Ptolomy

Thats for the helpful tip Rubystar Well we now have a splat down (thanks Caffy it was easy ) but in the process have broken the dumbbell - all due to her obsession with the little i-squeak ;) . So tonight we are playing repair the dumbbell. Hmm I don't want to preempt but I would like to place money on a broken COP by Friday!

WOW - what a top effort Is he looking forward to going up to the next class next term?

OMG no doubt about it ST - your girl is preggers How much longer??

I fixed it once and you broken it again - you have to be more careful

Thanks RV - I will need to look at it tonight as I can view Youtube at work Now back to studying

and I think thats where a lot of us go very wrong - we start to put pressure on and it all goes belly up. Keep it light hearted and fun, everybody enjoys it and you move forward. Good luck on the weekend and let us know when you have any more sessions that prove what a trainer you are

JulesPHmmm - recipe for instant ROH - go training with friend - play with her high jump, just to see what Rory will do - he's never seen a solid jump before. Send Kirra over jump - Rory follows - send him over and call back. Have a rush of blood to the head - decide to throw DBover jump and see what he does - reward when he comes back over jump with DB and presents. Have another rush of blood to the head, and try a formal ROH - big time reward success - job done - love my boy - wish he could do stays with other dogs. (Should mention we haven't tried ROH with a real ob jump - this one was brown, and about 1m wide, so I'm hoping it will translate to the real thing.) Tassie - I like your style - expect toller girl in the post tomorrow -where you will have 2 days to perfect things

Anybody happy to post some DOR videos???? NO pressure - but I now only have 4 days LOL

and you have 2 beautiful open passes - so does that mean I am in with some hope for 5 days time ....... UM what I haven't said is that I also don't have a retrieve over the jump or a change of positions.......... and last of all........ No OOS sit or down stay

Thank you Saint Caffy - do I need to point out tomorrow I will only have 4 days to get a splat ??? Do I need to bring anything..................like a shotgun??????

What do you want? An instant splat?? YEP - is that asking for too much??? Yep I like Brookies DOR too - he comes in fast and then stops and does a fold back drop. Hmm maybe I need to watch what she is going to do with Zac and copy. Off to email Deb to suggest she teaches Zac a DOR in the next 5 days.......

HMmm I don't have my speakers connected up, so I could only watch the video and not listen to what she was saying. I used a bar on the ground with Lara - after she had already been taught the DOR and she was running on. I have to be honest and say I don't think I really like the method as you remove the bar and the problem came back again.

Interesting question Xena98 and I can answer this one because in Ciders 2nd novice trial she shut down between exercises (not sure if you have seen the vid or not), wouldn't come near me, wouldn't play hand touches and didn't want to be patted, so I resorted to what she knew best and had been heavily rewarded - heeling between exercises. Hand touches is not something that in itself is naturally rewarding for a dog. Hand touches are usually taught by us to use between exercises and are whats called a secondary reinforcer. Unfortunately, and I am guilty, that once a secondary reinforcer has been learnt by the dog, we all tend to stop rewarding them in training, so we ask for a hand touch, the dog does it and we move on - and very quickly, the secondary reinforcer in a trial, loses its value. After Ciders second trial - the one I described above. I spent the week rewarding patting, hand touches, and pushing her away in training. I probably went overboard, but it did the trick and her trial on the weekend, she was much more confortable in playing between the exercises. So I suggest before your next trial, make an effort to reward whatever secondary reinforcer you are going to use a couple of times at each training session, not just one piece of food, but lots, and see what happens after seekback next time. Hmm does this make sense??

I raise my hat to you Xena98 - to have 1 Agility Champ is terrific but to have 3 "WOW" that is amazing. and you should be proud - goodonya PS - express posting obedience trained toller to you tomorrow - send her back when you make it agility CH number 4 No Pressure

Help - I would like some suggestions on how to teach a drop on recall. All my dogs do the same thing - obviously because they have all been taught the same way They tend to start dropping when I give the command and lower their body over their next 3-4 steps before finally dropping, they do come in at a rate of knots, but this is no excuse .........and I don't like it. So fire away....... I have 5 days to teach it

Kathq my boy also goes out and stands over the scent articles - he only saves it for trials though, not in training! Sometimes he will look at me, other times he will just stare off into space. I will not give another fetch command and I have also found he is better if I don't look at him, not that he can tell because I usually have sunglasses on. I would suggest that if metal is the issue - then change your order and do wood or leather first. I have found playing hand touches or leg weaves before scent has helped. In training throwing food behind you as they pick up the article and head back towards you also helps - it makes them in more of a hurry to find it and bring it back. I have to be honest and say I am still not sure why he does it though. I tend to think stress and the fact that he hasn't been rewarded. As an after thought I would also have to say that in your first trial - if she had shut down that much - I would have not been hanging around trying to repair things - I would have been out of there, Coco back in the car, me up to the canteen to buy a gin/coffee and for us to both have time to think about it. I would have got her out afterwards and done a scent article or a change of positions and rewarded it. Negative body language can do a lot of damage on a soft dog. and after thought number 2 - I think if you were having to use NRM's in a trial - it would be another reason to pull her. afer thought number 3 - UD is character building, but it sucks! HUgs to you......

Lots will help you with this in the training thread

I see you have been asking obedience rule questions too - good luck and well done it's nice when training goes well and you all enjoy training :D Well done TSD - how many more passes do you need. I've had plenty of shoot the handler moments too so don't feel bad!

Welcome Aannie - photos of your dog are compulsory There is a Club, Northern Suburbs, who train at Carine Open Space on a Sunday morning. I suggest you either do a google search for the club to find out contacts - or take a wander down on a Sunday morning around 9am. They usually have a caravan with the logo on the side so it should be easy to spot. Not sure if they train during school holidays though.

WX - I can't believe you have a son that old and yes you should be mighty proud

I had a better day than the last few have been....... Strauss was pulled for the in group line up - he didn't win but I have never had that happen before - I must have looked like a real dork when the judge pointed to us and then this afternoon...... Cider Bear showed that she had recovered from her scary trip east with a 200 in novice for her title. So her 3 scores have been 200, 196 and 200 - Good girl Soggy Bear

and Little Soggy Bear recovered from her scary trip east to get her novice title today with a 200 and Moo ate 8 chicken necks tonight + frozen veges - in response to asking him to do some very basic obedience recall, line up and a change of positions and telling him Jackpot I am a very happy camper

Woo HOo HUge congratulations to Candice and Mason who today got their first CCD pass and 1st place - it was a super effort - well done mate

Yep I bought the Hills food too - the vet told me to mix vegemite with it to make it more appealing. Scoota took one look at it and walked away which was when I sent an SOS to the vet and said Houston we have a problem. Hence he is allowed fish, sardines, yoghurt, rice, all of which he wont touch. The only thing he will eat are chicken necks, which i am not sure is on his list of can haves or not. He is not allowed any red meat as they are high in protein.

Congratilations Showdogs on your Royal win and to the other WA winners - when is the group judging?? I never thought that I would say this but I am having problems finding something that Scoota will eat. He has gone from a dog that would eat anything in huge quantities, to a dog that walks away from most foods (remembering that he can only have low protein foods), and this does my head in. His best times are in the morning just after he gets up, he is happy and joins the others down the back, but he is back in bed straight after breakfast. Fingers crossed that he has stabilized as I don't think he has gone backwards over the last 24 hours.