TerraNik

My almost 11 week old pup has shown great promise with obedience ( <--- was doing most of this at 9 weeks!) and I would LOVE to do trialling with him. He seems to pick things up almost immediately!!! I had him nose targeting after ONE CLICK!!!!!!! (*proud* hehe)Anyway, I know that trialling is a completely different league to pet obedience classes and I've heard people say that they have had to 're-train' their dog because they were taught things differently or a bit sloppy in pet classes... So I guess I'm after a bit of advice as to which would be the club in Sydney for the best start with an aim to trial once he's old enough? We are in Ryde/Parramatta area, but I'll drive almost anywhere in Sydney if necessary. I know these sorts of threads must get a bit annoying, but I have never trained a dog to trialling level and never taken a dog to classes in Sydney, so I'm a little lost. We are starting puppy classes this weekend mainly for the socialisation factor, which I think go for 6 weeks... Thanks in advance!!!

I can't recommend any in Sydney because my pup will only start classes this weekend (I trained my previous dog in another city), but on my travels of looking for a club these are some of the clubs that I found: http://www.northernbeachesdogtraining.com.au/index.htm http://www.sabdtc.com/ http://www.sinch.com.au/wsdtc/ http://www.brushfarm.com.au/index.php http://www.hillskennelandtrainingclub.com/ http://www.easternsuburbsdogtraining.org.au/index.html http://www.hornsbydogtrainingclub.org.au/index.html Maybe some people will be able to tell you which one they prefer, but at least that gives you a start???

He is a stunner corvus!!!! *JEALOUSY!* You're making me want a lappie!!!!!!!!

http://vetnpetdirect.com.au/home.php They have kongs and clickers... I have bought from them before - they are very efficient and cheaper than a shop front.

We picked up Jedi on the Sunday and I took Monday/Tuesday off uni. He was alone for 4 hours on the Wednesday and then my partner had 2 days off to study (nice timing!). We found that this worked well because it eased him into being alone for part of the day. Even on the weekend we tried to leave the house for a little while so he got used to it. I think it would have been different if we were both working full-time.

My puppy did a headstand the other day... Got it on camera! He did this again in his water bowl the other night (unfortunately didn't have the video camera for that one!!!!!!!!) I haven't trained him to do this and I doubt he will ever do it again, but it's a funny photo!

KT is gorgeous!!!!!! Is he a finnish lapphund? We had the same problem with Jedi... We basically started off leaving him for 5 seconds and just coming back into his view so he knew we were still around. Jed would stop whining as soon as he saw one of us. I just kept on increasing the time until he was comfortable (over a 1 week period). It helped to do it when he was tired, but really it was all about persistence and not going outside or letting him in until he was quiet for 30 seconds+. Now he chooses to go outside without us all the time!! He will whine a couple of times quietly at the door so that we know he wants to come in but doesn't carry on like he did previously. Just stick to your guns and you'll get there!! I think it helped that we only really had 'play time' outside and all but a few of his toys are kept out there.

Thanks for the hints... Jedi is now LOVING outside and often goes out and stays out there alone by choice!! We decided to keep most of his toys outside and to have 'play time' outside, etc. He hardly whines now at all and when he does it is for a few seconds and then he waits for us to come let him in.

Thanks for the tip!!!! That's a great idea!

Well I think we have most of that covered!! He has his crate (which he goes in by himself when he wants to sleep), plus he has a tennis ball, a holy roller, some rope toys, some squeeky toys, stuffed toys and empty plastic bottles. He is not a huge fan of his kong (he is not sure how to 'hold it' with his paws yet!), but we leave it with him. He seems to be doing amazingly well, and then has a few steps back... I assume this is normal. It has been such a long time since I had a puppy!!!! I just don't want to end up with a puppy/dog with separation anxiety.

We're having a bit of trouble with our new puppy, Jedi (9 weeks old tomorrow). He was almost instantly crate trained (only whined for 5 minutes, and since then never did it again!). He sleeps the entire night in his crate without fussing (we take him to toilet every 2-2.5 hours). WOO HOO! :rolleyes: During the day while we are not home (up to 4-5 hours depending on the day) we were hoping to leave him outside (secure yard + ex pen with crate attached with LOTS of toys). We had considered crating him while we were away, but because it can be up to 5 hours it's not really suitable at his age. When we left him outside at first he would cry after 2 seconds, but we have extended this by slowly increasing the amount of time he is outside alone (including when we are home) and praising him when he is quiet. Now he is outside for longer periods (up to 1.5 hours) without fussing (he's been outside now for half an hour and we haven't heard a peep!), but sometimes he starts whining almost straight away again. Obviously with him being only a 9 week old baby we are not expecting him to be able to settle himself really well, but I would just like some advice on whether we are going about this the right way or if anyone has any suggestions.

My pup's most favourite toy is an empty soft drink bottle (600mL) filled with rocks! He LOVES it!!!!!! His other favourite toys are his kong wubba snugga, his holy roller and this hippo stuffed toy that has a wah-wah stick-thing (??!!) inside it that makes noises when you shake it and a squeaker in its head. Come to think of it... He loves ALL his toys!!!!!!

Name: Jedi sex: Male Date of birth: 16 March 2008 Age: 8 weeks Colour: Black and grey Breed: Keeshond Hobbies: playing with his stuffed toys, balls and squeeky toys, swimming in his water bowl Loves: water!!, cuddles and his toys Hates: when I leave him by himself for 1 minute! (This is an improvement on the 2 seconds it took him this morning to start whining! Now it's about 1 1/2 minutes... we're getting better!). Suprisingly, he was FANTASTIC in his crate last night! Did not hear one peep out of him!