skip

What a shock! I thought he was going to be a happy ending. At least he was loved and cared for. Imagine if nobody had picked him up and shown him any love. Look after yourself Teebs.

Kelpiechick -- If it is OK to ask? Who is making your weaves and would it be worth buying some and paying freight to NSW? I would like a set of weaves.

What a good outcome for you and your dog. It isn't always so easy to find a home for a real working type. Your kelpie must be very content now so you should feel glad you have done the best for your dog. I hope your circunstances turn out good as wel

My boy wouldn't even tug the food filled tug toy I brought from CleanRun! He tugs when I get home (after 6 years of trying) and once only he tugged at a trial but thats about it. And sorry , my chihuahua x is never ever going to tug. I do agility with both and have learnt heaps from running them. They have some titles and between them compet ranging from novice (agility) to masters (jumping). Both dogs were older when I got them and didn't get good starts. Food works for the chi x and maybe food and me work for the boy.Sometimes ;) Agility can work without tug but if you can't get it... Try whatever works. I have a food pouch ( red fluffy "Elmo" pencilcase really) that I throw as a reward to get the dog focused ahead. I go to open it for rewarding. And your dog might start tugging this eventually. I know someone whose dog likes leaves! What a easy reward. Kick the leaf around and the dog is happy. I did hear the club I train at is no longer keen to pass dogs from class one who don't tug. I was going to query that as that means neither of mine would have ever started and yet I've gone on to get lots of experience and have loads of fun running mine. My dogs are slower than some but you still learn the handling and moves that you need. Plus have fun :D Keep going! I'm sure your boy can do it. Tell him agility is just zoomies with jumps!

Thanks for all your replies. I do know that if I get one of the smaller breeds I like life could be simpler. Dogs such as mini poodle, sheltie, a type of terrier or rescue cross for eg. But in terms of a BC, kelpie or brittany? Hmmmm When one dog is 4 kg it must be important to get on otherwise I will need to seperate while I am away. Bit more decision making on my part. I can see myself getting a dog to keep my dogs happy and one that will still enjoy running for me. I found my first 2 dogs without much knowledge, now all this knowledge about dog breeds makes it harder to decide. Thanks all.

I have just realised how to get a pic on So mine are Gemma Sooty Oops should have said these photo's above taken by Paul. Photography. Best mates Do mix if food involved!

That's a heart warming story to share , mutt lover. Thank you for sharing again. Angel is lucky. I find myself being very attached to my dogs. In part too because I have moved since I got them twice and each time, they are my constant family. Without family nearby when you move to a new place it always takes a while to make new friends. And with the dogs I am not alone and I can get out and meet new like-minded people and find good company. When my little girl dies which I hope is at least a decade away, I am aware how much I will miss her. I have already thought about it. I would like to go and adopt another small old dog that deserves a safe place and being spoilt for a while. I have found a lot of comfort from my girl and thought I could give some of that back. My other dogs will be for agility and need to do something, Gemma's "dog" could just be loved. I am so sentimental! :D And as to your friend - just listen to her and support her. For now , anyway. If grieving went on too long you could just say you are worried about her. Not that she is wrong or bad for not getting over it. If it did go on too long, maybe she would be worried also. My family and workmates do not get dogs and can't underdstand why I like them. Having a friend helps. I remember my friends old horse died as we thought it would. When I turned up that day we just hugged and cried. I think she was more comforted that somebody understood her pain.

My poodle had a tail and althou I like the look of docking in some dogs - I didn't feel strongly enough to have it done. The property I worked on had a rottie and he had a lovely tail. But looking at the size of it ,specially at the base, glad no one cut it off. I listen to others (DOLers)more now as I did't know much about dogs but I was really surprised that there is such support of docking. Obviously it is more complicated than I thought. :D

Don't worry cowanbree - Shelties are way up there as a possible. Was told they can be as fast as a bc but a smaller package. One of the club trainers has a young dog who is full on, very friendly and really keen. My friend has a male (just got her 2nd pup this week) tri colour? who is a bit more timid and laid back than I would pick myself. However he loves my dogs and they all get on really well. Hmmmmm But I wouldn't get one in rescue, probably only from a breeder. Teebs and murve - think it goes to show that with good training many dogs of different types can get along. Atlas and Kaos are very different. Not sure I could handle a Kaos but if you could package and send me a bit of her energy - that would be great. My girl is a golden/cream chihuahua foxy x (toy) and the male is a black kelpie x chi ( mini + Paws rescue ). I do love pappy's but I was thinking this time to get a mini/midi. Maybe another toy next time. I have had a lot of trouble where I live from off lead dogs. I don't go to the off lead beaches now because of this. I sometimes need to pick up the chi x and let the male do as good as he can ( if I don't grab him too if it looks really bad). I feel another dog like a pap or toy poodle would stress me too much. Thanks for your replies. By the way , murve, my last dog (from a property I lived on ) was a rottie. Big change, the rottie was the big sook.

Hi all. I have 2 small dogs ( 4 and 10kg, 7 + 8yrs). I am thinking about another dog for agility now. When I found the 2 dogs I have now I was looking for smaller dogs as I rented. Don't rent now and I am hooked on agility. I would like to have a dog more suited to dog sports but it is just as important that my dogs are happy/safe. I am worried about how my 2 will cope with a more energetic dog. My dogs are also fairly quiet. They are not rough and tumble dogs at all and the male particularly dislikes over the top energetic dogs getting in his face. However he is very happy with most well behaved dogs. I would be interested in anyone elses experiences or opinions? I cannot decide if I want to go with a puppy (never had one ever) or a rescue dog. I have heard some say a puppy is more likely to get on with dogs you have already? But you could also get a dog from rescue that you know more about? What if a pup grew up and was too boisterous for my two? Of course I am willing to do whatever it takes to look after all my dogs but I would rather plan carefully now and avoid issues if I can. Hope this post makes sense as I am really confused about what I want. Too many lovely dogs. Thanks

Good Idea. When in Orange it seemed we had a group of from 2 to 12 people who walked together every day. Then we started to get together on weekends and socialise as a group with and without dogs. I've left now but still keep in touch. Apparently there's a new set of walkers and the get togethers still go on. We had somebody advertise in the local dog training club newsletter. Reaches more dog mad people!

Those two pups look like they are having a lovely time Hard to see more that a little black dog in that pis but I would say not much bigger than it is now. Did you just get her at 5 months? I have a 2 smaller dogs and wondered how they would get on with another slightly bigger more energetic dog. Do your 2 get on OK? Congradulations on your new puppy anyway. Two dogs is so much more natural for the dogs I think.

My small girl woud like to walk in the middle of the tarred road just in case a dog comes out at us from a house. I struggle to convince her otherwise! 2 scarey experiences for eg; Walked past a house in a unfamiliar area where they had a dog tied to a large treestump to keep it contained. Sadly the dog was so excited as I walked past with 2 little ones, it jumped a fence dragging the wood along. Surprising how fast it could drag that lump of wood. Luckily I could carry one chihuahua and drag one kelpie x faster than it could drag that treestump! But I was running for about half the street before I could lose that bloody dog! Talk about heart rate! Offered to walk my invalid friends DA boxer. Walking past the back of a house as I have done dozens of times with my little dogs for about the third day in a row. There is a lovely looking brown and tan bully type dog on the back stairs as always. Except this time the owner is in the yard and the dog bolts down to the back 6ft fence. You cannot beleive how shocked I was to see 2 claws, then 2 paws, next a nose, a head, and then the whole bloody dog slip over that fence. I nearly died. If it had of been my 2 small dogs I would have been a mess. I was very calm with somebody elses dog. Slack, I know. Luckily the dog had better recall than most dogs I know and without a fight, slipped back over the fence when the owner screamed at it. Decided to give that walking option a miss for a while till that dog gets older and fatter. Seems everywhere can be dangerous to walk your dogs these days. As I consider dog no. 3 , I am thinking about getting a larger dog as I cannot protect 3 small dogs at once. My chi x would be dead so easily if attacked by any mid sized dog or larger.

I was at a horse show near a chicken farm once. There was a rottie pup with us and he walked over to the fence while we were talking nearby. Next thing we hear this almighty noise and it was the pup. He seemed unhurt but he got a fright. Someone nearby pointed out the fence was wired for foxes/dogs.-- there is a small silver wire at about 10cm from the ground which is electric. I supose there are some higher too. Hopefully some country DOL folk can give more advice but electric fences can work. Can't the batteries in the collar containment system go flat as well? A waist high fence isn't that high so hopefully you can find some means to keep your pup safe. Good luck.

I was talking to a vet the other day and asked his opinion on vacs and titres. He said that it is true some vacs against some dog diseases do last more than one year. But he seemed to think some (2 at least he named) diseases need to be vaccinated against yearly. And his point was that if you need to vaccinate these 2 you may as well do them all. He vaccinates his dogs and is happy to do. The titre test costs more than the vaccinations and he doesn't beleive vaccinations are harmful. It is a bit confusing.

Hi Myjoe Thought I would let you know that it can be a bit OVERwhelming at first. I got a rescue dog with separation anxiety (which I was warned about) but I didn't really understand what it meant. I was told I needed another dog for this rescue dog so I found another younger dog who had some other issues as she spent her first 8 months in a cage with the rest of the litter. OMG I was so out of my depth. I found one talk with a behaviourist, time and training and everything got better gradually. Now I am so happy with the dogs and they are so suited to my life. Can't beleive now that I ever found them hard work! Hope it works out as well for you.

ESS sounds like a great choice! I have only seen one in real life but lovely dogs. They appear on telly sometimes as working dogs and seem really keen and focused. I did like them and also the Brittany. So good you have found your choice - I am still undecided except it must be a boy. Can I ask who the breeder is? Must give photos too then

My dogs do get on the bed. I have a chihuahua that will use the blanket box at the end of the bed as a step. But at times she will fly off the bed so maybe i should get her trained in her exit. Aussielover - I get what you are saying about dog sports and repetitive actions. But what about a little dog? I have a chi who jumps 15 to 20 cm.. She doesn't leap off any contact equipment as she has to make the contact. So with little dogs like her - a big leap off the bed which is much higher than 20 cm could be more damaging than agility jumps maybe? Particularly as when she comes off the bed she is standing up on the bed and if excited she jumps very straight legged off the bed. But if I thought it was too dangerous she wouldn't be allowed on the bed. I feel slack now - better improve her box steps skill.

Hi Kelpiekaye Love your dog. I have a little black kelpie type dog. I first tried the channel method as in the country at Orange, NSW - this was all that was given. Since moving elsewhere I now can train at a club and used the 4 x 4 method of Susan Garrett. Search here on DOL and there is plenty of posts about weaving. Besides contacts it must be the biggest training topic. I found this method worked well for the kelpie x. He understands entries from different angles and seems to always get it right. When he was learning sometimes he would miss a hard entry from the left side of the weaves but that was due more to him thinking near enough might be OK. If I marked this with a non reward marker he would get it the second time. At home training he understands but takes a little longer to get fast performances at trials. Due to competition distractions and my dog is a pretty laid back dog and motivating him is my biggest hurdle. But I think this method is really great. I used 4 x 4 as well as a bit of a different method to teach my chihuahua but I think the 4x4 method still played a big part. Good luck. If you decide to use the 4x4 method I would get the DVD. I was taught at our club but we did watch the DVD together before we started training.

A recent CleanRun mag had a set of exercises just for working the dog in both and also swapping from one to another. Interesting but have'nt had a chance to try it yet.

I have been learning agility for a few yeasr now with my first 2 dogs. Firstly in the country we had limited training but 2 years ago I moved to Wollongong and had the opportunity to train a bit more. I think that there is a lot to be said for learning with a steadier less drivey dog. Learning a good handling system is another big plus!! I have a 40cm/mini kelpie x chi who is pretty laid back energy wise. And a timid chi x foxy toy who is pretty much my shadow. My dogs are not very energetic which also makes them so easy to live with. After I learnt a handling system at our club (basically GD ) my dogs improved massively. Once they knew where they were going next, that I wouldn't be in the way and they could understand ever signal I gave - speed and enthusiasm just improved. So once they got me out of the way they could just go for it. AS the courses are getting more complicated I notice the handling training paying off as the dogs easily follow my signals ( if I get them right). Mine still struggle with the fact that too many dogs running around make them uncomfortable. It took me a long time to get the chi to be comfortable enough to line up and start without closing down due to dogs at the start line. She still has the odd moment and she is finding weaving in a actual run hard but when she is confident - she is starting to really fly. Thou the weaving is a killer as she will be in JDM classes and AD still The kelpie is getting older but for now I will run them as long as they want to. Every run I learn something and I'm hoping steadier in my training thou I am not the most naturally talented. So I think any dog can do it - some just do it at a different pace and to a different level maybe. But I think I am just as proud of my little dogs as I know they are doing their best. Takes all types to make it interesting too

OMG One of mine can be very out there. It throws its bum at other dogs sometimes. AND it's a boy dog who is fond of boys and girls! And he isn't shy either. At a agility comp presentation on Sat I was inside and mine were both outside. I heard the girl bark which is unusual so I got up and walked to the door. They both looked very innocent but a smoker at the door told me my boy had been amusing himself. Knowing him I asked if I should ask what he was doing and she said no, not really. Last time he gets to "play" outside. Dogs are fun..they have no shame

Hey RubyStar I would say invest! The magazine is very worthwhile. The editorial first page is always interesting. The "Backyard Dogs" gives a simple course and great exercises to run on it. Lately the mag was running a set of exercises to proof behaviours such as contacts and weave entries. Geared a bit for the USA agility world but that's OK and makes me appreciate how good we have it. I get a lot out of it. You're already hooked and I think you will take as much as you want from it.

Last year on the Sunday the obedience training was going on down below the agility. I couldn't resisit looking at the dogs. It seemed very organised thou I think the people were probably starting out in obedience. Must be disappointing if training gets canned for trials to go on.

Must be very exciting having a new pup to train. There happens to be a agiltiy comp on the weekend of the 5th and 6th March. Plenty of dogs to see that weekend. I don't live in Newcastle but if I did I would definitely join up.