szafir

Hi Liam, try Alison and Jens Kollenberg from Nordenstamm kennels. They are in Qld but they do breed some great dogs. Can be contacted via their website www.nordenstamm.org

I just found this post. You may be interested in this Victorian 2012 Supreme Court case, which upheld a magistrates decision in favour of a defendant who used the trespass defence. His dog was held in a secure yard and bit a person who put his hand over the fence. It was held that the person was trespassing and the defence was successful: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSC/2012/195.html

Congratulations Allison and Jens, amazing achievement!!

Thank you for your replies everyone, very helpful! I will look into a puppy power crate :-)

Hi all, I'm after a wire crate to help with house training a large german shepherd (height at shoulder 65cm). Any ideas where is the best place to source one in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne? I've called around a few places but they don't seem to have crates in the size I'd need. Thanks! :-)

depending on your training philosophy - there is always the element of compulsion. Three phases in a dog learning a new command: 1. Teaching - dog learns what the command means (reward only) 2. Training - dog learns what happens once it knows the command, and decides to ignore you (receives a correction) 3. Distraction - dog learns that it must obey the command in every environment. With this approach there is a balance of reinforcement and correction. Corrections should only be used once the dog completely understands the given command.

Thanks very much! That's cleared it up for me :-)

I was hoping someone could help to answer my question, even though it's not strictly dog related (sorry I couldn't find the right place to post it). If DOGS Vic is the governing body for dogs, what is the organisation for cats? Is there more than one?

Thanks for everyone's responses. With weaning off the toy/food, I would assume that is done gradually. Seemingly the dogs don't lose focus in the ring after not being reinforced for a while. In training though, would you still give the occasional reward at random intervals once the behaviour is established?

Hi all, I am constantly amazed at the level of focus Schutzhund dogs show in their obedience routines. I can appreciate they are high drive dogs to start with, but can anyone explain the training techniques used to get their heeling so focused? Thanks! :-)

Classical conditioning often features in dog training/learning as well where previously unconditioned stimuli become paired with an unconditioned response to result in conditioned responses to a conditioned stimulus. For example, lets say a dog inherently likes going for walks and gets excited on them. This is an unconditioned stimulus because it's the dog's natural reaction. Before you go for a walk, you always pick up your keys. Originally this is an unconditioned stimulus, because on its own picking up keys means nothing to the dog. But paired together enough times (picking up keys always results in a walk) means the dog will become excited upon hearing the keys being picked up because it has paired the action with going for a walk. The keys have become a conditioned stimulus for a conditioned response (getting excited).

Hello, I've recently achieved my UD title with my dog (who happens to be very toy motivated as well!). I used the following steps to teach him the send away: 1. Put him in a stand-stay about 1m away from the box. Put toy in middle of box with him watching, then returned back to him. Told him 'box' while pointing to the area and praised him enthusiastically when he got the toy. I would repeat this at least 20 times (not in one sitting, at various training sessions in various locations). 2. Gradually I would vary the distance, all the time doing the same step as above. Never more than about 5m though - just enough to teach him that his toy is always found in the middle of those funny white poles :-) 3. The next step was to do the above, but call out 'sit' just BEFORE he grabs the toy. This I would do from a short distance again where you are in a position to reinforce your command. Again, repeat 15-20 times. Ideally he should start to anticipate the sit command before he's allowed to play with his toy. 4. Once this is perfected, start about 1m from box again. Have ball ready in pocket but do NOT place in box this time. Give command. Ideally he should run to the box like usual. Call out 'sit'. Once he does so, release and big praise! This is where the ball comes out now. At this stage, he begins to learn that going into the box is a means to an end. Repeat over and over again (again, in different training sessions. Always end on a win and no longer than 5-8 minutes otherwise he'll get too bored). 5. Once he understands this well, you can gradually stop calling out 'sit'. Wait until he does so, then produce the reward. It should become automatic. 6. Start to increase the distance, and send him out from various directions in the one training session. Make sure to practise this in as many locations as possible! I cannot emphasise this enough. 7. Avoid joining with the directed jumping until he has solidly and thoroughly understood the box concept. Otherwise he will become very confused. They are essentially two different exercises. I hope this works for you! In my experience, I would definately recommend that you progress through the stages as methodically and slowly as possible. If you are tempted to rush to the next stage because he has done the previous stage right a few times, then there is a danger that he doesn't fully understand the concept. Then everything tends to fall apart in high pressure situations like the trial ring. Built a house with solid foundations and it will weather every storm :-) Best of luck!!

Hey all, I did the NDTF course in 2005 and absolutely loved it!! I thought the lecturers were very knowledgable, from various fields in the dog world all bringing together their own experiences. That was definately a strong point of the course, because we covered a variety of training techniques, their pros and cons as well as their application at the training centre and kennels. Its an intense course, but certainly well worth doing. You will graduate with a different perspective about dog training and modification, no doubt about it. Best of luck!

Hi all, I have recently completed the Cert III and i cant praise the course enough - the lecturers were fantastic, very knowledgeable and passionate about their line of work. What really impressed me is how the course kept an open yet thorough approach, all methods of training and a wide variety of training tools were neutrally discussed informing us all of their use and associated pros & cons. We learned theory and then had the opportunity to put it into practice by working with a whole different bunch of kennel dogs. I found this highly beneficial since i was mainly familiar with working with large breeds. If anyone is considering doing this course, by all means take the plunge and go for it! You will not be disappointed, and the knowledge you gain will stay with you for life. It will change the way you view dog training and dog behaviour in general...

for those who went - how was it? were there any standouts at all?

* first in terms of judging order, not finishing order (i wish!!) :rolleyes:

hey sparty, i was first in the UD ring for both trials.....we did quite disastrously but im actually glad we bombed out so badly because i really know what it is we have to work on proofing now(send away and scent discrimination). Its far more painful when u get soooo close and then have them do something dumb like miss a command cos they didnt pay attention LOL (yep, he pulled that one on me in open once!!) Glad to hear about ur heel on lead, thats a great score! which judge(s) did u have??

yep, i'll be there all day as well...and i share your sentiment!! dont think we have much chance passing either but it will be fun to get away from the city, at least for a day

Just thought id add my 2 cents in this topic - ive used a prong collar on my previosu german shepherd and it made such a difference! Where with the check chain i was correcting to no avail, the prong collar was so much kinder to both of us because she learned very quickly not to pull through self correction. Her training progressed so nicely and it really improved the bond as well :-) The ridiculous legislation in Vic was simply made by a bunch of mis-informed do-gooders who didnt bother taking the time to truly learn about the purpose of another dog training tool. Anything can be cruel in the wrong hands, its not the equipment thats to blame for that. Did the gun ban really stop people from getting shot? What really irks me is this constant restriction of our liberties by goverments and councils - we cant do this...or this...or this............