Leah82

Another Agility training session under our belts. This week we focused on jumps and the tunnel and Sarah was off leash for a bit of it which was really good, she's getting used to the equipment which means the nerves aren't interfering and making her run away Main thing to work on is having her work on the right as she gets confused when she's not on the left of me (too much obedience :p). I did some ground work with her on the right while other dogs were going through the jumps but not enough to make much of a difference. The instructor told me at the end that he could see Sarah has a knack for Agility, she still has a very long way to go and at this point I have no plans to trial but it was nice to hear :)

I've recently been using dried devon for day to day treats, at the park etc. Because it's not fresh the value isn't as high plus it lasts for ages. I slice up a whole heap into little squares and stick them in the oven on low for about a hour

haha that was us yesterday. clean house, dogs in crate They seemed to prefer that to being turfed outside and it means they're not out in the backyard getting dirty while we're cleaning

Oh aren't we being awful to hubby :laugh: :laugh: . How long were he and Bonnie gone, Michelleva? In a dim distant time, many years and kilograms ago, I was a morning runner/jogger and my regular beat was 5 miles, ie 8 kms. It used to take me approx 50 minutes and there were a couple of steepish climbs in that. So walking with Bonnie, taking in a few parks ....... out with the calculator LOL. I generally manage 6km per hour at a brisk walk

Same stuff on here and slightly cheaper - and $2 shipping http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/pet-supplies/behaviour-training-aids/

Sad face OH and I are on a very limited budget until the wedding. I'm not sure spending more money on the dogs would be a very good idea when he's having to stop buying beer. But I wants it!

nawww louis. I'm picturing this :laugh:

we're looking at getting a jeep patriot in the next few months. They start at $25,500 new and come with most of the usual extras standard. We were originally wanting 4wd but simply can't afford the extra $10k that seems to add onto the price I've heard electrical issues are pretty common with jeeps so the new car warranty is a must have

yes I found the going against nature thing a bit weird, if it was then you wouldn't get cross breed puppies from careless owners who don't de-sex their dogs and let them wander the streets. not to mention most of the breeds we have today were a product of cross breeding over many generations.

Hopefully Bonnie gets back to her old self soon and I hope the rescue org has learned that no matter the circumstances puppy farm dogs need a doggy friend. I commend you for wanting to continue to foster but it looks like Bonnie has found her forever home :) I personally would love to foster but I have one dog that's nearly blind as well as my own puppy farm dog so I think that's a long way off in the future And I think the effort you have put in and the strides you previously made with Bonnie says to me that you are a damn good foster carer, regardless of whether she goes to a new home or stays with you

they mentioned puppy farms and the hereditary illnesses that you can get in cross breeds but would have been nice if they mentioned the best place to get a new pup - registered breeders who do health testing and socialisation

Apparently there is a segment on the project coming up about designer dogs. The sub-title was - Are they going again nature. Interesting...

I got this one, seems to be doing ok so far :) http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/large-steel-pet-cage-91-60-66cm/ Edit: and it looks like I got the last one

Poor Bonnie, I imagine it's extremely frustrating to have her take so many steps backwards after all the work you've put in and how well she was doing. I'm afraid I don't have much advise for this issue, both ours get pretty loud and excited when we get home from work but they are outside so we often wait until they have quietened down a bit and then let them inside, Collie is the main issue so he's straight on a leash and has to do a bit of work before we put him on his bed or in his crate for a bit of quiet time, this helps him release his excited energy. I wonder if a DAP collar could help Bonnie while she's settling back in your home.

Poor hankie :) I had a neck pillow lying around that I used on Collie when he was scratching too much. I had a big paper clip keeping it in place but he could still get it off if he was left alone. Made it a lot easier when we were home though, plus the neck pillow doubles as .... a neck pillow :p

Ours will be staying at the inlaws when we go on our honeymoon for two weeks. Not sure MIL will be too keen on having a crate taking up room though Plus it would mainly be for Sarah (as Collie lived there for a couple of years) and she doesn't like the crate yet.

As the dogs will be trained in different things this year (Sarah agility and Collie tracking) I decided it was time to get a crate, that way both dogs can always come along to training and we can keep the non participant in the crate. Crate was delivered yesterday, I set it up easy enough, put the dog's day beds inside and proceeded to throw a couple of toys and a handful of devon bits in the crate. Collie was very happy to go inside and make himself comfortable and to our surprise he immediately decided he didn't need to follow us around the house (and yes the door was open) I was cooking dinner and I didn't have a Cocker Spaniel under my feet, it was incredible. OH insisted I was imagining things until I got him to leave the room, Collie stood up, stuck his head out the crate door but stayed put It's amazing that such a small thing can make a massive change so quickly. What magical thing does your crate do?

Cocker spaniel? Ours is happy enough with a few trips to the park each week although we do have a pretty large suburban backyard as well. From what I've heard he's never been the destructive type, doesn't dig or destroy his toys, he occasionally gets a hold of my partners socks but they're still ok after a wash :p If he's going to get a puppy then he'll probably need to put up with some destructive tendencies to begin with, what about adopting an adult? Cockers love company as well but providing you start as you plan to continue they can be quite happy outside all day providing they have some stimulation

Poor Bonnie, It's very sad that she's had to go through this but at least she is now back where she's comfortable and happy. When we got Sarah any visitors young or old were under strict instructions to ignore her until she initiated contact, on a day to day basis we kept things quiet and consistent. It seems this family were a little too excited about the new addition to their family that they lavished her with unwanted attention and the results speak for themselves. Fingers crossed things go up and up from here and Bonnie finds her true forever home, whether that be with you :) or another family that understand how a beautiful girl like Bonnie deserves to be treated

Bit late but here's 6/52 Collie chilling out in his new crate, nothing fancy here just taken with an iPhone

I love watching the videos on this thread, maybe one day I'll put one up of my own :p Sarah had her second agility training session yesterday, she's still on the lead but I can see her confidence getting better already. With jumps she's waiting for me to say over before jumping, she got the hang of the A frame yesterday and is now tearing up that, she still loves the plank walk (so much easier for a smaller dog) and with tunnels she's mostly going through with my guidance although occasionally she'll turn around half way through and stick her head out at the end she went in :laugh: Can't wait for next week, the weather has been pretty hot the last couple of weekends so I'm sure Sarah's energy levels will pick up with the cooler weather.

I'm not sure how practical it would be where you are Kirislin but I found attending a obedience club really helped Sarah. There's lots of dogs and people around but most people are focused on their own dogs and the dogs are being taught to focus on their handlers rather than all the other people and dogs, I think this helped with the neutralizing that Nekhbet mentioned. When we first started she preferred to stay by my side but now she's confident enough to approach other people and dogs (on the lead of course). And to help things along a yellow bandana will tell other people that Neko needs a bit of space

maybe another visit to the Kepala agility run is in order, although that's probably not going to happen till after the wedding/honeymoon

our cocker spaniel is the complete opposite, he is the biggest sook and will even put it on for attention. When we went camping at christmas the dogs were getting heaps of grass seeds in their paws, we even caught a few about to burrow their way into the skin so I can't imagine it was much fun having them pulled out but of course after the fact he starts limping around and looking sorry for himself, as soon as you get one of his toys out he has a miraculous recovery. he's yelped when I've touched his nails with the clipper, before I even tried clipping them. This was the time I managed to convince my OH that he likes to put in on, before that he thought I was torturing the dog whenever I was grooming him. to be fair though he's hit his head enough times and never seems to worry about that, must be a play time pain threshold :p

I was having a chat to Stuart from underdog training last night, he suggested target training and mixing things up with a bit of play time to prevent her from getting anxious in the first place. As far as using a lead goes we're only doing 1 or a couple of obstacles at a time at the moment and not very quickly, I drop the lead for the tunnel and hoop and can easily pick it up again once she's though. As Sarah lived a very sheltered life before I got her (breeder at a puppy farm) she approaches new things with hesitation. I could do all the ground work possible with her to get her working better with me but and as soon as we get to the agility equipment she would be just as nervous because it's new. I need her to get as much exposure with the agility equipment as possibly without the risk of her running off so it looks like the lead will need to stay for the mean time.