Agility Dogs

I understand what you are saying. Normaly when I go and get the blue mob I fill up some buckets for calf milk on my way through the vat room. That day I went out earlier than normal and got the milk and then went back milking. Ruby mustve taken that as a signal. You are right though you probably wouldnt want them going off and bringing cows that you dont want. However dairy farming is so routine a smart dog can work it out for themselves mostly. I have no experience training working dogs but Ruby through her own choice has shown a lot of potential. She is what my partner says is a handy dog. She is only a year old and from show breeding. Shes pretty keen on agility too and doing well. Clever puppy. It is awesome to see them thinking for themselves. Can see why you were pleased. It is one of the only regrets I have with my two - I just can't/don't make the time to work them on stock of any sort.

I don't expect any protection from either of my two. They will warn me if they think there is a problem, but they also know that they are not to discipline anyone or any animal if I am there. (We've had a few issues with my boy and borderline fear aggression so I am VERY firm on this rule.) I'm sure if push came to shove they would help me, but in the general run of things their place is in behind me if they are not comfortable.

This is not a dig, I just want to understand because I'm fascinated in working dogs working. Is it a good thing that she is making those decisions on her own? I know it is the order you do things in, but do you want her going off to do the job without being asked?

When she moves to Springfield Lakes she will be quite close to Agility Dog Club of Queensland at Tivoli/Ipswich. They do basic obedience classes from 16 weeks and then the puppies can move into agility from there. (All age appropriate of course.) The Obedience is not formal ring type obedience, it is more focussed on building a relationship as the foundation for agility. Cheers Tony I'm a member there - have been for 3 years. Check Chains are not allowed on the field, nor is any correction device. My experiences have all been good - but I have to say that, I instruct there. I would not say purely positive, but harsh handling is not allowed and the focus is on building a relationship, not forcing a dog to do something. ie: you will never see anyone pull a dog through a tunnel or force them onto a dog walk. Cheers Tony

I like ADCQ. (Agility Dog Club of Queensland.) They run basic obedience from 16 weeks. It isn't formal obedience for the ring, but it is basic relationship building and control with a focus on teaching agility down the track. IMO it is also a great foundation for having a happy and playful family pet. After that course people are encouraged to move into 'skills' class where they and their dog start to lear about agility obstacles and handling. All activities are age appropriate of course. The club trains at Tivoli/Ipswich so not far from Springfield Lakes. PM me if you would like more details. Cheers Tony

When she moves to Springfield Lakes she will be quite close to Agility Dog Club of Queensland at Tivoli/Ipswich. They do basic obedience classes from 16 weeks and then the puppies can move into agility from there. (All age appropriate of course.) The Obedience is not formal ring type obedience, it is more focussed on building a relationship as the foundation for agility. Cheers Tony

CK knows 'where's your cat'? He is an excellent cat herder. Only problem is he also knows that cats don't belong outside the house - applies doubly to any cat we come across on our walks.....

Not sure what the groomer used, but it was MEANT to be temporary and ended up lasting 6 months. Fortunately mine didn't last quite that long.......... Just be careful what you use if you don't want it to last a long time and become known as the person with the dog with the pink tail.........

I think it is happening more and more. Doesn't really matter either way as long as the puppies come along and have fun!

We do our best to please. LOL.

ADAA Regs are between 3000mm and 5000mm - not sure where to find the ANKC regs. If you are looking at 'just for fun' then 3000 would be fine, the more serious I'm thinking the longer you might want. (So you can put more twists and turns in there.) Diameter needs to be between 600mm and 800mm. http://www.adaa.com.au/regs/adaa-regs-e9-0-012010.pdf

Our friends who work at the RSPCA are doing daily walks of all the pens in case he ends up there. They know Nat and are super keen to find the young man so he won't be missed if he ends up there.

Not sure, but make sure you get the nice heavy duty ones, not the cheap light weight ones. Big difference in price, but also bigger difference in quality IMO.

Was a big field and they were trying to get through all the runs in a hurry. Harsh - maybe, have I don't it again? Not on your life. T

Not much extra help, but x 2 for what Casima has said. They are all good. I also like Strengthening the Canine Athlete and Stretching the Canine Athlete - both available from the places the others have mentioned. Keeping the puppies in good shape is as important as running them - something a lot of people overlook. (I'm sure you know this though.) T

Dog parks - uggh....... I won't go near them for the simple reason that too many people just don't understand their dog's behaviour and my boy won't put up with badly behaved dogs. He was monstered as a puppy (yes, my fault when I had no clue) and decided that he needed to protect himself. It took me 2 years to get him over the stage of needing to be proactive with that. Now he looks to me before disciplining another dog. (So he doesn't ever get the chance to do it.) He is well socialised and is constantly around other dogs at agility and flyball, but doesn't like to play and lets other dogs know that. Occasionally if he meets a rude dog and I'm not by his side they get told off, quickly, harshly, but fairly and then it is all over. Some owners just don't get this and its not worth putting him in harms way just because of that. (A rude dog is one that runs up and immediately feels the need to grab his collar or play rough.) I'll probably get flamed, but we go down to the local football or cricket ovals and train just about every morning. Only VERY occasionally are we bothered by a dog from an inconsiderate owner who is treating the area like their own off lead paddock. One of mine is always tethered and the other is completely focussed on the job at hand and never go near anyone else. If people turn up to use the field we move on. Wrong - maybe. Putting my dogs at risk? Definitely not.

Once they're measured is it for life? I remember when I had horses you had to have it done every year unless I think they had the same measurement three times in a row but mine always measured different every time . With ADAA they are measured for life unless they are under 2 years old when they are first measured. That said, until this year we have measured dogs at the GP every year. This year it is only if your dog was <2yo when first measured and it is within 20mm of a height cut off - then it needs to be remeasured.

Hmmmmm....yes. You only do that once. You were lucky. I was asked to leave the ring when I did it.

Congrats on the awsome runs over the weekend guys, I have a little brag of my own to put up here my 12 year old girl Saxon got her Q and TITLE in Novice Gamblers on Saturday night was so proud of her she had an awsome run we also ran in Open Jumping but did not get anything as she took the wrong jump and did not do the exclusions both were fast runs and people can't belive that that my girl is 12 and still running as fast as she is. I think I saw your run - well done with a senior citizen! I certainly would not have picked it!

There are some subtle rule differences between the two, but nothing I've had trouble coming to terms with and nothing that really affects you running courses etc. The start procedure for ADAA is much less formal than ANKC as well. There will probably not be a lead steward and you don't 'have' to wait for the judge. The height classes are a bit confusing to the uninitiated though. There are two 'programs' which essentially allows handlers a choice of which height their dog can jump. The international program is the class that jumps higher while the regular program jump lower heights. eg: My girl measures 475mm at the shoulder which places her in the midi class and gives the the option to jump either 400 with the regulars, but 550 in the international. I choose to jump her at 550 - she handles it fine and has a beautiful jumping style. My boy on the other hand is not quite as sure of himself and he struggles at the International Maxi height (he measures 540mm) so I also jump him at 550mm - regular maxi. The two dogs run in different classes even though they are both jumping 550mm. 'Combined program' refers to when the two programs come together like they do for starters, elementary and team games. In that instance all midi dogs jump 400 and all maxi dogs jump 550. In terms of the other differences - the course design can be quite different depending on which ANKC judges you get. At ADAA the judges all undergo both judges training and course design training, I'm not sure this is the case with ANKC and the courses don't always make as much sense (to me) as the ADAA ones do. A-frames are a bit higher with ADAA and weave poles measure 550mm centre to centre instead of 600mm like they do with ankc. Other than that both are heaps of fun and I'm glad we are now playing in both worlds. let me know if you have any other questions. Tony

You were running really well too! What I saw was all really good. Can't wait to see that new puppy run! Xena has always been a rat bag and run fast - quite a challenge to learn with I have to say. CK on the other hand has only just found his border collieness. If he had been my first dog I don't think I would still be doing agility. Can't make the Ekka unfortunately - ADCQ have a double header on the same weekend and I should really be there. Not to worry, maybe next year.

LOL. Don't run ANKC, get a Masters Australian Agility Dog title with ADAA and then start doing ANKC events. Bit like when the ANKC masters dogs come and play in starters with ADAA. I've learned heaps by doing it - fortunately it doesn't last that long! Both puppies will have all their Novice titles in a couple more trials. Excellence is still simple enough to be fun, but a bit more of a challenge. The goal there will be to run them fast as well!

We had an even better night last night. Xena started with her last run in Novice having got her title the night before. 16 seconds was all it took - SCT was 36! Then we had a fun time with CK in Excellent jumpers, but again he suffered at the hands of me........ Gamblers was OK, but a bit messy for both puppies. Both Qualified though. Then CK had a really good run in open jumping. He got a bit caught up on the weave entry, but for him it was really good that he kept going instead of stopping. Xena eliminated on that one, but again I missed a potential problem when I walked the course and because she is running so fast at the moment we ended up missing a jump. Still all in all a good night/weekend. Xena got her JD Friday night and GD last night. Today they get a well earned rest (even if they are not impressed about it!.) ETA - Rivsky, yes, having a good run I guess, but it is only because we are back running simple courses. The REAL upside is that last time I was running novice courses I really had no clue what I was doing. Going back and being able to do them again so to speak is really helping with my confidence (I'm just pushing as hard as I can and seeing what we can and can't do) and our relationship is improving out of sight. All this is actually helping on the trickier Open and Advanced ADAA courses.

Qld would have been far better...... Hmmmmm.......seems they may not have been. NSW won all but a couple of the classes. We went to the Logan All Breeds trial last night. The puppies only had 2 runs each, but we had a great night. Xena qualified in both JD and AD. Her AD run was really nice (even if naughty handler allowed her to run contacts) 32 seconds with a SCT of 70!!. JD title for Xena. CK came second in the class with 41 seconds which is not as bad as it sounds - he was as quick over the ground, but held his contacts and was a touch slower in the weavers. Xena also qualified in JD and won the class with a run just a touch over 19 seconds with a 34 sec SCT. CK's handler let him down in JDX, but he was bouncy and had a heap of fun. Back for more tonight - gamblers, jumpers and Agility.

Hmmmmmmm.........not so sure about that. Just be careful. My family dog when we were kids was treated twice for ticks. Mum and Dad live at Rochedale. ETA - my two are on tick preventative from April through until the end of September and are checked every day.