Saffioraire

I think it's the structure of the dog too Kavik. My female Kesari will be agility trained, she can turn on a dime and is very quick and agile in every day life. My male Shiro on the other hand is much more heavily set and a bit of an oaf. In saying that he can jump like a stag and because he runs so much he has good enough muscle tone to support his body, but he is still not 'agile'. There's a WSSD breeder in NSW who shows at Erskine Park, you should go check one out - but be warned they're pretty lovable!

Good luck! :) Both my dogs are going to be trained in tracking, herding, competitive obedience & hopefully agility this year. I'm also hoping to get them both an endurance title also. This is on top of being show dogs, so I do agree that a good dog can do all! So I think what I assumed to be true is, and that I am better off aiming for an active home then trying to hold out for a sporting home. I do definitely understand the research behind the lines and the need to search extensively to find a suitable partner. Hence my aim to compete in so many rings over the next few years, to draw the attention of sporting and working people to the breed. I think they are capable of being much much more than just a "pretty show and family dog" Cheers guys for your help :)

Having pups overseas is an awesome advertisement unless they've told you a porkie and plan on cross breeding it and pimping it out to unregistered breeders I have at least one pup, if not more, returning to Europe from my next litter (all going to plan) and to show homes, so I have that carrot up ahead to help me make the best choice for my dogs this time over. There is also the chance this boy's brother will still be heading for Europe later on this year also - but being only the 3rd litter of WSSD's in Aus keeping some cream here for now is not such a bad thing. Unfortunately for me I went chasing the CH title (which I ended up missing out on by 6 points before she was mated) instead of being sensible and spreading my time in show and sporting rings. A real lesson learned there. One of his sisters has gone off to be trained with the special dog op's and has already impressed the head trainer which is nice feedback. The other boy I have here is super as well, when I call him he comes and sits in front of me at my feet staring up at my face as if to say "What can I do for you" - and I didn't teach him to do that!! No he's not desexed. Toller after all that research I decided that late desexing is the only good option. Premature desexing has shown to promote late closure of the growth plates causing bone and joint health issues in the long term. So these guys have all gone with a contract stating they will be desexed at 12-13 months of age. I guess at some stage you have to trust you've made the right decisions and hope human kind doesn't let you down! Photo 1: With the PetStock Mascot Photo 2: At the Vets, so incredibly stressed out

Thanks Kavik I'm contemplating a trip up north soon so if I commit I might even give you a yell and have you assess him for me. Always nice to have many opinions from different trained eyes :)

Thanks :) Yes Vickie you understood exactly. I probably didn't word it very well. I have been exceptionally lucky that my girl had 11 puppies for her maiden litter, all survived, and across the board quite a consistant litter. ALL puppies possessed qualities enough to make them a "breeder" when looking for type, pigmentation and temperament, so choosing the cream of the crop was a very labour intensive process. All puppies have been placed, 3 in breeder homes, the rest in companion homes and all were matched to their individual homes to the best of my ability so far with 100% success - again very lucky. This pup was due to go offshore which is why I still have him (at 10 weeks of age) but I have changed my mind as information has come to light that causes me to change my opinion on how trustworthy these people are. The pup in question SUITS a sporting home, his drive, his temperament and his type would suit either a sporting home or an attentive active family home. I think as each family varies so does the suitability for each pup for each family (if that makes sense). I see potential in this pup that I would prefer to see in a home who will use him to suit, I am just not sure how to "advertise" him to people who are actively looking for a sporting dog. Does that make more sense?

What I'm talking about is one particular pup in a litter - who has a higher drive, or shows more potential than the rest. I have a pup who I want to see go to an competitive or proactive home looking for a working dog. Having a rarer breed already creates a niche of interest, then trying to find a specific type of home narrows down prospects to almost nil. I advertise my dogs on DOL, and I am NOT talking about other websites etc. I am asking how do you create an interest (or where do you go looking) for a good working dog. Given that agility starts at 2yrs, obedience is limited until fully vaccinated and then most would prefer to start off their own dogs, and the show ring isn't the right place - I am questioning what places I can take him that would attract the right kind of interest from the right kind of people? Do you take your pups to herding/tracking/obedience trials in hope someone will notice them? Or contact the Agility Club of your state? I'm curious to know how others target desirable homes for exceptional puppies.

So if I cant see Off Topic then I haven't posted enough yet? I'm sure I used to be able to see it, maybe I am going old and senile even before I hit 30

What do you mean by members marketplace? I assume you mean the classifieds on the home DOL page? If there is a market place thread on here that I have missed I am not going to like myself very much!

90kgs! Haha, what are you making it out of?! PVC pipe is a good idea, I suppose I can buy horse jump wings and just adapt them. Are you making a tyre hoop jump? The bigger of my two dogs is quite a large boy, he's 37ish Kg's and about 65cm to wither. He's not huge but he'll need something reasonably sized if he's going to make it though the hoop. What do you think of a child's hula hoop suspended off the ground? Is that too thin?

Definitely interested! Can you PM me details! Thanks

We've recently moved into a house with a lovely separate grass yard about 1/3 of an acre. So I want to get some agility equipment to train with during the week, just wondering where is the best place to buy it. I can do my own weave poles, I think I just want an Apex, a hoop/tyre jump and an elevated platform with ramps either side. Am I better to buy this sort of thing or try to make it myself? Cheers

THANK YOU! My plan is to go and suss out bikes tomorrow and start straight away - training myself anyway! I can't see I'll need to pull the dog as my fitness needs more work than hers but we can do a basic collar, that's all we use for everyday anyway. Oh exciting!

My plan is to train after sunset with the bike as we walk in the mornings with the pram. Ok another question - please don't roll your eyes - but when I train my horses on hard surfaces we use neoprene boots to prevent tendon damage from jarring. Does anyone wrap, bandage or boot their dogs for training on roads for an enduro test? And I can't seem to find ratios of hard/ soft surface requirements for an ET. Is there a minimal amount of hard road work required for each test and what are the % levels if yes? Trying to work out how much training we do of both surfaces.

Oh and do you prefer collar or harness? I don't want to use my tracking harness as specific equipment to signal specific work intentions is something I like to be mindful of. Hence I would either buy a different harness or specific collar for the job to indicate to my dog she is expected to run long distance when I put it on (ro do you think in this case pulling out the bike is enough of a signal that the collar used is made redundant as a signal?)

Abbiestar the info on your page is really great thank you. I am wondering if you could give a breakdown on how you begin a dog off a bike? I have a female 9 weeks out from whelping her maiden litter who is reasonably fit considering. As I've never been to a PT for myself and the only exercise regimes have been self imposed do you have any guidelines for starting a program for a dog from scratch? I would like to aim for the May Trial so that gives us 4 months to prepare, which I imagine would be enough for 20kms broken into three legs. So what is a good program to follow. Ie. 10 mins every night for a week with increasing time increments over the weeks. Or 3 times a week. Or once a week? We are starting out in tracking also so to aim for the prelim track trial would be a nice bonus, so we'd need a program that would accomodate for other training plus the fact that I have an almost 12 month old son so I can't always get out on a bike every night (the idea of training for me is time out from motherhood, so no baby bike seats for us! HAHA) Also do you train with a speedometer and keep to 10kms per hour as much as possible? Or do you only impose speed training at a certain fitness level?

:laugh: We have cooch grass on the front lawn so Miss Emmie bounds along like a toddler on a trampoline! :) We've got the cooch grass too - love it! It's made my pups move like superstars as well! Hehe Very happy for you!

What date is the clinic and is it a one day or overnight?

Ok so I've made my own solution. Ribbed cord ribbon, comes in many colours and sizes, and a press stud gun. Press stud gun cost me about $8 Ribbed ribbon was $0.60 per metre. So you can put 2/3 studs on each length of ribbon to make them adjustable or just make new ones every so often. It's REALLY easy ! Just make sure you can get replacement studs that fit the gun, unlike my STUPID Spotlight store that stocked a gun and studs of a completely different size.

Good to know! I will start up at Croydon when training goes back after Jan, and aim to show only on Saturdays where possible.

Oh wow! Thanks all I'll reply to your PM tonight Dyzney. Haha Kath, maybe if I had my own private Jet... Well maybe it's worth me editing my first post to make this thread more communal? As it seems I'm not the only one looking for someone to keep me motivated and train with. I think Talien's point is really valid as well, that often you don't know which direction is best for your dog or even if you think you do you might be on the wrong track (as I think is being discussed in another training thread) a second or third pair of eyes with you training is a nice way to train as they can pick up the things that you miss. As is the way with horses, its nice to ride with a friend who can watch you and tell you where your going wrong when you can't actually see it yourself.

We have eyes now too! There is nothing quite like stepping into the whelping box and having half a dozen pups stumble over and start 'licking' you and trying to play. It didn't take long for them to work out how to manipulate a scratch either! Merry Christmas Everyone!

my experience was the same. I made them narrower by cutting them in half lengthwise and then making them much shorter as well, no wrapping them around and around themselves. If it makes you feel any better my experience is the same. Poor little mites have sore shoulders. I've also found some colours are hard to tell apart once they get a bit of wear. Problem is getting nylon clip collars that suit (ie. 1cm wide) is really hard for a litter over 6 unless you have the time to import them from OS. Otherwise Whelping Supplies have some at a reasonable price. You could check out http://www.callicoma.com.au/breeding.htm#Puppy_Collars too for some inspiration? Just glad to know it wasn't only me having the problem.

So I just bared my soul on the "Goals for 2012" forum, and I decided it's time to own up to my own short comings!!! Being new to dog sports and showing I've found it really intimidating starting out. Regardless of how nice everyone is, I still feel like my complete ignorance makes me stick out like ... well... dogs balls! So I thought I'd start a space to see if many others feel the same and if anyone (experienced or none) would be interested in being a dog training buddy, to keep me accountable and motivated. Don't know if this will get off the ground but if not at least I tried.

So I'm a bit scared but I'm thinking I will put something up to keep me accountable and motivated! Showing: I need 8 points for Kesari's CH title. Title Shiro and POSSIBLY () one other..! Tracking: I want at least TD with Kesari by the end of the year, start the basic work with Shiro and my +1 Agility: Just get into it! This will be a Kesari only for now. Herding: I want to give this a red hot go and be in the trialling ring by the end of the year with at least one dog if not... 2 or 3? !!! Haha! On the down low I would also LOVE to look into the Obedience ring but I'm slightly intimidated by it! I don't know about anyone else but my biggest hurdle in every avenue is getting over being shy and intimidated, and just give it all a good go. Positions are vacant for motivational training partners in my area enquire within!

OH that's not entirely true, Shiro stalks the Henny Penny's down at Lilydale Lake, so I suppose a duck is not much different! He thinks it's ace to just quietly follow them as they trot along! Dork