sheena

I just looked at the beginning & in the Masters Jumping 500 the list spans over 5 pages Oh sorry...I thought you meant dogs in the 500 height class :laugh:

I think if a dog is found to be unsuitable & the person has to put it into rescue, that the breeder of that dog should be contacted & given the option to take it back or help find a new home for it. I don't feel the breeder should be obliged to buy the pup back, unless there is something physically wrong with it. With both my dogs, when I bought them, it was on the condition that the breeder would be contacted & given first option if for any reason the pup was not suitable. I would not buy from anyone who did not stipulate this...not because I want an "out" if I don't like the dog, but because it shows they have a genuine interest in the welfare of their pups. :) To say they should take ALL dogs of their breed is just ridiculous

I have just been too busy with agility stuff. I hope to get back into it when the Agility Nationals are over.

Both my dogs get frisky after their meal & look forward to some training before bed...if I don't, then all hell breaks loose :laugh:

I have already picked out my next breeder & the dam & it will be another border collie of course. At present she is still just a pup. So it wont happen for at least 4 years, but thought I should put myself on the waiting list :laugh: I have no idea of names, but I think I will go for a girl :) I just hope my present girl who will be about 11 years old by then, doesn't have her nose put out. This will probably be my last performance dog, but not my last BC :)

I'd be looking for another club I take the Advanced class & I also have 3 Intermediates in the class. I set up an exercise each week & have it planned so that there are two levels of challenge, using the same equipment. We all get the same amount of turns, no matter what level we are at, but I spend more time with the Int. group & we all help each other. If we run over time, that is not a problem. I also have equipment set up away from the main course, so that they can practice weaves, or contacts or whatever while they are waiting for their run. It's not that hard to cater for two levels, as long as it is organised & if someone wants more instruction, then I encourage them to get to class early for some one on one. There are ten in my class & we all get along well :)

Aren't our girls lovely :laugh: If Bindi has just had a bath, I have to keep her on a lead otherwise she seeks out the most sloppiest piece of roo poo that she can find. Every morning Cricket can't wait to get into the calf paddock. Evidentially, freshly laid young calf poo is the ultimate in breakfast foods I have added the wing jump to the page Winged Jump Of course you could use these wings with any jump, just fix them to the ground with the two screwdrivers. :)

The paddock comes with the added bonus of plenty of very fresh kanga poo each morning & lovely smells of last night dingos & foxes. So comes complete with distractions & treats :laugh: Watch this space...I have been back to Bunnings & am putting together a winged jump :)

If you have the room, just make your own equipment. It is easy to make jumps, weave poles & you can buy tunnels :) The only reports I have had of permanent agility dog parks is that they are usually solid structures & dangerous & idiots who don't know what they are doing, can put their dogs at risk. Better to join an agility club & work under instruction.

At our club you can't just go & use the equipment without first asking permission of an instructor, for reasons already stated. I would imagine it would be the same for all clubs.

I sort of thought that may have been the case as I googled it, expecting it to show up on some newspaper site. Some people really are sick

Has it disappeared for some reason or was it in another section

Not at all! It's great to hear about your journey! The golden rule is simplify, simplify, simplify. Try starting with one jump using your "run home" command (I use "GO") - send him over to get the treat from the target mat and then call him back to you for another treat/tug. Exactly....I would even start with just sending him to the target & calling him back...just a couple of feet to start with, gradually increasing it till you can send him about 15 - 20 meters to the target, then introduce one obstacle at a time..calling him back over the obstacles after he has taken the treat. You can also back chain. Set up 3 or 4 jumps & the target. Send him over the last jump with your "go" command then call him back. Do this a few times, then start at the second last jump etc till he is doing the whole lot running to the target & coming back to you for a treat. You could even make the treat he comes back to, yummier than the one on the target..or just have a party when he comes back. You could always just do the jumping events. If he is a 500 height, then my choc. tri boy, Cricket, will be in the same events :) I've PM'd you asking for your email as I have notes on this subject that I did up for my class when we were doing it :)

I thought there was too...but I couldn't find the thread in the "search" ETA...I just found it...it is a couple of years old :)

So it's a genetic thing ?? & can be prevented by testing the parents I think the main colour I have seen it in is red cattle dogs. Are Koolies prone to deafness as well ?? as I know a couple of Koolies that are also deaf. Do they BAER test the pups or the parents. If it is the pups, then what happens to the ones that are positive?? Sorry about all the questions, but there just seems to be quite a few deaf ACD's around.

Yes..I am interested to know what others have thought of it as, like you said, it is handy to know of a decent food that can be bought from the Supermarket when I get caught out away from home. I also bought the Natures Gift Kangaroo...but that was even more expensive & I used it for training treats.

Put a target with a treat or a toy after the last jump. When I taught my guys to run ahead of me taking all obstacles in their path..I put a target at the end & when they got to it, I called them back & treated them when they returned to me. So we were doing two exercises in one...teaching them to work away & practicing recalling back over the obstacles. :) EH....I am sending you a PM

Recently on a camping trip I ran out of my normal kibble, so I bought a small bag of VIP Natures Goodness Grain Free (Wild Game with Sweet Potato)from Woolies. I thought I was buying Natures Gift. Dogs like it, but I wouldn't swap them over as I have no reason to swap kibbles. From memory it was quite expensive, being in small bags. Just wondering if anyone else has used this. I couldn't find any reference to it in the "search" :)

It seems that I come across far more deaf cattle dogs than any other common breed. Is this my imagination, or maybe where I live or is deafness more common in Cattle Dogs than other common breeds?? Is it a result of BYB's or are they common with well bred stock as well If so, does it also extend to Stumpy Tails & Smithfields?? Just curious :)

That would be different then for sure. But with my guys, they knew what they had to do & self rewarded :)

Em struggled with weaves at the last Nationals - tough environment! I'm sure you've got plenty of people giving you advice but can I suggest that you don't stop and re-do the weaves if your dog misses them or pops out. Just keep running Ummmmm...that's a hard decision to make. My older dog used to be good in the weaves till one day she popped out in a snooker run home. I let her keep running (self rewarded) & it took me six months of training to get her to not pop the weaves in trials. The same thing has happened with our new boy. When he started trialling he was good in the weaves & one day he popped & OH let him self reward by going on. Now he pops every time in trials only We are working on it & hope we have it fixed before the Nationals, as he is the only one of my dogs that has any chance of getting into the finals. If one of my dogs misses a jump or a tunnel entry, I will just run on as if nothing has happened, as it would have been handler error anyway. But if they do a crazy contact or pop the weaves I will take them back or pop them back in. It's an instant DQ...but we would have flunked anyway I know some judges don't like it.

Bumping for those who may have missed this :)

:laugh: Sorry Hankdog...the paddock is not for sale :)

It does, but if you don't mind the flavour of molasses then you can use it yourself. That is the only difference between the 3 products....apart from price.

Some people are clever :laugh: