Tassie

Go the old dogs! A thing folks might like to play with with their older dogs, just for fun, is some form of Rally Freestyle. Have a look on the Net - yoiu'll find some descriptions. And maybe you could persuade clubs to play around with some sort of Veterans' courses. Again - just for fun - but providing a bit of a challenge for handlers :)

You girls crack me up - but it's so good that you're having such fun and success with your clever gundogs. :laugh: Ptolomy - about the vanishing wait - and about ytou being brave :D .

RS - any bias there ;-) I think maybe 2 dogs and 5 disciplines - 6 if you count TSD as separate - might keep this little duck occupied. I'll just admire the gundogs from afar (which I do anyway :D .)

I just popped in here to wish TSD luck for the Easter weekend - and to have a quick sticky beak. I loved the conversation about how people who don't know any of our dog disciplines think even the simple things are awesome. That would be me - don't understand a word of what you guys are saying - but it sounds completely wonderful. Almost ... but only almost ... enought to make me want a gundog, just so I could join in your world. Anyway - best of luck everyone - and especially TSD this weekend. :D

Another one here who dislikes them. Hav seen a situation where a dog wearing a fine retractable was on one side of a walkway out of a building (used by lots of older people) while the owner was behind the building on the other side of the walkway, completely oblivious - major trip hazard - accident waiting to happen - right next to disabled parking spots. And where on lead dogs are interacting, they are also a potential hazard for tangling dogs' legs. Rebanne - I hear what you're saying - but you are definitely not the average dog owner :laugh: . Personally I don't like them as the handles are so bulky - I don't feel I have the same feedback between me and the dog(s). In Tasmania, if you're walking on the streets, the maximum lead length is 2 metres anyway, so nothing to be gained. For long line use, I'd rather just use a long line.

Then I'd say go for it. As I say, the dogs seem to enjoy us talking to them and encouraging and praising them. And you can just avoid things off he finds them a bit hard.

It's lots of fun, and the dogs enjoy it. There is quite a lot of sitting and getting up again - how is he with that? But you could certainly have lots of fun teaching him stuff. My feral 11 year old agility girl (thankfully fit ) doesn't believe in obedience - but she really enjoys Rally - although she'd like that to be faster as well.

That was super. Well done both of you! Love the music too.

You keep mentioning this T word, ness ... you reckon that might be the secret????

We're having such fun with our pairs of dogs, aren't we TSD. We switch over to conformation next Saturday, then Rally/Obedience for the next 3 weekends, then an agility trial again at the end of April. Hopefully I'll have at least a Beta version of some steering software installed by then :laugh: . Yes, I'm so very grateful to have my feral little miss so enjoying what she's doing, and still able to do it.

Walking my two BCs on lead through a park - husky races out of a boat yeard - heads straight to my dogs - I turn to go in a different direction) as I usually do - then see idiot owner and kid coming my way - turn the other way, asking could he call his dog please ... usual response she's friendly - so I did the usual - well mine don't like other dogs in their face, could you call her please. So he tried - dog runs away from him, then comes back round to mine. Grrrr - then with his dog still racing round loose - towards a road and a restaurant - he tells me I shouldn't be so paranooid. Finally got away - had nice walk - including passing (at a safe distance) polite dogs and owners - having a bit of a chat at that distance - all good - then coming back, there's the husky again - still loose. She was a nice dog - but that's not the poitn. Owner nowhere in sight - but his pre-school age kid is - right by the river. Eventually idiot owner comes around the corner 50 or 60 metres away. Some people shouldn't be in charge of a pet rock, let alone kids or dogs.

Just had to pop in here for a little Kirra brag. My lovely senior girl had lots of fun running some super courses at our March bonanza double weekend - in less than stellar weather . She's advertising for a better handler though, as I made lots of mistakes - some of which she let me know about in no uncertain fashion. :laugh: But she did have some clean runs - finished her ADO5 last weekend, and JDO5 this weekend. Clever little girlie. And best of all, she's pulled up absolutely fine after 19 runs the first weekend, and 18 this past weekend - well a couple of them were half runs, as I'd tweaked a hammie, so I aborted a couple of runs that were going nowhere. :laugh: I trusted her more on her weave entries, and she didn't let me down - although she did pop at 10 one time - but in her defence they were wonky weavers :laugh: . Oh, and the misguided missile has shown me that we have some serious work to do on installing some steering at speed - and he is speedy - and resisting tunnel suck. :laugh: But he did give me a couple of lovely long lead outs - including a 4 jump one with some slightly off angles, and he gave me a couple of nice finishing runs, and a couple of good responses to verbal directionals. So while there's plenty to work on, there's also plenty to work with.

So sorry that you had to make that very hard decision so soon into your dog-owning experience. It is probably the worst part of living with and loving a dog. You know there are many here who are sharing your sadness.

ROFL biker girl. And the more disciplines you do, the more confusing it gets ...but it's all good fun. Verbal lefts and rights can be good. Lefts worked for mine for ET, and for Rory and now heaven help us in the agility ring :-)

Only know Rappie from here ...but just want to say Rappie and Andrew Turner rock! :-) ..and so pleased to hear all is going so well. ET fix typo

Try looking on stayz or takeabreak pet friendly...Avina Van village at Vineyard allows did, but not inside cabins. Not sure how far out you want to be.

Thanks for this thread guys...you're all enablers. :-) I have one on the way now. Will work out how/where I'm going to connect it up when it gets here. I've been using my flexible hose showeer..good, and bathroom has slate floor with a waste hole, but it is hard on the back.

Yes, this Doggone Good Rapid Rewards is my favourite though like Jess I usually use pockets for training. The pouch is great for walking though... room for clunky phone, tests zip pocket for money little side pocket with dispenser for poo bags..good design, I think.

PM JulesP - she will have lots of useful info. ETA - and try a search - there shold be some threads - probably in Health

@ Snook aaaaaw How angelic is Justice there. What a good boy he is - and what a good owner you are. You must be delighted with hsi progress.

Kirra would have started on 570 wouldn't she Tassie? Piper did, I hated going back down to 500 and it still seems ridiculous that Jazz jumps less than her shoulder height. She was a late starter, Piper :D - started with the new heights - would have been 2006, I think. Ny first boy was a big Border Collie - 545 and very solid. I couldn't ever do competitive agility with him until the heights came down - he started training when the large height was 760 - which was sort of OK for the single jumps, but the triple bar spread, with the back bar at 760, and the big horizontal distance, was just beyond him. So we just played until he was 12, and Jumping came in. I ran him at age 12 and a bit in the first Jumping trial in Tas - first time he'd seen the flexible tunnel too :laugh: - and we had an absolute blast. (he was still jumping in UD at the time, so was in good jumping condition. I used to train with the UD jumps at 600. I know what you mean about the ridiculous jumps - Rory only has to jump 400 in Rally, and Kirra only 300 ... though I can see the logic there - makes it doable for veterans and/or less fit dogs. Thye can still play.

Gosh, 570 is big for her - lucky she's so athletic. Although there is an argument, isn't there, that they're bette off jumping higher. I can imagine the nerves. At least I've been runing agility regularly, but Kirra is such an experienced dog - and a very different dog from Rory, , so I don't know whether that's a help or a hindrance. Have to keep reminding myself that I can't do the same handling for Rory. It would be great if some Aussies could go over there - it's been great when NZ folks have come over here. Met some in Adelaide in 2007 - didn't go this past year, but everyone was pleased to see them there.

Good luck to you and Elsie! We'll be looking forward to hearing how you go. She's quite a littlie, isn't she - but she always looks lovely and fit in her photos. So what height does she have to jump over there?

:laugh: RS, having messed up Kirra - former tunnel suck, now tunnel sooky la-la that needs to be baby-sat and driven into tunnels, I'm trying to strike a happy medium with the man. He really was such a good boy on that last course - there were tunnel traps everywhere, and he did try very hard :). For a boy with very little sequence and handling training, I was pleased with the effort. I wish I had more time and space to be able to train him at home. Trained last night with a friend up on the oval at club - with footballers running all around :laugh: . He was really good about ignoring those. I'm working on verbal directionals, trying to set a very clear line (bit hard for me - means I actually have to remember where I'm going - and heavily rewarding him for the appropriate line. We were working on 'go ons' last night too - he tends to turn back to me when I'm not expecting it - fell over him last week, and nearly again last night. Silly boy.

Sorry to hear about Molly's problems - but seems like she has worked her magic on you and turned you into a dog person - welcome to the joy, craziness and sadness.