Cleo's Corgwyn

I recently got a collar and lead for each of mine from doglite.com.au - they're super bright and come in an awesome range of colours.

I use all three; clicker, verbal marker, and mouth click, and my dogs don't seem to have any issues identifying all as markers! I use a clicker when teaching a new behaviour, or refining detail in a behaviour. I use a verbal ('nice') when training with a broader brush, and for things like behaviour sequences, and I use a mouth click to mark things like good heeling or focus. But I will use them interchangeably as well!

Funnily enough, we were discussing this last week. Some felt that you risked some judges docking you 1 of your costume points, even though the rules don't actually state the dog has to wear anything. I guess if your dog stresses about things around it's neck, you are better off taking the chance on one point, than risking more on a distracted dog. ACT are holding our second DWD comp next Friday, a small outside, evening trial, with our 5 new judges officiating. We're thrilled with the support we have gotten again, with several interstate entries, and over a dozen different entries so far!

Zimri (CH Llandwyn Crescent Moon (AI) CD JD RE HTMS FSS) CDX (Open) - I think this is entirely achievable, as he has most of the exercises. We're going to try and them all together at a trial in a few weeks. Then aiming to at least have UD ready to go by the end of the year. He will be my first dog at UD, so new for us both! RAE then Master, and maybe Rally CH under the new rules - we have all the behaviours for new signs, so should be able to manage it. For me, finishing creating a Rally O app for mobiles! JDX and AD and SPD in agility. Need to get some distance on my Obedience dog, but won't risk our Obedience teamwork for it! Both Novice DWD titles, if we find time, plus some judging appointments for me. Inari (CH Sarasota Vanilla Cola) Starting competition - RN and maybe RA in Rally, and at least her DWD Starters Freestyle title, maybe DWD heelwork if it comes together OK. Then aim for CCD. We're working on her running tunnels, so she can play in Jumping at agility trials. She thinks most equipment is evil, so I don't think she'll ever manage agility runs, but has a lovely jumping style. On the side, we're going to try some herding, just for fun, and a bit more noseworks. I *think* that is enough!

A month isn't enough from scratch, but you already have nice focus, and a good relationship, and rally allows you to use both of those.

Grab me at agility, and I'll give you some pointers, or we have Obedience Triallers class at BDOC on Tuesday nights. A couple of us did an intro to heeling workshop for the club's new Rally folk recently, and I can send you a copy of the document I put together for that, if you like. The Fenzi Academy have some great online courses - the Precision Heeling course started today, and is still open for enrollment; My link

Lovely work, Denali and Huski! Denali, a good training session like that is so good for your confidence, and your dogs! And Huski, welcome to the world of Rally enthusiasts!It's such a lovely, fun sport, which fosters teamwork, I think. Zimri and I have had two awesome weekends in a row. Last weekend was a double Obedience and double Rally trial, meaning Zim had six runs across the day, two in Novice Obedience, and 4 in RAE. In the morning, he got a clean sweep of first places, and in the afternoon, he managed all three passes again, with two seconds and a third. This finished his CD title, and got his first two RAE passes! This weekend was the ACT state Agility titles, and he managed third place, for his first JDX pass (only three out of 20+ dogs ran clear!) and he and his partner managed first place and a qualie in Novice Strategic Pairs. Agility is still fairly new for us, and he loves it so much :)

Kay Hargreaves could be another option; she's a very experienced trainer with some great problem solving skills. I've done some workshops with her. I think her school is Waggin' School for Dogs, or similar?

Mine luuurve their Pod - I frequently find multiple dogs and cats curled up together on it. This is Inari the Cardi and Fintan the Siamese on their pod; If you pass through Canberra, let me know!

I'm actually quite excited about the new Rally signs and titles! Spins, distance control and recall to heel all sound like fun.

Disclaimer: Obviously this isn't going to a be a popular statement in amongst all this vitriol, but I have met Dave a few times at APDTA conferences, and have always found him pretty knowledgeable about dogs and dog training. While I would never board my own dogs in that sort of set up, because I've seen too many problems erupt in large groups of dogs, there is obviously a demand for that sort of care, fueled by the public perception that dog playtime is necessary for all dogs. I do think the training facilities he offers (dock dogs, herding schools, etc) are pretty unique, and I had aspirations to do some training there. I just hope the facility isn't forced to close entirely over this incident. I fully agree that Wags sad death has been handled badly by Dave and/or his staff, but I'd like to remind everyone we are still very much hearing one side of the story, and a media beat up.

My parents have Boxers, in Central Queensland and they are very athletic. Other, more unusual Gun dog breeds to check out include the Pointer (one of the lesser known gems) and Lagottos (curly coated, medium sized, happy go lucky). We now have a few Lagotti at Dog club, and coincidentally, a couple live with serious runners, and love it. My big advice would to do your research, come up with a short list of breeds you like, and then go out and meet those breeds, at shows, or at breeders. Look over the dogs you meet with a critical eye, and see what suits you. You may find your final choice is not what you expected!

Hi Pockets, I'm pretty sure Delta accredited trainers are a different part of Delta to the Therapy dogs. Most of the behaviours required for the test are pretty basic obedience related behaviours, and any decent positive trainer should be able to help you prepare for the test. Good Luck!

I think Lisa at Polite Paws is in that area - you could try the APDT Website for other positive trainers

I make the salmon or tuna fudge, and I use ground oats, rice flour or coconut flour easily. I also find a little bit of parmesan cheese and fresh parsley works really well. I also recently discovered the Nature's Gift Tuna and Cheese cat treats - they're really tiny, and make great, easy training treats!