The Spotted Devil

Apologies for the delay Mrs RB. Miranda is based in Melbourne (as am I) so I can't give you any specific advice about the process in NSW. I would suggest that you post a topic in the Rescue discussion as there are some very knowledgable people in there. Sorry I can't be of more help.

This morning I dragged Mr TSD away from his coffee for long enough to throw some single marks (on game) for Miss E. We used the abandoned golf course as it's heavily treed with small patches of sky as a background....it took some careful planning and lots of explanation to ensure we had a sighted mark but it was worth it. Lots of hard running, good depth perception and efficient hunting....hopefully I don't ruin her marking again!!! I let her carry the last retrieve back to the car - I don't think I have ever seen her trot so calmly!

Mad dogs and retrieving folk train out in the pouring rain... A visit to several ESS aficionados started with a flat tyre (gah!) and finished with a brief but productive training session on game. Did I mention it was pouring with rain :laugh: 3 cold blinds. See how she runs....first one was pretty straightforward - a nice confidence builder straight out and straight back. She hesitated at one point and nearly popped (we've been doing a lot of control work) but quickly realised I wasn't going to help and flew off on the correct line again. The second one was set up to work distance and the line was through contours that helped drive her onwards. Looking back I now realise she was getting a good whiff of the third blind as she veered right twice. Stopped and took left backs cleanly though and picked it up no problem. Third blind was harder - land, down a small hill then a super cheaty pond that she'd never seen before. She pulled to the right and it took a couple of handles to get her in the water but then she was fine. I wasn't overly impressed but I had meant it to be challenging so broke it down a bit. Replaced the game, set her up in a sit facing me and cast her back into the pond. Again she took a bit of convincing. Ran it again and it was heaps better. Ran it one last time, she was spot on and I whooped with delight. She was so pleased with herself - I threw the game as a reward, let her have a good shake and then returned it so she could carry it back to the car. Fortunately the water was reasonably warm despite the miserable conditions so it didn't take much to warm her up. I had a nip of single malt with my back to the fire :D

Mine did this too :/ Thanks for the feedback - did you click on "no" for the first question "Have you fed a stray cat?" - that will automatically take you to the end of the survey as it is ONLY for people who HAVE fed a stray cat. Please let me know if that isn't the issue and I will investigate further! Thanks all Mrs RB - will have a read of your post when I get home!

I'm on my second and third. 3 from 3, I reckon I've done alright :)

OK, so Monday/Tuesday was a complete right off with darn Uni getting in the way! On Wednesday I had a very narrow window between Mr TSD arriving home and getting to work in the evening so it was a mad dash to the same place as Sunday. Ran 2 sets of double marks again but Mr TSD swapped "ends" and I had him throw the opposite way. It was not easy getting a decent angle between the 2 retrieves but we did our best. First go to mark was at a testing angle through a pond - so, so pleased with her effort as the correct line was also a very difficult exit to the dummy but she dragged herself up the bank and through the heavy reeds and came back the same way. Second mark was through heavy cover so it threw her line a bit - when she came out the other side I did stop and cast as I really didn't want her going back to the old fall. Moved sideways so both marks were through the heavy cover. The go to mark was pretty good actually and the memory mark was a great learning curve. She again came out a bit wonky so I stopped and cast her - Mr TSD told me that she actually spied the dummy JUST before I whistled her but she stopped anyway so I was really pleased. She must have smashed through some prickly cover as by the time she got back to me her cute little liver nose was bleeding - we called it a day and the bleeding stopped soon enough. The wagging didn't though :laugh: Thursday I could only manage agility with the dogs so today I struck something off my To Do list and did a series of drills - concentrated on left and right backs up a hill. Started by extending distance Em to the hill and then progressed it to "around the clock". That absolutely blew her mind initially but then she got it and was fine. For the last one I set her up on one side of the water, crossed to the other side and sent her back from there. Amazing how a change to the "picture" can really do their head in - she really wanted to swim across and show me how clever she was at not cheating! Got there eventually and ran a few more similar exercises through cover and over a small creek. Need to revisit today's session but they were much improved. ETA: Forgot to say that the little smart @r$e know-it-all got so super impatient the third time I set her up and walked away that she gave an almighty excited BARK as if to say "hurry up dammit!" I was laughing so hard on the inside but quietly walked back, gave her a NRM and slipped her lead on. She was SO shocked it was hilarious :laugh: I let her stew for a few minutes and then asked if she'd like to "try again". Dead silence for the rest of the training session

I do various dog sports so find myself doing a LOT of brain work with youngsters. And they are super high energy! Best. Exercise. Ever. It does make it awkward to get the older dog's exercise in sometimes but you could do a short walk with both and then drop the younger one home. Plenty of years ahead to look fit and fabulous in the ring - I would substitute some of the walking time and turn it into 3 x 3-5 min training sessions for the show ring. Just my personal opinion though.

This one bypassed puppy school and went straight to University....fortunately we're all animal scientists so a puppy tends to be rather popular in meetings. I have taken my cats in a couple of times for meetings, lectures and just for fun. One of mine thinks it's the most fun that can be had!

Try this: http://companionanimalwelfaresociety.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Select-Committe-Submission-Amended-Final1.pdf ETA: It looks the same as you posted I think?

Thanks for your interest! Hey Tassie - what's another trip? :D WDL - I don't think seminar notes have been discussed but I will make enquiries.

Thank you Vehs

VICTORIAN GUNDOG CLUB INC. ~NUTRITION AND CONDITIONING OF PERFORMANCE DOGS~ ~BUILDING AND MAINTAINING A BLOOD LINE~ A seminar presented by Mary Tatum DVM Brittmore Animal Hospital, Texas Mary Tatum is a veterinarian with a special interest in the reproduction, breeding and health of our performance dogs. Dr Tatum is a breeder of champions in conformation, agility and the field and is a licensed conformation and field trial judge. Thursday 26th September @ 7.30pm Bulla Exhibition Centre, 5 Uniting Lane, Bulla Register by Monday 26th August 2013 with: [email protected] Victorian Gundog Club Members - free Non-members - $20 SEMINAR HOSTED BY THE VICTORIAN GUNDOG CLUB FINAL 2.pdf

Hi everyone I know this is a dog forum but I also know there are some cat lovers amongst you as well. A fellow post-grad student is researching community attitudes to stray cats. Miranda is looking for participants who: Live in Australia; AND Currently feed or have fed in the last 12 months a stray cat This survey is specifically for people who feed stray cats Link to survey here Thanks in advance, Sally Haynes

My Dad likes to tell the story from his jackaroo-ing days of the bloke who called his dog 'Askim'. Apparently it started a few fights at the pub when someone said "what's ya dog's name?"

Looks great Sway! Thanks for including our club's upcoming seminar details

I call my dogs by the wrong names all the time...especially on course. The dogs just shrug their shoulders, get me out of trouble and turn a DQ into a quallly as if to say "meh, she's one of those more difficult to train breeds" :laugh:

Yay! Glad you both enjoyed it! The dog walk needs lots of skill and confidence - slowly, slowly :) I like to teach them to jump off a lowered dog walk - once they know they can (but don't get rewarded or punished) their confidence improves and they concentrate on getting in position at the end for their reward. My lot were on the go from 5pm until 8.30pm and are really tired. Started with agility training, then were my demo dogs for Puppy Games plus a big gallop at the oval

FR raised a good point - make sure your signal is consistent. Maybe even video to check? Seriously, 2 food game is fast, furious and fun. My dogs love drops/sits at warp speed.

2 food game back and forth close to you. Mark, release and throw a treat immediately she drops so she understands it's about response not duration. Most people having problems aren't quick enough to release. Too slow? Ah well try again - keep it super light. I taught drop on recall for Zig and whistle sits for Em - the latter now translates to a distance of 80m away. Sorry for brevity - typing on phone. Also - if you go to my You Tube (in sig) the last video I uploaded has me doing this with Em just at the end. I still train it close in like that and it improves snappy sits at a distance. I use 1/4 cheese cubes on grass.

Great progress! Well done! If they are confined to a smaller space at night (eg cozy crate where they feel safe and are not disturbed) I find night time toilet training goes much more smoothly.

For overnight, I find it easier to sleep pup in a crate next to my bed (no bedside table for a bit!) Pup gets restless, I take her out to toilet and then straight back to bed with no fuss. I have not had a pup wake up more than once overnight and they usually sleep through within a week. During the day I take them out very frequently - if they are doing well I will start to stretch the time between trips outside. Make a mistake? No problem - clean thoroughly with vinegar/water or Urine Off and just get better at seeing "the signs". Some toilet train much faster than others and we get better at training them :) Have fun!

If you want to do agility it's great to have a snappy name that you can vary....for example when the dog has committed to the tunnel I will a) say nothing if the next obstacle is directly in front; b) call "Ziggy" or "Emmy" brightly if the next obstacle is up to a 90 degree angle or c) call "Zig! Zig! Zig!" if the obstacle is at 90-180 degrees. Before the dog has exited the tunnel they know which side you are on AND how hard they need to turn to catch up with you. I rarely say their name on course to save diluting the response....I aim to run with as little talking as possible actually :D

True crazy dog lady story... Yesterday I was driving home from the train station (so excited because I had a good hour of daylight left to go training)....drove past one of my favourite agility training ovals and glanced over to see if it was free or being used for kids sports. To my surprise I saw someone doing agility training. With a set of clip and go jumps. And a real tunnel!!! Barely hesitated, did a U-turn, pulled into the car park, realised I didn't recognise the handler as a competitor, gave her dog a cuddle and proceeded to introduce myself. Turns out they aren't competing in agility yet but are training hard with a couple of clubs and already do DWD. End result? Swapped details and are planning on meeting up tomorrow afternoon....would have been this afternoon but I am working tonight. So much crazy, so lite time :D

Don't let us crazy dog people put you off BR! You'll be joining us on The Dark Side soon enough :laugh:

Tassie, if Zig is like Kirra then I can only say... Dog help us all By the time I get my next youngster he's supposed to be slowing down! He does do "feral" with a lot of style though :laugh: