Kavik

ness I'm with you on that any job would be an improvement in terms of income (atm I am a SAHM).

Buddy sounds like a hoot Hope I get to meet him sometime

Manly and Districts is out that way http://www.northernbeachesdogtraining.com.au/index.htm Not sure who else though

They are not all like that. You can also watch a class before you join to see whether you like the method they use.

Whereabouts are you fainty_girl?

My dogs both nose and paw target. I use different 'props' for each to make it easy and clear to them which one I want. For nose targets I usually use my hand or a target stick (nose tends to be their default and easy to transfer to other things), paw is a rectangle of something on the ground. I found paw to be more complicated to shape. I would not use multiple types of body part with the same cue (or prop) as this will be confusing.

What indication are you trying to teach and what is your reward? The boxes are most often used for a passive (sit) response (though I used it for the start of active response with food reward). I would put a lid on the target box so she can't spill the contents. Another thing I did was to put the target under a container like a milk crate where the scent comes through well and they can see it. I did this at first with food to get my active (dig) response and then added the target. With a plastic milk crate she can't destroy it, and you can mark it when she sniffs or shows interest in the scent. Staranais's suggestion sounds good. If you are training active response with tug reward you could try ditching the boxes altogether and put your scent in your reward (rolled up towel or one of those mesh bags or PVC with holes in it), play fetch with the reward and then make it harder to find.

I just use a normal ladder at home for rear end awareness. The only thing I have to watch is that Kaos sometimes likes to go too fast Interestingly Diesel does it the most easily and he is a klutz, though it could be that his stride naturally falls within the rungs whereas the Kelpies who are smaller have to think about it more. ETA: OK he's not that bad! He can do a nice swing/military finish so does have some rear end awareness.

I had an AWESOME time! Must have missed you Westielover - bummer! I saw MonElite and Ruthless and went with Casima. I also thought the agility dogs did not look that comfortable on the flooring. Flyball was fast and furious as usual! The dock diving was great - the winning dog was amazing and Moses and Doc were hillarious! And go little Atget! And the Greg Derrett seminar was fantastic! Talking about contacts and had some really useful pointers. Was also interesting to note the differences between the UK system and here. Was pitched towards competitors so some great stuff and demo dogs were great too.

What a gorgeous sable

hey, anyone who is dedicated enough to set up a Keeshond to trial deserves to have a mittel and join the very cool group of spitzy triallers ..(proving spitz breeds arent just spectacular and glamorous !) what`s one more dog?? mittels fit into small spaces !! ooops sorry to spell your name wrong last time !! good luck with Jedi at your next trial ..wooohoo for the Keeshond !!! where will you be so perhaps I could cheer you on? my mittels wont be ready till next winter. Too right! Spitzies are great to train! Thanks for the well wishes! We will be at Glendenning, Spring Fair and Hills District/Castle Hill. Hopefully I can have Jedi's allergies fixed up by then otherwise he's going to keep having problems with the stays (he gets too itchy and has to scratch). You know, a mittel would be a nice height dog for flyball... hmmmm! How would you compare the Mittel personality to the Keeshond personality? Are they similar? I'll be at Spring Fair too with Kaos for agility - might see if I can find you

Is there ADAC in Perth? I started in ADAC, which has less types of obstacles. Jumping only has non winged single jumps and open tunnels. Agility does not have a table, broad, spread or collapsible tunnel.

What poodlefan said I would certainly wait til you can do all the obstacles and can sequence a fair amount of obstacles, and at least are confident with your front cross. I find with Kaos if I am confident in my handling and know what I am going to do we do well, but when I get flustered or confused, so does he. I am fixing some running off issues (he runs off mostly when we make a mistake or when I get flustered or confused, occasionally misses the last few obstacles to get his toy). Hopefully I am better prepared for the differences between training and trialling with the next dog and don't create running off issues in the first place Being able to walk a course is important, if I am unsure about what to do on a course I ask a more experienced friend to walk it with me.

Do you know of any exercises to teach a dog to get its weight back?

great shot

How many obstacles are you sequencing in class? I have a big reward for Kaos at the end of his run - he loves to chase his toy, so I have his toy in a bag outside the ring and when we finish our run we play with it. I also have treats in the bag. You can take your dog to a trial if it is not entered and just watch as long as you don't interfere with competitors.

I have been competing for a little over a year now, though only recently in ANKC - and probably was not ready when I first started My tips from the mistakes I have made are: * Can you run sequences with no reward on your person and placing reward at the end? (my biggest mistake was not doing this sooner ) * Is your dog confident on all the obstacles you will meet? * Have a look and maybe walk a couple of courses at trials before you enter any to see the types of handling challenges you will encounter * Get your dog used to the trial atmosphere and used to working in busy places When you do enter, do not worry about the mistakes you make, including if your dog does not do an obstacle or runs off (we are still fixing that one but getting so much better now!). The most important thing is to make it a positive experience for the dog (and you!).

Yep that is exactly what it becomes Crates are very useful for: * Housetraining * Preventing destructive behaviours * Putting them somewhere safe when workmen are at the house or boisterous children who don't behave well around dogs * If you show or compete with your dog - somewhere safe to put them when not exercising or exhibiting them, or when walking an agility course. If crated you don't have to worry about people or other dogs coming up to them. * If you take your dog with you on holidays - gives them a safe and familiar place to sleep or be confined if they cannot have run of the property * a place to confine them if they are sick or injured and not allowed to run around. It is much easier if they are used to being confined so they won't stress out about it. At home and in case they need to stay at the vet where they will be confined. * Dogs that are going to be groomed on a regular basis as grooming salons generally have them confined when they are not being groomed.

Thanks 4 Paws - that's the one I was thinking of!

Someone posted a video before of how to desensitise to a headcollar. Will see if I can find it - I'm not that great with the search function though Think it was a Chow Chow?

From what I have heard they have a reputation for being VERY vocal. Have people found this to be the case?

If they do I'd say it could be anywhere in the world, so maybe not so easy to get to. Not necessarily. If borrowed from the US format, that is simply the name - they tend to call everything 'World' like the World Series Baseball - only has American teams in America.

When I first started spitting food with Diesel for heeling I felt very self conscious - no idea what people must have thought I was doing ;) , now only sometimes feel silly. I occasionally have people stop and watch and I do often get comments about how well trained they are (which I try hard not to laugh about when training Diesel, if anything he is getting slower and less keen to work ). Most of the agility groundwork doesn't look too odd (mostly sending, restrained or sts practice) apart from my contact target training which may look a bit strange for the public as I send him to stand on a piece of cloth. Probably one of the funniest comments lately was I was talking to a lady and her adult daughter who have an old GSD (X I think) when walking Diesel. I had Diesel do a few hand touches and they were impressed and said wow he is very good they couldn't get their dog to do as much ;) Hand touches are very basic and Diesel is much slower at them than Kaos.

Hi Le I am going to watch at the World Dog Games so should see you and Doc there!