Jumabaar

Are those books? I've been trying clicker training during his walks for when he sees exciting stimulus but it doesn't seem to be working to divert his attention. You could be holding a fried chicken on a stick out for him and he'll still find other dogs waaaaay more interesting and pull to get to them. I don't know how it would help when he wouldn't be barking when I'm outside with him. If he is still finding the dogs waaaaaay more interesting you are too close. You need to start these things at home so he has a strong reward history before you add distractions- then only go as close to the distraction as you can while he is still chosing to respond to your cue. The more you practice the closer you get.

Bugger- on the wrong side of the army base!!

Do you think it is influenced by being on DOL though? Normally people would join their agility club and train their dog and it wouldn't be until they started competing that they decided they wanted a more 'competitive' breed. By that time they would probably have seen all these 'competitive' dogs train or compete. But here they see the pictures, video's etc of these breeds competing and decide that is the best way to be competitive? Rather than how much it just comes down to training- plenty of the 'competitive' breeds fail to make it to competition because they are trained incorrectly..... I am not saying this is the case with the OP- there have been plenty of similar threads in the past few month. Where someone has got a lovely pet and decided that they need a more competitive animal before they even know the limitations of their current dog- be it in agility, the show ring or flyball? Asking what is the right breed for them when that is something that should evolve from what you learn from your first dog. Lists are made from the dogs they see in the ring, not based on dogs they actually want to live or train and in some cases I have just despaired at how little people have understood about the dogs on their list.... Perhaps it was a little OT

I know that feeling, I always say that my first Kelpie would have been great as a second or third dog. I just didnt have the talent to keep up with her because I was too busy tripping over my own feet...... or the equipment

Southern cross at Fairfield.

Agree to a point. I think in general though, most people, even if general members of the public (not dog obsessed like us lol) wanted a dog to do agility a BC or kelpie would be their first pick (whether that be a good or bad thing...) But most people dont go out and buy a serious competition dog before they have competed with their first dog if that makes sense. The logical progression is to get a dog and start sports, regardless of suitability. You then get to the competition and see that your current dog is lacking in some areas, be it breed limitations or training limitations. You work on these limitations, and you may also go get your serious competition dog- knowing more what you want this time because you have identified the areas that you dont want limitations in. The new dog/breed may/may not work because it might be your limitations not your dogs. But hopefully you fix your training with the second dog anyway. But on DOL it appears that people get their first dog and hit the training/breed threads. See dogs that are already competing and say I want that, putting limitations on their dog before they have even competed. So they make a list of successful dog breeds and ask which one for them. Its not possible to answer because we don't know what your limitations are, and where you want to strengthen your performance. Do you want a faster dog, or a more willing dog or one that looks flashy? And in reality if you go to comps and see these dogs you generally ask the competitor where they got them from, because you want that LINE of dogs, which is more important than breed in some cases! So you could come up with the perfect breed for you, but get a dog from the wrong kennel, and be no better off than you were with your first dog, which still doesn't compete so you wouldn't actually know you were no better off.... DOL seems to fast track people but I dont necessarily agree with it. Better to slow down and really look at what you want. Do appropriate research instead of just looking for a good breed and learn how to train so you know your own limitations, before saying that your dog has limitaitons. Case and point- in Flyball there is a Lab running under 4.5 seconds (I think it has run a 4.3) and regularly competes in division 1 and 2 with the kelpies and border collies (fastest in australia is 3.8, but most run 4.0-4.4 seconds for those not familiar with the sport in those divisions)..... They do obedience successfully too. So nope their next competition dog wont be a border collie or Kelpie because their training, and the lines they have chosen make them very competitive with their current breed. But if they hadnt given their dog a chance then they would have missed that. ETA- they have just found an agility club they are happy with so I am expecting they will also have some agility titles to add to their dogs names.

Yup.

Do you think it is influenced by being on DOL though? Normally people would join their agility club and train their dog and it wouldn't be until they started competing that they decided they wanted a more 'competitive' breed. By that time they would probably have seen all these 'competitive' dogs train or compete. But here they see the pictures, video's etc of these breeds competing and decide that is the best way to be competitive? Rather than how much it just comes down to training- plenty of the 'competitive' breeds fail to make it to competition because they are trained incorrectly..... I am not saying this is the case with the OP- there have been plenty of similar threads in the past few month. Where someone has got a lovely pet and decided that they need a more competitive animal before they even know the limitations of their current dog- be it in agility, the show ring or flyball? Asking what is the right breed for them when that is something that should evolve from what you learn from your first dog. Lists are made from the dogs they see in the ring, not based on dogs they actually want to live or train and in some cases I have just despaired at how little people have understood about the dogs on their list....

I also agree- they are worlds apart in temperament. They learn differently, train differently. Have different personalities and quirky traits.Kelpies are thinkers so will work differently to a dog that has been bred to work under more direction. But even then there are great variations. I would seriously suggest spending time with them all. I am guessing you want a competitive dog at agility, but you still have to live with them the rest of the time. I would not be choosing your next sports dog on aesthetics, rather attend trials and look at the style the dogs competing have, then go to training and see what they are like there. Look at the lines that are actually doing what you want to do in the breed you like and go from there. I think need to stop and really do some breed research before you go any further. Asking if aesthetics is one of the only decisions to make about narrowing the list down shows you have not done enough of this.

Yes! Thank goodness you understand The Back Seat Buddy is excellent but is not All Powerful - I swear the fur seems to have a life of is own. We have a Seymour in every room when I sweep up with the microfibre cloth :p I can't blame it all on the dogs, I have long hair and that seems to show up in the dust bunny piles, too ... Particularly when you eat one of their guard hairs and it gets stuck in your throat!! Between the Kelpies short hair, the Lapphunds long hair and mine...... It gets vicious sometimes!! Them fur-bunnies can really put up a fight.

I use a backseat buddy but when the air con goes on and the dogs are shedding it gets everywhere. I use a blanket when I pick up my grandparents who are fussy about dog hair- much easier than trying to keep the car clean. Most other people I tell them they can get a lift and accept the dog hair or find their own way to places. Most just get the lift because we are on our way somewhere doggy anywhere! We are currently experiencing plague proportions of fur-bunnies around the house!! I love my microfiber cloth broomy thing on the tiles. Makes the round up of said fur-bunnies much more efficient. And the dogs dont find it as fascinating as the broom.

I use a rubber brush which loosens a large amount of the hairs that the vacuum misses initially. I have accepted that dog hair is a permanent feature of my life. I came to that conclusion when I had to 'dust' the celling because the dog hairs had floated up there from the hot air created by the heater and gotten stuck!!

Have you "given in" in the past? This will have an impact on how easy it is to solve this behaviour. Perhaps you could try crating in the main part of the house for a little while to break the behaviour.

My 42" was (and will be going back to) in the lounge room. I have a nice doona cover over it, and a piece of wood and I use it as an extra table next to the lounge. Crates are a big part of my furniture, so I tend to cover them and use them as tables around the house. Inside I have few mattress protectors that I picked up from the op-shop. They are easy to wash and dry if they get dirty. They dont have much padding in each section, so if they get chewed there is not tooo much that can be ingested, or spread around the house. And they only cost a few dollars so when they get trashed I can throw it out and get a new one. My older dogs have proper beds in them, but with a pup around they have all been put away and been replaced with mattress protectors too! Once Franky stops chewing the normal dog beds will come back out

Some actual exercises that I am currently doing at 18weeks- I have started pups going over pool noodles and teaching them targeting for body awareness. I have built up a high reward rate for focusing on me rather than distractions. A solid recall is being built. Holding objects. Generally I am trying to teach them to think and be aware of their surroundings and their body. They go to training with my older dogs and have learnt to snooze in their crate, and to do their 'tricks' with distraction. It isnt so much about them getting their exercises right at this point- I am aiming for them to have lots of fun with me so they get rewarded for anything that doesn't involve being an idiot at this point. I have started passing work at flyball- so just walking them past other dogs over mini jumps once again a distraction exercise where they get rewarded for anything that remotely relates to what I want. So basically shaping and letting them work out how to earn my treats, and that I have a constant supply while they are doing what I want. I let them chose but make sure that what I am doing is the better choice, if that means moving further away from distractions so that they get a 'win' then I do. I am aiming to do flyball with them, although agility and obedience are both in the picture as well. I broke my last dog who chases other dogs at flyball (was to do with my training methods) so I am making sure that it wont be a problem this time! I am really trying to set up a whole heap of situations where my pup learns that they get rewards and letting them work out how to get them.

:D PHOTOS, for research purposes obviously ;) GSD are the very top of my list :D. But I think I would be looking at other sports rather than agility or flyball if I go with a shepherd. Something like tracking would be really interesting! Though I know nothing about it! I do like kelpies (especially your lovely guys Woofen :D!) but not really sure if they're the breed for me. The more I research the less I feel they would really fit it for me. Tracking is great fun!! The people that do training are really nice too

Kelpies would be up to the rough play- when it comes to body slamming they tend to 'go with it' and dont get injured, or jump the obstacle. There are some great lines out there- both WKC and ANKC lines that have as much get up and go as you want, and turn into couch potato's at home (yes there are also lines that are unsuitable so research is the key). You have seen my guys and I think you also met Tilly who is doing herding for memory now who is from an awesome kennel- amazing temperaments and plenty of dogs that are actually being used for obedience, agility, herding, tracking and Flyball- so you know their dogs can do the job!

I hope everything works out

Post bite you are generally given the rabies vaccine which creates immunity that cross reacts with the Lyssavirus. All bat carers are now required to have had the rabies vaccine, and have annual titre testing done to ensure their safety.

Thats great!! I think my latest is similar. I bred her my self and had learnt soooo much from raising pups from my last litter. She really gets the marker already and is so focused. Capturing behaviours has never been so easy with my past dogs, simply because they lacked those to elements. She is not amazing at offering new behaviours, but because she will repeat behaviours after one treat it doesnt seem to matter much. So the initial movement is a little difficult but once she has that we are off. I have decided to use targeting with her because of that and it is really working for her. You are right about being excited to train- having a dog that gets things easily means that I am not as exhausted after a training session but energised! I have to remember she is only 18weeks and stop because she is such a trooper!

When I did wildlife rescue I did make sure my dogs didn't eat the spats, or droppings just as a precaution because they were living in the same room. I have not specifically read of it being transmissible to dogs but was not going to take the chance. Australian Bat Lyssavirus only lasts a few hours out in the environment so unless your dog gets bitten or is in direct contact there is very little risk at all. I was also under the impression that it was not excessively prolific within the population, but they can only diagnose through autopsy so it is a little difficult to be sure. This is another good source of information http://access.health.qld.gov.au/hid/InfectionsandParasites/ViralInfections/australianBatLyssavirus_fs.asp ETA- They are great little animals in their own environment, away from people

I was just considering the time- ie a vet nurse $15/hr, the vet should be being paid in excess of $25/hr, the cost of the equipment and facilities, the drugs to put a decent size puppy under.... But most vets do desexing at a loss just to get people to do it so I am guessing your vet used the same logic. Although I can imagine human grad clamps would cost a bucket (I know what a titanium screw costs lmao)!!

This also comes down to your choice of breeder though. Would you be happy to have your pup picked or a couple of pups that the breeder thinks are suitable if the breeder was successful in your chosen sport? Giving a buyer the impression of a choice so that they feel as though they have achieved something by picking thier own puppy in my personal opinion does not reflect the best interests of my puppies... picking the best puppy for their situation, their home, and what they want from their puppy/dog is the best way to ensure that MY puppies go into the very best of homes. As I said above though, this is purely based on buyers that are not experienced in specific sports or a proven strong knowledge of what they want. None of my puppy buyers wanted specific sports dogs, nor were any incredibly experienced in the breed, but some of them were interested in giving some things a go. I did Breed specific temperament testing, consulted the breeder of the stud dog and the breeder of my own bitch (also my mentor), and spoke to a behaviourist with over 30 years experience in my breed. Whilst I dabble but don't seriously take part in particular dog sports my breeds are well known for, i was still I feel the best placed to choose where my puppies went. And I guess the point is- if you dont agree with what is allocated to you, you should ALWAYS feel free to walk away. I turned away people who wanted 'quiet' dogs from my litter, and turned away a sports home because I didn't feel that the pup they wanted was right for them (it had the temperament but not the physic). I did recommend them another breeder who was able to help them because they did have the right pup. I did offer one person the choice of two pups because both were suitable for that situation and I am happy to do that where I do have more than one pup that would fit in to their lifestyle. I do acknowledge that not all breeders do this- but are they the breeders that you should be going to for sports dogs in the first place?

Thanks Kaffe Magee, I am only an hour from Bairnsdale, can you remember which vet? "Not many would do it but the ones that did I was quoted from $1000" ( Holy crap, were they going to use gold thread?) A grand does seem rather expensive- but gees what were the Bundaberg vets doing to get it so cheap?? (not saying they are shonky but wow they must live on baked beans!!)

I cant agree more with this.