wuffles

Another question from me... am I annoying anyone yet? We have a club assessment tonight and I will be doing a Novice run through with Ava. I am pretty sure that she has worked out from our CCD trials that she's not getting treats in that environment, so I was wondering if it would be useful for me to actually reward her for good work to keep her keen. I was thinking of a bit of a release and jackpot in the middle of heelwork (of course I will get the ok from the judge/assessor beforehand) and perhaps one other time if she is working well. What is your opinion? Edited to add: My club doesn't currently run mock trials so this is really the only opportunity I get to practice in a trial type environment without it being official Our first CCD trial really was our first time in anything similar to a ring :p

When it's raining, treat her like a puppy and take her out at regular intervals. Yes, that means you will both get wet Huge, huge praise when she goes! Also, if she doesn't already have one, teach her a toilet command. One of mine hates getting her little princess paws wet too, but she will reluctantly go when I give her the command.

One of mine gets very stressed but as long as he has a 'safe place' he's quite happy. Most of the time that safe place is under a computer desk but sometimes he'll curl up in the crate or between the lounge and the coffee table. I don't completely ignore him - I talk to him in an 'I know it's scary but it's nothing to worry about' way (for example a quick pat then going about my business as usual). My other dog couldn't care less about storms. At first we were worried she would copy our scaredy cat (as she's grown up with him since she was a pup) but she doesn't. She usually just goes and lies near him. I do think having her there is a comfort for him.

I could probably guess the clinic, they are notorious for it. Me too :p

One of my local vets routinely recommends and performs JPS surgery on certain breeds of puppy

Early mornings, mainly because it takes the edge off and they will be left alone while we're at work for the next 9 hours. I try to be out of the house by 6am and walk for 45 mins to an hour. At the moment it's just getting light by the time I get home! Edit: I also like mornings because there are less people and dogs out and about to annoy us :D

I think it depends on the dog. Our boy would hold that long easily but our girl probably wouldn't. Mine get left outside when it's raining. They have shelter but like yours, don't seem to use it much ;) Anyway, they always seem happy enough when I get home

My girl is an Aussie so she has a bit of a different 'look' about her than the BCs ;) They are both gorgeous! ;)

Don't want to hijack the thread but these are pics of my white faced girl at various ages - hope you don't mind Edit: And of course Mr Zee is gorgeous!!! Gotta love the whities! :D 6 weeks - pinkie! 12 weeks - spotty 5 months 14 months - you can just see the bits of black on the backs of her ears that have formed - lots of black skin but still mainly white fur on her ears

The pigment around my girl's eyes was pretty much fully developed at 4.5 months (will post a pic when I get home). However, she is now 18 months old and her black markings are still growing/changing, so you might have to wait a while yet!

Yep, that makes sense. Thanks! We did a bit of a runthrough on the weekend and her heeling was lovely but at one point she got the sniffies (found a treat on the ground) so I called her to me and she continued with nice work. I don't think I would pull out automatically for one lapse of concentration but if did it more than once I would. She didn't put a foot wrong in any other exercise.

Hello knowledgeable ones :D Just wondering what everyone does if their dog loses focus in the heelwork in a trial? This is at Novice level. I have heard some people/judges say that you should just continue and wait for your dog to catch up, but I'd prefer to give an extra command and get pinged on points. I'm talking about something like finding a really good smell half way through otherwise nice work, rather than being off with the pixies from the start. The rules say that it is a Minor deduction for 'occasional guidance or for the use of more than one command'. How many points are you likely to lose for an extra command, and which way would be the best to go about it (for example, will calling the dog's name lose more points than giving an extra 'heel' command)? We are of course aiming for this not to happen but her behaviour in the ring is very different to training so I need to be prepared

Great work TN! Those first passes feel great, don't they?

That's fair enough and I agree

So should I be ashamed if I admit that I haven't trained a really reliable recall with one of my dogs because it has been too difficult? I've put much, much, much more time into his recall than my other dog yet he's way less reliable than her. Edit: I'm not saying that training a great recall on him is impossible, it just takes too much work and management than I am prepared to put in. Even getting him to recall in the house is almost a full time job :p

I'm not sure I really understand the concept of 'not using breed as an excuse'. There are going to be dogs that are much more difficult to train than others, and I don't see the shame in admitting that. It would be silly of me to expect the same results with the same training between my two dogs, who have very, VERY different personalities. I'm not saying it should absolve people of responsibility, but saying a dog is x breed which has made it harder to train than y dog who is y breed makes sense to me.

My OH has been known to "dusta busta" the dog Stupid thing is he just stands there. I think he actually likes it Ava was fine with the vacuum until she got really curious one day and got her schnoz suctioned She is a lot more careful these days...

It's each for his own in this house when the vacuum comes out. Stuff the toys, my two are running for safety

The issue with desexing and dog sports isn't about losing drive... it is about letting them mature so that their bones and joints grow at the correct rate. There are some studies which say there is a higher risk of hip dysplasia and ligament ruptures in dogs desexed young. For what it's worth, Ava has not grown much at all since being desexed - her body shape has changed slightly, she lost puppy chub and became leaner and more muscular. Personality wise, she did calm down but that is most likely due to age rather than anything else. No difference in her enthusiasm for training either - if anything I would say it has improved (once again, due to an increased bond with me rather than desexing). dandy, it's about what YOU feel comfortable about Read up on all the pros/cons of desexing at different ages - there is a fair bit out there. Make a decision based on that then try not to feel guilty about it - we all try to do the best thing by our dogs and that's what ultimately matters most. Our attitude was that we did not have facilities to handle her in heat, but if she HAD come in earlier than expected, we would have dealt with it - either kenneling or crating.

Ava was desexed at 11 months. I would have waited longer but didn't have the facilities to keep her safe if she came into heat. Your breeder should know when her mum and her lines in general had their first seasons and she is likely to be similar.

Cardboard boxes, toilet rolls etc. With or without food inside! Sandpit or digging area

I have never had to guide my 'obedient' dog to do anything. She lives to please so does what she's told (except maybe go to the toilet in the rain :rolleyes:). I have placed my other dog in position because he doesn't have much of an interest in pats, praise, toys or food. As far as I can see, though, it hasn't made much of a difference as to whether he will actually respond to a command the next time - it makes me feel better because he's done what he's asked (albeit with help) but that's about it. Strangely enough, he's the easier dog to live with. He's laidback, independent, not very active, and is happy just to snooze the day away.

One of mine is obedient and one isn't. That means I can blame the dog, right?

My girl used to do this too, and I inadvertently made it worse by hovering around her when she had food. She swallowed a few whole chicken wings in the process :p Once I worked out that food swapping was making it worse, I took a slightly different approach with a similar theory. I started feeding her bones in her crate and at first didn't come anywhere near her. At least she couldn't run away in the crate, and was comfortable in there. Then I started sitting just in the same room while she ate. Over the course of a few weeks/months I gradually moved closer to the crate. When I could sit next to her in an open crate without her swallowing the food whole, I would get a handful of kibble, let her eat that out of my hand and go back to her bone. And eventually, I would get her to swap her bone for another piece of food. Now, I let her eat in peace 99% of the time and just do a food swap once in a while. If I get really close or ask her to 'give' she does eat faster, but at least she no longer swallows whole!

Putting my dog in position doesn't make him do it next time.