The Spotted Devil

Ziggy and I are very green but he has come along in leaps and bounds with a few private lessons - hasn't hurt my handling skills either Dallies don't have a reputation as being easy to train but I've got great focus with him and, boy, can he move!!!! Loves nutting out reward criteria during training, jumps with room to spare and has a ball doing it too I've had a few judges comment to me that they don't know why more people don't run Dalmatians in agility

JulesP - there was some discussion, recently, on training for speed on the Yahoo Clean Run Group which might interest you, although you've probably already read it

Just as an aside, there is absolutely no evidence that garlic works as a flea repellant. I think the original myth arose out of some poorly interpreted research. I, too, know people who swear by it but wouldn't use it myself.

I do the same, Ptolomy. It's nice to break up training with something different - and it does seem to make what he already knows much easier. I think of it more like 'drip feeding' rather than him being a sponge, though ;) It's also a good opportunity to pin point Zig's strengths and weaknesses - he had absolutely no interest in fetching AT ALL! I have been able to quietly shape it to the point where his dumbbell retrieve is super enthusiastic. He really, really hated the metal article too and I'm glad I've discovered that now as I can work on making it fun. He tolerates it now (and has stopped jaw chattering), for food rewards, but isn't as enthusiastic about fetching it as the other articles just yet. So I've started a little gentle scent work with wood and leather but not pushing him too hard as it doesn't come naturally to him. He thinks the box is an absolute hoot so I haven't bothered with that too much - only when I see one set up at training. JulesP - aren't they surprising when they put an exercise together! Poppy sounds like a sweetie

When using the clicker, reward every time - I like using it for precise behaviours e.g. shaping, heel position, speed drops etc. With stays, I don't use the clicker at all, but start with steady feet exercises before progressing to reinforcing with food for holding the position. When I use a bridge (e.g. "good"), that means "keep on going, this is great, the reward is on it's way at the end of the exercise". I hope that helps!

I use whatever works! Depends upon his mood, what I'm training, how distracting the environment is etc. I like using food when I'm trying to teach a precise behaviour - so, for example, in agility training the other day I was throwing a toy in a straight line as he flew over the last jump to encourage speed. When he made it through a few tight turns we had a game of tug afterwards (and perhaps a scrap of food from the tug toy to reinforce the tug itself). When it came to teaching contacts or change of arms, however, I used food as I could reinforce quickly and I can bring him in nice and close with a piece of chicken

Geez you're impatient LL Too busy eating and drinking to be on DOL Only day one...more to come before I cast my judgement!

JulesP, I do the same - never drop from a sit. Poor Poppy - hope she continues to progress! And who's to say that the dog doesn't actually find the process of the owner returning and correcting rewarding?

For me, personally, I'm not mad keen on correcting them from the drop to a sit, no matter how gently because I'm not convinced that the dog actually learns anything from that. Plus, no matter how gentle you are I think the handler's body language gives away SO much, which can be very conflicting for the dog. When I was teaching Zig wait (for recall) he started preempting the recall. I just said "oh well" very calmly (NRM) and walked back to the original position - because I had used this method consistently he immediately knew he hadn't nailed the exercise and heeled enthusiastically back to the starting position (without me saying anything else) to give it another shot. Then I would ask him to sit, wait, leave and then return relatively quickly to heavily reward. With a sensitive dog I found this was a great way to keep him trying to work out how he was going to get that reward. He has never broken a stay or gone down in a sit stay but I would use the same approach - I would also go back to playing steady feet under every possible condition to set him up for success and make sitting still extremely valuable. ETA: I still stand by Sue Hogben's adage: "if the dog doesn't do as its told, it either doesn't get it or is not getting paid enough"

Hey Bub! Remind me of this thread on Saturday...have done retrieving with someone else's Lab so can fill you in on a few things. Too much to type this late at night

Thanks for the great info I think Gundagai sounds ideal! Looking forward to seeing you and your Spots in Sydney Horus

I'm off to the Dalmatian Nationals in April I thought a few showies would have done the trip from Melbourne-Sydney and could give me a recommendation for a dog friendly camping ground approximately half way so I can take a break overnight. I'll be driving on my own and will be pretty tired from Uni/work so don't want to do the trip in one hit. I only need a powered site as I'll have the tent etc. Obviously clean and safe would rate highly too Thanks!

Garlic as a flea repellant IS a myth - it started from some published research that was taken out of context and misinterpreted. ETA: You don't have to see fleas for your dog or cat to "have" them

Ziggy slept in the laundry at night when he was a youngster - I left him in an open crate with a little newspaper on the floor but he was incredibly quick to toilet train overnight - I think 4 wees on the paper in 2 weeks and then never again. He had his afternoon sleeps in there too because he couldn't sleep properly in the lounge room with the cats waving their tails in his face However, the one thing I never, ever did was open his door when he whined. If I heard him get up and get a bit restless and whinge, I'd just wait until he was perfectly quiet before opening the door - it worked a treat! If I went out he was put to bed in the laundry (never for more than a few hours fortunately), he never made a sound when I came home as he realised that keeping quiet was the quickest way to get my attention. Best thing I ever did - he is still a very quiet dog.

Firstly, I'd get her looked over by a good Bowen practitioner - it's amazing what a difference it can make and I take Zig about every 3 months. Once you know she is feeling brilliant physically, stop luring her with food as you are just reinforcing her current behaviour. See - it's mostly us that stuffs 'em up, you know Build her enthusiasm by playing the two food game and then start playing "speed drops". Basically just have her free running and you call "drop", then click and treat the second she hits the ground. Then stop rewarding the slower drops and only reward the faster drops - you need to build value for dropping to the ground fast. It's great preparation for the drop on recall in Open too Make sure you are using clear, consistent signals too - so easy to make that mistake!!!

Not at all - which makes me think it might be an accurate way to measure response to a novel situation/someone . He behaved exactly as he normally would if I left him with someone. I must get Kirty (DOLer) to give her opinion as she has held his lead for me whilst I went for coffee.

We did the test today Very easy to follow and was interesting to watch Zig's response to the 'strange situation'. He sniffed around a bit when we first entered the room and then just stood next to me when I sat down. I think he was waiting for an instruction and he couldn't work why I wasn't interacting with him at all. He wasn't really interested in the stranger apart from giving his shoes a really good sniff! Was quite friendly when patted but just didn't care all that much. When I took the lead off he stood next to me still...I suspect he was waiting for a release command as I have trained that quite strongly. Eventually he wandered off and explored, walked past the stranger, wagged his tail when patted but came back to me. When I left the room, he whined as I expected him to do and paid absolutely NO attention to the stranger which is very normal for him. He didn't get too anxious, though, which is good. When I returned he just stayed close by again and was very pleased to get outside and pee and scrape until his heart was content - clearly he regarded that room as an "indoor" room like our decking and house as he didn't even look like lifting his leg. Tammie is still looking for more participants so please PM me and I would be happy to pass on the details

Personally I love Beagles but they are very busy, determined dogs and do better with lots of mental stimulation, exercise and company. They can be mischief central (like any dog of course) if you don't give them enough to do!

Remember, that how your dog is trained IS under your control Get recommendations from DOLers in your area and then turn up during a couple of training sessions and simply observe what goes on. Look for the dogs/owners that are struggling and see how the instructor deals with them. If you don't feel comfortable, walk away - you are under no obligation to train with a club even if you have paid your fees Do your best by your dog.

I can imagine how that would go down with my Grumpy ... Grumpy by more than name I take it ;)

Hi DalGirl and welcome I do obedience and agility with my Spotted Lad so please come and join us in the Dalmatian Thread - photos are essential

Bloody hell huski It's horrible isn't it. Hopefully her strong social skills will stand her in good stead. Can you get her out there with a similar breed but a nice dog? Owners definitely need educating *sigh*

Can you still buy the chewable tablets? Zig loves those - he goes completely mad (as opposed to partially ) when I get one out.....I actually use it as a jackpot training treat for heel work!

Jess, I simply CAN'T play with or reward Zig in the ring - unless he is 100% focussed the whole time he will switch off and it is very hard to get him back. He is SUCH a boy So, I use a bridge word in training ("good") that essentially means: great work! Keep working your @r$e off like this and we will have the BEST time when we leave the ring. You can pi$$ on anything and everything (within reason) and you will get some wicked treats too. So if the judge is talking or between exercises, all I say is "good" and he is expected to maintain attention. Of course I had to build duration for this in training first. Not sure if that helps ETA: Are you allowed to play tug in the ring? If so, could you play tug with the lead as a reward whilst you are talking with the judge? Honestly, at the end of the day, I always look at my dog as being the most important thing in the ring (and my relationship with him). If that means I come across as nervous or rude or vague then so be it - my focus is my dog.

Dogs desexed before sexual maturity grow very slightly taller when compared to those that are desexed after sexual maturity. The sex hormones actually stimulate growth plate closure in the long bones so this is very slightly delayed - and when I say very slightly, I mean very slightly! There is no evidence that it causes a change in the proportion of bone length within the same leg or between different legs. There are advantages and disadvantages to both scenarios - I would be having a chat with your breeder and asking what they think and then weigh up the pros and cons