bedazzledx2

Is this a demo or a competition?

I feed my pup in the crate...increases value for the crate and separates the pup safely from the older dogs at meal times. The problem with sit wait training for dinner is when you have multiple dogs...the older dogs find themselves waiting longer while you muck about with the puppy or you can find yourself compromising your training in order to give pup his meal. If you need to borrow a large crate I have one with a top but no floor you are welcome to. See my post on the WA thread. BTW nothing wrong with proper training self control for meals....just not convenient for me these days.

He's lovely Mason I have a huge crate with a top but no floor and Zac has been sleeping and eating in there from day dot. It has the door open during the day and there is usually a dog in there! I still feed him in his crate and as soon as I start getting dinner ready he races to his crate and if the door has closed accidentally he has figured out how to open it to get in! Feeding his meals in the crate has worked really well for us and its a good step for Crate Games if you want to do that later. (I have the DVD if you want to borrow it at any stage)

When I was concerned about Brookie and had bloods done the vet in passing told me that liver shunts are not always congenital and can be acquired. We never needed to go further as bloods came back fine but I thought it interesting.

Woo Hoo!!!! Congratulations!

Congratulations WTG

Have pm'd you

It all depends on what you want the end result to be. As you say, you aren't after proficiency...when you are trialling you really do and you need to be very precise. Until you have trialled in competition without any of the aids we use in training you are not in a position to understand the difference. It is perfectly practical in short stints for practise. Kivi thinks it's practical for quite long stints. I'm not sure how he avoids tripping over, particularly given he's not the most graceful and nimble of dogs. My dogs get to walk for fun, but doszens of short training stints are part of that fun. If I don't make them happen the dogs usually try themselves. Sorry, I'm not trying to be inflammatory, I'm just genuinely intrigued by this "never" thing. I honestly look for situations where I have never asked for a behaviour and add it to the top of the list of places to next drop that particular cue. Because of aiming for fluency rather than proficiency. Fluent behaviours are more reliable, but more to the point, I love testing my dogs' understanding of a cue. It's my favourite bit of training. One time OH cued Erik to roll over while he was swimming and he actually tried to do it. He would have pulled it off if his method of rolling involved more twist in his body like Kivi's does. I freaking love that level of fluency. It's just good fun.

Same here! No way am I going to muck around with my competition heelwork on an informal walk. That's not to say I don't have it if I need it, I do, I just don't see the need to practice it out of context. I can't imagine a dressage rider practicing side passes etc on a bush walk...same for the dogs. IMO

Mine is 'give' but I haven't used it on my youngster yet. That's something I want on cue with no confusion so at the moment I'm just letting the toy go dead and if necessary hold his collar until he gives it up....a chunk of food in his face works well too Brennan's Mum see if you can manage your training for now so she doesn't need a NRM. If you need to use it more than twice then she is either not understanding or she is not ready for that level yet. Make haste slowly! ;)

Too true. Unfortunately my camera is in for repairs so will have to organise a photo shoot sometime. He is not a little puppy anymore!!!

She's gorgeous! You'll have a lot of fun with her

Bluebottles can be found on most WA beaches and they give you a nasty sting but are not usually dangerous. I wanted to take Zac to the beach at Albany when he was a little tacker for his first swim but there had been a lot of bluebottles blown in so he missed out. Around Geraldton at certain times of the year you have to be very cautious of the sea slugs that get washed up on the beach. They look like large chunks of raw liver and are very very toxic and fatal to dogs.

All pups progress at their own rate. Although girls are usually quicker than the boys, she just may not be ready for this entire behaviour. A good way to play with shaping without any stress or expectations is the 101 things to do with a box. Just google it and you'll come up with heaps. When I am training things like this I tend to isolate each tiny behaviour before moving on...then its just a matter of joining the dots. You may be inadvertently lumping and its all a bit much for her. You could also try target training....first to your hand...then to a disc held in your hand...then to the disc taped to the door.

Fantastic news!!!! Congratulations!!!!!! :thumbsup:

I'd probably wait for a bit if you dont't intend on training it just yet. Work up a list of things you want a lesson on and by the time you are ready you will probably have crossed a few of them off! When I get a lesson I work out the three most important things I need help with rather than a blanket approach...when you get home make sure you write up notes while its still fresh in your memory.

First and last Ptolomy and I often joke about who wins lotto this weekend (first in the catalogue)

Thats pretty much the same reason I use mine. Its nice to be able to safely give them a bit of air and still have your car locked.

LOL Whats more scary is when you rock up to a trial without a collar on your dog!!! They don't wear them at home and I just chucked him in the car... good thing I have spare collars and leads in my training bag. I hate leads...they get in the way! Im with Ptolomy....a small light weight lead is best for trialling. 90 cm is fine but absolutely no longer. I'm a bit the same... one of these days I'll rock up at a trial without a leash because I just never use them! LOL

I would not muck about at this stage. She is young enough for you to be able to make a difference and your instincts are spot on. My recommendation would be to contact Kathy who is very good with behavioural issues. http://www.kathysdogtraining.com.au/

Mason, he is incredibly cute ahhh puppy breath!

I got mine from Clean Run with a combined order from lots of people. Be careful to measure exactly how big you want your opening to be...I have a Santa Fe which has the back window opening independant of the tail gate (love that feature) and I got the second smallest...the red one...perfect

Not so little any more! At 9 1/2 months he is 58cm at the wither!!! Cool. I think you need to post pics. I haven't seen any since he was little.

I would suggest a lesson with the Guru! You know she has a massive amount of experience with gun dogs and their competitions. Get the basics right from the start and you wont have grief re-training stuff.

I also recommend Kathy. In the meantime I concur with what others have said and suggest she does not press this dogs buttons. I would be teaching a hand touch which can be used to lure the dog off the couch....just one of the very many reasons for training a good hand touch.