wuffles

My dog just wears a plain Blackdog flat collar. And I usually wear trackies

IMO your issues sound completely normal for a Novice dog and handler and as long as you're not purposefully mucking things up I don't see why anyone should get grumpy with you! Not everyone has a huge backyard with their own agility equipment... I can't even fit a set of weave poles in my backyard. We're in Novice too, and trialling IS a form of training for us as we rarely run a full Novice course otherwise (we train with the more experienced triallers, so our weekly training sessions are generally short sequences and courses around Excellent level (which are still too hard for us). Although all the other triallers and judges have been really nice to us so far despite our newbishness :) So I'd just take the advice from the others on here - and if something goes wrong, apologise and try again next time.

Correction; until you have put something utterly disgusting in your pockets and then forgotten about it for a day or two A day or two? How about after it's been through the wash? :rofl: One of the good things about a cold winter is that treats don't go disgusting in your pockets. Even if you leave them there a few days (I'm talking cheese, cabanossi) they seem to just turn into hard little still-usable treats :laugh:

I have a forger too. I actually find that she forges a lot in training but not in trials (due to lower enthusiasm, yes I am trying to work on this). I have changed my signal slightly (hand still on hip but further back) and reward from further back as well. I don't let her constantly forge... in training she gets one reminder of where she's meant to be and if she continues with the forging she gets an NRM and we start over. I know that the forging is related to enthusiasm and my dog is very sensitive, so I am less harsh than others may be :) Good luck for your first trial! Have fun!

One of my dogs is super sensitive as well. In obedience training if someone across the field yells at their dog she stresses! Firstly I would try videoing yourself on a few courses and what you do when she does something wrong. It may be that your body language/tone of voice is much harsher than you realise. Even a drop of shoulders can affect dogs.. You could try some clicker training to build confidence, especially nose touches and spins which dogs seem to love. Some simple shaping could help as well, for example just putting a box in the middle of the room and letting her interact with it - nothing is wrong, she decides what happens :)

I guess because my dog isn't a natural retriever, and it took me so long to teach a retrieve, I'm just wondering if there is still a benefit for me to do that instead of the other exercises. There are already so many retrieval based exercises in UD... Then again, she doesn't bark so that's a bit difficult too, and she is food obsessed... hrmm. More options please? :laugh:

Does everyone here do the Directed Retrieve exercise in UD? What is the benefit of that exercise over Food Refusal or Speak on Command?

I'm not much help, I just walk in the dark :laugh:

My dogs do this to each other all the time but I generally don't let them play like that with other dogs. While I wouldn't be worried as such, when you have rough playing dogs you need to be extra vigilant and choose carefully which dogs you let them play with.

Great work TSD! Those damn last jumps have caused many a collective groan :laugh:

We have trials galore over the next month or two. Agility the next two weekends, then obedience/rally, then the Obedience State Titles in May. After that, providing we manage to get our title at some point, we might give obedience a break for a little while. Ava is only 2 years old and I don't want to burn her out. On the other hand maybe she will enjoy UD. Decisions decisions.

Thanks guys! She certainly is very special. In the morning trial it was a battle of wills and she didn't want to work with me at all. In the afternoon I would usually pull her out due to her morning performance but I went in and tried a few different engagement strategies which obviously worked. Need to do some serious work on both RATs and LATs though

Braggy braggy brag. We got our second Open obedience pass today with a score of 195. Woohoo! One more to go.

No they absolutely do not. Do you really think I'd buy from a breeder who did merle x merle matings when I'm against PTS puppies at birth "just in case"??? My dog's breeder is the most ethical breeder, in my eyes, that I have ever met. They think with both their head AND their heart which is EXACTLY the way it should be IMO. Only one person in this whole thread mentioned giving white boxers to rescue and not one person agreed. As far as I recall, no-one in this thread has posted about boxers personally known to have deafness and/or skin/cancer issues. I don't deny they are out there, but the whole thing just confirms that my opinion is not going to change.

If it makes any difference, the word "chrome" confused me at first because it doesn't mean white.

We had a very cool summer here, not sure about where you are, but my seasonal shedder is just slowing down in his shedding now. Other times it's been 2 weeks of crazy OMG so much fur but this year it was about 2 months of continuous tumbleweeds. Just a few floating around now. Edit: I also noticed some trees in our street turning orange VERY early this year.

There was a labrador in one of my obedience classes called "Dirt" :laugh: I also love random human names for dogs like a whippet at dog club called "Gary" :D

Wow. I'm not sure you've read anything I've said. Bowing out now.

I thought that whites could be limited registered with ANKC, but the breed clubs say white puppies must be euthanised. Can someone please confirm?

Try telling that to my wonderful mismarked dog who is a credit to her breeder. Edit: I can assure you that I am not a "tree hugging greenie" :laugh: Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't mean they have extreme views.

If people think it is ethical to PTS an animal at birth who MAY have health issues in the future (but may not), where does that stop? Just boxers? Other dogs with white pigment? Dogs who are carriers of genetic diseases? Breeds with a high percentage of HD? Breeds with a short life span? Brachycephalic breeds? Gosh, I'm not sure there would be many dogs left.

IMO Rally shouldn't be about "tricking" the handlers... the courses that are logical and flow nicely are the most fun.

:laugh: All too familiar. The one I can remember is when I went to do the grocery shopping and left OH in charge of the dog with a cut and bandaged foot. I came home to a wriggly, happy, bandageless dog. I found the bandage in dozens of pieces under the bed. "She was fast asleep so I put my headphones on and played my computer game!" :laugh:

Well said! I don't think that's what this thread was ever about, even though a few people have mentioned it... it was about euthanising WHITE puppies. Euthanising DEAF puppies would be a different topic.

Wuffles, Excess white in a border collie does not always precipitate deafness. It increases the risk of it happening and in some lines, it seems to occur more than others. I myself have produced half white face border collies from two solid colours. I BAER tested them at 6 weeks as I am lucky enough to live near the UNI who has the machine to do it. Siblings: Parents: The baby photo you posted, while hard to see does show facial pigment.It does take a lot longer for pigment to come through and what Steve says is true. Some freckles and other body pigment may not come in until they are an adult. I have a red.white boy here who did not get red freckles on his nose until he was nearly 2 1/2 years old, yet he has really good pigment elsewhere. Please also do not confuse white coat pigmentation with skin pigmentation as this is different. Using the same example, in simple terms the red/white border collie can be liver skin pigment (as often seen in the nose pigment) or black pigmented, yet still be a dark or light colour pigment in the body. Ultimately, it is the breeder's choice whether they wish to euthanise deaf puppies or risk placing that burden onto the community. We are really stuck between a catch 22 situation of "damned if we do" or "Damned if we don't". We get howled down for producing puppies with issues that may not have been forseen or helped, and we also get howled down if we decide to euthanise these puppies and be responsible for the animals we breed. My dog is an Australian Shepherd. I understand the colour genetics, I'm not sure what I've said that makes you think I don't. My comments haven't been about euthanising deaf puppies at all, I thought I'd made my thoughts pretty clear. Edit: In short (even though I've said this already), in boxers, BCs, Aussies, and a number of other breed, dogs with white ears MAY or MAY NOT be deaf. Therefore I don't agree with euthanising pups at birth if they MAY or MAY NOT be deaf. That is all I've been saying the whole time.