Shakti

Since the training you did with K9 helped so much the first time, have you asked his advice again?

I agree - am really enjoying this thread and learning heaps! Actually having H'n'C's comments (inflammatory and troll-y as they may be) has actually been a good thing as people have continued to explain and even use smaller words and pictures to help clarify the concept for H'n'C which has also helped me! Learning tons and looking forward to the next workshop K9!!

Hi Rachelle, my GSD and my *cruel* e-collar would love to meet up with you and Ellie sometime either at a training ground or by ourselves if you want. PM me privately if you like and let's see if we can get our dogs together for some fun and training!

This is great stuff K9. I have been away for one month in NZ and Ben has been getting away with blue murder while I have been absent. Two nights of this and he is back to being an obedient (if opportunistic) dog!

Thanks again everyone. Looks like the flyball clubs are a bit far away for us (at the moment anyway) so I will carry on looking for tracking clubs near us and agility. Any links to tracking clubs or even individuals who would like to teach us how to track would be great!!

He is probably a little young for some of the jump work but should be OK on the rest of the Agility things. I would love to do tracking but cannot find anyone in this area - help??

Hi Imashephead, i have tgo say that although I have owned several GSDs (admittedly all NZ bred - this is my first Australian GSD) he is way and above the others in terms of drive. Even when lying down inside he is poised to break into a sprint should we for some insane reason require him to do so! LOL That is not to say he is not obedient; it is just that given his preference he would be working 24/7 I think.

Wow - thanks so much for the responses. I know there is an Obedience club in Cessnock but I didn't know of the Agility so I will try to track them down tomorrow. As for tracking, yes I have been doing some on my own but really need to be able to learn from/with others at this stage. Hopefully the Agility might be the answer for now. Thanks to everyone who replied.

I think you sound like an extremely committed and loving dog owner so congratulations for that! I agree that you and your dog need to find a good trainer soon. I personally suggest K9Force who is a member of DOL but definitely at least start with reading his article on Triangle of Temptation which is pinned to this forum. How old is your dog?

Bump

Hi all, I have a fifteen month old male GSD who desperately needs to work. I live in Cessnock NSW and can travel to Morisset or Newcastle easily enough. Does anyone know of any tracking classes or maybe Flyball in these areas? He is obedient and just going to Obedience classes each week does not do enough to occupy his mind. In many ways he is more like a Border Collie or Aussie shepherd ie I find it hard to find his *off switch* LOL Any other suggestions would be great!!

Hi again all, I have had a lot of pms complimenting my lovely dog and I just want to set the record straight. He was bred by Schneeberg Kennels down in Sydney I think and they have gorgeous looking dogs with great temperaments. I let the breeder choose which puppy would best suit me and my home life and she chose Ben. I think she did wonderfully! When Ben was about four months old, I took him to Steve as I wanted to make sure that i got off on the right foot (paw) with this new puppy and I think it was an investment which has really paid off. Ben and i still have along way to go - I know that I am in no way making the most of his brains and brawn but with perseverance (and some more classes with Steve) I think he will be a wonderful lifetime companion! So thanks again for all the compliments but I would give all credit to the breeder and the trainer (who in my opinion is just the best!)

Another outstanding night! Thanks so much to Winterpaws for organising it and Steve of course for coming all this way to share his knowledge. It was great to be able to put faces to names of so many DOLers at last. I am sorry I had to leave early but I certainly gained a lot in the time I was there. Ben slept all the way home (1 and a half hours!!) Looking forward already to the next time! (And the meal was an unexpected and very delicious bonus!!)

Hi all - yep getting pretty excited here too! I will also be paying on the night and as I mentioned earlier will have to bring my year old GSD. He will sit quietly (I think and hope) and should not be any trouble. I am happy to have him used as a demo dog if Steve wishes (he knows Ben) but am equally happy to sit and watch and learn!!

I also will be paying on the night. Can someone please confirm how much it is in a PM to me?

Sounds absolutely perfect to me!!!

Yes please - include me IN!!! Please keep me posted re what to bring etc won't you? Thanks so much for organising this!! Always a pleasure to attend one of Steve's seminars! Due to some logistic issues I may have to bring my GSD but he does not have to be used by Steve if there are others to choose from. He will sit quietly by me (fingers crossed!! LOL)

:p Waaah already fully booked - please put my name down on a waiting list if anyone can't make it at the last minute or something. I am very keen to attend a night and would love some instruction on training in pack drive ...pretty please???

In my humble opinion, I think sending your dog away to be trained is a BAD idea. Contact any of the excellent dogtrainers on DOL (I highly recommend K9Force) and for far less than Box Hill would charge, you will have not only a better-trained dog but also a dog that respects and is bonded to you. PLUS you will be given the knowledge as to how to continue training Riley in the future. You sound like a really committed dog owner and Riley can become the dog you want and will be happy to own so long as you get good, professional training ASAP. Feel free to PM me if you would like further information.

Re the fast results - YES! I had been taking my old GSD to training clubs for over two years and they *the instructors* were very happy with his progress. I was not. We had been doing the same thing with the same result - he continued pulling on lead and had no recall off-lead- for over one year of classes and I was getting totally disheartened with both the club and my dog Then I took him to K9 Force and within less than ten minutes my very large and strong GSD was walking at heel on a loose leash FOR ME and was demonstrating a great recall even with the high distraction of having sticks thrown nearby (he was stick-mad!) The fast results showed me that my dog was highly intelligent and very trainable; that the methods I had been using were simply ineffective and were never going to work for my dog no matter how long I continued applying them and; most importantly that I could enjoy being with my dog again rather than having to brace myself to even take him for a walk. K9 Force and the fast results he got saved my relationship with my dog and the best part was those results stayed permanently long after we returned home!

Well done Sidoney! I had such a good time and it was lovely to meet so mnay DOLers and their dogs. Now if I can just match the *real* names with their DOL names LOL

Wow! Another awesome day where I came home with my brain absolutely full of new knowledge. This is probably the fourth or fifth time I have seen Steve and I *always* have at least one *lightbulb* moment when something suddenly clicks for me that hadn't before. This weekend it was the necessity for all three parts of the equation to be present ie Bond, Control and....quick, who remembers the last one?? (a quick test to see who was paying attention LOL) Thanks so much Monika for organising this; I hope my very shaky video has been able to capture the outstanding improvement in the two lunging dogs after just a few moments. Thanks again to Steve for sharing his knowledge with us so generously and for always making me feel like there *are no dumb questions!*

LOL at sas. I agree - Take me back to nicer, safer little Waiheke where they only have two roundabouts and one pedestrian crossing!!! Look forward to seeing you (if I don't get totally lost) at Kurrajong!!

K9 Force is the best! We travel over three hours to get to see him and no matter what the issue is with anyone of our four dogs he has never failed us yet! He stands out because 1) he cares about dogs (not all trainers do sadly) 2) he is skilled at passing his knowledge on to you, the dog owner. So many trainers can train the dogs but cannot teach the owners to train the dog and 3) his methods work brilliantly! My dogs loved the sessions they have had with Steve and I can honestly say that my relationship with my *problem* dog improved out of sight after just one day spent with K9Force. Please consider going to see him - you won't believe the difference even one session can make!

I am just a newbie so please ignore this if it doesn't work for you! Firstly, I use *Stay* to mean *Stay there till I come back* I never recall my dog from a Stay - *wait* on the other hand means *wait for the next command*. Secondly I practise the *Stay* indoors a lot while I am ironing or watching TV or eating dinner so that the dog knows I am not about to do anything exciting (chance would be a fine thing LOL) and can relax and even snooze knowing I will come back to him no matter what happens. Hope that helps!