Vickie

What if you bred a whole litter of exceptional pups?

Woooohoooo, Go Lewis! He's Super keen & loving every minute :)

Agreed!

In case anyone doesn't see it on the list New date tba

What she does in the video would definitely earn a DQ as per the rules. Am I worried about it? Nope. I am enticing her to come off & reposition her back feet. It is a step in the training and one which we will move on from. I also teach my dogs to jump on and off the table fast before I ever teach them to stay on it, but they have never jumped off in a trial. Thanks, I was especially happy with the jumping. She's only ever really done a little pinwheel, so that was a bit of an experiment to see what she would do if I just ran. Most of the training i have done with her so far has been about building a reward system. I havent trained her with a clicker & the treats i was using in the clip were the same kibble she gets in meals .

That would be a disqualification for wrong course obviously.

Not sure what being competitive has to do with it? I compete against the course. Here you go Lia, clearly structure is not hampering this one....

The reason I initially suggested you hang back a little is that what I see is that you are (unintentionally of course) applying pressure at the entry to the poles & she looks to me like she is responding to that pressure by kicking out. What I mean by pressure, is that you are leaning over a bit, shoulders turned toward her a bit rather than ahead, and your path converges slightly on her entry. They are all subtle things, but added together, I felt they were applying pressure when I first watched the clip.

Dasweep & DeltaCharlie put this amazing video together for Trim and I of some of our runs from last year. I don't think I've shared it here, but watched it again today since we were talking about handling systems/acceleration/cues etc, so I thought I'd put it up Warning, it's a bit long...but there are a few times in it that I accelerate through a FC, and there afe other times i need to wait for commitment...much easier to see than explain in words :)

Hey RS, that was an AWESOME run! She sure is enthusiastic! She's Loving every minute of it Have you tried letting her find her own entry in the poles? She is a great weaver, I would just hang back a bit in a trial & practice crowding her in training a bit more, so she is happy with both.

I love viennas contacts :)

Thanks :). I just started by luring & feeding in position. Then I started to mark any backward motion of her back feet, based on this article: http://www.awesomepaws.us/pdf/Reprint_OneRearToe.pdf She does pivot stuff too & doesn't seem at all confused by it.

Thanks & yes, that does make sense. In answer to your question, my response would probably be similar to yours...it would depend where I'm going next. To be honest, although I follow the Meckinberg system and use a balance of cues, I tend to think in terms of commitment these days, rather than in terms of acceleration/deceleration. I think I really only decelerate when I am waiting for commitment to a line. Once I have that commitment, I'm out of there! Someone I teach asked me a technical question at a trial last week, about how far she should go into a pinwheel based on the Mecklinberg system. My response was simple: Forget the technical stuff, go as far as you need to, ie as far as your instinct/autopilot tells you to, to get your dog to commit to the line/obstacle. Does that make sense? I think people can get too bogged down in the technical stuff at a trial. I like to be technical when I'm training, and obviously to come up with a plan when I'm walking a course, but when I'm running in a trial, I don't want to have to think about it, everything I have practiced, should just happen.

I always try to pick a name already in their pedigree :) I figure if an ancestor was a good enough sheepdog to be bred from, then any of the names are a good omen :) Otherwise, I like this list, with traditional names http://www.palado.de...db/dognames.htm

I'm trying to teaching Fly a rear feet on method, as opposed to a 2o2o. I basically want her body horizontal, rather that at an angle in her contact position. I'll let you know in about 2 years if it works! Anyway, here is video so far...

I think this is so true. I was just saying something very similar to someone the other day. I see a lot of late cues & wide turns, but lately assume its the execution rather than the system. I don't use the GD system, I precue , but do have a question... The precue allows me to get ahead if i need to when executing a FC which means I can accelerate through it while still changing sides. Would this only be handled a a rear in the GD system? I can probably find video somewhere to illustrate if this doesn't make sense...

Are you talking about a sporting or working home? I have chosen my last 3 dogs based on seeing their parents work/train and they stood out to me as outstanding. I haven't been fussy about which individual pup as I tend to be interested in breeders who breed a consistent litter. My opinion is that the best way to get a pup/pups noticed is to get out there & show off the parents. Hope I've understood the question correctly, apologies if not :)

I've had a couple of BCs like this, including my current pup. I find they tend to fill out and carry a good weight on maturity. With Shine, that was close to 2 years.

I have a verbal Go on, that I support with motion/accereration and a verbal out that I support with my arm. I tried the food target thing with my old dogs, but found it totally fell apart in competition as they damn well knew there was no food in the ring.

You can use any word you want. Because I have 5 dogs here, I tend to say "here" followed by their name.I also have a recall whistle which they all respond to & is handy when I want them all to come at once or when we are somewhere noisy. A couple of thoughts. BC's like things to happen FAST! :) throw the ball & as soon as she picks it up, run the other way. This should inspire her to run after you, hopefully with the ball still in her mouth. As soon as she catches up, stop, as soon as she drops the ball, say Yes, and pick it up as fast as you can and throw it again. What you are trying to show her is that the quicker she brings it back, the quicker you will throw it. - If she doesnt come all the way to you, thats ok, you may need to work up to that. So long as she is moving towards you with the ball, I would still pick it up & throw it for her. Each time, expect her to bring it a little closer. - If she runs off with it, too bad for her. She's the one who should want the game, not you. Just walk away, go inside & try again next time. She will soon get the message. - If she will not drop the ball, have another ball in your hand. As soon as she chases after you with the first ball, say yes and throw the 2nd. You can fade the 2nd ball out when she starts to understand the game. Once she really understands the game, you can ask her to do things to earn the ball, like sit, drop etc. :) you're very welcome. Let us know how you go.

Hi beezneez, Firstly, I just want to apologize in case my first post was too abrupt. Sometimes I just type what's in my head And although it's what I think, I could say it a bit nicer. Sorry How old is you pup now? The good news is that it's never too late to get these issues sorted out. Some ideas: 1. First priority should be her recall. It's usually best to start this in an area free of distractions eg, start in your lounge room, then progress to your backyard, then to your front yard, then to a park where there are no other dogs/people, then to an area where there are dogs & people etc.I would put her on a long line everywhere but your house & backyard so she is safe & cannot make the decision to ignore you.Pick a new word for your recall and make sure Everytime you say that word she comes & is rewarded for coming.I usually start pups by saying their word and then running away from them, as soon as they start to come towards me, I say yes and reward them. I also make sure they come every time! And use the long line to make sure they are unable to ignore me. What you want is an automatic response where they don't think, they just turn & come. 2. Google NILIF. Border collies need jobs and for most of them, tricks & training games are a good substitute for work.Don't give her food in a bowl, use it to teach tricks & reward from your hand. Sit, stay & Down are useful but there are heaps more tricks that you can teach a puppy that are lots of fun. 3. Border Collies are often obsessive by nature. Some will disagree, but I want to choose what my dogs obsess over, so I play ball with them. I would rather them shoving a tennis ball in my lap than chase birds/cars/flies etc. 4. Try & go walking with other suitable dogs. Rather than have her in face to face situations on lead where she is likely to react. Pick non reactive dogs & have her walk beside them. She is less likely to worry about them if you are going somewhere rather than standing around. 5. Be prepared that she may never want to play with strange dogs, but aim that she will be able to play with you, around strange dogs. 6. Be careful of correcting her too much around other dogs. In her head, she may start to think, Everytime I see a dog, something bad happens therefore other dogs are bad. Hope this all makes sense & helps Having a plan now, while she is young, will be worth it for many years to come.

They work fine for me. Are you clicking on the dates or headings? The heading links seem a bit mixed up, but the dates work fine.

Can't wait for the nationals!

Why do you want her to play with other dogs? None of the Border Collie I have had have wanted or needed to play with strange dogs. Some breeds they find just plain offensive, but most they are just not interested in. They will play sometimes with polite dogs they know, but even then they are usually other herding breeds.

Not much in training. Mostly I use the ball as its a good way to exercise all my dogs at once. The obsession is an added bonus