Kavik

Yes, I think they recognise their own breed.

Allyandbonnie I just wanted to say you remind me so much of myself, I have always been 'dog crazy' and even now I am an adult, have lived out of home for years and work full time in the industry my mum will still say 'can we stop talking about dogs for two minutes' :laugh: :laugh: You show great initiative and passion, stick with it and it won't be long before you have a bit more independence and can learn more and do more things Me too, I am the same :laugh: OH puts up with me talking about dogs all the time :laugh:

Contact Nekhbet!

I hope this helps: I started out and wanted to compete in obedience and agility. Like you, very keen to get out there and teach them all this stuff! There is a lot to teach, some of it intricate and demanding and complicated. The most important thing I've learned (and it took me a long time to learn this!): Don't get too caught up in teaching the intricate stuff early on. The relationship is the most important, much more important than teaching stuff. Keep it short and fun. Don't try to work on too much in the one session.

Nice improvisation for contacts! OK - you have a tunnel! You can work on lots of stuff at home! Sending to tunnel from all angles, I generally do straight, 90 degrees and 180 degrees, you can put this on purely a verbal too. Straight tunnel and curved tunnel, inside and outside of curve. Throw your reward.

With private lessons, maybe someone on here knows who gives them in VIC? I only know of people in Sydney. There are DVDs as well, for agility and motivation. Maybe getting a DVD on how to motivate your dog (there are a few of these available - which use food and you games), and then you would be better prepared for going to these classes? For a lot of handling, you only need 1 jump - at the moment I am teaching verbal cues for tight turns and backside of jumps, and working on rear crosses with my older dog using only 1 jump. You can teach a lot of stuff with just a tunnel too, and a plank can teach your contact behaviour, a wobble board help with your seesaw movement.

Yes, it does seem tough for agility in VIC! Luckily in Sydney there are multiple clubs which are agility specific and have no prerequisites for joining or doing agility. Heeling is not necessary for agility, so it seems strange to test for that in relation to agility readiness. The most useful are a good recall and a decent stay. I still wouldn't bother personally given the attitude of the club, it will just sour your dog (and you!). Are there no people who give private lessons in your area? There are also online classes. I know that is expensive, but maybe cheaper than classes which you are not enjoying.

I've been trying to excited her during class. I get criticized for even small amounts of praise, so it's hard to train Bonnie like I normally would without getting some sort of look from the other trainers. I'm the only one in class who uses food, so I look really out of place in class already. I could move 10m from the class and Bonnie will be fine, working as normal. I'm trying to still maintain the usual amount of excitement and praise as I normally would give her, but it's hard when all the trainers are telling me to do the exact opposite. Bonnie does have a strong desire to work, but it's really hard to channel that drive into sometime we both don't enjoy. And that's our biggest issue. Personally, if that was the attitude of the club, I would stop going and look for another club that promotes more positive working relationships. I know that is difficult to do in your circumstances, but I would not persist in going to a club that will not allow me to use the methods and rewards that I want and that my dog works best for. There is not much point going if you are not enjoying it and the dog is not enjoying it.

It is a tough spot to be in. Personally, if my dogs are working flat and are lacking motivation/desire to work with me, that is what I concentrate on, and for that you need more rewards and know how to make it exciting, not less. My young dog is very keen but VERY easily distracted with the attention span of a gnat! I've been struggling to get outr tugging where I would like it, especially in public, so have just decided to concentrate primarily on making the game FUN, and have scaled any more serious training right back! While it is incredibly frustrating considering friends with similar aged dogs have them doing proper equipment and handling, and I am still struggling with basic focus, I know from experience with my other dog that time spent on getting my reward system and desire to work in place now will make everything so much more enjoyable and easier later down the track.

To clarify, I used LAT with Zoe with a fair bit of success (considering I started it when she was 7 years old), and it would be one of my go to methods if I get problems like that again (touch wood I never let one get to that point again!). But it was very interesting that these people were able to put her in with their dogs like that, and her dogs didn't react (she was only about a year old when she was put in with the GSDs).

Did you have the GSD in your signature with Zoe at the same time and she was ok with your GSD? I have had a GSD who was ok with GSDs but not with other breeds. I thought perhaps because he lived with my other two GSD's and was ok with them, he had a breed tolerance. To expand on this, I took him to the GSD club once and his behaviour was fine until he saw someone with a Staffy in the car park and he lost the plot LAT works well with dogs who have drive in the right place to achieve good handler focus.....a working Kelpie I imagine would have that inherent drive, but the reactive GSD's I have experienced that didn't respond to LAT type regimes well, were not good at achieving handler focus in other training areas either and were hard work compared with others to train through distractions. No, at the time I didn't have Diesel, I got him later from the same people who helped me with Zoe :) Yes, Zoe had great food drive and prey drive, and if she hadn't been dog aggressive would have been a great sports dog (which is why I got her), I was able to get good handler focus with her, even though I didn't know nearly as much as I do now.

While I generally subscribe to training under threshold and LAT for aggression, it was very interesting that some people who helped me with Zoe's aggression were able to put her in a yard with their GSDs (I boarded her there for a while), and she did eventually stop being aggressive, the other dogs did not react.

He really does look stunning! I hope he gets a save. Have to admit I'm tempted AWDRI are taking him :) Glad he got a save!

Personally I would fence some of the property properly for her or build a dog run.

OK found it!

I was thinking the same thing. I tried to find it last night but couldn't, I was sure someone on here was better at searching than me and could find the original one :laugh:

He really does look stunning! I hope he gets a save. Have to admit I'm tempted

Well said!

I love black dogs . . . obviously :laugh:

Definitely get help from a trainer to get it sorted. That is how Zoe's dog aggression started .

I am so sorry MonElite Run free Divani

I prefer the security of the metal crates - no one gets out, no one gets in!

It was my belief which I expressed regularly and vehemently that any dog that killed another, should be euthanased and not rehomed as it posed a risk to other dogs. I don't believe anyone would want to adopt a dog that had done this and don't imagine that this fact is disclosed. And that doesn't even account for the dogs who have repeatedly bitten handlers and staff and are almost unhandleable. Yep I saw a couple of those too

I thought they would have sorted out that sort of stuff after the first incident, and had policies in place I saw some attacks too and two dogs playing tug of war with another when I volunteered there 14 years ago.

That's what I think too.