emilymarston

Sadly they don't offer agility classes. I'm only taking obedience classes so I can eventually start agility classes at the same club.

I can't afford classes at Bulla. Bonnie and I are past the foundation level, and foundation is mandatory at Bulla. I'd rather not waste over $100 going to classes that will teach me what I already know. I'm sure there's a few things I can learn there, but I'm wanting to go straight into real agility, with full sized equipment and all.

To start agility at Werribee, I have to pass two of their obedience classes (I'd rather avoid going through more obedience at another club if possible). Agility classes at Altona was my birthday present for this year, and my parents won't want me to ditch my current classes for some new ones. I'll keep Werribee in mind though, they sound pretty good on their website.

In our earlier years I corrected and punished her a fair bit. Not that I physically hurt her, more so pulling on the lead, verbal punishment ect. but that seems to of scared her enough. I think that could be a big part of it. Now she just seems a little on edge in class. I don't use any punishment on her right now, I think that would make everything worse. Thanks for the help! I will definitely try to give her a lot of breaks during class It sounds like you have a very intelligent, sensitive dog who adores you & wants to please you. You have, in good faith, just done what you were told, thinking it was the "right" way to train. What training club do you attend? It sounds as if they use very old fashioned out-dated punitive methods. Dogs for survival, are very environmentally aware & are hard wired to be sensitive to environments as a species. Corrections, or even lack of food, praise, happy talk, etc, in a particular environment, easily can cause a negative association with that environment /situation. What you describe sounds as if the punishment, verbal leash corrections your sounding angry, etc are responsible for her fear of doing "anything", IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, just in case she does the "wrong" thing & gets punished . YOU sound different in that environment & YOU act different so she does too. If I was Bonnie I would have packed my bags & left that situation for good, long ago. I have trained my own dogs (5 Obedience Champions 1 UDX) & others dogs, without pain/fear. They are eager & enthusiastic when they even SEE a training ring cause they is deeply associated with positives.. Change the association & the dogs behaviour will eventually change We currently go to Altona Civic Dog Obedience Club. I have to admit, there were some horrid trainers and instructors in my class a few weeks ago. It was enough to scare me, so I can only imagine how frightened Bonnie must be. I was the only one in today's class that was using food rewards for their dog. Our previous club was Northern Obedience Dog Club, and they were using primarily negative reinforcement as well. I think your idea about the association between Bonnie and the club is spot on. I know that I'm definitely not as happy or as excited as I am during our own training sessions. And I've been giving less praise and food rewards, just as the instructors have told me. Almost every instructor so far has told me to key down the rewards and praise, which has probably made everything a lot worse for poor Bonnie. So I can easily see why she acts differently, it's because I'm training and acting differently as well. I think once we can get past all of the negativity and start training the way we train, we'll be well on our way to agility classes.

I'm trying not to change clubs if I can. I've passed 3 out of the 4 required obedience classes (in only 4 weeks) and it would be a shame to give up now. Basically, the only thing I'm being assessed on is offlead heeling. If we can heel offlead well, even amongst all the distractions, we'll be able to take agility classes. I don't think Keilor offers dog agility, they only do obedience and flyball according to their website. But it's great to see that they're using positive reinforcement :)

I do get quite annoyed and frustrated, because she is a completely different dog out of class. It's really upsetting, sometimes I feel like I should just give up and forget about dog training. I also get nervous because I'm the youngest person in my class, buy at least 10 years (sometimes even more). I try not to take anything out on Bonnie. Sometimes a command might come out meaner than I intended it to, but I'm sure Bonnie can pick up on my nerves before I say anything. I do think I'm effecting her performance in class, because I don't like the classes either. But it's the only way we can get into agility, so I sort of just try and hold it together.

I can't take agility classes until I pass an assessment, which involves us passing one more class at this club. So if I want to do agility, which is the only reason I'm still at the club, it means I still have to attend their obedience classes

I'm in Essendon, north west of Melbourne. I'd like to go to an agility only club, but most of them are too expensive or too far away. This was the only club my parents would let me go to.

All of our bad experiences were at another club. We had a two year break from obedience (for the same reason) and we've only had 4 classes at our new club. She still acts this way, even though we're at a completely new club. This is what makes me think it's about her being in the class environment that's setting her off.

I have talked to them. Basically they're saying I need to be firmer on Bonnie, and use less treats. But that's exactly how I motivate her, with food. They've also said to push her back into the heeling position when she's not cooperating. But I know this will only make things worse for Bon, she hates being forced into things. A few weeks ago a trainer asked me to pull her leash down to make her drop if she doesn't listen. For the rest of that lesson she refused to drop for me. So I'm trying to follow their instructions, but without so much force.

In our earlier years I corrected and punished her a fair bit. Not that I physically hurt her, more so pulling on the lead, verbal punishment ect. but that seems to of scared her enough. I think that could be a big part of it. Now she just seems a little on edge in class. I don't use any punishment on her right now, I think that would make everything worse. Thanks for the help! I will definitely try to give her a lot of breaks during class

Hello! I have a dog, Bonnie, who doesn't like obedience class. We currently take weekly obedience classes, and it's becoming more of an issue for me and my dog. I always take Bonnie's favorite treat, hot dogs, to every class. At home, at parks, on the street or going for walks, hot dogs will drive her insane! She absolutely loves them, she'll do anything for the smallest piece of hot dog. But when I take her to obedience she won't touch them. Bonnie refuses to eat her treats, and is hardly interested in doing any obedience. She almost shuts herself down during the class, and doesn't look happy at all. Bonnie will respond to the commands, but she hardly puts in any effort or enthusiasm into it. She just looks miserable. (I don't use any negative reinforcement on Bonnie, and I always make sure to give extra praise. Yet she still acts sad) Once the class is over I take her to the edge of the park and do some extra training with her, and only then will she want to work with me. When we go off by ourselves it's almost like I'm working with a different dog. Bonnie will be willing to try anything for a hot dog. I could repeat everything we did in class, and she'd be happy to do it and will put in almost 100% effort. Today I was doing offlead heeling and stays at the end of the class, and she was great! We did the same exercises in class, it's a completely different story. It's only during the class when Bonnie shuts down. We've been taking classes for a few years (started when she was under 5 months old) and she's always been like this. We'll go to the class, she'll act miserable, and once we're finished Bonnie is ready to work. She's used to the group environment, and works well around other dogs and people. I could be training in the exact same spot as the class, and she'd want to train. It's only in the class environment when she shuts down. I've tried almost everything to gain her attention during class. I've changed treats. I've arrived early and did some training before the class. I've tried using toys as a reward. I've walked her beforehand. I stopped giving her breakfast on the day to make her hungry. Nothing is working for us. The only reason I'm still doing obedience is so that we can start agility training. We have to pass a certain level of obedience before being allowed to do agility. We have to pass one more class to start agility, but Bonnie's attitude is holding us back. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? I'm confused as to why she acts like this. She only behaves like this in class, otherwise she's happy to work and perform for almost anything. Thanks

I'm trying to teach my dog to break eye contact by turning her back to me. I'm also trying to get her to perform basic cues whilst she has her back to me. So far she's going pretty well. Just need to add more distance and better cues

I bought an EOS 60D not long ago. A newer model has come out, meaning the 60D is quite cheap at the moment. I got mine for about $700 from Kogan.

paddles I am in Melbourne. Could you possibly pm me a link to the wholesaler in Dandenong?

Hello I am looking to buy an agility seesaw, but everything I've found so far has been way to expensive. I've found a few cheaper options but the bases weren't adjustable. I don't need anything competition grade, just something to train on. I have considered making my own seesaw, but I would rather buy my own if I can. So far I've found: http://www.gadgetfabrications.com/index.php/dog-agility-equipment/contact-equipment/see-saw.html http://www.qajdc.com/items-for-sale.asp

So lately I've noticed that my agility handling skills are not great. Most of the time Bonnie can actually understand my crazy cues, but at other times I confuse her. I've never had any sort of agility lessons, pretty much self taught, and I would like to join an agility club soon. But I need to improve on my handling skills before I start working on improving my dog's skills. Most of my cues are pretty jerky and rough, but what I've seen on the internet looks so much more fluent than what I'm doing. I also find that my footwork isn't great either, and I usually get in my dog's way when I'm trying to move somewhere. Could someone please help to point out what I'm doing wrong? Also please ignore the weave poles at the end, another reason why I need to take classes. So this is today's session, pretty much the worst handling I've ever done. PS. I'm very new to agility and dog training in general, and Bonnie is the first dog I've ever trained

Thank you! No I haven't taken any lessons at all, apart from obedience classes, but I've watched a few basic tutorials on agility foundations. I've started a little bit of 2o2 but I don't have any real contacts to put them into action. So far Bonnie only knows jumps and a little bit of weaving, which is why we need classes to practice on other equipment Thanks for the help!

I've started up agility again, and I've noticed my handling skills are not looking too good. Mostly Bonnie is being great and somehow happens to understand my crazy cues, but at other times I confuse her. We're hopefully joining an agility club soon and I don't want to start out looking really silly. This is today's session, plus some tricks, which is probably my worst handling yet. So can someone maybe help explain what I'm doing wrong? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2kN3qLWA_K8 PS. I've never taken any agility lessons and Bonnie is the first dog I've trained, so we're both pretty much beginners.

Hello! I was wondering if there are any people selling some good quality agility equipment in Victoria? I've started agility with my dog using homemade stuff, but I need some proper weaves and a tunnel. I'm not looking for competition grade stuff, just equipment good enough to train with. Or would it be worth going online and buying some equipment from overseas instead? Thanks!

My dog has allergies too. She is allergic to almost all food, and only eats ZD Ultra Allergen Free. She's not allowed to eat any normal food, but she's stopped flaring up and doesn't itch as much.

those pups are beautiful! no wonder someone stole them. hopefully they'll be found soon

No way! You have my dream animals!! I've got a quaker, and when I move out I want to get a Border Collie and a ginger cat! Hahah my quaker is the boss too :D

Hello!! I was just wondering if there are any people who have dogs and birds that live together peacefully. I've heard a few nasty stories about dogs and birds together, but is anyone successfully living together with both? I've got two dogs and they're petrified of my quaker parrot, as he always bites them.

Sorry Leah, I didn't see your post. Your dog looks beautiful both ways :)