The Spotted Devil

It's certainly something that I've had to teach him, JulesP.....focus does not come naturally to the Dally As for dogs being allowed to harass others during the stays - not good enough and I would step in very quickly.

Zig gets to do sit stays at the beach and at the park whilst I pick up his biologically digested by-product and put it in the bin - there are often dogs playing around him (and he loves saying "hello" so this was a hard ask initially) and there are lots of way more fun things to do. At the small local park, he also does stays whilst being dive bombed by birds, screaming kids on play equipment, trains going past and older kids kicking a footy or playing with their remote control plane. I've even had idiots try and call him. When putting away equipment, if I can be in view and in a position to correct I will put him in a stay but otherwise I put in a more relaxed "lie down". We don't do a lot of formal stays with other dogs but I have confidence in him - last time we did a formal stay there were dogs breaking all around him and he just kept staring me straight in the eye So yes, opposite to LP, I look straight at my dog and he is rewarded for that.

Yes, me too Ness - I wouldn't even think twice

I won't comment on your specific experience because it is something that is very difficult to assess over the internet. I will say that my Dally as a youngster used to chuck the most amazing tantrums (always in public ) that would put a 3 year old set of triplets to shame. It generally stemmed from me saying "you will" and him saying "I WON'T!!!" *stamps foot*. I learned to see the lighter side of it and very calmly stood my ground and completely ignored him whilst he thrashed about and tried to wriggle out of his collar (thank goodness for the martingale ). As soon as he was calmly standing on a loose lead I gently praised and petted him. If I raised my voice or got cranky with him it just made him more hyper and silly. I always planned for longer walks in case he decided to chuck a wobbly - then I wasn't in a hurry to get home but only had to be more persistent than he was Just my experience with a very Bolshie young lad.....who is now an absolute delight

How old is your staffie? I know this is not one of your options but with a young, hyper pup in the house I did remove all the cushions from the lounge room and closed all the bedroom doors. Even ignoring pup and letting him have the cushion/pillow can be self-rewarding. As Zig matured, the cushions slowly returned and the doors have opened - he doesn't even look sideways at them now....he's too tired from all the training we do every day anyway

Would entirely depend on the dog's demeanour and what/how he failed. If he's bright and enthusiastic and, for instance, moved in the SFE or overshot the recall due to excitement I would do the stays. If the weather was warm and he was flat, then I wouldn't. If I was the cause of him failing I would and do the stays, provided he was working well. It's not so much what the dog fails but his attitude when he fails that would affect my decision. Rest assured, it makes sense in my head ETA: Having seen PAX's response below.....only because both myself and my dog are newbies and we don't attend an obedience club so it's a great opportunity for us to do a group stay.

Not a tip so much as a plan......between exercises my Dally will be 'working'. He's not a dog that can switch off and switch on again with ease. Would love some tips on the figure 8

That is fantastic!!!! Congratulations You must be feeling :D

Hmmmm......when told by the judge "exercise finished" I would give a NRM, exit the ring (so no down stay for me) and immediately go and practice a couple of sit stays, setting the dog up for success with reduced time/distance and reward enthusiastically when the dog got it right. I would try and picture in my head the dog's body language when it dropped (assuming it's not an out of sight) to determine why it dropped in the first place. Beg, borrow or steal a video that someone might have taken. Then proof, proof, proof under trial conditions, maybe even with dogs in a down stay either side if that was the problem.......then relax, make sure the dog is fresh and enjoy the Western Classic come what may :D

really? i will try that, it's just all i have been told and read indicate that the best time to do training like that is after she has gotten all her initial energy out and therefore once she is a little bit more relaxed she will have a higher chance of succeeding (reinforced by her perfect heel all the way home after such runs!).. I am no expert though so i am open to all suggestions from those who have done all this before Thanks i will try that on monday after the sports clubs release the oval again I do all my formal training before the free run - I actually love training while the dog is full of beans....you can channel that energy into something constructive (particularly if the dog is toy motivated). It may take a few sessions before the dog understands that they have to work hard mentally before they get to have a good sprint. During the free run I don't allow him to just do what he wants all the time either - a number of informal recalls, sits, drops, stays etc are always incorporated to ensure he keeps one eye on me....which can be quite a challenge with a Dally

squeak - it's been some time since I've trialled but my 2 cents worth is that I teach the exercise the same as you, but why not add in an extra command as back up? I use stay or wait depending on whether the dog is required to sit/stand/drop rock solid or is to expect another command - it seems to give Zig an extra edge of confidence, particularly in the stay exercises. Good question about the lead BTW - looks like I'm going shopping......again!!!!

Or a Dalmatian Fortunately Dals only shed twice a year, though.....6 months in the Spring and 6 months in the Autumn We just bought an Enjo lint glove - fantastic I beg to differ, I had a dally house guest for several months and I'm sorry but sibes are a whole different level of shedding! Excellent news! So, if I threaten to get a Sibe then say no, we'll get another Dally, OH and his navy blue RAAF uniform should just be grateful

If your dog stuffs up don't assume he is being disobedient - some dogs lack confidence in their handlers or don't look as though they truly understand the exercise. Embrace mistakes (which are generally yours ) as part of the learning curve I just booked in for FOO so will undoubtedly get some pointed feedback in the next few weeks

Yes that was my logic too....or it is now

Quick question - for some reason I use the same command for both finishes and just use different hands - to be honest I didn't put much any thought into it at the time. What do others do?

Ziggy does that too I find that it builds enthusiasm so I don't mind....probably wouldn't use the flip finish in a trial as he does a lovely regular finish anyway but it's great for training, especially for a dog that gets bored in a nano second. He loves waiting to see what the next step is after a recall......flip finish, regular finish, return to dog or release - keeps him on his toes and stops him trying to predict what comes next

Or a Dalmatian Fortunately Dals only shed twice a year, though.....6 months in the Spring and 6 months in the Autumn We just bought an Enjo lint glove - fantastic

My Dally was a rather intense young pup to say the least :rolleyes: One thing I noticed was that he simply could not settle in the lounge room with us......nearly asleep.....oops! Awake when human coughs......nearly asleep....oops! Awake when cat blinks....etc Ziggy would get so, so tired and then he would get silly and you simply could not get his attention. So I began to implement quiet sleep time in his crate in the laundry - not a punishment - I just recognised when he was getting sleepy before he became hyped, gave him a quiet cuddle....one, two, three yawns and then calmly put him to bed with a puppy Kong full of kibble. 3-4 hours later he would wake up and he was a different puppy. He hasn't changed a bit - the more tired he gets and the more stimulated he is, the sillier he gets....only now as a 2 year old his focus can actually get better because of all the training. He was like this at the Pet Expo yesterday.......exhausting but seriously funny

My Dally was very prone to humping cushions/pillows etc.....prevention was fantastic but also having lots of CALM down time and the occasional use of a water spray. I found that if he was corrected for something or was overly excited or was left unsupervised for a nanosecond or was given a new blanket/bed he would bolt to the nearest cushion :rolleyes: Identifying the triggers was a great start. He is now 2, still very confident and a rather pushy lad but I have no issues with him. ETA: Just re-read my post - seems as though everything was a trigger

Yo rocks :rolleyes: He's great with beginner handlers too

And if your dog gets super excited he may be a perfect candidate for training that involves tugs or food - I get my best work out of Zig when he's bouncing out of his skin I don't like that you were talked into trying it when you were clearly hesitant.

Nope - not at all. Why on earth do people with normal, every day dogs need to perform an alpha roll

This is actually one of the reasons why I hate shows like CMs - I know of one person in particular who watched the show religiously, decided that CM was the expert and proceeded to implement an alpha roll on their young puppy And they wouldn't listen to me because CM is the expert. I'm not saying that CM encourages this but many people aren't smart enough to work out what is TV and what is reality.

*shivers going down spine* Definitely not.

Just tragic - I'm so sorry My thoughts are with you and your friends, hannah