Cosmolo

I am confused- how would it be a challenge? If the judge requests you down your dog and the dog doesn't down, isn't that easy? Regardless of what the cue was?

What if someone has english words that were all fruit names- the judge still wouldn't know what the cues meant but it wouldn't matter.

I LOVE beagles and LOVE training them. They are on my list of dogs to own one day. If getting one from a puppy, with correct socialisation and training there is no reason why they can't be obedient and settled.

Their sociability is a huge plus- i LOVE their personality and confidence with people and other dogs generally. The downsides are the work required to get a good recall (it can be done) and the stimulation requirements to limit destructive behaviour. I do believe that beagles do better with either a companion dog OR an owner that doesn't work full time.

I completely agree with agility dog. Why on earth does it matter if the commands are english or otherwise. Provide the list of commands to the judge and if a command is repeated, penalties apply same as everyone else.

I would go as far as to say its discriminatory- many people have english as a second language and in a sport where timing of commands etc is important, a first language may come more naturally to them and i don't understand how it could be in any way unfair to other competitors.

I think that is a sensible outcome.

To the left of the area i mentioned i know dogs are permitted on lead only (and people tend to follow the rules there quite well) but not sure if there are any time restrictions.

Ricketts Point in Beaumaris to the right of the cafe (actually to the right of the boardwalk that leads down to beach)as you face the beach is dogs off lead 24 hours 265 days a year. We love it there too.

Trust me, when you spend time training other people's dogs, you don't have as much time as you might imagine to train your own!! :)

Thanks AD, my girl has a pretty good toy drive, but all of her shaping has been done with food- is this likely to be a problem?

As you can get smooth and rough collies within the same litter, i don't think there are too many differences if any. Although i could give me POV from the ones i have met- i haven't met enough to compare fairly so probably best to ask a breeder that question.

Great tips guys- i am trying to decide which one of my dogs to start this with.

Can someone tell me what the advantages are using this method with a dog that already weaves 'well'. Cosmo who i posted the vid of a few pages ago is good but not great and i can see in that video a slight hesitation or slowing down as she enters the weavers- would 2x2 fix this issue?

While i am not competing myself, i like to train as though i am and as i haven't used 2x2 before i am wondering whether it is easier to learn on a more experienced, steady dog (like Cosmo) before trying with my younger, inexperienced dogs. What do you think?

We have some new vouchers available for 2011. The vouchers offer a discount for puppy pre school or a private lesson for new puppy owners. If you would like some to pass on (or have any questions), please email me [email protected] and let me know your address and how many you would like to have.

I agree, a smooth collie does tick all the boxes.

The problem with trying a number of different things yourself is that if they don't work, you can make the dog more resistant to future training efforts.

We train in the south east, website is in my signature.

What persephone said. In the meantime, DON'T try and grab him out from these tight spaces- either wait until he comes out on his own or lure him out with something he likes. Don't get close enough to him for him to so much as growl.

I think your best bet would be to see a trainer who can help you with these issues. No one online can tell you why these issues are occurring and so any advice given would be prety hit and miss.

I have had 2 dogs try to kill one of mine. If BOTH my OH and me had not been there, our dog would have died. As it was, it took months for her to recover and she was very very lucky to live. Did i want those dogs to die? No. Why? Because it wouldn't achieve anything, it would not make me feel safer as there are 20 other dogs that may do the same thing, killing these 2 would not change that. Instead, muzzles at ALL times when the attacking dogs are walked and a very secure yard satisfied me.

What if the owners make a mistake one day? What if another owner makes a mistake one day? Killing dogs is not a solution because once an attack happens we have already failed as a society- failed to educate, failed to train and socialise and failed to safely contain. I'd prefer to address these failings rather than the simplistic approach of killing offending dogs. If the owners cannot comply with the necesary measures to prevent an incident from re-occurring, then the dogs should without question be PTS.

I think Irish Terriers are a great suggestion and very worthy of consideration.

A springer would be great, or another beagle. BUT you are missing the best one- a rough coat JRT!!!

I like drivey dogs with edge- thats why we have 2 bull arab type, 2 ACD x's and a JRT

I too would hate to see certain breed traits 'bred out'. I love the hardness of an ACD compared to others and certainly wouldn't want one to be as friendly as a lab.

Can i ask what the association was? I find that some dogs don't know 'how to learn' initially- usually as a result of poor socialisation, no prior training, poor training etc. So its almost learned lack of intelligence. Once you get them past the initial hurdle then they suddently become alot 'smarter'. My theory is that these dogs lack the brain pathways of others but that this physiological issue improves significantly with more repetitions (amongst other things) and thus the dog i capable of improving significantly.

Hi Gwenda, we will be in Sydney again this year if your carers are interested in the Underdog Behaviour Assessment.

Exactly GR- these dogs (assuming the owners are reasonable) are LESS likely to be the next involved in a serious dog attack than many other dogs.

I get Danielle's point, i do- but given the above- i don't see the point of killing these dogs.

It doesn't Danielle. But i think you're missing the point. Apart from "those dogs won't get to kill anything else" what are the benefits of killing the 2 dogs?

Why is enforced containment not an option? Because what if they got out etc etc- what about when the dogs down the street get out, or in the next suburb? When the focus stays on killing dogs, the opportunity to educate is completely missed. When/ if those dogs die people will breathe a sigh of relief because their dogs and their neighbours dogs could never do such a thing. Ignorance is not bliss.

The dogs didn't 'get away' with anything. They are dogs. There is a marked difference between killing a dog that poses an imminent threat ( i would have no issue if the woman with the JRT had somehow managed to kill one of the dogs to halt the attack) and killing a dog after the fact just 'because'.

Whether these dogs are killed or not isn't the point to me. My point is that if they are killed and that is the only action taken- nothing is achieved and it does not make another attack any less likely, it just means it will be from the other dogs, not these ones.

Does anyone know where i could find the above stat for the actual number of dogs and cats bought each year from ANY source. I can find a whole heap of others like percentage of households with pets etc but can't find this! Help appreciated!