The Spotted Devil

Can anyone point me to a video of someone doing a really nice hand signal for the flip finish please? I suspect my signal is a bit sloppy.....don't know that I'm helping my dogs much

We had a lesson with a very good agility competitor/instructor today. She is fabulous because she appreciates that Ziggy can't concentrate for too long and, unsurprisingly, she is great with puppies too. Em and Zig had 2x15 minute sessions each. With Ziggy, we worked on the seesaw in the first session - just building his confidence. His 2o/2o is great but he was getting to the middle, bailing out and then going back to the start and offering 2o/2o. He couldn't work out why he wasn't getting rewarded for that I ended up razzing him up and playing "catch it" games with food, which really helped and we managed to put a jump before and after the seesaw at full size. Em came out and the instructor spent some time getting to know where she was at with her training and then we did a few puppy jump bumps. Most of the work we did was for my benefit so we had a few things to go with. LOTS of puppy zoomies and Em displayed her special talent of discovering long lost toys in every corner of the training area That said, she was really responsive to all the training although I got into trouble for only training her to heel beautifully on one side Then we got Zig out again and did a small part of a Masters Jumping course and we determined that the next thing he needed to work on was being sent to obstacles from a distance. His front crosses and serpentines were MUCH improved! Em came out again but she was pretty taxed mentally so we quickly looked at some shadow handling training and then introduced her to a shortened tunnel - one word. Hilarious Think I will have a tunnel suck on my hands

From what you've written, your male cat did feel threatened and gave what he thought was an appropriate defensive response. Maybe set up some rules - if you are letting the cat into the room, the dog needs to be lying down on his mat or in his crate if you don't have that level of control. I guess you could also teach an emergency stop - that said, I don't know your capabilities as a trainer or your dog's level of aggression. You really need a professional to assess that. My pup is just over 6 months old - she is not aggressive but she is very active and could certainly frighten the cats. One of my cats loves to wrestle the dogs but my 2 girls are quiet and gentle and only one will swipe if pushed. I have a baby gate set up on the hallway so pup can only access the living areas (which also keeps her out of mischief) and the cats have all the bedrooms to retreat to if they feel pressured. I followed the same process when my now adult Dalmatian came home as a pup and they all get on famously now. I always teach the cats their "escape options" - over the baby gate, up the big scratching tower or on the table (teach them "up" and to come to their name). Pup and adult dog both sleep in our bedroom but in their own crates. The bed is for cats (and us). In my house cats have right of way at all times but they are not allowed to bully. Pup knows which cat she can play with and which cats she needs to give way to - if she forgets I only need to remind her verbally. I do a lot of training with my dogs which I find helps for manners in the house. I happily leave my Dally with the cats all day, although pup is in a large crate - more to allow the Dally to get some sleep than anything. I would look at limiting your young dog's environment with baby gates, LOTS of training (he is an adolescent now, which can be a more challenging phase), age appropriate exercise and a crate when you can't supervise. You must be there to protect all parties at the moment and a crate is a great option when you can't be. Getting to the point where your young child is so upset and you are frozen in fear of what might happen is not good for anyone. You may well need to engage a trainer who can show you how to train your dog.

lol - so what did YOU do LP? Nice work smisch

Silly me! Yes, congrats on the baby puppies too It seems that Little Em just loves training in the rain - which means no excuses for me this Winter I'm constantly experimenting with the structure of our training sessions and today was a pearler. Started off with razzing her up with a couple of happy bumpers and neat presents. Although I haven't worried about presents other than at home she's much more confident since she put it all together. Then we had a play. Picked up a couple of dummies and she ran over in anticipation. Did 2 sighted blinds. Play time. 2 right backs. Play time. 2 left backs (I think she gets it :D although it's a fluke until next training session ). Play time. A little heel work and fronts (no dummies). Big zoomies with a couple of sits (and dummy rewards) thrown in. She was super pumped the whole time so I think that variety is her thing

Congratulations mollipop That's wonderful! Any pics? FHRP - love the pics! I hope you are going to give us more details on how you train for field trials

Can't wait to hear how you went! I think it's easier if you have a few pups to compare but agree that you have to be able to live with the dog. In terms of tests, I try to keep "potential" in the back of mind and remember that dogs need guidance to bring their talents to the fore. I remember asking LL how to choose my ESS pup - her comment was that the litter comes from such good working lines that, as long as pup didn't have 5 legs or 2 heads, I'd be fine That said, I picked my pup nearly immediately because she stood out straight away plus I just fell in

Awesome work LP!!! Must have hurt not to Q but you should be really proud Best of luck for the rest of the weekend! Well done Luke on ADX too

That all sounds great RS We are doing some things more slowly than you too remember because she is only a baby - her retrieves are on flat, no cover ground whilst she gains confidence but I need to occupy her very busy brain so the other exercises are great. For "back" LL suggested I have Em on a sit facing me (with long line in case) and toss several dummies over her head in a tight pile. She twisted a little so I gently straightened her up and then gave her the verbal and hand signal. She looked at me very oddly (not surprising) so I said "back" then her release word. By the 2nd try she was all over it and certainly remembered it in yesterday's session. For her "weaker" side, I stood right in front and placed my hand so she couldn't turn to her favoured side. That is definitely a work in progress! Yes, water has it's traps. Think I will leave it for a while until Em is really confident with more advanced land retrieves.

Spill it RS!!! So a few days ago I tried a sit at approx 100m whilst Emmy and Zig were doing zoomies at the park. Em nailed it and I was thrilled if not a little surprised as we'd only being playing the two food game on the deck. As LL reminded me, once is a fluke So today I had her on her own and started throwing sits in when she was sprinting away from me. She ended up doing 3 or 4 very promptly and was rewarded with a happy bumper for her troubles. I'm also working on her right (my left!) "backs" as it comes much more easily on her left (my right ). She had a good swim this afternoon too and has consequently passed out on my feet

I find it's a bit about trust too - I baby Zig too much - because we are both inexperienced and because of the type of dog he is. In my training classes, I now have lots of support from people who will push me to ask for more from him (which means not looking/supporting because I have to get into position). Our last competition run felt SO much better and smoother because I just trusted he was with me, used my shoulders more (and trusted that he would read me) and ran like hell. There were several tunnel entries right on top of each other and he nailed every one of them. Plus, falling @r$e up just once in public is MORE than enough motivation :rolleyes:

Just going on the photo in the article, her spotting looks fine I don't understand why the LUA spots don't meet the standard. All spots have some white hairs. Spots are not present at birth. Patches have NO white hairs. Patches are present at birth. Patches are considered a fault in the show ring but are associated with lower rates of deafness (possibly extent of pigmentation within the ear). Some breeders have no problems with having a few patched puppies pop up because they have better pigmentation all around (dark colour and whiter white) and lower incidence of deafness. As a guess, I would suggest that the introduction of the Pointer would increase the incidence of patches in a litter.

Thanks RS. Once is a fluke I guess, but I'm still delighted with her!

Firstly, grab a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself over the head What I would do is get a helper and do a restrained recall. The helper must be someone you and the dog trusts and who has good timing. Get them to kneel down and gently hold the dog. With my pup, I had someone just hold her around her chest but I'm not sure how big/strong your dog is??? You can slip your fingers through the collar but it needs to be done at a particular angle so that if the dog pulls away, no fingers get broken!!! Get a toy or similar and run away from the dog all excited and call your dog. As soon as the dog starts to strain against the helper they release the dog, who should come sprinting at you at top speed - reward! It's actually a slightly more complicated exercise than I've described as it requires sensitivity and timing on the part of the helper - enlist an experienced person if you can.

Just fabulous Chloe and Peppi Really enjoyed watching you work so well together

That's wonderful RV

That's always my issue! But I haven't fallen over yet... But knowing my luck, the first time would be at a trial! At the risk of embarrassing myself (again!!!) click I was watching Zig to see if he could make the distance challenge (Open Jumping) On the up side we actually got a Q Ouch - but good boy Ziggy - he had a quick look (to make sure if you were OK ? ) and then kept going. I think it was more "Come on woman! Put in will you!!!"

That's always my issue! But I haven't fallen over yet... But knowing my luck, the first time would be at a trial! At the risk of embarrassing myself (again!!!) click I was watching Zig to see if he could make the distance challenge (Open Jumping) On the up side we actually got a Q

rubyroo - not enough hours in the day is right! Em is only 6 months so this Winter will likely be a bit soon for us. I think Springers mature a little later than some of the other gundogs too so I'm in no hurry. So much to learn too She seems to have the hang of sighted blinds now so LL suggested I introduce some handling skills. Threw several bumpers over her head tonight and sent her "back". She looked at me like I was off my tree at first but quickly decided it was a very fine game to play.

That's a good price going by what I can pick up locally - but I don't go out of my way.

I feed them to my 6 month old Springer - I just trim the fat off. She used to gnaw on them but now crunches them up.

Agreed Janba - that is an issue. I guess that over use of a sire/lines led to the problem in the first place??

Every purebred Dalmatian world wide has the same peculiar gene. Yes, liver is allowed. Perhaps they meant it had black and liver spots?

*gremlins*

Ziggy will jump on the bed and paw at the doona/pillows - very, very unusual for him. Em will alternate between puppy zoomies and wrestling with the Dally and one of the cats - no sense of awareness that the other party might not be quite as keen as she is and no amount of being ignored or told off by the other participant is sufficient. Although she also does that after an afternoon of training/swimming/running! ETA: Since pup arrived Zig has shown NO signs of a lack of mental stimulation or exercise