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The Spotted Devil

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Everything posted by The Spotted Devil

  1. Yep too paranoid :laugh: 9 weeks is SUCH a baby still! Keep taking her outside regularly, heaps of praise and even a treat for toileting in the right spot and zero fuss when she toilets inside. Just blot with paper towel and spray with something like Urine Off.
  2. Love it! Thinking already! Well go for it then - best soft crates around :D
  3. Eza - can I suggest NOT for your new puppy :D Hard crates for young dogs, soft crates for older, chilled dogs. Have a look at Vebopet online for a hard crate. Yes they are heavy but your pup won't tear it to shreds :laugh:
  4. I personally don't use soft crates at training/trials - they get too warm in Summer and if you have an excitable dog they can certainly break out (especially if you're running another dog at a National...not looking at anyone Ziggy, Mr "I'm missing out! Where's my turn?"). But I would invest in a K9+ Royale every time. Lasts for years provided your dog doesn't destroy it.
  5. Trust me the latter comes with practice. Lots of it :laugh: Your dog will forgive your mistakes so make sure you do as well. And video your training - use your iPad or iPhone and a tripod - they are very, very honest!!!
  6. You're doing great! The way I think about "value" is just "what does my dog prefer?" Just like if I put broccoli and cheese in front of you and you get to choose ONE there's a good chance you'll choose the cheese. So how do we build value for broccoli if you think it's quite good but not if there's CHEESE as an alternative (I think I'm chanelling one of my Springers :laugh:) So maybe you only get cheese if you pick up the broccoli first. Next time I want you to sniff it. Then take one bite. Then take two bites before you get the cheese. Before long you realise how great broccoli is and how if you take a few bites you get cheese afterwards. Then you start to want MORE broccoli because it leads to more cheese! Maybe you realise there's more than one way to eat broccoli and gee it's good in and of itself! Hey presto we've transferred the value from cheese to broccoli :D The same principle applies to building value for YOU (broccoli) when there are more fun things to do such as playing with other dogs, running and hunting (cheese)! And whilst I might choose broccoli at home, don't think I'm going to make it my first choice if I'm dining out. Will need a little more training in new environments first. So when something goes wrong in training I ask myself "where is the value now and where do I need it to be?" Saves getting upset with your dog and helps to frame it objectively. ETA: Often a good trainer will get results from unfamiliar dogs for a couple of reasons...firstly, timing and mechanics. If you reward quickly and generously the dog learns to pay attention because WOW you're so much fun! Also, a good trainer will understand how to engage a dog through body language and play. Finally I do think there is a bit of a novelty factor when someone (with good timing and mechanics) trains an unfamiliar dog.
  7. So a nice way to do this is to continually up the ante....so for example, before my pup gets to go running (and she is bonkers about RUNNING not playing with other dogs) I expect her to play tug and follow multiple verbal cues, all correct behaviours followed up with a food reward - sit, drop, stand, twist, spin, paws up, say your prayers, nose touch - and THEN run. I might even say "go play" and immediately recall her, repeating this 5-6 times before releasing her properly. Just continues to build value for you because going running/playing/swimming/hunting is contingent on engagement.
  8. Tiny, tiny spots!!! And a little patch - how adorable
  9. Would it kill you to use the spoiler tags? :p Seriously though..yeah, pretty much. What works for one person might not work for another. I'd just pick whatever suits you best in terms of price for quality and give it a go. If it's not working after a month or so, try something else. You guys crack me up :laugh: If you've got dogs with a cast iron constitution see who will give you the best deal. Artemis suits my Dally really well so my Springers get it, as do my puppies. However one of mine looks great on anything - as long as it's without corn - so she eats all the winnings...Royal Canin, Advance, Holistic Select, Pro-plan and various high-performance foods.
  10. Oh thank you Eva :) You know I'm always happy to help - they are not the easiest of dogs but that's because they are SMART....work with them, rather than against them and you will be fine.
  11. Superstar! Winning hearts and minds everywhere :D I'm catching up with him tomorrow for some retrieving work. The irony is that I plan to do some water training :laugh:
  12. Ha ha yes they can! Which is why we have to work on our recalls because they disappear very quickly in the opposite direction Here's a recall video of Em a few weeks ago - she had gone a long way and most of the way back was either in water or uphill and she still makes it look easy :laugh: https://www.facebook...100008551569765 So great! What a champ She's a cracker alright :D
  13. Thank you SC, that's very kind but it has been a life's journey so far and I feel I have SO much more to learn. Ziggy says thank you - he is such an awesome lad and one of my best teachers. I remember him being such a PITA and now he's my "easy" dog :laugh:
  14. :laugh: She's very sweet but a surprising handful when the instinct kicks in. But once I understood how to train the recall properly it was just such a fun process. She can have so much more freedom now. And for anyone wondering I had to constantly whistle her "come in" command so she could work out where I was. We were both out of sight to each other until the last few metres and the distance and undulations can be very confusing when you're so little!
  15. Ha ha ha ha ha! I LOVE it! Go Thistle! So much fun and great split screen And more importantly, which collar for this weekend? :D
  16. Ha ha yes they can! Which is why we have to work on our recalls because they disappear very quickly in the opposite direction Here's a recall video of Em a few weeks ago - she had gone a long way and most of the way back was either in water or uphill and she still makes it look easy :laugh: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1563406503954387&id=100008551569765
  17. ah, it is not sooo easy. It requires that I focus on her, but during the training there is some time where I respectively all the handlers have to do other things, e.g. adjusting the jumps to new heights for smaller or bigger dogs. But yes, I have to start at home by adding breaks to the agility training - maybe add a blanket as a dedicated rest spot, or get one of those soft crates as the dedicated break spot. I can't blame her, I asked for her focus when we started on this journey, now she asks for mine :laugh: . Crate training. All my agility classes use crates between sessions which last about 5 min. High drive or not, they need to learn to chill. My dogs often fall asleep. They also learn to lie unrestrained on a bed whilst one of my three dogs are training. Or one of five or six if I am training with a friend.
  18. Lovely website espinay! That's next on my To Do list! Yes, it's a bit special watching them grow up
  19. Hi, could you please PM for me as well, thanks Yes, happy to :)
  20. Yes, gorgeous and enthusiastic - Ginny has enough keenness for everyone...she is a bit behind her brothers in terms of mental maturity and focus but I just had her out for some agility training (Susan Salo V-bounce plus Susan Garret directionals on cones) and she was absolutely explosive! So fun to see it all "click" with the babies. And they are all getting really, really snuggly....getting Ginny off the pillow in the morning is not easy and I know the others are starting to slow down enough for some cuddles!
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