Kavik

YAY! Got Kaos to tug outside the yard! Took one of his favourite toys (bag tied to a lead, go figure :rolleyes: ) and got him chasing it in the front yard, then ran from the front yard to outside the property and he chased and tugged!

I feed mine separate, in their crates, and haven't had an issue when I let them back out together.

Have you tried tugging with a footy sock stuffed with a couple of chicken necks? Have to admit I haven't tried that yet I haven't tried having him tug in a new place for a while, been a bit slack with it lately.

Now that is my size dog for doing Schutzhund! Very cool!

Yeah I tried snaking it along the ground - he'll just stand there looking at me!

Although I have worked on getting Kaos to tug since he was a pup (he is the only one of mine that will tug consistently) - I have a similar problem to Sidoney in that he gets too distracted when out and about to be interested in the tug. Will do it in front and back yard enthusiastically, but not on a walk. Sometimes will tug once he has settled into in area, such as at training or someone's house. I think my main problem with getting him to tug outside the property is that when he is not interested in tug I feel like an idiot waving this toy around when Kaos just looks at me . You would have thought by now I would have a thicker skin in what people think when they see me training, considering I spit food with Diesel He does love his squeaky though ;) and will happily focus on that wherever we go. Back to L&L and should you tug - I think it depends on whether you want to. I want to use tug as a motivator for training (and it is lots of fun! Kaos loves it when he gets into it) but if you have no use for it and are worried about it, then don't do it. There are other ways to motivate a dog, I use food a lot when I want a good but not so animated response and for the dogs that are not keen to work for a toy. At work, a lot of the Staffies LOVE to tug! including the boss's dog.

When I brought both Kaos and Diesel to obedience, Diesel would also scream when I trained Kaos! And KitKat aren't Shepherd screams just great! I'm not sure if I am just lazy or don't mind putting people through it LOL but I just left him and he did get better, the screaming got shorter and less intense. He is not the only one at training to do this, and nobody complained to me about it. At the moment I am only bringing Diesel to obedience, as his day out, and Kaos goes out to different places. Just easier, it is tiring swapping dogs in the middle of class LOL.

Of course L&L whether you choose to use tug is up to you I probably wouldn't have young kids playing tug. Squeaky toys are also a favourite here.

Tug can be a great training tool! Only one of mine is a good consistent tugger. He knows when he can play and will let go when there is no slack on the tug - he knows that is how the game gets going again. It has come in handy for teaching commands and control in drive. Besides the good points listed, many working dogs get tug as a reward such as active response AQIS and customs dogs (Steve Austin, since he trains these dogs, DOES know the benefit of playing tug) - this is what keeps their motivation up for the search. I use food and toy rewards, depending on what I want to achieve at the time.

A few years ago my parents adopted a Beagle, and had some problems with him. They sent him away for training (without asking me about the establishment), and I went with them to pick him up. It was obvious they had not used positive methods in training AT ALL as he cowered and rolled on his back, and he was a confident, quite dominant dog really. When they continued to have problems with him and I suggested some trainers/behaviourists to see, they thought they had already spent enough money on training him (about $400 I think) and didn't want to pay more. That is several sessions with K9 Force! Well, family can be harder to persuade sometimes than people you don't know They ended up rehoming the dog as they couldn't cope with his issues. I think you are better off either going to a club or seeing a private trainer/behaviourist depending on the dog's issues (if any) and what you want to achieve. If you still want to board and train, research the facility carefully, and remember that they train the dog, but you still need training on handling and how to get the best out of the dog at the end of the program. I also say K9 Force is a good one to see - helped me a lot when Kaos decided to be a naughty teenaged Kelpie - he is now improving heaps, we went to watch an agility trial on the weekend and he was well behaved among all the activity. He is happier around kids (though still a little unsure if the kid is really upfront) and even went to say hi to the postie when previously he would bark and try to chase motorbikes.

I would go a metal or hard plastic crate until your pup is crate trained. Some dogs can destroy the soft crates, which teaches them bad habits besides the obvious getting loose and wasting money. I would save the soft crate for when your pup is older and you want a lighter option for travelling. Also, I would imagine cleaning a wire or plastic crate would be much easier than cleaning a soft crate, and puppies do have accidents!

I agree with PF. After tearing my medial ligament because I didn't let go of the lead when the dog lunged to say hi to another dog (was walking someone else's dog) - your safety is important! For practicing obedience trialling, if you don't want to go straight to off lead, you can tuck the lead into your pants/belt (this is what I am doing at the moment) and maybe go a thinner/lighter lead than normal. Then you can see how the dog goes without your hands on the lead, in case you give unconscious signals etc. but you still have the lead there if you need it.

I have loaned my anti-bark collar (Innotek one being talked about in this thread) to a friend with a Japanese Spitz. Now if I put it on one of my Kelpies, not a sound, but she says that it hasn't helped as much as she thought it would with the Japanese Spitz. Maybe Kelpies are more sensitive? Or maybe due to more hair on Japanese Spitz.

The club that does not allow check chains will probably allow a martingale or limited slip collar, which will tighten but only so far unlike the check chain which tightens all the way. There are many different brands of martingale including Black Dog http://www.blackdog.net.au/collars.php K9 Force also sells martingales with a chain component which can be helpful with dogs that don't respond as well to the all webbing Black Dog ones.

Check chains, clickers and food are all tools you can use in training, methods vary but it is certainly possible to use all of them. I would suggest picking a method and club and not to chop and change too much as this could confuse the dog. Look at the club and how they train and see if you think this would be suitable for you and your dog, depending on what you want to achieve and the temperament of the dog and what you feel comfortable with. You can change if you decide the method is not working for you. I like to train at clubs that allow you to use whichever motivator works best for your dog - whether it is food, toys, or praise. I use a clicker for some things (attention, targeting, retrieving, some agility, tricks etc) and not others (herding for example) and I use a correction type collar for obedience work and general walking (mostly martingale style collars).

It is not necessary to crate train, but it does come in very handy If your dog is crate trained: * You have somewhere safe to put your dog and know he/she is not destroying anything - at night, when you have guests or tradespeople * I have found that even if you are renting and the landlord does not want dogs inside, they will often allow the dog inside in a crate * You have a portable 'home' for your dog where it feels safe if you want to take your dog on holidays, to training, trials, shows or seminars * You have a safe way of transporting your dog in the car * You have somewhere safe to put your dog if he/she needs to be confined due to injury or recovery from surgery * Your dog will feel more comfortable at the vet or groomer as they will be in a crate or cage there

TNT - I can't walk in a straight line either - even when not in pain I occasionally get pulled up on it and I know it is something I have to work on - especially as I want to compete.

Here is Manly and Districts web site http://www.northernbeachesdogtraining.com.au/index.htm

When instructing, I try not to direct comments at particular people - I don't think I've ever said to anyone that they didn't do their homework. I have a difficult dog and understand how frustrating classes can sometimes be. I was told that when instructing, to make comments general to the whole class instead of singling people out. I also ask what exercises people are having trouble with, so we can go through them again, and I will help someone who looks like they are struggling. At times instructing can be frustrating, as people don't always listen to what you say, and some people are determined that their dogs are no good, and have a bad attitude to training, you have to wonder why they are there? When I take my own dogs in class, I don't mind some constructive criticism as we are there to improve and often they will pick something up that you don't notice or can't see you are doing. I have had some instructors who made me feel awful - especially with my dog aggro Kelpie cross girl - but the club I am at now has lovely instructors and even put up with me doing some strange things

The Schutzhund clubs I know in Sydney are Western Sydney Dogsport Club: http://www.wsdc.sportdogaustralia.com/ Sydney Dogsport Club: http://www.sdsc.sportdogaustralia.com/ Not sure about obedience clubs in that area sorry.

Yay for Twiggy! I will keep my eyes out for a gorgeous cream Kelpie when at sports events to say hi :p

Manly and Districts trains on Tuesday evenings at Allan Border Oval in Mosman, and Thursday and Sunday Mornings at Deep Creek Reserve, Narrabeen http://www.northernbeachesdogtraining.com.au/index.htm

What about throwing in more left and left about turns? As these turns go into the dog, he may decide to give you a bit more space. For people who have the opposite problem of the dog being too far away, right and right about turns help to bring the dog in closer.

Just took Kaos for vaccination the other week - was $85 - I'm sure my previous vet was not this expensive? But we've moved houses and areas, and this is the closest one. I think this one is more expensive generally - the anaesthetics we've had there for desexing and aural haematoma I'm sure were more expensive than the last one too. Unfortunately the last one is now about 40 min drive from here so too far, and the next closest one is in partnership with this one, so probably same price.

I would be careful with the chasing the torch thing - some become obsessed and start chasing shadows and it can become a problem. Zoe will do it too - and light reflections off watches - we now try to make sure she doesn't do it. It also makes walking in the dark using a torch very difficult!