The Spotted Devil

Hey Rev Jo - was it CO or CO2??? The latter would be unpleasant but the former would be like going to sleep I think?

I'd be content with at least half a dozen :D

When pup gives the cats a big smooch instead of chasing them and they just roll their eyes in collective disgust instead of smacking him down :laugh: Big meaty frames and lamb necks on special get me excited too :D

Thanks LP - she is a blast to train - so much pure instinct but you have to learn to channel it! Quite likely it's Steve Austin. And if so, they're definitely related to Em!

Apparently we had it easy - it was sleeting the weekend before Oh wow - I had the best afternoon playing with my new Bumper Boy For some reason I decided to juggle 3 overexcited dogs/puppy which was quite a handful. Puppy had a great time - had him retrieving dummies from knee deep in water. He is super keen for a baby and spent the rest of the time carrying a toy in his mouth. Ziggy got to swim and fetch toys in his own unique style and Em did the serious work. The BB worked perfectly even after I took it apart and reversed 2 throwers (allowing me to run a double) and programmed it. Memory marks are rusty but all the hot blind and handling work has really paid off. Sent her on a long swim for a blind and she was great. Had to handle twice due to stupid ducks swimming right in front of her and pulling her off line but she took it beautifully. Mr TSD is worried that he's out of a job but I've assured him he's still needed :laugh:

Either way, Xmas Day is cancelled this year, PD. Back to the OP, what breed of dogs are used for the vermin control? I found this Raz--> http://bundaberg.qld.gov.au/news/2012/11/07/combined-effort-protect-regions-turtles Combined effort to protect regions turtles 7 Nov 2012 Bundaberg Regional Council, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS), Gladstone Ports Corporation Bundaberg (GPC) and Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) have joined together on a project for the fight against foxes along the regions coastlines. The joint project is aimed at determining locations of fox dens along the coast from Moore Park Beach to the Pasturage Reserve in Bargara. Environment and Natural Resources Portfolio Spokesperson Cr Danny Rowleson said the innovative approach had been implemented using trained English Springer Spaniels as sniffer dogs to locate the fox dens and hides. “When the dens are located they are then mapped for future treatment and to assist in further coordination between the relevant organisations,” Cr Rowleson said. “Locating fox dens is important for protecting our turtles and marine birds as European Red Foxes predate on turtle eggs and hatchlings during the breeding season and can severely reduce the effectiveness of our conservation efforts.” “This project will provide very useful information to allow Council and QPWS to conduct fox control in a very strategic manner and give our important marine turtle populations a chance to recover.” “Council is looking forward to working jointly with QPWS, GPC Bundaberg and BMRG to protect one of our region’s most precious resources.” *bypasses thread derailment to post dog photo* They're probably related to my Em! Her rellos are known for this sort of work :)

So many good ones! I just spent 4 hours (including travel time) juggling 2 over excited adult dogs (apparently trained) and 1 untrained hyperactive puppy whilst trying out my new remote bumper launcher that I brought back from the US. Had to pull it apart, reverse 2 of the throwers and program it - the sweet, sweet sound and sight of the bumpers launching high into the air and Em flying after them was so exciting i had to ring Mr TSD in Sydney and tell him. Fortunately he understands me and my crazy ways :laugh:

My Dally does really well on Artemis and Pro Plan Sensitive. Em has a cast iron stomach and thus has been eating all manner of brands that the dogs have won at trials for the past 4 months....Royal Canin (Labrador), Canidae and Nutro. Ziggy just won 6 bags of Advance so she'll be on that next.

My elderly in-laws have exactly that - a retired show Sheltie. He is perfect for them and grooming is not an issue - although I don't know the requirements. They also love that all the "showies" recognize him from the ring when he was younger. Just didn't quite grow enough!

A recall is a very good example. If the reward is there every time the dog comes to you, there is no incentive to get there quickly - as the reward will still be there when they eventually do. They can therefore do what they want until they are ready to come and get the reward. No that is about criteria. If you only reward fast recalls you will get fast recalls. If you reward anything as long as the dog comes back you will define "come" as come whenever the heck you feel like it.

Continuous reinforcement does result in the most rapid learning during initial phases and in this respect it is important. But used long term relies on how much the reward is wanted. If it is known that the reward comes every time the behaviour is performed, and they don't really want the reward this time, they know it will be there the next time. A reward may have to be very high value for the behaviour to be consistent every time. And a reward may lose its value over time if it is freely available for every performance of the behaviour. With variable schedule, they are more likely to take the reward when they can, and try harder to make it happen. And this may actually help to increase the value of some rewards. I'm not arguing the complexities of reinforcement schedules, particularly in a practical sense. I'm saying that, by definition, continual reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour being performed. Otherwise it's not a reinforcer. It's an argument of theory which is where we are at cross purposes I expect. I guarantee that if my ESS finds game every single time she is asked to retrieve, that ain't going to diminish her response. HOW she retrieves and delivers that game is a whole other matter which is where criteria etc and my use of other rewards (yes food ) come in.

I just Googled size for Cav and a few sites said #200. No idea if that's right though.

The pup I've got here at the moment has to have ALL the toys and ALL the bones. He's very funny and you can see the adult dogs rolling their eyes as if to say "oh FFS take the bloody bone. As long as you stop annoying me and it shuts you up!!!"

Don't worry about taking the top off for a bed - if he likes his crate he will love having the roof on - very snug, secure, safe, den like environment. Mine love their crates and sleep in them with the door open.

espinay2 - I agree that intermittent reinforcement reduces the likelihood of extinction but I don't believe that a continuous rate of reinforcement weakens the response. The definition of a reinforcer is that it increases the likelihood of the behaviour being performed - if it doesn't then it's simply not a reinforcer.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to buy everything at once if you haven't had a pup for a while. It's like when I started camping - buy the basics and on each trip worked out what I took that was unnecessary and what I think I needed (or wanted as the case may be!!!) You might find as you go that a collar, lead and tie stake work perfectly well at the beach. Bet puppy will be snuggled in your lap anyway :laugh: For transport I'd be looking at a plastic vari crate of some description - the smaller one I just leave in the car to transport my youngster. At home he has progressed to the big wire crate. The adult dogs ride in the cargo area but pup is too much of a PITA at this point and would probably chew all the leads and give them the irrits!

Clean Run free shipping Camping in the freezing cold. For a dog trial. Holidays. Because that's when I get to travel. To dog trials. Going overseas. Because that's when I get to see how other people train and trial their dogs!

I have both - for puppies I would always go a hard crate. So they never learn how much fun destroying one can be :D A wire crate actually has better airflow than a soft crate in my opinion - check out the vebo pet ones. They are in Sydney but prices are very reasonable for online and freight. Make sure the crate is secured in the vehicle, otherwise it can be dangerous. I have a plastic vari type crate for a pup I have here at the moment and I find it does get a little warm when travelling. Both my adult dogs progressed to soft crates although my Dalmatian (at aged 5 and with a little competition in the house) has worked out how to open the zips at training/trials when it's not his turn so we are back to lugging a big wire crate again! As for size, I'm sure the Cav people will be able to advise. How exciting! Nearly forgot - I use nice padded beds (or old blankets for puppy!) in the hard crate plus a fold up water bowl to make it easy to transport.

Whoo hoo! Congratulations Tassie Another great weekend for you

Nice to meet you too fetchin! But OMG how COLD was it! Especially the Saturday - I had so many layers on and was still shivering when I was gun stewarding.

Or just give them your lounge chair and they'll drop all by themselves :laugh: They even close their eyes on command Dogs on furniture? Yeh, part of the ESS package apparently :laugh: Problem is, when they do get up they are really good about it - just curl up to the cats and sleep, even as puppies. Zig was a complete @r$e so it was easier to justify no dogs on the couch back then!

Or just give them your lounge chair and they'll drop all by themselves :laugh: They even close their eyes on command

As the un-athletic owner/handler of a fast, driven dog I would disagree with you. Darcy has taken me on one hell of a ride over the past few years, it's been a steep learning curve for me but we've loved every minute of it and achieved a lot along the way. I would rather learn to handle fast straight up than try to adapt later, and Darcy obviously enjoys every minute of it. Ask anyone here who's seen her run. :) If the dog is having fun and not being corrected, yelled at, punished or their reward withheld for the handler's shitty handling and training, who are we to comment? I've seen experienced people walk out of a ring obviously in a strop because their dog shut down/blew them off or dropped a bar or missed a contact. If I can see their body language across 3 rings how do you think the dog feels at point blank range? What about when the dog gets dragged out by the collar for dropping a bar or missing the contact? Where do you draw the judgement line? How many people out there are sufficiently good trainers and handlers to get 100% out of their dog training and trialling wise? My opinion is as long as the dog is having fun, the owner is having fun and no-one's getting hurt - bring it on! So well said Jess! You and Darcy clearly have an awesome time, let alone your achievements

Yep. It'd be nice to have a higher drive/faster dog for agility but to be fair to my dog, I didn't get her with the intention of competing in dog sports and I think she probably had very high potential for her intended purpose as a guide or assistance dog if it weren't for her health issues. I still love her and think she's the perfect dog for me even if she's not the best at agility or other dog sports :D Oh that's not what I meant at all. I'm talking about dogs that stiil are asked to and struggle to do things despite physical limitations like age or injury.And dogs that are miserable or truly don't want to do it, but the handler persists because it's the only dog they have. You don't even remotely fit into either category . See Vickie - I would call that a LOW potential home :D

lol espinay2 - the Gundogs are sooooo predictable :laugh: