30am and we didn't finish the count until 11.30pm. By the time I made it home, fed and cleaned up after The Zoo and had a very late dinner it was 1am before I got to bed. Up at 4am and drove to Sale (2.5 hours) for vetting at 7.30am. I think I must be completely crazy and everyone else agreed that I definitely am :laugh: Em had a well deserved fun time picking up game but I was rather awful and did her a complete disservice. She probably picked up my half asleep attitude, which didn't help either! First run was a moderate mark and a two bird with duck call. This was a pretty good run for us all things considered - most dogs were sucked in by the duck call, several swapped and a good number tried to. Em took a nice line but overran the mark (a little fresh after a day and a half cooped up) - one whistle and she turned back and hunted it up. The two bird went up and she had a really good look at it but didn't even think about swapping. Slight relocation to pick up the two bird and she coped with that really well. Second run: leave dog in the hide, walk down steep track, fire at the blind, re-load, call the dog, watch the in-water mark, pick up the mark, pick up the blind. She was steady as a rock, lined up for the mark and saw it well. I sent her and she took off through very heavy mud etc on a really nice line, saw the water and decided it would be more fun to cheat like crazy so off she went. I was so, so tired and my reactions were not up to scratch. If I'd stopped her immediately I'd say she would have taken the cast back into the water but I just stood there watching the pretty dog By the time I blew the whistle she was deep in long grass over near the thrower and was making it very difficult for herself. She couldn't see me at all and I was silly enough to try to handle her "blind". I could see her springing and springing and finally she found a little mound to sit on (cute!) and took a cast into the water. Took the same line back to me but particularly chose to run through some heavy cover to get back to me which was pretty funny. You have to laugh at yourself and laugh with your dog at moments like these and that's exactly what I did. Lined her up for the blind and I was pleased with her initial line....much, much improved!!! However, she kept pulling right (not suctioning into the mark) and I couldn't work out why. She would stop and take a cast but then flip right again. I finally engaged my brain, stopped her and just left her sitting for a bit - gave her a chance to concentrate and me an opportunity to read her. Her nose was twitching to the right and I finally realised there must be a very good smell in that direction so I said "leave" and cast her left. Turns out the person laying the blinds had a BAG of birds not a bucket so that was where the lovely smell was coming from. There was a look of understanding on her face and she took a good left over, stopped and sent her back and she ran straight over the top of it. Actually quite happy with that as she did run on instead of pulling right again. Stopped, called her in and stopped her on top of it.....thinking back I should have had her on the other side of the blind so she would pick it up on the breeze. Being tired is not good for brain function!!! Third run: walk up, leave, proceed to firing point, watch the long mark, pick up the long mark, pick up the short mark. We have never done a walk up in a trial but she was absolutely fine with it - I think the basics of steadiness to shot etc are really paying off now. But she really, really had trouble with "leave".....used to be her strong point so back to basics this week. Took a few handles to get her on the long mark and like 95% of the dogs she cheated the tiny pond that was a long way from the firing point. Picked up the short mark without a whistle but it was a bit messy for her. So a lot of handling on marks and cheating saw us cop a fair shellacking points wise and we were nowhere near the placings. However, we finished and she had such a fun time! I watched a bit of All Age but mostly chatted. Drove home but pulled over for a sound snooze session about half way. I really slept well last night!!! In other news, one of the people I train with asked me several weeks ago if I'd entered the Nationals. I laughed and replied "of course not! I'm stewarding!" He wanted to know why on earth not so I said: 1. She's not ready 2. I'm not ready He replied: "what have you got to lose?" I thought about it: 1. Entry fees 2. Couldn't think of anything He pointed out that: 1. It's local so why not? 2. There's no pressure so why not? 3. She's qualified so why not? 4. It's great experience for her so why not? 5. It's great experience for her handler so why not? So after much discussion I put my entries in for the State Champs. And the Nationals The great thing is I completely expect to go out in the first run so ANY item she picks up will be a bonus Obviously once we're out I'll be going on a thrower for the rest of the time.