sheena

At our club the dogs have to do what we call "Canine College" which is just very basic obedience, before they can join the agility classes. But we do make exceptions for any dog that can be shown to have those basic skills. Basically we require that a dog can work safely off lead around other dogs, & can do a stay & a drop. But if you saw some of the dogs that come through to our agility class you would be forgiven if you thought they had never had an obedience lesson in their life Have you ever thought of making a career out of your love of dogs :)

I just watched your video...& I don't want to sound harsh...but I didn't see you reinforcing those lovely contacts with either food or a toy. Our dogs should not be expected to keep working for free, just like you or I wouldn't want to keep working for free. Keep the rate of reinforcement high & stagger it. Have you done any Clicker Work with her ??? :) If you want to know more about Clicker work check out this link & go to the PDF file & download it Introduction to Clicker Training. It's a lot of fun & everything my young guy knows has been taught with the clicker & he just loves his agility & obedience training. My older girl, I didn't start with the clicker till she was nearly three & I so wish I had started her earlier. :) I had a big hot dog in my pocket and was clicking when she hit the contact :) you just couldn't see it. The camera didn't see me rewarding Bonnie, so it looks like I was making her work for nothing. I'm pretty sure the neighbors could hear me screaming out "GOOD GIRL! GOOD GIRL! YES! YES! YES! GOOD GIRL!" I'm a big fan of positive reinforcement and clicker training. The only time I didn't reward her, was when she missed the contact. She still got a lot of verbal praise, but I didn't give her a treat. Otherwise she got a nice chunk of hot dog and hugs for each contact she hit. Good...just remember that EVERY TIME you click you must reward She looks like she is going great. You don't need to have giant treats though. Usually they are about the size of a pea & then if you want to, for a job well done, you can give her several...one at a time. We call this "silver service" treating. Good luck & don't give up...she is picking up on your nerves when you are at training. :)

I just watched your video...& I don't want to sound harsh...but I didn't see you reinforcing those lovely contacts with either food or a toy. Our dogs should not be expected to keep working for free, just like you or I wouldn't want to keep working for free. Keep the rate of reinforcement high & stagger it. Have you done any Clicker Work with her ??? :) If you want to know more about Clicker work check out this link & go to the PDF file & download it Introduction to Clicker Training. It's a lot of fun & everything my young guy knows has been taught with the clicker & he just loves his agility & obedience training. My older girl, I didn't start with the clicker till she was nearly three & I so wish I had started her earlier. :)

I ended up getting this one Webmasterfrom K9Pro. Thanks for your help everybody...I will report back when I find out how successful it is :)

No...he would slip out of that & the Spook harness might not be strong enough in the event of an accident.

I'll give it a go & hope he doesn't chew through it. It might be an idea if one of us sits in the back with him till he gets used to it...he is so quick. Also I might use it to take him on his walks a bit too. Funny thing is, when he is in the car he just lays down & goes to sleep & the next thing we know he has slipped his harness.

Novice or Starters? Basically a routine should be over 1 minute and under 4, it is seen that Starters is closer to the 1 minute and Advanced is approaching the 4 minute. In May I have Tora in Starters, her routines are about 1min 30 sec. I then have Schatzi in Intermediate and her routine is around the 3 minute mark. Moves you aren't allowed to do - basically just anything that's not 'safe' No, you don't have to use props, plenty of routines don't and are still awesome routines :) Thanks for that...I assume then that in DWD it is called "starters" & not "novice". I have on my calander that there is a comp at Grafton on the 30th November, but when I mentioned it to Mandy, she said that No it wasn't going to be in Grafton this year. Dogs NSW still have it listed as being there. Anyone have any other idea where it might be being held, if at all.

What is the minimum & max time for a novice freestyle routine Are there any moves that a novice is not allowed to make & does every routine require props or is outfit enough ????? :) PME....I love your outfit

Thanks everyone, & thanks DakotaJ for the links. Unfortunately, the best & safest seat belt in the world is of little use if he can slip out of it. I think I will give the tripawds a go & maybe I might be able to fasten it at a couple of points to make it safer, though it looks pretty strong. I guess a seat belt is only as strong as it's weakest point.

I think you might be on the right track there KC

Pretty sure he would be out of that in a flash, but thankyou KK :) He almost needs something that attaches around his waist as well. Maybe I could have something custom made & then hope that he doesn't chew it.

My young guy is a Houdinni when it comes to car safety harness's When he was younger he would either chew through them in a matter of seconds or somehow slip out of them & then chew them up. Not the most ideal thing, I know, but the only way I have of securing him in the car is by attaching a short lead to his collar which is then fastened to the cargo barrier of the car. At least it would stop him flying forward in the event of an accident. There is no room in the car for a crate. The last thing I tried was putting on a Hip Doggie Harness like This Onewhich fits very snug & I fastened him to the car both with the harness & his collar. Within 10 kilometres, he had slipped both off I really don't know how he does it

Michelle trains her routines by back chaining. She works it all out in segments to go with the music, then she practices the final stage first, then the second final through to the end, then the third final stage through to the end & so on. Her reasoning being that it is easier to learn the routine this way because you are practicing something new which is always followed by something that is familiar & of course the BIG reward is always given at the end when your dog is holding its end pose. She also admits that she stuffs up all the time, but just carries on cause the judges don't know. :) Bindi & I are working on "back arounds" at the moment. I have laid some chairs on the floor to form a tight square & she does the anti-clockwise really good & is starting to get it with the clockwise direction. Cricket has started to learn "front leg lifts" but he is a little too enthusiastic. I never realised that his front legs were so long :laugh:

I am just wondering why you would take her food away while she is still eating I would be pretty cranky if someone took my plate away before I had finished.

What part of your border collies do you use youre's on ??

My two tried to kill each other over a stick the other day :laugh: while out walking.

I have always separated my two. They can't even see each other eat. The guy is fed outside & the girl fed inside & when they are finished I let them lick each other bowls. Certainly a sure way of stopping any food aggression form starting & they don't feel they need to rush their meal. As KK says, there are food bowls available which will slow them down. :)

I certainly wasn't shooting the OP down, I was just giving her some very good sound advice which may save her the heartache of finding out these things for herself. I gave my advice on the basis that I have lived on farms for most of my 63 years. Things are very different in "the bush" than living in the suburbs. There are different unwritten laws between landowners. DDD may I ask you a question?????.....have you ever witnessed a dog being ripped to pieces by a kangaroo, which the dog decided was fun to chase or seen a dog drowned by a kangaroo because the dog followed the roo into the dam, to where the animal was trying to escape???? Yes...these things can still happen when you are simply taking your dog for a walk in the country, but leaving them unattended free roaming or tied to a chain increases the risk of it happening & you are not there to take action, (if you can).

No don't substitute "ignorant" for "wild". I meant "wild". Yes I am sure,(if you say so), that you have people living in the suburbs that would shoot some of your cows or wait behind a bush with a piece of 4 x 2 to knock your brains out, just because they suspect it may have been you that shot their dog because it broke it's chain & was wandering 5 kilometres from home & was chasing your stock. No-one is calling the OP stupid, just being realistic about what can happen if you chain your dog up unsupervised, or let it free range in the country.

Yum.....

I assume they are not having DWD...or have I missed it in the schedule somewhere

Please don't be harsh like this, OsoSwift. I now you are grinding your teeth at a dog being on a chain and the OP is hoping to be able to let her roam free at some stage. But Skyeedavidson has come on here seeking advice and solutions and does love her dog very much. I think a little restraint would ensure that she stays with us and continues to learn. :) :) I don't have an issue with dogs being tethered persay - our working dog is tethered at night and when we are not home, I do have an issue with guarding breeds being tethered more. However I have a huge issue with a Dobermann of any age roaming a rural property with livestock and I stand by what I said. It may be harsh but it is reality. I have owned Dobes, I own livestock and have lived on farms all my life, I have had livestock mauled, I have worked for many many years in Veterinary hospitals, I have seen what happens when dogs roam. You may think I am being harsh, but I am hoping that it will make people sit back and really think about it. I have no doubt that this particular dog and many others are wonderful companions and very well trained. At the end of the day they are dogs. Left to their own devices roaming farm land they will more often than not create their own entertainment. Quite possibly there is no malice intended, tell that to the owner of the ponies with their throats ripped open because a dog of that size decided to go out for a play. I do believe in this instance I am more than well qualified to have sound knowledge in what can and will go wrong. I have seen it, I have lived it. My dogs were exceptionally well trained and behaved. I spent hours and hours with my dogs, training my dogs and having fun. They are dogs, not robots, when I am not there I cannot and do not know exactly what they are up to. So call me harsh, I call it reality. I don't think you are being Harsh OS I think you are being very realistic & any one who doesn't agree obviously doesn't live in a farming community. Any straying dog in my district runs the risk of getting a bullet, unless it is recognised by the farmer, & even then they are reluctant to give the dog owner a warning, cause if anything happens to their dog, that farmer gets the blame & there can be some pretty wild people living out in the bush

I think the average Joe Citizen when he hears the word "breeder" conjures up images of "breeders" creating all these monsters from pure bred dogs, like oodles & tea cups. What he doesn't understand is that registered breeders are not the ones behind these frankensteins. They wouldn't be registered if they did. I have a friend who has had dogs all her life & they have always been rescues. Recently she went looking for a rescue & had in mind the type & age of dog that she wanted. After searching for ages, she finally found a Rescue centre that had exactly what she was looking for. They wouldn't let her adopt...the only reason being was that "she was too old" (she's 64). So what did she do?? Bought a small cross breed one from a BYB advertising on Gumtree for $450. She only did what the average person would do ....they don't know any better

I agree entirely with this. We live on 200 acres & would never consider having dogs just run free. They have a secure yard at the back of the house to spend their alone time & do their zoomies. The girl likes to come into the house during the day, & the other guy would much prefer laying around outside in one of the great holes he has dug himself :laugh: But they get to run on the acreage when we take them for walks. If they were allowed to free range, they could be chasing livestock or wildlife while we were not around & we wouldn't know. Just last week, OH was walking them on his own & didn't notice my girl sneeking off following her nose. My heart dropped when he came home without her & she didn't respond to calls We went looking for her & out of the bushes came the most enormous & ugliest dingo cross that I have ever seen. Eventually she came home, but had obviously had a very bad experience with the dingo & was much distressed. I would never chain a dog up unsupervised. I remember the neighbour chaining his dog to a veranda post while he went out. We heard it screaming, but by the time we got there, it had hung itself. That image will stay with me for a long time. They can even get their chain caught around a strong twig & go round & round till they eventually run out of chain & choke. Remember that invisible fences only keep your dog in (maybe) they don't keep other dogs out. Around our back yard we have dog wire & it is topped by an electric fence wire.

I think it's quite true that the majority of dogs don't like being patted on the head. Most dogs will tolerate it, but would prefer to be given a scratch under the chin or ear or a rub along their neck or chest. I think a dog seeing a hand coming straight for the top of it's head could see it as a reprimand, especially with some rescue dogs who have had bad experiences. They are teaching kids in schools about this. The other thing you hear is that dogs don't like to be cuddled. I cuddle my guys but I certainly wouldn't cuddle a dog I didn't know. My girl just loves me to cuddle...she can't get enough, but the young guy just tolerates it because he knows it makes his mum happy :laugh: