Agility Dogs

Jess' post got me thinking a lot about this question and I've come to the conclusion that it is about getting the dog as fit as you can regardless of whether they are a performance dog or not. (By fit I mean physically sound, not necessarily strength or endurance fitness.) Then, once you are at the end of that road you need to make a decision about what you can and can't do with your dog. eg: Maybe a pet dog can or can't walk up stairs, is or isn't allowed to swim or performance dog can or can't compete.

I agree. We use homeopathic options where ever possible, titre test in preference to vaccinating every year, but all 3 dogs are treated for parasites religiously as recommended by the manufacturers of the product (and our vets). Tick treatment is now year round after a significant number of ticks 'out of season' last year (two on our dogs - both dead and many more seen by our vets), although we do drop the spot on and keep the collar for the winter months. In general though I think that we do over medicate dogs - in many cases I've seen dogs medicated because the treating vet didn't really know what the cause was or didn't know how to find the cause. Anti-biotics, cortisone and NSAID's are the drugs I think are most over used. FTR - I don't have any qualifications, but I do trust the vets that I go to and I have seen them achieve amazing results when others just wanted to medicate to mask the problem.

No, I can't guarantee that any one of my dogs wouldn't react if they were startled, but I TOTALLY accept that as a dog owner it is my responsiblity to protect others from my dogs. I also accept that they are not and will never be as important as human beings. THEY ARE DOGS. They are a very important part of my life and our life to a large extent revolves around them, but THEY ARE DOGS. If someone brings their children to my place and either the dogs or the children won't cope - guess what, the dogs are locked in the back yard, not the kids. If my dogs bite a child then I take it on board that they should not have done or that I should have been looking/watching more closely. YES, responsibility is one sided. I have exercised by right to have a dog, but in doing so I need to accept that I have responsibilities. While I might not like what others do to or around my dogs I can (and do) whinge all I like, but ultimately at the end of the day I have to be the one who keeps my dogs safe from others and others safe from them.

I think I just fell in love with you for this comment. I was gonna write that raz but decided I would probably get flamed for it.. Incredibly insensitive to someone who has a child that needs to be kept under lock and key 24/7. Don't get me wrong, I think the person responsible for the child in the OP's post was totally wrong and should have handled the situation differently. However, some of the comments like this one could be very hurtful to people who do their best in very difficult situations.

I agree, it is incredibly hard and I'm fortunate that I only see it from the relatively safe distance of an Uncle. What I find absolutely amazing in all of this is that it appears quite OK for this forum to diagnose a child as autistic from the scant details in the intial post and then judge the parent/carer accordingly. On the other hand if anyone dares to make a suggestion about animal behaviour without the benefit of a behavioural consult it seems that the sky is about to fall. I think a lot of members on this forum need a good dose of perspective, reality and compassion for people - they are not all bad. I can understand the OP's perspective and would have felt similarly, but I think some of the comments in this thread show a complete lack of understanding.

Not if you separate them. Lol, i think first things....just got the puppy today, toileting on cue and playing with me. Now I know why my dog won't play with me and still pees in the house at 2 years of age. You are right - I just assume that stuff 'happens'. I know it doesn't.

This is where Xena and I are at too. I am being guided by a very good rehab vet and will take her advice as to whether or not we continue once things are healed. We have retired Xena from Frisbee regardless - this is her first and greatest love, but it is just not worth the risk.

Good luck. Hope Den is OK. :) T

Hmmmmmmm...........OT, sorry, but I think you've just identified a hole in my training. I really wish I was better at record keeping for exactly this reason.

Is it harder to control this though, when there is more than one dog? Not really. My pup wasn't allowed to interact with the others unsupervised until we had this sort of relationship. She will now come no matter what she is doing with the other dogs. We have other issues - but this one we got right!

I agree with what the others have said - especialy Keplie-chick. Instructors are more than willing to help, you just have to ask. The holes the others have mentioned aside, the other thing that would be worth checking in on is that you have a very toy driven dog. I've seen some really good dogs try this method, but without sufficient toy drive I think there are better ways to go about it. (3 pole for example).

Brilliant - GREAT WORK. So good to see a plan come together! T

That is one well trained owner! 'I'll call you and if you don't come I'll call you again or else!! I'll call you again.

Hahaha :) Don't get AmStaffies if... 1. You don't like when dogs lick 2. Definitely don't like farting/burping 3. You want to play/practice any sport that involves a ball (I was just shooting netball in my front yard and Harley was very helpful... If trying to pop my ball is helpful! Lol 4. You want to keep your house clean and leave things around, Bella likes to steal everything! 5. You don't like short spikey hairs in everything you own 6. If you like using the hose without watching dog acrobatics 7. If you don't want dogs that think you are part of the chair 8. Don't like being given consistent attention/affection/love 9. Are a worry wart! Lol recently there have been dog thefts in my area so I am paranoid about everyone at the moment! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I love to burp and fart (not necessarily in that order). Maybe I need to change my breed of choice?

I would like to add: Don't get a Border Collie unless you know how to train a dog. They are easy to train but you need to get it right first go and be able to be consistant with your body language. For a novice dog owner to start with a Border is like someone learning to drive in a Ferrari.Most importantly don't get a Border unless you have a high IQ or the dog will outsmart you at every turn. Border Collies are experts at training their owners if they get half a chance. They are the best breed in the world if you know what you are doing and a complete disaster if you don't. GOLD. I was very lucky not to put my black and white Ferrari into a wall or around a telegraph pole while I still had my L plates on. Totally agree - unless the owner is TOTALLY OCD, has a very open mind and is committed to learning in a big hurry.

Don't get a Border Collie if you want a dog that........ - Doesn't shed. - Always loves all other dogs. - Is happy being ignored - for any period. - Is not going to push you to play endlessly. - Is easy to train for specific behaviours. I think it is a myth that BC's are easy to train. They are undoubtedly VERY willing workers and that makes them fun to train, but they anticipate and can be quite stubborn. Once they learn the wrong thing it is quite hard to unteach it. - Is not going to need a LOT of socialisation. - Is not going to find its own job if you don't have time to give it one. - Is not going to potentially chase anything that moves. - Is not going to be happy on its own for extended periods. - Is happy going for one short walk around the block a couple of times a week. These don't all apply to every BC, but I've observed them all in one or other of my dogs.

I just don't understand why anyone would film and edit something like this. A little creepy to me. So sad for the dog.

GREAT WORK!! Sometimes you have to take what seems like a step back to go forward. :) (We are doing a LOT of foundation work on the flat with the dogs at the moment - even though they are all titled and running reasonably.) Just on the bold sentence above - be careful about putting cues on something that is not a complete behaviour. I sometimes wonder that if we put a cue on something before it is proofed (like 12 weave poles) whether we muddy the cue. eg: Weave means go and do 2 poles, or just get the entry or do 4 poles and then look for a reward or whatever else the dog might be up to. If you don't put the cue 'weave' onto it until they are reliably doing 12 poles there is nothing to muddy. I teach 'poles' first and then move to weave once they are reliable.

We have 2 no go areas. The first is on our bed - only because we don't want the white bed covers dirty. The other is the rooms that the cats get fed in - otherwise they race straight in and steal the cat food!

A couple of suggestions..... 1. First of all I'd be moving the weave poles all around your yard and asking her to do them with you standing in all manner of positions. From what you are staying you are going to have the same problem when you try it in a more challenging environment if doing in a different direction in your back yard causes issues. 2. You need to make sure that you are giving her some success in the process. My rule of thumb is to work the 'good' side either side of the weaker side - that way they get plenty of success for each potential failure. Ultimately you want her working the same way no matter which direction they are heading or where you are standing. Hop that helps!

Never ever gunna let me live that down are you!!!!! Oh and my grand plan was to go to the pub!!! Nope - the one thing I have one you! Now that you mention the pub - hmmmmmm.....maybe I was a little hasty - they could have locked the car doors!

And hope we dont have to stand in a thunderstorm trying to stop the gazebo from flying away!!!!! See, there is a reason we don't play flyball any more. Or get stuck on the side of the road with a flat tyre and have to rely on the charity of new found friends........... Oh - if you do, don't suggest leaving the girls their to wait while they guys go and get the tyre fixed. ;)

Bummer- know how this one feels, but for a different reason. My boy is the biggest sook in the world if he is allowed to get away with it. At one point when we were tugging a slug (like a snail without a shell) got caught on the coat on one of his legs. Clearly it was the tug's fault - it took 3 months before he would play again. :laugh: Seriously though - the only way we could work through it was to take about 15 steps back and treat him like a puppy again, ignoring what he did know and going right back to the very basics. Once his mind came good the improvement was rapid, but we had to work through that to begin with. Sounds like you need to go back and build value for a reward again, before trying to get him to play on equipment. Once you have something you can reward with then move back to equipment. :) Good luck!

Sadly, many don't. Ignorance of the finer points of dog body language is pretty common, even among dog owners. This, coupled with lack of supervision, is how kids get bitten by their own family's dogs. Example: A dog wagging its tail is 'happy' and 'friendly'. "He's never done that before" is frequent comment from dog owners whose dogs react aggressively to something. They're often right but they miss all the warning signs that their dog is radiating about not being happy. I guess you are right. I just find it so frustrating. I have quite a reactive boy who has zero tolerance of rudeness, but who is also VERY subtle in the cues he gives that he is unhappy. Most people have NO idea that he is not just a big cuddly teddy bear who is oh so placid. As Crisovar said - there was a first time, but since that time I've made it my job to work with him so that he is more tolerant and to understand what I'm looking at and do my level best to ensure that nothing happens to either my dog or anyone/dog he is unhappy with. (FTR - he has never shown HA tendancies, but I'm not about to take the risk and give him that opportunity.)