Tassie

:laugh: I can imagine you're having fun learning to handle your two different kids. Slightly insane buzz box .. love it. Yes - I do need to trust him more - I have to do it on the straight runs home, cos I'm nowhere in the picture :laugh: , and he manages those quite nicely. I know the main problem is trying to do too many things with him - the old jack of all trades, master of none thing. Added to which there is no specialist agility club or training down here - just the odd chance to train at the obedience club - and that's for about 15 minutes a week. I need a trainer or a mentor. We're trying to organise some more serious stuff over the Christmas vacation, which will be good. His calendar is very full at the moment - rally and obedience next week, then obedience the following week, then agility, then rally, then agility, then rally and obedience ..... no more conformation until the New Year, thank goodness.

Good on you for taking the plunge and helping out. It's a great way to learn - and seriously helps out the club. That system of the lead steward or the assembly steward telling the scribe which number is in the ring seems to work well. We do it even at our small trials if people are juggling dogs. Have you thought of doing some tracking with Collie? It's actually an advantage in some ways if they can't see, or can't see very well. - stops them juming to conclusions and makes them rely on their noses. There was a girl down here tracking a totally blind Cocker Spaniel - he loved it, and went really well.

:D Thanks TSD. Yes - did think about the LOP, but we're not really confident enough to try that in such a tight situation. I should have accentuated the shoulder pull - keep forgetting that he's bigger and faster than Kirra. It was a bit tricky up the top when he came out of the black tunnel the first time - had to get him right across the front of the tunnel to get on to the pinwheel. But yes, he's certainly getting better at pinwheels - and his runs home each run were super. And although he rattled the tyre one time, he didn't just crash through it in any of his runs (something he has done before.) His jumping runs are certainly getting better - agility - not so much - but even those are improving a bit - only one totally crazy out of 3.

My misguided missile is getting a little bit misguided. I still have a lot of work to do on his steering, and trying to get my timing right. He is so much more explosive than Kirra, so old habits just won't do. This run was the last of the day - if only I'd called 'tunnel' before the jump before the black tunnel instead of using his name again and pulling him off the jump - and no, I have no idea why I used his name again. It all happens very fast out there. I am very happy that he loves the game, and that he gets that it's a game he plays with me in the ring. That's got to be a good start. :) Rory Novice Jumping 26.10.2013 Some more regular training would help too ... if only.

I dont get it either. OP, it could be a heap of different reasons, from the way she acts or plays, to the fact she is on lead and the others aren't, very hard to say what the cause could be. I get the attraction because I used them all the time when I first got Justice. From a personal perspective, he is my first dog since childhood and absolutely loves running and playing with other dogs and was submissive and never had any conflicts with dogs he met, so I thought dog parks were a great idea. I didn't know anything about dog behaviour and found that most people who complained about their dog being hurt had smaller dogs so with Justice being a solid staffy cross, I felt he was pretty safe from being accidentally hurt by dogs at the dog park and that if a dog did decide to have a go at him, that he could hold his own until I could separate them (which he did and was never injured). As an inexperienced and ignorant dog owner what I saw was my dog having a raging good time for an hour or so most days and doing what he loved most. What I didn't see was his behaviour slowly slipping as a result of what I later realised (after intentionally learning as much as I could about dog behaviour and body language) was bullying, dominant or aggressive behaviour from other dogs. My happy, well adjusted, submissive, dog loving, friendly boy became afraid and insecure and as a result highly reactive, putting on big displays of barking, snarling and lunging as a "get in first and scare them off" tactic because he could no longer tell which dogs were friendly and which weren't. I have now spent over a year seeing a behaviourist weekly to fortnightly to rehabilitate him and while he is dramatically improved he still cannot meet new dogs unless I know them and that they have good doggy manners and it is a planned, controlled, slow series of meetings until he is confident the other dog doesn't want to hurt him and then he's happy to play like they're best buddies. I will never, never take another dog to a dog park and let it run with unknown dogs ever again, now that I know what the outcome can be even if your dog never gets physically injured, but I definitely understand the appeal they hold and it regularly breaks my heart that he misses out on playing with other dogs the majority of the time because I know that it's one of his most favourite things in the world. Just wanted to say - great post, Snook.

that's awesome aussielover!!! Now on to the fun and games of Masters.

That's wonderful, CC - how satisfying that must be as a breeder.

:laugh: Sue & Waldo - congrats on the morning score - commiserations on the afternoon. It's almost like conformation - my lil big man, who couldn't get a look on Thursday at the Royal, showed again today - NZ judge this time - won Reserve Challenge Dog - beating for Australian Bred Dog, the dog who had won Best of Breed at the Royal on Thursday :laugh: . He also beat the Aus Bred bitch, so won AusBred of Breed, but couldn't get any further - showed quite nicely though. Love my versatile boy. Now it's back to Rally and obedience for a double Rally double obedience trial this coming weekend - no rest for the wicked :D .

Just home from a day and a half of agility (following a day and a half of the Hobart Royal - showing - no luck for Rory this time, and doing public ed - lots of petting and patting and showing off tricks). Agility trial was supposed to be at the Royal, but the wind was so horrendous that thye souldn't put up the safety fence between the planned agility area and the horses ... so we took our 'bat and ball' and relocated to our club ground - still horribly windy - rubber bands on every jump bar. Anyway - only one Q for Miss Kirra, out of 4 runs yesterday and 8 today - but quite a few near misses - couple of seconds time faults or a refusal or 1 bar. She did do all 12 weavers every run - yay :D (after her 10 will do performances the fortnight before) - and got all her contacts. Her one Q was a 1st in Open Agility and I just got home and checked her cards, and it was title - ADO6 - good little girlie - not a bad effort and nearly 11 and three-quarters. No brags for the misguided missile - but apart from one totally chaotic and naughty agility run, his other runs were showing improvement - much more steering - mostly DQs, but one NQ .. some of them were just one major mistake - mostly caused by me. Held his DW contact really well - A frame - needs more work, weavers ... very hard when he's hyped as much as he is - but making progress. My brag for him is that he really gets that the game is played with me in the ring :laugh: ,

+ 1 ... lovely :D

Now there's a good piece of Monday morning news. So pleased for you MUP. :D

Oh, poor you and poor Louis. He's been such a fighter to keep on top of the IMHA. Here's hoping you've caught the glaucoma in time too, and that the appointment goes well on Tuesday.

Good advice here already. I wouild definitely be careful about your choice of puppy pre-school - you do NOT want one of those where all pups are let loose together. Make sure the person running it is a trainer. Second what has been said about a well-bred AmStaff not being particularly likely to be aggressive. My BC boy made friends with a lovely AmStaff girl at puppy class (not pre-school) nearly 5 years ago. Every time they see each other at a show (which is not that often) it's clear that they recognize each other, and are pleased to see each other. It's very sweet really. :)

What espinay and HW and staffyluv have said. I also teach the 14 weeks - 6 mionths puppy class, and we quite often have OTT barkers the first day, especially. I usually try to encourage the owners to do some moving around - if necessary moving a little bit away from the class - but to keep the pup's attention a bit more on the handler. I ask them to mark (click or veral) and treat when the pup switches focus to them - rinse and repeat. And yes - the 'look' exercise is great - though sometimes people have to go a little bit further away from the class to practise it at first :). Pups usually tend to settle down on second and later days - though some still have a low frustration tolerance - so again, I get the owners to try to keep them moving and/or doing stuff w.. with lots of rewards - small soft treats - cheese, devon, chicken loaf.

Saw one of the organisers had lost her house but thank goodness family and dogs are safe - but everything gone.

Kirra (15 kg 49cm HAW light frame) has 1/3 cup morning and again night - they have yoghurt as well Rory (21kg 53cm HAW bigger boned) has 2/3 cup morning and again at night. Maybe a little more if they've been doing a lot. They have training treats as well - occasional veggies and chicken wings. They've been on BH for about 2 years - mostly Lamb and Rice, but they like all the flavours and seem to do well on it. Having said that - obviously not all foods suit all dogs. Just saying what I find with mine.

So glad to read your update - was just about to ask how Cleo is. Sounds like you're right on top of it now - and she should be feeling better really soon. Enjoy the smooching while you get it. :)

LIKE ! :) :laugh: devious - but brilliant! :D

Exciting!! Good for you for planning ahead, too. There's a lot of good stuff on the net - so try googling crate training puppies. The basic principles are pretty simple .. non chewable crate - preferably covered to make it den like - either not too big, or with a divider, so pup is unlikely to soil crate. Bedding - something like Vet-Bed material is good - less chewable - and many breeders use it in their puppy boxes. Make crate a highly desirable place for pup to go - special treats in crate. Leave door open at first - unless pup is trained to a crate already. then close when pup is asleep, and from the beginning, it's worth training pup to come out on your release. Make sure you check pup every couple of hours and take pupout for toilet break outside (and after eating, playing etc. etc.) Personally, I like to have the crate beside my bed, at least for starters, so I can hear when pup needs to go out and get up and take him out at night. then straight back in, maybe with a biscuit. It's worth asking your breeder if he/she can start the crating process before pup comes homne. Many will do this, especially if their pups are likely to have to travel by plane and be crated for long periods on their first journey. You will be so glad you taught your pup that a crate is a great place to be - makes travelling, vet care etc. etc. so much easier. They will settle in their crate and feel very safe - or in someone else's crate if they see that first. I know they say dogs don't geneeralise, but IME they do generalise the notion of crates - mine love wire crates, airline crates, soft crates - any old crate - theirs or any handy empty crate. My goofy BC boy - 21 kg - squeezed himself into his CAvalier friend's crate one day at an obedience trial, because it was the only crate available to him at the time - she was off somewhere else, so it was 'free'. :laugh:

That's really hard if it's the only club. Is it possible to talk to the club and see if there are alternatives - and also ask how long the dog has to keep wearing the halti. And ask them what their rationale is - tactfully of course. :) Personally I've never used a Halti, or any other similar thing - so I can't really advise - but I think of them as a kind of interim device that you might only use if you really needed it and that you'd be aiming to get rid of as soon as possible.

:thumbsup: Your kids (4 and 2 legs) are doing so well!

Yay biker girl!!!! What a super, super brag. Huge congrats to you and the clever GSDs. Very nice way to finish the girls' RAE. :-)

Good girl Miss Coco. You must have been doing to see her so happy and working so well under challenging conditions. Love it when a clever plan (i.e. no training) comes together

Intermediate in Group 5 was Borderfame Believe It Or Not (AI) RN TD. He was Reserve CC to my boy, Dual Ch (T) Winpara Soul Dreamer CDX RAE DWDF.S HTM.S ET. Happy to say my boy went on to win BOB.

Miss Kirra at 11 years 8 months wishes to brag that she teamed up with a new pairs partner (GSP) , to get a pass in Masters Strategic Pairs at Launceston Royal yesterday ..they were the only competitors, so 1st place as well. Her only Q out off 13 runs for the 2 days, but quite a few 2nd place NQs .. including a tricky Masters Jumping today ..clear but 3.5 seconds over time ..my fault.