angelsun

Was it in NSW Gazette? If so, we completely missed it...

We're all working on it! BTW...Tassie is the benchmark in many ways for Rally with interclub matches going now for almost a year, the entire obedience judges being given a full days lecture in rules/design work/practical application (thanks to the TCA!) They have stuck to the draft rules (based almost entirely on the CKC rule book) and not added additional 'fun' classes or such events as some areas have introduced, as well as continued to use ONLY the CKC signs which has also happened in some areas that the AKC signs are being used which introduces some different stations and can create confusion due to inconsistancy. North East Victoria is to host a seminar in Myrtleford in February and we're still working on the SA seminar. It's a huge job, and it's great to see the clubs recognizing this sport and its importance as a compliment to traditional obedience.

No, that's incorrect...all speed changes MUST be followed by "Normal" including "fast forward from sit" unless it is the last station before the finish.

GIPFEL German Shepherd Dogs litter due January 7th (approx) Dam: Ch.Gipfel Black Forest [A][Z] "Kes" Sire: Ch.Ramorra Warp Core Reaction [A][Z] "Tripp"

Perhaps we should be thankful that at this point, these are the only rules. I know my friend in Sweden can not do a grandfather/grandaughter breeder, uncle/neice etc....

We knew nothing about it either.

We're still working on something in SA, so keep an eye out and spread the word so we can get the interest going! As for a level to stay and compete...Rally allows you to go through the three levels (to excellant) and then begin your goal of RAE (Rally Advanced Excellant) To attain that title, you must compete in Advanced and Excellant trials in the same day, and qualify both times....do that ten times and poof...new title....want more? Do it again another ten times and poof....RAE1....then RAE2 etc....remember that the jump from Advanced to Excellant isn't as huge as Open to Utility in traditional obedience. Some challenging exercises but it should not be considered as scarey!

Update from RTA, Culcairn had been closed, is now open at this hour but we were told that it could be shut again in a few hours so take care as there will be delays or detours or find alternative routes. Apparently the Newell Highway is open all the way with no issues.

Just heard from a local up that way, and roads are fine from Wagga to Coolamon to Grong Grong. Sun is shining, blue skies are out and things are draining away for us. Not sure for those coming from ACT or north as Gundagai was dicey they say. (only hearsay, I can't really be sure as I"m going only by rumours)

Jackofhearts Wild Flame " Wild Fire " Dawn of Fire " Fire Dance " Flame Dance

Looking for some suggestions for accomodations so as to attend the Canberra Royal in the new year. Outcome of this will determine if we enter or not. TIA

I used to do both, but now that I don't have my tattoo gun here, I just chip. Bottom line..permanent identification.....THAT is the important thing....BTW, we breed GSD's and don't have any issues with it as our last two litters have been chipped AND the owners got their papers when they took possession of their dogs....no drama.

I could be way off, but are you referring to the types that just breed & never step a foot into the show ring? Personally, I think it's still a handy tool being compared against your peers. There was a kennel in the Mid West USA that bred in my opinion the BEST Manchester Terriers at the time. They never showed..they hated the politics and bickering and nonsense. They beleived they were the best judges of what was correct in their breed, not someone that bred Labs or Poodles and took a test on their breed. The dogs of this kennel (Whiteoak) were only titled when someone else bought one of their dogs, however the structure and overall breed type was second to none at the time, and almost all current success stories in the breed have a bit of Whiteoak in their lines. I don't believe showing is the true test of whether the breeder is doing the right job....as mentioned as well, we see many incorrect dogs (blantent faults be it structure/colour/temperament) attaining titles and then being bred from....I've seen many outstanding dogs left out because they are a colour that's not in favour, or because they are in size in a group of oversized examples. The judges have put a lot of challenges on the breeders and not all good ones....pick the dog with the most coat in a breed where the coat would weigh the animal down and hinder its ability to work, but it's pretty and flashy and showy when puffed up and going around the ring. many forget that the history and function of the breed is paramount for judging the breed. We the breeders know this (for the most part) but it gets lost often on the all breeds judges that must do their best to remember all the recognized breeds. They can't possibly and yet we as breeders continue to put our unwaivering trust in their opinion to determine our direction with our breeding programs.

sounds like a blast... (say hi to everyone for me!!)

We have an Oztrail compact and it's great..light weight and easy up and down...my REAL recommendation....take it down at night...or at the VERY least...take off your walls and roof and leave the bones....it won't be sure thing but it'll help, and it's not a big task to redo in the morning. We take our stuff down every night and it adds only about ten minutes to redo it with our gazebo every morning. No drama and no worries about it ending up in a pile after a wind event in the middle of the night!

Why can't you still do that, then send in your registration forms? Many people send puppies home without papers as they are still pending. I must say i find it weird that people register pups under 6-8 weeks of age, glad they know what should be on Main Reg so early. I agree with this...why should it make any difference that chipping/tattoo be done at eight weeks and be a problem? So you keep your pups for an extra week or two. No rule says we have to let them go at precisely eight weeks..many breeders hang onto them longer for many reasons. I had Cresteds and wouldn't let them go before 12 weeks...other people haven't decided their picks so hang on for another week or so to be sure on what they are picking. No drama really. I think it's great that mandatory chipping is coming...it's what I'm used to and embrace the rule. I chipped toy dogs as young as 4 weeks without any issues...so for those that go on about their chihuahua's being too small....that's nonsense. But it's like so many things, and this included tattooing...when it became mandatory, people yelled about it...found ever reason to say it was faulty, but it came in and people got used to it...then chips came along and those same people that screamed about tattoos, bellowed about chips...didn't trust them, too tramatic for pups to be done, yadda, yadda, yadda..... Of the thousands of pups I've chipped over the years for myself and others, compared to the hundreds of pups I tattoo'd, I"ll take the no squeek response of the insertion of the chip over the discomfort of tatooing any day of the week. Mandatory identification is a positive thing....if it means keeping pups a little long to ensure paperwork is processed....what's the big deal....a few more days of poop to clean up....

being told in puppy sweeps that I have a nice "manchester", "MinPin", "Doberman" when I have a German Pinscher! gotta wonder what the judge is thinking when I'm not up at the front in toys or terriers....ok....so the Dobe I can see...but then when I tell the judge that the puppy is almost six months and they have this VERY puzzled look on their face as if to say "gee...that 'dobe' won't make size!" I agree about the lack of directions....boy, if the OH didn't know where these shows were, I"d be still driving around the back roads of god knows where looking!! I get more of a giggle seeing everyone closed up tight into their gazebos, crammed ringside every weekend, and those that come late, who bitch and whinge about having to set up ALL the way over in the next ring.....too funny....come to a little show I did in Canton Ohio where we were set up in Airedale land by ring 2 and I was showing my GP in ring 30 which I think was in the next time zone!

Well said. I tend to follow that same thought process as I have a breed that only 60 years ago, was on the brink of extinction. I"m not saying that this breed doesn't have ongoing issues that need to be addressed though. My opinion of the weakness however, is not the same as another breeders and neither of us is wrong for our thoughts. I have always believed that when I speak of bettering the breed, I am not looking at changing the entire population, but fixing the issues that are apparent in my own yard. We all want the best dogs we can get, but we all know no dog is perfect....fixing an issue like feet, might result in a neck length we don't prefer...so next time...try to fix that....if we are doing things well, many of us will be able to say that generation x was better than generation w in some areas, and generation y is better than the one before in other areas.....we are in fact, bettering the breed.

How about those same scratched dogs that ARE in fact at the show....being told they ARE going in the ring, only to find out as you miss your ring call that in the last thirty seconds, the dogs don't show up..... On that vein....how about the ones that feel strongly that it is MY duty to let my competators know it's time to go in the ring. Recently we've run into this a number of times..we are ringside and ready..checked in with the steward and waiting....and yet when competators are called absent, people jump down our throats and get all narky that it is our responsibility to get our competators to the ring on time.....'scuse me?

Yes I don't get that.....I"m not used to the deafening silence during group presentation of dogs....the steward asks for applause when the group comes in, but it seems no one is permitted to add to that when dogs are moved or make the cut etc....I've watched BIG and BIS be awarded with no sounds...how anticlimactic for such a big win...is it simply because everyone else is pissed because they lost?

I've been trying to get to SA for almost two years now....I thought I was going to be over there in December this year to do the seminar but it's been pushed off (by the group that was to host the event) Basically, if a group wants the seminar, they don't have to be a club, just a group of interested people.....need an area for the classroom stuff on the Saturday and a space for the practical on the sunday. Although MOST of the seminars are hosted by a club, it's not necessary, we just need an energetic and organized person to oversee things and take registrations, arrange space and take care of what will be catered (for lunch and morning tea) My concern with the delay in SA (if it happens at all) is that the people/clubs/judges simply won't be ready when this is accredited and this creates frustration, which results in lack of participation. I can't seem to get it across hard enough, how much more difficult this sport is (from a judging point of view) and how much more time and energy is required to prepare for trials. We are constantly battling misinformation that this is simply fun or easy....yes it's fun....and it's only easy if the judge sets up a boring course without challenges....I've had many occasions where the UD trained team doesn't pass the Novice Rally course...so it's NOT easy (at least not when I have the pen in my hand and am judging because I'm VERY fussy about correct positions and how each station is done) I'm heading back to Tassie (who are the benchmark for this sport and doing so much more than ALL states combined at this point in regards to holding matches, training instructors and judges and getting the word out about this sport) We're bumping it up to the next level, working on polishing Advanced and Excellent stations, continuing to train those interested in judging and stewarding and of course helping out the teams to be sure they are doing the stations correctly, which has been a problem in some areas where the interpretation of the station has created training issues. I"m hopeful to get back to Perth again (they were a fantastic crowd!) and work on training more judges and perhaps bringing this Advanced/Excellent class to them as well. I know they are doing a lot to educate as many as they can on this sport, promoting it as what it is....a challenging alternative and companion to traditional obedience. King Valley Kennel Club is holding the seminar in early February (North East Victoria) and we're hoping to see folks come out for two full and fun days of learning! For anyone interested in gathering a group (we've had as few as 10 and as many as 50), we can work on arranging to hold a seminar and get people going in this sport! We can not sit back and assume everyone else is going to do the hard work for when this sport is ANKC recognized. There are many that are working hard on the paperwork and all the 'business' parts of this, but unless the teams are trained, the judges are prepared for what they are getting into, and the stewards understand their jobs, we won't see this TRULY get off the ground and be the success it has been in North America. Rally is a tried and true trial number increaser.....we know that those that do Rally, work in traditional obedience as well and many that feel they can't attain a CD, work harder after some success with Rally and attain this. We know that the numbers begin to rise again in traditional obedience trials BECAUSE of the influences of Rally and the positive aspects it offers for struggling trialers. We have seen obedience clubs on the brink of failure because of low entry and lack of interest, blossum when Rally is introduced to their club. We have seen people that have never participated in Obedience (flyballers, agility folks) come over and trial in Rally. We have seen die hard Traditional Obedience instructors with 30+ years under their belts, embrace this sport and participate with enthusiasm! But what is most important is turning around the attitude of those that claim "it's just for fun", "it might be good for training only", "It's not really obedience", "I don't see any advantage to doing it", and know that these people know NOTHING about the sport.....until they are shown that it "IS fun", "it IS good for training but not JUST training", "It is called Rally O and O stands for OBEDIENCE" and the advantages of those that participate are amazing!

for basic behaviour shaping, together...it's amazing how one will watch the other get reward and the lightbulb goes on! We're currently doing this with the five month old in a simple sit for a treat scenario where she's watched the others respond to what we want done and then she is doing it because she's copying. For serious stuff....as mentioned....separately and the other is out of ear shot and visual range.

(as they show up to the venue bright and early saturday morning wondering why the rings aren't set up, but HOLY COW they got a choice of spots to put up the gazebo!)

Being lovely and clean when you leave the house at 5am and by 9am ring time, you're covered in hair and pawprints and not been in the ring yet! Being lovely and clean when you leave the house at 5am and stepping in the wet mucky puddle (in the dark) as you close the gate when you are leaving and the mud splashes up your pants/pantyhose. (and no time to go change) Getting to the show and setting up, only to realize that some of the things needed (like a hammer) ARE IN THE OTHER TRAILER! Driving to the show in the wee hours and not a drop of rain, only to have the sky open precisely sixty seconds after sweepstakes start (and you own a water soluable dog) I agree about the noisy dogs.....or trolleys full of small dogs that go off when a big dog walks past (that doesn't even look their way) and the owners standing there, make no effort to quiet them.

I've found it has more to do with the age of the bitch, rather than the method of insemination (natural/fresh collect/frozen) As well, the condition of the bitch is also paramount and can override age in some cases (have had that happen in my case) I'll be doing my next three matings with frozen as there isn't really much in the way of males to use that will compliment and improve with my bitches. Raised eyebrows I"m sure from many, but I"m not about to just do a litter to prove a bitch, without the change of improvement..I'll wait, take my chance and work with my vet and hope for the best.