bedazzledx2

It depends on the males. My BC was desexed late and for many years we had no issues. My entire Aussie is the lowest in the pack including the cats! He is happy to be there and has never tried to vie for the top dog position. This suits us all. We had a small rumble after the lower ranking male was mated but that was something I was prepared for and stopped immediately. I can bring both dogs into mixed company and there is no way they would start a fight but my BC won't stand to be challenged. This is where the owners have to be diligent and watch for any eyeballing and avoid confrontations before they get out of hand.

I would think that prostrate cancer would be more of a risk. I had my BC desexed at 8 yrs as the decision not to breed had been made and I wanted to avoid the risk of prostate cancer as I knew it was a risk factor. Small/medium dogs are believed to mature earlier than large dogs and apparantly doesn't impact as dramatically desexing at 6 months. Desexing does eliminate the risk of testiclular cancer in the male dog, but I don't know how risky testicular cancer is likely to occur. I guess a mastectomy would reduce the risk of breast cancer......but where is the line a bit OT but now that they have found the gene some women who are in high risk groups are doing just that. i would be curious to know the incidence of testicular cancer in entire male dogs as it is critical in eveluating the risk. yep i wasnt too worried about getting my girl desexed at 6 months although if she was a large breed i would have done 2 seperate ops.

All the time Did any of you practice your footwork without the dog for awhile with turns?

All my males have been left entire until maturity. I have used the implant Supralorin which is like a microchip and lasts from 6 to 12 months and is a wonderful option if you're not sure although I wouldn't use it before the dog is mature. I would never desex a male before he was 15 to 18 months old. Most vets are thinking of the over population of unwanted dogs and cats, and from their point of view they are giving appropriate advice. As I do dog sports I am primarily interested in proper development both physically and mentally and choose to wait. No biggie if you are a responsible owner.

I like klickerklok Fanny is an excellent trainer for many dog sports and I like that she uses clicker and positive methods.

Hello Easier to demo than explain but I'll give it a go. LAT, left foot straight...right foot makes a T across left foot...left foot swivels round and right foot leads out followed by left.

Righton Huski I agree - I am not a big fan of luring the food up to my face. I want the dog to choose to look to me as IMO it builds better eye contact as the dog knows the key to getting the food is solid eye contact.

Hmmmm....don't like luring much. I am more inclined to shape a good eye contact. If you are quick and consistent with your clicker/marker and reward in position you will have your dog offering you eye contact. If you really want to you can name it at this stage but I never do. Did you see Bedazzled's earlier post about putting the food in your hand, holding your hands out and rewarding when the dog makes eye contact with you? That's what I did and I find it useful because it teaches the dog to look to you for the food. I agree with Huski, some people at my club also hold the food by their faces so that encourages the dog to look up....

LOL don't be so sure of any judges interpretation of the rules!!!! He could have failed you at that point and I must admit to being surprised you got away with that

Why bother teaching a watch or look at me command? That should be a given! Never command a dog to watch when they are looking away....if they are looking at you no need to command!!!!

I would be an instructor who would advise you to wait even if your dog were the best in the club! You need to go to a couple of trials and watch how things are done and have a good idea of the rules for your class. As others have suggested, stewarding is a great idea. You get to see lots more than just standing on the sidelines and you are also giving back to your club. Attending mock trials are also a good idea if there are any in your area. Good luck! Once bitten by the trialling bug its hard to get a free weekend!!!!

Have him sit in front of you and show him a treat in both hands held out to your side.....wait until he looks you in the eyes and click treat. Rinse and repeat. Edited to say Be quick when you treat....shove the food in his mouth...don't wait for him to look away.

She's not with me.....where is that girl?!!!!

I have had a dog with fear issues and have overcome them and seen some amazing trainers overcome fears in their dogs. You are a good trainer so don't just give up....think outside the box and find other ways to deal with the problem . I think there has been some lumping going on...not your fault but remember she is your dog and you can, and should, say no if you think something is overwhelming to her. I would be inclined to teach her on a low plank set up between two tables on low height. Teach her to jump on and off the plank from anywhere....this will give her confidence that if she needs to bail she can. Teach her to turn around on the plank and do figure of eights so it doesn't hold any fear for her. No need to do a full size dog walk until she is very confident on the plank. What is side-loading? :D Great idea with the walking backwards and turning ;) Well I never thought we'd be doing the seesaw in class yet because of the fact seesaw isn't introduced until Excellent and we're not even in the trialling nor pre-trialling Novice class yet! Just in Elementary. The dogs are not 100% confident on the dogwalk yet either. I regret putting her over the seesaw so soon. She is being rewarded for jumping all over both ends and has even tried jumping up onto the top plank of the baby dogwalk, so she can clearly see it won't tip! But now I think it's not a tipping issue, because she had this fear before. The seesaw caused her to freak a bit and yes I think it was transferred to the dogwalk, so now she has just lost confidence in the dogwalk altogether because I think she feels like she is going to step off the edge. I'm concerned because this fear was already in her, and she hasn't overcome it like I first thought.

How were you training the see saw?

Arrive early enough for vetting!!!!

Yeah it might be Dexter....that would be the right timing I think.

Duh!!! Just realized you said 2007!!!! Oh well....I've had a few too after getting back from Geraldton tonight after a very loooong drive. That Brand highway is so boring!!!! The BC's in the pic look jealous of the dog I think is Brookie. How neat! Never seen a BC that colour before. What is the actual colour called? No idea. I am waiting for someone to confirm if that is even Brookie. ;)

Yep! Thats my boy!!! I think it would have been a few years ago...can't remember the red and white dogs name but I remember her if you know what I mean!!! The BC's in the pic look jealous of the dog I think is Brookie. How neat! Never seen a BC that colour before. What is the actual colour called? No idea. I am waiting for someone to confirm if that is even Brookie. ;)

Why do you want to check your dog? Better to teach him what you want him to do.

The metal pins go inside the end of the poles. The blunt end goes into the little pockets at the top. I'll show you I've got the basic model without the sides but I would assume it assembles pretty much the same way.

Can't describe it but will give you a hand on the weekend! It is doable!!! Glad I could provide some amusement It does have zipped up side flaps, maybe I will try your suggestion next for extra "give"

Oh forgot about that....fronts and finishes always!!!

Oh yeah!!! about turns, doodling for heelwork, scent if I'm really enthused , turns for gloves, heeling backwards and sideways, COP...oh and stays!

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: P-L-E-A-S-E this newbie needs all the encouragement she can get! Bad dress rehersal, terrific performance Bad dress rehersal, terrific performance Bad dress rehersal, terrific performance Bad performance, terrific dress rehearsal oops! LOL Onsard Christian soldiers....