Kavik

I don't use a cue. I certainly wouldn't use "Up" as that is my A-Frame command.

You do sound really picky, but that's OK, everyone is picky in their own way What did you think of the Brittany? If I had to pick a coated gundog, they would definitely be top of my list. For small, I like Schipperkes, German Spitz and Japanese Spitz (have met a few of these that are quite spunky! but some that are reserved too). OK so I like my prick eared dogs though Pry Sheps . . . hmmmm Nice little performance dogs for sure! I have to admit I am boring and am really only interested in a couple of breeds for sports and what I could live with.

It just looks like the colour patterning to me - Kaos has the same thing. I wouldn't worry about it

I didn't think we had Pyr Sheps here - cool!

German Pinscher? I quite like these but they look more challenging than the people focussed breeds I have

I think that because of the huge numbers of GSD breeders that it would be harder to find a good GSD. Partly due to the reasons Staranais said (hard to find one with enough drive) and one with good temperament etc as there is so much choice! As there is isn't so much choice with Malinois it is easier to get recommendations from people as to the right kennel for your purpose.

I taught this by teaching a few different steps and then backchaining. I taught a hold/retrieve (for obedience initially) I taught her to put her head in the bin via shaping. Then I held the object over the bin, got her to hold it, then put her head in the bin and release object (I used toilet paper rolls for this). Then held object a little further away from bin so she had to hold object, go to the bin, put her head in and release. Then placed object on the ground next to the bin so she had to pick it up and carry it to the bin, put her head in and release object. Then add more distance.

I personally don't like the stretchy/bungy type leads as I like to know exactly how far the lead will reach,and I don't like how they feel, but each to their own

I will say that having met PAX's boy he is just divine! Though he makes my working Kelpie seem half asleep

I like dogs that like to work and play with me. I enjoy the high energy of the Kelpies and that they pick up training and shaping so quickly and are ready to do it at any time. I find Diesel quite frustrating sometimes because he is slower and clumsier both mentally and physically, I am used to agility and speed and sensitivity. Not that Diesel is a dumb dog, he just works at a slower, steadier pace, and it is sometimes hard for me to adjust after the quick Kelpies.

Certainly depends on what you want. From my experience and what I've seen, Malinois are more active, higher drive, sensitive and can be highly strung. They are on my list of potential next dogs GSD seem to be more laid back and calmer as well as being more heavily built. Having become used to Kelpies, I love craziness and I find my GSD sooo different to the active Kelpie mind I am used to dealing with. Plus the agility of the Malinois suits the sports I compete in.

Shaping tricks is good for mental exercise You could also work on teaching a formal retrieve if you haven't already as the beginning steps of hold etc don't require you to move around.

A run with fences is much better than tying to a flying fox, as they have more freedom of movement without being restricted by a lead/chain etc. The run does not need to be huge, certainly does not need to be 5 acres! I have a decent sized back yard that is fully fenced and my guys are fine there - they get training, walks, off lead runs and competing to keep them busy. Kelpies do not need to run 24/7, but need structure and mental exercise as much as physical exercise. There is a lot of training you can do in even a restricted amount of space when it is raining to keep them occupied. ETA: and NO they do not learn to respect snakes by being bitten! Snakes kill dogs.

Mine just co-exists with the dogs He knows they are my hobby and has no problem with me having them, but he has no interest in them though I can trust him to follow instructions on their care if I am away (feeding etc). He will not walk one. Diesel would like to be his dog though.

Fences.

I use thrown rewards when I want the dog to continue along the same line/active (so weaves, jumps and tunnels if you want them to send ahead) and food for stationary exercises (start lines, contacts). I trained my weaves using a combination of slanted poles(v-weaves), channel weaves and a 3 pole entry (which really made a difference in his understanding - thanks Vickie!). Next time I think I will give the 2 x 2 method a try.

I use both food and tooy rewards with my Kelpie, his favourite toy is a thrown squeaky toy. Tug is ideal if yours will play tug. Some circle work/shadow handling may also help with the personal space problem and also help her understanding of your body language. The distance will come in handy for things like Open and Gamblers - we almost always get the distance challenge, it's the other bits we make mistakes on What food rewards are you using? I use cheese, but a wide range of things can work such as cooked chicken, cabanossi, frankfurts etc. I have never had a problem with mine as they are gutzes and will eat just about anything

Kaos is the same We went to an off leash beach over Christmas while staying with OH's relatives and every walk along the beach he ran through the water and then stuck his head under to drink! I wouldn't have thought it tasted good but he kept doing it. Luckily this time all I got were a couple of loose poos (and no messes - he was a good boy and did them on our walks). He did drink a lot more water when he got back than he normally does though and a lot of wees.

If I was going to do scent detection again, I would probably teach a passive response (for one thing, it is much easier to demonstrate to friends, not nearly as destructive ) but at the time I did it I had not taught any kind of active response to anything and did it more for the challenge and to have something different to train than I had trained before.

Firstly the child in the article is 4 years old - too young to be able to enforce rules/commands or be seen as higher in the pecking order than the dog. The article also says that the child was playing with the dog while the dog ate, not that the child was helping to feed the dog. I don't know many dogs (especially Labradors!) that are interested in playing when presented with their dinner! Most likely the dog was only ever tolerating being annoyed by the child while it ate, and did not tolerate it this time.

I can't believe people still ignore the big rule of don't let young kids near the dog while they are eating! It was a recipe for disaster and now everybody paid for it

I agree you are trying to go too fast. Before doing anything else I would decide on and work on his response. I taught the active digging response by first putting food under something the dog can see and smell through but can't get to (I used a milk crate) and rewarding at first for any pawing at the crate, slowly increasing criteria til I was getting lots of pawing/digging at the crate. Then I put my target odour under the crate as well, then removed the food so the dog was only digging at the target odour. Once I was getting a good response to the target odour I then started with the containers of scent outside the crate (just one to start with) and then added more containers etc. and hiding in different parts of a garage. The problem I see with the dog picking it up as a response as it may not always be possible for the dog to pick up the item containing the scent (may be in a big box, bag, up high, in the wall, in furniture or below the floor).

She is very cute

You could try placing a board on the steps at home, so he gets used to walking down a slope. Most agility clubs that I know don't do any contact equipment with the dogs until they are 12 months.

Agree with this I agree with poodlefan though - if your dog is not used to being in a crate, this is not an ideal time to teach him by just putting him in there as he will be noisy if not used to it. I get mine used to being crated from a young age as it makes travelling with them (holidays, training, trials, seminars) so much easier.