sheena

I have been using up some sample bags of Sasha's Blend & it is obviously made up of mussels ...you can smell them a mile away. Not that I mind, as I quite like the odd mussel myself. When you feed them the whole mussel, do you give them the shell :p

From reading this thread...it seems that there are alot of JRT x's out there that like to hump. Maybe it is a breed thing. :p

It's bindi season....are you sure you don't have any in your grass....they are very tiny. Have you walked on the grass in bare feet yourself ?

I couldn't really grasp it till I had a go at it. We got our Gamblers title with just three runs, but are struggling with Snooker. I think with Gamblers, if you plan your course right, then your dog doesn't have to run past too many obstacles, if any, & if he does take a wrong obstacle then it is no big deal, providing it is not in the closing sequence. They do need to be able to work at a bit of a distance though (not much for novice). Snooker is another story for us, & I think it is because I have to run a novice dog past certain obstacles & she doesn't yet understand this concept, also this means big distances between the correct obstacles & she tends to lose interest in the game fast. But I am perservering & like to enter everything I can, just for the experience. Each time it gets a little easier. Strategic Pairs is another fun game, but our first one was an absolute disaster, but now she understands that the other dog doesn't really need to be rounded up, & you are not allowed to do zoomies through the tunnels & around the course We are only one run of getting our title there. Only wish getting our Novice Agility Title was as easy We always seem to miss out on that third & final qualie by a whisker.

Where does she go when she escapes. I could understand her wanting to escape if she was a male (looking for fun), but females are usually very faithful when it comes to hanging around home (IMO). Must be something out there that is very appealing to her :D Not sure if this makes any difference, but just wondering if she is desexed or entire?

Why can't a decent dog food be sourced from Australia....all those food miles make me shiver. :D

I would do some indoor training with her to distract her, so she gets the message that it is nothing to worry about. Otherwise just crate her if it settles her down. Most Borders are not frightened of storms and the few that are tend to be related to others that are as well. I honestly believe it is an inherited trait and for this reason will not breed from anything with a storm phobia. Far more common though is what your girl is doing. The whole storm thing excites them and many will race around trying to "catch" the thunder if allowed to do so. As it isn't a fear reaction it is pretty easy to train them to concentrate on something else. Just treat it as you would any other training distraction. She has hit the electric fence (we have cattle) a few times & instead of running away, she takes it on. I swear she is fearless

I have just found an old Clean Run article that explains the 4 on the floor, method in great detail - 7 pages on how to train it from start to finish. Here is the link http://www.pawsonthewind.com/media/proof_1...OnTheFloora.pdf Sure beats having to buy the DVD to see what it is all about.

My 3 yo BC girl doesn't appear to be frightened by thunder....it appears quite the opposite. She will race around inside the house to the windows with a ball in her mouth, as if to challenge "come & get me you noisy monster" During this afternoon's storm I decided to put her in her crate in the lounge room. With the first bang, she sat up in her crate & did a bit of a spin & then after that, she settled right down & went to sleep. I have heard some horrific stories about dogs with storms & was wondering how other people deal with the situation.

I'd be interested in seeing this DVD, or just knowing more about the method. If a dog is taught to stop with all 4 feet on the ground past the contact, would it not also encourage some dogs to still jump the contact zone to land on the ground down the bottom? I'm still undecided how to properly teach the contact for the A-Frame for both my dogs. This is the link to the DVD & no, I don't have it...at that price I would want to know a bit about it & the method before I would commit to buying it. Maybe someone here on DOL have seen it. I have just ordered "Bridging the Gap Between Training & Competition" by Rachel Saunders. http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...p;ParentCat=222 & the Rachel Saunders one http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...p;ParentCat=449

Ann Croft in her DVD "4 on the Floor" teaches her contacts with the dog stopping on the ground at the end of the contact. She reckons it doesn't compromise speed or accuracy but reduces stress on the dog's body, unlike what you have with a 2o2o.

Thankyou for the link to this site. Just reading her 10 steps for success is inspiring enough I will make sure I go through more things in her site when I have time Thanks for everyone's input. I think what I am after at the moment, is not necessarily taking the contacts at speed, but making contact with the yellow. Although I have taught the 2o2o, I don't think that this is the right way to go with the A frame, as it looks like it puts stress on the dog's body.

Get out your ironing squirt bottle & squirt her when she does it....won't hurt her & if she's smart, she will soon get the message. I used this with my BC when she was a pup to stop unwanted barking & now she only barks when it is serious, & I know I should check it out.

Thanks Guys, Lots of sugestions to work on there It should be a fun party especially if it doesn't rain. We are also going to have Secret Santa where the dogs get to choose a present

Some dogs react very badly to Wandering Jew.....any of this growing around especially where an old garden might have been ?

It's a bit hard if he is going to the beach a lot. Just like a human, if they are in the sun & swimming a lot in the salty water, their hair will most like become dry & bleached. You can get spray- on sun screens for dogs. I have a chocolate border collie who is forever in the sun & they are famous for bleaching. I manage to keep her coat dark by suplementing her food with Livamol & fish oil, but not sure if this only works for choclolate coloured dogs as I got the tip from a lady that has lovely chocolate kelpies. I also keep the dead hair combed out.

At the recent ADAA Grand Prix in Tamworth, they gave away an entry to this as first prize in the raffle. Of course I didn't win it I have heard from a few people who have been to her seminars, that you have to be fairly thick skinned as she can be quite tactless & downright rude. No good for me....I'm too sensitive. I do admire her though & I think she is a great trainer & entertaining as long as you're not on the end of her stick. :D Have you seen this

Oh No Sounds like another Agility Junkie in the making

This DVD from this site will cost you $60.00 including postage. Clean Run have it for $39.95 including postage. Another one I have, is Susan Garret's Crate Training. I am a bit of an addict when it comes to collecting DVD & books on this subject.....lucky I have a very understanding OH Clean Run have all their Clean Run produced DVD's on "free postage" till the end of December. So I think I will probably have added a few more by then. The latest one I have ordered is "How Many Dogs?" which I am hoping will help me out with how to cope with more than one dog when I get my new puppy.

If you go to the www.cleanrun.com website, you will find heaps to choose from. Go into their "free shipping" section...they are very reasonably priced especially considering our exchange rate at present. I have The Focused Puppy book (a good one to get even before you get your pup), In Focus Foundation Work & the Puppy Sounds CD. I am also thinking of getting The Pre-Sports Puppy & In Focus Beginning Obstacle Skills. By the way, I don't have a puppy, thats just in rediness for when I do, besides they all contain some info which is applicable to even grown up dogs.....we never stop learning

My lovely OH is building me an A Frame, which will just about complete the agility course he has built for me at home......sorry girls, he's not for hire (OH, that is) He's building it to ANKA standards but it will be able to be lowered to adjust the height. I have taught her 2o2o for the dogwalk & seesaw but thought a running contact would be better for the A Frame. At present she just flys off the end, like there is "no tomorrow" :D I have a DVD by Barb Davis who uses stride regulators but wondering if anyone else can suggest another DVD or maybe another method of training this without the use of stride regulators. Would it probably be best to have the A Frame lowered for repetitive work, so she doesn't do herself an injury. I know this has been touched on in another thread, but thought I might post it seperately to attract more comment. :D

This is the one I have http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...p;ParentCat=173 So maybe mine is not a martingale....Clean Run call it a Limited Slip collar. I find it good as it can't slip over the dogs head if she pulls but it is still comfortable for her to wear. Also it looks good. I know in my club you wouldn't be allowed to wear a pronged collar, but they will allow martingales & limited slip. I don't use it for training, but use it when on lead so if the unexpected happens, she can't slip out of her collar & also it is simple to remove at agility trials.

Only the webbing ones are fiddly. Leather ones with a buckle aren't. I don't find anything remotely fiddly about the Blackdog sighthound collars. I don't know those ones. The webbing ones we had before were a pain in the ass to loosen (to get over the head) and tighten (so as the collar was high and snug). The collar I use is designed to just slip over her head & just sits down on her neck when she is being normal,(like a normal collar) but when she pulls, that is when the slip bit comes into play & it tightens behind her head so she can't pull out. I don't think they are meant to be so tight to start with, that it permantly sits behind their head . Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you might have the wrong idea about how they work I only have mine on when she is on the lead. She runs her agility nude & never has a collar on at home, cause I had a dog once that got tangled up when I was not at home & hanged itself.

Just scroll down this list of topics to "Play pen & treats" ...probably answers your questions,

In Rachel Sanders DVD, does she do the contact training with stride regulators ?? Just wondering if the method is much different to the DVD I have by Barb Davis, where she teaches using stride regulators & hoops. Has anybody seen this DVD training 2o2o by Spot On Agility.Com. It is advertised in this months Clean Run Magazine. http://spotonagilitydog.com/