The Spotted Devil

With the old skateboard, perhaps you could start out by having it at quite a distance from your dog and ask for some on-lead obedience exercises. Use something positive to reward the appropriate behaviour such as clicker training or a tug toy. Slowly work more closely to the skateboard but make sure you take it really slowly and back off if the obsessive behaviour arises again. When Zig came to us as a tiny puppy he went nuts for the broom, nipping and growling at it - I know some people think it's funny but I personally can't stand that sort of behaviour. Every single day I took puppy and broom outside (often several times a day) - every time puppy paid attention to the broom I stopped sweeping and ignored puppy completely. It did take a while but he now ignores the broom......although he will do laps of the backyard with the dust pan brush if you give him half a chance :rolleyes:

Agreed. Vet ASAP - definitely painful and an inability to urinate can cause animals to go into shock - very dangerous.

Slick website......this bit made me wary: No mention of recognition from TAFE etc for prior learning for other courses....

Big sooks aren't they Zig really felt the cold last winter and didn't at all like going outside to toilet - I bought him a waterproof coat which, when combined with persistence on my part, seemed to do the trick!

We are nowhere NEAR trialling stage, but I'd love to tag along to a training session.... Congratulations to everyone on your awesome results

I suspect what dogdude means is not to enter before your dog is well and truly ready and you have complete confidence in him - even if it's an important show e.g. breed/group specialty show. I think that laying solid foundations takes the longest and most patience.....especially with a Dally

I wanted a challenge They seem to have a similar level of hyperactivity but Dals are very much like: "Well, what's in it for me?"....Dolly was more like: "OK, what can I do now, can I help???" It takes a different approach in training, but I'm getting some lovely work out of Zig now :p I was told many years ago that ACDs have a little Dally in their history - do you think that's true?

CDM, having been owned by an ACD for 17 wonderful years (RIP Dolly), I'm delighted it's all worked out :p

Naughty LP :D .....distracting me from reading journal articles :p (Thanks - was a good read and made sense too )

deelee2 - at home I can train Ziggy with a tug game, a ball, plain kibble or even his worm tablet :p Once we're out and about, however, his distraction level is very high - you do need to experiment a little with what works best for your dog - I now use a combination of steamed chicken, 4 Legs Chicken Dog food, Nature's Gift chicken treats and a few random cat treats that the girls won at cat shows. Ziggy is never sure what is coming, if anything - he might just get a good boy half way through some nice heelwork then a bonus handful at the end for a lovely sit. I use the clicker to work on focus - it means I can ask him to "watch" my eyes rather than have him look at the reward. I do a few minutes of training in the park 4/5 times a week on our morning walk - both of us really look forward to it now! Good luck

How old is the puppy? To begin with, use a treat that is of really high value.....I use cooked chicken or small pieces of 4 Legs Dog Food for teaching something new - works wonders :rolleyes: I sat on the floor with my pup and lured him under my knee to encourage lying down - there's no point even giving a command or being firm if the pup has no idea what he has to do ETA: agree with dogdude - make sure puppy is hungry....I like doing training first thing in the morning when they've got energy to burn after a good night's sleep and an empty tummy!

With a cool change coming through tonight, young Zig has finally got some energy to burn. So while we sat here watching a DVD and drinking a glass of wine, I practiced fast downs with Zig (plus sits, "touch" and "punch"), using a squeaky tennis ball.....we all had fun

I assume there's nothing medically wrong with her? PF beat me to it - I'd be checking for a UTI or incontinence. If that comes back all clear, I'd treat her like a puppy in toilet training - out every half an hour to begin with, toilet on command and huge reward - I did that when my Dally took a backward step at 9 months of age and lifted his leg inside (involves a long story and a forgetful OH ).

My 15 month old Dally is HIGHLY distracted by the slightest thing too :D I actually do all his training myself, which I find is better than going to a class at the moment because he really needs to work up to high distractions slowly IMO as his brain matures (here's hoping ). I will make it to a class when I feel he is ready. Firstly I use a clicker, which has been nothing short of a sensational tool. I teach the exercise in the lounge room firstly when it is quiet, the cats are asleep and OH is not around. Then he has to give me the same focus with the cats in the room, OH wandering in and out and the the TV or radio on. Then we moved to the local park - of course, he forgot EVERYTHING But, with really high value treats we worked on the basics again - the real trick with him is to work him for only a minute or two to begin with - get really, really good focus, then release him to sniff and lift his leg and all the boy dog stuff :cool: Then I say "working" and he is required to switch back on. What I am finding now, is that he can work longer before I give him his release command and has also started coming back to me before I ask him to start working again. He's really enjoying the process of training :rolleyes: We are nearly ready to move to a busier park - probably another week but I'm in no hurry. We do 'formal' training at the park for around 15 minutes probably 4-5 times a week. Doesn't sound a lot but he is coming along in leaps and bounds and I feel it's more effective than asking him to focus for an hour straight in a class. As he matures, I will expect more from him but I'd rather be patient and enjoy the process at the moment. Have fun

Diva, I've just successfully trained my Dal to do a beautiful, straight front - he was doing just what you describe! I don't think he truly understood that the exercise was to run to me and sit straight and true close to me. Firstly, I used a clicker plus a completely new command ("front") to re-train the exercise in the lounge room. I started by sitting in a chair with my knees apart and enticed Zig to sit directly in front of me.....click/treat etc. Then I progressed to standing up once and trying it, then sitting down again to reinforce it. After a little bit he really got the idea and so we progressed to a quiet park which was distraction enough for him It's his favourite exercise, now, and I use it as a way to finish off obedience training on a high note! Good luck - I hope that makes sense ;)

That's fantastic! Great work!!! I bet the dogs enjoyed it too Knew you'd be hooked ;)

I did the same, Tess32....arm muscles of steel by the end of that But one very well socialised little puppy

Oh, how horrible! What a tragic situation, but sadly not unsurprising IncrediJack, my 15 month old Dally is seriously intense and OTT and trust me when I say that clicker training has been the making of him Admittedly I have trained dogs before and my research interest is animal behaviour but it's the first time I've used a clicker.....nothing like seeing your young dog, with an air of complete comprehension, do a sensational recall, sit perfectly straight and true, then give you a look that so obviously says: "Now, where's my click and treat???" Good luck with your training!

I'm with helen My Dally loves to streeeeeetch into a down and the best way to get him moving quickly is to click the second his chest hits the ground.

All your replies are giving me so much to look forward to Having never had a young dog as my sole responsibility, the amount of sleep Ziggy needs never ceases to amaze me :rolleyes: Today he had a 30 minute on-lead walk (including 10 minutes of training at the park) and an hour road-trip when OH took me to Uni. Zig hasn't stopped snoring all day and has gone to bed early

If you can't feed bones - I like the Nylabones.....actually Ziggy does

That's awesome!!!! What a way to start a career Congratulations

Ah, I see what you mean - perhaps they don't have a specific clubhouse location as such? Maybe just contact the club secretary: Correspondence & Membership Fees to: The Secretary Post Office Inverleigh 3321 [email protected] I can't wait to get into tracking

I use Sentinel Spectrum - it treats heartworm, intestinal worms (hookworm, roundworm, whipworm and tapeworm) and fleas. You can buy it online here

This is the website I have for them...