ness

DSO Novice ring was out over the back where it normally is.

Bugger DSO - must have been talking to Kenz who also dropped in her sit stay in novice. Worked an absolutely stunning ring round though although a little bit too full of herself and forgot to wait for the finish on the recall. Ness worked a lovely UD round only to miss the drop signal in the signals COP. Bugger. Oh so close.

LOL I totally agree with that Ptolomy - especially with a dog who has taken to lying down in the last week or so :D :D . I mean seriously who thought that was a sensible exercise to include in obedience anyway - the dogs all know if there going to be left for any length of time they might as well get themselves comfy in a drop.

Well done everybody - bad luck about stays with Mason but the first one is out of the way now and it will only get easier .

Well done Brookie, Scoota and Snazzy.

and even if it does bedazzledx2 your sure to have fun anyway right. When in doubt eat lots, drink lots, party hard and maybe do the occasional round in the ring .

Good luck for the Classic everybody .

Jacqui - you could have two options at SAODC from what you have said - I would either go down and have a chat to them on a Tuesday morning or Tuesday evening and speak with the chief instructor or just go into the office and explain you have trained elsewhere interstate. I know they have assessed dogs who have been trained at other clubs or alternatively have suggested people do a month of grade 5 and then do the assessment at the end of the month. There are club graduations in the final class of every month. . Grade 5 is essentially a CCD level dog - so heel on-lead, stand for exam, a recall off-lead and a sit stay (~1min) and drop stay (~2min). I do know they are willing to assess dogs who have previous training at other clubs. I know a couple were assessed by the Chief Agility instructor because they had trained agility at other clubs. They just want to make sure you have a dog under control who isn't going to be a problem. If you have any further questions or do happen to come out on a Tuesday night to ask then I am normally over where they have the rings set up from around 6:30pm. Although my two dogs are normally in the car unless I am working them. I am also out on a Wed night again from around 6:30pm.

Agility Dog Club train on Thursday nights down behind the airport and have new intakes monthly. http://www.agilitydogclubsa.com/index.htm SAODC Training agility on Wed nights in near the Victoria Park Race course but the dog has to have completed Grade 5 obedience. Obedience is on Tuesday nights. http://www.sadogobedience.org.au/ ETA. I have been members of both clubs. I am a member of SAODC and do both agility and obedience with my girls (have been a member there for 10 years). I was a member of ADCSA last year and will probably rejoin there eventually again this year just not got a dog I can train at the moment.

about the squealing - oh I should add another one - when your 10.5 year old is dragging you into the ring at training and while waiting is barking and trying to grab the lead to tug and when you finally remove the lead you have to give a firm wait while you hand over your seekback and lead and then she proceeds to "yip" her way around the ring while standing around between exercises.

You go out to mow the lawn and you keep having to remove a tug rope from being dropped in front of the mower. <don't worry its not a motorised one its a really old hand push one>

My view is the dog either has enough drive to complete the task that you require or they don't. I agree I think there is a fuzzy line when you start applying high drive/moderate drive/low drive tags. Drive is certainly not the be all and end all of a performance dog. If your wanting a performance dog its a package - you want decent temperament, solid nerves, good drive levels and as Cosmolo said it also comes down to work ethic. The question is more does the dog have enough "drive" for the task required. You might have a dog with low to moderate drive levels but solid nerves and get further then a dog who has moderate to high drive but nerve issues. ETA. Cosmolo wrote: Do you think some dogs are naturally more precise or is this all learned and training related? I am not sure about this and whether it comes down to correct training from day 1 and only reinforcing a desired behavior when its done correctly. I know my young girl has been a lot easier to train for precision (straighter fronts/neater retrieves) then my older dog but I don't know if that is because I knew more what I was after the second time around and didn't have to retrain things. Having said that her work is naturally neat. The first time I threw a DB for her she raced out, picked it up, bought it back and sat in a perfect present as though she had been doing it her entire life. Whether its because she has only ever been reinforced for straight sits in front even at the learning stages or whether she is just more accurate its I guess a little open for debate.

Dog finds motivator/tug toy that you didn't even know was buried deep in the garden the moment you walk out the back door and then throws it in your lap and waits staring hopefully for you to ask for something.

My observations would support more what Vickie says re BCs. Its highly likely my young girl might have EIC but we manage to avoid collapse episodes by being extra careful. She certainly does not self regulate her exercise but I now play it super safe and we don't do a lot of fetch activities outside of places like the beach where she has access to water. Half a dozen throws of a frisbee is all she is allowed and then she is put back on-lead. She also wears a cool coat for a lot of the year when out exercising (or at least I have it on hand). Its a very scary experience the first few times you witness it. I have also been told the more collapse episodes they have the easier it is for them to collapse in the future. She is still training in agility and obedience but we don't train for very long and I am certainly very careful with what we do do. I also do think its related to work ethic and personality type. It was interesting I raised the discussion with my girls breeder who had at the time Kenz had her first couple of episodes still had some of her siblings (and runs a boarding kennel and had other siblings stay). Her comment was that none of her dogs (or any of my girls litter siblings) would retrieve more then a couple of times before giving her the fury finger. They just didn't get themselves that worked up. I don't think she is a super intense dog in comparison to some but she would retrieve until you stopped throwing the toy if given that option.

I agree with what corvus says. Drive isn't the be all and end all but it does make it easier. I do think any dog with a solid temperament should be able to manage something like a CCD title regardless of drive level. I also believe they are just as capable of winning the class - if they perform the exercises correctly there is nothing that will prevent them from necessarily winning. On the other hand having a high drive dog can be useless to you if the dog doesn't have the nerves to go with it.

Awesome work huski (and class).

Dear dear Scoota .

Ooooh I should say we didn't get out for a walk first thing this morning as we had to wait for the air con service guy to arrive so I decided we would work on some metal retrieving in the backyard and Kenz was finally deciding it wasn't quite so evil as it has been. Slow progress but we will get there. Speaking of herding - booked Kenz into a herding clinic in about a month wahoo can't wait she loves her herding.

Happy Birthday Evil Kirra . Hope mum fed you yesterday and you didn't have to go and find your own food again .

that sounds like Kenz at 12 weeks who got into my training bag and promptly emerged with a seekback article which I took off her (after I rewarded her of course), she then disappeared only to remerge about 5 minutes later with a utility glove. Hmmm we never had metal pinching though I only wish we did. On a funny pinching story - I remember when Sue H came over for the workshop and she was staying at my place and Ness kept disappearing into the room Sue was staying in and emerging with training toys out of Sue's bag. This was my dog that never did toys hahahaha.

OSS I don't tend to shop at bunnings much but I can't resist going to find a bargain on training gear . So what else should I be on the look out for at Bunnings . I should say my last trip to Bunnings for training gear resulted in me getting $50 and free gardening gloves. Hmmmmm note to Bunnings staff if I hand you a $50 note to pay don't go handing me back a $50 note in change and then arguing with me when I try and give it back and then leaving me waiting for a supervisor for another 15 minutes to "resolve" the issue.

Argh think I feel a trip to bunnings coming up - UDX cloths here I come.

TSD nope I suffered trying to teach Kenz articles early on when she would have nothing to do with anything else I offered as a reward. Just lucky she also clued in to scenting and returning with the correct article . She would bring it back and I would offer her a treat and she would take one look at the treat and turn her nose completely up at it and a tug reward didn't rate either. I still have to be careful occasionally with her. I will throw a DB and if the DB is still out she will not always take a tug but would prefer the DB thrown again. I guess I can see how it could develop some really sloppy obedience behaviors that way. Although obviously it works in retrieving :D. I wonder if the difference lies in the "she is still happy to gobble up chicken if offered". It becomes a little tricky to polish a behavior that the dog considers self-rewarding to the extent that they will take no other external reward. Not sure if this is part of the logic or not just know its one I have battled with and continue to battle with. ETA. Although I know some obedience handlers in the states (and I am sure there are some here as well although don't personally know of any) who specifically only reward there dog with "ring objects" when they train.

TSD - I am not sure I could actually prevent Kenz from thinking the retrieve is some sort of reward. I just have to watch that what I do immediately preceeding a retrieve is something I want to reward. So I have to be super careful with things like seekback heelwork (she thinks finding the seekback is a reward) or even the 4 or 5 paces leading up to a DB throw - if its even the slightest bit crooked I now refuse to throw the DB. For a long time I couldn't even get her to take a reward while the DB was out. Lucky her DB retrieves have always been pretty accurate including her presents. She will now take a tug reward and very occasionally food as a reward (only her meal and only if she is super hungry) after a retrieve.

Wahoo go Jedi (and Nik) fantastic stuff.