The Spotted Devil

Where there are dogs I'm not familiar with I use them firstly as something "different" that the pup can watch pass by. Then if the pup is fearful it might be about playing games at a distance the pup feels comfortable with. Similarly if the pup desperately wants to launch at the unfamiliar dog we can practice impulse control games under distraction. I prefer my dogs to see other dogs and be a bit "meh" about them.

Not a small breed but I've just switched my 7 week old ESS pups from necks to wings/quartered frames. Little rascals were giving the necks one crunch then swallowing them. I will leave the cats to eat the necks!

I see quite a few very mouthy Labs but some of that may be due to selection, early socialisation (ie up to 8 weeks) and owner inexperience. I've been enjoying watching my litter of working ESS develop bite inhibition from each other, their Mum and the humans in their world. They do tend to have softer mouths as a rule though.

Smart move as you do need to be patient. Relax with a cuppa and just enjoy the process :) Dog training has become my "zen" moment. It's how I switch off to the world.

Personally I prefer to shape an interaction with "the scary thing" rather than lure (which is what happens when you put food in the crate). So mark and treat for looking at the crate to begin with and then any interaction with it. It's a great skill for a dog and owner to learn. And use AWESOME treats of course!

My Dalmatian tried to get inside another dog's crate at training a few weeks ago. It belonged to a tiny Yorkie and he could only just fit his head in it. It brought the house down :laugh:

My litter of pups happily used open crates at 3 weeks and closed crates at 6 weeks. My adult dogs (at 4.5 and 8.5) still play crate games at least weekly. They are only confined at trials but also play crate games when they are in the back of the car and taking turns at training.

I put a really light leash on (cat leash even) and just let them drag it around to start with. My baby puppies will get that this week as they are super cool with collars going on and off. Winter puppies are always a bit tougher. I dress up warmly and do stuff outside (sweep, weed etc) - so if pup takes a while I'm still achieving something! Limiting their yard space does work - compost panels from Bunnings make a great (boring!) puppy pen for toileting.

Unless they were mad keen on the breed for some reason I probably wouldn't suggest a GSP, Viz or or a Weim. Awesome but need a fair whack of mental stimulation and structure.

I just use the incontinance pants from Petstock for Em - can't recall the brand. Panty liners are much cheaper than the pads sold for the pants.

They are the exact combo of crates I have here already I have a wire from Vebo! It's very good! Lol I bought my puppy pen from Vebopet too - it's so strong! I will be buying some extra panels I think. <insert gratuitous puppy pic>

I used z/d for one of my cats - not as a permanent solution but as a means of testing various proteins. She was on it exclusively for several months and then we would add one novel food item for at least a month (chicken necks, chicken chunks, beef chunks, her usual dry food and various flavours of her usual wet food). It was a long process but really well worth it. It turns out she could have chicken and fish but not turkey or beef. We left the testing there as I was just happy that she could eat necks again.

Yes exactly aussielover. I send Em for the mark (up to 150m) and then, unless I see that she is nowhere near the area of the fall I trust her to quarter and scent until she nails it. Unless it's a National. Then I handle lol

For soft crates I would go with K9+ and for wire I go with Vebopet.

If you'd met my Dally up to the age of 2 you might have called him stubborn. Now I call him Agility Champion. I just needed to find out what made him tick. Is my ESS stubborn when I can't move her focus from a duck? Or is she simply highly motivated to hunt game?

I don't think it's quite that simple. The chase is about prey, the feel and smell of the item (in the case of Gundogs) is absolutely about prey and the delivery to hand is simply rewarded with more opportunities to chase. My ESS will pluck a live duck out of the water and deliver it to hand unmarked. Obviously I don't let her free run around lakes after that experience! Certainly chewing game is partly genetic (hard/soft mouth) but a lot of it is in response to stress and a failure to break down the delivery criteria.

I agree.

How lovely to see such moderate heads on Boxers

She's bigger than Em :laugh: Needs to grow into them ears doesn't she lol

And don't train it on the dumbbell initially. Make your mistakes on other retrieve items.

I meant to say that if you plan to be around the hills one day let me know and you can meet Zig and Em :)

I did the 20km Endurance test with Zig when he was about 7 years old (now 8.5). Most people do it on a bike as you need to be fit to maintain a constant running speed. Zig's heart rate went down at every vet check and only went through the roof at the final vet check because he'd been flirting with some very sexy girly Dalmatians. He's a tart and the girls love him.

:laugh: Dalmatians can be addictive...

I will most likely go to the Hastings trial - was going to suggest that one but I can't think beyond next week at the moment :laugh: My Zig is the only Dally doing agility in Vic at the moment buf if you want to go to a show/meet some breeders do shoot me a PM and I can chat further with you.

That's very kind of you Spotted Devil. I am down towards the Mornington Peninsular - I used to live in Upwey though, close to where you are in the Ranges! I would love to meet your dogs and see some agility trials, I never have before. Ah! Good! Here's a link to Vic Agility trials: http://www.agilitytrials.info/index.htm It's a bit quiet for agility in the next few months - I will be at the Moorabbin trial on Saturday - at least for the morning (have to go home and feed my baby puppies) but might get back for the afternoon. And then I'm flying to QLD next Wed for the Dalmatian Nationals - there will definitely be 101 Dalmatians :laugh: I also have a few contacts for Viz and of course you can meet my ESS and see what a working Gundog is like!