ness

not sure about poor Beans Ness became quickly partial to raw sweet potato and cheese but then she is a guts .

I have used cones, I also made up a stick with a screw in the bottom of it about the same size as a seekback article which I could easily fit in my bumbag to take to the park. Boxes. We have an assorted array of start pegs used at trains - including metal discs (like the type the would use in agility with course numbers on them), I even used a bit of bamboo I found at the park one day. Doesn't matter what it is just so long as its something.

Seita I was told to always train with a start post and Ness was doing proper length seekbacks inside a fortnight and has missed a token of one seekback ever. I taught it the same way you did. Drop it then about turn and send, then add a turn, then add a turn the other direction. The one she did miss happened to be at a trial early on when the grass was long and the grounds covered in duck poo. She got near to it but unless the dog went straight over the top they weren't going to find it. Only one dog on that day in the whole of UD managed to find it. Having said that since then she has been one of the few who have managed to find it without much effort. She was never taught to track it but she decided somewhere around the middle of last year she would track it straight back from me and now always takes a very direct line back.

Sweet potato seemed to feature on Ptolomy's treat list when I was there. Chopped up chicken necks and cheese but I can't remember exactly what Beans was allowed but do remember she could have sweet potato . I remember tub upon tub of cheese and sweet potato lined up in Ptolomy's fridge .

Going to post a brag in the training thread - Kenz managed a set of articles out at club (well woods and metals) and found a wood and a metal. I wasn't going to give her a go tonight but I had to set them up outside the ring because a certain big sister decided she couldn't do them in the ring so I ended up doing them after we had finished. Another brag tonight - Keith Millington a judge put us through novice. Kenz has been petrified of him since he bent over when she was in the ring and has been to spooky to even contemplate a round with him. Well tonight we went into the ring and she promptly went to greet him when the lead was removed . Far cry from the scardy dog who wouldn't go anywhere near him. She then managed a full heel pattern, SFE we didn't get but she didn't take off she sat down, she did a reasonable nice recall (but was a bit unsure so her present was off) and the same with her retrieve on the flat. The best bit though - Keith said to me after we had finished she would already be working better then 90% of what is out there trialling. Still a long way to go before I will be happy with her enough to enter her first trial but chuffed to think she might actually be getting there. She then happily approached a strange guy who was hanging around wanting to know about BCs and then topped the night off by managing to play articles . And yes Ptolomy we did get some sit stay practice in as well .

Never say never amypie - my average speed 500 dog has managed to win classes before - when all the super fast dogs have failed .

Same with Kenzie - 2 on Sunday and mad as a hatter.

Yah I wanted white ones for UDX training - not that we ever progressed with that . I have also scored a couple of leftovers training at ovals when they have been left laying around .

Hmm as short as possible would be my guess Seita. I will hold a signal as long as it takes for Ness to take direction - no point in sending her unless she is looking. I honestly don't know if I am losing marks for it I scored full marks at the last trial for holding a signal longer then I would have normally but Ness was determined she was going to go for glove 2 when she was suppose to be getting glove 1 so I held it until she committed to glove 1.

I bought my cones from Rebel sport from memory.

Looks like a carbon copy of the SA Heat Policy that was bought into effect 1 July 2009. Not a showy but the 48 hours out did impact on at least one show that was held in SA. A cool change came through much earlier then anticipated with the forecast max being at much as 10 degrees less then that anticipated 2 days prior. I also know there was an issue because they were basing the decision to cancel on the Adelaide forecast max and not that at the venue which being in the hills was a degree or so cooler.

Hmmm CR orders are usually here within 11 days from past experience. They seem to come quicker then that normally but usually 11 days would be the maximum I have had. I think some of the larger orders have taken a bit longer.

You might find its just as cheap to organise a state based order and order it separately. I was going to offer this last time but it was going to complicate things with Ptolomy so didn't push it. The postage saving isn't as much as you might think it is with a larger group of people especially if you then have to factor in the postage costs to the various states. If you had even 4 or 5 in a state that wanted an order then its just as easy to split postage. Especially if you are likely to catch up with them at a DOL meet for instance. Some of us place Clean Run orders fairly frequently and usually do open them to others to share postage costs. Usually we split postage evenly or as a percentage of order total depending.

Can I ask another scent related question - will post it here rather than via PM because somebody else might benefit from the answer. Kenz is still often marking the placement of the article by sight when I go and place the article out. She is obviously sniffing so I have no doubt she can use her nose but wonder if I need to start setting up scenarios so she isn't just sighting the article. Whether that be placing it out and then asking her to line up again or having her in a drop placing the article and then asking for a line up. Or is what she is doing at the moment ok anyway.

Ptolomy - I received a PM from bedazzled yesterday and the words blunt and to the point featured quite highly . But thats what so nice about you all no beating around the bush and making a situation something it isn't. I have to post a scent brag of my own from this morning. My motivation has been pretty low so since Ptolomy threw out the scent challenge last week I have become more motivated to train. Kenz has started scent in the past but then I just got preoccupied after 1 or 2 sessions and we would fall in a heap and I'd put it into the lets leave it for now basket as life would get in the way. I am also not a morning person and really struggle to train and remain upbeat first thing in the morning. I went and walked my kids at the park and then came home and logged in to DOL as I would normally. After watching Ptolomy's video and finding I had an extra 15 minutes up my sleeve this morning I took both kids out the front with a box of articles. Ness's articles are also in a bit of a hole at the moment and in need of remedial work. She has a bad habit of dropping articles at my feet or messy pick ups. Resulting in a number of fails at trials. Anyway placed out a full set of articles so 4 unscented woods, 4 leathers, 4 metals. Ness got to play first. She nailed all 3 and actually stuck all three presents and they were nice clean tight holds . Get Kenzie out to play. Using the same articles I had for Ness and not using heavily scented ones. Not even really overly food scented as I was using frozen 4 legs as a reward. Hmmm ok maybe trying baby dog when she has been behind the fence waiting her turn isn't necessarily the most conducive to getting a thinking dog. Neither is using articles which are probably not totally aired . First time I sent her and she found me a wood - and yep that was when I went oh shit that was the wood she had been using yesterday . Never mind I took it off her without saying much and just sent her back to the pile. Well after that minor hiccup she was faultless. She found both metal and wood reliably . We even had an audience as mum had come out to watch. Bit of anticipation though with the not waiting until I had placed it a couple of times and mum couldn't understand why I still rewarded it - gotta love mums sometimes . Then I thought well lets just see what she makes of the leather. Placed the scented leather out in the middle of the pile and sent her off. Well knock me over but she sniffed some of the non scented articles (including the non scented leathers) got to the scented leather went mum yep thats the one I am suppose to pick up and returned. What I find fascinating is that when Ness went through the learning process (which took far longer then Kenz) and even this morning she would sniff the correct article and then have to go and check the others to make certain (this morning she did it with the leather). Kenz on the other hand seems to get to the correct article and go yep thats the one I am suppose to bring back. Even with the metals which she isn't keen on and struggles with she still gets to the correct metal and then persists with picking it up. Interesting observation also is that she was only carrying the articles around the same time I was clicking yesterday so note to self vary when you click as I could pretty obviously see I had been clicking around the same point and she was anticipating the click and dropping the article .

Ciders looking fantastic Ptolomy .

:D TerraNik about Soaks sniffing loudly - I really should upload Ness's video from her part of the session the other day . Sorry she has me in stitches doing articles when we train sometimes - not only does she send them flying but yep she sniffs very very loudly.

must be a thing about BCs and tollers - Sandi tells me her kids aren't keen on the blue ones and neither is Kenz .

Hope you all have a good time and can somebody please stir him for stealing my surf board idea .

And in the end you make the best of whatever you get dealt . After all they are a pet dog first competition dog second and sometimes its to hard to not let your heart rule even in the mostly carefully calculated decision making process.

bedazzledx2 does Ptolomy not have a tripod . Hmmm Rivsky when your over in May can you please give Ptolomy some video shooting lessons .

Well done xena99 - yes RAIN it did. I thought about coming to watch but not sure it would have had much spectator appeal on a day like this. Congratulations both on today's results as well as last nights.

sure sounds like a fair swap to me.

Kynan - maybe you could train Kenz for me next year .

Take it from them and set them up again in the learning stages. So will usually replace the unscented one with another unscented one and then pick the scented one up again and start again. Further down the track I have been known to take the wrong article and just send them back to the pile again and reward when they find the correct one.