The Spotted Devil

Is it here? Here? (yes, she did fall asleep with a deer antler in her mouth ) Perhaps it's here... Even the foster kits get in on the act... What about here? Or here... Definitely here... Where's the best seat in your house?

Oh the ears You'll have to get some video as they don't stay that norty and cute forever!!! Thanks It's nice to read back sometimes and see how far we have come. I definitely plan to trial next year. I was thinking about entering her at the end of this last season but I am SO glad I didn't. She has suddenly matured and her attitude towards training, whilst already pretty good, has gone through the roof. We need to do a lot of water work but everything else can keep chugging along. I'm doing agility modules with her as well and preparing for Novice obedience so we are pretty busy! She loves the variety though and it seems to give her more confidence and make her even more keen.

In terms of long bone growth, the sex hormones promote growth plate closure. Early desexing (any time before growth plate closure) delays closure of the growth plates. Hence the dog will be very slightly taller. The effect on structure and soundness is not clear. I have read the literature and the science is not conclusive either way - the only articles that say early desexing causes hip dysplasia are NOT peer reviewed. I think it's about weighing up risk factors for breeders and buyers. Personally my sports dogs are either entire or desexed once they have physically matured (approx 15-18 months) but I have no issue with breeders or rescue desexing early if they feel the need to protect their puppies from unscrupulous breeding. I certainly wouldn't support mandatory early desexing. I don't think it would mean less dogs in shelters. I spent a lot of time observing shelter dogs in my research and any puppies are re-homed fairly easily. Destructive 'teenage' dogs are probably more common than anything. Kittens are routinely desexed at 10-12 weeks (approx 1 kg body weight) and I have no problem with this. Their recovery is amazingly quick. The 6 month mark by vets only reflects how they were trained. Many vets were not comfortable with doing surgery on such young/small animals but vet schools are now teaching them how to do this.

It's also good for building motivation! My Dally was having a "don't wanna, don't hafta!" moment with the dumbbell the other day. I said "oh well" and swapped dogs. Of course, retrieving is Em's THING so she did a lovely couple of dumbbell retrieves. Swapped dogs again and Ziggy did the retrieve of his life

Hey, that's great work Livertreats! Can't believe you hit him on the head I'm not sure Em would forgive me in a hurry for that one!!! FHRP - nothing wrong with just hanging out with your dogs for a bit. Sometimes it's good to get a new perspective. ST - must be sooooo cute watching baby Weims learn the ropes....all those legs It's been warm here the last few days so started doing a few non-cheaty water retrieves. Em has gone from being a bit hesitant in her entries to the funniest, high leaping, super confident ones. I think she would get at least a 9/10 from the Olympic diving judges for artistic interpretation Desperately trying not to get carried away with our enthusiasm and keeping it very easy and limited to only a few retrieves. Drills on the oval are going really well - again, just so much enthusiasm bubbling over and she's trying so hard. Loving walking baseball now - starting to increase distances - and up to 4 white and 2 orange bumpers in the wagon wheel. Lined her up on a hot blind and she handled really well to it after being pushed off course by something or other (wind?) Need to go training with LL again....just so much work on at the moment it's hard to find a spare day.

BC Crazy - I always have one dog in a crate or tied on a stake when training.....unless I purposely want to train both at once. Having a bit of fun getting one dog to heel on either side at the moment

I read somewhere (maybe ABC online?) that they tried to dart the big cats. When they shot them with the dart, they turned very aggressive and were threatening human lives. I imagine it takes some time for the sedative to take effect Very tragic and plenty of warning signs

Ziggy is on Artemis as it's the best ingredients I could find for keeping his diet low purine (very important for Dalmatians). His stools are a bit soft so I supplement with a little Pro Plan Sensitive which seems to work well. Em was doing well on Euk puppy when she came to us so I left her on that. She has recently switched to Artemis. Both dogs have RMBs - Zig only chicken based (eg frames) but I try to give Em more of a variety. Plus all their training treats....raw mince, cooked chicken, cheese, 4 Legs etc.

Interesting, GayleK. I had a similar experience, although it was more a snide comment that I was clearly meant to overhear. It didn't scar me forever ;) but when I started competing in obedience and agility the experience was so overwhelmingly positive (whether we won or bombed out) that I just haven't made the time to get back into showing. It's something I'd like to do but it's further down on the list of priorities.

Just a note on this - it's not necessarily about the amount of protein in the diet but the total amount of energy available. Of course, high protein is likely to equal high energy but it's worth keeping in mind as a high carbohydrate content may also equal high energy.

I have to fit a lot of training into not much time so it has to be efficient and fun! Google Shirly Chong Retrieve to shape the retrieve so Stella will bring it back - I trained both my dogs using a similar method. Retrieving is a sport only for gun dogs e.g. labs, Golden Retrievers, GSPs, spaniels etc - but there's no reason why you could't have a play around with the basics. It's damn hard work for trainer and dog. Have a browse through the Retrieving thread in this training forum. Yell if you can't find it and I can find the link. Don't write off obedience - it's an excellent educator for the handler how to make something repetitive a huge amount of fun for the dog. Agility is brilliant fun - I compete with my Dally and Em will join us when she is ready. It is really hard to learn this sort of stuff online - having someone GOOD show you the ropes is much, much easier. A great book to start you off is "The Focussed Puppy" - it has been available free shipping from the Clean Run website but not sure if it still is. If you want to have a look at some retrieving training I have a few You Tubes of Em plus some of Ziggy doing obedience/agility: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpottedDevil

I don't think I could tire my young Springer out by just walking/running her - she's like a bloody energiser bunny However she has 1-2 training sessions per day in retrieving, obedience and/or agility. One session at the oval in the morning and one in the evening for her dinner. Plus a controlled walk once a day which might also include a couple of water retrieves. 99% of the retrieves she does are controlled and involve a lot of training - learning to mark, learning to take a line to a blind (unseen retrieve item), stopping and casting (left, right and back) to the dummy and any number of drills. Every now and again I'll toss a 'happy bumper' as a reward (no steadiness required but she can't help delivering to hand). Then there's heeling (and all it's complexities!!!), recalls, dumbbell, stand for exam and stays for obedience. And she's just started agility modules at our training club so we do circle work, just 4 poles for weaves (too young for twisting), basic contact training (e.g. nose touch, 2o/2o), loads of rear end awareness and we are just starting on low jump work. There's a lot to be send for mental stimulation - she spends the rest of the day sleeping at my feet instead of wreaking havoc ;)

There was an Iggy (from SA) at the agility trial on Saturday - hilariously wonderful to watch - very quick and enjoyed himself immensely! My Dally is not the fastest agility dog but he was beaten by a toy Poodle some months back that was just a black blur

I use a Buster Cube for my Dally if I need to top up dry food after training - it comfortably holds 2 cups. Although I do feed him in the laundry because he does throw it around the room pretty violently

AD - congratulations on your persistence. My Dally has had a similar "epiphany" the last few months - his confidence has skyrocketed and he can be really feral (in a good way) at training. No bad early experiences but just an unusual breed to train. He's running harder and with so much more enthusiasm at trials as well. I think the changes in Ziggy have crept up on me so slowly that I just haven't noticed - it wasn't until he hit a certain threshold and I had to change the way I handled him in the ring that I realised how much he had improved. For so long I had played "come catch me" in agility but now I've had to learn how to give a really, really strong decel cue to keep him on course. It feels WIERD but amazing at the same time ETA: Zig is also 5 in about a month ;)

I have had the good fortune of picking both my dogs - but I wasn't in a hurry for a pup, had a good relationship with the breeders and was prepared to wait for the right pup to come along. I waited 2 years for my Dally, flew interstate and stayed with the breeder for several days when pups were 5 weeks old. I wanted a male pup that would be suitable for dog sports and had pretty much made up my mind by the time I had left. However, I waited until the BAER tests had been done and for the 'puppy party' at 6-7 weeks, where several knowledgable people assessed the pups. They all came to the conclusion that my choice was not quite the show pick but was certainly the dog sports pick so that confirmed my decision. My working ESS comes from lines that are pretty consistent and I was advised that as long as she didn't have 2 heads she'd be fine I wanted a female and in the end I had the choice of 2 - breeder kept her pick and a repeat buyer wanted the quietest pup - at 8 weeks of age I took each pup away from the house yard to interact with them and then observed how they responded to retrieving, loud noises etc. I immediately "clicked" with the 2nd puppy as well as preferring her responses so it was a very easy choice in the end. Pups had been playing outside so we gave her a bath, had a cuppa and a long chat, and then I drove her home. Best. Choice. Ever.

Yay DSO Way to go! Masters is so much fun - you'll be there soon enough! kathq - oh no! I didn't realise you had injured yourself. How much fun will you have when you get back into it Tassie - what fun....I'm so enjoying training up a youngster. Em actually works better on my right because it took me ages to feel comfortable with Zig working on both sides. Congratulations Ptolomy and bedazzledx2 - great effort on such a warm day. Love the retired dogs coming out and strutting their stuff also :D

Thanks gals - hot bath, a glass of red and a lovely dinner finished the day off nicely. As soon as we walked in the door Zig whined and stared pointedly at the freezer for his chicken frame Isn't chaining a behaviour amazing - he always gets one after a big training session or after trialling. Well done Caffy and Snaz - great comeback!!!

She looks beautiful Gayle and so happy Great work! I have a similar experience training Em for retrieving - it's so special watching such strong instinct develop into real skills. I often feel like a privileged onlooker

Well! What an amazing day we've had - so proud I could burst!!! To put it simply... Excellent Agility (A) - Q and 4th place Open Jumping (B) - Q and 3rd place Masters Jumping (C.) - Q and 7th place overall (1st place 600 height) Excellent Agility (B) - NQ and 2nd place The last 3 rounds we ran in literally 4 minutes!!! We were running out of one ring into another so by the time we got to Excellent Agility we were both a bit whacked and I misjudged his speed and pulled him off the line of a jump too early which cost us a Qually. Came away with 2 packs of 4 legs food for our trouble which I use for training. Also 2 great Masters Jumping runs earlier in the day with a mistake from me both times causing Zig to make an error. More importantly than the results I feel like we're really gelling as a team - nothing, just nothing beats that feeling :D Beaten by some ripper dogs/handlers today too Whoo hoo! Time for a celebratory drink AND Mr TSD is cooking dinner on the coal Weber! Good on you Ness and Kenzie - great progress in such a short time

Great to hear RB - will let you know what I'm doing in terms of training next week so we can catch up again RV - that sounds like so much fun. Isn't it amazing watching that instinct come out. Please keep the updates coming, particularly as I know nothing about field work and find it very interesting.

Oh, RV, you both will have a ball! I always feel like I'm "on the outside looking in" when I'm training retrieving - in agility and obedience I am the centre of my dogs' world but Em's level of motivation to "get the birdie" is exhilarating and something I can't dream of emulating - all I can do is control her access to the reward. It's such a privilege to be a part of something so deep and instinctual. It sends me all gooey inside just thinking about it LT - the Flatties would be a different experience again. There are a few over here (Bushman Kennels I think?) but I haven't had a chance to really watch them work. Such a lovely breed and another I have a real soft spot for. What are your training plans over the summer FHRP?

Pretty content with 2 at the moment. Zig regularly competes in agility and we are ironing out some issues for Open obedience. Em is in training for obedience, agility and retrieving which is incredibly time consuming. If I stuck with one sport it would be easier to have more dogs but I really couldn't do another youngster justice at the moment. There is a 4 year gap between my dogs which is perfect. I keep threatening to have a houseful of Springers.....I've suggested that I could manage 10-15 dogs so when I end up with 6 Mr TSD will think he's had a win ETA: I made the decision to get a pup when I was cruelly hooked on retrieving by DOLer, Lablover :p

Ohhhhhhhh! Norty Rebel Good on you for taking advantage of the situation LT - especially handling him to the dummy come what may! Lovely pic RV - you sound hooked already :D Sucker Seeing as I use this thread as a bit of a training diary I wanted to note that Em has had a huge leap of understanding this week. I'm not quite sure what has happened but the value of the retrieve has gone through the ROOF!!! It's not that she didn't value it previously but maybe maturity and confidence amongst other things has taken her training to a whole other level. She is feral in a really good way :D It is absolutely amazing and we are both enjoying it all even more. I am quite dumbstruck actually Had a lovely morning with RubyBlue - tried to explain as much as I could using Em and then we did a few walking singles with her girl who did really, really well. Hopefully RB has been bitten by the bug and will come training again It was so nice to have someone throw a couple of marks for Em but Mr TSD is now concerned that he'll be obsolete ;)

Norty ones ;)