sheena

Definately a goer.......will it cost me less than an oodle

A dog over threshold really means the dog is too over stimulated in the moment to respond to known commands and what we see from a reactive dog is that he/she has lost the plot and reverted back to the default behaviour, barking, lunging etc for which we have no verbal control over the dog to interrupt the behaviour and re-gain the dog's composure. Yes I did read all of your post and the dog did compose when using the clicker which means the clicker is being used as a lure and the message the dog is learning in the training process is that he shall respond to the click sound and not handler command. The dog ideally should associate the click with displaying the right behaviour as commanded by the handler as in "handler commands, dog obeys, click for obeying followed by a reward". In the circumstances, the dog was actually rewarded for blowing over threshold and reacting by luring with the clicker. I know these moments are difficult and you have to make a call and the bottom line was you did re-compose the dog and diffuse the reactivity, so well done as any ability to defuse a reactive dog is good and moving in the right direction. From what you explained of the situation, the clicker is working more as a lure in the way the dog sees it, like he is relating the click as meaning he gets a reward but he's not understanding what the reward is for, what he did right to hear the click. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a dog sees the clicker as a reward lure or a marker for the right behaviour. I think Justice may be seeing the clicker as a reward lure more so than realising the click was actually for displaying the right behaviour you are seeking from him? What you can also do, is train him for "work mode" where he MUST obey everything then a relaxed mode when the work is done, so you can train little sections of a walk where he must focus, no sniffing etc, then release him to relaxed mode where he can do what he likes. You can train a working mode commanding "ready" meaning for the next few minutes he must focus and obey then command "done" meaning he can relax. As painful as it is to manage a reactive dog, they are worth their weight in gold to own one just once as they make you become a great dog trainer by the time you have mastered them. They teach you in 5 years what would normally take 20+ years of knowledge gained in dog behaviour :) :) Justice wasn't over threshold. He didn't respond to my voice because I did the wrong thing. TThe clicker is normally used in the context of the Look athat game where he gets rewarded for looking at another dog without exploding. He knows what he is being rewarded for and if he looks at a dog and looks back at me because I missed it, he will keep looking at the dog and then back at me until I catch on. In this particular instance I used the clicker incorrectly and as an interrupter to stop him from going over threshold because I wasn't on the ball. We also do the Look at That game without a clicker and treats and with praise as the reward. It depends on how stressful each situation is for him and prior to him being attacked recently, we weren't using LAT or BAT at all as he no longer needed it. Yes...I was going to say that, but you beat me to it :)

What are you giving him in the way of treats. Some treats like dried liver can give pups the scoots really bad

My two BC guys have been having their Hurta coats put on lately, when the sun goes down & have them on till about 7.30 in the morning. I can't ever remember it being so cold here & have never had to use their coats before unless walking in the rain, but they sure are coming in handy now.

Point out to her that puppy purchases come under the same consumer laws that white goods do & that she could land in strife if the puppies sold were not satisfactory. But please someone, correct me if that is wrong :) I pointed this out recently to a dumb guy who had just bought a cute oodle thing & was already planning on how he was going to mate it with his Brutus (another oodle thing, but not so cute) Sadly I think it went in one ear & out the other....some people are really dumb

Some dogs when on high alert or over the thresh-hold switch over to another part of their brain & literally do not hear you. It's called "sticky-dog syndrome" & happens a lot with herding breeds & it is difficult if not impossible to train out. I know, because my BC girl is a "sticky dog" & unless I read the warning signs, usually sniffing, circling quickly with nose to the ground etc. she will be off chasing some scent trial & it's true, she has switched to a different part of her brain & cannot hear me when I call. I would imagine the same thing could be true of dogs that are reactive to other dogs in their space. :)

Well done DDD I caught it on Facebook. :) It would have been freezing up there

Sorry...I don't know anything about DDD, but wouldn't he get better benefit for his teeth if you were to give him turkey necks to chew on I would imagine that a big marrow bone would only wear his teeth down...not clean them.

Interesting....how dogs pick up on your feelings of stress. I live on a farm but I like to walk my dogs down our gravel road onto the tar then back up through our paddocks. It's about 3 kilometers. But 200 meters into our walk there are two neighbours dogs that come rushing up their 200 meter long driveway & out onto the road. They are not terribly unfriendly...the cattle dog holds back but the big kelpie likes to come out & say hello, standing as tall as he can. My girl can cope with it, but my boy gets very stressed & excited & will sometimes take it out on my girl who is walking beside him Those two dogs are so good at it now, that they hear my boots on the gravel as soon as I tread outside my front gate. So now, I speed walk that section & literally drag my dogs past if they try to stop. Of course it is right outside their gate that my two always want to stop & sniff & pee etc :laugh: I am sure they pick up on my stress. I always do a loop so I don't have to come back the same way, otherwise the dogs are sitting there waiting for us. I think I just need to learn to relax a bit. I walk them in harnesses as the young guy is very good at slipping his collar. Also, I am hoping that a dog on a harness possibly appears less threatening to another dog, than one on a collar.

They don't smell if I keep them in an airtight container. I would imagine that giving them a few of these on their meal would be as good as sardines, minus the water Or would other goodies be extracted during the drying process

Natures Gift & Natures Goodness are available from the supermarkets & they get the thumbs up from a lot of DOL's but only come in small bags.

Get hold of samples or buy some small bags

Both my dogs do well on BlackHawk...they have been on it most of their lives. It is 100% Australian owned, made from 100% Australian Products, contains no artificial flavours, preservatives, GM's, Corn, Wheat or Soy & they like it & it comes in Fish, Chicken or Lamb. You can always ask for a sample. I have also bought a few bags of Natures goodness, which is Grain Free & they love that too. Just a pity they don't make it in bigger bags. Unless your dog has allergies to grain, I don't see the importance in going totally grain-free. Really, you just have to look at the foods & decide what YOU want for your dogs...get hold of samples & try them out. No point in buying a big bag of food if your dog's turn their nose up at it. :) And in the end, it is what your dog does best on.

Sorry...I missed that photo

Is it just me imagining things, or can others see lots of blood in that second picture too

In case anyone is wondering...the fish are dried...so we got quite a few in the kilo bags :)

Bindi had such a hard time choosing "which one"...so the more she liked a treat the better the trick she did...she ended up almost counter surfing the stall I came away with a very large bundle :)

I bought two x 1 kg bags of these tiny fish from a stall at the Agility Nationals....my guys go nuts for them, but boy did they stink out our motel room :laugh: I bought them from Loyalty Pet Treats I am not using them as treats, but putting a few on top of their dinner :)

I was about to ask, did any body do the first one & what the feedback was. Wow, congrats on winning the photo competition. Do you think I would benefit from doing one of the sessions, even though I don't have a puppy ????? As an instructor, I often get asked questions about puppies & their training, but never really know where to start. I have a mile of DVD's on puppy training, but they are mainly to do with future performance dogs.

Both my dogs worked very well & I was proud of both of them. The most membrable run I had with Cricket was in a JDX 500 on the 3rd day. It was a difficult course, so I decided to use it for practice & distanced handled him the whole lot. To my surprise, we did it, all in 18 seconds but he dropped the second last bar which put him into 9th place. If he hadn't dropped the bar, he would have got into the finals for sure I will always remember that run for as long as I live :laugh: He got DQ'd in Gamblers for exiting the dog walk on the up, just above the colour, which I thought was a little unfair. Bindi tried really hard. She is not a super fast dog & is finding Masters a little hard to make the time. But one run we did, which would have been for her Masters Title, she did a clear round in under time, but for some reason the judge raised his hand & gave her a fault. All my friends watching couldn't work out what it was for. I am told I could have questioned the judge, but I didn't know that at the time & I probably wouldn't have had the courage to do it anyway.

Entries for the Online Class starting 1st Sept are now open Click Here :) I wish I had half the energy that Kelly has

If anyone is interested, you can access the courses & download them from HERE

What a great trick to teach. My OH is forever leaving cupboard doors open...I swear he must have been raised in a cave :laugh: If I could teach my two to shut the doors, then that would be great, especially the young guy who has self-taught himself to OPEN doors :laugh:

Ahhhhh...now I know who you are RB :) I'm the old goose at the Nationals who mistook your dog for a choc tri BC because he looked sooooooo much like my Cricket :laugh:

Great work with Nova. I have tried to get Bindi to sit like that, but because I have taught her to stand on her back legs, she just automatically stands. I guess I could if I really tried, then put a cue on it so she knows the difference. BC Crazy...Cricket just loooooovvvess cardboard boxes & loves playing "101 things to do with a box"...he will even go & get the box for me :laugh: