Agility Dogs

I've retaught my boy (CK that I posted the video of) using the 2 x 2 method and my thoughts are that it gives you a much keener weaving dog who has a better understanding of the 'process'. (or it is easier to achieve that.) Before you use the method and expect best results though the dog really needs to have a strong toy/play drive. you can do it with food, but the results IMO are not as good. (SG is of the same opinion so that may colour my thinking.....) The dog also needs to have a good understanding of how to learn - no point in trying to teach it if you have not done a good deal of shaping. (That's the bad stuff.) My girl weaves very well, but her understaning of entries is not as strong as my boy - simply because the 2x2 method proofs them from the word go where as other methods don't focus quite so much on that. This method also lets you evaluate performance and only reward/progress when you are happy with progress where as IMO other methods make it more difficult to give your dog a 'win'. The other big win is that when done properly 2 x 2's give you a dog that will weave independently whereas other methods (at least in the early stages) rely on the handler being in relatively close proximity to the poles. They are the key benefits in my mind. I'll be using the 2 x 2's to teach my puppy to weave in another few months so it will be interesting to train with a perfectly clean slate. Disclaimer - I haven't used the 'track' type trainers or the poles that are angled out so I can't comment on their effectiveness.

Sounds to me like you might have progressed a little too quickly - like before he is really driving through the poles. Maybe go back to the start and get him driving between the 2 poles and then slowly rotate them. Also - did you have him going between the two poles from a full 270 degrees before moving to the next stage?

Are you 'just' looking to do basic obedience so you have a well behaved/well mannered family pet or are you looking to do obedience as a performance sport down the track?

4 feet on the kitchen table doesn't count. Seriously - I have shaped it and all 3 have massive value on their pivot boxes. Even the unfinished ones in the garage.

WOW. We pay $75 inc consult. Vet has his own blood equipment so we have it back in 20 mins or so. Sadly the coffee shop in the industrial estate has shut down.

x2. Fantastic foundation for anything you may be considering down the track or for a family pet.

Easy to say, but don't feel bad. We often travel to sheep/cattle areas with my 3 BC's, but not for their enjoyment. 2 of the 3 are 'half trained' on stock (got half way into it and decided it wasn't really for us, but they LOVE it) so my biggest fear is that they will get away from us and end up with lead poisoning. If that were to happen then so be it - my fault for not looking after them properly. People should not need a second lesson.

Yep - pretty much all wet....... Animals are out though. (this was a friend's photo - I am at work.)

Yep. I was being tounge in cheek about mistakes. Seriously - you are only allowed one go at registering dogs on the associate register and are only allowed a maximum of 2 dogs on the register at that point in time. I have a friend with 3 rescue dogs and she can only trial 2 of them in ANKC/CCCQ events. As Poodlefan says, it is an improvement, but not ideal. CCCQ is a bit more conservative than other states from what I can tell. They won't even acknowledge my dogs' flyball titles even though both are CCCQ registered and the AFA has an agreement with the ANKC. Go figure........ I can understand their reasoning, I'm just not sure it will achieve their goals. ETA - there are ways around the rules. My OH can have dogs on the associate register or friends can have them too, but I can still handle them. ;) For me it is not an issue as I will only ever have pedigree or working register dogs from now on.

In Qld you can register 2 dogs as associate dogs, but you need to register them at the same time. You don't get a second chance to make a 'mistake'. (so much for rescues.) ADAA the dogs just have to be physically sound and they can run.

When I was looking for my boy I came across a number of very professional looking websites and spoke to the (registered) breeders who had developed them........and ran a mile. The breeder he came from is very well known, but quite hard to track down from an 'outsider's' poin of view. A website would have made finding her easier, but would not have changed my decision. I really like my latest puppy's breeder's site. I can see all her siblings etc etc. Again, nice to see, but not something that would influence any decisions I might make in the future. I've been talking to this breeder for about 2 years before getting my little girl. Since we only have room for one new dog every 4 or 5 years I'm happy to wait that long. I'm not really interested in the breed club either - if I can see performance results that I like and I see the dogs out and about then I'm happy. Being a member of the breed club is a bonus, but again, won't sway my opinion.

Hmmmm........if only. That's the dog that won't bloody weave in the ring!! Working on putting MORE value on the weavers! Thanks though! So hard when there are conflicting priorities.

Mr CK was playing in his 2 x 2's this morning. Hopefully we'll have him keen for this year's trials!

I got mine from hartsports for about $100. No complaints.

try living with 3 border collies and seeing how bad you feel when you say no! NOT. You aren't squashing anything, you are just putting rules in place - we all need them whether we like it or not. You won't diminish her playfullness, if anything you will heighten her enjoyment when she IS allowed to play.

I take 3 of mine to 4 different clubs and depending on what I am trying to achieve will take a different approach. Sometimes I'll just take one along and really focus on what we are doing. Other times I'll take 2 and do 2 classes back to back classes. Most often I'll take all 3 and just work them for 10 or 15 minutes each - one in the class and the others off to the side of the class. (Easy for me to do because generally instructors have a bit more freedom to do that and my dogs are trusted off lead.) Not much help, I'll admit, but I wouldn't be taking multiple untrained dogs to the one class/at the one time. At worst I'd leave one in the car while I worked the other and then swap when it suited.

He is sooooo like Mr CK (shen Mr CK decides to put it together - Rory is a lot more confident). Methinks it is something they get from Dad. I love his entries.

Mine lie on the deck and watch them! :D We had mum and dad over and they just couldn't believe that the dogs were wandering around like nothing was going on.

I agree. I would love to know where my pet shop dogs come from - for different reasons. I think the biggest thing this would do is at least make the people breeding the dogs responsible for what they breed. The downside I can see is the prospect of vigilante action against people with less than ideal, but still legal, breeding practices. Yeah great Idea, but I still think Impulse buying will happen, and people won't be put off by the name of the place. I happened to have friend that I know works at the pet store, she really believes her petstore doesn't support puppy farms, however her store has a sign up saying we do not support puppy farms- I seen this sign in other petshop that also I know are puppy farms supporters, However my friends store they have cats, dogs, birds, reptiles etc, so actually very obvious that her store does sell puppy/kittens from puppy farms, obviously the signage is there to betray customers and mislead them.apparently they cannot disclose were they came from due to privacy laws down here. The scariest thing IMO is that we will start to see more and more second and third generation crosses like this - imagine the hybrid vigour that will be in the gene pool by then!

I agree. I would love to know where my pet shop dogs come from - for different reasons. I think the biggest thing this would do is at least make the people breeding the dogs responsible for what they breed. The downside I can see is the prospect of vigilante action against people with less than ideal, but still legal, breeding practices.

Having read this thread I have had to take a good hard look at the way I view the world. I've always said to my OH that I wish I had discovered dog sport 15 years ago before we were married. Now I'm kind of glad I didn't............ Sad thing is that she and I are now just like the 'Agility Woman' and have to check our diaries don't clash with an agility or flyball event before committing to anything. The family just LOVE us. No kids and a full life.......of dog sport.

We have them in every ADAA trial, and I'm pretty sure they are in just about every CCCQ trial as well. (From memory.) The only problem with them is when it rains and the judge has to take the material off. Once the dogs get used to them though the only concern is how hard they hit the sides when they go in on an angle! I've seen Xena come out of one backwards on a windy day - the wind had blown it off to the side almost blocking it. She hit it at a million miles an hour and got caught up, spun around and she literally came out backwards, jumped up and kept going. :D

Have you tried training with stride regulators? Just curious. No. I have a video at home, but haven't had anyone to show me how to use them. At some time I will have to work out how it is done though. Also - I keep telling myself that I just haven't worried because she has missed one contact since the middle of September and for the minute I'm quick enough to to have to worry except for the occasional really evil advanced course. For sure :D sounds like she has a great track record. Just wondered as I saw it in contacts 360 they were using it to get a nice safe A-frame into a 2o2o position, she used pool noodles I think. I haven't ever taught running contacts but it seemed like using stride regulators was nice for the dogs. Cool - will have to look into it. I would love to be able to teach another option.

Have you tried training with stride regulators? Just curious. No. I have a video at home, but haven't had anyone to show me how to use them. At some time I will have to work out how it is done though. Also - I keep telling myself that I just haven't worried because she has missed one contact since the middle of September and for the minute I'm quick enough to to have to worry except for the occasional really evil advanced course.