3BW

So, I needn't have worried about her not jumping...... In the trial this morning she was so keen to jump that she bombed by anticipating! It was a beautifully executed jump though, and plenty of enthusiasm. A shame though, as her other exercises had been really good - never mind. Still, I would rather have the anticipating problem than the refusing one. Thanks for the idea Ptolomy. If she still balks at the bar jump (the only jump I have at home) I will try this. It seems like it may be a bar issue, so for now I will fix it by putting a sheet over it to make it solid.

No - I don't think the miss- jump was injury related. It was huge, but way too early. You know the type, where you hold your breath for ages hoping they can glide that bit further! She has been physically fine since, and been jumping on/ over things as bolts around the yard. Certainly doesn't appear sore. I am sure , though, that it hurt her to bump the bar and she doesn't want that again. Sensitive thing that she is , I suspect she thought it was some sort of reprimand . So now I have to convince her that it is ok to jump with a dumbbell. Don't worry, we won't be doing too much jumping - just a couple of jumps a few times a week. .....but do I go high, low, no dumbbell....? I am hoping that at tomorrow's trial it won't be an issue as it will be a solid jump- maybe she will think that is different.

My girl's best exercise has always been the retrieve over solid jump - reliable and enthusiastic. This week in training she was so keen she took off early and bumped the jump quite heavily - both directions. Fortunately it was only a polypipe bar jump. We didn't train for a few days due to bad weather, but when we trained today she wouldn't do the jump. Happy to retrieve , but went around the jump. With lots of encouragement I could get her over - but certainly not happily. We have a trial in the morning - too late to fix it for then, but I will be working on it during the week. My question - how would youI approach the retraining ....a) lower jump to build confidence or b) higher jump to teach her to jump higher or c) just to running past jumps( rally style) ? She is a very soft girl, and shuts down easily. I would love her to love the exercise again.

I find "all done " flows off the tongue for me. Although I do use " ok " to release from a waiting situation eg. waiting to go through a gate.

Maybe in class you could try just sitting with him focused on you when the others are doing fast pace around you. This way it may help him get used to the excitement without the added excitement of moving fast himself. I am sure your instructor would be fine with this if you mentioned at the start of class why you are doing it.

Yes- a notice/ schedule comes out in the Gazette. After you enter they send out a form for your vet check.

The breeders certificate is optional, so it doesn't matter if you don't have these details.

What a pain! When I trained for an ET in the past it was fine to be there- the staff would give me friendly waves. I assumed that it would be ok for training my dog there next year - so now I am watching this thread closely too!

Penrith Regatta Centre is great. Flat , plenty of parking, no off-lead dogs, one-way bike track,separate walking path, toilets, set distance course (although it is possible to sidetrack beside the sailing/ training lake to get extra distance and train on grass). The only problem is that there are often serious cyclists using the course so you need to keep to the left o you don't get run over - they are fast!

My dog also has an autoimmune disease - discoid lupus - which is basically her body attacking her skin. I believe it developed from having a vaccination at a time when her immune system had been compromised ( wasp sting, cortisone injection and being in season ) Fortunately an excellent vet researched other treatments, so she would not be on cortisone forever. She is on a high dose of a particular antibiotic ( which we get on prescription at the local chemist ) as well as a combination of various vitamins and fish oil. I have been able to manage the disease well for four years with this treatment. Because her symptoms are easy to see, it is possible to monitor the disease and vary her doses as required. Interestingly, it flares up at changes of season and times of high stress ( for her, thunderstorm season ). We too have been advised to limit vaccination. The vet has indicated they would write an explanation to boarding kennels etc if the need arose. She is now 7 and recently had a 3 year vacc and will probably have no more.

I love our Wallkydog! I did most of our training with it, and then swapped to just the lead for the last few weeks. By this time we were both used to the whole biking thing. Using the walkydog meant it was impossible for her to cross in front or behind me.I did use a lead with the walkydog though - found it gave me better control for the tricky moments when other dogs barked etc.

Yeah- a successful Sydney ET! More than 30 dogs ran and every one of them got through. Mostly medium breeds - but a little Jack Russell and a Norwich stole a few hearts. It was my first and I really enjoyed it. Now I just have to find a dog to borrow for next year!

I have the same issue with my 10 month old border. I usually tell the instructor at the start that we will be drifting in and out of class, and I keep him away from the intense close up work. Some dogs, even successful trialling dogs, never like the close work. In 'real life' it is usually an avoidable situation, so if it stresses you both, than go slow with it. Of course, the other difficulty with working close to others is when your dog discovers that other people have great treats too!

I am doing the Erskine Park ET too. Today I got my bike back from being serviced - I hadn't realised how clunky the gears were and how squeaky the brakes. It is like having a new bike! Someone on here had suggested getting the brakes swapped over ( rear brake on right hand) , so I had this done too - best thing ever. On our 7 km today I felt so much more confident and less fearful of going over the handlebars. I found I could easily ride holding on with only one hand, so I was in much more control of my dog too. Thanks for the great advice.

I am intrigued by all this talk about non qualifying dogs doing stays. I trial in Sydney and when anyone NQs, that's it - they are out of the stays. The only time a non- qualifying dog is in the stays is if they are short on qualifiers. As soon as anyone bombs they can pack up ready to go home! It just seems to be the accepted thing. Who knows- one day I might get to try an open stay!

Thanks Abbiestar for your answers! You sound like you love ETs- 9 is a lot of times to have completed it. I can't see me having that many dogs in my life! I have a pup who will qualify in 2014 and then it will probably be another ten years before I can do it again I am pleased that you think I don't need to do too many long sessions - I was worried about how I would find the time , and energy, for them.

Hi ! I have started training for my first ET. I hope to do the Sydney one in August with my 4 yo border collie. The Mothers Day fairies gave me a gel seat cover and a bike computer, so life is good! We are currently doing about 5 km , 4 times a week. ( although my girl would happily do more, and wants to go at 16 km/ hr all the way!) I plan to up this to about 6 or 7 k in a week. Some questions .... Does it matter that she is always at the end of the lead - not quite pulling like a sled dog, but trying to get me faster ? How often should we be doing training sessions of 15+ km? Would live to hear different people's training strategies. Can we do the ET with a chain martingale ? Happy training everyone!

Lupine leads have a lifetime guarantee against chewing. They are a webbing lead with a comfy handle AND they are very pretty! ( or handsome,as required!) Of course, my six month old Border collie has had a good go at his, but it appears to have strong nylon threads inside that keep it together. I have a friend whose dog chewed through it's Lupine lead and the company replaced it without any fuss.

I used to have a lovely black dog called Ralph. As he was rescued from a shopping centre drain as a pup , we had no idea of his parentage. He probably had a lot of BC and shepherd in him, but when asked I usually labelled him a Western Sydney Black Dog - you know , the sort you could find in a backyard in most streets of western Sydney. A highly recommended breed by the way!