wuffles

I am not trialling yet but hopefully soon. I've stewarded at an obedience trial, and will do again... and I will probably do instructing as well. The only thing I worry about is time - I already feel guilty about not spending enough time with my own dogs (between full time work and other hobbies like sport) so that's something I need to work out.

Buuuuttt, if you didn't trust the occasional person, you would still have a naughty little mismarked girl causing havoc at your place, rather than in a home in Canberra working her little heart out in obedience... :D

Awww, how cute is Echo? Mine won't have a bar of carrots. "Ew mum, that's a VEGETABLE, you expect me to eat it?"

Can you keep the dog inside at night? Our neighbours told us that our dogs were barking during the day. I tried to clarify with them how much and under what circumstances but they didn't give that much information, so we filmed our backyard on random days over the course of a few weeks. It gave us a better idea of how much our dogs were barking and what they were barking at. Good luck though, I am now very paranoid about the dogs when we are not home

To add some more photos to the thread.... Here are my first three '52 weeks of Ava' shots... week01 by wufflesx, on Flickr week02 by wufflesx, on Flickr week03 by wufflesx, on Flickr

Week 3 - Moustache. week03 by wufflesx, on Flickr

Just out of interest, how would this be scored usually? I've never really thought about it

I agree, I couldn't care less what commands people use as long as they aren't repeated and am not really sure why anyone else would either. If I say heel and someone else says walk, it makes no difference. If I say heel and someone says tur, it makes no difference. I'm a newbie, but why would using a two word command give someone an advantage? I will worry about what my dog and I are doing in the ring, not what other people are doing

Although I haven't used her personally, I have heard lots of positive feedback about Heike Hahner in Braidwood. Good luck, I had to walk my dogs separately until they learned that it wasn't a race. When learning to walk together, I used a front-attach harness on the young one (who was the most troublesome). That way at least she got walked, and I spent individual time with her teaching her to walk properly. They still feed off each other's excitement a bit on walks, but are so much better than they used to be (and are both now on flat collars)

Ava isn't worried by it at all... I didn't have to do any desensitisation or anything, she just ignores bikes when they ride past on our walks (even though Satchmo hates them and cringes if they get too close). I have a hybrid bike so it's nice and upright and pretty comfy! The only problem will be finding suitable places to take her, I think... it is illegal to ride with a dog on roads or anywhere road rules apply :D

Mars and Ava had a big play at the dog club yesterday evening. They are totally in love with each other, sorry to all the other dogs Ava has met but I think Mars is definitely her boyfriend When did the other Canberrans want a play date? I was even thinking Australia Day, in the morning, if anyone is free. kyliegirl: I'm guessing you've already tried this, but reward reward reward any focus from Echo... the second he looks at you give him a treat or pat or whatever he likes as a reward... even if it goes look treat look treat look treat look treat over and over again. Or it might just be one look and one treat. Either way, EVERY time he looks at you during the day, reward him I did this with Ava and she is very focussed on me (but I will admit she is very food motivated so that made it easier).

Sorry, I should have been more specific I noticed it has padding, is that how it avoids chafing? Or does it stay in place better? Ah :D It stays in place really well, it doesn't move to the sides at all even with pulling or lagging. I think the padding does have something to do with it. Also, at least on my girl, it doesn't actually sit right under her armpits, which is a problem I've had with other harnesses and chafing. It sits back a centimetre or so. I'll take a video tonight if you're interested, I'll walk her around a bit so you can see how it fits.

Is the difference with this one with the padding? Difference between this one and what? It's quite uniquely shaped compared to other harnesses I've seen.

I asked this question a while back and got the suggestion of this one. My girl is only young so we have just started getting her used to the bike, but she jogs on this one regularly and we love it. It doesn't restrict her movement in any way, and it fits snugly and doesn't rub. The loop of the harness is attached to a handle-like structure which is quite long, so the dog can run ahead or behind without too much hassle, if that makes sense...

Yes we can do the exercises without talking or praising, even though I think that is a silly rule Yes, BDOC, obedience I am in the trialling class so we do a lot of proofing but it's a pretty different environment in a training class to an actual trial. Thanks for all the comments guys, they are helping me work out what we are good at and what we might need to work on some more.

I haven't done a full round without praise/reward but I have done lots of work on randomising and lengthening the time before reward especially in the heel pattern. Keeping her enthusiasm up is really important to me, she is a great little worker but being an Aussie she wants things to be FUN so I don't want to ruin her attitude by pushing her to go a long time without reward. I've already made the mistake of boring her a little with heelwork so have had to do lots of work to make it fun again! Our one club 'runthrough' was a bit of a disaster but I wasn't too worried as it was a strange night for various reasons. I have done heeling patterns individually with our instructor calling (who is also a judge) and they have gone very well. CleoJ, I will try come along to the Feb trial! :D (Hopefully this is helping other people as well, I did mean for the thread to be for the general good, not just me )

Yep I am already a member of DogsACT and have stewarded at a trial. But somehow I still don't really feel any more enlightened on the ins and outs of trialling

OMG cute doberdog overload :D ravenau1: Neither of mine really 'ask' to go out, I just take them out on a regular schedule. Our house is pretty small, and I am pretty aware of where the pups are most of the time, so I don't seem to miss them sitting at the door. As suggested you could also teach her to ring a bell! Niques: I am soooo glad that James is fine and good. I just took Ava for her first run beside the bike ;) She was a very good girl. Needless to say her foot is pretty much healed, I'm just going to avoid taking her on really rough ground for the rest of the week then she should be fine to go. Hrmmm... time for a playdate anyone? ;)

Thanks! I did do a search but obviously not for the right terms

My dogs definitely do this as well :D

I know there are a few people around here (including me) hoping to enter our first trial this year, whether that be in obedience, agility or another sport. There's a wealth of experience and knowledge on these forums so thought I'd put it out there -- any tips for the newbies? :D I'm interested in anything to do with preparation and lead up, what to do and what not to do on the day, etiquette, knowing when you're ready, what the consensus is on double trials, dealing with nerves, etc. Anything you're willing to share Thanks in advance!

My younger dog copies my older dog A LOT. I haven't noticed her copying any other dogs though. The older dog was shaking his head for a day or two due to an itchy ear. I took them on a walk together. He stopped and shook his head. She stopped, looked at him, and shook her head. Twice on the same walk. The younger one wees when the older one wees. It's quite amusing because he cocks his leg on everything, she looks at him and squats in the middle of whatever she's doing at the time. She watches him like a hawk for his reactions to other dogs, and just does what he does. If he gets excited, she gets excited. If he ignores the other dog, she will ignore the other dog. People at the dog park have commented about her 'copycat' behaviour. He will play with another dog, then once he's bored, he will walk off. Ava will go to the same dog and engage play, doing the exact same things as Satch had just done, even if it's not in her usual play style at all. This is one of the reasons I walk and train them separately as much as possible There are a few habits of his that we do NOT want her picking up on!! Edit: Just thought of yet another one. If he eats grass, she eats grass. He only does it occasionally and she ONLY does it after she's seen him doing it.

I think it's really hard to find the right balance between a biddable, highly trainable dog and one that is very high maintenance. Once you've narrowed it down to a few breeds, IMO, it starts boiling down to individual personalities. How many Aussies have you met? Sometimes it helps to get out and about and see a range of individual dogs so that you can get an idea what both ends of the spectrum are like We have two Tollers in our street. One is laidback but independent. The other is very drivey and high energy.

Hey, Hoover's ears are up again :D

Collie Rough? From what I've read and seen, they are one of the easier to live with herding breeds. Flat Coated Retriever? Toller? Lagotto?