Tassie

I stillwould have concerns with the approach from 7 tunnel to the 8 tire, I think. Would probably have to look at it on the ground, but I'm pretty picky about angles of entry an exit with tyres.

Whether it's just the particular group we've had as guinea pigs or not, but the 8 weeks - well, we've had 7 so far - of Foundation seems to have equipped our guys with the sorts of skills and competencies I would think are good to have them go on to more obstacle work and starting jumping and so on. They have worked hard on SLS, drive to toy, drive to RZ as well as body awareness stuff and circle work, and flexi tunnel and table. Yesterday we had the tunnel in various configurations, with the dogs driving to the tunnel and on to the table (just low). Their end contact behaviour is pretty solid on flat and sloping planks. Had one session with jump bumps and will do one more. They are really having great success in getting the dogs engaging fully with them, and vice versa - working on both sides - right hand still needs work for the obedience people, but that's true for my boy as well :laugh: As far as crates go, some had them, others are buying them - Crazy Sales have some good prices on wire crates at the moment - and we have a few extra crates at club that we can lend them in the interim. Think I know what you mean by lateral leg weaves sheena. My own guys do a variety of stuff because of their DWD work, but I encourage people at club to teach as much stuff to their dogs as they can - anything like this is good for engaging with the dog, and body awareness and conditioning.

Well done RS - was nearly going to prompt you if you didn't post

Agree huski. IMHO it's good all round for a pup to become accustomed to being confined for periods of time .. as long as it's in an area that is safe and comfy, and has safe enrichment toys. One of my current dogs not only was in a large pen inside while I was at work, but when I was home, she spent quite a bit of time attached to me on a long line, as my acre block is not puppy proof, and the house doors were open for an old dog I had at the time. She has gone on to be at 13 a titled dog in a variety of dog sport, as well as being a loving pet. IME, it's mainly about the relationship you build with your puppy, and the enriching and interesting life you provide .. down time in a pen is something your pup will need and enjoy. Just a thought too, while you're doing all this great preparation .. I would highly recommend having a crate for thru pup at night time .. I like having the crate in my bedroom, so that pup is not alone, and I can hear when pup needs to be taken out to toilet .. makes toilet training so much easier. ETA ... posted at same time as ness :)

Agree PME. To me it's a big red flag if all pups in a litter are available on Main Register. I believe it would be an extremely rare litter in which all the pups were of show/breeding quality. Fogs on the Limited Register can do any of the dog sports .. they are just not eligible for conformation showing or breeding. I too would not get a BC from anyone who wanted to do juvenile deeming on a pup, especially one likely to be used for performance disciplines. You should have a good enough relationship with a breeder to discuss time of deeming. I'm sure you know, but a key is only to consider a breeder who can provide evidence of satisfactory.genetic status of the parents of the litter in relation to CL, CEA and TNS. I also am interested in parental and familial hip and elbow scores, and a mature eye test of the parents indicates a careful and thoughtful breeder.

You know what I'm saying when I say it's good that you had that conversation, and that he seems to understand. Hopefully that will make what's coming just that little bit less stressful and distressing. Sending you our best BC mojo for strength and peace. You will have wonderful memories of Kiska to join those of the others who've gone before her.

Woohooo! :cheer: Wow - way to set the bar really high for the first brag on here for 2015, CC. You must be so proud of your little man .. he's a credit to you, and definitely on a roll. Isn't it fun when the dots all start to connect. And it's so nice to be able to show that the various sports complement each other rather than conflicting as some people would say.

So sorry Darien = that's an extra problem you don't need. Is your OH a list maker - he might respond to some sort of list of good quality/bad quality - not well expressed, but you know what I mean. Sometimes the time is when the good days are outweighed by the bad - or the things that make the dog who she is are outweighed by the problems. Then some people plan beautiful last days for their dog - trip to a favourite place, favourite forbidden foods etc. Have you had the conversation about what you want to do in relation to vet's office/home and burial/cremation. Apart from the fact that I find it helpful to have those things in place before hand, it may make the situation more real for him. Off to cuddle my two - to you and your gorgeous girl.

We're stuck with all training on a Sunday at the moment (flyball, agility, rally, obedience (puppy, beginners and then more formal)... so we've had to make a ruling that people have to make choices of any 2 classes (they were flogging their dogs into the ground LOL. That's been good, because it's tended to weed out the "just want to have a bit of fun on the equipment" folks - they've chosen flyball at the moment, which is probably a better fit - less thinking needed - you know what I mean. Our difficulty is also instructor power - particularly when several instructors are triallers in various disciplines. So we're trying a sort of variant of the Croydon model - except that we're kind of combining modules, so that on any given week there'll be a variety of stuff going on. Our plan is that by the time they reach the trialling/advanced class after 3 x 8 week blocks, they'll have good foundations, and independent obstacle performance, and are really ready for coursework and more difficult sequencing. We were lucky enough to have a great group of guinea pigs for the foundation so we'll see how it goes for the rest of the year. AD thanks for putting those vids up - missed them - will have to have a look. :)

Agree kc! Another of our innovations with this new syllabus is getting everyone going on crates - a big step. Then we can play crate games. Rory's face was a picture when I was doing the "use the crate to teach the backside tunnel" thing

We're a bit the same, Jess. It would be ideal if students had their own 2x2 DVDs - I felt the key to success on that was the continuity of work - not necessarily 12 in 12 days :laugh: but you know what I mean. It's certainly my preference for my own dog - although as I said, Kirra learnt channel/WAM drive to target combo, then polished entries with round the clock on 4 poles (thanks to Deb Kelly who introduced that to us.) We're just revamping our syllabus at Club, so the guinea pigs on the 8 week Foundation block are just finishing - they will start weavers in the next block.

Thanks kelpiechick. We're in the process of revamping our courses, and are short of experienced instructors, but that's an approach we might well try next year. While the Foundation class I have are great, and woiuld probably do their homework, we have a lot of others who wouldn't.

I have a small foundation class just finishing up in a week or so - 8 week block and they have been so good at doing their homework. Their SLS aren't completely bomb proof (whose are :laugh: ) but impressive for beginners. We have just been doing flatwork, end contact behaviour, table and started on flex tunnel - oh and PNU and general rear end awareness. We're looking forward to these people going on to the more 'sexy' stuff wit a good foundation - but they have another 8 week block before they get to courses.

sheena, although I love 2x2 for my own dog, I can't really see how it can be effective in a beginner club setting, as Kavik says, with people who aren't used to shaping ... and let's face it, are probably not going to put in the work on reps. We don't teach it in our foundation - but we're planning to use the channel/drive to toy/backchain method from recent Clean Run mags. We don't have WAM, and although it's a pain to set the channel, we've already had them doing drive to toy/target in foundation, so the transition should work. Once we have them going through 12, driving independently, both sides, we'll work on the entries using 4 poles and round the clock gradually increasing distance. It's pretty much how Kirra learnt, and she has really nice independent weaves ... although now we have arguments about whether there are 10 or 12 poles .

That sounds like a plan! :D So glad the gorgeous lad is home and hopefully all better, paws crossed.

Snap, GrufLife :) Was just wondering the same thing. Hope all is good.

Congratulations on both your own title, and on the success of the comp. I've read glowing reports from a lot of the Victorians. Seems like Canberra set the bar quite high ... Well done!

That should do wonders for her, huski. It's so nice that she has that visit to look forward to.

So here were only a couple of us at training yesterday, but we put that course out, and had fun with it. Thanks again, sheena. It ran really nicely - the dogs (2 BCs and a Chinese Crested) really enjoyed the flowing lines, and the couple of technical bits gave us a nice training opportunity. Weaves into tunnel is always an interesting test - both mine failed first up - pulled out at 10. :laugh:

Gorgeous - but growing up already - look at those ears heading up :laugh:

How could you not fall in love with him when he can do this :D . Looking forward to following his adventures.

huski.

That's a great article, huski. Are you OK if I share that on our dog club FB page please? Here's something that's come up in the last week or so on ABC radio ...all part of the same picture, I'd think. the 'love hormone' and training

Yes I agree but I guess that's where the powers of observation are important. Generally I start slowly with an unfamiliar dog - just a touch and feint - very Spaniel like play actually - and then build it alongside sufficient self-control. I party with my Dally but it's relatively hands off. A party with my ESS is more like WWF! It's interesting, isn't it. Increasingly I'm emphasising the relationship thing in my own training, and in teaching classes at dog club. (Been spending a lot of time in the Fenzi Academy as well as in Susan Garrett's course. :laugh: ) As you say, TSD, observation is really important - work with the dog you have in front of you .. and that includes our own dogs - whether they'e right on, or having an off day, or overly distracted etc.etc. The rewards and the way we deliver them are part of the relationship building .... I think maybe the giving of the reward may help us to make sure we're paying attention to the things like maintaining clear criteria, increasing difficulty in small increments, developing good timing ... those things that really are crucial to success.

me too, VM. I love to see the seniors out and about ... When it's appropriate, I usually speak to the owner about how well their senior citizen is doing .. having checked in advance that the dog is indeed a senior LOL. grumpette, those pictures are just beautiful ... I love the one of Baylee lying in the grass looking thoughtfully off into the distance ... what a lovely looking girl she was. And oh yes - I do know the screaming tantrum of the older one (in my case, Kirra is just 13, and only just retired from competitive agility) when she wants to join in the training. Of course she does get to join in, or at least get her turn.