Agility Dogs

This. ETA - noone can get into my yard unless I let them in through the house. IMO it's my responsibility to look after my dog.

Sorry I'm a newby, I'm not completely sure what that is? I've done sort of luring with food in circles on both sides but I'm not sure she actually understands what I'm trying to teach her as she's soo focussed on the food! Hey, Circle work is (basically to begin with) a fancy name for heel work that is done in a 10m (or so) circle. As the dog gets more and more proficient you can add complexity and do the work with her on tboth the inside and outside of the circle. Really though as others have said it is about building as much value for RHS as for LHS. Both CK and Xena have reasonable heelwork (for dogs that don't trial) and work similarly on both sides, but don't get confused. The number 1 rule is that they are not allowed to cross behind me. I think with the 2 x 2's what you are describiing suggests that the performance is not independent of you - if it was it wouldn't matter whether she was on your left and right. Give me a shout next time you are at training and we can have a look at it off to the side. Cheers T

On of the dogs in my boys line lived to just over 16 (Border Collie). She was the dog what convinced me to talk to CK's breeder. Ours are all a long way off that, but I am dreading the day.

This. My boy is very similar, in fact the behaviour you have described is him to a T. In some instances he works perfectly, but if he considers there is too much pressure on him I get NOTHING. This is a seriously quick dog who ends up walking around an agility course. ('too much pressure' could be a tight turn, a set of weavers beside a noisy dog, a woman in the next ring yelling at her dog, me dropping my shoulders for any reason.....the list goes on and on and on.) Our solution is to work really hard on keeping him in environments that are just below his stress threshold. I started with at do that wouldn't weave in our back yard, let alone in the ring. Now I have a dog that weaves intemittently in the ring (3 from 3 yesterday - woo hoo!!) and pushes the other dogs out of the way to get to the weavers in the back yard. I also like Vickie's idea of backing off on the training for a little while. Adding value to the games you are playing will definitely help in the long term.

I think every state CCC is different and every breeder is probably different in terms of transfers etc. What would concern me is that the breeder hasn't responded to the phone call and that the papers were apparently/allegedly sent. My girl's papers took quite a while to come through, but my breeder did keep in touch and hadn't claimed to have posted them. This seems to be between your friend and the breeder because there are too many variables.

This reminds me of something that happened when we were kids. My brother came inside sporting a set of teeth marks across his ribs. Brother: 'No, I didn't do anything to Shadow (the Dog - a BC too), he just bit me.' Mum: 'Are you sure you didn't do anything to make him do that?' Brother: 'Yes, he just bit me.' Mum: 'OK, then the dog is going to have to be put to sleep.' Brother 'Well, maybe I fell (6ft) off the slippery slip onto him and woke him up......' Kids and dogs - it was an accident.

Agree, but after working with Linda Orton-Hill for a week I have to say it is too restrictive for most people who work full time. We had to significantly change some elements to get them to work for us.

Sadly, this is true. You can take elements of it and use them to your advantage, but it would be VERY hard to implement without quite a bit of time. I think this goes for most training that avoids physical correction though. It is easier and quicker to train a dog with no real history of learning using aversives initially and this is what most dog owners want. (OMG, this person came over and within an hour my dog was a different animal.) Much as I don't like them (or any collar that is used to actively correct behaviour) and wouldn't personally use them I can see benefits in the availability and qulaified use of them. I'd rather see a dog controlled with a prong collar than out of control and fed a continuous flow of treats from a trainer with limited ability to change their behaviour.

Try the Agility Dog Club of Queensland. We train on a Sunday afternoon and welcome pups from 16 weeks into the basic class. Basic is on Wednesday night. Once you finish that you can move to Sunday. Check out ADCQ.com.au for more info.

I think some breeds just cope with repetition better than others. All breeds benefit from training like this though.

We also had a pretty good day out yesterday. Both dogs did some fantastic stuff and I did some terrible stuff..... In the end though CK won JDX and got his title - off to play with his sister in Masters now. Xena got her first ADO card and came second. Shame she broke her stay and realised I was a bit unhappy about it or she probably would have been the goods. (Let's not talk about the rubbish dog walk being more of a problem!!) This is their two best runs for the day.

Well done - AWESOME!!

Usually I get my orders in about a fortnight from memory. A couple of times they have been held up in customs which takes a little longer though.

Is it possible that you want this (training success) so badly that she is picking up on your disappointment when things don't go exactly to plan and what you are seeing is a reaction to stress? I know I'm like this with my boy and was talking with one of the students in our class who is doing the same thing with her young girl. My boy shuts down, her girl does zoomies when they feel too much pressure. Without seeing you working your dog I don't know, but it is something worth considering.

My dogs go to Rowan at Animal Options. Toni Lynch is another who practices in a similar style that some friends use. She has a practice on the Sunshine Coast (Malaney??) which is a bit closer. That'd be Maleny. Strange i didn't even now she was in my area. Most of my friends see her at Manly (as in near Brisbane), but one of them goes up to the Sunshine Coast when she has time.

My dogs go to Rowan at Animal Options. Toni Lynch is another who practices in a similar style that some friends use. She has a practice on the Sunshine Coast (Malaney??) which is a bit closer.

I don't know anyone at Cleveland Obedience Club (don't know of Cleveland Obedience Club), but have been to Redlands Dog Obedience Club quite a few times for other sports. They are a bit old school for how I like to train, but that said I've seen some great dogs come from there. The classes are pretty formal and consist of a lot of heel work and stays from what I have seen. You could do a lot worse IMO. Do they 'just' want to train a pet dog or are they interested in competing? If it is the former there are probably another couple of options worth considering.

Having a dog that doesn't have a high value for other dogs or having a dog you don't let play with every dog it comes across is not the same as having a dog that is not well socialised. Socialisation is about far more than letting your dog play with others. I personally see no benefit in having a dog that has a high value for others, but each to their own. I agree 100% I very rarely allow my dogs to socialise off lead with other dogs and really they hardly ever play with them when off lead anyway as one is usually scouting the area, another is running around flat out usually chasing a ball while the last one is trying desperately hard too keep up with the ball chaser! They will all play together at home so they aren't missing out, they just tend too like each other (and know the limitations as well) and me better ;) All three are very well socialised in the way I want them to be, I can take them anywhere and do anything with them, they will happily say hello on lead but I don't see off leash play with random dogs good or necessary for their socialisation when that dog decides it doens't like mine suddenly. I much prefer controlled on lead interactions, the ability to protect my dog quickly and easily, and have them find me more rewarding then something else.

She said on her last visit that she'd never do a sports dog before the age of 14 months. Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete by Chris Zinc Yep, that's what she was talking about. PF - was the last visit you are talking of the one in June? I didn't see her speak, but the feedback I got was that her preference was not to desex at all, but definitely prior to 14 months.

Interestingly when she was out earlier in the year Christine Zinc suggested that she would only ever desex a dog (or bitch) for a health issue directly related to their bits. Her reasoning was that they develop more completely when they are left entire, are generally healthier for the length of their life when left entire and contrary to popular opinion they are actually LESS aggressive when left entire. Our dogs will be left entire at least until they have physically matured in future. My experience is that desexing does not make animals fat - we have 3 desexed dogs at our place with about 4 ounces of fat between them. Just a matter of keeping a close eye on what they are fed. (They have PLENTY of energy BTW.)

I have 3 dogs and the answer is different for each of them. My older girl (5) doesn't care about other dogs and shows no interest in playing with them. She is friendly enough on greeting and tolerates a LOT from dogs - both known and unknown, but seems to have no desire to play with them. She is totally focussed on me if we are out and about. My younger girl (pup - 14 months) is obsessed with other dogs and will/does play until the cows come home or until the other dog is tired out (more likely). She will come away the first time she is called (usually - LOL) and start working immediately. If we are working she will not leave to go and play with another dog. My boy (now almost 5) is VERY wary of other dogs and will tell them off for getting in the way of his work or in his face if he doesn't know them. Especially when they do it for the second or third time without invitation. He plays with dogs he knows and trusts, but I don't trust him with dogs he doesn't know. The three of them play together in the back yard - although it it not wrestling type play, it is more chasing around after each other and after birds. None of them are allowed to play if we are at a dog sport event - this only occurs in a controlled environment away from competition.

A registered breeder is someone who is on anyone else's register of breeders. In the case of the Canine Control Councils that means that they adhere to the COE's and/or COP's that are in place. In my case I am registered as a breeder with the Brisbane City Council, but have no intention of breeding at this point. It is just a way to have more than 2 entire dogs on my property legally. (FTR, all my dogs are neutered, but I don't have to if I don't want to. My next dog probably won't be for some time.) Yes - all a matter of perception and in some cases potentially misleading if not deceptive practice, but they can be 'registered' none the less.

WELL DONE RUBY AND RORY!!

The other thing they need to understand is where the back end is. You can see dogs that understand how to transfer their weight and those who understand their end position, but not their body. I can REALLY see the difference between my puppy and my older 2 dogs. The little one has done rear end awareness exercises from day on - the other two started later in life. Teaming the two things is a great way to go!