Agility Dogs

I used to have pet insurance, but have decided against continuing it. Instead of paying premiums I'm putting the $$$ (plus a little bit)away in an account. With 3 dogs at $50 per month each we are pretty quickly building up a fighting fund. I know it is a risk, but it's one that I'm happy to take. Just another point of view and obviously not for everyone as others have said.

This is in addition to what DC said, as I've had to fix both problems. Another issue I found with my dogs is that as their rear end awareness improved so did their ability on contacts. ie: Because they know where their bum is they are able to manage their body more effectively. My pup (now 14 months) has done a lot of work on this stuff since she came to live with us at 3 months and now has better contacts that the other two (advanced level dogs) by a mile and she has only been on them for about a month. While you are revisiting criteria it might be worth doing some more rear end exercises to help them along.

Has someone stolen MrsD's user name????? I've been really lucky to have one person take me under their wing a bit and she's been a massive help - always questioning and always pushing me when I've needed it. If you can find someone like that it no doubt speeds progress.

Like I said, any number of ways to get around the rule. Wife, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, mother, father, children.............

Regardless of how many smilies you put in this post I think it is pretty short sighted and perhaps even points to why some people feel the way that they do about pedigree dogs and their owners. I understand the purpose of the controlling bodies and understand the rules (Which BTW are VERY easy to flout if you really want to). BUT surely it is better to have dogs of unknown lineage competing in performance rings if it is going to lead to more people developing an interest in pedigree dogs. Personally, I had no interest in owning a pedigree dog until 2 things happened. 1. I PTS a very unfortunately bred BC puppy. 2. I started competing in ADAA events with my (now) associate registered BC and realised that the lines a dog comes from are a great starting point for a performance dog. If I didn't have a way to get involved in dog sports I would never have become involved with pedigree dogs.

Mine just won't. They all retire to their crates at bed time. They like to be on the bed with us for about 5 mins, but then retreat to their own corners of the house.

Obedience is a great foundation for agility, personally I don't go through obedience classes with my pups (first one did, latest two haven't), but they could all trial at CD or CDX level if ever I could find enough time/motivation to do it. The BIG thing you need to be mindful of if you do decide to go down the obedience path before starting agility is that your dog should work on both sides from the outset. No point in having a dog that will only work on one side - there are physical and psychological/training reasons for this if you really want to do agility. Also - as Mrs RB said, there are plenty of foundation exercises you can do before asking your pup to do anything that approaches high impact. Good luck with your pup - remember to enjoy him/her every step of the way!! Whatever you do it needs to be fun for both of you.

I like the idea for dogs that are a bit wary. We were talking about it the other day. One question - in the book does the dog walk plank look like a dog walk plank or is it 'just' a plank between two tables?

I love border collies and will be happy if I never own another breed, but....... Kelpies and Coolies are at the top of the list for other dogs to own. now, if only I can talk my OH into a. another dog. b. another breed.

Well done everyone - love seeing everyone going so well. we had a great day at our BAD Club trial yesterday. Xena went clear in Open Jumping, Open Agility and an Open game called Helter Skelter and won all 3 of them. Just missed advanced agility, but was super happy with how she worked and snooker was a bit of a disaster. CK was super happy and drivey until his last run of the day. He managed to get a pass in snooker and got a 3rd for that. All in all very successful - and the trial went off without a hitch. WOO HOO!

I think that everyone has a limit to how far they can stretch. What differs is how far they are PREPARED to stretch and what decisions they are able/willing to make when they reach their limit. I know that 2 of my 3 dogs would most likely be able to go back to their breeders, but the third would be looking for a home. For the next couple of years I think she'd find one pretty easily, but after her agility days are over who knows - she might also end up in a pound if it came to a choice between my wife or my dogs. That is my limit. Finances aren't really relevant, for me its what the decisions I make do to my relationships with the people around me.

Another issue (self perpetuating??) is that breeding pedigree dogs is a past time and not an industry as such. While ever making money out of the hobby is considered by many to be dirty there is a vested interest from many for it to stay on the fringes of commerce. While ever it sits there it is unlikely to be taken seriously by the mainstream media or anyone outside the small circle involved. I like the fact that it is not an industry - as soon as it becomes that the door opens for poor practice and corner cutting to replace true passion. Another way to look at it - the way many onwers treat Grey Hounds is criticised as purely focussed on the $$$ involved and ignorant of the animals welfare. Dogs are doped to perform better, when they don't they are disposed of in the most efficient manner. Do we want this to become common practice across the entire dog world? The other thing standing in the way of ever truly solving this problem is the fact that many people transfer their own feelings to animals. In this case I mean that the thought of humans 'breeding to better the breed' (not a bad idea in many cases, but that's another argument) is disgusting and akin to an early 20th Century mantra that came out of Germany. Many people feel the same way about dogs that are selectively bred. How do we counter this?

The sad thing is that some of 'us' are! Until we realise that and change attitude nothing will change - or perhaps the divide will widen.

I think this is really dangerous. The prevailing feeling amongst the community rightly or wrongly is that CB's are more robust than pedigree dogs. Pedigree dog owners making assertions like this smacks of self interest and is unlikely to have much credibility - true or otherwise perception is reality. What I think would be required is a concerted effort to point out the activities that PB dogs are involved in and the happy stories from there. THEN once this has gained a little traction you could start talking about CB owners who have had a disaster and moved into the PB world. Contrary to popular belief media outlets are consistently looking for stories like that (happy ones). True, they don't make the front pages of papers or headlines of news bulletins, but the greater population is news weary and good stories do strike a chord with people.

Like or loathe the RSPCA I think the pure bred dog world could learn a lot from their approach to the media. I'm not sure about the other states, but I know in Queensland Michael Beatty (sp?) from the RSPCA gets an incredible amount of coverage with largely positive angles. The challenge I see for purebred dogs is that the world is so disjointed and although there are peak bodies their purpose (stated or otherwise) seems to be more about maintaining stud books and administration than it is about worrying what the wider population think of pedigree dogs. That said I did like the change in tone of the Dogs Qld magazine this month. Until such time as one of the peak bodies takes this on board and runs with it I can't see a lot changing.

As a participant in flyball and agility I take the view that I have a common breed (BC's) and that there are plenty of people out there breeding fantastic dogs. I am lucky enough that some of these wonderful people are willing to let me take one of their dogs into my home - dogs that fulfill everything I want in a dog. The only way I would personally breed is if I could not find what I wanted in a dog from someone who is truly passionate about and skilled in breeding the breed I am interested in. Unless there is a really good reason to breed your bitch (you want a dog you cannot find elsewhere) I would personally not risk another difficult birth.

I'm another lover of crates and can only echo what the others have said. One little thing - don't start the puppy in a soft crate, even if they 'seem' OK with it. I would get them totally settled in their life/routine before trying to introduce a fabric crate. Learned this from experience.

I was going to suggest his article as well. I've got a 14 month BC who is the sweetest little thing (for a feral drivey dog) and is coming along amazingly well (if I do say so myself ;) ) BUT in the last week or so she has started to suffer selective hearing loss . Nothing too serious and it corrects itself very quickly when she is reminded of what we are doing , but it is interesting that the pups are about the same age.

Should add to this that sheep herding made a massive difference to my boy. (And has done for a friend with a Beardie lucky enough to have similar temperament.) Anything the dogs find reinforcing that is different is a great help.

For us it was sometimes about getting out in the dark (open shopping centres, netball courts, football fields with games on etc etc, walking past cafe's with music playing). Other times we were at dog club. I know if someone took the time and effort to come to our club and ask if they could stay on the perimeter and work with their dog for the reasons you are talking about I wouldn't have a problem. (Neither would the rest of the committee.) I should also caveat this with the comment that my dogs are a massive focus in my life and I don't have a lot of things that distract me from being able to do this stuff. Winter is hard - just plain demotivating really. Unfortunately my puppies don't get quite as much work in winter as they do in summer. poor puppies. I like the CM plan - its not ideal from a real world point of view, but I know my dogs react (with interest only) to the noise of a dog barking so it might actually be a way to work at a low level for your dog. Of course like with anything it doesn't help to have a chat to someone qualified in helping what you are trying to fix.

I walk all three of my dogs in the black dog infin8 head collars (mainly because I'm too lazy to 100% proof 3 dogs loose lead walking.) They don't give you the level of 'control' that a traditional halti does, but neither can the dogs get out of them as they are essentially a martingdale with a nose strap. For me it serves to give them a gentle reminder that they shouldn't be straining at the end of the lead. (Yes, a mild aversive.) Tick for head collar here, but as others have said you need to a. make sure you use them with people who can teach you to train your dog properly and b. make sure that you have a back up plan if your dog happens to 'escape' the collar. Like anything they can be used poorly or used well, its just a matter of matching the dog, the handler and the activity with the tools that are being used. Then making sure that the dog is not put in situations that it, the handler and the tool won't allow success in.

This struck a chord with me. My boy was 12 weeks when I got him - similar socialisation from what we know. Then at 16 weeks he cracked his elbow and we kept him out of the world (newby owners, didn't know there were options) for another 3 months. At 18 months he would still pee when he was approached by someone that he didn't know and was quite reactive with other dogs. Now at almost 5 he is a calmer and more confident dog - totally trusted with people and quite comfortable, but still a little bit of a policeman with other dogs (although I know of other dogs from his breeder who share this trait.). This didn't happen by magic or maturity though. It has taken a LOT of work building up his confidence with several different techniques. We've done a lot of shaping which in general has improved his confidence as he learns to fail and to cope with difficult situations. We've also done considerable work on desnsitising him to all manner of situation (shopping trolleys were a particular challenge) that he was not used to. We didn't flood him with anything, rather we worked just below his threshold and gradually raised it. I'm not trying to offer advice, just support and a suggestion that with time and effort things can improve.

How cool!! I love how connected the two of them were and how positive it all was. WELL DONE!

No. Closest they get is to lick the bowl if one of us is careless enough to leave it where they can get to it.