wuffles

Isn't it always the handler? Lost 10 points in heelwork - it was super windy so I think we were both having a bit of trouble focusing. Wasn't paying attention so when I gave her the stand command she stood for a second then looked at me and sat (twice!)... never done that before I also lost her out in front in fast pace (lesson: need to proof fast pace while running towards friends outside of the ring) so had to call her back into position. Positives were that the Figure of 8 was perfect, concentration in slow pace was nice and turns were tighter than last time! 3 points gone in recall for running into me then sitting crooked. That one's definitely my fault as it was a longer recall than we have ever practised, although she did a perfect finish so all forgiven. I think the other point was in the SFE but I have no idea why as she didn't move a muscle. Was no doubt something I did Full marks for COP where I got lots of compliments on her fold back down... unfortunately I can't take credit for that as she does it naturally. She was at the vet last night because she managed to get something in her eye so she was a little sore still this morning - winked at me during the stays but didn't seem too bothered! I am learning sooooooooo much each and every trial. She is an awesome first trialling dog

Ava got another Novice pass this morning with 186 and 2nd place. I have plenty of excuses for the points we lost so am relatively happy with the score Want to aim for 190+ for our next one though, which isn't until late August.

I have a 19 month old who can work very nicely around all kinds of distractions including other dogs running and playing (I won't say faultlessly as she's not a robot). She was run with my other dog from 14 weeks old and has gone to dog parks since she was young. I agree that it's about what suits the particular owner and what they expect from their dog (it also depends on the dog's temperament) but seeing as there is a big push for neutralisation I thought I'd put in my experience from someone who's done it differently and still come out with a well-rounded dog.

I think it depends on the dog and the owner but generally no. I didn't neutralise my girl yet she is extremely focused on me. I exposed her to lots and lots and lots of other dogs in different environments... friends' houses, puppy school, dog parks, local dog groups, dog club, plus she has my older dog. She adores other dogs and loves to play but I do not have issues with her running off to play or being distracted during training classes. I can be very confident in her reactions because we rarely encounter a situation that is 'new' anymore.

Mostly on weekends yep... sometimes I leave work early so I can get some time in from 4:30 'til 5. OH walked Satch this morning so I did oval training - the light started appearing from about 6:30 so I had half an hour to train :D Not that there are any distractions in the freezing cold and dark, so weekends are better for that. Sometimes I do active training on the oval so I expect complete focus, sometimes I just stroll around the perimeter so I expect her to be within a reasonable radius and checking in regularly, sometimes I go sit on the cricket pitch where she should lie beside me calmly. I reward highly when she chooses to pay attention to me of her own accord in addition to when I ask her to.

KTB, perhaps some off leash (or long line) training in different environments might help? He may have an association that being off leash at dog club means it's time for playing/socialising? You've probably also seen me shovelling treats into Ava to keep her focus on me During agility I go through a full container of treats... I'd say about 50% of them are for doing the obstacles and the other 50% are just for keeping her attention on me. She will pay attention without them, but I guess it is a way I get her to ignore other dogs quite effectively. I have to catch her attention and reward her BEFORE she gets to a point where she loses it (eg. if Elbie comes to visit she desperately wants to go play with him, but I try get a focus command and treat in BEFORE he arrives or at least before she gets the manic "must play with Elbie" look in her eyes)! I still do a lot of work at the local oval off leash with kids kicking balls, flocks of birds, other dogs chasing balls, kites and all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff that pops up in public places... the second she takes her eyes off a big distraction she gets rewarded (reward depends on the size of the distraction - ignoring a person walking on the other side of the field might just get a smile and "good girl" whereas ignoring a flock of galahs that have landed 5m away may get a whole container of treats). Bit of a ramble, but I hope it makes sense!

Most people would probably recommend 2x2 but realistically I think that any method is fine. We use a channel and when you start moving the poles closer together the dog actually does have to do the weaving motion rather than just running through.

I would argue that a bunch of pedigree dog owners spending a weekend with other pedigree dog owners on a dog club ground (in other words, an obedience trial) doesn't exactly do much to promote pure bred dogs.

But if people with oodles want to train their dogs and compete with their dogs, I think that should be encouraged rather than disallowed

Just a quick update from me, all my training from the list above has been going great! Haven't managed to get out to train (weather is feral) but the lounge room is fine for teaching positioning. I have actually found that taking the time to do lounge room training has not only really strengthened the dog's understanding of the exercises, it's forced me to think about what I'm doing and fix some of the niggly issues I've been having. We managed to build a nice "come to heel" from any position and this also means we are finally doing straight flip finishes, woohoo! I have also always been stumped on side steps but she will do that too now, so I am super happy :D :D Not sure how our next trial will go as I need to find some time to go out and work on some duration heeling but I will be very happy if her positioning accuracy carries across on the day.

All the kool kids are doing hoverdrops.

I picked up a ball and threw it in the bin at a dog park once. I asked if it belonged to anyone, got no answer, so into the bin it went. I got some horrible looks but at least it stopped my dogs and others in the dog park being picked on by a particular resource guarder just for WALKING PAST THE BALL. The owners thought it was funny, btw. I do go to dog parks btw, I'm just pretty selective about the other dogs that are in there. (And PF, my boy acts VERY differently in dog parks now that he has a 'little sister'.)

I am just saying that people need to exercise their own judgement based on common sense. To me, it is common sense not to let your dog run up to unknown dogs in public, just as it is common sense to ask the current occupants of an area you are about to enter.

Define 'under effective control'? I can have control over my dog and still allow them to approach another dog. If I see that as acceptable behaviour and don't call it back, it's still under control. Likewise with humping. I have seen plenty of people who COULD stop their dogs if they wanted to, but they don't.

How about members of the public in public areas? There are no rules or laws about other dogs approaching others without asking, yet that's something we all get uppity about. There are no laws about one dog humping another, or a multitude of other behaviour we all find unacceptable. It's not about rules, it's about common sense.

I don't think either of you were right or wrong specifically. I don't know if the area you're talking about is an actual dog club, but at my club I would never enter one of the fenced areas without asking the other occupants first. In fact, I'd try to avoid using the same enclosure as someone else entirely... the only times I'd enter would be if I knew the other people in there or if there was no other room, and I would ask if it was ok if I trained my dog up the other end of the field. Somewhere like a school oval is different... that's a public area with a mixed use. I'm pretty easygoing when it comes to these kind of things. I might have a whinge to the hubby when I get home but get over it pretty quickly :p

Meg makes PJs Satchmo is good, depending on the day he is either an angel or a PITA

My guys have Meg's raincoats and they are great Just wanted to mention though, make sure you measure properly because you know Satchmo - he is 71cm from neck to base of tail Not sure how big Kenzie actually is but my little Aussie girl is 51cm.

Awesome work Inevitablue! Sounds like she is a smart little baby

The stays are in the same order as the running order, ie. the order you went in for the individual exercises.

No not dead dog, he rolls around on his back with paws flailing. The dog in the trial did the same and even manage to displace the stay marker and throw it up in the air

I am lucky that the obedience community around here is relatively small, so we get to know most of the dogs and learn which ones we would not do stays with. In saying that, I have not yet witnessed a serious incident. Make sure you train with other dogs that are not necessarily stable on their stays. We have a dog in our class at dog club who regularly rolls on his back gleefully in the stays so my girl is used to that... I was glad, because a dog at the trial last weekend did exactly that! This was in Novice and all the other dogs including the one next door stayed completely still... good dogs I do think I will have a little heart attack in out of sight stays, though.

Oh Ava will drop on a second command... but I am not allowed to do that as it won't help me in trials ;)

When is your next trial murve? My training goals for the next few weeks are... Be more mindful of my body language on heelwork positions. Need to stay still and stand upright to stop Little Miss Anticipation's hoverdrops Get a STRAIGHT finish. My fault as I haven't trained them much... can't afford to lose points for this in trials! Heel position basics Static heelwork positioning is nice in circles, but coming in from different angles she is lacking understanding. Not sure how I'm going to tackle this yet apart from doing more rear end awareness work and trying some of Kamal's exercises. Once I have this I want to make my LATs tighter Start training out of sight stays somewhere other than in the house... with one Novice pass already, Open is creeping up on us rather quickly... Now just to find the time to do all this (at least I can do most of them in the lounge room )

Hmmm... even the term "pet friendly" is apparently different to what I think of as friendly, though. I have just gone through the process of trying to book a place for a few days, and one real estate agent was most offended when I commented that I did not think that a property which didn't allow dogs inside at all, even crated, and had only wire stock fencing should be advertised as dog friendly. When I asked for a listing of other dog-friendly properties on their books only one of about 15 allowed dogs inside, and a lot of them where in built-up areas. Just what I'd want as a neighbor - a visiting dog barking overnight because it doesn't understand why it's outside! I do agree on that point... I always contact them to find out their conditions and fencing. Sure you have to look around, but we have stayed at heaps of places that have let the dogs inside (just counting them... probably around 8 different places now). Some have bent their rules to let our dogs be crated inside, or not in the bedrooms, or if we vacuum afterwards, etc