Kavik

Get a breed you can live with There are many breeds that can do well at agility. I agree that picking the right breeder/lines within the breed is just as important. Especially so with the top breeds for the sport as temperament and structure varies. I know several people who do very well with rescues and crossbreeds - some of the best in the state are working dog crosses. Weasels I have a typically marked black and tan and rather tall working Kelpie who is my best agility dog so far My smaller skinnier dog has a poor temperament.

OMG

I've trained a bowwith 2 dogs, using different methods. I used the method Dxenion used with the first dog. With the next dog I shaped it with a clicker, starting with marking the head going down.

I just worry that if I don't reinforce in position enough his performance there may deteriorate - worried he may self release

I have a 2o2o contact question I have been oing lots of work on my plank to get more accurate, faster and independent contacts. Biggest problem is when I am behind him or slowing down. So have been working on being stationary beside him, lateral distance, and then behind him. starting with him on edge of board, slowly moving him further back. Have been using food rewards, one dropped on the ground for position, one thrown for release. He is tending to curl around to look at me and coming off crooked, especially on one side. I am trying rewarding for looking forward and not rewarding him when he is crooked. Just for fun I decided to try with his favourite toy. revved him up and did a restrained send from far end of board and he was perfect - fast, driving to the end in position. Then I released and threw toy. So he CAN do it. Is the problem using food rewards or should I continue with them? I can't reward in position with his toy (rubber squeaky) and he won't tug reliably.

DOL is a very mild forum compared to others . . .

Have you done circle work/shadow handling on both sides? That might help.

When any time I go out without the dogs, I get asked where they are and comments from people I have never met saying they see me walking the dogs. I also get asked if I am a professional dog trainer from time to time when out training my dogs (probably because they see me with different dogs lol).

What health issues has she had? Sounds like sometimes she is still not feeling 100% My allergy dog is similar, sometimes works well, other times you can see he is just not interested.

My previous dog lived to 17 years. A crossbreed, Cocker Spaniel x (our best guess Kelpie type).

How severe it appears to you may be different to how severe it appears to the dog. What if the dog found the halti more aversive?

Mine has environmental allergies. Had him desexed but not because of the allergies (they surfaced later).

Yes it may help you to regain control, but the best way is not to wait til they are way beyond threshold and then correct them, regardless of tool. No need for rolleyes man. ETA: What focus work are you doing? LAT sounds like it might be useful here. What I am trying to explain is that a reminder to pay attention is not going to be as effective regardless of tool without the proper groundwork.

Goldengirl I agree with Staranais, It is not as simple as what tool you pick, getting a prong will not in itself fix the problem. I agree focus work or something like LAT and building up your distractions slowly and at a distance at first will help you as it helps with self control, a type of corrective device may be useful at some point in the process but is not the only thing you will need.

Fuzzy Prong collars are easier to use correctly than a check chain. A check chain requires a lot more technique to use properly and effectively than a prong (which has an action like a martingale).

I just had a thought about a breed you may be interested in. The Beauceron! Pity they aren't in Australia though! http://www.beauceron.ca/index1.html

My guess is 1) hardcover and 2) lots of high quality colour photos

fuzzy, Have you tried a prong collar on yourself? When I first saw them I was like NO WAY! but was persuaded to try it and compare to the check chain on myself, and really they feel very different and prong collars do not leave the stinging sensation that check chains do.

It comes down to how you use them. If you are heavy handed with any correctional tool it will cause a problem.

kiesha It is the very important foundation work that SG does (and there is a lot of it to be successful in any field) that is missing in dogs with behavioural problems. You only realise how important it is and how much work you have done when you try to help people who have not done it. Not everyone is prepared to go to the same lengths in dog training. While some our lives revolve around dog training (mine included ) not everyone has that same passion. She did have to work hard with decaff

No need to preach to the converted - I have used Click to Calm with my dog aggro dog with good results She is not fixed though. And actually, while Susan Garrett worked hard to harness the drive in the ways she wanted, it WAS there from birth. Her crate games and ruff love program (which is where I would start on her program with a dog with behavioural problems) are quite involved, require the dog to spend a lot of time in and out of a crate, and I think many people who have problem dogs would not be willing to go to those lengths. I think they sound like great programs for people to use with their own dogs if they so choose, including those with behavioural problems, but they are not for everyone. And will not work for every person's circumstances or all dogs. I have other family members with dogs. I can guarantee you that none of them would be willing to go to those lengths for behavioural problems. I suggested a fairly seemingly simple idea of keeping a problem dog confined to a smaller part of house or on a lead and teaching the dog to give items and get off items to my mum (for a dog who would steal things and hide and then bite when you tried to take them away) and she thought even that was too much work. No way would she follow such an in depth program as SG suggests and would be required for this particular dog.

It is a very interesting article - read it when it appeared on facebook link. And I agree about the access to reinforcement/punishment idea. The issue I see is where the dog already has such a big problem and doesn't have the foundation work to use Susan's approach. I love Susan's approach and went to her seminar last year. In order for her to train without corrections, she is very good at managing her interactions with her dogs and their access to reinforcement, with very clear criteria. She also has dogs with good drive. This is great! but not easy for many(most I would say) people to do. Many people with family and other commitments would not be able to (or even want to) go to the lengths that she does in her training. Also, prong collars and positive reinforcement do not have to be mutually exclusive - they just give you good control eg if you are small and have a large dog, so if the dog lunges or pulls you won't be pulled over. You can still use toys, treats, praise. Same as any other collar.

He is conflicted about agility, more about people breeding their agility dogs without knowing if they are good on sheep rather than people partaking in the activity, which is a valid point imo and does happen. I reckon we can give the Border Collies a run for their money in agility :D

He is certaily not shy The history is very interesting. I am looking at Barru Kelpies - which actually have a lot of Karrawarra dogs (like Boozer :D ). The guy is very personable and easy to talk to and helpful in finding what I am after, and the dogs look and sound good from what I can see on their site and Tony Parsons has a good opinion of them. Need to work up the courage to go out there (6 hrs away ) as I have not met any dogs of his breeding. OH says just go back to Kaos's breeder - certainly would be easier and if I don't see anything I like more than what I have, certainly what I will do.

I'm finding the book a fascinating read! Great to read about great past and present studs, including stuff I didn't know about Kaos's breeder and about another breeder I am interested in. And lots of colour photos Sorry, can't help with your question though