Vickie

What a week for everyone! Congratulations to each of you

Seems like last weekend wasn't a fluke :o Another CONGRATS to Dasha for winning Encourage again! This time with Abby Those cockys must be starting to quiver in their boots when they see her arrive

Oops gremlins

I don't want to steal her! She loves her mummy too much I'm just going to get one just like her

Another big brag from Sydney Royal today. Huge Congrats to PAX & Prix for winning Novice Obedience Dog! you both looked so awesome out there, very well deserved win a pleasure to meet Ptolomy & Bedazzled and their awesome dogs too. I'm gonna get me a Cider

yep, it affects my heart too...makes it swell with pride & admiration. Horses for courses, but I love a dog who is so keen it can barely hold a stay...I dont think I'd ever be happy with anything else. I'm sure the dogs in the video are just like mine, totally relaxed when the opportunity to train with me is not on offer. I can't really think of a scenario where I'm training with my dogs that I want them totally relaxed.

How bout this one? It's kinda relaxed not quite stationary tho

my dog kind of looks like these in a stationary position I think I need to be more fussy

I have seen a few dogs before they went in & after they came out of Pet Resorts. In each case they did a brilliant job. I'm sure you will be just as happy with them, BorderBo.

Great article!

I think someone has a BIG brag from the weekend....

Yep, there are a number of other clips with pups doing foundation exercises which gives you an insight into what leads up to this. Glad there's a safety net, I didn't see that. Eta, the clicker stuff is interesting. Can't see that reinforcement is given with the click, not sure how that works

Not at all what I was expecting. I can see that it is impressive, but...

They look cool! I wish so much we were allowed to run in bare feet, but we're not. I don't think there are any rules about footwear, so long as you have something on your feet. I rocked up to the dog of the year final last year in gumboots. Luckily I realized before I went into the ring

If you don't want to have it out in person with the vet, how would you feel about an email or letter? Seems like your case is perfectly valid. Who knows, once the vet finds out your dog has had a reaction to vac in the past they may be more than willing to make an exception. Can you get a letter from the vet who treated your dog fir the reaction?

Have you shaped all your others to walk backwards? If I am having trouble with something with one dog, I will sometimes do the exercise with every other dog I have, even the oldies & then go back & try again with the dog I was having trouble with. I doubt his HD or ED would be interfering with such a basic movement.

Their website alone would turn me off. It reeks of cliched terms they have borrowed off TV. I was expecting a free set of steak knives with each page

Way to go TSD & Zig!!! What a nice run, congratulations :p

It was a lovely cool morning this morning to work dogs. My girls are coming along well & both are improving in the things we are working on. I think I am actually starting to improve as well I feel more relaxed working them right now than I ever have before. My 2 are so different in the way they work...but right now I am appreciating each of them for the different strengths they have. Trim is very low to the ground & intense, Shine is much more upright and more gentle to her sheep. They both seem to be getting the job done. Some pics: Shine Didn't get any pics of Trim today, but here is one Dasha took last week Dasha's Abby Dasha's Teisha

Noah can be loose or locked away. He no longer has an interest in training, unless we are rewarding with food (which we don't do often) & then he's crashing into equipment & generally acting like the fruitloop he once was. Trim HAS to be part of it & HAS to be locked away. Once she is restrained, she is quiet. If not restrained, she will hold a stay for a while but squeaks a bit & will break the stay at some point. Doesn't matter what the reward is or even if there is one. Shine makes a noise like she is being murdered if she is restrained but will generally hold a stay indefinately & watch silently or just with a few squeaks if not restrained. Peppi, happy to watch silently if restrained, but a nightmare if not!

What do you do with the others while you are training? Can they see? Hear? Do they care? Carry on? Wait quietly? Does it matter what you are doing? What reward you are using? Pros & cons of letting them watch/hear?

No, you are not the only one. Not by a long shot I would imagine

You have a heart of gold RF :D sounds like a very rewarding relationship for all concerned

totally agree with the above! I went through a stage with Noah when he was young where I was determined that increasing exercise would calm him down. It didn't, he got worse & worse. All I was doing was keeping him in a permanent state of adrenalin pumping chaos. What worked was a couple of months of leash walking, in addition to our regular training at home & class. now his greatest exercise is getting on & off the couch

How exciting!!!!! Hopefully the time will go quickly for you