wuffles

I have a beautiful girl who is structurally sound, healthy from health tested parents, loving, friendly, and has just gained her first obedience title. She's also a very obvious mismark. I'd sure take my gorgeous mismark from an ethical, registered breeder over a perfectly coloured dog from a BYB. My girl has two white/merle spots on her back which appear smaller than when she was a pup, but they are still obvious. That being said, obviously you wouldn't buy a mismark hoping to show Edit: I don't think there's anything wrong with having your heart set on a certain colour, so if it matters that much to you I wouldn't buy the pup. Just make sure you don't sacrifice more important things (health testing, temperament of parents, ethical breeding, etc) for that white spot.

I have also found it useful for my busybody dog to spend time with older, well-adjusted and calm dogs who basically ignore her (and let her know when her behaviour is inappropriate).

RS, I feel for you. I am surprised Ava hasn't done it in the ring yet - she seems to go so randomly and in the middle of whatever she is doing no matter when she last went

Well done everyone, seems like it was a successful day today. Ava got her final CCD pass at the ACT Obedience Titles today with a score of 93. Her heeling was quite average (we had to wait quite a few hours until CCD so she was a bit flat) but she was a very good girl in the stays when the dog next to her broke and there were kids running up and down the edge of the ring. Onwards and upwards to Novice and I can get rid of the silly leash! YAY!

Anyone know how CCD and CD went today (entries, passes, winners, etc)? I will be there tomorrow.

I definitely think that shaping can be quite stressful for dogs, and "how good they are" at it really IMHO depends on their temperament, nerves etc. Not all dogs are naturally "good" at shaping. But I definitely believe that ALL dogs need to learn how to learn and it is always easier when you start the right way from puppyhood. Agree If I am good enough to click in tiny increments she does enjoy it more. It's probably more about me than her, as usual

I have done a lot of shaping with Ava since a puppy and she's not brilliant at it... she gets anxious and once that happens, she tends to just drop and stare at me. I do try to shape things where possible but often give her a tiny bit of help to get her started. She is much better than Satch (our rescue) though

Hey aussielover, are you interested in doing obedience trials with Mindy? Or perhaps DWD? Sounds like she would enjoy something like that! I really missed agility this week because it wasn't on. I think I missed it more than Ava did

I have a large, black, male dog and he is damn lucky that he got out of the pound even though he is a lovely dog ( to the pound volunteers and foster carers). When we walk down the street I get noticeable negative reactions from many people - may just be because he's big but I think being black contributes. In comparison, everyone smiles when they see my other dog who has a white face. I know a few other people with dogs with white faces and for some reason people seem to be drawn to them.

Another thing to consider is that herding dogs tend to mix best with other herding dogs. Many other breeds don't understand the herding style of play, and many herding breeds don't understand other types of play.

I feel for you as I am having a similar issue. One of my dogs has become leash reactive and the other feeds off him and becomes anxious. I am seeing a behaviourist this weekend so fingers crossed, and I will let you know the outcome :D

kyliegirl, my Satchmo is a very slow learner as well One thing about him though, and from your description it sounds like Echo is the same, is that he is NOT dumb... he is far from it... he just learns in a different way than we may be used to. We call Ava our Aussie "dog smart" because she is the typical working breed, eager to train, learns things quickly. But we call Satch "dog smart". He is all "dog" - he uses his instincts and does exactly what works for him. I have no doubt that if our two dogs were let loose in the wild, Ava would last maybe a day (oh hello big scary man with gun, play with me?) whereas Satch would revel in it! I find it difficult to teach Satch new things, but he has me wrapped around his paw... so if he butts in while I'm training Ava, he often gets treats for doing nothing or simply sitting, whereas Ava has to do tricks, precision heeling, etc It obviously works for him. At the dog park, he goes and does his own thing then wanders among the gathering humans, standing strategically next to their legs and shoving his head under their hand... he usually gets lengthy pats this way. Ava will run up to humans wriggling and wagging so she gets a lot of "awww, how cute" attention, but Satch is the master and gets prolonged, absent patting ;) Sorry, I know this post doesn't contain any advice as such, but hopefully you and Echo will find a happy medium where you enjoy the time you have together without too many expectations. I spend a lot more time with Ava as she is more my type of dog, whereas my OH loves his Satchy more than anything.

Wow, Mindy is pretty deprived today, huh? My poor dogs only got one walk. That said, they are fast asleep in their beds so they can't be too upset...

I'm not a showie but... you can give the Nobivac vaccination at 6 weeks and 10 weeks and they claim immunity from 10 weeks.

My Aussie girl was done at 11 months, before her first heat. Her breeder confirmed that her lines didn't usually come in before 12 months, so I wanted to wait as long as possible. If we'd had the facilities to care for a bitch on heat we would have left her until after her first season... but we didn't. If you have the facilities to keep her safe, you could always wait.

My Aussie is sweet and submissive and although she sometimes gets overwhelmed by other dogs, she has never displayed aggression. I would say that any dog has the potential to be dog aggressive really, for varying reasons. As others have said, I think you'll have to elaborate...

This is all pretty common behaviour from puppies and dogs A few things that I have done with my girl which may help you: 1. Joining a dog obedience club, which helps to teach the dog that they can be in close proximity to other dogs without having to 'play'. 2. Going to a place that is frequented by lots of on leash dogs BUT will allow you to sit/stand a distance away with your dog without other dogs actually approaching you. I used our local oval. I'd sit in the middle of the oval with my dog and do some simple training with her or just hang out... we would see dogs from a distance away (across the oval) and she would be rewarded for the tiniest displays of calmness... make sure you don't let the other dogs get too close too quickly :D

200 And good boy Mason! Onwards and upwards!

We are entered on the Sunday chasing the elusive third CCD pass We have a big day the day before (driving to Sydney and back) so I'm not sure Ava will be at her best but we'll see.

I am only trialling in CCD as well so far from an experience trialler. But I generally train 4 or 5 days a week, probably about 15 minutes each time. Our main issue is focus and duration so I do a lot of work on that. We are still chasing our final pass after two first places in our first two trials, then two not so brilliant (but not terrible) NQs in our next two. So I am still working out what is best for us. In our first trial we hadn't trained for a week as Ava had been sick - and she blitzed it. So I am trying to do no training for at least two days prior to the trial! I generally do a fair bit of heeling, either duration or turns and positions. I throw in one or two recalls and stand for exams (fairly reliable on these) and generally only do one sit and one down stay per session. I also do heaps of little bits and pieces - focusing on me at the start peg, straight fronts, really short heeling games, some dumbbell work. Unfortunately in two of our trials we have been first up which I have found hard to get into a warmup groove. My dog is still very young so I do not expect her to focus until just before we go into the ring. I set up very close to the ring. I do a few quick heeling steps with lots of quick rewards, then make sure she knows where her reward container is and do a few quick heels and run her back to the container a few times.

My dog is a ball stealer She will come immediately when called, but whether she'll bring the ball with her or just spit it out along the way is another matter. She's not badly behaved, just doesn't grasp the concept of this 'fetch' thing.

I have a jumper, and it can be a really difficult thing to stop I don't just let her go and jump on everyone though, I do try to stop her doing it.

Sure, I get annoyed by things people do at dog parks, but that's no different to anything in life. I do hate kids running around screaming (I just leave if that happens). I think that toys in dog parks are pretty much fair game (I bring toys but they ONLY come out if we're the only ones there, too much potential for conflict). Jumping up and barking don't bother me unless they're excessive - I always wear clothes I am prepared to get dirty to the dog park :p

If someone gets angry at me for removing their dog from a situation - so what? I protected my own dog, and that's what matters to me. I do not use any more force than is necessary - generally a push/guide and an 'OFF' will work. In fact, I did this just the other day as my girl was being bullied. The owner thought there was nothing wrong, but I saw that my girl was uncomfortable, and the other dog was behaving inappropriately IMO so I made him stop. I don't expect dogs to be perfect but I expect owners to take responsibility for their dog's actions. Not everyone is going to agree on what is appropriate so you just have to pick your own values and stick up for them (and your dog).

It probably isn't the right 'etiquette' but I will tell off or remove another person's dog if I believe that mine are in danger. I have done so on many occasion.