Agility Dogs

Personally I would be inclined to tell her exactly what you just put in your post. The dog is sound, the dog enjoys jumping 250 and is having fun and that is where you want to jump YOUR dog. It is a personal choice and you should not be made to feel bad by anyone. (Although it is possible she was trying to be helpful - some people just don't look at it through the other person's eyes.) Case in point....... I have two 4 y.o. ADAA BC's - a small bitch who jumps 550 and does it easily. (Sometimes I jump her at 600 in ANKC Strategic Pairs and she copes without a problem at all.) My boy is a Maxi Dog who 'should' be jumping 650, but I run him in regular (at 550) because he does not cope or enjoy the game at that height. (He can also jump 600 at ANKC, but he is a fair bit slower at it!) Long story short - jump your dog where both you and the dog are comfortable. Typically smaller dogs take a lot longer to enter the regular program than larger/medium sized dogs.

I agree. When you do 'click' it is just amazing. CK was one agility trial away from retirement at the ripe old age of 3. Then I had an intensive 5 day Linda Orton-Hill 'immersion' therapy . It was very full on and involved a lot of yelling (mostly at me for poor training), but it did change the way I train (expect more, get more) and both our competition lives. Now Boof Man has more ANKC quallies than Xena does (largely because she had 3 months out with an injury, but I won't ruin a good story.). Although Missy will always be quicker at agility and can run harder courses he is at least enjoying at it and starting to do well........beyond all expectations.

I kind of agree with the sentiment of this. If you are happy with Bub the way he is now then I think the arrangement is perfect for both of you. If you want to train Bub to do other things then his nature will stretch you as a trainer and you will discover other techniques that expand your abilities. This is only important if you are interested in it though, if you aren't then all you will do is create frustration for both of you - and I say that without any judgement. For me, my soft marshmallow boy has opened my eyes to a whole new world of frustration, but more so joy when we get things right. I also find the things CK has taught me have transferred really well to my other dog and made our training even better and more satisfying that it already was. I've taken a dog who would quite happily have spent his entire life lounging on the couch and turned him into a drivey flyball and frisbee monster who is starting to realise his potential in agility. He LOVES it, but started out totally indifferent. For me it is about maximising their physical and mental potential in whatever field you feel suits them best.

AAAAARRRRRRRGH........I have banned Cathy from talking to me about this. I committed to the flyball nationals about a week before she settled on the dates. Now I can't go - bugga!! You'll get heaps out of it if Linda Orton-Hill was any indication. Very jealous.

I would listen to that advice........if you want to train Bubby and if you want to improve as a trainer FOR YOU, if you want to do it because of what someone else thinks then you need to question if you are doing it for the right reasons? My boy CK falls into this category - he is the quietest most laid back dog in the world. BUT as we work more and more he is really finding his Border Collieness and is starting to enjoy work more as well. IMO it's not about forcing a dog to do something they don't want to do, it's about finding a way to encourage them to enjoy it and working with them to maximise the potential that they do have.

Hi, I've sent you a PM with a bit more detail, but BAD isn't that expensive. We charge $80 for our 8 week beginners course (this has been the same for the last 5 years), plus $50 club membership that we all pay. After the beginners course we charge $5 per week for training and that's per person, not per dog - unless you run 2 dogs in the one class. The club is going really well. Two years ago we had 7 members, tonight I'm expecting somewhere between 20 and 30 to turn up and train. Other options are QAJDC and ADCQ - both have their strengths and weaknesses. (I'm also a member of ADCQ FTR.) Cheers Tony.

I am naughty. :D My dogs are pretty much allowed to walk wherever they want on three conditions. 1. They don't pull me over/tow me along. (They can pull a bit if they want to.) 2. If at any stage I ask for them to walk with me, they walk with me. 3. If they are told to leave something then they leave it and keep on walking. Off lead is a different story. They need to walk at or behind my knee. No questions, no excuses.

But I don't want tooooooooo! :laugh: No rosette, but a hedgehog will suffice Lol Congrats Amypie nd Kyzer hahhahaha I know how you Feel Denver had 2 more Qs to go and I'm like noooooooo! NOT MASTERS!!! I'm hoping he can hold off until after Ekka but considering the amount of trials we have coming up I doubt it lol! Congrats though :D and congrats to Kavik thats awesome news with Kaos! He's come so far :D LOL........come and play with ADAA that way you can't qualify!

Name: CK (Trumagik Totally Obsesed) Nickname: Da Boof Man Breed: BC Gender: Dog Age: 3.5 yrs Picture: Where did you get them from? Breeder How often do you exercise your dog? Twice a day at least -walking, running or training. Do they know any commands? See Xena's list above, just not quite as quickly with some of them. Compete in any dog sports? Agility (AD, JD, GD) and BAAD, AAD with ADAA, Flyball (Flyball Master), Frisbee (Frisbee Dog Excellent. Favourite treat: Cheese Favourite toy: Anything Squeaky Funny habits or quirks: Not really What's their personality like? Loves everyone and everything. Just wants pats and to be happy/play. Do they get along well with other dogs? Once he trusts them he loves all dogs. Until then he is very wary and will tell off a dog if it is rude or threateniing. Are they scared of anything? He is wary of anything new. He HATES machine noises, especially hair dryers...... What training methods do you use? Positive reinforcement? Corrections? VERY positive, lots of shaping/clicker training, but with strict rules - I tell you to do it, you do it or we don't move on to something else.

Name: Xena Nickname: Wirly (as in Girly Wirly) Breed: BC Gender: Bitch (for a reason) Age: 4 Picture: Where did you get them from? Pet Shop How often do you exercise your dog? Twice a day - it could be a walk, a run or some sort of training. Do they know any commands? yes. Sit, down, stay, stand, roll over, 8 (figure of 8 around my legs), round (obedience finish position), come, go out, back, dance (walk on hind legs), nose (touch the ground with your nose), 10 (high ten), Shake/other hand, spin/other way, beep/beep/beep (back up), stop, move, off you go (run away from me) I'm sure there are more, but that's probably enough. Compete in any dog sports? Agility (SPD, JD, GD) and (AAD, SAAD, MAAD with ADAA), flyball (Flyball Master), frisbee (Frisbee Dog Excellent) and maybe dancing one day. Favourite treat: Working - will eat anything, but would prefer to work. Favourite toy: Tennis ball Funny habits or quirks: Life is very serious for Xena, nothing is funny or quirky, it is all about work. What's their personality like? Work, work, work, work. She is a very serious puppy and is VERY focussed on the job at hand - whatever it might be. Do they get along well with other dogs? Not really, she is completely indifferent to all but my brother in law's dog. She loves her nearly as much as she loves me. No other dog exists in her eyes. Are they scared of anything? Correction - used too early and too harshly so it is not used any more. What training methods do you use? Positive reinforcement? Corrections? Positive reinforcement with correction for sackable offences which don't really ever happen any more. The worst she ever gets is a neutral response.

Don't forget those horrile noisy flyball dogs. Oh it's been such a lovely year so far for my ears. You sure they were flyball dogs?

;) Don't forget those horrile noisy flyball dogs. :D

I have 2 border collies and yard size is only relevant because it limits what I can train at home. Yesterday I went home at lunch time and they couldn't get inside quick enough. When I went back to work they didn't want to leave the house (and I didn't make them.) One of them is a high drive nutter who just wants to work 24 hours a day if I am around. The other one is a work in progress, but will also play for as long as I ask. The key is installing the 'off switch'. ETA - one is JUST 4 and the other one is 3.5 years, both carry on like puppies.

Yep, they definitely have a dominant side.

Yep, this is a really good one. The next step is to put obstacles around the pivot box/phone book and ask them to walk around it. My boy loves it, my girl not so much, but she is better than he is. Just make sure you are getting them to walk both ways in equal amounts. I always find it funny that they can learn to do it one way, but the other way is a totally different exercise.

You and your guys did really well - it was a massive weekend!! Jock is a cutey, but I have a real soft spot for Denver. We did have a good weekend, but I think it was made to look better because I had to go and collect all the Schnauzer cards in between. Xena just got quicker all weekend. My big brag for her was Snooker was - our last run for the weekend at about 4:30 yesterday. I decided to go for 3 x 7's and made it with 10 seconds to spare and the 7 points were the weavers! WOO HOO. I actually looked back at her at one point in the run and realised she was sooooo far ahead of where I thought she'd be (coming out of a tunnel) I had to adopt plan B. Not bad for her 14th run of the weekend. In the second JDX round of the day she only missed out because I couldn't get to a front cross that 2 weeks ago I would have made easily - and I haven't slowed down! Other than that she also won the morning JDX round and the AD round, plus managed to get her SPD title with her third pass in 3 runs. Since coming back from her injury it is almost like someone has installed rockets! Even more pleasing - she didn't miss a contact all day yesterday. CK was the big surprise for me though. He didn't do quite as well in the card department, but was absolutely ROCKETING by the end of the day. This is from a dog that 6 months ago would do one run and then shut down - confidence is an amazing thing. He tried so hard all day and just had the most fun ever. It was just awesome to watch him from my viewpoint. I LOVE running Xena because she is so fast and she LOVES the game, but it is work for her. CK is just out having fun. He did manage his AD title yesterday too. So all in all it was a massive weekend with 11 quallies and 3 titles. (Xena's SPD and CK's GD and AD.) The puppies slept very well last night. Nearly all our novice titles done!

Xena's Gamblers run (I especially liked the way she bounced the jumps in the gamble. I didn't particularly like our performance on the contacts.) Mr CK's Gamblers run.

From what I've been told k9 Force's methods are very similar to what I've been shown of late. What you are describing is exactly what I experienced. Seriously - the only difference was that CK was labelled a BRAT! I think bastard is probably more appropriate. LOL. WRT the shutting down with free shaping - I got a bit of that at first, but then I rewarded even the smallest inclination to return to work. ie: if he rolled on his back and stopped, then he would be rewarded for getting back onto his feet. (yes, this did happen at first). Now he just starts to offer behaviour when we start the game.

I'm not AD, but for me a dog who is happy, positive and drivey is working with serious enthusiasm. Tail up and wagging, eyes bright, excited, focused, responds to commands sharply and quickly. This is Daisy working at her drive-iest; She actually missed a few commands because I revved her up a bit too much, but that is easily fixed. Yep. That's what I'm looking for. A dog who really wants to play and really wants to be with me. If that means I only get 15 seconds every 10 minutes then I'm happy with that - as long as that is what I am getting. At the moment I would rather a couple of missed hurdles at a million miles an hour than a perfect run that is so careful I have to fun slowly.

Well done - they were going really well every time I saw them. Xena had a great day - Q in Excellent Jumping, Excellent Gamblers (her first run in both JDX and GDX) and her second Q in SPD over 600, not bad for a 500 dog who was just playing with a friend. CK only got one card in gamblers, but it was a good one - GD title in the bag. He was drivey all day and wanted to play more by the end of it! Looking forward to tomorrow as well.

I've had my two from 6 weeks (oops, I know....now) and 12 weeks and have not had any problems. They get used to the fact that they are going to be alone for 9 to 10 hours a day. They get heaps of age appropriate activity before and after work (my two are now 4 odd years old and get 1 to 1.5 hours before work and go to training almost every night) and the new pup we get next year will fit in with that routine and get part of the 1.5 hours each day. They always get a treat as we leave and occasionally I come home at lunch to lock them inside for the afternoon. The neighbours tell me the only time they bark is when the security light comes on. We don't have a security light, that is them barking because I've arrived home. LOL.

Oh yes...... My boy is VERY much like this, or at least he was until it was pointed out to me. Now he does what I tell him before getting to do anything else - I don't necessarily force him to do something, but we will keep at the task until I get something resembling it (an effort of some sort), then we move onto something really rewarding. Some dogs give you the finger by running off, others do it by being 'naughty', my boy did it by 'shutting down'. First thing I did (under the guidance of a very experienced trainer) was to look for any physical problems with my vet - we found low calcium was an issue - and then set about putting rules in place for him. Not rules to control him, rules to unleash him. He is ONLY rewarded for positive, happy and drivey behaviour, everything else is met with indifference. BUT he is not allowed to shut down. If he does we continue at the task at hand until I get something from him. BUT at the start of the project he spent a lot of time in his crate and only worked for VERY short periods before going away again. Now he will work for ages before even looking like quitting. The other thing is that you could spend a LOT of time reinforcing having his collar grabbed. I went from CK cowering when I did it to now being really revved up because it's often the start of a game. Something I found REALLY increased CK's confidence if free shaping. We started with something very simple like two feet in a box and have now moved to walking backwards up stairs. It has taught him that it is OK to fail and try again and if you do try again you get a nice big reward for your troubles. He isn't quite where I want him, but we are well on the way. To this:

Hmmmmmmmmmm......... I would LOVE to bring my two into work. CK would be a great office dog he would just sit in the corner looking cute and mooching pats from anyone who walked past. Xena on the other hand would be a constant source of amusement to herself and frustration everyone else. Not sure we would get a lot of work done in between getting kissed on the nose and having our bins raided by a hyper border collie.

What Kavik said, but there is also the option of joining a club and not competing.

Careful what you wish for. 'speak' is now one of the behaviours Xena 'offers' - along with roll over, dance, shake etc etc. Will not be teaching that again in a hurry!