Tassie

Especially after BMPs post - just didn't want this one to go through to the keeper. As far as I interpret the rules - not a judge, but years of trialling - you are not allowed to touch your dog during an exercise, but you may touch your dog to give reasonable praise in between exercises (reasonable as in something that is not likely to disturb a dog in an adjacent ring). However, at no time in the ring are you allowed to manipulate the dog into position, or physically move it from one place to another - that will/should earn you a penalty for misbehaviour, which will come off your score at the end. (That said, it's amazing the number of handlers, even Open handlers, who will get their dog's collar to start taking it out of the ring at the end of the trial, or even to move back to the start peg. Hey, if the dog can do off-lead heeling, you don't need to be hauling it into position .

And, Sidoney, could I ask how much it costs to have the titres done - and are they for all 3 things covered by the C3?

Sadly, I think Ann posted on another list that this club had folded. And she's just left for overseas for a month. Just checked the other list, and it seems there is a trainer who is training on a Saturday morning at the conference centre at Camp Tailwaggers/Coolangatta Pet Motel - in the hills behind Tweed Heads (at Carool). You could try contacting Ann or Tony, as suggested, or maybe try the VIP dog club - they might know of somewhere.VIP

Yes, that makes sense, leopuppy - and Mary's dogs would certainly get all of that, including the tug. And from what she's shown us, she does have short sessions of particular things, and then will have a game, and do something else - so the dogs are not getting long periods of the same activity. The heeling pattern in the ring would be the longest, I guess. Good thinking, 99! Oh, and I meant to say 'wrap' heeling, rather than 'warp' - although if my Kirra heeled the way she tracks, that would be 'warp' heeling.

Hi pf and Ness Glad she isn't broken, Ness. :D I should probably take my Fergus somewhere for a check up - he's stiffer on one side than the other. Just need to find someone good. Thiinking about the warp heeling - the English dogs ought to have problems then, you'd think, given their very tight heeling style. If I remember, I'll ask at the Mary Ray camp. I'm guessing Mary's dogs don't have problems because they're doing Heelwork to Music (and agility in some cases) as well, and so she does a lot of work with the dog on the right - so that probably balances them up a bit. Oh, and she certainly uses TTouch and massage. Interesting thought.

I use Light and Tasty (just to keep the fat content down a bit). Usually supermarket home brands. Cuts well and doesn't crumble - and the dogs seem to like it. That said, I nearly always have at least one different lot of treats in any one packet - might be devon, nuked hot dogs, or chicken loaf.

Reddii - my take on this behaviour (which is maybe more prey-drive behaviour than specifically 'herding') is that if it bothers you, and particularly if it looks like it might turn into a compulsive sort of behaviour, then you need to stop it - and redirect the dog to something else. Working sheepdogs do not/should not engage in herding behaviour off their own bat. It is something they have to learn to switch on when required, and most importantly, switch off. My BC girl has done some sheep-work - working as a farm dog - and is keen, but the other day at a tracking trial, when there were sheep all over the start of her track, I was able to switch her on to tracking by using the "Not those ones - we don't need those" that I would use on the farm when we were walking through a paddock with sheep we didn't need to round up. "That'll do" is one of the most important commands for a BC - and for a pet/sport dog I like to follow it up with a re-direct to some other acceptable activity. So if CK is going to do agility and obedience, you could stop the undesired behaviour, and ask him for a few lead hand changes (putting him in handler focus for agility) or ask him for a little heeling, and/or some positions - or maybe have a quick game of tug with him, or send him out to a target - that sort of thing. I would do this each time you saw him take off, especially around kids and cats. (I cut my guys slack around birds, since after all the birds eat the fruit that my BC boy wants from my trees.)

If you want to be able to reinforce rapidly, you need something soft so the dog doesn't have to stop and chew - that stops the rhythm of your training. I like to use a mixture of small treats that I cut up - usually cheese (I use light tasty cheddar), some sort of meat - devon, strasbourg occasionally - but it's fatty and smelly, cabana, cold cooked sausages - you can use different varieties, nuked (cut up and microwaved on paper towel) skinless hot dogs, chicken loaf from the deli - get them to cut No.10 slices - it's 1cm thick - just right for cutting into treats. As long as you can cut them into pieces about 1cm cubed or a bit smaller, and the food doesn't crumble, it's fine. Liver cooked/dried till it's still soft, but able to be cut up into pieces is also super good. You'll be guided by your dog to some extent - watch which ones the dog really likes, and they become your high value treats for hard exercises, or a really good reward. By using a variety, you'll hopefully be minimising the amount of salt, preservatives etc. - and unless you're training for hours a day :D the dog shouldn't come to any harm. It's worth setting up some toys as motivators/rewards as well, so that you can mix up your training even more.

Oh, and I forgot to say - about the drinking. Do you have something in UK like an energy drink for dogs? There are different formulations, but most have a flavour which encourages dogs to drink when they otherwise wouldn't/ Here's a link to an Australian one Dogade, and an American one K9quench. Friends and I have used the Australian one successfully. Maybe watered down milk might be useful to get her to drink - if she's not allergic. And maybe some really bland baby food?

Oh, poor Pixie - and poor you. A couple of questions. Has the vet talked about using something like Peptosyl (that's what it's called here) - pink liquid that calms down the irritated gut lining? Has Pixie been put on Flagyl/metronidazole? I'm not a vet, but just thinking aloud based on mine and friends' experiences. Have you tried some yoghurt - non-fat plain cultured yoghurt? Mine have some every day - but I would particularly use it with a dog that's been on antibiotics. Some people find using boiled/mashed pumpkin with other bland food can be helpful. I usually go the plain steamed chicken/boiled white rice route for my guys - very small amounts offered regularly, rather than as meals as such. I do hope things start to look up for Pixie - poor girl.

Had something similar with my BC girl late last year/early this year - only it was a hind leg. It was a landing injury from agility - seemed to get better after a few days, then would recur. I was worried she might have partially torn a cruciate, or have a hip or back problem. Luckily, it turned out to be a problem with a toe. Vet strapped her foot just above the inside toe - had to keep that on and have restricted activity for a couple of weeks, then gradual re-introduction of activity - back to agility after about 6 - 7 weeks (although for the first few times I would strap the foot again while we trained). Thankfully, it seems to be fine now - touch wood. If it's a soft tissue injury, it's worth taking the time with restricted activity to allow the injury to heal - the dog won't actually go crazy , and it's worth it in the long run. And you can always take the time to teach him some tricks that don't involve too much movement. Oh, and I'd continue to look into the glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplementation anyway. My 2 (now aged 5) have been on it for a year or more - just as a preventative. There is some research in now which shows that it's beneficial. Hope Flynn recovers well - and that you survive .

Oh, yes, Vickie - that's me and Kirra - but my excuse is that I'm about twice your age - and I have a Senior's Card to prove it. And Kirra doesn't stop at filthy looks - she bites me if I'm really stuffing it up. We got pinged 5 points for it in one run at Nationals - fortunately, we didn't get pinged for it in the teams event - judge must have thought it wasn't assisting the dog - except to get rid of her frustrations . Actually, it's one way I know my handling is getting better (or she's getting more patient) - less holes in the t-shirts!

Great posts, as usual, PF and Vickie. For me - 4 years with the current dogs - and still very much in the learning phase - although when I think back, I've come a long way. Even so, you have days like the Masters Jumping course the other day when things were going nicely to plan until I started thinking (rather than just sticking with the plan) and totally lost confidence in where I was. Actually, it's a tribute to how far our teamwork has come that my dear little BC girl waited for my brain to kick back in, instead of going off and designing her own course. My friends on the sidelines were kind enough to direct me for the next jump or two, until I knew where I was again, and the rest of the run went fine. No course faults - but needless to say, over time!! Here's another t-shirt link Agility t-shirts - that's where I got my favourite shirts - "Dog needs younger handler" and "I know that was my fault"! As long as your dog is having fun - and hopefully you are too, while you work on improving your handling - everything will be fine - and hopefully, you'll never stop learning.

I've got one (BC) - my agility girl - who plays tug very enthusiastically with me, but my boy is a bit too 'polite' and worried about doing the wrong thing to tug very much with me. I can rev him up about a stuffed toy and he'll get quite keen on 'killing' it vigorously - but is quite happy for me to have it. I use that mostly as an end reward in tracking - paired iwth a food reward. There was a suggestion early on in this thread about putting the toy on the end of a lead or something, so an over-polite, or shy, dog can get excited and tug with you, but without getting too close. As the dog gets confident over time, you can shorten the lead. I heard that suggestion at a training camp last year, and thought it a good one.

I bought a chute a while ago - but to be honest, it hasn't been used all that much. We did find we had to get a sailmaker to sew a strip of reinforcement along the end of the chute where it gets pegged down. that was only aobut $10.00 to do, I think.

When I read the original topic, I was thinking you meant the same sort of thing as the Monks of New Skete use - a longish leash attached to your waist that you use around the house and garden. I used to use my 10 metre tracking lead for my dog when she was a pup, and used to take off and my fences were not secure. It meant I could be hands free to do stuff round the house - she had some room to roam around, but I could be aware of her if she needed to go out and toilet. (She still comes when she hears the washing machine finish, and then comes outside and settles down near me while I hang out the washing - she's 5, but the habit still lasts. I do use and have used a hands free walking belt (now Black Dog, but had a Snooza) when walking my 2 Border Collies. I like that it leaves my hands free to walk naturally. That said, my dogs are under pretty good voice control, walk quite nicely after the first 100metres or so , and in cases of need (other dogs, traffic, other pedestrians etc.), I quickly gather their leads in my hands, so I figure I have the best of both worlds. I also like that if I trip and fall (like on uneven pavement - not dog-caused - I know the dogs are still attached to me.

Disclaimer - I'm not a vet, just a dog owner and internet user. AFAIK, C3 is the basic vaccination, covering Canine Distemper, Hepatitis (Adenovirus) and Parvovirus. C5 covers those, and Kennel Cough (some Bordatella strains).

I'd agree with getting a wire crate as well as the soft one. I use both - but I can't leave my boy (now 5) in a soft crate if it's at a trial or somewhere where something very exciting is going on - even setting up agility equipment counts as very exciting for him! But he's very happy to be in his soft crate, with no problems, when we go on holidays, and they're sleeping in crates in holiday houses.

Didn't want to scare you ObS, but my immediate reaction was to get the vet to run a blood panel. I missed early signs of IMHA on my previouis Border Collie. At least if you get the bloods done, you can rule that out - and if all is normal, that gives you a baseline for future reference. Hope Lucy feels better soon.

Sounds like you're in a situation where you will get the best advice possible. Just wanted to send my sympathies to you and your family for being in this situation. It's the downside of loving our dogs, isn't it.

So, Sticks, the take-home message would seem to be that you would probably be wise not to be considering your boy - love his name, BTW - as a breeding prospect. You also have a heads-up that you might be wise to take all the precautions - environmental and diet - you can, to prevent him from developing problems in the future. IMHO, this is good practice for any dog, especially from a breed prone to HD or ED, and/or a dog that is going to be working or trialling. The sorts of precautions that would seem to be wise would include - - not feeding the sort of puppy food which would encourage too rapid growth - let his joint development be appropriate, not taking too great a strain; - planning on always keeping his body condition very much on the lean side of normal (though not emaciated, of course); - building up his muscle and ligament strength with a controlled exercise program - rather than just free play, and a lot of stop/start sort of activity. Hopefully you're discussing these issues with your vet - hopefully a trusted vet that you have a good relationship with. Since AFAIK the dog needs to be anaestheized for the X-rays, you might want to only do that if there's a good reason.

Southern Highlands Kennel and Obedience Club (think I have the name right) train at the Blue Circle Oval at Berrima - between Moss Vale and Berrima. They should be in the phone book - or this link should take you there. I think their normal training is Monday night.

Yep - could be either. The schedule will (should!) say whether it's Open (i.e. open to all ANKC registered dogs) or Restricted to Breed. If it doesn't, I'd ring the Club/Trial Secretary and ask.

I think, as has been pointed out, there are problems with all the 'quick-fix' made for TV programs - having to edit down, and at the same time provide something 'dramatic' is likely to lead to misunderstandings or miscommunication. One of the problems about the concentration on "ignore the behaviour you don't want", is that the other half of the positive message tends to get missed out - "reward what you do want" - using reward in the broadest possible sense - meaning what the dog finds rewarding - maybe = food, maybe owner attention, maybe walk, maybe tuggy, maybe the chance to do some more work.... etc. etc. This is the part, IMHO, that does the real teaching, and when applied promptly, reduces the possibility of depression in the dog by presenting clear and pretty immediate alternatives - do this and you don't get rewarded, do that, and good things happen for dogs. By concentrating on 'making the right thing easy and the wrong thing diffuclt', and showing the dog how it's possible to 'succeed' in a way approved by the owner, ISTM that you're more likely to get owner compliance too, since they can switch from ignoring (which many don't like to do) to presenting the dog with a chance to have success. Don't know if this makes sense.

No problems here, with two bitches and several cats over the years. My current two Border Collies (M and F) were desexed on the same day, at 9 and 7 months - I thought it would be easier to keep them quiet - yeah, right. The next day, they squeezed through a hole in the fence, went 100 metres down the side road to the street - to play with some kids they'd heard there. Kids, thankfully were dog savvy, got leads from their house, rescued dogs, their mom rang the numbers on their tags, and I found they were safe before I even knew they were missing - big bush block, I was inside the house at the time. Absolutely no ill-effects at all - bless my vets.