Vickie

What aperture are you using? Try 5.6 instead of 1.8 and I think you will get better results.

You'll need to update the video Niki! to include his awesome performance in the Doy of the year pointscore & final

I think they respond like this: when we love training them, we tend to reward more enthusiastically & more often. They repay us for the superior rewards by repeating what we have rewarded with enthusiasm. This brings greater rewards which brings greater enthusiasm & so on... when we are feeling frustration or resentment we tend to reward less enthusiastically & less often. They repay us by either trying other things or repeating substandard performance because that is all we have rewarded. I do think they respond to sincerity, but it is for the reasons I have stated above.

Thanks guys, I'm so proud of her!

Well done everyone sounds like it was a massive weekend everywhere! Our Festival of Agility is over for another year & it was a great weekend with the best competition I have ever seen at a trial yet. My girls were very good (mostly, LOL) and we picked up quite a few quallies & places. My baby Shine beat her big sister Trim for the first time ever in a trial which was pretty exciting for me. Here is Trim's Jumping Dog of the Year Finals 5th place run . I think there was just over 1 second between 1st & 5th.

There are some clubs listed here: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=108588 some clubs will have an obedience prerequisite first & others do not.

Me too!

I am not sure how you could describe a hesitation/sticky beak in agility as herding? What you are saying is that she is stimulated & distracted by other dogs movement when she is on course. This would apply to many dogs in agility, herding dogs or not. What I am saying is that it really is no different to any dog being distracted by anything outside the ring. A dog that is distracted by anything when running agility needs to find agility more rewarding than any distraction in order for this behaviour not to occur. I am not sure how calling it herding instinct will help you solve it . My dog has as much herding instinct (on livestock) as any dog I have ever seen. The only thing that has ever distracted her while running agility is a paddock full of sheep next to the course .

None of what you are describing is herding instinct. You just need to focus on making yourself & agility more rewarding than any other distractions, be they food or other dogs.

Anyone coming to watch the Festival of Agility this weekend in sydney? It is well worth watching for anyone interested in agility. All the top dogs in the state will be there. The dog of the year finals are always very exciting. I have both my girls in both finals this year. Hope the weather is kind!

I like the cash (or gift cards for petrol or woolies etc) I think some clubs go a bit overboard with cash though...I would prefer cheaper entries, since that is what I usually put my cash back onto. At our last trial we won $290! Paid for entries, petrol with a bit left over. I have also often thought that some kind of credit system with dogs nsw would be good. Prizes won could then be used for titles, membership or entries... Maybe I'll ring & suggest it to them vbg

Glad you both had a great time :p

Ridgeback? I confess to not knowing a heap about them but the 4-5 I have known have all been intelligent & fairly lazy. Maybe someone who knows more about them could comment? Greyhound?

I LOVE competing! I think my dogs love it more than they love training. I'm pretty sure this is b/c of the extra adrenalin burst I have when I'm at a trial. I am always trying to simulate it at home, but never quite get the same level out of my dogs as I get at a trial. I love testing our training by competing I love achieving different levels I love see new challenges that I haven't worked on yet I love learning from other handlers & watching the best there is strut their stuff I love the camaraderie I love that my daughter & I get to pack up & head off for the weekend I love the way trials, the places we go & the people we meet have enriched her life I love the late night bonfires I love going to places that I would otherwise never have been I love meeting people I would otherwise never have met Mostly...I just love those 30 odd seconds where although I am surrounded by people & dogs, it is just me & my dog in the ring, running for our lives. Nothing beats that feeling

CONGRATULATIONS FHRP & boys!!!

Here are the qualities I consider specifically important In a dog for a child agility trainer & handler: the more handler focussed they are, the better the less dog focussed they are, the better ability to take a lot of training very food or toy focussed the above mostly applies for mature dogs as obviously you can influence all this in a puppy. It's nice for people to recommend their own breed, but I think it's pretty important for a child to get the right dog. Children are less vigilant they are physically not as strong they generally don't see the bigger picture in training like adults do they get frustrated more easily

She is a very naughty girl... But god I love her for it If it was the other way round I would worry about injury, but Shine would run right over the top of trim if she needed to & trim knows it! She is smart enough to keep out of her way

A little biased, but I also think some (not all) BC's are perfect for a child's agility dog. Sheep triallers often have young adults who did not quite make the grade in the trial ring. They are often very well bred & already come with good manners & obedience. They are also often not interested in other dogs which I think can be important for a child. There was a young girl, about 12, running a retired sheepdog in agility when I started years ago. They made an awesome team.

No not a pound puppy, it's Scapa, son of Cole.

It's not often I disagree with you PF but I honestly think it might not be the safest bet for the little one, living with a boisterous Aussie. I have spoken to a heap of people who have paps, since Chloe is so set on one. Every single one has advised against having one live with large active breeds, some of them through bad experiences where the pap has been seriously hurt. My girls are great with paps...but playing with them occasionally is different to living with them full time.

I am in a similar boat. May daughter (11) is waiting for her own agility dog. Her choices in order are Sheltie (generally too nervy for a child I think) Papillon (too small not to get injured running with my BC's) Cavalier (as above) She runs my BC's incredibly well (better than I do, so people keep telling me ) and I wonder if a less motivated breed will really be enough for her. I think we will end up with a rescue small working breed for her. She comes to trials with me all the time & has run a number of different dogs for people which she gets a big thrill out of. Does she come to club with you? I find people are always offering Chloe their older dogs once they see how keen she is. It is really good experience & confidence building.

Why not give it a try Most dogs enjoy agility & most dogs have the potential to be good at it. Where are you located? There are lots of clubs, classes & trainers in Sydney. We had a Collie Rough here for 7 months & I started her in agility. She loved it.

Does this remind you of anyone Janba? I can't believe the resemblance

We are working on the striding on our AF at the moment. Despite giving herself a birdseye view of Shine's superior performance...

Hi Cheryl and Chopper. Welcome to DOL