sheena

You should :) It was a bit sad that there aren't more Tollers in agility seeing as they are so well suited. Thanks everyone, she is a special little girl and will be interesting how she goes at her next comp (about a month away) as she did the same with flyball, started of slow and unsure and then her third comp she stunned everyone myself included by knocking nearly 2 seconds of her time :D We are having heaps of fun though which is I wanted more than any pass (plenty of time for those!) You & your little girl are on a roll....congratulations...keep up the fun

If you could get hold of July's Clean Run magazine (you can download it digitally for just $5.00 from HERE, there is a whole article on teaching your dog the cloth chute, from start to finish. Well worth getting hold of. We are about to teach our young one the chute & will put the older one through the training as well just for good measure. I just have to get the sewing machine out & finish of the cloth. :) ETA....correct link to the digital copy

Which for the average John Citizen, who is completely unaware that there is more to breeding good pups, besides putting dog with bitch & whamo...you have cute puppies, means looking on the TP or GT for a pup and just look at price, colour, cuteness & availability

What if you could put his food through a food processor along with some home-made chicken, beef or fish stock so that it is more like a soup. I have been adding a bit of warm liquid home made stock to my guys kibble at night lately because I don't think they drink enough water for my liking, but in their case it is just added at the last minute cause I don't want to soften their kibble.

I was on the Trading Post today looking for trailers & out of curiosity I looked up Border Collies for sale. To my horror there were pages & pages of them...I got up to page ten & gave up as there didn't seem to be an end. Not one mentioned health & genetic testing of parents. & neither did I find one that mentioned ANKC Registered. Wouldn't it be good if places like the Trading Post & Gumtree were made to put a header in listing all the things that should be checked before buying a puppy.

There is an article in May & Junes Clean Run Mag on teaching the channel method, & after reading that & watching some dogs that I know were taught that way, I think if I had my time again I would go with the channel method rather than 2 x 2. When taught properly it takes longer to train than 2 x 2 but the dogs I have seen have great speed & confidence. Just had an maybe in the off season I might try to retrain her completely. Cant do any harm. ETA... These articles on teaching the channel method were written by Lee Windeatt....you have probably seen his video before, but if not here it is

I think, in terms of stepping, the dogs choose the system that suits them best. Ziggy single steps and you can see he is really comfortable with it. I think Em bounces through and, again, that suits her body shape. They were both trained using 2x2 method. I do prefer to see the dogs carrying their head down lower - placement of reward is pretty important when training but I would imagine it would be a difficult habit to break if holding their head up has become a patterned behaviour. I think Susan Garret likes her dogs to one step ie. like Ziggy. Both my dogs bounce through or skip through, but when they are really going fast then they single step. Susan Garrets argument (I think) is that with the one step, they get into a rhythm & are less likely to pull out. Another good hint with the weaves is to always imagine there is another two weaves at the end. I made the mistake on the weekend of pulling away too quick & she skipped the last pole.

That's horrible! Why do people feel the need to be so horrible I am a bigger lady as well, so it's very sad to hear that people who should be doing it for fun and for the dogs make such nasty mean comments behind your back it is not behind your back, it is to your face , with exception of the one when i was doing my lead out. I wonder sometimes if they think that I don't know and they need to tell me so I realise I am fat What I am FAT!!!! well there goes my miss australia entry they prob think they are helping, but as in case of OP it has caused a problem it is rude and can upset some people Nah...you wouldn't have stood a chance competing against me for Miss Australia Thanks for everyone's input on the weave pole problem. I will just somehow have to try & make the weaves in a trial as exciting as in training, but without food or toys & fly through them with me thinking of what I am going to cook for dinner instead of worrying about her going so slow....or better still, seeing that she is so sensitive to what I am thinking....what I am going to give her for dinner. :laugh: ETA...for us bigger & probably more senior ladies, I have an excellent two DVD set on distance training put together by another motion impaired lady called Kristy Netzer. The DVD is called "Dial Up The Distance" & is excellent. She shows us all by example, that no matter what size, shape or age you are, there is a way of training your dog for success. She is very encouraging :)

I give my heartworm with their food usually broken up in a bit of mince mixed in with their kibble. Seems like you might have found the culprit for his diarrhoea. Glad it wasn't his food afterall :)

Where's the "like" button funny if it is the same people. :laugh: With friends like that you don't need enemies.

Yes Megan I am sure she picks up on my vibes (tension) & probably the weaves are the most tense of the lot. When something goes wrong, I just keep her running & praising her for all the good things. It's always my fault if she knocks a bar or takes an off course jump. And I always reward her at the end of a run regardless. I have started keeping a diary of our runs, so I can look back after the weekend & look at all the good things we have done :) as well as where we can improve & will do the same with the young fellow when he starts to trial right from the start. I think it is probably one way of remaining positive. :)

I have just come into this thread....hugs to you Esky & I hope that you get to bring Penny home. Good on you for taking in the oldies...I am afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the heartbreak to do that I met someone recently who had just taken on the rescue of a 14 year old border collie & wanted to give him the best of everything for his last innings. to you & Penny & hoping for good news soon.

Why I mentioned sheepstations..Vicky was that I was comparing myself & my dog to others who are very competitive (& a lot younger than me) & have very drivey dogs & are out there to win, win, win. Those people wouldn't even be interested in a dog like mine & in fact I have had cruel comments made about me & my dog on facebook a little while ago, which shook me up badly & made me even more nervous running in front of these people on the weekend, who I know were watching, just waiting for me to fail...but that's another story, which I am trying to put behind me If I don't give out any negatives during a run, then she runs well, except for the slowness in the weaves, which I would like to conquer. I agree, that increased motivation equals increased enjoyment. She is only missing out on times by a couple of seconds & over the weekend she did exceptionally well with only one fault in those which she didn't have clear rounds in. For a girl who has just gone into Masters, she gave them a run for their money & I am so proud of her performance. I would just like to see her get the same enjoyment out of the weaves in a trial as she does in training. :) Kavik....I am glad I am not the only one that gets nervous. :laugh: I am sure this is the whole problem. In training I am not nervous, but in a trial, I am sure it transfers to my dog. That is when I remind myself, that I am not playing for sheepstaions. I have worked on all her other problems that she has had in the two years that we have been trialing, & it has been fun training a "not so perfect" dog :) & if I could solve this problem with the slow weaves, then it would be the icing on the cake. I am glad that she is not the perfect agility dog, as it makes the journey so much more interesting & fun.

Hi Vicky...No I don't have a recent video of her trialing. I would have to say she is more enthusiastic about agility at home & at training nights & I would put that down to the fact that she realises that it is not that serious & everyone is having lots of fun. She has never been a high drive dog, but she is very steady & consistant...does lovely starts & run homes, hardly ever knocks a bar, back crosses to die for (according to my instructor :laugh: ), serpentines, go rounds, distance etc. She is a motion reactive dog & I have overcome that with the LAT Programme great success there. Even this weekend she seemed more confident when set up at the start instead of looking back over her shoulder, she is keeping her eye on me. I have been training her the last few weeks with 3,2,1 OK & that seems to be working well. Tunnels are usually a bit slow ....I think she slows down to take in all the nice smells, but lately I have been putting more value on the tunnels in training & had no problems over the weekend. I am not into putting the sheep station on the line, so in that regard, she is the perfect dog for me, if only she could pick up a couple of seconds & its the weaves where she could pick up at least 3 or 4 seconds.

On this, have you ever made her redo the weavers at a trial if she enters wrong or pops out? I know this has been my major issue with my boy, if I made him redo anything he would shut down at trials, his weavers were one of his best things at training. He could do it any time, any where and under any distraction but he lost it at trials as I stuidly made him go back and redo anything missed or done incorrectly when we first started. So I've had to sacrifice accuracy for speed and confidence at the moment. Slowly working our way back but maybe your girl is similar? Going slow to get it right the first time? She has always been very reliable (not 100%) at weaves even though she slows down & all through novice & excellence levels,if she did stuff them up she knew she would be made to come back & do the whole of the weaves again. Only once did I let her run on (therefore inadvertently rewarded her) after pulling out early & it took six months of trialing to get her to be reliable again. So yes I think this is where she has made the connection. Any correction in the ring at all & she shuts down & will sometimes even go pee Now we are in masters, I only make her redo the weaves if it is a complete stuff up, cause I reckon if she pops the last one it is because of my bad handling & any other faults as well we just run on as if nothing has happened....she is so sensitive. Thankfully, she doesn't make many errors & if she does it's my fault. Somehow I have to find a way of putting her through the weaves at trials, with ME being more relaxed....I think....as you say Kavik. In training, I always try to reward throughout the run...at the ends of contacts & weaves or a difficult turn etc. & maybe after just doing a tunnel as well. Sometimes she has to do the whole lot before I reward...I just mix it up a bit. Ahhhhhh......Mock Trials...yes I remember them. They were great. Sadly no-one seems to run them anymore up here.

You may have something there. In training I just say "yes" for the correct entry then it's just one long 'GOOOOOOOO" as I race her to the end, followed by "good girl" & a reward. In a trial it's "yes" for the correct entry then it's go,go, go till she reaches the end or I run out of breath :laugh: I might try saying nothing & racing her to the end...is that what you mean??? In training I will add a "whoops" for an error, but I don't do that in a trial as any form of negativism & she shuts down.

Thanks Jess. Most of the above would not pull her out of the weaves while training....well maybe a chicken neck thrown at her feet :laugh: I can send her, recall her & distance her through them. It's only when she is running in an actual trial. She is very brave & fearless till it comes to her turn to run....then its "OMG...it's my turn" & it's mainly the weaves where she goes so slow, she almost stops...hardly ever misses or pulls out, just gets slower & slower till I am almost out of breath egging her on :laugh: No problem doing the weaves in other environments, next to the trial, in front of other dogs etc. I think she is picking up on my anxiety, even though I try to be as casual as possible with lots of praise as we go round. Talking to other competitors, I think it is a fairly common problem.

OK....I need the DOL brains trust here :laugh: I really don't think there is a solution to the problem, but I can always try. My BC girl does fantastic weaves during training at home & at school on Monday nights with the other dogs all running around & other distractions thrown in. Beautiful hard entries, lovely speed & hardly ever misses a pole....in fact she really enjoys doing them. However, in a trial she is so slow to get through them, it is almost painful to watch & herein I think lies my problem....I am watching & she seems to be being so extra careful not to stuff up, that she slows right down. Mucking around on the course after the trial, she is flying through them. We are in Masters now & only missing out by a couple of seconds here & there, so if I could just get her to go faster through the weaves during her run, it would be the icing on the cake. I have tried running ahead of her, but that doesn't seem to work & it sometimes makes her pull out to keep up

I have heard that a dog would have to eat a whole bulb of garlic, not a clove, for it to have any bad effect. Different with onions though. My dogs get garlic in their treats & they go nuts for it. No ill effects here.

Yes it would BC Crazy. Of course your own dogs would cop it as well, but at the very least it could break up a fight & I think if your dogs were beside you & you extended your arm out pointing it at the oncoming dog, the other dog would get most of the blast as it is fairly directional. It is also very good for getting rats out of the walls at night, when they get behind your bed & start chewing :laugh: It has lots of uses, including dogs that jump up on you. They used to be a lot more expensive, but now they are quite affordable.

Sounds like you both had a wow of a time. Don't you just love it when they do the wrong obstacle & then stand there in a 2o2o position with their tail wagging waiting for the praise. :)

I asked Sherel this a little while ago & she said yes they do, but you would need to contact Sherel direct at Black Hawk as they come from her.

This is the one I just bought Ultrasonic Dog Repeller I havn't used it yet on my young guy as I need to get a battery for it. I had one when my other girl was young I found it very good for stopping unwanted behaviour.

You could try a hand held ultrasonic device available from Ebay. I have used them effectively to stop barking & other unwanted behaviour, like bashing the door down to get in. Carry it with you & be ready to press the button everytime he makes contact...he will soon stop & my guess is you wont have to press the button very many times.

The cat ones are a different shape, but I wouldn't say they are bigger than the dog ones.