Kavik

I would avoid a club that insists all dogs have to wear the same equipment, as each dog is different as are handling skills. Before I go to a club, I call them and ask them what equipment they allow, if I can bring toys and treats and because I like to try different things, I ask if they are open to new ideas and trying different stuff (like food spitting ). It is also good if you can go and watch and get an idea of what the club is like, how they structure classes, how active it is (do they move a lot or is it a lot of sitting in a circle etc), how crowded it is and how much control people generally have of their dogs. I sound pretty picky hey Well having had a difficult dog, I now am more careful to assess clubs to see if they are the environment I would like to train in. If you tell us where you are, we can suggest some clubs that may be suitable.

Easy to accidentally shape the wrong thing! When I clicker trained Diesel's retrieve, he thought he was supposed to take the dumbell and hurl it instead of hold it and bring it to me - that took a while to retrain . . . About the ecollar - best to get professional help so you don't confuse the dog.

7 months is still prime destructo stage - teenagers I had the most difficulty with Kaos regarding behaviour around 9 months. Now at 2 he is more settled (well, he is still a Kelpie nutter ;) ) and I have control and focus now to concentrate on our agility training. So with work, persistence and patience they do improve! Move anything you don't want him to get out of reach and supervise!

Bigger would probably be better for getting interest (longer, can make it go faster etc), but you also have less control, and once they get interested they can be fast little buggers! :nahnah:

I prefer tugs that are smaller and that could possibly fit in my pocket for training purposes, but I have seen lots of people at flyball with those sorts of tugs. Might as well try! I've tried lots of things, and have on my list of wants several more :nahnah:

RIP Krueger :nahnah:

What about a tug toy - give her something else to tug on than you you can use it in your training too.

My club doesn't actively promote clickers etc (though they do promote food and toys) but have no problems with people doing it or other strange and wonderful ideas (like spitting food ). I also use a range of things including clickers, food, toys, corrections, depending on what we are doing. Interesting though that most of the triallers I know use check chains.

Excellent! Always up for books on dog aggression to learn how to manage it better and even how to fix it.

I haven't heard of this - would also be interested in finding out what it is like. ETA: I saw this one at a bookshop and it looked good but didn't get to go all the way through it: Dog to Dog Communication: The Right Way to Socialize Your Dog by Jamie Shaw

If I can teach Diesel to spit food anyone can do it! :D He is the least coordinated of my dogs and we do the spitting food quite well. Be prepared for lots of strange looks though It took a while for us both to get the technique. I started by having him actually take food out of my mouth (sorry if that grosses anyone out!) and gradually increased the distance, now he can catch it if I spit while standing up.

They don't have puppy classes as such. They start at 7:30pm.

No, you can go straight to the trialling class, even with a puppy. ETA: obviously you don't do the whole class with a puppy, but you can work on specific exercises, have a break and a play etc. The pet classes are run differently by Delta instructors, the trialling class is run by people who trial their dogs.

What a cute little pup! I've been going to Western Suburbs which trains at Bressington Park, Homebush on Tuesday evenings. That is their trialling class, with pet classes on Saturdays. I've found them to be nice and helpful for those starting out in trialling, and also flexible if you want to try different things (I've gotten funny looks but nobody minded when I spit food, or try drive training etc) http://www.sinch.com.au/wsdtc/

sidoney told me of the Clean Run article, looks interesting. At the moment, I am teaching 2o/2o. I didn't teach it with a target, but clicker trained using a board, first all paws on the board, then three, then two. Now we have progressed to making the board a ramp. Seems to work OK so far, though I haven't yet used it on real equipment.

Manly and Districts is probably one of the closest to you (first link above). They train in Mosman and Narrabeen. Haven't been there for a while, but last time I was it had lots of pet owners and some triallers. Most recently I have been to Western Suburbs (third link above). They hold pet classes on Saturday afternoons and trialling classes Tuesday evenings. I've been going to the trialling class, which I enjoy as it is smaller and more focussed.

I train one at a time so it doesn't confuse them.

I do the click always = reward. You can start using other things as the reward instead of food (ie pats/praise/release to sniff etc) so you don't break down the click association.

I knew there was a reason I didn't teach my dogs to bark on command They bark enough anyway!

I agree with the others - I would not encourage the running away. How about teaching him to fetch the toy? Then he can chase the toy and bring it back and get exercise and mental stimulation. The growl as mentioned above could just be play but could be possessive/resource guarding which is not good.

I've found the clicker to be lots of fun! I don't use the clicker for everything, but it can be a fun additional tool and good for shaping tricks and complicated exercises. Not necessary for basic things like sit, but can be handy for attention, eye contact etc. I use a whole bunch of things - toys, treats, pats, clickers, correction collars when necessary, luring, just depends on what I am teaching and which dog I am training.

I agree with Haven, it should be fine, I wouldn't expect it to hold up to someone throwing food in the yard to poison the dog though, that is a very different scenario to how you have trained.

How are you teaching food refusal?

Cool :rolleyes:

That's cool about your trainer! Is it different to a Schutzhund bark and hold?