Erny

IMO, "reliable" means "reliable" and as to whether it is (or not) in the environment in which you have your dog would depend on its training and proofing in that environment. So, a dog is either "reliable" in that particular environment .... or not. I agree, Amhailte. And, if I have the correct grasp of K9's view here, a dog failing to recall would also suggest the dog sees the other dogs as higher value than the owner - hence, it has not been "neutralised" to outside distractions such as other dogs. If the initial training is done is such a manner that the dog is so "neutralised", then later, when the dog is reliable, it wouldn't make alot of difference, as the dog would prefer the company of his owner/trainer, rather than the company of other dogs, although, as a result of socialisation, would be quite accepting of the company of other dogs if it were in that environment. Naturally - my understanding of this thread and K9's thoughts is open to correction

Amhailte - I've not heard it called this term before, but I think it's where the dog is penned or crated so that the only pleasure the dog has is his "work". Commonly used, I believe, for scent detector dogs and such like. Not harsh when the dogs train and work alot - those dogs often receive much more attention and time from their owners/trainers than the average "pet dog" owner.

I differ there - I wouldn't sacrifice a reliable recall to the whims of dog romps ... The dog romps might be nice for the dog .... but the recall can be injury and/or lifesaving. I'd like to get my recall reliable first.

Lablover - .... one hangover coming up, me thinks. Back to the topic? This is interesting ...

I was coming back here for an update too. Sydoney ... we hope everything is ok. (worried)

Sending you and your girl *good luck* vibes, Sidoney ..... looking out for a good outcome.

Doubt it, Andromeda .... I figure there's too much overlap, which means we'd be dosing our dogs with too higher level of the chemicals involved with the treatment of these various parasites/worms. I go for the "spot ons" that cover fleas and mites and heartworm, as that is what I find most affects my dog. I'm in the south eastern victorian region and whilst ticks can be a problem in some areas (usually bushland), I don't find them a problem to my dog in our everyday suburban life. If I was to be visiting an area where ticks could potentially be a hazard, I'd probably treat her for a substance which would cover ticks before I went there.

Thanks again for your informative response, Rappi. Leaves an opening for me to see if there's any research results available regarding gastrointestinal affects by wormers. Off I go to google .....

Thanks, Rappie - great info. Ok - what I want to cover, in particular, are the fleas and ear mites, as well as heartworm and worms in general. The treatment my girl presently gets for this is a combo of Revolution (once a month) and Popantel Allwormer Tablets (once every 3 months). As I'd like to put as little down my girl's stomach as possible, due to IBS, as I mentioned, is it going to make any (better) difference if I use Advocate, given that I still have to give treatment for tapeworm and hydatid tapeworm by way of tabs? ETA: I've seen no evidence of any flea problems under treatment by Revolution.

Thanks, IR, Nadia, Melt and SR for your replies - most helpful. Did a "google" for Advantix ... can see it treats only for mosquitoes, ticks and fleas. It seems "Advocate" is the one I was told about. For some reason I'm not getting that up on "google". Will look up under "Bayer" - thanks SR. Does any one here use "Advocate" or have an opinion on it versus "Revolution" (other than the fact Revolution treats mites, although not worms)?

Thanks, Nadia. If I can seek to indulge a bit further, what other stuff does "Advantix" do? And what other stuff does "Advocate" do?

Advantix sounds familiar. I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Inspector. Small type - average weight (since irritable bowel) 29-30kg. Previous to irritable bowel, 31-33kg.

Well ... maybe it's not so new, now. About 12 months ago, I got told there was a new "spot on" treatment coming out - I'm sure I was informed that it would cover worms, heart worm and fleas. Not sure about mites or ticks, though. I think the name of the stuff started with "A" (but not sure). Does anyone know of it and its name? Can you tell me what it treats? I'm particularly interested in the worming aspect of it, as my girl has irritable bowel syndrome and I like to avoid putting unneccessaries down her stomach if I can avoid it. Any advice or thoughts (good or bad) would be appreciated. ETA: I presently use "Revolution" and give worming treatments orally.

Netti - I'm not sure where you'd get the conduit from - and please know that I'm saying I'm not even sure how suitable and/or safe it would be. I know this was brought up in that thread I referred to in my earlier post .... perhaps the answers are there. For a solid tunnel, you could get a 44 gallon drum (harder to come by, me thinks, these days - they used to be a dime a dozen :D ) and lay it on its side. Secure it with wooden blocks either side, or rope and tent pegs, to stop it from moving when your dog's running through. If you want, you can get some suitable material to make a "sock" that you can attach to one end, and then you have a "sock tunnel". Once dogs get over the initial uncertainty of going through a tunnel, they catch on pretty quickly and usually adore going through. My girls absolute favourite is the dog walk (she'll actually scoot over on her own and go on one when my back's turned! I have to be careful of that!) and also the tunnels. Whatever you do, have fun - but always think of the safety aspect of your equipment before putting your dog through. All the best with your agility quests!

Hi Netti - could I suggest some PVC piping instead? If the dog knocks it, it's less likely to hurts its knees on the bar. And maybe ducted airconditioning/heating condute MIGHT do for a tunnel. This depends of course on the size of the dog and the size of the condute you can get. It also depends on whether the material the condute is made from is sturdy enough not to fall apart and expose its inner supports.

When I began agility training, I used "tomato stakes" that I purchased for about $6 through the agility club - although you can get them at bunnings for around the same price too ($6 for 12 stakes). Haven't read all the other posts, so sorry if someone's already suggested this. There is another thread (some time ago) where we discussed alternative (ie home made) agility equipment. If you can find it, I think you'll find there were quite a few really good suggestions there. My memory isn't flash, but I think the topic was started by "Amhailte" a number of months ago. Try the search engine on DOL - you might not have much trouble finding it.

That doesn't matter .... makes for a patchwork quilt type design. Photo and framing idea is nice, but you're still left with all that material, wasting away in a box somewhere .... (as mine are from my horse eventing days - *sigh*)

In my horse eventing/dressage competition days, there were people I know of who sewed all the ribbons together and made a throw over show rug out of them. I could never be bothered - very time consuming. But would be easier for dogs?

Good quality .... yes. Bargain price .... no. Is it reasonable given the quality - it could be (I haven't compared) but second hand would be cheaper. I can given you an email address (ph no if I can find it) of a person who makes agility equipment (to trial requirement size etc. etc.) and you can find out prices from him. PM me if you want it and I'll look it up for you. Otherwise, I'm told there's agility equipment (second hand) advertised for sale from time to time in the Trading Post - I think you'd find that cheaper.

No worries, Rusky. Don't think I'll be starting it off tonight, though. Have a bunch load of reading to do in an attempt to gain some deeper knowledge about BSL in anticipation of helping out at the EDBA stand at Diamond Creek on Sunday. Plus, I'm tired. I think it would be a good idea to start it up under a separate thread - not only because we've already well and truley hi-jacked the OP's topic, but also for easy searching using the DOL search engine, if we need to. I think Kelpie-i's idea of maybe asking the DOL administrators if the thread topic can be highlighted the same as "Dog tricks" are. That way, people who have questions/comments can go straight there, instead of starting up new threads all over the place.

I'm not in to 'teaching/training' via the internet. Too many anomalies involved due to individualism between dogs, and too much room to mis-interpret written posts, by dog owners. I think the best place for learning to train your dog is at dog training school or by way of private lessons, where things are not only explained, but demonstrated, so you can hear AND SEE what is meant. Don't mind helping out when people are stuck on something they're working on at training school, or need something explained, or want different points of view, though. I'm meaning more a forum where training techniques are discussed. The goods, the bads, what other people think about them.

I don't plan to ...... (but maybe - depends)

Presuming you mean Rough Collies, Nat? In fact, we do. The one that first springs to mind is one with behaviour issues to unfamiliar people. A pre-existing behaviour (terror of humans) that was evident right from when the owner purchased him from the breeder. The owner has done a fabulous job, by the sounds. Did all the right things. Sought good advice. Had help from Delta. It seems the dog has improved from when she first acquired him, but has now plateaued and the owner hasn't been able to progress further. The trainers are presently working with him at ADT and have identified with the owner some of the things she does that she could change to assist towards further improvement in the dog's behaviour. We have had others, although I have been caught up in other dog training areas, and haven't been to classes for a while, so haven't seen them of late.

StaffordsRule Sounds good to me. I think it's almost impossible to have debate on DOL without flaming, though - if only for the fact that the written word can so easily be misinterpreted by the reader's assumed "tone" of the sentence. But hey, I'm happy to give it a go. (Maybe not tonight .... I'm about to turn in. Early start in the morning.) Oh - and I don't mind "side tracked" backgrounds at all. Gives more to talk about.

Guys .... feel free to come on in and distract us! Perhaps talk about your training schools/clubs, the methods they use, how they deal with behaviour problems (both mild and severe). Please - I for one would be interested ...