Kavik

You don't add the cue until the dog is performing the action reliably the way you want

I'm not shaking my head, don't worry Each club is different :D I like showing new people foundation work, even if they don't see its relevance, as it is something they can work on at home and it helps with skills necessary for agility later on. I prefer methods which don't rely on luring too heavily or for too long for weaving. I think the dog understands it better when they are given the chance to work it out rather than just follow the food. And if they understand it better, they enjoy it more and are quicker, which benefits everyone

I think there should be no problem with wanting to jump your dog lower than 600. And quite understandable with a giant breed dog if you don't wish to compete. Is there a reason you specifically want to lure the weaves? As Vickie pointed out, there are many ways to train the weaves besides using guides, and they teach independence better than pure luring through the whole thing (the dog will have a better understanding of how to do the obstacle on his own without you right there pointing out each weave pole). I really think you need to train weaves at home anyway if you want to progress - once a week at training for a few repetitions is not enough to learn such a complex skill. I also instruct, and one club I instruct at has mostly non competition interested people at the beginner level which I teach. It can be difficult to get people to understand the importance of some of the foundation/lower level exercises for the understanding and enjoyment of both dogs and people, even if you do not wish to compete. Even though many of these exercises don't look that related to agility they are important and also fun! We had a lengthy discussion on how we were going to teach weaves at the club given the mixed group of people we often have training and opted for a combination of V-weaves/slanted poles and a separate 2 pole entry exercise.

From memory they have to be quite dehydrated (not just a little but starting to get to problem levels) for this method to indicate dehydration.

Tick? I would go to the vet. If it is a tick, they can be deadly if not treated in time. Mine were outside until lunchtime as I was out, with water bowls and shade but no ice, and they are fine (definitely enjoying being inside under aircon though!)

I've also heard the internal politics in some teams in flyball get quite *interesting*

Go have a look at both - they are VERY different :D I personally am not interested in flyball - I like the variety of equipment at agility (+ ways to teach it and to improve your performance), as well as the handling challenges that make me think and make the handling integral to the training and the experience, whereas flyball is more the dog doing the same pattern. Also the amount of barking I have seen when watching flyball would do my head in and while I like my dog to be in drive and keen and fast, I don't like them as wound up as I have seen flyball dogs.

A good recall is essential for agility, a good stay is also handy As mentioned, your pup is too young to start proper agility training but there is a lot of preparation you can do that makes it easier and quicker to learn the obstacles and sequencing. Whether you have to do proper obedience first depends on the club - my club does not have a prerequisite obedience component. * know your dog's favourite reward - having both a food and a toy reward is beneficial. Tug is seen as the ideal toy reward at the moment, though mine prefers thrown toys * circle work/shadow handling * shaping of any behaviours * targeting (hand touches etc) * rear end awareness exercises - walking through a ladder, 'elephant trick', walking backwards * sending ahead of you to a toy or target * focussing forward

Avenpart are recommended highly in the Parsons book "The Kelpie" - he seems to think very highly of Mary McCrabb Congratulations on your titles! Thanks Kaos is a good boy and lots of fun ;)

I have an Avenpart Kelpie He is awesome We now have our JD and AD titles

I have been working on contacts, just using my short plank, getting a better understanding for exactly what I want him to do (pounce into 2o2o position with both front feet at the same time) and getting this consistent without the target and on verbal command. He is doing really well :D though is better on my left than on my right for some reason. Can't wait to try it out on real equipment I haven't done as much weaving as I would like - trying to fix up a problem where he sometimes stalls in the middle of the weaves if I turn towards him or slow down - have done some but the grass keeps growing so fast OH can't keep up with it and it is now knee high - bit too long for weaving practice

That is interesting DeltaCharlie as I think 2 x 2 is the most complicated way to teach weaves that I have seen It took me a few times watching the DVD to understand it, I have not tried to train a dog with 2x2 yet. I instruct at one of the clubs I train with and we had a meeting about which way to teach weaves. In the end, for classes, we decided on a mixture of slanted poles and a 2 pole entry method. Unless you really understand shaping (and most new people don't) the 2x2 method isn't going to be successful. My other club has guides for classes, but people are encouraged to use 2x2 on their own at home and I think has a set of 2x2 poles.

This is Kaos, taken quite a while ago now, on 12 stick in the ground poles. I don't have footage with him on my solid base poles (should get some!) - he is now just as fast with his solid base poles. We used a combination of channel, slanted poles and 3 pole entry.

Considering the size difference and the chunky build of Staffies I would carefully supervise their interaction and take care. My GSD as a 6 month old pup was running and playing with my Kelpie X and a collision happened when they were playing, which resulted in the GSD breaking a hind leg so accidents with rough play can happen with horrible outcomes.

I take a dog for a walk with my son in the morning (sometimes with him in stroller, sometimes walking or running at the park), and in the evening my husband looks after my son and I do another walk on my own with the dogs. I also do some training with them when my son has a nap, and go to training one evening a week and trials some weekends while my husband looks after the little one. It took a while for that to get coordinated though, it was pretty crazy in the beginning and I fit it in wherever I could. Dogs are pretty flexible that way, they helped me keep my sanity in those early months of sleep deprivation and when I had sleeping issues. I'm sure they will help me again with the one I am due with in April Also come join us in the preggers thread lots of support there

I love the look of these guys! Haven't had a chance to meet many in person though to see what they are like. They are on my to do more research on list for possible next dog

Look good to me

I personally don't like barriers/guides - tried them with Zoe and she didn't understand what to do when the barriers came off even though I did it slowly. V-weaves works well, she understood it then and combined with 3 poles for entries is how I taught Kaos as well.

There are many ways to teach weaving that are successful. One that is growing in popularity and being talked about here a lot is Susan Garrett's 2 x 2 method. To do this one, your dog needs plenty of drive (preferably for toys and tug in particular) and a good history of shaping. As a handler you need to be proficient in shaping to get the most out of this method. She has a great DVD out which outlines the steps to train this method, which I suggest you watch if you plan on training this method as it can be a bit confusing otherwise. Some other methods include: Slanted pole/V-weaves - slanting the poles at an angle to make it easier and you slowly straighten them up as the dog gets the idea and learns the weaving motion Channel method - offset the poles so that they create a channel for the dog to run through the middle of, slowly close the channel as the dog gets the idea and learns the weaving motion Use of guides/physical barriers 3 poles to teach entries

My parents adopted a rescue Beagle and this is pretty much my experience with them Except the one they had was bitey as well, very naughty, you could hear him howling from the other end of the street, would bark and howl in a crate and you couldn't leave him unattended or he would steal or eat something and one at the vet I worked at could open any kind of cage, they had to tie the cage shut and put him in a harness with the harness upside down (or he could get out of it) and tie him in or he would wander around the clinic and steal stuff I wouldn't own one.

Me too There are only a few breeds outside of the herding group that I would consider for myself for a sports prospect. A few others I like if I was only after a casual sports dog/pet rather than a serious competing prospect.

Good puppy!

I would also send him back. I have one dog aggressive dog and it is hard work and stressful. I would not wish the experience on anyone.

If Toby is part Kelpie and behaves like a herding dog, what about a purebred Kelpie? I have found that herding breeds understand each other well, and that Kelpies like the company of other Kelpies I have found that I have to be careful with introduction of the Kelpies with gundogs as they do speak slightly different languages Kaos gets on with the Vizslas he knows, but I think that is partly because he was introduced to sidoney's Vizslas when he was a puppy, and hers are well behaved, as are the ones at agility (Though I have to be careful if several come up to him at once as he can get a bit overwhelmed then). I haven't found Labs to mix well with the Kelpies.

I'm so jealous! It was also on my Christmas list but nobody got it for me.