angelsun

Yes, the finish left means "swing" where the dog does not go around the handler but spins to drop to the heel spot. Remember..always watch to see if it's finish left/right then HALT or just forward....many have gotten nailed in marks for either missing the sit, or sitting when it's not called for.

OK...don't think of RIGHT as heeling on the right side..what this station means is the following: You are heeling with the dog on your left as usual. Come to the sign, and halt (dog sits in heel position) In the novice stage, you can take a couple of steps backwards and call your dog to the 'front' position. Dog SITS in the front position. Finish right means, the dog must go AROUND you on YOUR right, back into heel position. If there is a halt, the dog sits in heel position on the left..if it is just a finish right/forward, the dog must NOT stop and sit, which means as soon as the dog comes around the back of your legs, step foward and heel to the next station. Make sense? (where the heck is the webcam when I need it and my trained dog!)

you wait til you see what a pivot turn is in rally....hehehe We got them going left and right and 180 degrees.....higher levels....

Just so you know (if you haven't been told already at seminars), apparently Australians commonly call the left about turn a "pivot turn". Any tips on doing it right/well... regardless of what it's called? That's a different turn altogether. The left About Turn has handler doing a U turn (left turn into the dog) the dog does the about turn (right turn)

Yes, that's the turn..when done right, it's quite elegant to watch...when not...well....won't go there! As for those that excel in traditional obedience bombing out in Rally...VERY common! We like to humble those traditionalists!

Yes, gotta love that 270, but you will be amazed at how quickly it sinks into the brain and becomes natural. Have you tried the About Left Turn?

It is truly amazing how hard it can be at first to walk, turn and READ at the same time, all while counting.....go figure!! (trust me, it gets easier as you do it!)

Gotta confirm a few things and will get back to you asap.

Yeah..it's great isn't it?

1-2-3 steps (foward) Approach the sign and stop with the dog sitting at heel position. This does NOT count as the first step. Instructing the dog to heel, take one REGULAR size step leading off with the left foot as you SHOULD be doing when begining to heel regardless of the exercise. Bring your trailing food (right) to meet the left and HALT. Dog sits at heel position. Instructing the dog to heel, take two REGULAR size steps leading off with the left foot. Left=1, right=2 HALT, dog sits at heel position. Instructing the dog to heel, take three REGULAR size steps leading off with the left foot. Left=1, right=2, left=3 HALT, dog sits at heel position. PAUSE upon completion of the third set of steps and then proceed to the next station. BTW...there WILL be time during one of the days to go over the finer points of some of the exercises (regardless of the level) There will be novice courses set up and yes, I"ve got some dandy courses so you WILL be doing that exercise and the 1-2-3 steps call front exercise. Let it be known, there are a few exercises I"m a REAL stickler about, and these are two of them....I will insist you learn to count properly!

Check chains are not tools of torture if used correctly, the same can be said with pinch collars. In the wrong hands and used INCORRECTLY they are ineffective and cruel. Now, a 'pop' done correctly WILL illicit a yelp usually as a response to the surprise of the sensation. The encouragement in voice should also be used, and in the case of a dog learning to walk to heel correctly, the handler SHOULD (in my opinion) also change directions quickly, making the dog realize that it MUST stay in position or it will have an unpleasant stimulation. Now for those of you that work strictly with positive reinforcement training...you are in fact doing the same thing, without the collar correction. Reward is given when the dog is in the correct position, ignoring the dog, or using a stern 'wrong' is used when the dog is not. But, in both methods, the handler should be also using a positive voice command as well as a change of direction to enforce the fact that the dog MUST remain in the correct position or it simply does not get the reward. In the case of positive reinforcement, the reward is often food, in the case of a corrective 'pop' the reward is simply praise and that the correction is not repeated. I will tell you for years of training, that the corrective 'pop' is far more effective if done correctly than food rewards, however, everyone must be comfortable with their own methods of training. Having trained from toy poodles (with major attitudes) to Great Danes, I will say that the dogs passing through my hands, all end up being able to walk correctly at heel within the first ten/fifteen minutes of the first class. I have seen many other methods of training that, yes, work...but will in fact take a lot longer and unless you are prepared to spend the rest of your time walking with a pocket of treats, you may find that a quick 'pop' done once or twice, and done CORRECTLY by someone that KNOWS what they are doing, is far more effective overall. It is NOT designed to hurt, or break spirit or torment the animal in any way. If such a response occurs, chances are that the trainer is NOT doing the correction properly and is missing something in the whole training portion. A dog should not 'slump' at a person's feet in dispair or out of desperation. It should not cringe, or crawl after a correction. When done correctly, most check chain work keeps tails wagging and spirits high. Anyone seeing a response NOT like this, needs to consider changing trainers. (Just my opinion however, and it should be noted that I am NOT against positive reinforcement training, nor clicker/reshaping methods, but use a combination of everything I know for each dog as each dog is different and an individual) No method suits all dogs, regardless of what some will tell you. There are very soft dogs out there that need a very light hand..there are very hard headed dogs out there that would be uncontrollable using softer methods....and most dogs, need a good combination of both to succeed.

Have had someone from the Adelaide area requesting more information so for those of you out that way....yell loud if you want to see my shining face!! Not sure too many of the details on the who's and wherefores but am working on something in that area. Also have had enquiries from up Cairns way, and am working on making that go as well. Am hoping that nothing happens there til all these cyclones and stuff go away!! At this point, everything is booked til June, so for those wanting to do something..it's going to be a while, but hey..I'm not going anywhere so 'whatever'! Melbourne (Geelong) is set for April 25-26th and I'll be in touch with Wendy shortly to iron out the last minute details (probably first week in April) Still waiting on word from up Albury way as well as down more my way around the Wangaratta/Myrtleford area.

In traditional obedience, "about turn" is always to the right that is, away from your dog. U turn is always to the left, that is in towards your dog. There is no choice as to direction based on the command given by the judge. To go the wrong way, in fact means that the exercise has been done incorrectly.

Date just confirmed for HOBART for May 23rd-24th I will be posting contact information for those not members of the organizing clubs or groups so that anyone interested in attending can get in touch with someone in the 'know'. Still working on something for Albury and/or Myrtleford areas. With the current fire situation, that has been put on hold for a bit obviously.

Not sure of the location or site in Albury, still working on things..will post when I hear. As for Brisbane...the only thing will be up in Gympie so far, so if there is interest, will have to get a group together and try to make it work.

Working on it....am in talks at the moment and it's looking fairly promising. no date even tentatively booked as yet but I suspect in the next couple of weeks that should be nailed down if the club there approves.

In my opinion, there is no reason to not teach a puppy to 'stay' the trick is to remember the attention span of a pup that age is very short and although they can do it, they can't do it for long. If you allow them to break their stay, then you are not in fact teaching the stay...you must know how long they can do it for and release them prior to them releasing themselves. Gradually building on the length of time in the position. Allowing the pup to release themselves is setting you up for MAJOR problems as an adult.

Great! OK...confirmed dates so far.... Hobart: May 23-24th (note that this was originally to be done in March but have had to make some changes) Geelong: April 25-26th Gympie: May 9-10th Sutherland: May 30-31 Working something out hopefully with Albury Available dates available at this point and not confirmed by anyone Easter Weekend May 16-17 March 28th-29th Haven't started booking anything in June yet. (Edited to make some changes in dates)

I would not teach jumping til the dog is a year of age. Breed doesn't really matter in my opinion it was a rule I had in my training facility. You can teach contact equipment easy enough and make sure whereever you go for classes they don't push too fast on things like the teeter. Have a blast....I had a number of Pomeranians in my classes over the years, and all the way up to a Great Dane or two....size doesn't matter in this case!

There is no criteria in this country per sae, and I do classify myself as a behaviouralist based on the years experience in dogs, and the many seminars I've attended on various forms of canine disfunction both behavioural and physiological (OCD for example) My business comes from word of mouth....people either like me and refer others to me based on their satisfaction or not.

Sighthounds...yes....can be done....have a Borzoi that I've worked with....ok, well more her mother! Schedule....can you email me privately [email protected] and I can fill you in on what is confirmed. Notmuch is totally set in stone yet....I"m still working on it and should have firm commitments within the next two weeks but can give you an idea on the pretty close times that have been requested from various clubs/locations. Hoping that there is lots of time to allow for such planning, and doing my best to ensure that.

My specialty!! besides..you only have rotties.....come to the terrier side of the world and we'll talk!!

:rolleyes: They are kidding right?

Hobart Obedience club in Tasmania has approached about a seminar and suggested dates have been sent out for consideration. Thanks again for all the interest, and I know that everyone will have such a lot of fun with this....remember..I'm here to ask questions, be it on here, or in person....

Well i believe that inspite of a fear of flying, the consequences would suddenly appear at the airport if I missed that flight!! Do we REALLY want that????