bedazzledx2

The rules require all metals to be round but some are knurled which makes them a bit rougher and easier for the dog to hold. Depends on where you get them and if you specify if you want knurled or smooth. Depends on what your dog prefers:D

Good idea to use a mat or towel or even a piece of carpet indoors . Its a big ask of any dog to pick up articles off a polished floor. In WA the mat never goes down as nobody uses it, but everywhere else in Australia that I have trialled the mat goes down at the start of judging and stays there. Its your choice whether to use the mat or the ground. If you use the ground the judge usually places the articles beside the mat although some nice judges will put it on the oposite side of the ring.

WTG Xena :D Won't be long before Gabby gets her O Ch. Good luck tomorrow

Congratulations Rivsky :D On to UD

Yep and that would have been around 10 years ago! No one uses a mat here. We are blessed with bowling green grounds and there is simply no need for it so no one trains with one. One thing I have noticed when we go interstate is that the articles tend to roll around and you may have a scented article touch an unscented one. Too many variables for me! WOW the only person who used a mat! That's crazy! We have heaps of people use mats here in QLD, the mat gets put out along with the box and jumps etc as standard in every ring! I'm too lazy to set a mat up for training so the ground it is for me!

....a bit I keep any articles recently used separate and air them well before replacing them in their boxes and then the box is well aired before using it again. I admit to being a bit pedantic about scent :D ....I now have around 12 complete trial sets with lots of crappy training sets! These have been collected over the course of 4 dogs doing UD with my first, Ruby, having a whole set of special issues!!! I used a mat for her...I was the only one in WA to do so and half the clubs didn't know where their mat was stored and when they found in...oh my, smelly, mouldy thing it was!! I used to bring my own to trials and decided after her I would never, ever train scent with a mat again!!!!

Quite right Aidan! My BC used to spit food out if I tried to reward on the agility contact...his reward was to be allowed to continue. It also works the other way round. My Aussie is very excited by the toy or tuggy until food comes out and then he couldn't care less about the toy. I have never had such a foody dog....makes for easy training as he gets excited by anything that resembles food.

:laugh: How often do you change boxes?

Good luck biker girl Is it a double header? Sure is a long time between drinks for you guys!

Hi Seita, No I never use food on the articles or heavily on my hands either. In the early stages of teaching I tend to use the same scented article in a few sessions but it only has my scent on it. I overdid it with my BC many years ago and had a few issues caused by overusing heavily scented articles so once they understand the game I then use a new article per session. I also use the Dog Scouts method but I don't click until the dog has made their choice and is coming to me at which point I don't care if they drop the article in order to get the treat. You can always delay the click in order to get a great present with the article.

She was simply stunning!!!! If there was ever a dog to tempt me to switch to the red side its your Cider! She reminds me of my first Kelpie in her attitude (only Cider's much better trained ) You've done a fantastic job teaching her Ptolomy ;) ;)

Did you end up going RubyStar? We had flooded streets and I nearly got totalled on the way home by dumb drivers going too fast for the conditions!!!! Glad I had the brakes done as I had a P Plater cut right in front of me...grrr. I didn't get home until 6.30 and then we had no power so we went out for dinner and a movie!!!

This is kind of the finished product but all my concentration is on his feet. Really tough with Ptolomy chucking all those I Squeaks!!!!! You can see that when I come in to treat him I deliver the food right into his mouth. What you can't see here is the release cue. I train and proof a release cue so that he is not to move without it...it really helps them to understand what is required.

err....dead dog is only a minor. It used to be a substantial but a lot of people erroneously thought it a fail. If the dog rolls excessively or shows daylight it can be from points off to a zero score. Shifting feet, sniffing, chewing the grass, having a scratch can all be penalized to varying degrees.

For which I am forever gratefull!!!!!!! I have 4 or 5 sets which I rotate for training but really I only use 2 sets for trialling and there is always a spare set on the shelf for anybody that forgets there's at a BIG trial (not mentioning any names). I actually have a bag of metals that I think I lent Rubystar which I found tonight and was the reason for thinking about starting Cider on scent again. They aren't all knurled and they aren't all the correct length - so they are great for training.

Most times yes. I always found it easier to have my de-sexed bitch swabbed rather than have strangers in her face looking for a tat.

I agree with Seita. I don't know too many judges that would penalize the foot lift...but...stranger things have been known to happen! Usually it because they are looking at you and as you walk behind them it is natural to swivel their head which causes the foot lift. Lots of dogs do it. I train it as an extention of 'steady feet' and break it down by training the return bit and concentrating on the feet and reward heavily in position. It'd be a pretty nasty judge to take points off for that. On a sit or drop stay as long as the dog stays in position then it has completed the exercise, excess fidgetting can lose you points but moving a foot to get comfortable is ok. If the dog lifts its bum even to rearrange itself that is a fail, same on a drop stay if the dog lifts either it's front or back end off the ground. The only stay where you are penalised for moving feet is a stand stay/stand for exam, and you'll lose points for every foot that moves there.

You are right to be concerned about it. I have known Bullies to have had their tails amputated due to this. You are only 5 days in so I would advise you to get some professional help from a behaviourist pronto. Drugs (while not usually my first call) may be of some help initially. I would also be speaking to the breeder to ask for advice. Good luck

Go the red dogs!!!!!! Twas a lovely smooth run....watch out Australia!!!

I've seen the chain link and fabric ones in the cheapo stores...Red Dot and Crazy Charlies etc. Usually in large size. You can also get them at Better Pets and City Farmers. If you want all fabric ones you can try the Dog Shop at Dogs West on the weekends.

Red head!!! Yes! That's it.....I'm sure I can ply you with wine...lots of it!!!! Huski - Ask to see the Alex round - go on I dare you (I can see Bedazzled placing her hand on her head now and going "OH NO")! Let's see...how many bottles of wine for me to delete all sound from Alex's video...hmmmm?????????? I'm sure you meant to call Alex a RED head

We can never find the remotes in our house as we turn them upside down so the cats don't change channels for us! Try looking for a blank grey lump of plastic in a hurry!!!!

I was always having this discussion with the person who showed my dog. She wanted him heavier and I wanted him lighter for dog sports! I call it show weight verses agility weight! At the moment he is ideal weight but he is prone to putting on weight and would be a table top in a pet home...he loves his tucker!!! Yep! I agree, I couldn't show one of my dogs when we were competing in sports basically every second weekend. Darcys perfect weight and fitness for sports made him look underweight and malnourished in dog shows! Plus it's not good when we are directly after Labs, I had my first show last weekend in a few years and comparing some of the gundogs weights to the ones I saw at a Gundog retrieving training day I went to recently, there is no chance any of them could cope with a run to a dummy and back without being exhausted!! Don't care if I offend anyone but some dogs in the show rings aren't heavy boned as people have tried to convince me but are fat.

Yee Haa Good Girl! Now build on that and go for time over distance and reward often and before she breaks! She must have read this thread over night. Her sit stays were perfect this morning...for as long as I wanted .

No!!! I'm sure she must have deleted it!!!!! Please God!!! Lets just focus on Snazzy Brilliant round Huski - Ask to see the Alex round - go on I dare you (I can see Bedazzled placing her hand on her head now and going "OH NO")!