Kavik

I have to admit to being a bit of an animal planet freak and do remember some particularly vicious (well from my point of view) hunting footage of primates but I can't remember whether it was chimps or baboons, just that it was really really bloody and I think involved hunting other monkeys. I suppose we humans have modified prey drive anyway. Ball games? Hockey, Soccer, Football, Basketball, Netball etc EFS

Yeah I was pretty sure that was the book Quickasyoucan - I remember that argument too. "Eye" in herding dogs being part of the stalk part of the sequence that had been exaggerated in herding dogs.

I don't think you would be allowed to train in prey drive if it required the use of live prey Stalk-chase-catch-shake-kill-carry-eat = prey drive. Different breeds have different amounts of the various stages. I think it was Ray Coppinger's book that explained this well? Can't remember - was definitely in a book somewhere.

Yep Diesel's broken leg cost around $5000 . . . and that was nearly 6 years ago . . .

Staranais - you have some good questions! I think there is an element of pack drive in play drive rewards.

So far I have found the most useful DVD to be Susan Garrett's Success With One Jump - lots of exercises you can do with one or no jumps - from sending to focus work to obstacle focus to handling moves such as front and rear crosses, serpentines, pull throughs and more.

I see it as instinctive drive for chasing prey As the chasing (and tugging) is what they do with the prey, movement is generally what triggers it, and this is the behaviour that they exhibit that can either be a problem (and it doesn't have to be with animals - can be bikes, cars etc) or can be used in training. An example from my own dogs. Zoe and Kaos have high prey drive, but Zoe has weak nerves and a skittish temperament. Diesel has lowish prey drive. I have kept rats and mice as pets while having the dogs. Zoe will stare at them nonstop, it is very hard to get her to focus on anything but their cage. Diesel doesn't care about them regardless of what they are doing. Kaos was interested in them, especially when they moved, but it was not too hard to get him to focus on something else. Now you might conclude that Zoe has the highest prey drive of my dogs based on that, but in terms of useable drive she doesn't, as her weak nerves means that she can shut down more easily (she is also dog aggro). Kaos has a more stable temperament and is able to remain in drive in more environments and situations. Watching them fetch a stationary toy also shows you this - Zoe runs flat out, overshoots the ball, not very controlled when she chases (but loves it!). Kaos runs very fast, but it is controlled, and he adjusts his stride to get his toy without overshooting the mark.

Hi Indiana_beagle I think you will make a great Beagle parent With many dogs, it is not necessarily the amount of time given to exercise that is important, but also what you do with the time. Training sessions which involve the dog using her brain as well as her body will go a long way in satisfying her needs. This can be basic obedience, tricks (which are a lot of fun to train!) or many other things. When your pup is young you don't want to over exercise her. This especially is where training can be useful in tiring her out without putting too much strain on her developing body. When she is older she will love longer romps. I would recommend plenty of recall training as Beagles are known for following their nose. Dogs do not need stimulation all day long. If you provide enough of that when you are home she should be happy to chill out when you are away Beagles do howl and it is LOUD! Hopefully some Beagle owners will come in here to help prevent howling issues.

corvus With the bunny example, it could be that the dog has not yet made an association with bunnies. A caged bunny is likely to get a different response from a dog that has not seen a bunny before than a bunny running in an open field. The caged bunny may get merely curiousity until it moves, whereas the bunny running is likely to get a much more dynamic response. Once a dog has experienced chasing a bunny, it may react with much more excitement and drive towards a caged bunny. With nerves effecting drive - if the dog has poor nerves or is stressed, it is less likely to go into drive. So the dog could have good drive in a familiar environment but be stressed in a more busy environment and not show the same behaviour.

What I like is that you can break down agility skills (both obstacle and handling) into small components which can be trained at home and then bring them together when training at the club. That makes it much less daunting RubyStar and the small components are FUN! Today did work on our tugging (getting much improved), driving to contact position (added in some handling - rear crosses and running ahead as well as staying behind and have him drive ahead of me), and the ladder for body awareness. ETA: this evening working on our seesaw. Again working on driving to contact position, so gettng him to hop on the end when I am holding it about half height (so it is even/straight) and then doing bang game, where I want him to drive to his pouncing foot target as soon as it hits the ground (well, in theory )

Actually I do remember another 2 German Spitzes at Canine Fun Sports as well. From what I have seen they can be feisty towards other dogs (both German and Jap Spitzes) - I wouldn't say they are an easy going off lead park type dog.

Really? Where are they all hiding! I train with one German Spitz (that has 3 legs) but have not seen any Japanese Spitzes or Shibas.

True - but the little I have seen and heard of Shibas they are not as trainable (but I think they are gorgeous looking dogs)

What do people reckon they'd be like for an agility prospect? Enough drive to be really competitive?

How are you teaching your 2o2o? Are you using a target or are you just using position? Are you rewarding in place (stationary in the 2o2o position) or only rewarding the release?

Great runs caffy!

Actually, I think you could possibly use 'game' with Labradors. They are also bred to be retrieve fallen game in cold water, adverse weather conditions and to go through brush and uncomfortable terrain to get it. That tenacious determination to retrieve could be called 'game'.

We did an ADAA agility trial today and got a quallie in Elementary Jumping There was even a chute! ( he didn't want to do the chute at the last trial). He ran fast and it felt really smooth. In Starters Jumping he did well, got his weave entry and weaved well, but did an off course jump near the end (had been the last obstacle in the last course, with the same sequence before).

I would not have your son do the separating of the dogs when they are worked up. Best that you do that for now, until you have things more under control. It is easy for things to get carried away with young dogs.

How old is your son? Where did you get the BC?

Yep that comment was shocking :rolleyes: Putting your fingers that close to the bitey end when they are fighting is asking to be bitten!

My guys howl at the usual sirens and occasionally for other reasons I have yet to determine I just tell them to knock it off and they stop but that could be difficult if they are not close to you.

The two breeds may have different play styles whcih may be causing some of the friction. I know my Kelpies have a different play style to my GSD (GSD is much more physical in his play). They certainly have a different play style than gundogs. Don't know how Ridgeys play. What do you do at the moment if the play gets too rough and they get snarly? Can you clarify the situation where the BC snapped at the child? You were cuddling the dog and the child came up? What was happening when the Ridgey growled at you? It is not very clear in your post what was happening at the time.

I find when I am unsure of what I want to do and my handling shows that that Kaos is equally uncertain When I am sure and confident in what I am doing, Kaos's performance is much better and flowing and fast With the distance, maybe she is just not used to having other equipment like the dogwalk and tunnel being between you and her. I haven't done much obstacle descrimination work or distance work around obstacle descriminations with Kaos as he was getting confused and slowing down a lot when I did.

I would do shorter and simpler sequences. She didn't look confident in working at that lateral distance with the jumps after the obstacle descrimination as she pulled in to you. I would make it easier for her to get the win.