FHRP

;) Your mum sounds like a softy with the dogs, just like mine ;)

I would think that the minutes of the meeting would need to be finalised before any officlal announcements...? the meeting was only last weekend.

Of course they can wear purple!! Male dogs can even wear pink :D

For Victorians!! This was just posted on the Australian Working Retriever BB A demonstration and practice day for the new Retrieving Ability Test for Gundogs has been organized for Sunday 20th March at KCC Park Cranbourne. 10AM - 3PM. Everyone and their gundogs are most welcome. Flyers are being sent to obedience clubs, gundog clubs, and whoever else we can think of and we are hoping on a good turnout. On the same day the Weimaraner Club of Victoria will be conducting their Restricted to Gundogs Obedience Trials 1 x am and 1 x pm . If you are entering the trials please come along when you have a break and have a go at this new event especially for gundogs.

My boys are curently going through a container of ice cream that I decided wasn't to my taste. They are fed it each evening from a spoon They are fed from forks often when I don't want to give the food out by hand because it's too messy. I've also been known to give out chicken with tongs! Yes, the same tongs I use with my food ;) They learn how to 'use' utensils pretty quick The milk from my breakfast cereal is shared every morning, straight from the bowl. They all know the drill and learn very quickly the sound of that last mouthful of cereal being scooped up I must admit though that I don't eat from the fork/spoon/bowl/plate until after it's been through the dishwasher if it's been used by the dogs.

Are you in a tick area? Check him thoroughly if you are, weakness in the back legs is one of the symtpoms of paralysis ticks. If you suspect it may be a tick he will need to go to the vet ASAP.

My visitors let their dogs lick their plates too It is extremely rare for me to 'entertain' and even rarer to have non-doggy people over for a meal. But, if they didn't ask I wouldn't tell. If they asked, I'd be honest. The dogs are healthy and regularly wormed, and the dishes are put through the dishwasher, even if they look clean after the doggy wash

I usually have one with his head on my knee drooling, another sitting intently looking at me, another in a dog bed watching me. They usually all get a bit of what I'm eating and they get to lick the plates Oh the horror If we're at my folks place they are supposed to stay on the carpeted area in the lounge, the dining area has floorboards. We've pretty much given up trying to get my old boy to do that now and even there he's usually under the table with his head on my knee. My parents will even feed them from the table now and let them lick the plates, although that's usually out in the kitchen....

My story is pretty similar to your AD, although I don't stick to one breed My first dog was a hasty puschase just to have dog. The second was researched and from a registered breeder (Flynn, Vizsla). I did have in mind some obedience for him, and the breeder suggested retrieving as he was a very active pup. We discovered agility and became addicted. My next pup (Rogan, Vizsla) was purchased with agility in mind and I sought the breeding due to what the dam had produced before performance wise. I then got into retrieving trials with Rogan, Flynn was a complete failure there and my next pup (Polo, GSP) was purchased from working lines to do retrieving and field work. We're playing in agility, but my next dog will be more physically suited to the sport. Although I have purchased my pups with sports in mind, it is only with breeds that I already like for other reasons. If I was getting a dog purely for agility, I'd look at the working breeds and if I was getting a dog purely for Retrieving I'd get a Labrador again (my first dog was a Lab). But, I love the breeds I have and appreciate them as my pets first.

I have heard excellent things about Raelene from people here as well as overseas I'd recommend Raelene too

He is nearly 9 weeks old. It was his introduction to water yesterday and he took to it like a duck RubyStar have you looked at Cabela's? They charge 25% of the cost of the item for postage, which with the dollar as it is can still be quite affordable. eta. Don't get hung up on getting valveless dummies, all my plastic ones have valves and I never do a thing with the valves, we just use them!!

Did a few long water retrieves with Polo today, the dams are very full. I was pleased he didn't embarass me :rolleyes: Best part of the afternooon though was meeting little Darcy, a Springer pup that I'm sure is destined for great things.

I first read this as Why the hell can't the dog be locked away in the mailbox Sorry, not a funny story...

Great stuff with the brown one RubyStar!! For the first time in.... ever, I think, I am actually looking forward to taking Polo to agility training classes when they start back up in Feb. We had the first ribbon trial of the year last night and Polo had his first run in Excellent jumping. We were a long way off a Q, but after starting to walk it how I thought I should to manage feral Polo I thought stuff it and walked it how I would like to be able to handle him!! I still need to train him more to understand my cues for turns etc. but for the first time in ages, it felt like he was doing agility, not just running feral around a paddock doing the occasional obstacle! He even sent home over three jumps, a huge effort for him. Maybe, just maybe, he actually starting to "get" this game of agility... I'm sure he'll bring me down to earth at our next run though.... which will have weaves in it

First breed that came to mind from your original list was also Italian Spinone. Lovely, laid back easy going dogs. I did compete in obedience and agility with my Spin, but they are not a breed I'd recommend for ANKC agility and while I have a real interest in the sport I probably won't have another Spinone. Asking a dog of their build to regularly jump 600 is a big ask and I did NADAC and ADAA agility with her where the jump heights were more sympathetic to her build. We did get two passes in Novice Obedience, including a score of 194 (when there were two heel patterns) but they are a more stubborn gundog breed and really need to see the point. She would blitz it one day and be dreadful the next. However, they are trainable as any gundog should be The Wirehaired Vizsla may be worth looking at. A long time Vizsla owner and trainer raves about how laid back her Wirehaired Vizsla is compared to her smooths, she is also a very succesful competitor in the obedience ring with both varieties. Actually she's a DOLer, although I haven't seen her post for ages....

I love the look of the first sites products. The problem is there doesn't seem to be any contact details anywhere on the site. Go to http://www.karere.com.au/ and there is a contact us link

That would drive me insane also. I think if you're at all interested you could look at more of the Gundogs breeds. If raised correctly (for what you want) then they will not be the 'super clingy' that you dislike. My boys like to be with me and I usually have at least one dog in the room I'm in, however if I don't want to pat, cuddle or have them on me, they are fine with it. It's my Whippet that is more clingy when out of the house, most likely sitcking to me on walks which actually annoys me The working ESS I have met have all been quite soft dogs. Outgoing and drivey, but soft to train, needing some confidence reinforcement. That's not to say they aren't forgiving, and having read how you train Daisy, I think you would have the right attitude.

Although I'm sure you'd regard my dogs as clingy, this does annoy me also, and I do know the type of dog you mean. My needy gundogs are not like this but a few Goldies I know spring to mind acutally

I love the working Springers, they are on my 'one day' list Having seen a dozen or more in action at a field trial last year, they really are lovely athletic dogs. There are more around than you think, but most are in hunting homes. My friend has a lovely little girl from the same kennel as TSD's I think, that she's going to do agility and retrieving with. So far, she shows great potential. However, I'm wondering if they're too clingy? Most gundogs may be too clingy for you Huski, definitely people oriented dogs that love being with their owners wherever they are. However, if you're looking at working line gundogs, how about checking out field bred English & Irish Setters. The English Setters I met at field trials last year were within your size requirements, a small amount of coat and have lots of drive. Like field ESS, field Setters are very different to the show llines. Eta. I would never receommend Vizslas if you don't want clingy, they aren't called velcro dogs for nothing

I've been guilty of this, although less the discipline I like the best, but titles that have been what I regard as a big achievement. With so many agility titles on offer now, often my dogs name is cut off in Catalogues, and I hate to see his retrieving title missed, we worked bl**dy hard for that! ;) So I usually put the gundog titles, then the obedience, then agility If it was in order of what I like best, then yeah, obedience would be tacked on the end ;)

I was told once that Obedience titles are listed before Agility titles, regardless of the order you got them and that Retrieving are after that. The order I was told in Agility was the standard classes then the same open and then the games. When I applied for titles for a while this held true but now they seem to go anywhere again. Interestingly the new UG titles appear first in the list on my boys pedigrees. So Rogan is UG CDX ADM ADO JDM JDO GDM SDM SPDM NRD RRD. As a trial secretary for agility trials, I would really like there to be a standard order, so I can more easily ensure I enter the dogs titles in the database correctly.

Wikepedia Spinone link A google of Italian Spinone or Spinone Italiano will bring up heaps

Nobody told nearly 13 year old Flynn that!!! He is still the most demanding dog I have!! If he thinks he needs an outing he runs up and down the hall barking :D Like corvus, one of the firt breeds that came to mind was Italian Spinone. They are not smooth coated but their wire coat doesn't require a lot of grooming. You'd have to be prepared for a wait for a pup though.

Cheating water is when the dog avoids water to get the mark. In retrieving you want to dog to take a straight line, so even though it might be quicker to go around a body of water (or part of it), if the straight line is through the water, even just the edge then the dog should go through water. I am assuming that 'non cheaty' water marks are marks where the obvious route for the dog is direct to the mark through water, like in the middle of a dam. Thats how you should always introduce water marks, so the dog has to take the correct line ;) gspmadhouse, don't think that a water mad dog won't cheat water, especially if they are retrieving mad! Even a water loving dog will want to take the quicker/easier option given a chance!!

All my dogs dew claws were removed, but one has 'grown back' on my GSP. It's a bit deformed and has never been injured but if he has another surgery I will investigate having it removed.