Vickie

sorry I don't. I know Clean Run did an article on her last year but can't remember which issue. I know she has also written for Clean Run, but again, don't have the issues on hand.

Knickers are nowhere near knotted. Here is her Bio: http://www.contactsportsagility.com/2009se...minarCarter.htm it is a little out of date, since I know of more recent achievements with the young dogs, I will have a look for a more current one. She suits me as a presenter. She has a good sense of humour, I understand what she is teaching, she motivates extremely well & I guess most importantly she gets results. I find her system consistent & easy to apply. What makes her stand out? I think most important to me is that she truly cares. Seems an odd thing to say but it is not something I feel I can apply to a number of presenters I have been to before. Once you are her student, you will always be her student. I also think it would also be fair to say that first & foremost her priority is in Animal behaviour. She is really able to assess an individual dog & work out what makes it tick & how to get the best out of it. JMO

What an odd question. I can't imagine why we would be paying thousands of dollars every year to have her fly over & teach in 3 states if she wasn't. Surely you mean how successful has she been? or is she a good presenter? or what do people feel are her particular strengths?

yep, I wouldn't worry if I thought the boys could find a way around it. It's just getting to the point where they can't. The only thing I have really tried is to hide & throw something near her at the fence when she gets into the position. It does scare the crap out of her, but she is not a dog to hold onto stuff like that, so it's forgotten within 5 minutes. I have also never allowed it from day 1...but I guess she has gotten away with it enough times when I have not been watching for it to be worthwhile for her.

All working spots are now totally full. Audit spots still available.

Vickie, there begs another question perhaps. The original poster focused on greyhounds - having a lot of drive. If drive training was so easy, why do retired racing greyhounds not go onto star at basic obedience trials. Aren't dogs wonderful, so diverse. yep, they sure are. I don't do "drive training" but I suspect that the relationship between the activity & the reward has something to do with your question in some breeds. Just as I am able to reward my dog on sheep, with the sheep, for obeying my command over her instinct, you are able to reward yours in a similar way for retrieving. For greyhounds, the activity of obedience itself bears no resemblance to what they do in natural drive. BTW we have a greyhound competing here in NSW in agility & I LOVE to watch her run. She has a good understanding of what she needs to do & does so at varying motivation & speeds. Every now & then she does her zoomies & flies round & round the course. It is so beautiful to watch. I am always amazed that she never leaves the ring & recalls out of it really well. She then continues the course like nothing happened. It is impossible not to smile.

how about Noah?

anyone? no-one? At the moment I am just managing this, but as Noah become older, it's going to get worse. The 4 dogs are never left outside when I am not home, so the boys will never be stuck in the hot sun, but I obviously can't watch them every second when I am home.

Thanks everyone, it seems we are divided. I guess the reason I mainly use AP is because of the shots I typically take & the lense I use to take them. For Agility shots, I use my 70-300. I find I am generally shooting at just under full zoom. I want a DOF, so the subject is clear & background a bit blurred so want the biggest aperture I can get. With my particular lense, I find anything bigger than F8 reduces the sharpness of the shot. I tend to use the ISO to control my shutter speed & so long as I am getting 6-800 up, it seems to produce an OK shot. Because different dogs move at different rates, I don't always need an extremely high shutter speed. I think if I shot in SP, the high aperture would riun some of my shots b/c I am limited by my lense. Does that make sense? Please point out if my logic is flawed somewhere.

Ooops, just read the title, I am not a professional trainer.

Someone asked me which I use. I use Aperture & told them but I don't feel I explained why very well. What are your thoughts? Which do you use & why?

any ideas? we have a back deck with about 10 steps leading in to the backyard. When my male dogs (11 & 12YO) want to come up the stairs, Shine races past them & lays at the top, ready to pounce when they get there. For her it's nothing more than bossy rough play, but for them, as they get older, it sucks. Noah has taken to sitting at the bottom of the stairs & woofing until I come out & call her off. Zeus will sometimes wait till I notice & other times, brave it & cop a beating at the top. I especially worry about Noah as I think he feels vulnerable as he is not as fit or agile as he used to be. All I have to do is say her name & Shine gets up & leaves her post. She has never attempted to do this with Trim. People never believe she does this as she is the most gentle of dogs, both with people & with other dogs she meets...but in this situation here with my boys she can be a right bitch. I am not worried about them fighting, they all interact well & both boys love a good rumble with her. any ideas on how I can get her to stop this specific behaviour?

Bindi-Boo, I love your presentation of the veges, great concept Tlc, lovely blue water, makes me want to dive right in with this heat J, that shadow is amazing, looks like some mythical creature Huga, they are beautiful colourful collars...quite a collection Redangel, what a cute pup! You can't help but be drawn to those eyes. I love that they are the same colour as the background Kirislin, I really like the glass & bottle, and how you can see the background colours coming through them ILTBY, that mushroom macro is cool, very abstract.

Vegetable

a bit boring but here's my Tree

They are great Two Spirit. I think I like the sepia better, it kind of suits the subject more...although the colour has a lot of appeal too. I like how you can only see some of the mirror frame, it gives it a real depth, like you are looking in.

What a totally gorgeous shot . I love the composition & contast & you just can't help but smile at the teddy bear hanging by his side.

my water shot from yesterday

YAY! now that I'm back home & settled, I can't wait to have a go at this one.

I think you could apply the same question to many professions. If we take the veterinary profession as a parallel, there are 2 factors: skill/expertise and complexity of issue presented. the skills that a vet nurse will have in diagnosing an issue will vary according to experience. Some will be able to recognise & treat minor uncomplicated issues & some won't. Many will try & they will be right sometimes & wrong other times. Some will have more training and experience than others. It is unlikely that they could diagnose a complex set of symptoms or perform a major operation. A vet will obviously be more likely to successfully diagnose & treat an issue than a vet nurse, due to their training & experience...but there will still be cases that stump them. A complex series of symptoms and little or no background information would make it hard for most vets to treat successfully first time. They can also have areas they specialise in, so will appear more successful in some areas than in others. Doesn't the same apply for dog trainers/behaviouralists? Anyone can call themselves a dog trainer & for a basic issue with an uncomplicated dog, they can be. It would take someone with a whole lot more experience & training/qualifications to achieve something complex and /or with a dog who has many or unknown serious issues. I always find word of mouth the best recommendation for anything.

I certainly think about rewards & rates. yes, I definitely think some reward too little. I wonder if you can ever reward too much or too often (well I know you can but in a very specific set of circumstances). My questions/focus tends to be more on what behaviours are being or not being rewarded, and the quality of rewards in value terms to the dog, rather than an actual frequency thing.

VERY expensive...if you have to add the cost of getting here from WA.

So the answer in whether there is a choice lies in the degree of training? Can you not take an ex racing greyhound and teach it a recall in a paddock where there is a rabbit? Is it possible? Working sheepdogs are regularly started in a paddock and their instinct & drive allows them to work without training. Then at some point, they need to learn to call off sheep and work off balance. After being allowed to do whatever comes natural for months, they need to learn command over instinct (& over drive I guess). I have no doubt Trim would work sheep until her body gave in if I let her. As we have done some training, I feel I am giving her a choice but the choice is whether to work the way she wants, or to work (or not work) the way I want. I am not forcing her to work, but I am letting her work. If I kept working her to the point that her body gave in, then I could see how that would be a form of force or compulsion. If I were to ask her to work in 40 deg heat for 20 minutes then that would be unfair & I have no doubt she would do it, but she is not conditioned physically to do so. There are other dogs who are physically conditioned & would cope just fine with this. I guess it is the same with greyhounds, you would assume they are conditioned to run a race in hot conditions, otherwise there would be an uproar surely? There have been sheepdogs work & run trials with broken legs & in pain. It is hard to say whether they are forced to do it or whether doing it is more important than giving in to pain. I know it is different, but is it that different to humans? Haven't we all done something that we wanted really badly despite pain we are in or conditions we face at the time. Athletes regularly do the impossible with an injury through sheer determination & want.

Ronda will be back in April for the 3rd year running Although it is nearly full, I thought I would put a notice in here as there are still auditor spots available as well as a couple of working spots. Seminar One - Advanced - FULL Friday 17th April Saturday 18th April Seminar Two - Pre-Trialling/Young dogs Monday 20th April Seminar Three - Intermediate/Advanced Wednesday 22nd April Thursday 23rd April Any questions please ask.

I think it's rubbish.