Vickie

:D I THINK YOU SUCK

Thanks Tatelina . There are heaps more, I just need to make an effort to load them.

I think it depends on the temperament and probably the type/level of training you are doing. Both my girls are extremely responsive in training. If I leave them with someone & walk away they will calmly stare in my direction till I return, but neither have any form of separation anxiety. I can easily hand either of them over to another person they don't know & they are happy to totally forget I exist when doing agility or working sheep for someone else. For agility & sheepwork, I like to think I have trained them to be responsive to commands given, not necessarily from me. At home, they are more responsive to me than any other member of my family.

I am just hoping that it will be as pleasant tonight as it was last night after 7pm. Not too excited about packing up a tent when I finally wake up late tomorrow morning though

. I don't think many people wnat to get rid of the tyre completely...but lots want to take advantage of a design that appears safer. As far as I see it, bureaucracy, logistics & cost are what stands in the way of this happening. Logistics & cost I think we can overcome with a bit of effort...Bureaucracy is another thing alltogether

I know, but some may have misinterpreted your post to mean that the only reason to go fast is to win. Agreed. Does not make them safe and does not make them successful.

Winning is what encourages speed. Same as show jumping - fastest clear dog within time wins. well it may be one thing but it's not the only thing. Some teams go fast to win some go fast to make SCT some go fast because they think it is more fun some go fast to aim to be the best they can some go fast b/c their dog doesn't "do slow" If you have a naturally motivated, athletic dog & you train positively & consistently, the chances are your dog is going to be fast & you will be as fast as you can to keep up with it. It doesn't have to be about winning. We came 2nd in a competitive class last weekend by a fraction of a second. Am I beating myself up about it? a bit. But my issue is about the mistake I made on course, not about the place. I am always aiming for that perfect run, and that one was close, but I can still improve on it. I don't care if I improve & come 10th...so long as I improve. ETA : Hi Xena98 . Nice to "see" you here

I understand what you are saying PF...but I have to wonder...if the rest of the world has decided that they need to do something about the tyre to make it safer...why is it that we, in Australia, are not watching & thinking about following suit? At the end end the day, I know that there are things you can & should do to handle a course safely, but the fact remains that a.) this is an obstacle that a large percentage of people are worried about because of actual events that have occurred and b.) when you are running a dog that is travelling over 6 metres per second the increased risk of serious injury should a misjudgement occur IS terrifying. An interesting aricle about the displaceable tyre: http://www.poweragility.dk/npahjul/eindexnpahjul.html NZKC has changed it's rules in 2009 to maximise the safety of the tyre: http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:hyXdb...;cd=8&gl=au Another lot of good reading: http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/equipm...ingTheTire.html

Thanks KC. I agree about the cloth tunnels, although I have never seen anything really bad happen in them, I can see the potential. We are lucky in NSW that we don't seem to have many of the canvas ones left, most are lightweight. and yes I saw those weird spreads at the Nationals & can certainly see how they could be dangerous with all those things poking out you mean these?

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it yet: CHANGE OF START TIME TO 7 PM Hi all competitors HDAC D2D Trial The committee of Hawkesbury Dog Agility Club is concerned about the temperature that is predicted (42) for Saturday afternoon. We have spoken with Dogs NSW about this situation and have been advised that it is at the HDAC discretion weather to delay the start of the trial. The decision is that the trial will now commence JUDGING at 7pm CHECK IN at 6pm and stewards set from 5pm Due to the fact that we are starting a couple of hours later we have also discussed what may happen for presentations. There is a change that there will be no formal presentation and prizes and "Q" card will be available as soon as the are signed by the judges for the Dusk trial. Would you please pass the word around to those competitors that may not be on the list. HDAC hopes that this will make it a more enjoyable event for all involved. Keith Edwards Trial Manager

I curious to know what they are?

Here is a photo someone took of Shine misjudging the tyre. She had not long started trialling & clearly misjudged her take off (although she has an enormous stride so often takes off that far before a jump when she is really moving) She was fine, but as you can see...at the speed she is obviously travelling...judgement of takeoff is VERY important.

We have a couple that swing. And the rest are about half lollipops & half fixed frame. Actually I think the those tyres swinging in the clips probably saved some very serious injuries. I would rather that they did swing. I have a video of Shine hitting a non swinging tyre at training one night. I have only watched it once & I don't think I could bear to watch it ever again.

Sorry to scare you. If it is any consolation, many, many people in Aust. don't think our tyres are an issue at all. I am always aware of the tyre...not so much with my older dog who has a lot more experience in judging takeoffs but I am very cautious with my younger dog who does not have that same level of experience.

I think I have fixed it...have never done a playlist before

I'm a big fan of the displaceable tyre. I have had a full unpegged frame come down on one of my dogs & have also had a few very hard hits as they have misjudged. I also witnessed the accident at the Nationals & I will never forget that picture in my head, so long as I live. Not sure if this will work, but I have been campaigning for our tyres to be changed for a number of years now, so had a few clips saved in my favourites. I have created a playlist of them...warning some of them brought tears to my eyes the first (and subsequent) times I watched them. The last one is of a dispaceable tyre that I think we owe it to our dogs to make mandatory. Tyre crashes

Love it! Those 2 pull the most hilarious faces. Hey...that looks like Cessnock? Are you going again this year? It's one of my favourite trials. We will have to meet up & you can (pretty please) get some pics of my 2.

me again, LOL. I was just thinking about this some more. I guess to be honest, I don't feel I am good enough yet to use all manual settings. I feel like my camera is doing quite a good job of choosing my shutter speed. I think if I were choosing it, I would get it wrong quite a bit & white dogs would be overexposed & dark dogs underexposed. I am aslo really picky about the dog's eye/s being in sharp focus. I never charge for a shot where this is not the case.

What lense did you use for this one Rubiton? and what was the FL? I guess the reason I don't go all manual is the variation from one shot to the next. Different parts of the course allow different amounts of light. I generally try & get 2-3 shots/obstacles on a course of each dog. Then I find I sometimes make adjustments depending on individual dogs as well. I may adjust the exp comp & will also change the metering for darker dogs. Then you have the whole clouds thing...where the sun is coming in & out which will affect the shutter speed. I find this gives me enough to do between dogs, I don't feel like I have time to change too much. I guess it also depends on how your camera handles noise. I am really happy with the D300, it is a million times better than my D70s.

Here is one that I think worked with a slower shutter speed. Focal length 180mm, F7.1, 1/640, ISO 320

;)

glad I mentioned it then, each to his/her own.

A hard question to answer without going into detail. I would say her style is similar to Linda Mecklenberg, Stacy Peardot, Alicia Calhoun. She has a very different system to Greg Derrett & Susan Garrett.

I think with Noah, it's getting close to can't. I don't see any positive reinforcement happening here at all. I really think he feels physically unable to deal with the stairs and getting nailed at the top of them. He is used to our stairs but has an odd way of negotiating them, once he starts he can't stop. He has always had trouble walking over bridges, ramps that he can see through. If they are rumbling in the backyard & she gets too rough & hurts him he will tell her off in no uncertain terms & she accepts this, so I think in normal circumstances he is more than capable of dealing with her, or any other dog for that matter. Zeus is not exactly the smartest dog in the world...he will just stand there all day, or cop a beating from her...I guess at least Noah lets me know he needs help.

not quite as much if I am right there, but yes she will. Thanks Ness for ideas. Noah has always had a bit of a spatial problem with stairs so I am reluctant to add anything that would make it more difficult for him. I can't think of anything that they could walk over but Shine wouldn't lay on (she's a bit of a mountain goat).