Tassie

Aww, Cricket that's so cute. We would use the stand on the lead method to teach boisterous shelter dogs to be calm around people. Often these dogs would have spent a lot of time alone in the back yard with the only interaction with their people being to do "active" things like walk, play, be fed etc so they never learnt to be calm and self-settle when people are around. Because any training cues, rewards or corrections you give are attention in themselves you defeat the purpose of what you're trying to teach them by using those whereas by standing on the lead and ignoring them you leave it up to them to realise that their best option is being calm (the desired behaviour). I'm fairly sure this technique is actually using negative reinforcement - so the unpleasant consequence of the lead being tight and jerking them if they are jumping around or pulling is removed when they are calm. I agree with you that the video is teaching a different thing to a wait until released, it's for unexpected stimulating situations where not complying with a cue will be self-rewarding for the dog. This method gives a clear physical cue (standing on the lead) and doesn't allow the dog to disregard the cue for a self-reward. ETA - it isn't the only way you could teach it though. As many of you have done, you can train a well rehearsed, well proofed stay or wait using positive reinforcement that would do the same thing but for dogs that find human attention highly rewarding that would be hard work! Yes - that's the kind of thing I was meaning. :)

Don't know about Nosework - but Margaret Simek is an awesome trainer - I've done 3 Golds with her in Obedience. Definitely Gold.

Wow! Go you! You will love it Tassie!!!! Well you know who enabled that, don't you TSD . The stars aligned - retirement the week after it starts - means I should actually be able to spend time working on it - and heaven knows I need it now we're in Excellent in both Agility and Jumping :laugh:.

Hmmmm .. wonder if I can sneak a look at work :laugh: I've actually signed up for H360 this time.

I've driven up to Queensland and NSW and back several times with the dogs - treated them and checked them myself when they're in tick areas, but never been stopped. We did have to stop at a quarantine checkpoint going across the Nullarbor, but the only specific check we've had for dogs is going back into Tasmania - the dogs have to be treated for hydatid tapeworms.

The 'parking' that I thought this was about, and the one we teach, is not the same as the go to your mat/stay on your mat ... type of exercise. We only teach it as a quite temporary thing, to be used when the handler needs to pay attention to something other than the dog - in a situation where the dog is either on lead, or as might be the case in a class like sheena's, can be put back on lead as part of the process. It is designed so that the dog is under physical ontrol, (not directed by the handler once they're in park) but can make choices about what position s/he will adopt, and whether that position will be maintained - it usually is once they settle, but that's the dog's choice. We find it's a useful skill to teach pet dog owners - makes it easy for them if they meet someone in the street and want to chat. But also very useful in a class situation as an alternative to crating - beginners often don't have crates with them.

You can have your dog tested for the MDR1 mutation - but there is great information on the Washington State University site.

So now I can add Rory's AD title to his list - and a happy weekend with 4 runs on Saturday and 4 on Sunday for the senior citizen - no Qs for Team Geri(atric), but happy running - and a couple of very near misses.

Another weekend, another discipline ... :laugh: Agility for us this weekend. No Qs in Excellent Jumping, but the lil big man did have a couple of lovely 1 fault rounds - both times my fault - miscued him and brought down a bar on a rear cross, and didn't work a slightly offline jump enough and copped a refusal - but they were otherwise faultless runs. And no broken start lines :) . But the big thing for the weekend was his third pass in Novice Agility, to give him his AD title - 6th tile for the year across 4 disciplines ... clever little big man Rory - who will be known (subject to Dogs Tas approval as Dual Ch(T) Winpara Soul Dreamer CDX RAE4 TSD AD JD HTM.S FS.N ET. And not forgetting miss Kirra who at 12.75 years old, had a lovely time - no Qs, but some happy running - and a clear Masters Agility round but 5 seconds over time, and a one refusal Masters Jumping round - my fault again :laugh: .

Both my BCs were on Joint Guard as a preventative for several years, but I switched them over to RHCV last year after getting some good reports from people I trust. Neither have had any particular problems, and both are still going well. They need the occasional tweaking from their acupuncture/massage vet, but I'm happy with how they're going. My 6 year old boy is a big solid BC - though kept very lean - fast - does agility, obedience, rally, occasional DWD and conformation, and track & search. My girl is a light framed but tallish girl - again, kept very lean - much to her disgust. She is 12 and 3/4 and is still competing (with approval from both 'normal' and acupuncture/massage vets) in T & S, agility - though with a lighter load, and rally, and occasional DWD. The last time she saw our aupuncture vet for a check up, he said "There is nothing I need to treat on this dog." So I can't say for sure whether I'm just really lucky, or whether the preventative supplements have been beneficial - can't prove a negative easily. Oh, and they're kibble (Black Hawk now) fed primarily, and also have fish oil/vitamin E.

I haven't got a Mason Pearson brush for myself either Hankodie... I have a $20 boar bristle/nylon one from Priceline :laugh: :laugh: +1 Although I did try the Mason Pearson brush I bought after being 'enabled' by dancinbcs :p , and was very tempted to keep it for myself. Both the BCs like it - including my girl who is not a huge fan of grooming. I still always spray the coat before grooming even with the MP.

We don't use a cue word for park - some take the collar first (having taught dog to be comfortable with that in the collar grab game), and then place the foot (or feet) on the lead. You need a longish lead for this, as you really should be able to give the dog half a metre or so, and then still be able to have the handle in your hand when you're standing upright. So the cue for the dog is just the physical actions. The release if you're using the collar hold, is to hold the collar again and then take your foot off the lead. I usually just take the foot off the lead as I say something like "OK (their general release cue, I'm back." You're right - no treats, no interaction until you're ready to release the dog from park and be available again. You could teach this to yor beginner agility class - as a separate exercise - have them practise it for a few times. Then it's useful if you need to speak to them briefly and have them able to concentrate on you, without needing to put their dogs away in their crates.

Is there a holistic vet anywhere near you that does acupuncture? Might be worth considering.

+1 :D

Agree about using a softer brush initially. The slicker is good, but I use it for finishing, not for the initial brush. Also - it's usually much more efficient and pleasant all round to dampen the coat with some sort of conditioner - or even plain water, from a spray bottle, before you start grroming. the first brush then is to spread the conditioner through the coat (Section by section).. Brushes and combs glide through much more easily. Rotating teeth combs are good to get hair out without pulling too much. You can use baby conditioner well diluted, but my favourite grooming spray is Plush Puppy Revivacoat .. smells nice too :D Revivacoat There's an article on their site about grooming Golden Retrievers - haven't read it, but might be interesting Golden Retriever grooming It's also easier to brush if the dog is able to stand or lie on a bench or table about waist height for you. Towel on an outdoor table will work well.

It's certainly Suzanne Clothier who I first heard say that you should be available to your dog when they're with you. The parking as far as I know came from Kay Laurence. But it's based on the same principle. Having said that, I would use it in the context of a class or seminar, but I don't use it in a competition setting. There I tend to use a variant of the denise Fenzi 'squish' :D

Oops - my bad - didn't actually watch the video - but yes - for us a dog in park is 'invisible' - so if a stranger came near, we would 'unpark' the dog and ask for an appropriate behaviour.

We teach 'parking' to our puppy classes and some of the others. We explain it as being like putting someone on hold - ideally we would be 'available' to our dogs all the time, but in reality - e.g. if listening to an instructor ro or having a conversation, we can't give our dogs proper attention, so carefully taught, parking gives clear information to the dogs that we're not available, and they can please themselves - within the limits of the length of lead. It's important to be consistent about how you do it, not interacting with the dog while they're 'parked', and then doing a formal reconnect. We find the dogs get it pretty quickly, and after maybe trying a couple of things, just chill. We find it a useful companion dog skill to teach - avoids the alternative of the human chatting away with the dog doing goodness knows what at the end of the lead. We learnt it from positive trainers - maybe originally from Kay Laurence. ETF spelling

Sent you a PM - off chance.

I would think the same sort of thing applies to Labs as to BCs - mental exercise can take the place of physical exercise if necessary, and is always beneficial as an addition to any physical exercise. All sorts of things can be taught indoors, in small spaces - physical tricks, nose work - all sorts - with you sitting in a chair or on the floor, for many of the things. If you haven't already, have a look at Emily Larlham's Kikopup channel on Youtube - lots of things there to give you ideas. (I could get on my soapbox about people with BCs who think all they need to do is to give their dog lots of physical exercise "I run with him for hours ... but ...". My response - the one thing worse than a bored BC is a fit, bored BC. :D ) But seriously, Ernie will love spending time with you learning stuff, and his boy brain will get lovely and tired. :laugh:

Yep - collapsible wire crates for the car are the go, I think - and maybe an airline crate for inside the house, until pup can be trusted in a soft crate. The back seats of my Rav were folded down the day I took it out of the showroom 5 years ago :laugh: , and the Boder Collies' crates put in - and the only times the crates have been out have been when I needed to cart stuff or take the mower to the mower man or something like that. You can get water dishes that clip onto the sides of the crate for longer trips. And they can be covered with a light cover to make it more den like. Must admit I haven't fussed too much about training them for crate dwelling - covered crate for nights - best treats - chicken wings etc - only in crate initially - door open until pup is comfortable (or asleep) - crate where people are - my 6 year old BC boy still chooses to start the night in his airline crate beside my bed - even though the door was taken off it a few years ago. He does come out to lie on the floor if he gets too warm. Thing that always interests me about crates - they say dogs can't generalise well, but for some reason, they seem to be able to apply the concept "den" to crates of all types, sizes etc. without spcific generalisation training. Which suggests to me that the den nature of the crate is a powerful reinforcer for them.

After losing Shandy tragically at the start of the year, Zim has started competition well, and we're making good progress on our wishlist, with RN down, one CCD pass, and two DWD Heelwork to Music passes. Little Miss Inari has joined us, and at 5 months, is showing plenty of promise. Aiming for her to be close to competition ready by the end of the year, maybe some rally under her belt if there are some late trials. Zim's RA is done, his Heelwork to Music Starters Title is done, and he has two Rally Excellent, two CCD, two DWD Freestyle Starters and one Strategic Pairs agility pass.I'm really pleased with the way he is working, and we'll have a few titles to finish next year. Inari will also start trialling next year, and I should finish my DWD judges training. Love the multi-discipline dogs - great results for Zim and you.

Gotta love boy brains :-)