Kavik

In the little I have done, you have one experienced, one newby team not all new. So if dog and handler are new to it, decoy is experienced. If decoy is new, dog and handler are experienced. That way at least someone knows what they are doing, you are not all learning :rolleyes: and you are less likely to stuff the dog up. An experienced dog/handler team can teach a new decoy heaps, decoy work is difficult and requires good knowledge of dogs and be able to read them well, and requires good acting too (for civil/security anyway).

My comment about your stance was more so for control, so you don't get dragged or fall over Has happened to me!

Nice! Looks like fun It is great they let you practice with their dog, very nice of them. I was also going to comment on stance. Was drilled into me training with security dogs, though I am out of practice now. Obviously VERY important for me when handling as I am tiny They all said, doesn't matter your size, you can handle a GSD doing protection work - I said you try being 43 kgs then - they never let me use my size as an excuse.

This is the dog you want to do security with right? Are you working on prey drive development? For a dog for that line of work you would expect to have sore ankles and holes in your pants with some decent prey drive For the biting, have you tried getting her to bite a toy instead of you? Don't encourage the tail chasing, it can become obsessive. GSDs are certainly sooks! Though Diesel doesn't bark nearly as much as the Kelpies, he can scream the house down if he wants to get to OH when we are out. With toileting, be sure you choose a word you won't be embarrassed to use in public (having a toilet word is very useful, especially if you are going to do security, but even with a pet or competition dog). ETA: Also check out http://www.leerburg.com

GSD do not herd like Kelpies and BCs, it is a different style. I haven't tried with Diesel though, have with Kaos, would like to try some more when I get time.

Actually about the vet surgery - where do people bring sick dogs - to the vet . . . although they do disinfect there is a larger volume of sick dogs at the vet than anywhere else. ETA: The only dog of mine I took to puppy preschool is the only one that ended up with dog aggression problems. Not necessarily related.

Thanks guys, will check out those websites

Does anyone know where I can get cheap Advantix, Heartgard and Aloveen shampoo online? ETA: and maybe food too? Prefer ProPlan or Eagle Pack but will consider others I know its been done before but I'm hopeless at searching

Pixie, if you do Sch, let me know where, maybe I will come to see Desmo and bring Diesel along.

Where are you located?

You'd be fine with an older dog You can only do foundation work and puppy stuff with a puppy anyway (obedience, recalls etc) - nothing serious for agility til 12-18mths. ETA: Foundation work is important for agility, and you should probably do it with an older dog too, helps with handling, contacts, etc.

I think we all do the OMG what have I done! at some stage - I certainly did with Kaos as a pup - he was a little bugger! But we did a lot of work and now he is great fun, fast and keen, and we have just started agility trialling

GSDs are the Jack of All Trades Obedience, agility, tracking (if I had more time I'd do this - Diesel LOVES it!), Schutzhund if you are game

I think they are fine here - it is where the trainers come so they are likely to get advice

I would also work on focus - that can be their homework! The usual, start in low distraction and build up. Are they cluey enough to try a clicker? With some YUMMY treats? 4 month old pups are fun

The foundation work in prey is similar, but security does a lot more defence work, Schutzhund stays in prey. Most security dogs I know stick with basic commands - heel, sit, drop, recall and don't do anything fancy. The heeling tends to be more utilitarian and less showy for security.

I have handled security dogs in training and trained dogs, and been a helper, and watched Schutzhund comps and been to the Schutzhund club. I still have a LOT to learn, mostly about me Like, am I a suitable person to do this and could I handle a dog in this sport? I have no doubt I could handle a dog for Schutzhund or security, if the dog was not mine, but could I LIVE with it and not stuff it up is the question! I need to learn how to properly do drive work before I would even consider this, I still am not doing it right, and I get nervous around lots of people and attention and some of my dogs feed off this. And I am small, some of the dogs weigh more than me! My advice if you are serious - learn as much as you can, take all the opportunities you can for working other dogs with good instruction.

Found this breeder of working GSD in Queensland, don't know anything about them though. http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/lenblunt/ Probably GSD are a good first protection type dog

Definitely coming to the next one

Thanks for the comments guys! It was a bit scary, but I was among friends which helped. I sort of got bullied into it (gently) :D I wasn't sure if we were ready, but thought, might as well give it a go! It was great fun, definitely going to do it again :cool: I have been too scared to enter Diesel in an obedience trial though - too worried he will sit there and look at me and not move I wish there was a low stress easy going obedience trial code like ADAC is for agility (fairly laid back).

On Saturday I entered Kaos in our first agility trial! My first trial in anything as well, so I was a bit nervous. I entered in ADAC Novice Jumping, and we did really well for the first time out. He was focussed and fast and keen, only missed the second jump on our lead out. Lots of thanks to Vickie for the great photos! By planet_oz, shot with NIKON D300 at 2008-06-29 By planet_oz, shot with NIKON D300 at 2008-06-29

Since he seems to like toys a lot, check out the training in drive thread http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...95&hl=drive There are other threads too on this topic if you search. This is a way to utilise his love of tugging and fetching in training to gain focus, control and get fast, enthusiastic results. It is high energy and tiring for you as well as the dog I would take away the volley ball when you don't want him to play with it. I love JRTs they are goey gutsy dogs with plenty of personality :D

As you said he is too distracted by the other dogs in the park to pay attention properly. So what you can do is to build up his attention so that he will be able to do this, but it takes time. Start by training in an environment that is not distracting, like the backyard. Use his favourite treat or toy and start with some simple commands. There are some ways you can get his attention on you using the food or toy. What commands does he know and already perform? I would work on sit and come first. Running away from him for the recall is a very good idea. I would put him on a long lead and practice this at home first, with treats and put a sit at the end of it when he gets to you. Once he will do this reliably in the yard, do it on the street outside the house, then gradually move to the park when there are no other dogs around, and slowly build up distractions til there are other dogs and he will do it. Keep him on lead until he will do it all the time, as he has learnt that if he is off lead he doesn't have to come. With the lead on you can let him know that he does have to come when you call regardless. Will he chase a ball or tog a toy?

I did it in 2000, before the distance package came out. I went to Melbourne one weekend a month for seminars, was able to do the prac in Sydney. Definitely worth doing

To add to persephone, Obedience training is great for wearing out their mind and can be fun too. Are you going to obedience classes? Trick training is also fun, and something the kids may get excited about. Tricks like shake hands and rollover incorporate some obedience too (sit and drop)