Paulp

A flyball brag for something different, at our last comp Ebon cracked 5 seconds for the first time running 4.900. I reckon thats not bad for a 33 kg lab.

As another owner of a pair of labradors I back what the others have said, that is rather gentle play for two labs! When I first got my rescue lab to join my original I had to seek assurance as well that the roughness of play that was going on was not a problem. I only step in when I see one grabbing the others collar to get leverage.

My rescue lab came to us with a very strong body odour. A good diet improved it considerably but it can still be quite strong. When I wash her i use Fidos oatmeal shampoo first, make sure it is all well rinsed out and then wash her again with Fidos everyday shampoo, rinse very well again and dry thouroughly.

Both my dogs have had these reactions. My vet recommended applying hot and cold packs alternatively (about thirty seconds each) half a dozen times twice a day. Cleared it up in several days.

Wasn't me.... Respecting the boundary of the door

At our club the first few levels are about just teaching your dog to be a good pet. Loose lead walking, sitting, dropping, recall, dealing with common behavioural issues. Heeling is taught but it is just about getting your dog into a heel position if you need to (eg when approaching a road), not tight formal heeling. Once past this the obedience becomes more formal or you can veer off into flyball or agility.

The first time I took my lab down the creek when he was a pup he went head down butt up for so long I was just about to go in after him when he popped to the surface with an enormous stick off the bottom. He has been an avid and very strong swimmer ever since. My second lab needed some encouragement to go in the first time I took her swimming but after that she too was a natural.

I do it because I have two dogs and I use their name to command the correct dog. It is a very hard habit to break once formed, i try not to do it when only one of my dogs is present.

Everyone with a healthy sense of humour still had a good time. My day was made when my boy broke the 5 second barrier in his first run of the day for the first time, not bad for a 33kg dog. Pity about the yellow card to finish the day.

Did you give your boy a run? How did he go? How did Bundy go Menacebear? Did he whip up some enthusiasm? Yep Billy was in all 3 demos doing full runs and a recall. First run he missed one jump and the rest he did perfect full runs. Was very proud of him. Bundy was ace. He did wonderful recalls. Well done Were they solo runs or was he crossing with other dogs as well? I'm glad someone from Berwick had a successful weekend

Did you give your boy a run? How did he go? How did Bundy go Menacebear? Did he whip up some enthusiasm?

The black dog ones are made out of polyester but they are a very nice soft material. The Black Dog site is here

Watch out for the two members of the Berwick flyball team who are also pipers and run their dogs whilst wearing their full regalia.

I find this a bit surprising. In humans motion sickness is caused by a mismatch of information coming from your different senses, your inner ear is saying that you are moving around as the car manuevres but your eyes are saying that the car around you is still, this is why people who get car sick can't read whilst travelling in a car, if you look down at a book the only thing in your field of view is something stationary relative to yourself. It is also why the driver rarely gets sick, even if they suffer when they are a passenger, they know and see all the movements the car is making. For this reason I would have thought that it would be better to get the dog up higher where it can see out properly, that is how I manage sea sickness. Maybe a dog that improves down in a footwelll is is suffering anxiety about being in the car?

My male labrador is half as big again and towers over my female lab (both fixed and about the same age). If you watched their day to day interactions you would probably think she is the dominant dog. She frequently mounts him and when they play he frequently rolls on his back and allows her to jump on top of him and pin him to the ground. They feed side by side, sleep together and will happily eat from the same bowl with no growling or carry on. When it really comes down to it though, for something of very high value, he gives her a look and she backs off and gives him plenty of space.

I have two beds/kennels for my two labs and they will use either but they frequently share the same kennel.

I got home from the comp just in time to see the ABC report, he looked very handsome, my in-laws were around and they commented on how striking he looked. It was funny that he wanted a piece of that microphone

Hi slk, if you're thinking if joining up at Berwick maybe hold off on the harness, we will teach you ways to encourage your dog not to pull on the lead.

You could go to Pets @ Home in FountainGate, all their dogs and cats are rescued ones looking for a new home so your concious can be clearer. Alternatively the petshop by Bunnings in Narre Warren carry a good supply (not sure what it is called). Robbos Pet Barn don't have any animals and have a fair range.

Hi Staff'n'Toller, the club has built, and are building more, enclosures at the end of the clubrooms for instructors, committee members and helpers to house there dogs during training days so they don't have to be left in cars or on the deck in crates. We looked at moving flyball down the other end of the grounds but, among other reasons it is impractical, there is not enough room for adequate run back down there. At flyball comps our marquee is actually one of the quieter ones, once the dogs get in the ring though most of them are just as loud as any other team, I'm glad to say that mine is unusually quiet in the ring, maybe just a bit too relaxed. Hi Ississ, I figured out who you were from the pics in your sig. The only time Ebon tends to bark is when those noisy staffies are running around in front of him!

No, shes not. Not surprising given that we are the noisiest activity that goes on at the club but from her complaints you would think we train all weekend and every Wednesday night. Team training, which is far noisier than intermediate and beginners only goes for 45min-1hour on Saturday. We wonder sometimes what she would think if we held a flyball comp at the club grounds.......She's lucky that she doesn't have a neighbour with a noisy dog that barks every day. I don't know if I would either JulesP, but then I wouldn't move into the street in the first place. Thats the one Erny, she has just been a pain in the side in general to all users of Kalora Park and the residents but when we finally got our application to a planning meeting at council (that is whole other story) she had put in this great long list of objections and had somehow managed to get some other residents to sign it. What is really annoying is that the list is a load of hogwash and if the council bothered to send someone to investigate (eg. to see that any traffic issues are the result of overflow from the footy ground next door or the real noise levels from the dogs) or even look at their own records (to see that we had the appropriate permits and permissions for all comps held at the club grounds) they would see so.

Our club is having a few issues with the council and a local resident. She moved in across the road from our club about 15 years ago and promptly started complaining about the club, the noise (apparently dogs make more noise than the footy oval next door where people honk their horns every time a goal is scored) traffic etc. She has generally been viewed as a nuisance by the council and other residents and the club but it seems she has recently bullied some of the local residents into agreeing with her and managed to get an ear on council which is making it difficult for us. Specifically we are trying to get a second storage shed built so that we can store equipment that is currently housed off site at members homes as we don't have the room in our current shed. Her complaints have barred this and we are currently trying to resolve the problem with council. It would be useful to get an idea of how many non-club members use the facility during the week when we are not training to point out to the council how much use is made of the facilities. The council has put in very little money to improve the facilities (laser levelling site, building of off leash areas) most of it has been funded by the club. So who uses the club grounds?

Absolutely, the club trains on Saturdays btw 11 and 4 (although does not resume until 1st sat in Feb) and Wednesday evenings after 7 during daylight savings. All other hours they are free for anyone to use.

There are two fenced off-lead areas at Berwick obedience dog clun in Narre Warren North . Map

I give my labs chuck bones, these are sections of the spinal column split down the middle. There are usually seven or so half vertebrae in each. Butchers will often ask if you want them cut into pieces but I prefer to cut them into individual vertebrae myself with a filleting knife. I like these bones because they are not as hard as marrow bones, they are not full of fattening marrow (a big plus for labs!), any flesh left on them is usually meat rather than fat (unlike brisket bones) and they give the teeth a good scrub because of thier irregular shape (my two have lovely white teeth).