sheena

The same weekend as the Armidale trial...but I am tempted to give the trial a miss & come down to watch the show. Last year they had the agility on the last two days, which would have suited me just fine

Thanks...one of our local clubs is putting on a mock trial & that is one of the entries. Is Snazzy still competing???/...I have a lovely photo of him on my wall, but I guess he would be getting a fair age now

No, we leave him in the backyard with no road sight when we are not there. He would be on the patio and in the front garden only when we are home and under close watch to start with. He is very responsive to the verbal marker and very food motivated so if I see the other dogs on time it's all good. I also try to watch his body language and give the marker as soon as he start reacting but I can get distracted sometimes too and that's when I miss the signs. He seems to like it out there, and hopefully when the fence is up and all the garden hedge grown up he will fill more secured with no need to guard the place. This may be the problem ...you need to give the marker as soon as he starts to look & before he reacts. Otherwise you are marking the wrong thing. Did you have a read of that link I gave you on clicker training??? Sorry I just noticed that someone else has pointed this out. And saying the word "yes" is definitely not as good a marker as using a clicker or whistle. If you read those notes you would probably understand why. When you use a clicker you reward EVERY time you click, even if you click by mistake or at the wrong time. For "yes" to be just as effective as a marker, then you need to treat him every time you say "yes" otherwise it loses it's value as a marker....& that is impossible.

Thanks Minimax...I did google it but didn't come up with that info. So, it is a competition that is held not at official ANKC trials.....

I am entering a mock trial & one of the entries is "Auslink"....can someone please explain what this is all about

Don't worry...I found it. Agility is on 12th & 13th April, so I wont be able to go

Have a bit of a read of this PDF file attached to this article I did on Clicker Training for my club Introduction to Clicker Training. The clicker is sooooooooooo much better a marker than a word. Don't have your dog out the front till you think he is trained enough to be able to handle it. Pick a quite time of the day & wait till a dog comes in to view (a long way away) then play the game with him. Even set the scene with someone you know with a dog. But take it very very slowly (baby steps). But make sure he knows all about the clicker first so he understands it. Use it to teach him a few tricks & eventually looking at other dogs & looking back at you will just become another of his tricks. :) If you are making it too hard for him to succeed, then take him away from outside. Just remember....baby steps. Rome wasn't built in a day

I have had a look on the Sydney Royal Easter Show website at competitions & can't find when the dog agility is going to be on I found Obedience & Rally, but no mention of agility........Anyone

You could try the LAT (Look at That) Game but you need to start off in a much less distracting environment...one where your dog is guaranteed to be successful & then gradually build on it. Very successful for my dog & others on this forum. But first you need to get into Clicker Training with your dog. :) Here is the link to a previous thread on LAT Look At That Game

Love it :laugh: :laugh:

I have written a page on my website which you can access HERE It has recipes as well as simple ideas for treats. But my dogs work just as well for just their Black Hawk Kibble. :)

Thanks for those links, especially the one for the dogs that went to Vietnam. I have a special interest in the Vietnam War & it's veterans, mainly because my husband is a Vietnam Vet. I have read lots of books written by returned Australian soldiers in an endeavour to fully understand what went on & why lots of them are still struggling to get their lives together. One of the books I read was "Trackers" by Peter Haran & it is the story about some of those dogs mentioned on the plaque & Peters experience as one of the handlers. It is a very good read, if anyone is interested :) It is available from Amazon on Kindle.

My two very active border collies usually have a mad game together early in the morning doing zoomies around the track they have made in the garden. Then after breakfast we take them for a walk & they do agility training & some heel training etc. Then they have an off lead run & a swim in the dam. Then back up to the house for another swim in the pool. Followed by their bone (frozen turkey neck). Then for the rest of the day, they just sleep & lay around. Another walk before dark & a bit of fun/training in the lounge before bed after their dinner. We don't go to work (retired) but if we did, I think they would be fine, just lazing around till we got home. :)

Just wondering...if the bitch has some problem where she can't deliver pups at full term & need to have a caesar should that bitch be being used for breeding I guess it may be different if it is a rare breed or if ALL pups are sold on the limited register & never bred from.

A thousand dollars these days is nothing for a well bred pet from a registered breeder. But I certainly wouldn't pay anywhere near that for a cross bred or a rescue with unknown parentage/health/temperament etc.

My magical crates are where the dogs get put if there is a thunderstorm....certainly is magical :) The young fella also sleeps in his at night, but my girl has her own private bedroom next to mine :D

I put a page together all about treats if you are interested. You can find it on this link Treats It gives you many ideas for homemade treats & the different uses for them.

All my treats are about the size of a dried pea...if that gives you any idea. If it is large enough to break it up, then I will break it up :D You can always give multiple small treats for a job well done...This is sometimes called "silver service" & may be for something like a brilliant recall or something even less if your puppy is just learning a new behavior.

Give them to him frozen. It will take longer to eat, is harder to swallow & will also give his gums relief if he is teething.

I have been out of town for quite a while, so I apologise that I havn't read all the post. But to answer the OP's question...collar or harness, I say both have their place. As an owner of two BC's the youngest of which is not yet three, the ultimate aim is to be able to walk on a flat collar eventually, but in the meantime you will still want to take your dog for walks & if every walk becomes a training session for loose leash walking, then you wont get to go very far on your walks. I used a front attached harness for when I just wanted to go for a walk (& you can still train :) )They can't pull on a front attached harness as they just keep turning themselves back into you. I will still use one if I am in a highly excitable environment or when I am walking two dogs together, but since he chewed up his third harness, I now use a Freedom No Pull, attached at the back & he walks just fine. Just remember, if he is anything like my guy, then they can chew through a harness in seconds if you take your eyes off them

I got this one from Clean Run for my young BC guy. I had him in a Sensible front attached but he grew out of it & thought I would try the Freedom No Pull Harness You can attach it at the front & the back or just one or the other. Since getting it, he is quite happy walking in it with the lead attached at the back, because if he pulls, it tightens around his girth. It is strong & the part that goes around the girth/back of legs is made from a velvet type material. It is also a lot cheaper than the one you are looking at, even with postage, which CR are usually happy to negotiate with. :)

I have a friend with a Border Terrier & surprisingly it is NOT a barker. May I suggest you forget the idea of getting a dog, & get a carpet snake instead :)

Something like a Jack Russell I guess, but you wouldn't want to leave it in with your hens at night or it might kill them & also you would have to make sure it was not going to help himself to chook food etc.

Similar to Susan Garrett's reasoning for always teaching this sort of stuff on a winged jump - wingless jumps just make it too hard and put too much pressure on dogs back ends. (The jumps themselves don't but they do encourage dogs to tuck much tighter.) So do you think the pole would be better placed slightly out to the side as well as back & how would you fade the pole & still get the dog to square up ??

In this video from Clean Run, she is demonstrating how to train "push throughs" (backsides of jumps)....not sure if I missed something in the video, but wondering if anyone can explain to me why she has the extra pole leaning on the jump. I have my own ideas, as to it's purpose, but just wondering what others think, that have taught the "push through" :) ETA,,,never mind...I just read the "disclaimer"...I skipped through that before, as I thought it had to do with copyright :laugh: