The Spotted Devil

Hi Ness - just interested as to what has triggered this anxiety around people in your opinion?

1 pedigree dog 2 pedigree cats 1 rescue foster failure kitten 3 purebred chooks Ethical, purebred/specialist breeders or rescues for me, no matter what the species. I wouldn't even buy mice from a pet shop

There must be something in it. My ACD grew up with a Beagle called "Bomber".....when I moved away from home, Dolly came with me and Bomber stayed with my parents. For the rest of her days (17 years), if I said "Where's Bomber?" Dolly would rush around and find the nearest Beagle and bunt it in the shoulder, desperately asking it to play She wasn't really keen on dogs, having been attacked by a couple of poodles as a young pup but she adored Beagles and had a real soft spot for Golden Retrievers. Ziggy tends to play with more wild abandon with other Dallies....especially the bitches

I generally used an open, solid crate in the laundry, which worked perfectly for our set up. Ziggy was paper trained at 8 weeks and used the newspaper on the laundry floor approximately twice in 10 days and never toileted overnight again When I was home I simply took him outside every 15-30 min to begin with and he very, very quickly got the idea. I used chairs to block doorways, which limited him to one room and yet allowed the cats to come and go as they pleased. Later on I would pop him in the soft crate so we could relax for 5 min (he was pretty full on :D ) but he had trouble sleeping in the lounge room.....every time he shut his eyes something interesting would happen and he ended up like a tired, cranky toddler!!! He loved having a snooze in the laundry for a couple of hours during the day - I had a "3 yawns and you're out rule" TheniInto the open crate with a puppy kong filled with dry food - he still dives into his crate or bed at night waiting for his kong :D I only ever shut the crate if we are at a show/trial or if we have tradespeople/visitors in the house and I can't watch him.

Congratulations on all the great agility results I really need to do some work on contacts :D JulesP, I am in luuuuuuurve with your new Amber puppy - she is completely :D

I used to be influenced by what others do but less and less so now - by this I only mean when we are training around others. I constantly observe and evaluate other training methods etc but then I try to consciously use what I've learned in a specific training session (to see if it works) rather than train differently depending who is around me. This is mainly because I think I finally understand my dog - and he really is a bit different especially in terms of motivating and maintaining excellent focus and I don't want him to choose to "switch off". When I've been to obedience seminars (Sue H's in particular) I haven't had a working spot, which I think is perfect for me at the stage I am at. It gives me time to break the ideas down, analyse their effectiveness and apply them carefully. Sorry for the ramble but it makes sense in my head :D

I bought one for Ziggy and it stopped him in his tracks, although he is well past those antics now. I put an old blanket on top so he can snuggle into it.

Agree with b. Zig is obsessed with sniffing and peeing so I set him up for success. Reinforce for position with clicker/food/bridge word as appropriate and then release to run and do as he likes. Call him back, play the 2 food game, quick bit of heel work and release. Remember also that dogs will sniff if stressed. I think really nice heel work is an extremely complex exercise. Don't make the mistake of assuming that your dog really does "get it". The body language is your key. ETA: I should add that Ziggy often initiates training when he is having a free run which is just lovely and quite the turn around!

LMAO We should team up and take over the world with our mad dogs! Mwahaha!

Actually i didnt mean to be so rude, i quite like the Dallys, just wouldnt own one. Im sure your spotted devil will do well for you No offence taken at all I thought your response was very funny actually as that's exactly what I said when someone suggested a Dally! They are absolutely not a breed for everyone and definitely not for the faint hearted...hence my user name He has already done well for me...3 1st places for his CCD, 188/2nd at Melbourne Royal for Novice and got his first pass yesterday in Novice Jumping with a ripper of a run. I'm still over the moon about that one And most importantly a madly wagging tail to boot! Sorry for going OT

Mwahahahah!! :p ....... NOT :p And that is exactly why I wanted one - nothing like a challenge to get me motivated!!! Plus I wanted a completely different dog to my ACD so I didn't have any expectations. Different is right That said, he is an absolute blast to work with...I just needed to find out what makes him tick I will be very interested to see what breed you pick!

Get a Dally You know you want to :p

Can I ask a favour of everyone please? Would you mind indicating whether your boys/girls are entire/desexed? Thanks!

I have an entire male Dally - he is a blast to trial with. However, I put a lot of work into teaching him an "on/off" switch in terms of his hormones, sniffing, peeing and generally being distracted (he is a real boy and will pee and scrape all day if you let him). He knows when it is time to concentrate and I have never allowed him to decide to switch off - I taught a release word and made sure I always used it before he became distracted. Now I can ask for focus for longer but the biggest mistake I see is people turning their back on their dog in training or in the ring (mentally or physically!) - perfect invitation for a dog to decide for himself that it's switch off time! My last dog was a spayed ACD girl - gorgeous thing she was. Mad as a hatter and incredibly focussed too....by luck more than by design though ;)

Thanks ness and huski Sorry, would you believe I don't have a video camera!!! Will see if I can borrow one some time as it's something I've been meaning to do.

The Spotted Devil did me proud today ;) After no preparation, apart from a Bowen treatment, Zig and I made it through Novice Jumping for our first pass (SCT 38, 25.22, 4th place) It was a nice flowing course for a Dally with a couple of tight corners that I had to support him through due to his lack of experience. I unintentionally gave him next to no room on one jump but he gathered himself and flew over at quite an angle! His focus was fantastic and he had an absolute blast...we need to work on some distance handling, a little more independence (be careful what you wish for :D ) and more confidence for both of us. It was the first time Mr TSD had seen Ziggy compete too!

Oooh! Who are you doing agility with Jo? I reckon a Schnozzie would be very quick! Zig is really silly tonight but had heaps of fun doing obedience. Hope he's at least half as focussed tomorrow!!

We are entered in Novice Jumping tomorrow! The mild weather will be perfect...however we are both lacking in skills and experience and have done only obedience training over the break, so apart from Ziggy being "running fit" and having a Bowen massage there's not much preparation. Could be a hoot if anyone would like a giggle though ;)

I don't think the DD fad is about money at all. It's about people wanting a puppy NOW...put it on your credit card or why not layby??? It's about people wanting THE latest, most fashionable, hip accessory...like a big plasma. It's about people tossing the latest accessory to the kerb when it all becomes too hard or something else is more fashionable. It's about people who will never be able to buy a pup from an ethical breeder or rescue org (pure bred or otherwise) because of their attitude....would anyone here sell 'em one?

My Dally as a puppy was a bit subtle too.....he just looked "uncomfortable" - the only way I can describe it. Yes, you can train puppy to ring a bell on a door or install a dog door (not practical for us as we have indoor cats) but I found it just as easy to take him out for regular toilet breaks - half an hour to begin with and then building up as his bladder strength improved. I always took him out after the usual things e.g. eating, drinking, waking up, before bed, playing etc and made sure he was with me at all times. That meant restricting his access to the room I was in or putting him in a crate beside me if I needed to get some work done. He's fantastic now and still doesn't look much more than "uncomfortable" but I'm always popping outside to garden or put the chooks away etc and he just comes with me. Of course he always goes out first thing in the morning, last thing at night and as soon as I get home. Whilst toilet training can come early for some (Zig did 2 wees overnight as an 8 week old pup and then never again), I suspect that full bladder control doesn't come until much later so keep on building good habits with your pup

Just some thoughts from a novice trialler

I posted in General but just realised this info may be more likely to be picked up in this thread :D A friend of my parents is a vet in Bunbury - he is reporting a Parvo outbreak and has had to put a number of (mostly unvaccinated) dogs to sleep of late. Thought it worth a mention.

According to a vet in the town who is putting to sleep a lot of very ill (unvaccinated) dogs at the moment. Thought it worth a mention.

Just as an aside..... I am a post-grad student at The University of Melbourne and also work under the AWSC banner. I will not be presenting at the seminar as my research is only in it's preliminary stages but I will be attending. My PhD is looking at human-canine interactions in animal shelters, veterinary clinics etc so if anyone would like to have a chat with me about my research in further detail (and what I hope to get out of it) please feel free to come and say hello. PM me if you don't know me by sight or wouldn't recognise me without a Dalmatian Out of interest we also have a couple of Masters students who are looking at aversion learning in dogs and separation anxiety in SBT's - they are not presenting (as far as I know and are probably too early in their projects like me) but may also be there on the day. Cheers Sally.

I think my dog is great with people and kids. However, currently my sister-in-law and family are staying with us for a week. Ziggy had a lovely run this morning and came home ready to follow his usual routine of diving into his bed, located next to me at the computer. There was a lot of activity as everyone was bustling around getting ready and no-one could resist giving Zig a pat on the head every 5 seconds. I could see he was trying to be patient but was just fed up at being disturbed every time he closed his eyes. So, I quietly removed him from the living area and reminded him where his crate was (in our bedroom) and just shut the door. He was so grateful (as were the cats) to have a break from all the attention. Now that everyone has gone out for the day, he is back in his rightful place and is fast asleep. We both like our personal space it seems