Kavik

Me too! Initially when the barking occurred during shaping I treated it like I do when the dog stalls out and stands there and doesn't offer anything else (something I am used to, as this is what my other dogs do) - I waited him out to see if he would offer something else. Only just recently have I tried stopping the game.

Sometimes with Nitro it is certainly due to frustration.

I have never given any thought to what I wear in terms of whether the dog can see it better - maybe I should :laugh:

Yeah Nitro is point (ii) - barking and not working. That is what I am trying at the moment, have only just started to completely stop the game so it might take a little while to sort it out.

Yes, I am training Nitro for agility. Not ready to compete yet :laugh: the barking is one of the things I am trying to sort out.

In am following your thread with interest! I am also having a barking issue with my young dog Nitro. He barks when frustrated, unsure, over aroused, excited etc. I am not used to dealing with this as Kaos is completely different! Most of the time when he barks (especially repeated barking) his brain is not in gear.

Love the speed and enthusiasm!

A previous boss of mine breeds JS. Temperament seems to vary a lot! One of hers was full on, very energetic and loved all people, could be a bit bossy with other dogs. Would have been a good sports dog if that's what she was into. Some of the others were timid or standoffish.

IT was a lot to do with the mindset of looking for something to correct that I found stressful - sort of like always needing to be on your guard, waiting for the dog to do something wrong so you could correct it. Made me very anxious and stressed. Whereas with LAT, looking for something to reward , just that difference in mindset, made a big difference in my stress levels. Ideally, you train LAT to mean, any time you see something you are not sure about, you can look at it to acknowledge it and then you look back at the handler for a reward, so if you generalise this across enough situations/stimuli it should work for most scenarios you come across. :)

The other scenario is the thief knew the dog well.........owner may not be saying that, but you never know? Thief may have threatened to take the dog over a disagreement and when he did, the owner published the video and reported it to get his dog back? I don't know how someone could randomly roll up at any house leash in hand and waltz out with someone's dog. Every single dog I've owned (which includes one GSD) and every dog I've ever fostered would have happily walked off with any person who gave them an ear rub or a treat. The average pet dog is not some highly trained guard dog, taught to reject food from strangers or aggressively defend itself from theft. I don't know how anyone could assume otherwise. This. All of my dogs would walk off with anyone who gave them a treat too, including my GSD. Unless you have specifically taught them food refusal, lots of dogs would be open to being bribed with food. Mine would likely bark at someone coming to/over the gate, and may be suspicious of someone who came over the gate or over the fence (as that is not how visitors usually come).

There are several different types of Border Collie! A friend of mine has been educating me on the different types :laugh: There are even different types within working bred Border Collies.

I agree, handler stress makes a big difference! That is one reason I really liked LAT, it really helped to reduce my stress levels. Previously I had been trying to correct aggressive behaviour, which made me stressed and looking at her behaviour through the lens of do I need to correct her, but with LAT my mindset changed to look for opportunities to reward her, and it made a huge difference in my attitude and stress levels.

It could also be that she is nervous/insecure or in a fear period. My previous dog was dog aggressive, and when I started LAT I found it useful to be on the other side of the street from other dogs, as then I could relax more because the road between us meant that there was no way she could get near the other dog, and I could then concentrate more on the training rather than stressing.

It could be a number of things. Excitement/high arousal, frustration at not being able to say hi right away are the things that come to mind right away given the age and breed. One important thing to note is that distance is your friend :) If she is barking/lunging etc she is over threshold and too aroused to take in training, so if you can find the distance at which she is interested in dogs and people but not barking/lunging, this is the distance where you can start some work. Look At That is one thing you may want to look into - teaches an automatic response of look at the person/dog and then look back at the handler for a reward (without a cue). http://clickerleash.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/look-at-that-a-counterintuitive-approach-to-dealing-with-reactive-dogs/

What has the breeder said when you talked to them about it? It has taken a while to get my youngest dog's papers, but they are WKC papers not ANKC, and it seems some things just move more slowly in the country :laugh:

It is correct. Someone who I used to train with a long time ago posted it on FB as she works for Masterpet now

I don't find it a shame... Other breeds are very successful. I like the ankc system as all breeds of dog have the chance to succeed and attain titles. We are lucky in Australia that we have this as many other big countries have a win out system where you have to win or place to move up a level which means the majority of dogs at the top levels are border collies. As your club proves there are a wide range of dogs competing in agility in Australia. At most nsw trials there are lots of different breeds. In nsw alone there are several agility champions of "other" breeds including a corgi, GSP, various mixed breeds, schnauzers and there is even a labrador who is fairly close to getting it. ANKC really rewards consistency over speed generally compared to a lot of other organizations. The OP has asked for breed suggestions for a suitable agility dog, however I think that to participate and do fairly well most breeds are suited. Very few breeds are totally unsuitable (perhaps some of the giants and more extreme chondrodysplastic breeds). Most gundogs will do well and some will excel. My dog has moderate drive and can last through a 3 day trial or seminar easily. If you're after a top agility prospect and potential winner then you can't go past a border collie in my opinion. What breed do you have at the moment Megan? What level does he compete at now? Are you after a dog that has a good chance of winning or just a more consistent type of dog? All we have to do is make separate heights the norm now

There is one that competes in Sydney, does OK.

Count a Kelpie out then - they don't like heaps of repetition either :laugh: They are also not as forgiving as a BC. Here is the winning run from the FCI worlds comp held recently - really is amazing! So smooth, and the turns are just spectacular!

My 34kg male can spring over a 4 foot jump without touching it or a big run up. They're meant to be leaner dogs, there are some finer boned lines lines out there. It's the turning that makes it harder for the bigger dogs. Lots of turning in the higher level courses, and the spacing means there is not as much time to turn the bigger, powerful dogs that jump higher and longer.

Yeah I am referring to Kellie - she is awesome! :)

This :) Malinois are more upright in build than BCs, and a good BC does have the best structure for agility. The Koolie or Koolie X (not sure which) that I posted about earlier is not the highest drive or the fastest dog on the circuit, but they are certainly one of the most successful (if not the most successful) team in NSW. So why don't I have a BC - they just don't do it for me like Kelpies do :laugh:

What would really tempt me is a small 400 height Kelpie or Koolie. Avoid the crowds in 500, and without the disadvantages of the 600s.

Yeah if I was going to get a working line Malinois I would get a female and cross fingers it is on the smaller side :laugh: There is a lady with a young show line Malinois (who also has Turverens) and her Mal is only as big as Kaos (57cm, so a 600 but not huge), which would be manageable. Some of the show line Mals are smaller than the WL. Wiz isn't small (she is about 30kg) but one of her female pups is slightly shorter and I don't know if she will grow to quite the same height. Wiz has a great off switch too but she is a LOT of dog. IMO Mals are the ultimate sport/working/competition dog, but they realistically have more drive than most ANKC competitors really need. Wiz would have significantly more drive than any BC (for example) I've ever met, but a good BC has more than enough drive to get the job done and be competitive and the temperament is probably more suitable for the average ANKC competitor. 30kg is rather a bit bigger than I would be looking for in an agility dog :laugh: Diesel is around 31 or 32kg! Kaos is 18kg, Nitro between 16 and 17 last time I weighed him. I have seen a couple of smaller Groens as well, females that again were the same height as Kaos.

I want Elsie too! Em is beautiful , and I've seen her fly over those jumps. I'm envious of the relationship that you have with her TSD. This gives me a lot to think about. I like some BC 's, but there is sooo much variation out there and I've seen a few reactive "sporting" ones. I just don't have the nerves to have another reactive dog. The ones I like I really like though, so we'll see (for those in Vic I love Katie's Plug). I also lurve W/L mals. I don't think the bigger ones are ideal for agility, but there are done super agile ones out there (dog crush on Wiz too). I don't think I have the skill for one though. Yeah if I was going to get a working line Malinois I would get a female and cross fingers it is on the smaller side :laugh: There is a lady with a young show line Malinois (who also has Turverens) and her Mal is only as big as Kaos (57cm, so a 600 but not huge), which would be manageable.