wuffles

Great videos

Really? I see it all the time especially at obedience. Lots of dogs that can complete commands but are still just going through the motions. Just to be clear I have nothing against trick training etc The ones I see lacking the relationship are the ones that go "roll over! roll over! ROLL OVER! *tug on leash* ROLLLL OVER!" and the dog MAY roll over ;)

Most dogs I see can't do "things" if the relationship isn't there anyway. Edit: I think trick training was the main thing that built a solid relationship with my dog.

I like that there is a variety of methods and tools for training your dog. It means that with research you can find a trainer that suits you and your dog, your training methodology/preference and if you wish to compete, the sport you are interested in. There are many ways to train every behaviour, even a simple sit. Yes, I do too, things are much more advanced than the choke chain days, but I have found many people like to argue with trainers a lot more than they used to about tools and methods, one recently came up with a trainer suggesting an Ecollar for this particular dog and the owner refused to consider one leaving the trainer to arrange something less effective when the Ecollar would have been the ultimate in what needed to be addressed. Just thinking back when I began, you didn't argue with the trainer, you shut up listended intently and did what you were told, I guess it's culture evolution also? So if you went to a trainer who said, "We are not using a prong, we are using a halti", would you shut up and do what you were told??? Agree with Kavik, there are methods I would not use on my dogs and that is my choice, I need both them and me to be comfortable with the methods. We have moved on from the "way back when" times.

Yes that is correct and I agree with you that the trialler etc is doing all the hard work. It has always been an aim of mine to include agility competitions etc, but whilst we may include other competitions in future years, I do not want to promise anything or give you false hopes. The pointscore in it's current format actually takes a fair amount of work to initally set up and then to maintain. I don't want to over commit ourselves to the point where we don't have the resources to properly administer it (and on a personal level, I still want to have a bit of a life outside of DOL ). I am doing a fair bit of work to the 2012 competition to improve the 'back-end coding' and to make our life easier on the administration side. If I think we will be able to manage another comp, I may test the waters next year. Thanks Troy, I can only imagine the work that goes into all this! I was going to mention something similar as I trial my girl in a few different disciplines however she is not able to be shown (mismark). I'd love to be able to compete in a point score individually in that regard

I took both my dogs to the chiro for the first time last year after starting agility with my youngest. I was originally just going to take her, but I figured my older boy may as well come along too. The chiro immediately said that my older boy was very sore in the back/hips (even though I had asked the vet about this and they said he was fine, just a bit stiff) and adjusted him and gave him a cartrophen shot. The next day he was like a different dog. I took him to the dog park and he ran around like a loon! Could have just been the shot but for $50 every few months it's worth it to see my dog happy.

My girl hates dogs with rude, bouncy greetings. She's only 2. Yesterday we were at the vet and an adolescent boxer came in, straining and bouncing. She growled at him from across the room. So... I kept her away from him. She obviously doesn't feel comfortable with it so I keep her away from dogs like that.

A flirt pole can be a good way to wear out some dogs

I don't know about kelpies in particular, but I do know a lot of working breeds that squeal when excited... ETA: In most it seems like frustration.. as you say, when they can't catch another dog or if you take another dog out without them, etc.

I didn't find puppy school all that interesting but I still found it useful. My girl wasn't shy but I used it as an opportunity for her to learn to work with me around other dogs, people, food, smells, etc. As long as you are proactive you can survive ;)

Favourites around here are definitely the songbird and the doggles. The 'Ralphie' tug is also a bit of a hit. And the British style slip lead is so pretty and soft

This may be a completely silly question, but has anyone found that pink paw pads need special treatment when training for the ET? My girl's paw pads are all pink and much softer than my boy's which are black, even though she is exercised on a bunch of different surfaces including concrete.

If all goes to plan I will hopefully doing the Canberra one with my Aussie girl

Mine arrived today It was shipped on the 22nd so everyone else's shouldn't be too far away. My dogs are fascinated with the song bird and keep stealing it from each other.

You have to attach it then also add it to the post

Always the way. I have broken things many times before obedience trials and they all seem to come good in the ring so good luck.

Was just looking at the running order for the trial on 7 Jan and there are quite a few familiar names in there What a great entry they have! Haven't had much time for training at all (been on holidays with dogs staying elsewhere) but I'm really looking forward to it.

This too From what I have seen around here, minimum scores in CCD and Novice generally do not transition well to Open trialling. Edit: Just to clarify, it does depend on the reason behind the scores, this obviously doesn't apply to every single handler/dog :D

It took me at least 6 months to clicker train a dumbbell retrieve on my girl. I used Shirley Chong's method loosely starting with giving it to her from my hands (there is no way she would have picked it up off the ground at first). I was very stuck on the hold and couldn't get her to hold the damn thing for more than a second before spitting it at me. It took us months to get past that, and in the end it was a simple trick from a DOLer that fixed it. It's about finding what works for the individual dog. My girl also prefers a wooden dumbbell to plastic. Then I had issues with her enjoyment of the exercise - picking up a dumbbell was NOT a rewarding experience for her. She hated picking it up. So I made it the most fun exercise ever. BIG BIG rewards. Her favourite things just for picking up the dumbbell - jackpots, food throwing, jumping around, allowing her to climb on me on the ground. Only 2-3 repetitions per session - it became our 'special' exercise. And now she just adores the dumbbell! Retrieving is still not her thing, but the dumbbell itself is very rewarding to her now. Her retrieves are quite nice

Mollylabb that video was hilarious! Hahaha! I love when she finds the songbird... so confused... I'm sure mine will be the same when ours arrives.

Maybe you could also try to identify what has been causing the arguments and remove them from those situations? For example if they've been over food, resting place, guarding, etc. My dogs are thankfully both non confrontational especially with smaller dogs (my big one is actually very dominant but would still rather avoid than fight back).

We use Pro Plan and have no issues. Both dogs are in lovely condition. Have tried other foods and the only one that gave better condition than Pro Plan was Blackhawk, but my girl developed some health issues so we had to change. I agree with Jumabaar about people just not going to the vet as often. I feel like I'm always at the vet with my girl who has no serious issues but the vet always tells me it's just because I am such an invested and interested owner. For example, people wouldn't have been poking and prodding their dogs to check for lumps (grass seeds or otherwise), if they had a cut paw they probably wouldn't go to the vet, etc.

I know it's different for everyone, but I have asthma and sinus issues, and OH has hayfever, and the dog fur does not bother either of us at all. We have two moderately shedding (more than an Amstaff) dogs who are inside when we are (and a carpeted house). I also say you need to go to the vet and have his feet checked out. They do not look normal at all, even for a 7 week old puppy who has been taken for a walk.

Awww, sweet girls RV ;) The strange thing is, Ava was a very destructive puppy but she is very gentle with anything inside the house which I guess includes her soft toys. Trees, plants, outdoor furniture, kennels etc. are fair game to her but her soft toys get treated like royalty

My girl is very gentle with her soft toys so hopefully ours should last. Sometimes I wish she would actually destroy them so I could throw some out The only time they get destuffed is if my two decide to play tug o war... we have one bunny toy that has had stuffing poking out for months and it's still in tact!!!