beagie

America and Canada are much colder than Aus we have beautiful grassed areas to train and trial on. Watching a friend of mine in the US trial inside I would hate it although they don't have anywhere near the heeling we do, a lot of their inside Arena's are nosiey crowded with birds in the rafters not much fun if you have a bird dog. No thanks I would not give you thank you for one. Beagie

great vid flying duster standard poodles are great performers luv the purple Beagie

first off you need to make sure your dog only searches in the ring not all over the oval as some dogs do, they can go outside the ring but it is not what you realy want. You start off by dropping your seek back right by your foot whereby the dog can see it, you heel half a dozen steps forward turn around point to the ground and say get it or whatever command you use. you build on this by stretching the distance further after you are sure the dog knows what it is doing. Don't expect it to do it all in one day. Very few dogs track ninety nine per cent go by site. After your dog is finding reliable in a straight line you can start to vary it and drop it down beside a jump or to the side of the ring or wherever. Take your time to get it right at the beginning, you can then start getting someone else to drop it for you. You need to eventualy be able to heel the length of the ring and probably across it you usualy end up side on you cannot point to the track I usualy just say find and give a motion with my hand to the ground. you need to keep a different word for your articles Beagie

I went to the first day of the WA Seminar and was very glad I went as I then learnt the vast amount of things and on going training we could do with our dogs after all going for UD (and no not me) over and over is not overly exciting, I can see a long time getting through all the training required for Rally I did not go the second day as my boy is only five months old and I decided it would disadvantage both of us. However I would like to ask a question you emphasised the bar jump being able to tip it it was hit during a jump, I have spent many years trying to figure out how the solid jump is allowed. I have seen some awful crashes on it and yet it does not tip and no mention was made of this. I have queried it here with our local Judges with varying answers, I do not believe it is a safe piece of equipment and should be modified to tip if the dog hits it. And yes obedience dogs do jump as fast as an Agility dog. Beagie

I am like you the proud owner of a Beagle only mine is a pup now just five months, I have always had gundogs before i.e. GSP's and GWP's is the training any differant I don't think so, I asked lots of questions about Beagles before I bought my boy, I started off with the magic clicker I call it magic, because if I want him to do anything come to me drop something get his nose off the ground when heeling the clicker does the trick. Now what I will say to you is Beagles can be very stubborn, but then I had had this experience with my GWP although they are oposite in their reactions to stubborness, my GWP is very soft, the Beagle is a lot harder, they will both shut down to negative treatment. I would put in the time to clicker train your Beagle when fully understood and used it is the best thing since sliced bread. Also Beagles are food driven so you have got it made. Liken them to gay and happy little hounds, my experience (and I have been training him since ten weeks) negative is just like year right go away and does not solve the problem. This morning he ran out the front door being so young I grabbed the clicker clicked and he was straight back to me. Getting off the couch you are going to have to train this with positives, I have found with my boy once he gets the concept of what I am asking he will do it. I get a great thrill when I see has grasped the idea of what I want, I will never remove that nose but I do know when I say heel up comes the head. The other thing I have noticed is he responds very well to lots of luv and atention. good luck Beagie

I would like him to learn how to play to tire him out, of course, and give him some fun. What are some of the ways you play with your dog, involving food? We hand-feed him so we turn each meal into a training session where he earns every bit of food by doing something for it. (Sit, stay, stop, drop, up, etc etc. We're working on "roll over" now.) I think we could try teaching him some new commands though... (I've got to go to work now, thank you all for your responses so far! I will try to answer more when I get home) my GSP had a habit of re arranging the house when he was younger on the odd ocasion he will still do it, it is a gun dog thing and you have a gun dog throwing a ball does not tire them out it only hypes them up all the more. I did Agility with my GSP it is pretty easy to put up a couple of jumps in the back yard and do some figure eights, teach the dog to weave this will work his brain a lot better than throwing a ball if the brain is worked then the dog will tire a lot faster Beagie

When training with Sue H she told me to line myself up on the ropes around the ring they should be straight or the jumps, when training on my own I used to lay a rope out straight and use that as a guide Beagie

I would strongly recommend you do not give your dog belly rubs, you need a solid dog for stand for inspect and you don't want your dog rolling over when the Judge goes to examine it I think the drop is one of the hardest things to teach, I know my little man is strongly objecting to it at this stage however I am no phased by it, it will happen he has quite a few things under his belt now, I get a great thrill when I see him click onto what I am telling him to do.t be patient and keep trying the saying is dogs don't like dropping because it is being submissive, if you see your dog in a down at home for no reason, other than that is the way he chooses to be, click and treat and say down or drop or whatever Beagie

LOL LOL oh boy does that bring back memories, firstly let me say dogs that usualy throw it like that are stressing, it may not look like it at the time, the reason I had to pull my boy out of UD he hates to do wrong and stressed so much down would go his health. Enough of that, off I go to retrieving, this will be fun my dog is bred for it, yea he might be but I am not, little did I know he was gun shy, we were in a very boggy field hardly anywhere dry to sit, the gun went off so did my boy with me in toe dragging me through the mud, he was also anti swimming retrieving requires good swimming, I have never seen a dog so terrified in all my life, I was in the Lake with him in heavy gum boots, I go bogged and had to ask my grandson to pull me out. The boy ran up and down the bank his eyes turned red, however his prey drive over road everything else and in he went straight after the target even though there were ducks swimming there as well, we overcame the swimming and the gun shy bit, the best dog anyone ever owned don't know so much about the owner. A little tip if your dog climbs when swimming put something in their mouth and they will swim properly but then you probably knew that Beagie

first off you won't get anything like that in from another Country, don't waste your money customs will stop it or spray it in which case you would not want your dog eating it. Giving drinks immediately after running is dangerous, I don't think GSD's bloat but I do know of one who did. Also feeding immediately prior and after is dangerous, you need to give at least an hour each side, dogs are not humans, my grand daughter goes through all the sports drinks and bars etc as she is a racing swimmer, however I would not put my dogs in the same class. If you think your dog needs cooling spray his underbelly with cool water If he is slowing down after twelve ks. there are a million reasons why, pumping him full of iron (so to speak) is not the way to go he may just need a longer time to gain fitness. My dogs do 12ks. every morning, one is 13 one nine and the pup is seventeen weeks, they all do much the same speed the pup is ready for another run at the end the other two go straight to sleep and stay that way until lunch time they have been doing this for years and are very fit. Also has your GSD been hip scored, GSD's also have a thing called vims which entails a lot more than just running. Just keep your dog well fed and his correct weight certainly not over, if I wanted to up the anti I would feed raw which I do anyway Beagie

there is a bloke in Kwinana who makes Agility equipment at a very reasonable price, some of the other WA people may remember who he is I had the strap for the distance made by a upholestry place that also was pretty cheap. Ask around some of the dog folk will know where you can get them or if you know someone who can weld then they may make them for you, I bought the steel from a used stuff place and my neighbour made them for me as he welds, the welding of course was for the height thingys to put the cross bar on. I did use pvc in the beginning with sharpened bits of wood in the beginning but they sort of broke pretty easily Beagie

retrieving in the field is very different to obedience retrieving, most experts say never to cross train, I am inclinded to agree, however it is up to the individual. Retrieving dogs need to run straight work on a whistle have a pretty good heel as ten points out of fifty go towards heeling. They learn to memorise where the birds or dummies are dropped etc. need to stop immediatley on whistle and go in different directions with a different sound of the whistle, good retrieving dogs are a dream to watch. What you described on learning the dumbell sounds like the way I train, a dog that just chases even a pup will not usualy have a reliable retrieve, very careful training in the first place will pay off further down the track. My advice is go with what you have seen on the U Tube, as you always want your dog to pick up in the middle also, if you go into UD this is very important. Also if you do do retrieving a good clean pick up of the bird is important Retrieving is great I luved it unfortunatley my dog I was intending to use for it has health problems, and my new pup not a retrieving breed. My big boy however can pick up anything around the house and present it to me so the pain staking work in the first place was well worth it Beagie

You realy need to take your dog along to trials as many as poss to get it used to the atmosphere, you cannot replicate a trial atmosphere, heel around the outside of the rings or in an area you can move around in an hold her atention. Don't be in to much of a rush it is a mistake many make including myself. Age is irrelevant after all you have many years with your dog, to be playing training and spending time with. The next thing is make your own decisions, however bare in mind the ring is not a training place. The biggest thing most people forget if club training, is, your dog does not work with other dogs in the ring except for stays therefore must be confidant enough to work on it's own with other rings alongside maybe back and front. Another thing I always do is look at the dogs either side of me in the stays, aproach the owners and ask if they would like to do a mini stay outside the ring this gets the dogs used to one another and hopefully out of any interest they might have in those dogs. There are many pitfalls in the ring, however in the lower classes not so much but you want to aim high as poss on the scoreline so your dogs is well rounded and ready for the higher classes like UD etc. good luck for the future my seventeen week old pup has plenty of time as yet to get there however I have a very different aproach to when I worked my other dogs Beagie

Nah, you need to teach her "recalls are awesome!" The reason why RRR works so well is because you reward them BIG every single time you recall them. So it doesn't take them long to realise when you start handing out roast beef that paying attention to that recall is a really good idea. Our dogs recall as fast as they can because they know it means they are getting something freaking delicious. The other thing that I think is super useful in getting dogs to be reliable off leash is to reward them for check ins. Our dogs kind of swan in every few minutes and we pop them treats and tell them to go and play again. It doesn't take long to make this a habit if you're consistent about popping treats every time they choose to check in. We also ask them to do tricks or play with them, and Kivi's favourite thing is to amble up and attach himself to your leg until you give him a treat. It's all about making spending time with you an attractive choice and encouraging them to pay attention to where you are. In the meantime, put her on a long line or only let her off in fenced areas.

Aren't they illegal in Aus. Beagie

I have a three month old Beagle who will retrieve anything I also have gun dogs I think he has an idea he is one also. No your dogs are not to young but keep it short, you could try bouncing the ball to get their interest. I am not a fan of sticks either use a ball a rope anything that cannot harm your dog, you must stay up close and keep control of the game, if they are dropping things away from you it is very hard to change it later, I would be in quick smart with hand ready to take the ball and treat at the same time. A very short throw with a quick excited get it, you need to be moving quickly also, don't just stand and throw and expect the dog to bring it back to you, some dogs will do this naturaly and do not need to be taught others need to be taught. Dogs will copy one another if you have another dog that will retrieve then play with that, that might get their interest up. Beagie

I will have one medium and one small thanks, will have them picked up from Canine at trial by myself or Bev (Casper) Beagie let's know if you want money up front

Is there a GSD Club anywhere within the vicinity I always advise GSD owners to go to their own club also a mixed breed so they don't get to used to their own kind, however a GSD Club is where the knowledge is Beagie

I guess we have no real control over club rules, however vacination requirements have changed according to our vets. After 12mnths no more until 3yrs. after five not necessary at all, there are two exceptions to this BC's and Rotties have to be done yearly, I have no idea why, I assume the C5 has kennel cough I have never had kennel cough vaccinations given to my dogs, and they have never had it. Beagie My border collie was given a 3 yr vaccine C7 at 14 m/o. The vet didn't say anything different about borders & I haven't read anything about a difference between bc's & rotties. I am not an expert on the subject just repeating what one vet said to me, maybe they are a little more prone to things I realy don't know, I do however think that c7 is a lot to take all at once however as I said I am not a vet or an expert in the matter Beagie

so how do we get onto whoever is running this seminar as I would certainly be a starter, I am getting a new pup so would like to be into rally by next year I would certainly like to go to the seminar beagie

I guess we have no real control over club rules, however vacination requirements have changed according to our vets. After 12mnths no more until 3yrs. after five not necessary at all, there are two exceptions to this BC's and Rotties have to be done yearly, I have no idea why, I assume the C5 has kennel cough I have never had kennel cough vaccinations given to my dogs, and they have never had it. Beagie

Wow just seen your pics of your GSP first off I thought it was my boy they are identical Beagie

Another way of getting straight finishes is to put two poles just the dog width apart parellel of course so he comes in between them, you can also use those little garden fences that you get make an alley with them so he comes in the little alley you have constructed. Do not throw the dumbell a distance away, you should start by sitting in a chair getting him to hold it then give then put it on the ground ask him to pick it up sit in front of you and you take it, be ready in case he wants to drop it take it quickly at the first sign of dropping. gradualy increase the time for holding and the distance the dumbell is placed away from the dog do not allow him the oportunity to not bring it back or run away with it. Even when they are playing if taught properly from the start they will always bring the ball or toy or whatever to you, that way there can be no difference in a retrieve no matter what it is. If he is out away and looks as if he is going to chew or drop it run in ask him to hold it if you can run backwards to where you started as far as you can. You have to be realy switched on and make sure there is no oportunity to drop the item be ready with your hand to take it. Don't try to progress to far to fast believe me the time spent on a good retrieve is well worth the effort. Beagie

dogs with high energy need calming, most people think by throwing a ball and waring the dog out is the way to go. Wrong. The dog needs to be calmed lots of long sits and down stays. so you start by sitting or downing the dog on the mat while you are preparing the dinner, don't make it to long at the start, gradualy increase the times as the dog calms down. Geared or hyper active dogs need a calm atmosphere. I have had two geared dogs they ended up wonderful dogs, my GSP used to pace all the time, after a long run which they have every morning early, he would not be able to stop, I would put my hands over his shoulder and take both legs and say legs stop now, and put him in a down until he calmed down. He is still highly geared but much more manageable and was great in Agility. There is no reason at all why you cannot teach weaving in the back yard, figure eight jumping (thinking space here) and make a tunnel. At a club your dog needs to be under control off lead. Good luck it can be done with time and patience remember calm calm calm, voice low and quite, some peoples voices hype dogs, mine did until I learned not to use it and work on signals only with one of my dogs. good luck it can be done Beagie

I believe the tenterfield terrier club has lure coursing, or maybe it is the Jack Russel Club one of those I think, I have often thought this would be great however have no idea on the equipment etc. I should think the venue would be pretty simple as we have quite a few areas that could be used. Beagie