DalGirl

Hi Sue, I'm trying to sign up for the Rally O and jumping for this trial. Do you have a contact other than the PO Box for the obedience club? Cheers, Eileen

Hi All, the Bairnsdale VIC Obedience club is sponsoring an event in early November. The event info lists a PO Box, but no contact email or phone. Anybody know someone in that club? Cheers, Eileen Perry

For simple file sharing, try dropbox - it's free! www.dropbox.com I use it to share videos and pics with family and friends in the states. Works great. I was just about to go through the painful process of creating a file with the signs. Please let us know when/where we can get them! Cheers, Eileen

Is there a good way to find out about Rally O trials? I checked the VICDOGs calender and saw the Geelong event listed for July. Any others I missed?

I have a related question... What's the best way to find out about Rally O trials? I'm in Bendigo, VIC. I checked the Vic Dogs calender, and I only saw Geelong in July. Are there trials that I'm missing? Are most obedience trials now offering Rally O as well?

Ok,I have a naive question about dog training here in Oz. Back in the US, I had a great local club that held obedience classes with positive re-inforcement and an emphasis on obedience training. So we learned how to teach basic commends with hand signals and a treat or toy reward. 'Puppy pushups' (sit, drop, stand) were really easy to teach. Later I took a recently adopted senior Dal for her canine good citizen at Petco. Their company policy was no chain collars (and no 'NO') OK, weird, but the trainer was brilliant, showed obedience, and had an amazing vocabulary with her 3 yrd old Great Dane. She taugh basic positive re-inforcement and was well versed in clicker training. She actually showed us how to teach 'Leave It' using clicker. So, I now have a one year old puppy (rescued Dal boy) and I feel like Goldilocks. One club in the small rural city I work in teaches obedience, and does not allow food (or any other) positive rewards other than voice. I couldn't believe the methods they use to teach drop, it involves the handler (on the ground) pushing the dog to the ground. When I showed them how I taught my old Dal girl drop, they told me that was 'cheating'. OK... In the regional city I spend weekends in, there is a companion dog club. They teach with food or toy rewards, but they DON'T ALLOW chain collars. Personally, I think chain collars are a great aid. So are these groups typical here in Oz? Are there groups that meet halfway, and acknowledge the benefit of different techniques???

OK, I'm a newbie so hopefully this topic hasn't been discussed to death... I'm looking for ideas to reinforce 'Leave It!' when my dog is running around off lead. He's good in the house, and on lead on walks. But we have been walking with another dog in a researve that is generally safe for dogs. But they manage to come up with dead fish, dead hares, dead whatever. And very reluctant to 'Leave It' or 'Drop It'. So far, bribes to swap the decomposing whatever with a yummy treat hasn't worked. Recalls happen after said disgusting item is swallowed. Besides being pretty gross, especially first thing in the am, I am worried about him eating something dangerous. Any suggestions? Cheers, Eileen

Hi All, I'm looking for Dalmatian folks involved in agility or other performance sports. I'm fostering a 6 month old male and I'd love contacts to find the right home for this dog. He's smart, soaking up basic obedience like a sponge, and has the Dal gait.

Boy, this brings back memories. My lovely Dalmatian Stella was about 11-12 yrs old when we adopted a very young kitten like this. Stella quickly became 'Mum' to this kitten, to the point that she had the kitten's ears so clean that the hair had been licked off the back. It surprised me 'cause my Stella was very much a fem dom. But she was such a good mom that she hovered under anyone who would pick up the kitten, just in case the kitten fell. Stella has been gone a couple of years now (sniff), but the kitten, now four, LOVES dogs and has tried to convince my current Dal girl that cats make great buddies. She is constantly snuggling up to the dog. Cheers, Eileen

These are great suggestions. What about when I want the dog to stay when I step off? That is, the dog is sitting in the heel position, and I step off with my right foot. One of the trainers in the local obedience clubs tells people to use a sweeping motion in front of the dogs face, with the right arm. (He insists that all hand signals come from the same hand/arm).

By way of introduction, I've just joined a local dog obedience club with my 10 year (+/-) Dal girl I've had two years now. Last year, back in the USA, we did an AKC recognized Canine Good Citizen certification. Now we are doing basic heeling on lead, stays and recalls. I'd really like to use hand signals along with voice commands. This might be a classic Newbie question, but is threre a set of hand signals used for obedience? In particular, when you want the pooch to stand rather than sit at the heel. Also, stay at the heel. I try to step off with my right leg, but what's the hand signal?