pipsqueak

If you're worried, phone your vet - it's what I would do, for my own peace of mind.

just a thought from a very "new" trainer, and someone who has never trialled. Is it possible to get someone else to reward her for staying whilst your out of sight? Might build good associations, that may transfer to the trial - oh, that judge or steward might just have something yummy for me, which I'll get if I stay put - might help build confidence, or may lessen her anxiety?

Thanks for all your replies, managed to get one from vebo pets

Yeah - hope you don't mind me asking how much it was, and if it was metal or plastic.

They're not listed on their website, but I'd contact Vebo Pets (www.vebopet.com.au) and see if they might be able to help you.

If you have large dogs, you might want to check with Virgin, as I think they have a maximum height on the crate - from memory, Qantas can take taller crates.

I know I could shape it with a clicker and food, but I kinda want to shape it with a toy instead. Because I'm still working on getting him to transition from play rewards to food rewards smoothly, and I'm too lazy to fade food rewards. Blah, tedious. I wanted to use the ball at the park where he's often too aroused to be particularly interested in food, but will happily work for a more active reward. Can I teach him to bring his ball back with toys, or should I just get off my butt and get the treats out of the fridge?

If your dog finds food more rewarding than play, then why not use food? (Apart from you seem to want to change the reward for your own reasons????) Reward is what the dog chooses...

I tend to ponder more when things don't work out - like when I was trying to teach Stormy to "shake" and ended up accidentally teaching her to put her paw on my knee instead :D No harm done (simply put it on command and tried something different), but did make me look at what I was doing and why I got that behaviour instead of the one I *thought* I was teaching. Perhaps because I have more mistakes than successes I ponder the mistakes more.

Just had a thought about the BlackDog treat bags whilst out walking the dogs. Black Dog will custom make/customise items for you for about $5-$10 from memory. Perhaps it might be worth speaking to them and seeing if there is any way they can add a "leg strap" to one of their treat bags?

www.doog.com.au

www.blackdog.net.au

See if you can get yourself a book called "Click to Calm" - sounds like some of the methods in there might help you.

How do you deal with students/training partners/friends that (in training)

a.) constantly put themselves down

b.) constantly put their dogs down

or c.) both

Why do you think they do it & how do you help them get over it?

The people thing I think is often related to either genuine low self esteem or a form of attention seeking.

The dog thing I just don't get at all.

I know a few people who do both. Every now & then they forget themselves & forget that "they have a crap dog" and things go brilliantly. i just wish I could video those moments to show them how it could be all the time...if they just modified their attitude.

I tend to put myself down, and yes sometimes the dog as well, but I think it is because I've had so many instructors make me feel like I don't know anything. I am by no means an experienced trainer, but I believe that having lived with my dogs that I can probably read them better than an instructor who sees them maybe once a week. I've had a very experienced instructor tell me that my first dog was scared/nervous of the situation because she happened to carry her ears back. I know from long experience with her that she is extremely lazy, so will listen to you with her ear back when heeling instead of looking at you.

I've also had trainers discard my opinion and insist that "that dog MUST be on a check chain/halti/whatever" without considering what I as the owner and trainer might be comfortable with. For these particular dogs in question, I had researched check chains/haltis/etc and had made a decision on what *I* wanted to use at that point in time. Then, I was abused by another instruction when I did make the decision to put one of my dogs on a check chain (which was used short term as a tool and he is now on a flat collar) - said that the dog didn't need to be on a check chain and I needed to learn how to manage and relate to him... pretty hard when I couldn't get any type of control in class - I was getting frustrated and dog wasn't learning anything. It also pretty much shatters your confidence to be constantly told that you are wrong and don't know anything. I am happy for instructors to *suggest* tools which might be effective, but allow me to make the final decision. I have the utmost respect for one of my first instructors when I turned up with my big, bouncy sighthound on a martingale - he said "you might want to consider putting her on a check chain at some stage, but let's see how she goes with what you've got" - didn't try to railroad me into anything, happy to work with what was my preference at the time (he did not know that at that stage I was extremely anti-check chains). Same dog is still on a martingale for safety because of her small head compared to her neck, but I also know that she will quite happily work on a flat collar in a safe area.

Sounds like I'm a smart-ass, know-it-all, doesn't it. I really am not - I am more than happy learn and take on board someone else's opinions, as long as they respect mine as well. I think that it is that a lot of instructors (not all) assume that they know everything, or at least more than their students - which isn't always the case.

That is such an excellent book. I wish all dog owners were given a copy when they got their dog - be it from breeder, shelter, etc.

Well... any news???

knock out competitions where the slowest to perform a given comand are knocked out are fun, as is dividing a group into two teams and having a competition to see who can go through an exercise and have all dogs in the team lined up in sit/heel the fastest.

we had one game where you have two teams, and you have to get your dogs attention and try to make them wag their tales but you are only allowed to say a word that is a fruit or a vegetable (depending on if you are in the fruit or vegetable team) when the instructor yells sit or drop you get your dogs to perform the command and the slowest is eliminated - giant dogs get two chances :rolleyes:

Sam, our instructor lined up a bunch of games for us with toys and raw hide prizes - have to say all of us went home grinning ear to ear it was so much fun!

As an owner of a well mannered, but slow large dog, can I just say I hate, hate, hate "knock out" games. We're usually the first out, every time and left to watch all the border collies and poodles show off. All it means for me is that the best dogs get better, and the dogs that are the slow ones and need the most work don't get the chance to get the extra work. It is not at all motivating for me as an owner to stand around and do nothing - and quite often I have gone home and felt quite demoralised.

Composing a email, warning them of the implications of promoting designer mutts, if thats what this dog possibly is. I hope I'm wrong and its just some breed I don't know!

It could possibly be a lagotto - how about you check with the owner first as to what the dog is before abusing her? For all you know, she might have gotten it as a rescue/pound dog.

Is that DOL's Ripley's whippet that made the list?

Well, looks like I missed out because I was doing the right thing and not posting a photo of my two mutts So far he has chosen two dogs of "breeds" not on his list... a West Highland Terrier (I think) and something that looks like a either a lagotto or a poodle x

http://www.airdogs.com.au/agility/home.php?cat=249

for leads, www.k9pro.com.au

I'm going to sound like a hard hearted b!tch, and it may well get me banned or a warning. You are a professional trainer - try thinking of what you would tell an owner who came to you with the same problems. I think once you have exhausted all treatment avenues (and make sure you have), wouldn't you be advising them that the kindest thing that a responsible pet owner could do would be PTS? I think it is irresponsible to keep an animal alive that appears to be in so much pain.

I say this with the utmost kindest and caring. I know how hard it is to make the decision. And, I also know the regret of putting off the decision for too long and have the animal live in pain because of my own selfish needs.

ANKC recognised competitive lure coursing. If I didn't have to work for a living I'd try and make it happen myself.

I cannot believe that other breed groups can organise to get earthdog, herding, gun dog tests etc recognised yet a sport that is huge in Europe and North America is not ANKC recognised here. Even Schutzhund is recovering but sighthounds are still stuck with nothing unless they live in QLD. And even that is not officially recognised. I need someone to leave me silly amounts of money so that I can do it :D

OOh, I'd be interested in this. What do you think it would take to get it u p& running??

french ring would be nice

can you explain what this is???

What I don't understand is why the dogs aren't trying to eat the food before the thing flips???

disc dogs & dock diving

Assistance Dogs Australia also run a similar program...

http://www.assistancedogs.org.au/news.php?newsid=17

I've trained a rat to ring a bell.