Weasels

I'm with TSD on this one, I don't use corrections in agility or trick training because I don't think it's warranted. What do I really care if they miss a jump? who's at risk? No-one. I will use verbal corrections in herding however, since acting quickly and forcefully can mean the difference between a sheep running into a fence and breaking its neck or not. There is a real consequence here and the risk to the sheep's life outweighs the risk of the dog getting upset. Fortunately this is not necessary much these days. What I worry about is a rigid program that doesn't take into account a dog's temperament, breed characteristics, daily variations in attitude and attention and so forth. I'd rather stop and figure out why a dog is or isn't responding in the way I'd like than jump straight to correction because it's part of a program. But then maybe that's just because I'm not so good at following rules

Just a quick update for the one-in-a-million chance someone else encounters a similar problem I took Weez back to the same park yesterday morning. He was wagging away as we pulled into the car park and was completely back to his normal happy self. Short of a bad-fur-day, the insecticide is still the only explanation I have. He loves to run around the edge of the park sniffing when he isn't chasing the foxdog, so he could have just been miserable because his senses were being offended Anyway, it was a strange interlude but no harm done :D

's OK HugL I was just stirring I have only seen Aussies and OESs herding out of the shepherd types (and only for ANKC trial training) but I think Kavik's description of a mobile fence is a good one. I am constantly amazed at how close the shepherds get to the sheep compared to the sheepdogs. This article touches on the development of different herding types too - http://allbreedsherdingclubwa.com/images/understandankc.pdf (small PDF file).

But as soon as someone thinks they can get away with it, they're off speeding again.

I didn't, the "hiding" was related to children, not dogs, and just as an illustration. Poor choice of words on my part. To extend the human metaphor - growing up my brother was a troublemaker and a bit stubborn. Sometimes the only way to get him to listen was a smack on the butt. Not abuse IMO. I however was genreally a pretty good kid. Once I pushed my parents too far and got a smack. By all reports I completely fell apart emotionally and my parents resolved then and there to never smack me again. If they had continued to smack me knowing the effect it has on me and given my general temperament, that may have been a bit abusive. I know if someone used a physical correction (like a smack with a belt) on my boy dog, their relationship would never be the same again. IMO You'd want to be damn sure you've got a dog with the temperament to handle physical corrections before you tried them if you valued your dog-handler bond at all.

Seems to me like you are overlooking a perfect opportunity to add a sheepdog to your family ;)

Have you uploaded your photos to photobucket? (just to clarify, the link is on the photobucket site, not DOL )

Ness I had to google that and to think i was all excited because i just got a clicker with a belt clip! Thinking about it, i'm amazed I can still run: left knee pocket - poo bags, ball and rope. Right knee pocket - regular treats (lots). Top pants pockets - phone in one, clicker in the other Jacket pockets - keys in one, high-value treats in the other Because of course I have to have one dog that will only work for food and one that will jump the moon for a toy :rolleyes:

I always wear cargo pants/ shorts when I'm training so I can shove the rope I use into one of the huge knee pockets I find that if the foxdog can see the rope while we're on the agility course she won't focus ahead, so the pockets keep it out sight and out of my way too. Edit: some of those toys wouldn't fit into a pocket, but others would

Me too - I'm glad OP clarified since I was having trouble imagining a poodle with 'points' as I understand them. In dingoes, "5 white points" means just white paws and a white tail tip. In kelpies it is usually the tan marking on the legs, underside, muzzle, eyebrows and ears. And now there's another meaning for poodles Well I, at least, learned something from this thread :D

The photobucket upload was much quicker. Either way is fine of course Edit: sorry Blonde for hijacking your thread with my image experiments!

Hmm lets try with a 100kb image... Photobucket: Upload:

Pers I was under the impression that a direct upload only resulted in the small image Blonde was referring to, since there are much more strict file size limits? I like that with the 'linking' method I can set the photo to the size I want it to appear and preview how it will look at that size. I haven't played around with it though so I'm not certain

Hi Blonde I use a free program called 'irfanview' to resize and crop my pictures quickly, and sometimes to auto-adjust the colours if they are a bit too dark or light. Then I upload them to my Photobucket account and just copy the image URL into my post. This might help too - http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/140213-adding-an-image-to-your-post/

Excellent news! Glad you can stop stressing about it now Ah the perils of having a curious dog

Did you end up taking him to vet yesterday KTB?

I must say I'm pretty averse to the smell of advocate spot on too Pers - That must have been really hard to clean! Weez loooves to roll in newly marked chalk lines on the local oval, it turns his coat grey for a day or two

Hmmm that's interesting HA. We haven't used any spray around the house since we got the dogs (which shows given the state of our garden ) so i haven't observed his reaction in a controlled setting. He does follow OH around trying to lick the plants after OH has used seaweed emulsion though... :rolleyes:

He's definitely a dog that notices things - we are working on his reactivity with a trainer and he is generally a sensitive young thing. Both our dogs have their issues but I suspect Weez in particular got a pretty raw deal in puppyhood The Fox couldn't care less about anything much as long as someone is willing to throw a ball for her

Thanks Pers Even if it is in the realms of the possible I'd be happier knowing what it could have been - I've been thinking it over and over but I can't identify anything else that would have got to him like that...

Howdy DOLers So... I take my 2 teenage kelpies to a local park 3-4 mornings a week. They generally have a great time, chasing a ball and sniffing the sniffs. But yesterday my 18 month old rescue boy got really spooked for no apparent reason. He kept running back to the entry of the park, and when we moved away he ran up to the fenceline and just lay down there. When I went over to him he wouldn't take food, and when I asked him to follow me he'd take a few steps then lay down again. He wasn't limping or in any apparent discomfort, he was just acting quite scared and kept looking back at the exit. He was fine on the walk home and has been his normal self ever since (although I haven't taken him back to that park yet). There were the same people & dogs there that we see most mornings and I didn't see anything happen as we entered the park. Someone told me this morning that they sprayed insecticide at the park on Wednesday, and maybe he was reacting to that? None of the other dogs seemed bothered, but Weez has a good sense of smell (especially compared to our other dog) and is easily scared (he's been afraid of plastic bags, windscreen wipers, going indoors etc. previously, although he's gotten over those fears for the most part). Has anyone ever heard of a dog reacting to the scent of pesticide or insecticides before? Especially 2 days after it has been sprayed? Other than this I am at a loss as to what spooked him. We took him to the beach this morning and he was completely normal. Thanks

Fox used to chase any ball going, until one day on the beach a GSD told her off for going after his ball (no contact, just a snap). Ever since then she's been a one-ball girl. Sometimes she'll chase another ball but as soon as she realises it's the wrong one she just turns around and leaves it. If I take a frisbee or something different to the park or beach, it takes her a little while to realise that's what she's supposed to be chasing instead She has a funny drinking style too, if she's really thirsty/hot she'll stick her whole muzzle in and blow bubbles while she drinks I never really thought much of it until some other people saw it and had a giggle :p

So it was just the once that she ran off? Was she running to or after something in particular?

The Weez is too busy enjoying his cushy suburban life to be offended. Seriously though I, at least, wasn't offended. It's a common statement that kelpies have no business being off a farm, so I was just glad KTB stepped in to disagree. Certainly not all dog owners would have the time and commitment required, but if you do invest that time you get sooo much back :D The important thing is to provide mental stimulation. As our first trainer said to us, if you just exercise them without engaging their brains all you'll end up with is a fit, bored dog.

Sorry but that is so wrong ... there are a lot of people (including many people on this board) who have WKC-registered i.e. working line Kelpies who live in the suburbs and are fine. I think any dog would go bonkers without proper stimulation - Kelpies just seem to have a particular bad name. All of the breeders I spoke with, working line and show, said Kelpies were totally fine in the suburbs as long as you didn't just dump them in a yard and expect them to entertain themselves. The Fox approves of this post.