The Spotted Devil

I mean I've allowed him to get his way too many times. Like I said in the OP, I've tried walking only two instead of all four, but I always go back to four cause I can't stand hearing how distressed he gets when I leave him. I didn’t mean to spoil him, it just happened. I’d never had dogs before and then we had three within the space of 6 months! I didn’t know anything. If he was distressed I couldn’t bare it. If I walked out and he started screaming I’d go back and bring him with me. If I wanted to take just one dog somewhere I’d take him cause it was the easy option. I had to bring him to dog training to calm him down and he was really good at it, so that was even more time alone with me. He's like this because I let it happen Hey, ruthless! Stop being so hard on yourself!!!! Sometimes these things can just creep up on you ETA: Snap, Kavik

Just a note from someone getting back into agility with a (potentially) highly distractible breed and individual (think independent, entire male that bores easily ). Ziggy did not touch a piece of agility equipment until he was 2 years old, which equates to 6 months ago. I worked on lots and lots of off-leash obedience, flat work, recalls and focus exercises. We have trained in agility very sparingly since we started, due to various time constraints, but he has progressed pretty quickly with no great hiccups. Hopefully he will be ready to enter the Dally Club's jumping trial that is coming up. I think there's a lot to be said for having really good off leash control before you start agility training - not everyone has to wait until their dog is 2 but I chose to as Ziggy lacked the mental and physical maturity IMO. My agility instructors tell me his focus is TOO good as he watches me rather than where he is going......we're working on getting him to look and run forward but I'd sure as heck prefer that problem than having him bolting out of the ring! The main thing I would do differently is to teach tugging games a lot earlier on. I would also not make all the brand new training mistakes I managed to invent but that's a whole other story

Is that blood on the floor? If he's that distressed that he's emptying his bowels as well it sounds like true separation anxiety - often over diagnosed for sure but that really looks serious.

Vickie, that video is GORGEOUS. Chloe is an absolute star - wish I had her energy and skill to keep up with my mad Dally

Thanks JulesP - I'm looking into vax options at the moment - great to have a flexible club!

Now that's great news JulesP! What about 3 yearly vax?

From what you've posted I think it's more about technique rather than the type of food - she will probably improve with some maturity too Personally, I would hand feed all her meals (I'm assuming it's dry food?) via training at home and not feed any treats at home. She ONLY gets those when she goes to training. I would also try halving her meal the night before training as well (I have a dog that loses weight easily so I build his meals up on other nights). Some food throwing games would probably help her too, especially if she loves her ball - best of both worlds! Where do you train? Someone on here might train at the same club and be able to lend a hand

can I hijack for just a second? I have seen blood sausage in the butcher and deli, but I need to know if I need to cook it first??? I haven't made it personally but I understand devotees slice it very thinly and almost dry it in the microwave.....have fun!

I have a colleague (also a committed Stafford owner) researching separation anxiety in Staffords - owners and veterinarians have reported it as being relatively common in the breed as they form strong attachments to their owners. Any comments from breeders/owners on the prevalence and your recommendations for prevention/treatment?

I've had fun with this one with my Dally! A couple of questions.... How old is she? I found some real changes in food motivation associated with age. Is she hungry? Does she know that she'll just go home and have dinner anyway? Very difficult to motivate a dog with food if she's not particularly hungry! How does she eat her daily meal - does she work for it? Do you use treats that she ONLY gets at training? Are you using a variety of treats? Roast chicken, raw mince, cheese, 4 legs, boiled egg, tinned salmon are some of my favourites. If you can tick all of the above boxes (plus those already mentioned - stress for example), then try dried, sliced blood sausage - disgusting and stinks to high heaven but I've never seen dogs be motivated by food more quickly

Yep thanks I'm working on duration heelwork (in big circles, not adding any turns or positions) so she won't look away, using variable reinforcement (different count of steps each time) so will chucking the food and getting her to find heel position again help with maintaining her focus? Cos that's the part I need help with. I've tried hiding food, but unless she sees food before we start working, she gives me the big middle finger. I think that's by biggest grievance, if she doesn't know there's food to earn, she is the dullest dog you've ever seen!! It's hard with a dog that has the dexterity and inclination to give you the finger.....I've got one of those too so I have to think very laterally I have found throwing food to be fantastic for building motivation - make sure she is HUNGRY too and knows she has to work for her meals. How does she eat her main meal of the day? Maybe it's also worth trying a non reward marker...? I use "ah well" - be careful about using it too much, though, because it can kill motivation if you're not careful. Perhaps also try hiding food BUT still have food on you to begin with so you can transition her to understanding that the food she is after might not be on you personally. And RUN full of excitement to where the food pot is hidden - make it a huge game between the two of you Also be careful about supporting the dog too much with your voice or with your commands/body language when you are asking the dog to work - just use the clicker to mark the desired behaviour. I think that is a problem with some dogs that are "ring wise". ETA: Consider the food you are using too! At home training is only done with dry food. At training it's a combination of any or all of the following: tiny pieces of cooked chicken, cheese, boiled egg, raw chicken mince, tinned salmon, larger dog biscuits and 4 legs. For a trial, I might pull out something he hasn't had in ages so it's an extra special treat. A jackpot can be a handful of treats or feed a number of treats rapidly - variety is the key. Smart dogs are quick to tire of novelty! The easiest way to start training something is at home in a comfortable environment - hide her daily dry food ration (for example) at different points around the house. Ask for a simple command (e.g. sit) and then run to a food pot and treat. She'll catch on if that's how she has to earn her dinner!!! One more thing - don't let her disengage from you! Make sure you give her a release command whilst you organise your treat bag etc. Play the 2-food game to get her switched on, do some training and then release again. What tends to happen is the dog doesn't want to go off and sniff etc but wants to keep on training - they think they are training YOU to give THEM treats!

Ruby Star - think about how you are delivering the food - for example click for position and deliver the food in position or throw it in front of you ("Get it!") or to the side, then RUN the other way and reinforce when the dog hits heel position again. Then click and run to one of several food containers planted in your training area (or on people). Have food on you but don't always reward from that source. At other times don't have food on you. Mix it up and make it totally unpredictable. Once you add variable reinforcement (e.g. 5 steps, 7 steps, 3 steps, 9 steps) to the mix, it makes it even more fun. Remember the 2 food game? Spend a minute or 2 hyping the dog up by throwing food one way and then the other, suddenly throw in a "heel", click and run to a stashed reward container. Does that help?

I should add that, in training, I focus more on the position than the wait or stay command....i.e. sit/stand/drop means don't move until I say otherwise. I use 'stay' and 'wait' almost as secondary cues to help him out.....just in case he has a Spotted Brain fade

WOW! Awesome result Congratulations At 22 months, Zig would have been much more interested in licking his balls :D

I started a very similar topic and got some fabulous ideas - here's the linky Have fun ;)

The same as you In my head I think "wait for the next command" and "stay no matter what". You can use whatever you like as long as you are consistent and don't confuse your dog - use "chocolate" and "vanilla" if you like ;)

Don't worry about rewarding heavily to begin with - best way to learn.....think about whether you would want go to work each day if you weren't paid for it! Throwing food is fun and can really build a dog's motivation - really yummy treats that don't break on impact are best ETA: Try to utilise whatever floats your dog's boat as well - my mad Dally LOVES to gallop fast, sniff and lift his leg on everything - after some lovely heel work that's exactly what I let him do then call him back, do some more work, then release again. Leopuppy04 and I were laughing that when she releases her dogs they want to play tug with her as a reward whereas my nutter bolts off to piss on something Laffi can also vouch for his madness!

LL, I prefer working line kelpies....you know, the kelpies that don't look like kelpies :D Labradors in the UK and US have split (show - working), as they have in recent times Australia. Show and working lines simply have different perfection criteria. Might I humbly add Customs labradors also. Hey photo of JP and Dan. Cool, glad Poodlefan (and Lara) did not add a certain photo of a pick up dog at the stake while Dan and Yo competed together. Was that Yank? No Peppa pie. They needed a water pick up dog so I offered her. The photo was a very wet Peppa on my lap. She was lying on her side, eyes looking up and licking. Cute snap - spoilt working labradors. Guilty. ha. Wot photo? I've seen it already but isn't she a doll-face

Just another thought to add to Vickie's post - what about Crate Training Games....I think it is a Susan Garrett book/DVD, or by someone like that? I've been meaning to get it as Zig is not fussed about being left to his own devices and I'd like to nip it in the bud.

How excitement! Come on all you Group 7 people - let's show everyone what our assortment of dogs can actually do! Non-sporting my @r$e Saturday 29th August 2009 Warringal Obedience Dog Club Ground Kingsbury Drive Bundoora Entry fee: $10.00 (Entries close 10th August) Will give this an almighty closer to the closing date

Oooh! Great recipe PAX - thanks I love stuff like this as I can't feed liver!

My new vet told me they were exactly the same as well - he has been doing a fair bit of reading and is more than happy for Zig to have annual KC plus check up and 3-yearly C3. He is my new vet because my usual vet will do nothing less than a C7 *sigh* Such a shame as he was a great vet otherwise.

Peppa pie was on your lap??? Well I never!

LL, I prefer working line kelpies....you know, the kelpies that don't look like kelpies Labradors in the UK and US have split (show - working), as they have in recent times Australia. Show and working lines simply have different perfection criteria. Might I humbly add Customs labradors also. Hey photo of JP and Dan. Cool, glad Poodlefan (and Lara) did not add a certain photo of a pick up dog at the stake while Dan and Yo competed together. Was that Yank?

It's not all raw but it is natural...I use chopped steamed chicken, 4 legs, cheese, boiled egg, raw mince, tinned salmon - if they are really mucky I use them for jackpots stored in containers whilst I train - we run to the containers together. My hands still get really disgusting so I always have an old towel on hand and some antiseptic wash in the car