Mrs Rusty Bucket

She's put all the videos up again if you want to watch again. http://www.brilliantrecalls.com/fe/68435-video-1-recallers

The dog made the choice to do its own thing (go after the balls or ignore the boss) and there was a consequence for that. SG talks about positive is not permissive. If she didn't redirect the dog into the sit - and allowed it to go after the balls - that's permissive and self reinforcing for the dog and you get more bad behaviour. It's a controlled environment - the dog has to be able to get it right there, before you could trust it off lead somewhere it could make a choice to "go play in the traffic" which is what LOH's GR would do. The dog wasn't overly upset about being stopped. And once it got some understanding about what choices were good choices, it was much happier. If a dog learns that acting sad or upset or stressed or frustrated - gets it more of what it wants right now - it's going to do more of that. My dog does. In the wider picture, a dog allowed to get its way when stressed instead of learning to deal with the stress, gets much less freedom because it can't be trusted to make good choices. There's stressed or frustrated and there's completely freaked out - the GR was not completely freaked out. And completely freaked out would not be asked to do that demo.

Gawd - my council will do anything to avoid having to send a ranger to get a dog. So taking the dog to the vet can seem much easier - as long as the vet is open... And then when the vet has the dog - how does council prove it was a stray - if the vet gets the owner to come get it - same as if the owner had dropped the dog off for treatment? Oh while you've got him - can he have a check up?

I'm sure it's ok to discuss. There's no point signing up with a trainer whose techniques you're not happy with. I find head halters on dogs uncomfortable to watch. SG trains her dogs to be thrilled about wearing the head halter - and it's clear the GR didn't get that - because it was rubbing - tho it seemed like an expression of frustration to me - I didn't get what I wanted so now I'm going to rub. Some dogs scratch and my dog BARKS. She uses "operant conditioning" a lot. There is a really fine line between using it for good (training a dog to enjoy what you want them to do) and for evil (brainwashing and manipulation). Sometimes they seem the same. But you can usually tell if the dog is doing something to please you or doing something to please itself. And the GR had several goes at "training the owner" - sometimes refered to as driving the bus - who is driving the bus here? So sometimes the way SG handled the head halter looked very similar to the way some people use choke chains - like a punishment. She sees it more like how people use head halters to control horses - as control over where the head goes (and therefore the rest of the animal). I would except for the fact that head halters (and Pirelli halters) have a lever over the nose... so those are more like corrections - ie it can be slightly painful for the nose not to go where it's directed. But to the GR - which was more effective? Dragging the dog off the bag of balls and where you wanted to go, or stopping it from getting into the balls and taking it back to "do over" and see what choice it made this time? The thing I found most interesting about the GR was the peristance level that SG had. She was not giving up until that dog had given her good tug - after he'd shown he could tug then got shown his fave toys. A couple more sessions like that and he's not going to need the head halter at all (SGs plan with those is always to have them off within 3 weeks), and he will tug with as much joy and enthusiasm as he has for the balls. Because good tug will come to mean the same thing. So yes, sometimes the brain wash aspect and pushing the line around the edge of punishment - ie doggy disappointment - does bother me. But it works. It's your choice how far you take it. LOH doesn't go as far as SG does with that side of things. And even SG doesn't push it 100% - you only need 80% success ie 4 out of 5 times for a dog to be learning. And SG's dogs still have their own character and still do their own thing from time to time - they might look like robot dogs but they're not and their joy for work is inspiring. I wish I had that more often.

Strange how getting the response cost right - really fixes things. I am becoming so aware of things I just "manage" instead of training a better way... like the number of times I have to put the lead on at the park in anticipation of some foraging (playground is a key target and around the football clubrooms) etc. And the number of times I let her ignore me in the back yard. Hmm.

I use a bob a lot with my dog - I usually put it inside the crate to limit how far she can bat it. She uses her paws a lot more than her nose to beat it up, not the least bit gentle tho I did have to explain to her that chewing on it was not acceptable. So she doesn't now. I used to use a squirrel dude http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/busy_buddy_squirrel_dude_treat_dispensing_toy which is a bit like a kong but has little rubber teeth across its bum to slow the treats from falling out. The teeth aren't big enough for black hawk holistic lamb and rice (tiny kibble) but work well with supercoat or nutro natural choice. Frosty got most of the kibble out by picking it up by the head and throwing it at the floor. She actually figured out that a hard floor (eg concrete) worked better than soft (eg grass). She did eat the bum off one when I put a piece of dried beef lung in and no amount of tossing against hard surfaces would get that out. But she can tell when it's empty and leaves it alone then. You'd probably need about 3 to hold a whole cup of food. The other thing I have used occasionally is a bath mat - rolled the kibble up a little bit at a time like a jam roly poly...

You know those experiments where the pigeon pushs a button or a bar to get the treat... I think I am that for my dog. So when nothing happens - the amount of fuss she makes is amazing. Poodle boy was quite polite really. Mine could break ear drums. But she's fast learner. She doesn't understand why she must pretend she's forgotten about the treats / dinner but she's added that to her trick offerings...

Registration closes Toronto (Canada - Ontario) Friday, 27 June 2014 at 11:55:00 PM EDT UTC-4 hours Adelaide (Australia - South Australia) Saturday, 28 June 2014 at 1:25:00 PM ACST UTC+9:30 hours http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html If you've joined - bookmark the time converter - you will need it for coaching calls...

try this one for the egg and bacon poodle boy training session - or how to do IYC properly http://www.brilliantrecalls.com/fe/68309-live-online-learning-session It's 2 hours all up I think - that was yesterdays' live coaching call. It does have a wobbly start but gets going properly if you're patient. They had thunderstorms which messed with their recording and internet. and here for the 4th promo video. http://www.brilliantrecalls.com/sp/30004-test-sales-page?t=f6047896 I am signed up but I copied those links from IE - where I'm not "logged in". I log in to the sites with firefox... Hope that helps. I think they will only be up for the next couple of days.

There is a demo coaching call tomorrow (Tuesday 24th) 9am Melbourne time or 8:30am Adelaide time or some time before the sparrows wake up WA time. this is the link - it's linked off a Susan Garrett Facebook post or if you've handed over your email - then you probably got an email about it. http://www.brilliantrecalls.com/fe/68309-live-online-learning-session

Some of those were the worlds unhealthiest dogs. I could let my dog's skin allergies flare up and have a go - if it wasn't cruel. Yikes.

Had a residents association meeting last night but I ought to be able to go next Thurs... I will send my friend who is part of the ADCSA committee an email and ask him what he recommends. My dog isn't exactly a beginner at it but we could use some of the foundation stuff and basic handling practice and it would be somewhere relatively new. She will think we're going to the beach tho. Their website could do with a reformat...

Playing the games doesn't take much time. Reading and viewing and learning them - takes a bit more time.

I used pea straw, it only lasts a year but it's easy to put out, holds together well with dogs running on, and helps replenish the soil. Mum got tumbled gravel stuff - ie it's all rounded corners no jaggedy bits and doesn't bother the dog or get stuck in shoes like regular gravel. A bit like river stones but a little bit less ankle busting. Not great for stiletto heels tho. Drains really well. Would be no good for dogs who like to eat stones and rocks. Dog friendly plants - salt bush seems pretty good. It's edible - for humans and sheep - so I reckon it's probably edible for dogs too - not that mine has been interested.

Re-inforcement zone - heel work... That's an example - you get lots more if you put Reinforcement Zone or Susan Garrett RZ into youtube search. This is Susan working it with Feature Recallers also has a number of games that "build value" for stays. SG trains - "control position" eg If the dog is in a sit/stand/drop - it doesn't move until it's given a release word. Unfortunately I found out about this after I'd taught Frosty "Wait" or "Stay". I've quit using "stay" - just use "Wait" now. The reliability of the Stay comes from trying to fake the dog out with distractions ie "test the value" or "test the understanding". So my dog will stay if another dog comes and play bows at her and then sits on her. Probably won't stay if a crow flies close. But will stay if there are magpies walking by and we really don't like magpies. Magpies are easier to include as distractions than crows. Especially at my dog club where you can hand feed the local magpies. So there's a lot in recallers for obedience competitors. There is a bit of "foundation" for agility trainers but no jumps or agilty equipment or stuff like that. It's hard to do agility without a reliable stay and a reliable recall.

two of these warm snuggle safes - one for me and one for the dog. Advantage over wheat bags - how long they stay warm for. https://www.ozpetshop.com.au/product_info.php/products_id/683 All the Aussie Dog tough tug products. I think I like them better than the dog does chuckit ball thingies https://www.ozpetshop.com.au/product_info.php/cPath/21_35_93/products_id/3393 some more cool mats - one for me would be good. Got one but evil hound doesn't share. http://www.petextras.com.au/cool-gel-mat-for-dogs-and-cats-medium-xl-shop-soiled.html Collar tag http://www.boomerangtags.com/page.php?c=collartags&k=h#CollarTag_N The disks you get engraved at the shoe repair shop next to the supermarket - don't seem to last very long. No spill and no soggy beard dog water bowl(s) http://sprout.net.au/big-sale/road-refresher-dog-bowls.html Hmm are they really selling those for $15 each - wow. An OTL cartoon accessory. If only I could decide which cartoon. http://www.cafepress.com/offtheleashdoggycartoonsshop a Scott e Vest I reckon it would be handy for hiding dog treats and toys too. http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/QUEST_Vest_Women.shtml LED dog collar - still haven't found the right one. http://www.dogeglow.com/collars-3/ Even the flashing dog bone - slows cars down while they try to figure out WTF is that? Oh and a photo session with Ruthless or Snook.

My dog when she was about 6 months old started getting the runs on a regular basis... I swapped her main food from Advance to Nutro Natural choice - and that helped. No idea why - I think they were both chicken and rice, tho sometimes I do lamb and rice. She's on lamb and rice black hawk at the moment. When I was at the vet trying to get the problem sorted, the vet nurse/receptionist suggested hills science something - and I made her read the ingredients and then explain how that was better than boiled chicken and rice for settling a dog's tummy. It was full of things that are bad - in my opinion and hers. She'd never read the ingredients - just assumed it would be ok (no wheat or corn or all that). This is their "sensitive stomach" ingredients. Starts off with rice and corn - sigh. http://www.hillspet.com.au/en-au/products/sd-canine-adult-sensitive-stomach-dry.html

If someone told me a dog was "smut coloured" - I'd have no idea what they meant. The dog in the first pic - I'd describe as red with a darker red widows peak and and white chest (and some white toes or socks).

I think it worthy of this thread? http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/201801-thread-of-immense-lols/page__st__10000 At least if I'm going looking for the dog funny - that's where I look first...

They have website that outlines it. You could email someone and ask. The website suggests something fairly formal. I've been thinking about going. http://www.agilitydogclubsa.com/ They do want you there at 6:50pm to help set up.

There's a million ways to increase the challenge of IYC. Essentially you want to end up with a dog that will work next to and ignore an open tin of food. Even yummy food. I can leave porridge on the coffee table in the lounge and go out to the kitchen and get a coffee and come back and she will just be sitting there looking at it - or even ignoring it completely. But she likes to check the kitchen counter for crumbs after I come back with my coffee - ie the message that it's not ok to do that, has not sunk in. The way we are getting there - is to stop her from the "habit" of going back there and checking. ie I have to stop the air sniffing around the counter, and probably the floor vaccuumming too. Too much reward in it. So ways to up the challenge... point or tap the food, wave it round, throw it round - (release - geddit/find it). ie the dog should still choose to wait if you tap the food. LOH tried to use Frosty to demonstrate greedy dog at her course last year. She tried Frosty out the night before the demo - and Frosty thought - oooh tapping I can have - and learned inside about 10 seconds that it was the IYC game. So next day - she wouldn't try to steal the food, just sat there looking. So when it was my turn to play the game - I had to figure out ways to increase the challenge. So if it's stalled out - end the session for now or change something. Any one thing. Change. Eg cookies from hand to cookies on floor - is changing something. Put the cookies on the counter (changing something else), cookies in the bag, cookies on the coffee table, cookies on the floor loose, cookies on a paw or head (parlor trick) cookies on the ground outside. There's a beauty - cookies on the ground outside. Cos Frosty loves to forage - she figures anything in the grass is fair game... And then you do IYC with stay or go, or jumping on the kids or being polite at the front door or being nice to brother's dog at lunch (Frosty got to sit out lunch in the car).

SAODC - lots of people get yelled at including sometimes trialing members - ie owners with dogs with titles. Apparently it's an insurance thing. If you're not "supervised" by an instructor - it voids the insurance if anything goes wrong so the chief instructor (obedience) is really strict about it so the agility supervising instructor is also really strict about it. It is a PITA. I tried to "become an an agility instructor" so that I could help with that and do my own thing or set up little routines for anyone who wanted to join in. But I was told we had too many instructors. Doesn't seem to be the case this year. It does take the joy out of training. start rant. Some nights I go out and help set up the "trialing / intermediate" course - intermediate are supposed to have first run but we intermediate) end up sharing with trialing people - and you're there from 6:30pm to 9pm or later for two runs. ARGH. And get yelled at any time you try to use the other stuff because "I was using that" - no you weren't, you were standing around talking. and you don't tell me when you're done using that. We desperately need a bit more structure that allows for all students and instructors to get decent training in with their dogs. Part of the problem is I need to go out with a written training plan for evil hound and stick to it. But a couple of times I have done that and not been able to do any of the stuff on my plan because none of the equipment is available to me. thinking about trying some other clubs. rant over.

Susan Garrett has put up two Its yer choice videos (second one up this morning oz time), and those by themselves help a lot with improving dog behaviour. You give your dog some limited choices eg on lead in front of dinner bowl - and reward the appropriate choice. I still think your best shot is an agility club that does foundation training. http://www.agilitynsw.com.au/31.html You might also want to have a look in the training section of this forum for the agility stuff.

My dog loves the bmx track at our local park. Running up and down the humps in it and hiding on the opposite sides of them. She can still hurt herself but it's less likely. She also quite likes anything with a high platform so some of the regular childrens play equipment she likes too. There's a sort of climbing wall ladder and platforms with stairs (with rails). Maybe stuff like what is in the wolf enclosure at the zoo would be more suitable. The concrete pipes are dog shoulder smashers. The ones on the port Elliot FB page would be safer if the dirt actually came around the ends so there is no narrow bit of concrete protruding.

There's some at Eliza Place, Panorama (CC Hood park?). The "weave poles" are sold metal poles - set about 1m apart ie not for weaving and not safe either. The jumps are solid fixed about 1.5m apart. They have tunnels but they're concrete storm drain pipes - the sort a dog would bust a shoulder on if they hit one. They have a couple of seats in the park and if you have a dog who loves being on a chair - they're a paw trap for dogs and small children. There's nothing I like about that park. It's too small, it has bark chips and weeds and mud. And the bins are outside - ie you have to go through double gates to put a poop in the bin. I wrote a detailed email to council - asking for the bins to be placed so you could "post" a dog poop bag through the fence but they haven't done that. So naturally there is a fair bit of dog poop in the park. It is quite popular with Lab owners on Sunday arvos.