Sayreovi

With my second flyball dog i didnt really do any flyball basic work, just worked on usual obedience things. Doing it again i would do the latter, focus on driving to the ball and driving back to me as well for a tug toy. Swimmers turn, both of my dogs had different training for turns. First dog was trained going around a pole, it is quick but not always great method as it tends (for me) to make the dog go out wide. For him his back end doesnt really get on the box as much as i would like and as a result doesnt get the extra oomf to push him back faster over the jumps. The good thing about this is he does come in at an angle to the box rather then straight on. My other dog i taught by placing a white board (2 jumps each with an opposite end removed to create one long white board) in front of the box and getting him to jump up and push off with his back legs in one clean motion. The only problem with this method is the dog has to be athletic and built to do sharp turns. My older boy is longer backed and just cant seem to physically pull it off. If you go to a comp you will notice which teams train with the board as the box tends to have a white bottom It is hard to explain and IMO best be viewed in person what each method produces and how it is trained.

Ahh so that was you Wasnt game enough to walk up and ask if you were from DOL haha I dont have any brags really, both dogs including mummys boy Darcy have been total pain in the a**es lately.....not happy. Our time at Croydon was very short and not sweet, went to training afterwards where Darcy didnt refuse anything at all, gotta love that :D LP Did you get any passes at Croydon?

Yes i am using food at the moment, usually train with a tug toy, but i want him to be calm and thinking before i get to the hyper stage Am about to head outside for another go so will give what you suggested a try!

Any injury that is weaver related can best be largely avoided by not started the dog too early, i dont do weaving until 2 years, and using the correct methods.

You have to pay to get into Kepala though. I havent heard or seen off any agility parks down here and i am thankful, there would be too many people putting young dogs over it and too many accidents.

The DOR is working fine, i tried what you suggested with Darcy and he learnt quickly to drop when i said it wherever he was and slowly progressed to DOR, it confused him initially because he couldnt understand what i was asking Retrieves are still alot of trouble (who would have thought with 2 nutty retrievers?!) Darcy just doesnt seem to get the sit when he returns with the dumbell, he will fly out pick it up, and hold it for ages even heels with it (and went through the weavers with it when he was supposed to come straight back to me ) but as soon as i say sit or raise my hand he will drop the dumbell.....i am confused and dont know what to do now! He knows he is supposed to front as he will come and stand in front of me where he is supposed to be but no sitting, or even a drop with it in his mouth.

Yep one of mine weighs about 22 kg and he is only 45cm. Based on that you would say he is obese :rolleyes: but is actually quite fit, you can feel his ribs and has great muscle tone! I wouldnt want any more weight off him....well maybe a little, still working out the ratios for the BARF diet so he is carrying a touch too much Only one vet i have been too has commented on their excellent weight rather then telling me too feed them more....i think they are just too used to seeing fat dogs that this becomes the norm and healthy weight dogs are seen as underweight!!

When do you not compete/train? As soon as bitch is mated or once you know you have pups? I agree with you but would like to know when to stop training.

Most definately!! Ive always said its not the dog but the handler thats the problem, if they had a more experienced handler they could have gone far but alas they got stuck with me ;) I try my best and learn every day i train them, they will eventually get to a level that i hoped for them just alot later then expected!! We all have heaps of fun though and thats the main thing IMO

I meant the full distance in trialling How far in comps do you have to do it from?

Thanks for all the info, definately food for thought, will give a few things suggested a go tomorrow (love not having to work days!!) Dogdude, thats one thing i have...patience...just one of the many things Nova taught me when i was (trying) to train him when he was younger. For the distance exercise how far are you actually away when doing it?

I posted in the thread in General but its not there anymore.... Anyway IMO any breed can do obedience/agility, just with some breeds dont expect to beat Borders (especially in agility) Overseas there are a few Pharaohs that do agility and obedience, so there is hope! Good luck i think they are gorgeous dog and when i get my one i will be doing sports with it.

Is there any changes you would expect to see? He is fine with his distance signals, at the moment i am about 3 metres away and can get him to do all 3 positions from any position with either voice or signal, i am slowly moving back but i would like to know what possible snags i may run into before i do that. Thanks for all the advice, these two guys are my first attempts at trialling/serious training so any advice is greatly appreciated. Really its going to be the 'simple' parts of an exercise like sitting with the dumbell that we will have problems with, they seem to really enjoy the harder work. Ptolomy, thanks that might work for Darcy actually will give it a go tomorrow. Good luck Clover, never too late

Yep second the Spring Loaded DVDs. I dont have them though to share, our club bought them and i can borrow from the club.

Thanks Turns out Darcys go was a fluke so i will try what you did Helen, he is very soft and will roll over if i try to get him to sit by touching him or if i get even a tiny little bit frustrated he tunes me out completely..... Though had great fun teaching them the 'box' exercise today, something a bit different is what we need rather then the usual heeling stuff

I am one of those people who have a dog that if he was stood over, jumped on or basically anything that will freak him out it will take many many months to even get back to a decent level. Especially in the earlier classes where many dogs arent ready for stays and break. I will not risk any more stays and potential harm to my dog when i cant control it (unlike in proofing) Each to their own though, and if your dog is steady and will ignore what is going on around him/her i dont see why you cant continue with the stays. Upset now that ive missed the opportunity to go to Ginas seminar

I do, once a week. Cleans out their system really well. Do it too all dogs that come here except puppies. ETA: I think that if you are doing the BARF diet your dog should be getting 2 meals a day, so really missing one meal of that two wont kill them.

With double trials, i ideally like to do both with both dogs, would enter both and then decide after the first one what to do for the afternoon. I dont find obedience as exhausting as agility and flyball, so i dont expect my dogs to be tired either......though for my second trial in agility with Darcy i entered 4 classes for the whole day and i wont be doing that again!!! Whereas Nova could do that easily.. So it really depends on the dog whether to do doubles.

Congrats on getting the first one out of the way! Its always nerve wracking....i still havent conquered my nerves haha I would say the perception is wrong especially in the lower classes, (havent been in higher classes so no idea) In my first trial i went terrible, i think i failed every exercise but the judge was so nice and friendly about it, explained that I not the dog needed more ring practice as i was basically shaking with nervousness. Have never met a mean judge in any sport other then showing. Best of luck for the next one, have you entered any more?

Really...no idea, alot of my training with Nova was alot of luck and him just seem to get what i want . Pretty much i was telling him to wait after i dropped him which included a brief pause, after a few goes i was dropping him and not having to change the pace or adding a wait. I probably done it wrong, but he was having heaps of fun and was treating it as a different exercise and it didnt seem to confuse him with normal training as i was stopping and starting again with the heel command.

Just had to have a brag for both my dogs in obedience training. Nova i just couldnt get to drop on recall or do the dumbell retrieve today he did both perfectly!! I was watching some U Tube videos where the dog was heeling, handler said drop, dog dropped while handler kept walking. Thought that it might get him to understand drop means drop where i say not crouch and drop at feet So he caught on really quick and i was eventually jogging and he would drop straight away. So i tried it will a recall and he did it perfectly, stopped as soon as i said. His retrieve was a bit harder as i accidently clicked ONCE when he pawed it and now he wouldnt do anything but run up and put a paw on it. Today it just seemed to click in his head, first go he went out picked it up came back, didnt sit on the first go but held until i took it off him. Second go he sat (i said too) so i am very proud of him!! Plus i had set up my weavers and he was weaving really well on my right hand side (never taught him right hand side, always left because i was too unco) Darcy i had problem with his retrieves, wouldnt sit on return, he would hold it for ages even heel with it, but i just couldnt get him too sit at all. Today like Nova it seemed to click, did it all perfectly without any hints from me. Finished on that but i am about to head back out and see if it was a fluke or not. Argh so excited!! Now if i can only get over my nerves i will be trialling soon enough

Don't know if they recognise they are siblings, but perhaps that they smell familiar? My oldest boy regulary meets with his full litter brother at flyball, goes nuts over him, they had seen each other maybe once up until a year ago when we started to go to flyball competitions so they see each other on a regular (once a month) occurance. Both dogs act nutty when they see other Tollers, though Nova has a special excitement reserved for his brother, it could be because they are very similiar in shape/size but who knows maybe they know who the other dog actually is?

I don't know about Western Australia, but I have certainly been told here in the Eastern States that I should not obedience train my dog under any circumstances because that means it will sit in the ring. Note I said "some show people" - there are other show people here who win Dunbar medals and who are fine with people doing obedience and show at the same time. (I actually think show training is a form of obedience training anyway!!) Yep - I get that too - along with you can't do agility and obedience together Same here along with 'flyball makes your dog nuts' and 'i wouldnt do flyball if you want to do obedience' I do both, dog knows the difference, there is a different environment, different collar and different commands. Youngest wasnt really trained much in formal obedience when young, nor shown much but knows the difference easily. One means he gets to prance around looking pretty!! ETA: I dont say 'stand' in the ring because of obedience, instead i say 'show' that way dogs arent confused as to what i want. Dont use 'stay' for dont move either, its 'steady' for the show ring

Any club would love to have you! Quick (and even not so quick) little reliable dogs are sought after because it brings the jumps down for the other dogs that dont like doing jumps. We used to have a Jack Russel as our height dog in our fastest division, she was able to do 5.6s which is really quick for a little dog!

Thanks Clover Nice to know others have dogs that done that and it worked out He is a good boy though and will always try and go over the jumps when crossing even when really close so its not like he runs down the outside so i am lucky there.