jesomil

Thanks for the videos. Wow, the lack of precision and forging is quite pronounced It was great to meet up with you guys. I learnt a few good pointers to work on. Everyone has really nice, well trained dogs. I am still trying to work out if sheepdog work and obedience is compatible and whether or not we will pursue the obedience work. Yes, but thats ok. It is Terra as in earth, not Terror as in fear.

What is the plan if it is raining? I think rain is forecast.

I will be there!! Except we havent progressed since last time as we have been really busy and havent trained obedience at all

I went to Croydon on the way home from Lilydale too. I only watched for a little while though as i had to go.

I am currently really into stock work and yard trials. We chose dogs specifically bred for it and we are having heaps of fun. Its so amazing to watch what the dogs do with instinct alone. It also includes a weekend away in the country when we compete so an added bonus!! But i do love obedience and it was by far my favourite when i had my last dog that i did everything with. I think i might be getting back into it soon as i am feeling very motivated :D I love the teamwork and precision of obedience. To see a handler and dog working perfectly as one is amazing!

I went to training week after week with my old dog and we loved it. I was very young and we never would have made trialling level but we still had fun. When i happened upon a Rotty pup, i started training with her too. She was so biddable and easy to train that we flew through obedience classes and up to the trialling classes so i thought we may as well have a go. We then for many years became trialling addicts :D . Yes, we ended up doing obedience, agility, tracking, flyball, protection, lure coursing.............basically anything we could possibly do!! Absolutely! After my first trialling dog, I got another that i could do dog sports as well as showing and breeding then I got another etc etc I only own high drive sporty type dogs now. If i didnt do sports with my dogs they would be horrible dogs to have around. I would probably have got a nice placid dog. Hhmmmmm. I dont remember life before the dogs

I give all signals from waist height with no movement of the body as i think it looks neater than bending over. If the dog is trained to watch you when heeling, they should be watching you already so you dont have to get into their face. Also, if you teach your dog to do a command with only voice or only signal, then in a trial they are getting both so it would be very hard for them to miss.

Leo is fantastic at heeling and even better when you see him in real life!! Ok, it is hard to see and extremely hard to be picky, but if you want nitpicking................. does he anticipate the heel command after the first drop?

It was a great afternoon. Really good meeting you guys and your beautiful dogs! It has made me even more motivated to get my boy up to scratch now. Looking forward to next time .

Can I still come??

What is the benefit of dropping the toy over keeping hold of the toy and playing?

LL, I think you should add more suggestions!! We all love reading them and learning. Great having a video Kavik. Its good to actually see what you are talking about rather than just describing it and its good reading peoples suggestions regarding it. I wish i knew how to do the video thing.

Same as above. I watched it when you first put it on but now it is gone.

Hi Shoey, We had a great weekend at the yard dog trial. My boy came 2nd in his class (97/100) which i was thrilled about. We only lost points because of me making a dumb mistake but he was perfect ;) . I am so proud of him. He is such a great dog. We are looking forward to meeting everyone on Sat

Are people still getting together this weekend for training?

Would love to be there but I am trialling this this weekend and wont be back till Monday night. Next time.

Just a question. If you open it up for everyone, even if they have only just started out, wont it end up being the more experienced people having to help the less experienced the whole time instead of getting together to train their own dogs? I thought you initially meant it for people who were trialling or just about to, so they could get together and train and bounce ideas off each other etc. Rather than an instructor student set up kind of like a club.

So are the training days at KCC and Knox now for people who need help? or are they still for people to just come along and do a bit of training with like minded people who have the same high aspirations?

With a working dog, i think that if you do your research and get a dog bred for what you need then if it doesnt work out, it is more likely to be the training of it rather than the dog, so you would look at getting lessons or having the dog trained before rehoming it. I agree. For an obedience dog, it will be the trainers fault that the dog is not performing, not the dogs. Any dog can do obedience but not everydog can do more specialised sports that require some form of instinct such as stock work, retrieving, racing etc. If i were to get a pup purely for working sheep and it turned out by some freak of nature that it didnt work at all, i would find someone that wanted an obedience or agility dog and give it to them or hang on to it till a suitable home was found. I obviously do not need the dogs to work, i do it purely for a hobby but i still want to be able to continue my hobby with dogs that enjoy it too. No, if it has strong working instinct, then i would look at what i was doing wrong or find someone who had work for the dog that was more suitable for the skills of this particular dog.

Obviously i am referring to rehoming a dog because of lack of genetic capability not lack of ability on the trainers part. There are some particularly bad handlers that go through heaps of dogs and blame the dogs for their lack of ability rather than looking at their training techniques. There are many people out there that do this and I am certainly not referring to these types. I want dogs who genetically can be the top of what they do. If i was to have a dog that was incapable of that genetically then i would have to find another to go on with. I have never had to rehome a dog for this reason myself but i know others who have and i think what they did was right. Eg. You want to compete in cattle trials and get a dog who turns out unsuitable for the task. What do you do? Do you leave the cattle trials and perhaps aim for something else? Do you tie that dog up and start with another more genetically suitable one or do you find a home where the dog fits exactly with what another person wants which leaves you to concentrate on your new dog? I think it is totally different for an obedience dog though as it pretty much has everything to do with the trainers ability whether or not they succeed.

I would rehome a showdog or a sheepdog if it wasnt up to standard as i personally think there is no point collecting dogs if they are not exactly what you are after. Its best to find them a good home and go on with a dog that more suits your criteria. Conformation or instinct is not something that can be changed. It is completely different with a pet dog and I probably wouldnt rehome an obedience dog as it would be more to do with the training rather than the dog.

It is an interesting topic about when to start pups. There are so many different views so i really dont know what is best. My pup is now 6 months and she is on dogged sheep in controlled situations whenever possible. We are just starting now to add a few commands but she is doing nothing serious and basically just having fun. She works for a short period of time about 3 times a week. I guess it depends alot upon the dog and its lines as to when they are ready for further training. We are doing some real stock work this week so she will remain firmly on the chain .

How do people that only use one method have the experience to teach another method? Eg. If you are into only positive motivational techniques and have used it with your dogs, how would you know how to use another method like corrections if you havent used it and dont really believe in it anyway? I know there are people experienced in lots of methods here, but i wonder for those who say they are open minded but have never used anything else, how would you know how to utilise another method effectively. Hope i am not confusing everyone and if this doesnt make sense, just ignore me Edited to get rid of a word that jumped in in the wrong place.

What would be the benefits from waiting a few more months? She looks great now. I would keep it up.

Good post Cosmolo