sheena

:D Yes .. I never did work out how to import music into Audacity to even start editing :laugh: ... but I can do a reasonable job in Wavepad. You need a teenager Maybe my, just turned 8 year old grandson, who started up 22 games of Words on my Facebook while I was away for the weekend

For those who are not familiar with Kate & Gin...this is what made them famous I was wondering what they might be doing now & came across this article. Gin is now retired & Kate has joined the army & is training war dogs for sniffing out explosives in Afghanastan Animal trainer goes from dancing to War Dogs

I've downloaded Audacity. Got no idea what I am doing with it....maybe I should get together with you Tassie :laugh: we would make a good pair.

I have one dog that just looooooovvvvves to tug, but he is so drivey that he doesn't really need it before an agility run. Handy for training though. If we want him to be just "normal" & concentrate better then we will bring out the food rewards. My other border collie is only interested in tugging in the privacy of the loungroom & wont tug while other dogs are around. She will do anything for food though :laugh: I used to worry that her ability to perform in agility would be effected because I couldn't get her to tug at training or trials, but before a run, I just pull out the clicker & we do a bit of a warm up & she is fine, just working for food & the clicker, while we are waiting in line. I think the young guy loves his tug so much because his breeder introduces the tug (among other things) to her pups as soon as they start to get mobile. I don't think Bindi's breeder did any of this & it's a shame ETA. to get drive into my "non-tugger" I use the clicker & a lot of targeting to get her to drive forward

I just edited my post...the stuff I used was FiltaBac not Virbac as I originally sail.....sorry...getting my Bacs mixed up :)

When my guy gets over excited & the girl is carrying on like a pork chop, he will sometimes grab her by the tail & pull out a bit of hair...she takes no notice, but sometimes if he is over aroused by a smell or a strange dog, he will take it out on Bindi...can be a bit scary but no damage is ever done.

We have a Ford Territory & even though there is plenty of room in the boot for the dogs, I prefer to put the back seats down (they lay completely flat) & put the dogs there fastened to the cargo barrier. We looked at most of them before we bought & were impressed with the Territory Ghia AWD. Lovely car to drive & feels nice & safe. :) We used to put a 90cm crate in the boot when Cricket was just a pup.

Can you use this program to download music from the internet ???

A few years ago my border collie had these things on her nose. I took her to the vet but the antibiotic cream he put her on didn't make any difference. I bought some FiltaBac & it cleared it within a few days. I think it was called "Digger's Nose" & was most probably caused by her burying bones with her nose.

What software does everyone use to download music to their computer from the web & also something along the lines of audio editing software. I need something that is very simple to use, that I can save to a CD & that the download does not infect my computer with Malware. That happened to me a few days ago when I downloaded a programme to allow me to file Youtube videos So I am being extra cautious now with anything I download

This is what I have been told too. Once I found a dead rat that my girl had bitten into & there was green ratsac oozing from its body. So naturally I was more than a little concerned, but I was told they had to eat a lot of it to be affected & that it is naturally repellent to pets, hence the reason why she hadn't eaten the rat.

Plenty of places that allow you to have pets, but what exactly were you looking for What type of accomcdation I don't think any would allow you to leave your dog for the day though. The only one I know of like that is Camp Tailwaggers on the Gold Coast. Yeas we have plenty of ticks up here at this time of the year especially near the coast. My dogs are on Advantix fortnightly.

DTD....not sure if it interests you, but Grafton Club (Clarence Dog Sports) run classes in Show Training :)

Yes, the clicker would certainly help, but you use it in exactly the same way a the whistle. Some trainers like to use a whistle because it leaves them hands free as the whistle remains in their mouth, but I like to hide my clicker & the treats if possible while training otherwise the sight of the whistle/clicker & /or treat bag will act as a lure & your dog will be more focused on those items instead of you. I have something here which might be of help & will print you out a copy & bring it along next Monday night. Better still if you could PM me your email address I can send it to you. Its a six step training for duration attention which I have been doing for my canine freestyle & it trains the dog to only have eyes for you in all sorts of distracting situations, & uses the clicker of course :)

sometimes the signs are not hanging on fences anymore ..and often, if baiting is done incorrectly, crows /magpies will pick up and drop baits a long way from where they should be I agree with this....if in doubt I would be putting a muzzle on the dog, because even if you have the dog on lead (which you would)...they are so quick to pick up little morsels off the ground that some crow has dropped out of a tree

That sounds like a good idea! I'll have to try it out :) thanks! don't know how the instructors will like clicker training at their club, seeing as they use negative reinforcement. No wonder she is shutting down....If I were you then, I would be 'ing

I can't use tick collars as my dogs are in swimming every day. I have great success with Advantix & havn't found a tick for ages (touch wood) I do apply it a bit differently to the directions on the pack though. I keep them dry for 24 hours before & for 48 hours after....so 3 days without swimming. I part their hair & apply the Advantix all the way down along their spine from behind their ears to the base of the tail making sure that as much as possible goes directly onto their skin. My 22 kilo boy gets 2.5 mls & my 18 kilo girl gets 2.00 mls every two weeks.

You say she will do everything when you are away from the other dogs....have you tried taking her far enough away to where she is comfortable & very gradually bringing her in towards the main group If you have clicker trained her, you could also try LAT (Look At That Game). Basically, its counter-conditioning her to what ever has her stressed out. You start away from the other group, where she is comfortable & happy to work with you & as soon as she looks in the direction of the stressor, you click & she turns back to you for the treat. Soon it will become a game to her & instead of getting stressed, she will perform it as a trick, she looks at the stressor, you click & she gets treated. You gradually move in closer to the stressor, playing the game. If she looks at the stressor & you click, but she doesn't hear the clicker or is late responding, then it means you have gone too quickly & you need to move back out more. It wont happen all in one session, but if you take it slow over several sessions & don't go too far, too soon...it will more than likely work There are plenty of people here on DOL that have used LAT to counter-condition their dogs. :) Including myself.

Bumping this up for the person who has the itchy dog :)

What about Erny's Calendula Tea

I used a combination of RG & Lavender oil & almond oil dabbed on the collar a few years ago & I think from memory it worked but I had to keep applying it every couple of days. If I had a smooth haired dog, I would definitely be giving it another go, but with Border Collies...I can't take the risk. The way that I apply the Advantix seems to be almost 100% effective, but I hate what I think it may be doing to my dogs' health I also found the Skudo type thing worked as well, but with both the RG & the Skudo rely on my dogs wearing collars & to me that is a problem, as they don't wear collars when they are at home or running around the farm.

I had a young friend on Facebook who a couple of years ago at the age of 16 was chosen to go overseas as part of the Australian Agility Team. She was very, very good & extremely enthusiastic but from memory she had similar problems to you in so much as she was restricted by needing her parents to drive her everywhere. I am not sure what she is doing now...but I am just mentioning it to make a point, that just because you are young, it doesn't mean that you have heaps of potential & these people at Obedience should be encouraging young people like you for the good of the future of the sport. With agility, you need to be able to work your dog on both sides, left & right equally & this is where I feel formal obedience falls down as they tend to make the dog one sided. You need to be able to work both sides on & off lead & need to be able to do this in the company of other dogs & in an exciting environment. Your dog also need to have a good solid stay while in the company of other dogs as you are going to need this when trialing. I agree, take a parent along with you next time you approach the instructor.

Lots of people on DOL that can help with any questions. I have some worksheets that I have done up for my class's in the past & am quite happy to PM them to you one by one, if you are interested. See if you can get to volunteer stewarding at an agility trial...that way you will learn heaps. I wish I had started when I was younger, but I am now well into my 60's & didn't start until 5 years ago. My dog used to behave like a Tasmanian Devil, but now she is going great & in Masters level, it has been a real journey & I now have my younger guy. They say you ruin your first agility dog, but by the time you get your second, it's all systems go I am quite happy to help via PM's :) You always start out with lots of foundation training even before equipment is introduced, so there is heaps you can do without equipment

I would be getting in touch with the head agility instructor. I find formal obedience boring...a bit like watching paint dry...& my dogs hate it, but are very obedient in a casual way & just love their agility :) I only ever went in one obedience competition with my older girl & we practiced for months. When we did the test...she failed miserably...she hated that I was not allowed to talk to her & ended up peeing in the ring zero points but still got third prize as there were only three dogs in it. She enjoys Rally-O though, but it is difficult taking her out of doing a masters agility run & straight into the Rally-O ring...so I have put that aside for the time being. I am now doing Canine Freestyle with the two of them, clicker based & they are loving it. :) See if you can speak directly to the chief agility instructor. If you were in my club, you would definitely be in agility :) & running rings around most of the dogs we currently have in the starters group. You don't have to belong to a club in order to compete in agility, but you do need to be a member of your state canine body. A lot of people competing have been self taught, with the aid of videos etc, but it certainly is a big plus if you can go along to training every week.

How do you attain titles in DWD Is it similar to agility where you need 3 novice Q's before you can go up to the next level etc. ??