The Spotted Devil

Heh, heh. I actually get nervous AFTERWARDS. Same as public speaking - a little excited but focussed beforehand, cool and calm during, and hunting around for a stiff single malt afterwards :D

Personally I just concentrate on how much my dog needs ME out there to be calm, relaxed and focussed, remind myself that we are not playing for sheep stations and that the relationship I have with my dog is more important than anything that happens in the ring. Enjoy your dog

How lovely! RP I am not far from Bayswater if they need any help integrating everyone :) Sometimes it's the cats not the dog that need assistance!!!

That actually does make sense, thankyou I'll try it. So thumb sort of on the side of the head and four fingers below jaw? Yes - under the bottom jaw running from the nose end to the throat - you will feel a little groove and you can use it to gently grip. As others say baiting and free stacking tend to look better but I found this was a nice way to manage a super wriggly Dally youngster to begin with. Just thinking about it I wonder if it was my little finger tucked under the neck - I think that makes more sense! Must. Have. Photos.

Smart @r$e sometimes :laugh: When I returned to reward for steadiness in the hide yesterday I noticed that she had cleared a path with her tail wagging that went about an inch deep. Funniest thing rubyroo - you're so right about the concepts!!! Good work on modifying your training session. It's great to have a plan but it's even better to be flexible when things go pear shaped. I'm fitting a lot of life in at the moment - working some nights, some days, study and training! Today I ran Em on a mix of hot, luke warm and cold blinds (game) just for lining and confidence. First was easy across shallow water/heavy cover and second was through heavy, cheaty cover. Both were great although she took quite a tumble on the way to the second one - a serious Evil Kinevil effort that made my heart skip a beat but she just rolled through it and kept running flat out on the same line Third was a short channel swim through a lot of live birds (tough!!!!) and took a few handles going out and the last was across a half run/half swim kind of river-ish bit, on the top of a hill. She was rather feral but we had a lot of fun. The game racked up a lot of frequent flyer points this week so it was time to bid it farewell. Drove to agility training and Em was a bit wet still so warmed her up with a quick game of walking baseball. Both dogs did agility and then on to my puppy games class as demo dogs. Boy did they earn their chicken frames tonight!

I am probably the least experienced showie on this list :laugh: but I seem to remember a session with a show trainer that had the show lead firmly positioned under the throat, my right thumb through the collar part of the show lead leaving the rest of the hand to hold up the head by gently gripping through the middle of the jaw. I don't know if that makes sense or helps at all!

Looking at my floors and my To Do list....something that doesn't shed or need any grooming whatsoever :laugh:

This is perch work which relates to platform work that Tassie mentioned... Keep up the great work paddles - what a lovely dog!!!!

Hi paddles - the first few seconds of each heeling pattern look pretty good I also like his super energy and dose of "crazy" in that first video - while it may feel exhausting they are exactly the dogs I love to have in my class....like I say about my Dally, at least you can channel the crazy INTO something :D I think you might be falling into the age old trap (which all of us do from time to time!) of lumping behaviours together. Heeling is a very complex behaviour and I think that's why dogs switch off quickly because they don't really understand how to earn the reward. I don't think it's inherently boring at all, just more complex than we realise. Try to split heeling into one thing at a time and practice that. You can play stationary "find heel" games to see if he understands what "heel" means. If you want to work on duration, just do circles in both directions - no turns or drops/stands/sits - but you need to build up slowly....2 steps, reward, 5 steps reward, 3 steps reward, 6 steps, reward and so on - he will never know when to expect his reward. Any lack of focus and the game ends - don't pat him to get his attention or put food in front of his face as he is just being rewarded for switching off. I have added a video of Ziggy - at the start I am playing a "catch it!" food game with him to get him engaged. He plays tug really well for agility but it's not really his thing for obedience - burns up all his mental energy in one hit :laugh: Then I did some right turns to practice our collective footwork - so I was concentrating on one thing that we (read ME!!!) were having problems with. Also it teaches Zig to pay attention to the footwork as it may result in a reward! Notice a nice brisk pace for a dog that is comfortable doing a lovely extended trot and he is of a similar build to your dog. I think I was also practicing keeping my shoulders relaxed and my body upright so I wasn't giving Zig confusing signals. I don't use a lead at all anymore with young dogs because 1) It gets tangled 2) I don't have enough hands and 3) I find it is too easy to use the lead to guide - I would rather the dog learn their job independent of me if that makes sense! This is training Em when she was about 6 months old. At the start I am just playing with her, having fun, asking for a sit and releasing to play again. After a few false starts I do a very bit of basic heeling with her - notice how often I'm clicking and treating. I was also dropping a lot of food on the deck :laugh: Later I do a bit of work with Zig but he is such a different dog - not big on the hand to hand combat that Em and I do as a warm up!

Mr TSD had an early day at work so grabbed him on my "lunch break" for a good session on game. Drove to a local tourist spot on the mountain and, fortunately, it was deserted. I set out pegs for Mr TSD so he could throw a double exactly where I wanted him to - saves yelling :laugh: Took the cap gun with me as well and used an agility jump as a gun. Both those additions sent Em through the roof! Tested steadiness first - left her in a hide, walked out, fired the gun, mucked around a lot replacing the cap, walked back to her and rewarded. She bounced all the way to the firing pegs. Watch the short mark (right). Leave. Wait for Mr TSD to get in position. Watch the long mark (left). Get the long mark. Get the short memory mark. Long mark was a bit average - suspect it was all the waiting around at the pegs but it is good experience. Memory mark was really good. Did the same thing again but reversed our positions so Em and I were at the bottom of the slope looking up. Long mark was SO much better - I thought she marked it spot on but she took a little longer to pick it up than I expected. Turns out it landed in heavier cover than planned so it took a bit of hunting out. Memory mark was good. Packed up and drove 150m down the road....set up a rather long cold blind and had Mr TSD all lined up to throw a 2 bird on her way back. Tested for steadiness in the hide first as before. The line to the blind wasn't brilliant to begin with and she's so quick I barely had time to get her heading in the right direction. Whistle sits were a bit sloppy today and I notice her backs are much better than her rights/left.....guess what I've been practicing! Wasn't too bad in the end but I know what I need to tighten up. As she came back, the mark went up and I "shot" at it. She had a very good look, came running back and really, really wanted to deliver whilst sitting at heel as she didn't want to take her eye off it. I asked her to deliver correctly, then lined her up and sent her. It wasn't a tough mark at all - just a concept but it did what I had intended it to do. Back to work now :)

pebbles - I do understand where you're coming from. With working ESS, the size of the dog can depend on the type of cover they're hunted in - so in the USA they prefer a taller dog as the cover is very heavy but where we have shorter, scrubby, prickly cover we might prefer a smaller dog (often longer than it is tall) that covers the ground in a more efficient manner and gets right in where the rabbits are hiding. Some pointers/setters are hunted on horseback - you end up with a very quick dog that ranges a long way from it's handler to flush game. Very different type from a dog who's handler is on foot.

I guess people will breed what they like, what they need and what wins. Conformation aside, even in working lines there can be strong splits in working ability - some are more suited to competition and some are better for doing their job day in, day out (which again differs depending on the job e.g. Labs for guide dogs, assistance dogs, drug detection, retrieving and Kelpies for yard, paddock work). I understand that some field bred ESS in the UK are super flashy workers and are highly competitive in field trials but people don't want them as hunting dogs as they don't have as much "game sense" - that's something you just can't train for but you can certainly select for. I don't mind the splits as long as people acknowledge the dogs for what they are - not everyone wants to live with a little energiser bunny like mine!

Pssssst! I've previously run my own hospitality business and been a musician in the ADF just to mention a few of my jobs.....it's NEVER too late for a change :)

Yes - I got super lucky with lecturers too. Corvus - I am super jealous that you are submitting. Well done!

I'm an animal welfare scientist - special interest in cat behaviour and cat and dog welfare in shelters. I assist with projects involving other species, lecture and tutor a bit as well. On the home stretch of my PhD and then hope to continue academic research and teaching. Travelled interstate and overseas for conferences, teaching and research. It hasn't been the easiest career path but I'm really glad I'm doing it.

No Medicare for a start. The government funds health care, education, child care etc so people have a different perception of how much these things are worth and actually cost. Agree with Oso about the perceptions of the animal industry as well.

fiveplusone - a lot of the general science and animal science degrees are about what you make of them because there are just so many career options. My area of interest is pretty narrow and not very well funded so it was a case of volunteering and building connections with people within the university and outside groups. I guess what I'm saying is that you can do pretty much anything you want Your daughter may well be bored with some of the subjects - it wasn't until 3rd year that I truly loved what I was studying and, soon after, started delivering lectures on my area of interest. Good luck to her and tell her to keep an open mind!

Thanks Scootaloo and everyone else who has done the survey! Please remember that the survey is ONLY for people who feed stray cats

That's just a bike ride with a mad Springer Doing the ET with Ziggy was enough to make me realise why I don't cycle with my dogs on leash usually. It really hurts when the buggers slam you into the ground!!!

I've succumbed and bought a little heater. That's not succumbing. That's forward thinking :D

That's a little too close to home :laugh: Nice find DD!

I considered vet science too (actually started straight out of high scool but didn't enjoy it) but ended up going the animal science route after a few other careers in between. Very pleased I did. It was the right choice for me.

Still cold and drizzly today but we made the most of it. 3 cold blinds on game....not too bad all up and I threw a mark after the first one. I am taking more time to line her - she's coping with that better but I'm still learning to read her. Em thought she knew better than I once or twice but it's always a balance as there was not a hint of popping. I put the 3rd one up on a small log and that confused her a bit so I finished with a hot blind that she watched me place but didn't realise was on an even higher log. She pulled up right in the area, I could see she smelt it but was a bit confused and bolted on when she couldn't find it. Called her in and told her to find it. She kept hunting and then looked up. She had to find a way to scramble up on the log but was certainly rewarded for her efforts. The whole session was on a very steep hill so she worked hard. She was so unimpressed when I did some weaving back at home with Zig that I let her have a session too. A mad gallop up the back and an on leash impatient bounce through the forest to finish her off. Zig gets to run free because he will call off kangaroos. Em's not quite there yet, especially at dusk.

Far be it from me to accuse someone of making no sense after a couple of glasses of wine! It would be a clear case of Pot. Kettle. Black :D

So did he give you the bird literally or figuratively? :laugh: Lucky you having another property to train on!