dogdayz

Hastings - Thay will be renaming it the DOL obedience club the number now heading there. Still not made it myself, maybe this weekend, though it will be with Skye - who is never a pleasant prospect in obedience as she hates it - we are trying toy motivation at the moment with her - clicker proved a disaster she just get impatient and bites the clicker or lunges at the treat pouch. Do they allow use of toys in training down there. Poor Beck is limping intermittently so he goes sports physio monday but i suspect he will be resting a while after that?

Have used the complete mix for adult dogs for the last year. Have to say my dogs have done really well on it, they have it with raw meat, and meaty bones. I had no problem getting them to eat it - it smells of garlic and when mixed with raw meat it must be pretty appetising to a dog. Find their faeces are firm, which considering one has a major digestive issue is a feat in itself. Nutritionally i know many are not a fan of cereals, but i think the idea of this stuff is that the cereals/seeds are germinating and thus contain more active and available nutrition - i think i read somewhere it was to simulate the contents of the guts of herbivorous animals that a wild dog would eat. My only criticism is of the packaging - first day i used it i did not see the instructions saying mix with water 12-24hours before feeding, and mixed it dry with the meat .

Was wondering the same thing - now we are finally getting a few

Maybe we can introduce dog-swatting and dodging as a new dogsport - i reckon out two would be the first champions.

Please dont trial yogi - Beck will never concentrate with Connor around

We had a better day than Sparty. Our first trial for me and dog, started predictably enough with a very hyper excited dog (i think he thought he was there for tracking when we first arrived), he spotted a sable rough collie when we first arrived and was fixated by it, wnating to play, and then we found we were drawn next to it . So the morning trial was lots of me trying to hold on and the dog noticing anything bu the collie. We withdrew from the stays because he was just wanting to play with the collie sat next to him. By the afternoon he was a lot calmer and so was i. We got a pass and first place despite being next to the collie again Would also add the jusdge was great - he was freindly, talked heaps, lots of advice before during and after the trial.

I tossed up whether to bring the other dog - but decided with the humidity it probably was not fair. The weim will stress more without her, but on the other hand he will bolt to her if he knows she is there - hopefully in her absence he will only bolt to me.

IRex - my weim in encouragement at Werribee. Sparty - weather is a problem - dog starts to wind up about 6 hours before a storm arrives, any sound of distant thunder will have him running to my other dog (who will be at home saturday - so who knows where he will end up at werribee). I think if i have to i will just have to pull him from the stays if there is a storm happening at the time. Have stocked up on rescue remedy.

Could be worse Sparty mine has brisk pace but in wrong direction - looking forward to saturday NOT

If novice will no longer include on lead, will the off lead stand for exam be hands on or remain just a walkaround?

Aaaaargh...i think it is me with trialitis not the dog, i forgot to send an entry for the werribee double trial, and it closes this sunday, so even if i post today it will not get there :p poor boy will go straight into Novice at the weim national without an encouragement trial beforehand.....i see red faces :p :p

I met YB and her gorgeous little blue sheltie pup yesterday - he certainly proves socialiation is the key - he isnt scared of anything, not even being fly-swatted by a weimaraner

Yes, the october trial is Working dog club of victoria from memory, at KCC and is pretrial and up, so no instinct tests. I dont think the 2006 calender is out yet to know if/when Southern are holding theirs, but they held them at KCC this year. Sparty, may see you at Werribee double the weim is having his first obedience trial there - should be fun :D When is next lure coursing?

Sounds like we have a few herding converts now. Hope to see Reilly and Banjo at some instincts tests....let us know when so we can watch. Now to persuade my own dog to be interested once more in sheep and not harrassing the rake :D

Looks like you had fun. As for Reilly, he has mastered Lure Coursing and herding in just a few weeks - just no stopping him now.

All our training is away from class - why i was suprised he handled the class so well. He has not been to a class since april/may i dont think. I took him for the stays - unfortunate i chose the wrong two dogs to put him between, i knew both were regular attendees so thought they would be reliable.

YB it was you with the little blue sheltie pup - we actually waited for you to go by before doing the recall, as my boy was engrossed by your pup - we do our tracking training with some sheltie pups about the same age , so he was desperate to come over and see you.

agree with the advice to give her a break. I persisted way too long with classes for my collie rough and she got very bored. So she has had a full year break and been doing herding, tracking, agility, tricks instead. She will go back to obedience in the new year but not for hour long classes - she will get short bursts and we will be training her differently to keep her excited. Hopefully she will be a reformed character. I think my current two dogs have the unfortunate situation of being my first competition training attempts and experiments.

Yep YB that was us. Unsure what made him stress exactly while he was waiting - he is normally unfussed. Suspect that just before in the group class stays dogs both side of him had repeatedly broken, then when i was returning their owners were already there and fussing around a bit. My boy decided to get up and come to me so i told him to stay. Suspect he was a bit disturbed by doing something wrong. Add to that when i recalled him i think on reflection i said 'come' and not 'here' which is the command he is trained on (long story). So he probably got a bit unsure again, then finally someone flung their arms in the air and that was the last straw for him. IR - he would normally recall either end, but the end he came from is his least favourable, as he had a crowd of dogs close behind him, and in the past he has had a lot of fear issues with dogs, hence as YB said he was looking insecure when i left him. Not too worried as on reflection i think i put a lot of factors against him, and overall i was pleased as he did the stand for exam which is his usual weak point, and in the class he has worked well on and off lead. The ring trial threw him though, which i agree with sparty i suspect comes from me stressing.

Dont put me off Sparty I am getting ready to obedience trial my weim in november, so on sunday at training i had him put through a ring test. I was so happy when he did the stand for exam perfectly, showed no fear, despite it being an exercise he has never been comfortable with. Then low and behold the recall which he has never had a problem with, he just sat and stared at me, with encouragement he started to edge forward. Then the person judging said you are doing it wrong the signal is this, and demonstrated a hands above your head recall, which my dogs were never trained with. my weim decided at that sight that he was not going to hang around and bolted in the opposite direction. Some work to do i think.

Know all about that. Skye on her pre lim decided one patch of grass was just too tasty and no way was she going to finish the track until she had eaten the entire patch. She had to be dragged away in the end. Obviously failed, but she passed the second attempt. Beck blitzed his prelim and Track 1 only to decide to go kangaroo hunting on Track 2. Just sad that Tracking season is ended - snakes are out and about around here so not even any training...except sock games

are we talking a formal recall. i found Skye just ambled in at walking pace regardless of bribes. Improvement came once i taught her the command 'run' and would use it once she was on her way. Have phased it out, and now generally she bounces up to me.

i sent a PM but not heard anything back????

you mean i dont have to chase it myself

will be there with 1 2 or 3 dogs. hey Nat Reilly might have improved, Beck did heaps since the first time you saw, and a couple of weeks ago (not to say there is not room for further improvement ). Not sure if Charlie is coming, took him tracking last weekend and he jumped out the car window when i left him (amazed he could fit through such a small gap so easily - so he is in disgrace at present), though i could do with a nice piccy if him