Jigsaw

Looks great!

Hi Poodle Mum - pretty sure I got your email and sent you a registration form! That's if your initials are JH! :) There are still auditor positions available if anyone is interested in coming along to the seminar. Seminar is being held at Wyee, just off the F3 near Morisset (1.5 hrs north of Sydney) on 13 & 14 July. Day one on Drives and Motivation, Day two on Obedience Problem Solving. Further details available on our website, if you go to events there should be a link where you can download a registration form for more information. http://www.positivelypoweredup.com

I hear you Vickie!! It is very hard to get people to understand the concept of high rate of reinforcement. I want people to engage with their dog while they give the reward, get that tail wagging!! Chicken Camp will definitely help you out with theory and practical there Wobbly!! Terry Ryan is probably the best speaker I've seen, she has a lovely way about her and finds something positive to say about everyone, even if they are struggling to do things right. It was a very insightful seminar on dealing with people too from my point of view!

Yep that's Dash!! PAX is right, Dash is from Hunterslea Koolies. Dash is a very talented girl - they've edited out her typing skills, she was actually typing on a pretend keyboard on set - I was assistant wrangler on the filming of the ad.

The next training trial is on sunday, 23 June at Cooranbong Equestrian Reserve, Kings Rd, Cooranbong. (Near Morriset off the F3, north of Sydney) Starting time of 9am No canteen Entries can be submitted on the Entry Form from our website: at a cost of $5 per entry paid on the day. Everyone welcome, all levels, even if you're just thinking of going into obedience, returning after a long absence or an experienced handler, this is an opportunity to sharpen up your ringcraft and train and reward your dog in the ring. It's all set up as close as possible to a real trial with stewards and judges, but you can practise whatever you want and reward whenever you want. All good fun!! Our training trial in July will be held on the Central Coast.

Koolies are good trackers, and are used in the armed forces for bomb detection. As Nekhbet has described starting with small tracks and associating the track and something interesting is a good way to start. If the dog is interested in toys only, and not food, you can scrape the toy along the track frequently as well while you walk it, leaving the toy at the end of the track (as long as they can't see it when they set out).

To be honest, I'd sort out his anxiety before bringing another dog in the mix. If he's already anxious, bringing another dog in could just escalate things, especially when the other dogs visit. Does he eat bones or Kongs? You could try giving him something to occupy him when the visitors leave. If the anxiety has been ongoing over a period of time, and you think it may be escalating, consider medication. Living in a state of anxiety continuously is not pleasant for humans or animals and creates a lot of physical stress on the body as well.

Hi Wobbly!! Looking forward to seeing you at the seminar! Sounds like you and Jarrah are having a lot of fun with Denise's online course! :) I'd just like to let everyone know that auditor positions are still available for the seminar! Day 1 is about Drives and Motivation and is suitable for any dogsport: obedience, schutzhund, agility, rally-o etc. Day 2 is for obedience problems. The seminar is being held in Wyee, NSW, just off the F3 freeway, about 1 hour from the start of the freeway, maybe a little less. There is some camping accommodation in the area that will allow dogs and also some other caravan parks nearby that unfortunately don't take dogs. This is a great opportunity to see one of the best positive training handlers from the States. We'd love to see you there!

If anyone is interested in forming a stronger relationship with your dog, competing in competitive sports or thinking about dipping your toe into competitive dog sports, you may be interested in this! Day 1 is suitable for any dog sports, agility, schutzhund, obedience, rally-o and pet dog training. Day 2 is specifically tailored towards competitive obedience. Positively Powered Up Inc (NFP) is pleased to announce that Denise Fenzi will be coming to Wyee on 13 & 14 July, 2013 for a two day seminar. Day 1 will discuss Drives & Motivation and Day 2 is specifically for Obedience Problems. There are unlimited auditor (watching) positions available so if you're struggling with motivation for your dog or have an obedience problem come along and see Denise interacting with handlers and providing positive training solutions to their problems! For more information visit our website! Positively Powered Up

It's possible he's just telling off the pup. If he's not actively harassing the puppy and he hasn't made contact and drawn blood, he's probably just laying down the rules to the puppy and telling it to get out of his space. Some dogs who don't see many puppies can sometimes be less tolerant and much quicker to tell puppies off. Make sure you give them both time apart and don't leave them together without supervision. You might find he's a different dog when Dizzy is gone. Just keep an eye on him, and be consistent with your house rules. He's more than likely responding to your body language and voice tone when you think he's feeling guilty.

Our next training trial will be held at 6pm on 20 April at the Newcastle grounds, Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough. If you're interested in trying your hand please come along. Entries through our website www.positivelypoweredup.com.au

I'm glad you came along for a look see! I would probably work my dog on a flat collar on, in preference to a slip lead, especially for obedience. For the purposes of our training trials we prefer flat collars for dogs participating.

A muzzle would prevent and manage consumption of items unsuitable for ingestion. For some dogs this is the only way to prevent this behaviour as it has become learnt. Some dogs will increase their predilection for this behaviour under stress. Can your dog have antlers or bully sticks as a chewing resource or can you use Kongs to deliver the food. These may keep him busy for a while to reduce the behaviour.

Go on! Do it!! :laugh:

That's great Nevafollo! :) Make sure to come up and introduce yourself! The idea of the training trials is that you can take your dogs in before they are ready and reward and motivate them in the ring. You can take treats, toys and of course your voice in with you and reinforce and reward when and how you'd like. It's a great introduction into trialling for both handler and dog!! :)

I do obedience, scent discrimination and tracking. I am also doing some agility. There's no reason the dog can't contextualise the given task.

http://www.justlikehomepetresort.com.au/ Just Like Home is on the Central Coast, cater for special needs, have 24 hour video surveillance on their kennels. A great setup and owner/manager lives on property. Dogs are closely supervised when out of their kennels. Caters for small to medium sized dogs only. One of the best setups I've seen and Debbie is a lovely person who genuinely cares for the dogs.

To make us want to move north perhaps? Seriously though-well done and good luck. its not easy starting something new. Yep, move north of the border!!! :laugh: I used to live in Melbourne!! Thanks Sue & Waldo! It's been a bit of a process to get up and running!

Just bumping this up. :)

Make sure you get DNA test results for both parents stating purity.

Yes, there are auditor positions available (ie just watching). Sorry if that was not clear!

The committee of Positively Powered Up Training Trials Inc. is pleased to advise that we will be hosting Denise Fenzi for a weekend seminar on Motivation and Drives (Day 1) and Problems in Obedience (Day 2) on 13th and 14th July. There will be 24 working positions with dog and handler at this seminar, 12 on the Saturday and 12 on the Sunday. The same dog and handler team may be selected to be involved on both days. The seminar will be held in the Morisset area, north of Sydney, easily accessed from the F3. Denise will also be available for HALF HOUR private lessons at Morisset Showground, on Monday, 15th July at an approximate cost of $50. The venue and cost for the seminar is yet to be finalised, however we are taking expressions of interest for both Handler and Auditor positions. If you would like to register your interest for this fantastic seminar please send your name and contact details to [email protected] and you will be placed on the list to receive detailed information regarding the seminar as they become available. Denise's specialty is Understanding and Building Motivation and Drive. She covers the what's and why's of drive; understanding of drive will not only help build drive with a dog, it will also assist on channeling drive with the over the top dogs. Denise has the first and only dog of any breed to make OTCH SchH2 Mondio1 (Raika, Terv), and the second dog of any breed to make OTCH, SchH3 (Cisu, Terv). Both these dogs were trained exclusively with motivational training (this is R+ or without any pain compliance). This is unheard of in the world of protection sports. About the instructor: Denise Fenzi is a 25 year veteran of training, competing, and titling in schutzhund, obedience, tracking, agility, conformation, and herding who has earned multiple HITs in obedience and schutzhund. Denise’s positive training methods are widely recognised for producing dogs with exceptional attention, accuracy and enthusiasm for their work. She uses her extensive knowledge of canine drives to motivate the dog and turn training into a positive experience for an enthusiastic and accurate performance. She has extensive experience working with all kinds of dogs. Denise does more than teach you to train your dog in specific exercises. She teaches you to understand the work from your dog’s point of view, so you become a problem solver for your dog. Denise has an affinity for working with puppies and dogs needing retraining on poorly taught exercises.

A group has been formed in the Newcastle, NSW area to run training trials again. We go by the name of Positively Powered Up, and we are a not-for-profit volunteer group who want to provide a venue for positive reinforcement trainers to gain ring experience for themselves and their dogs in a friendly, supportive environment that is in a different place to their usual one. All training trials will be run as close as possible to a real Obedience Trial. We are very excited to announce that our first Training Trial will be on March 16 in Maitland, in the Hunter Valley (easily accessible via the F3 freeway) starting at 6pm. If you are interested, please go to our website, here and see more about us and the training trials, including how to enter on line, or join us on Facebook at Positively Powered Up Inc. Training Trials. The training trials are a great opportunity to come along and try if you've not competed before or it's been a while since you've been in the ring. If your dog (or you) needs a polish up of skills in the ring, this is a great opportunity to reinforce and motivate your dog in the ring.

I stewarded at a couple of agility trials he ran in at Newcastle and we had a few brief chats. He just had so much joy in being able to run his dogs and such an inspiration to be doing it in his 80's. He very proudly told everyone he was 80. He did have his own unique style with his dogs but I was really impressed that he remembered the course better than a lot of the younger competitors!!

Study on aggressive behaviour in English Cocker Spaniels. Full study should be available on link. http://www.journalvetbehavior.com/article/S1558-7878(12)00068-8/fulltext Abstract Aggression is one of the most common behavioral problems in dogs and may have important negative effects on public health, human–animal bond, and animal welfare. There is ample evidence showing a negative correlation between serum serotonin concentration and aggressive behavior in a variety of species, including the domestic dogs. This negative correlation is particularly pronounced in dogs that show impulsive aggression. Data obtained in some previous studies suggest that the English cocker spaniel (ECS) is more likely to show impulsive aggression than other breeds. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze possible differences in serum serotonin levels between aggressive ECS and aggressive dogs of other breeds. Nineteen ECSs presented for aggression at the Animal Behavior Service (School of Veterinary Science, Barcelona, Spain) were evaluated and compared with 20 aggressive dogs of other breeds attended at the same center. Serum serotonin levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS 15.0 for Windows. Aggressive ECSs had significantly (P < 0.001) lower levels of serum serotonin than aggressive dogs of other breeds (318.6 ± 67.1 and 852.77 ± 100.58 ng/mL, respectively). Variances were not significantly different between ECSs and other breeds (standard deviation = 449.84 ng/mL vs. 292.47 ng/mL, P > 0.05). This finding may explain why ECSs are more likely to show impulsive aggression than other breeds, and suggests that the ECS could be a good model to study the neurophysiologic mechanisms underlying impulsive aggression.