The Spotted Devil

Absolutely devastating Gayle I'm so sorry for your tragic loss. Run free beautiful boy.

One more thing....I had several breeds on my list and the Dalmatian was not one of them! Chatted to a work colleague who had a couple, rang the breeder (interstate), clicked with them and the rest is (Spotted) history With my Springer it was a chat over wine with a friend (working Lab breeder) about getting a pup for retrieving. Was offered a pup from her but mentioned that I'd always loved English Springers. She said "I've got just the breeder for you" and I didn't even know there was a split between working and show lines!!! So it's funny where opportunity and contacts take you...

You can often tell the dogs that don't go to club classes because they are madly wagging their tails in the ring ;) That's not fair either but my point is that it's much more about how you train, rather than where you train, although clubs are useful for distraction training and ring run throughs. Clubs that have good instructors will also pick up on your ring craft e.g. footwork for turns, change of pace etc and hand position, body language and give you tips if you are struggling with something. A good trainer is a good trainer. A good dog is a good dog.

I only have the standard compact - it has not missed a beat in 3.5 years and I can put it up and down on my own without a problem. It does take a bit of practice but it's a great piece of kit.

Good work mollipop So pleased Molly has recovered well!!! Calling rubyroo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Springers can be big sooks and love being with their family. They are also very good at getting their own way and we had to sit through several "protest" sessions when Em was a youngster As others have mentioned, make sure they are comfortable in terms of bedding and temperature. My youngster is crated in our bedroom, next to me. She loves going to bed (gets a treat) and will sleep in for ages - I was unwell yesterday and spent the whole day in bed. Mr TSD took Em out to toilet when he fed the cats and then put her back in her crate. She happily relaxed in there until lunchtime when she started to get a bit restless. My Dally also has a crate at the foot of the bed but it is open as he is much more trustworthy than Em. At 3.5 years old I wouldn't be getting up in the night to give the dog a toilet break unless there was a medical condition. Last trip outside here is anywhere between 9pm and 11pm and then it's sleep time. Obviously I would get up in the night for a puppy but Em can easily sleep through to around 8.30am now without a problem (she's 10 months). You need to create some rules that suit everyone and then stick to them. Give in just once and you will reinforce the behaviour, making a rod for your own back! By the way, photos are compulsory :D ETA: Just noticed this in your post: Calling out for him to be quiet can actually reinforce the behaviour....he got what he wanted....your attention ;)

If you don't like dogs that shed a Dalmatian is not for you! I think Vickie's advice was excellent. There is so much variety within a breed, let alone between breeds. Every dog will have it's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to dog sports. The high drive Border Collies, for example, need awesome handlers who think on their feet. Otherwise the dogs might bark and spin in frustration or choose their own course. The high energy/low drive dogs (thinking my Dally here) need LOTS of work building drive and focus. They make you very honest as a trainer - any holes in training become gaping chasms in trials :D That said, I am on cloud nine after our last 2 JDM passes - his size means he is not as agile or fast as the 500 dogs but all the work I have put into building focus and drive is paying off in spades. He was very close to taking an off course jump right in front of him at Saturday's trial but turned on a dime when I called him off. My working ESS is obsessed with birds (and I mean manic!) but at 10 months will ignore them (mostly) when retrieving dummies or training obedience/agility. It's about building value for working with me and not blaming the dog but asking "what can I do that's important for THIS dog?"

I wouldn't change a thing with either of mine as even the mistakes are part of the journey. I think you need to have a clear idea of the skills you are teaching and why. I am training Em in 3 sports (2 for Ziggy) so being very clear with context and body language is critical. Don't take every trainer's word as gospel but be prepared to justify yourself if you don't agree (I do this a lot in retrieving training). Be sensitive to the motivation, strengths and weaknesses of each individual dog (my pair of renegades are chalk and cheese). Above all, make working with you as rewarding as possible. As for books, I really enjoyed The Focussed Puppy. Little of it was new to me but the book is well explained and good to dip into when you're thinking 'now what shall I teach?' In agility most people follow a handling method - for me it's Greg Derret. Fortunately I have wonderful instructors (club and private) so I don't buy his books/DVDs but I imagine any of his stuff would be great.

I have always done around the back LAT and finishes with Ziggy - we follow the GD/SG handling system for agility and Zig has never blind crossed me. I haven't even actively trained him not to. I've been doing a bit more hind end awareness work with him and am considering switching to a pivot LAT - it doesn't confuse him in the least as my footwork is different. He doesn't yet have the skill to do a really nice flip finish so we just use it in training for something different. I do pivot turns and flip finishes with Em and they both come more easily to her. Although I'm not sure leaping straight up and bouncing off my hips with her front paws before landing in heel position will earn her full points ;)

We are missing a lot of training too due to the state of our training grounds....quagmire sums it up I've been doing lots of work with just 2 jumps, tugging and motivational games and it is really paying off. This week training is cancelled as well so it will be all about weave entries and threadle arms at our muddy oval. Em will start training modules soon too, which is so exciting!

I'm only just beginning to ask for heelwork when Em knows that dummies will be shortly thrown for her. Up until now I've kept them very separate but now the heeling to the starting point is rewarded with a mark.

You don't have to change your name until you feel ready, if at all

??? I can't find this decision anywhere, have you got a link to where i can perhaps find this? it isn't in their website. It will be published soon. The news was picked up by someone in the know on our Dally list.

It's definitely a personal thing. Sorry for all the sad losses of late. My heart goes out to you. I moved to Melbourne with a couple of seniors - my Burmese, Willow, and my ACD, Dolly. Dolly was put to sleep at age 17 and I didn't think it fair on Willow to deal with a young puppy as she was a little frail and losing her vision. Willow was put to sleep at 18 the following year and I was devastated all over again. An empty house is not good! One of the vet nurses told me about her Burmese boy and, with much sensitivity, gave me the breeder's details. I rang and chatted but wasn't expecting an available kitten for many months. A breeding prospect sale had fallen through and the breeder offered me the 'lilac baby'. Emails and photos went back and forth and I asked Mr TSD what we should do. He said: "Put a deposit down of course!!!" In the meantime I fostered some kittens, which helped bridge the gap. I waited another 2 years for my Dalmatian because of availability from the breeder I wanted. It was tough but it was worth the wait

kathq - that is awesome news!!!! Congratulations

Sue, how sweet (and completely you) to say that in your time of loss and sadness. Thank you You have been so much in my thoughts this week. Thanks TN and DSO and well done also to DSO

Just the one Masters Jumping pass today but it was one of two very hard JDM courses and Ziggy produced some fantastic jump vs tunnel discriminations which made my heart sing. He ran hard and tugged () all day, gained lots of confidence on the seesaw in ADX/ADO, did some gorgeous distance work in JDO and was still fresh as a daisy on the last run (which was our Q). Need to work on difficult weave entries and my command timing for tight turns now. Some nice comments on his runs from judges - I think they're just surprised at his focus

Maybe lower your criteria - back to sniff, click and treat. I did this with both of them. Took Zig AAAAGES to work out that it was chewing I didn't want. Em was on metal by the end of the first session. It's so much fun having a chalk and cheese pair :D

Rev is gorgeous TN - congratulations :D Any dumbbell issues and I go back to sitting on the chair, presenting to front and training with their dinner. Much easier to isolate issues and NRM calmly if necessary. Fixed Ziggy chomping and Miss E's excitability. More self control from both of them.

More success today..that Wagon wheel ex works a treat! After doing that exercise before each session, our DR is deadly I wish I had done that a lot earlier. Certainly a lightbulb moment for the BC ;) Thanks again. Awesome Good luck to everyone trialling this weekend!

AKC has voted unanimously to register LUA Dalmatians

Just keeping you on your toes ;)

I specifically chose a bitch puppy for Ziggy's sake and it was the best decision. And I'm so in with her girly softness underneath the madness

FHRP - too funny There has been a real push lately to publish articles on events other than showing, which might reflect a change in the make up of committee members.

Love your sense of humour...I can see BC brains exploding SD I'm with the BC :D Oh, and idiot that I am wrote 45 degrees instead of 90