Tassie

Not Ptolomy - obviously - but as I understand it, the kick back stand is the stand (e.g. from a sit) where the front legs remain stationary and the back legs kick back out from underneath - so the dog doesn't come forward to stand. Seita - one thing I could think of trying is using oppositional reflex to get Elka to straighten herself - pressure from your hand on the outside of her body should theoretically get her to move into that pressure, then you could mark and reward that position.

I like that thinking, ness. Hadn't thought about that - and haven't really done much with the little big man yet - so I might do that. I discovered the other day when we were doing a little recall in class (on lead), that when I had my hands down in front of my legs (as I used to do with the other boys) he came in nicely, looked where my fingers were pointing, and dropped. Good boy for doing what I'd inadvertently told him to do with my hand position. Tried it again with hands held furhter up - perfect sit.

Thanks from me too to Ptolomy and JulesP. I need to do lots more of the steady feet game. And that kind of proofing - thanks Ptolomy. Well - let's be honest - I need to do more training. I've been slack - partly because I didn't want to muck up his show handling (though his handler has always said it wouldn't - they can do both), and partly because he's been such a good boy that I haven't needed to . about the showing, Ptolomy - I think that is a little bit of the problem. When he's standing in a line up, his handler is normally out in front - and when the judge comes in to exam, Rory is being held - mainly so the judges don't get licked to death - not really (well maybe really) - it's just the way his handlers handle.

After going to Sue H's Camp Tailwaggers seminar this year, I used this with a puppy class one day when I had just a few pups indoors, because it was so cold ouit. One was a baby Dane, and he cottoned on pretty quickly. You could actually see the muscles in his thighs working as he glued his butt to the floor so nothing would move. Lovely. So, now I need to do much more practice with this, in sit, stand and down, with my little big man, Rory, for whom stay is very much a work in progress concept. Actually, he's starting to get sit and down - need more work on duration - and he kind of gets stand stay - but now I'm working on getting him to keep his feet still as I move to go round the back. I'm thinking I should just take maybe one step down the side at a time, and get success there, before taking another step etc. etc. - what do people think? And my goal for the Christmas break, when I won't be working, is to actually do some training.

And if she is in season - it's a good idea not to take her on any walks using your gate - take her out in the car to somewhere else, so that she doesn't leave an inviting scent trail right to your place.

Sounds like it was well worth while entering him in Advanced, Janba. And that he was a good boy overall. Good on you for helping him out - it's important I think to help them when they need it - helps to build confidence I think - and trust between you and the dog. I used to have to help Kirra when we were working on my friend's farm - and my friend would help her working BCs if they needed it.

- yes, your main problem will be keeping her relatively calm. I've told the story on DOL before about how my two BCs - boy 9 months and girl 7 months - escaped through a small hole in the fence the day after they were de-sexed - stitches and all - and went 100 metres down onto the street where they had heard some kids playing. Thankfully the kids rescued them, and took them into their yard while their mum rang the numbers on the tags. So, yes - you can pretty much expect her to be normal the next day. My vets now routinely give a Metacam injection which controls any pain for 24 hours. You might want to check with your vat about post-op pain relief. They don't usually need any more. I've been lucky too - none of mine have ever bothered with their stitches, and my vets have never bothered with bucket collars as a routine thing. You should get an after-care sheet from your vet - but in any case, if she's not appearing pretty normal within the first 24 hours, I'd be inclined to check with the vet.

And so you should be, jaybeece. A good reminder that some of our biggest achievements with our dogs aren't measured in Qs.

I don't think I did a wish list - didn't want to put the mozz on myself . But I'm very pleased with what we've achieved this year. Kirra (Khayoz Sweet Soul Music) Finished off her ADM and JDM, ADO2 and Snooker Dog. (We've given up Gamblers and Snooker for now while I try to get my Greg Derrett handling to become second nature - a bit hard at my age and haven't got a pairs partner at present to try to get the 2 Excellent passes we need. ) She also gained TDX - we need some more training to get Test 7 - hopefully T.Ch next year. Rory (Winpara Soul Dreamer) Has been having fun in the show ring, thanks to a good friend and a couple of great junior handlers, although he's only shown lightly. He's had 2 Baby in Show and a couple of Baby in Groups, a Minor in Show and a couple of Minor in Group, not much as Puppy (major coat drop) and a Junior in Group. As a Minor, he got 4 Dog CCs, 3 BOBs (once short listed for Group), and has 38 points. His coat is coming back in now, so here's hoping for more fun and fringies next year.

Oh btw I forgot to mention too that my hubby had both Tasha & Seven certified as Delta Companion Dogs, to be able to visit nursing homes etc Biker_girl, you should be thrilled to bits with how you're going with your beautiful girls. I was so glad to be able to see them working again the other week.

Yes, I think that's usually the case if they're coming with a transport company. You might be able to borrow a smaller crate from someone for the time being - given that you won't need the smaller one for long. Mine (BCs) travel in wire crates in the car - but that was a station wagon and now a small/medium SUV. I like the crates for a whole variety of reasons - easy to pack stuff in, dogs away from even wide-open windows etc. etc. - and that was a good thought about being able to provide safe shade when needed. I've done the same thing.

Congrats to Ptolomy and Leopuppy - fantastic results. And well done to those dogs who did lovely things for their owners, even if the score sheet doesn't show a Q. Lp - love the photos - especially the last one - Kinta looks as though she really knows how well she's done. And had to laugh about you speaking in signals. Did that one time - Sam didn't sit, judge says "Make your dog sit" - I say "Sit." Judge says -"I carefully said make your dog sit ". As Ptolomy says - you usually only do it once - so you've got it out of the way now. Kirra and I only had one Q at an agility weekend - but a nice one - 1st and only qualifier in one Open Jumping run - course just really suited us - nice feeling. Although we had no Qs in 6 runs yesterday, it was still a good day - for the first time ever, we had no DQs for the day - for us - that's big. Mostly little faults (my handling mostly) and a clear Master Jumping, but with 1 or 2 time faults.

Yes - love watching dynamics too. My Miss Kirra is usually the play police - will watch, but not join in (although she and Rory play with each other every day ). Rory at 13 months, loves to play and run - since he's entire, I do watch him carefully, and select the dogs he plays with. He loves a friend's young Golden Retriever boy, and they play nicely - but occasionally with some growls. The GR lives with a BC bitch, desexed, and an entire male BC who is actually Rory's half uncle, and whom Rory has worshipped and grovelled to ever since he was a baby. The other evening after training, Rory and Wilson, the Goldie, were playing and doing play growls, and the senior male came over to defend his young GR family member - Rory absolutely flattened himself - Sir, yes, Sir. Then when i called him away, he went back to playing with everyone, including the GR - and by then, his uncle must have decided that he'd done enough playground duty, and just let them play. Fingers crossed for a lovely home for Buddy - even if it turns out not to be at your place, Vickie.

My lovely friend who grooms and shows BC Rory for me uses Crown Royale on some dogs - on others it can go a bit tacky (and I'm not sure which CR - but one that's supposed to help keep the coat clean.) She also uses CC T & T - neat on the feet and legs, and diluted with water to spray on in places where she wants a bit more body.

Haven't done it myself Erny, but I know you can clicker train for s step back - one at a time - or just use a verbal marker if you don't want to click. You can also have a small box (weighted so it doesn't move) on the ground, and shape him putting his back feet up on it - sort of reverse perch work. Oh, and on the swimming pool thing - I wonder if he'd find the greyhound pool at Devon Meadows (assuming it's still there) more uder friendly - the dog is swimming at your waist level, as opposed to below foot level in moest dog pools. Come to think of it, the pool at Kepala is a waist level one too - and the lagoon pool there is lots of fun.

And even if they're in separate paddocks, if there's an adjoining fence, you don't want him to learn fence running and/or stirring up the stock - that will get him shot as well in the country. Agree with the idea of having him with you on a long line (tied to your waist is good - the old 'umbilical cord' - while you're doing calm stuff with the lambs.

Thinking about it with a slightly clearer head this morning, I don't think rung distance would matter so much in this instance as it is only to make the dog connect his/her brain to his/her back legs and think about them and where they are being placed. In fact, if the rungs were a bit 'off' in terms of matching stride, it would potentially be better, I think, as that would make them address the matter of their back leg placement even more. My boy tends to work his front end more than his back end. He's had everything checked and there is no apparent reason why he wouldn't use his back end. I was also thinking of getting one of those disks. When we play 'tug' he tends to really use his front end and barely uses his back end. This is one of the reasons why I want to create a bit more back end awareness - to switch his mind on to his back end. The other reason is for when we walk backwards in heel. He doesn't step so much as he does little jump-hops and it only takes one or two and his hind end is all over the place. It provides a good laugh though, and I love him for the 'cuteness' factor, but I would like to improve on it. I will check out Susan Salo's jumping DVD's, JulesP. I'm not planning for jumping him, but it might give me some ideas to work with in my goals. Thanks for the suggestion. ETA: Part of the not stepping back is to do with head position I think. We do walking back away from me (although he goes crooked after a bit) and I taught him that via lure with treat drawing his head down and in towards his chest. He's increadibly sensitive to my body language though (even to where my eyes are looking - which means I have to be very clever even just to check his back end heel position ) and when he's in the heel position he tries to anticipate me and moves into drop position instead. We'll get there with some more work, I know, but I think the hind-end awareness exercises will help. I really like the Susan Salo approach - makes so much sense. I have the Foundation and the Advanced DVDs - and have just ordered the puppy one. I'm just about to start jumping training with my BC boy, who is 13 months - I've held off because he's quite a big boy. Yes, Erny - the ladder thing - and similaar exercises - some people do a sort of pick up sticks heap of bars dropped randomly on the ground - is really just to get the puppy/dog realising that he has back legs, and can control them. I do it in foundaton agility, and in puppy classes, and it is funny watching the lights go on, as the pups start being careful about where they place their feet. Of course, it's done at a slow pace, so pup hads time to think. And for a klutzy pup, pup can be rewards for each clean step. Susan Salo uses jump bumps - like PVC pipes split lengthways - to start with, then low jumps. She uses a ''facilitator' - a smaller bump set an appropriate distance in front of the bigger one - to get the dog to understand that it needs to figure out where to take off - so after the facilitator, the dog will land front legs, and bring back legs underneath to give lift for the jump. And yes, for the jumping grid exercises, distance is important - although it will be varied to, to help the dog build muscle memory and jumping knowledge for extended and collected jumping. And mym, in the latest Clean Run mag, there's an article on jumping with straight shouldered dogs - the dog in the pics is a Collie Rough, so the article might be of interest to you.

OK - so in the meantime - and away from the bed or any other precious resources, I would be teaching him the collar grab game. Some dogs are very reactive about having their collars touched in a restraining sort of way, but you can reduce this by making you touiching the collar very rewarding. Calm dog, high value treats, touch collar lightly, mark good behaviour and treat. Gradually, probably over several sessions, increase the intensity of the collar touch, and start applying a bit more pressure. Treat generously when yous ee him relaxing and starting to enjoy the game.. I did this with a boy who would crocodile roll in an attempt to get the pressure off his collar - and over a few sessions, he ended up asking for the game - I'd say "Do you want to play the Gotcha game? - and he'd come and showve his colalr into my hands so that I could play tug with his collar. .

Personally, for a tiny baby, I like to have the night time crate next to my bed. That way you can hear when the pup needs to be taken out to toilet, and then pop him straight back in, maybe with a biscuit. You can speak softly to the pup, and he can hear your breathing. If the crate is too large for him at the moment, put a divider in to make it smaller, and as others have said, make it very cosy and inviting. Totally agree with the taking outside to toilet - saves one step in the training process. Also agree with the "good things come in crates and pens' theory. And Erny is so right as usual - a tired puppy will be a contented puppy - and that includes tiredness from mental stimulation. IMHO it is definitely worth considering really trying hard with the crate training - makes things like travelling with dogs so much easier. The nice thing is that once a dog learns to love a crate, they love any crate - it always amazes me how they generalise the concept of crate - to plastic, wire, canvas .... really supports the notiont that to the dog, the crate is a safe den.

Either try a club that offers foundation agility/flat work courses which can be undertaken before 12 months, and are really valuable - or try to find some description of flat work agility foundation work on the net. It's basically about focus, and getting your dog used to running with you and responding to your body language. Invaluable to do before you even think about the obstacles, IMHO. More advanced obedience won't hurt, either.

Fingers crossed down here too, Vickie, for you and Zeus. It's hard when they get older, isn't it. Luckily there's so much more we can do now to keep them comfortable.

first timer - IMHO at least for medium sized breeds as they're growing, keeping them on the lean side is a better option. Puts less strain on growing bones and joints - especially for breeds prone to elbow and hiip problems. I'm thinking 19kg at 5 months is plenty for a lab bitch (if you're comparing, remember a dog is likely to weigh more - and that there are lighter framed dogs and heavier framed dogs within breeds.) From reading I've done, overfeeding and overexercising are factors which can contribute to problems like HD and OCD - elbow. If your vet says she's perfect, and she looks healthy and is happy and active - then I'd say you wre doing great. (And treasure your vet - a lot of vets don't seem to like fit, lean dogs.

Oh poor Cole (and poor you Janba). Let's hope it's just something temporary - but I'd certainly be off to the vet (with no meds ahead of time), as you're planning. I guess you're thinking, as I would be - worst case - cruciate damage - but when I thought that about Kirra, it was actually a sprained toe. Mind you, even that put her out of agility action for about 6 weeks. Why do they do these things when there are major competitions coming up?

Have a great time everyone - and special good wishes to the teams from Tasmania. Go the Tassie Flying Paws.

Victoria Echuca (on Murray River - NSW border) Paringa Cottage This was a lovely place to stay - dogs allowed inside - fully fenced yard - outdoor furniture, even a BBQ. Craigieburn - on the old Hume highway, just north of Melbourne Apollo Gardens Dog-friendly tourist cabins, with small fenced yard and verandah, and large off leash area (but need to be careful - plenty of roos). New South Wales Glen Innes http://www.glenwaverly.gleninnes.biz/ Lovely new cottage - dogs allowed inside - big verandah, lovely views, very welcoming hosts. Only downside, no separate fenced yard - and stock around, so dogs on lead outside. - or at least for my guys.