Kavik

What is the name of the kennel?

I believe it's the smartest breed followed by the Border Collie and then the GSD. :) It doesn't have to be kept in a frou frou clip either. Is it? I thought Borders were! Well there ya go :) Border Collies top the list of every ranking of working/obedience intelligence that I've seen :) On Stanley Coren's ranking Poodles come 2nd. Back on topic . . . What about some of the gundogs - Curly Coated Retriever, Irish Water Spaniel? Don't know much about their temperaments, but most gundog breeds are pretty biddable. Does anybody know more about those?

Since my dog doesn't tug at trials yet I can't make use of the not for competition (NFC) runs in ADAA as that is pretty much the only reward you are allowed to bring into the ring (as you state at the beginning whether it will be NFC or a normal run you can't bring in food and not allowed to throw a toy). However I have just joined a club which has club pointscore competition days once a month, and last night I used it as a mock trial/training run, using it as an opportunity to be able to reward in the ring, especially things like contacts and weaves where our performance at trials is not as good as at training.

Thank you for the updated information Vickie :)

Yes you initially click for them looking at the other dog, but it helps to have a solid foundation of looking at you first. How close are you when you see the other dog and what do you do? I stop walking when I think the other dog nearby is going to be too stimulating to walk past and the lack of movement also becomes a cue for the dog.

First I would click for him looking at you - make that your default behaviour. Don't lure it or ask for it or talk to him, just any time he looks at you, click/treat. When you can walk around and he will instantly look at you when train him, and after click/treat will look again and again to get his reward, and it is automatic, then take it on the road.

I haven't actually read the plan for Look at That but from what I have read on here, it sounds very similar :) That's great that the vet has allowed you to practice there. When I started to take the behaviour out and about I started wtih dogs that were on the other side of the road, so that I knew there was no chance that the dogs could meet, that helped to keep me calm and concentrate on the training instead of stressing about what the other dog will do.

Good luck with it!

The thing I like about the method in Click to Calm is that you are not asking your dog for focus, the distraction becomes the trigger for automatic focus on you. It is still very important to keep under threshold and know your critical distance, but it means you are no longer continually asking or nagging trying to get their attention, but you let them look at the distraction and with correct conditioning should then look back at you for a click/treat.

megan Susan Garrett's saying is don't wanna, don't hafta but it means something else entirely :) She often uses it when talking of rewards - eg dog doesn't want to tug when there is food around because the dog would rather have the food, or around other distractions. It is when the dog says I don't want to do this so I don't have to.

I have worked at the first one depicted in Celebrity Apprentice. There are actually 3 separate areas, next to each other, but they only filmed in the main big area. They have crates for quiet time or rest time when needed or when someone needs to calm down but typical of dog daycares it is generally open and they are able to run around for the day.

Well said Nekhbet!

I agree with the others - you need to build distractions slowly and build duration of attention. Going to see a trainer would be very helpful also given the size of the dog and the issues you are having.

Yes ADAC agility runs in NSW :) http://www.adacagility.com/

I think it would depend on the dog. There are awesome dogs still competing at 8 an 9 and beyond, but it would really depend on the condition, health, motivation/drive levels and fitness of your dog.

I'd love to come and watch sometime. Unfortunately none of mine are that keen on swimming :)

Cool video I just found with some foundation stuff and another one

I usually do 5-10 minutes of walking on a lead, heal work, spins, quick downs, start line practice...all with food rewards (in an attempt to get him revved up). He probably gets 10 treats before I get in the ring. I think this is part of my problem. He's not a great tugger. Yup. He's much more subdued at trials. At a trial, he's most drivey after a run to get back to his treat bag I think I've not been very successful at fading food rewards at it's contributed to quite a few problems. Also, when, where and how often are you rewarding at training? I have had problems with running out of the ring and also running straight to reward bag. What I am doing now is at training rewarding from me instead of the bag on the ground - treats and toys in pocket/tucked in pants, and rewarding more in the middle of the run and not only at the end (ie making sure I reward contacts, weaves, difficult turns/sequences) so that he doesn't see the reward as only coming from outside the ring/at the end of a run. First trial back was successful and he was focused and stayed in the ring for all 4 runs. Also I find if my training/competing ratio is out it is a problem, so I am making sure I get to a lot more training sessions than trials.

EEEWWWW! :laugh:

Does she have any clinical signs? ETA: I would definitely see a specialist before doing surgery

careful with garlic - not good for dogs

When I walk Diesel and Kaos together. Me: No they are not related, they are different breeds, one is a German Shepherd, the other one is a Kelpie - not a German Shepherd puppy. Yes they are the same colour, German Shepherds come in several colours. No Kelpies are not normally that tall - he is just a big one! Yes they are both friendly

He is a big fellow! He is bigger than Kaos who is 57 cm and I only see a few bigger than him!

There is a LOT you can do for foundation work while you make up your mind and a lot will help with conditioning/body awareness/motivation/understading for later. * Build up your reward system (this will be my main focus with next pup!) * Rear end awareness exercises - walk backwards, through a ladder, perchwork * chase games are great! * circle work * Focus forward/find your line * wobble board for balance and to get them used to uneven surfaces/seesaw movement (you can make a makeshift one at home with a board/plank and something underneath it) * solid understanding of basic positions/stay/release/recall * Retrieve * Hand touches

I don't give treats to other people's dogs because I don't want them hanging around begging for more, and I don't want other people to give my dogs treats because I don't want them going up to others in the hope of getting treats.