Kavik

Not me, but I came across this clip while searching Seesaw performances - this person uses a broom as a reward I'm not all that inventive - have used socks, sticks and plastic drink bottles and (with Zoe) chasing birds (naughty I know )

Thanks for the comparison

I agree Lablover, I now try to train fairly silently (especially for agility and any clicker training) - it was really hard at the beginning though cause I was so used to talking

How do Billinghurst's and Lonsdale's ideas on Raw Feeding differ?

My mum is into whole feeding and has expressed an interest in raw feeding her dog, so I thought I might get her a good book on it for Christmas so that she does it correctly. What are people's recommendations?

I've only found another one in the USA: http://www.affordableagility.com/agilityinbag.htm Have you ever trained any of the agility equipment before?

Completely agree This anecdote is performance related and not general pet behaviour but demonstrates anyway. There is someone at agility who is having real issues with her dog and the seesaw. The dog is very small. I can sympathise as Zoe is not keen on the seesaw, and when I was training her in agility I did not understand how to teach it properly ( now that I know how, I am planning on trying to retrain her seesaw even though she will not compete. Will be interesting to see if I can retrain a 10 yr old dog on it). The dog won't go on the seesaw now and is balking at the dogwalk too because it thinks it may be a seesaw. The owner is convinced her dog will never be able to do the seesaw and is negative about any suggestions to fix the problem, so the owner is part of the problem.

For the record I like to use the method Aidan describes

What about shaping any head movement to the side?

That's not necessarily true Chocolate. Sometimes groomers can get dogs to do things owners can't precisely because there is not that history there.

Having done grooming before, it can be VERY difficult to bathe and brush a large dog who is bouncing off the walls. Who refuses to get into the bath, freaks out in the bath and tries to jump out (difficult to hold a 30kg+dog in the bath and bathe them at the same time by yourself!) and then bounces around while you try to dry and brush them.

Well you did better than me - we didn't make it into the ring If I knew he was going to get allergies I would have given it a go before they got really bad. He has always been really easily distracted though, I couldn't get good focus in busy places.

That's why I can't compete with Diesel - he scratches every couple of minutes - can't even do a short training session without him scratching himself almost constantly

I was thinking number 3? But after reading what you're saying I realize she would look even more ridiculous then she does now (refer to the picture below - that's Rosie in the car, in case you're wondering what's on the pic). Love the photo

I am getting some weave poles with metal bases for my birthday so plan on getting Kaos faster on the weaves and consistent footwork, more work on entries and work on rear crossing the weaves as I haven't done a lot of work on that and when I tried at training he pulled out to see what I was doing. I want to do more work on my seesaw performance too - want a bit more speed and driving ahead. I'm going to try to get a plank so I can work on getting more independent contacts and get him driving into position. Want to work on some jumping handling skills too. Not much to do over the break from competing

His pictures make him look bigger than that - 540 means he is shorter than Kaos Kaos is 570.

At 6 months he also should be fine on 2 meals a day

He is gorgeous Can't wait to hear how he progresses.

OK out of these we did manage to get Kaos's ADAC Novice Jumping. Some running off issues caused problems for a while but we are well on the way to getting that sorted - he is fine as long as he is focussed and we don't make a mistake Unfortunately Diesel's health problems have caused me to forget about trialling him altogether. Here's to a successful 2010

Well we didn't quite reach our goals for this year So my revised goals for next year are to get JD and AD on Kaos, as well as an ADAA title (I get confused with what those are called though ) and ADAC Novice Agility title.

I have enough runs to separate my guys. When Kaos was a puppy I kept him in a separate run when they couldn't be supervised but once he grew up they all run together. I will probably do the same with the next pup - separate until old enough to be sensible.

I would use a crate for the puppy's trip home - easier to clean up accidents and it can take a while for them to get used to a harness and not tangle themselves up. With a Ridgeback it is unlikely you will be able to fit a crate in your car unless it is a station wagon or similar with a big back, so I would use a harness when she is bigger.

That was hillarious

Ah - those aren't REAL Kongs (I have two of those - they only get used as a reward in training as they are material and would be destroyed. They are kept with the other soft prey and tug toys). Real Kongs are hard plastic and I have a hard time imagining a toy poodle could destroy one.

I find it interesting re the Kongs. I have Kelpies and a GSD and none of my Kongs have been destroyed Actually they don't tend to use them much unless it is moving in a game of fetch.