Vickie

What a great thread :) This is Fly at 8 weeks & her Mum Abby

Well done and good luck at Nationals :)

Mid year & I need to make some adjustments :) I'm enjoying sheepwork so much that I've put agility on hold...and...we have an unplanned new addition...

A bark is more intimidating to an intruder than a stare. It is not within a BCs instinct to stare at people as a form of intimidation. Of the 8 BCs I've had, 6 have barked when someone arrived at my house. This hasn't been on command, it's something they have done naturally. You don't really want it on command, as I assume you want them to do it, even when you're not there to give a command. What you do want is a command for them to stop barking! Border Collies can be obsessive, some lines more than others. If you don't give them something you want them to be obsessed about, they can obsess over birds, cars driving by, anything that moves...with this obsession can be non stop barking. If you have livestock & you want them to work, they have to learn from day one that access to livestock is dependent on you...otherwise they can be very difficult to manage. If you never want them to work chickens, that also needs to be the rule from day one.

That's great news. I teach agility classes & often write notes for my students to support something we have talked about/trained. I am copying a section of this weeks notes about Communication below, because they are 100% relevant to teaching a dog to bring a ball back ( and a whole heap of other things too) : If we want to change something, the first thing we need to do is commit ourselves to changing it. Because honestly, once a habit is formed, it generally takes time to change it. Trying something once or twice is not enough to form a new habit. The next thing we need to do is find a way to reproduce what we actually do want. If we can't produce it, how can we communicate that we want it? The BIG one is making a big deal about marking and rewarding it when we get it. Reward is our most effective communication. The more something is rewarded, the more it will be repeated. I know, it all sounds so simple. It is. But what we tend to do as handlers & trainers is try to reward groups of behaviours, not individual behaviours. Hope that helps :)

Some of mine have been natural retrievers, some not. My method for those who chase, but dont retrieve, is this: I throw the ball & then when the dog gets to it & picks it up, I move/run away from them. In the beginning, any steps they take towards me with the ball, I tell them how good they are (I use a marker word). As soon as they drop the ball I run to get it & throw it again. The throw rewards the steps they have taken towards me. I continue to do this and they get closer & closer with the ball in their mouth. Even if/when they catch me, I still keep moving away, so that in the end they are begging me to take it to throw it again. Not sure if I have explained it well, lol, it's much easier to demonstrate than write about, but it hasn't failed with a dog yet...mine or others...

Agreed! My 6 month old pup seemed to come out of the box with qualities that I've had to achieve via training & obedience in some of my other dogs. He quite happily followed me around off lead the first time he went to a sheep trial, despite other dogs wandering around everywhere. He will happily lay down beside me & calmly watch other dogs work, despite being already started & keen on sheep himself. He will play with other dogs, but if I leave the area, he will go & sit at the gate, waiting for me to come back. I Haven't done anything special with him (he's supposed to be my husbands dog, lol). I think it's just the way he is.

My 5 dogs run in a pack at home and regularly run with other dogs that i know,, sometimes in large groups. I would say they do have value for other dogs and have fun with other dogs, but they each have more value for doing something with me. I know dogs who have been raised not to run with other dogs & who now can never run with other dogs. I also know dogs who have been raised to run with other dogs who have very little value for their handler in the presence of other dogs. I think it all comes down to how much knowledge & experience you have as a trainer and what is practical & preferable for your lifestyle.

I don't run doubled over, but neither do I run with a straight back. Not sure if there is a "correct" way of doing anything anymore, but I find it much easier to run fast leaning forward just a little.

Expensive? Lets see, what does $115 buy you? A premium bag of puppy food? An unnecessary 3rd puppy vaccination? A plush new (chewed) bed? Soft (chewed) crate? I'd rather spend my $115 getting a program, feedback & support from someone who has a reputation for raising outstanding, stable & balanced puppies. From someone who has written a program, had multiple phone/email conversations to organise class, conducted class, reviewed homework, provided feedback and then offered & provided ongoing support afterwards, trust me, the hourly rate, when all that is taken into account, is actually extremely low!

We have 10 yo desexed BC bitch, 6 yo desexed terrier bitch, 2 x 3 yo entire BC bitches, 6month entire BC dog. Never had a fight. If either of my young bitches is away for a few days, there is some posturing when they return, but it's minimal & I interrupt it. Have run 5 bitches together with no issues. Feed all together, can throw chicken carcasses on ground with no issues. I don't really have one standout dominant bitch. I always take the time when I add a new dog to interfere if I need to, but mostly I don't need to. I would never add a new dog if the existing dogs did not live in harmony.

I don't see any reason why a BC wouldn't suit your family :) I've had 8 BCs now, 7 of them grew up/are growing up with my children. 2 show bred & 6 working bred. Of the 8, one did not have a good temperament with children and honestly if I had known more back then, I would have recognised that he would be unsuitable by viewing his parents. It is really important to spend time with the parents of your puppy. Any signs of nervousness or obsessive type behaviours & you should walk away. Puppies are the product of 2 things: the parents genetics... anything you like or don't like in the parents will likely be reproduced. And the way you raise them. None of my BCs have ever rounded up or nipped my children. This is due to 2 things, I manage both. My children have been taught since the time they could walk how to act around the dogs. I also insist on the same from visiting children. I also don't allow any undesirable behaviours to start in puppies. Sometimes things that are cute in a puppy will not be so cute in a fully grown dog, so snything I don't want to continue, I stop. BC's can be a wonderful family pet & they love to be part of your everyday life. Re show vs working, you will find suitable & unsuitable temperaments in both, it really comes down to personal preference. I have a 6 month old working bred pup at the moment. I have done very little training with him, he really only has a recall, but he goes everywhere with us, is wonderful with my 10 year old son and really quite a calm little boy. He likes to have a run around, like any puppy, but so far he is the perfect family pet. Both his parents work on a property, but they also spend days a week, where there is no work to be done.

I would highly recommend this course. I have never had anything to do with Katrina, but Kelly is, without a doubt, one of the best dog trainers I know. If the course shows people to raise puppies even half as confident and consistently well trained as Kelly's puppies are then you can't go wrong.

Have PM'd you :)

This I think it's a good idea to start some foundation exercises for agility at home first...reward system, recall games, startling procedures, building value for a jump etc. there is plenty of information on the Internet to get you started. That way when you get to take her to club she already has some value for the activities and understands that they will be rewarded.It's also important to go to a club that manages dogs effectively. I would avoid those who encourage dogs to play before & after class. I teach a number of reactive dogs & we have never even been close to having an incident. Dogs are crated between runs & all emphasis is on strong engagement & focus between dog & handler. Any dog that has a strong history of reactivity starts off with private lessons until they are ready to integrate into class and we make sure that they are placed in a class of already stable & focused dogs. Hope this helps :) good luck, agility is awesome fun :)

Definitely true for my BCs. The ones with a natural lie down on sheep have always been the hardest to keep in a sit & the more upright ones on sheep have had no trouble with a duration sit stay. Doesn't mean it can't be done if they naturally clap, but definitely makes it harder to teach.

It does look fabulous, but really no different content to what others are teaching and in some cases have been teaching for a while.

But that's for a year, right? 4 easy payments etc Lol, I watched the 4th video this morning, was waiting for the free set of steak knives offer

Didn't you know they get cheekier as they get older?

It's a wonderful feeling to be connected :) and to love running your dog!Good luck with your new pup, how exciting :)

Wow, he looks great Tony So do you :)

J Are the parents available to be viewed? I know someone looking, since you have mentioned they are from good working & agility lines, I was wondering if that was an option?

Hope recovery goes well & she is back to normal soon

I have one direct from the pound as an adult and would do it again, if I didn't want to do sheep work with it. For sheepdogs, I want to know the breeding.

:) it really does make sense, but I don't think it's the be all & end all. If timing is correct, your position as the dog takes the jump looks the same whether it was a front or a blind. I ran a drill/sequence a while ago, have it on video somewhere, where I timed it with fronts, rears & blinds. It was only 10 obstacles, but I think there was only .10 of a second between each of them.