Gamby

Hi all you Obedience people out there in the Internet world. I've got a question that needs answering. Do I have to say to Gambit, "Box" when sending him to the "BOX" During practice he is dropping in the box. He will sit if I use "Spot" as the send away word. He will then go to the box, turn and sit. If I was trialling, would I be pinned for not using the word "Box"? All suggestions gratefully received

Hi GSDowner My daughter-in-law was very frightened of large dogs. She was born in China. It isn't very often you see a dog walking around in China which is one of the reasons why. Where Cindy came from, dogs were food (she has never eaten dog since after meeting mine). On my many visits to China I only saw one dog roaming. It was a magnificent specimen of a Chow Chow (I think that's what it was) It was very big, had had puppies and was on a mission to who knows where. Its tongue was the deepest blue. I took Cindy to see a Rotti one day. I knew the dog and thought that Cindy would be able to see that she doesn't need to fear a big dog. She wasn't comfortable with him and the dog knew it. As Cindy wasn't a dog person she didn't know that she wasn't allowed to stare at the dog. The Rotti barked at her with his deep voice and frightened the living daylights out of Cindy. she is OK with Rotti's now though. My intention was totally shattered. I had two dogs who you would say were medium height. She eventually interacted with them beautifully after a short time. Then I got an Aussie and her fear came back but not for very long as you cannot but love an Aussie. The only reason was that Gambit was bigger to what she had been used too. Please don't be upset by the way they react to your dog. It is only because they have not interacted with dogs and your dog being a GSD is a big dog. If your dog was a maltese then they wouldn't be OK with it and their reaction wouldn't be half as bad. I get my dog to sit and watch or put him in a drop before the Asian people get to me. I use this as part of my dogs training. The children are so funny. They are worried and back up but do want to touch the dog like the other children at say a kindergarden. I get Gambit to drop. After a few days the child will eventually touch the dog then pat it. Hope this helps

You can add my name to the list too. I'd like to learn about another sport for dogs. Gambits loves catching a Frisby or Ball.

:) :D ;) :thumbsup: It worked Thanks ozjen Even worked on Push with a soccer ball this morning. He wanted to do the typical Aussie thing and bash it with his feet or kill it with his teeth. Had trouble last week trying to get him to rollover on his right side. I shouldn't laugh but he sort of did it but then got stuck half way over. Now he is doing it. Don't dogs love doing TRICKS?

:) :D ;) :thumbsup: Wow thank you ozjen. Your video shows a typical Aussie doing its typical thing. Picking up the ring from the back. Using its paws to pull the object towards it. Does your Aussie drink from the back of the water bowl too? Aren't they just the bestest dogs Wendy

Hi My dog can fetch, touch the top of the quoits pole, fetches the quoit, sometimes drops it in the right place but doesn't understand what he has to do. What steps am I missing out on? Hold quoits pole ct for touching with nose Toss out quoit and send him to fetch ct when he returns the quoit to me Using hold word for the quoit so that he doesn't drop it as soon as he returns it to me ct Gambit's main activity is using his paws to get any item. It's a puppy thing I think. He is able to touch with he paw anytime. He becomes frustrated when he isn't rewarded for not dropping the quoit over the pole. then its the paws pulling or grabbing hold of the quoit pole or both. Any suggestions gratefully received

Where do I start, from the beginning I suppose. Mr Scotty was an Aust terrier Cross who nearly drove me mad. I took him along to obedience classes so I could somehow get him to behave. Ummm, he passed his three classes with not too much trouble (except for when he decided he would rather go play somewhere else) so I decided we would enter trials. What's amazing is that he never dropped or sat in the stays. All I wanted was ONE pass in novice so we could go tracking. We did get that pass at Warrnambool, many years ago by default. I was so happy as we could go and have fun tracking. Well things didn't really turn out that way. Mr Scotty loved to run so we trained for agility. Wow, was he fast, did he have fun making up his own courses. Then one day he got his first pass, wow, then he got two passes on the same day giving him the title of AD. He also did Flyball and he was so fast but only gained his FD title. Sadly Mr Scotty became epileptic. The tablets slowed him down so much that it was the signal to just let him be a dog. He enjoyed being a dog, doing his thing, his antics had me laughing just about everyday. Thanks to Mister Scotty I have been trialing since 1995, attended many workshops, read many pages of info to do with dogs and dog training, watched videos and enjoyed every minute of it. THANKS MY BABY BOY I can just imagine what mischief he is getting up to when he arrived over the Rainbow Bridge in Jan 2009.

I'm still a member of Geelong and Bellarine and now a member of Ballaarat. I'm taking it easy for a while. No lessons to prepare. All I need to worry about is getting to Ballaarat on time to do Obedience and Agility training with Gambit. Rang VCA today and I can't apply for the Title until they have the original pedigree. I Know it is in a box in hubby's garage but which box???? Can't find the book I wrote the box numbers in with the contents. Oh well, I'll keep searching, I'll never knwo what I'll find. Thanks you all for the messages of Congratulations. The dates and clubs were at KCC Park Easter 2008 and Geelong Obed Dog Club in Sept 2008. Wendy Mr Gambit CD

You need to find something that is Oh so good for the dog. Not just dry food or the normal extra treat you give them but something the dogs would go nuts over. That item will be what the dog tracks for. I sure wouldn't walk miles just to be rewarded with a crappy snack, get the idea. Also have some articles like old work socks, leather wallet, old sunglasses with the lens taken out, old mobile phone, lots of yummy treats cut into small bits, a harness if you have one and a lead that is about 5 metres long. A note book, pencils and an eraser It is wonderful reading what your dogs have achieved since they started tracking. Enjoy your tracking lessons, have fun and Trust Your Dog. Your Cocker Spaniel should take to tracking naturally. I suppose your Beagle will too but I just know how well a cocker can track owning a cs cross who is a TCH. Wendy

Loves you forever Ness. hug: ;) :p :laugh: Thank you so much for that. I never even thought about what I had put on DOL

I'm still floating after Saturday's AM Obed Trial at the Geelong Obedience Dog Club. Mr Gambit, worked so well, I can't remember what happened during the exercises only that he was always there beside me when he had to sit. I moved to Ballarat on 22 June so I didn't really want to go to the trial. I wanted to stay home and complete my arranging. I had promised that I'd steward in the PM trial so the dogs, cat and I got up early in the morning and travelled down to Geelong. During the sits and downs I was reminding myself all the time to Breathe. He stayed where he was supposed to stay and when the SA judge said "Exercise Finished" I couldn't keep from smiling. Then Gambit was awarded 1st place, Highest Geelong ODC member, his signed Pass Card and his CD Title. What more could I have asked for. The worse part is that I have no idea where his other two pass cards are making it impossible for me to enter him in Open until I have at least sent in the cards. Can't even remember the places where he got his passes or the dates. Oh well, I will eventually find them, in the meantime we can have fun practicing the Open Exercises. Way to go my Big beautiful Baby Aussie

Thinking of you both How sad it is to loose another Flyball dog that showed the audience what Flyball was all about. Wendy Mister Scotty FD Miss Annabell FDX

Hi Kavic When my Mister Scotty became epileptic and had to go on medication it slowed him right down. Mister Scotty was so over the top being an Australian Terrier. I was disappointed that I or he couldn't do his agility and flyball any more. He lost interest in everything except for sniffing, sticky beaking by just doing his own thing. I became frustrated and didn't know what to do. After a while I noticed as he was doing his own thing he was having so much fun. Watching him made me laugh and cry sometimes. As he got older I had to put him on lead to take him for a walk because he would tune out. Mister Scotty eventually enjoyed his retirement as I enjoyed watching him being a dog. Don't loose heart, Enjoy your dog, watch his antics and try and figure out why he is doing what he is doing. Mister Scotty also enjoyed doing some clicker training. He would go through all of his actions without me telling him what to do. The look on his face was priceless. Trying to get him to Speak was funny as he wasn't a natural barker. Mister Scotty went over the rainbow bridge in January 2009 and I still miss him so. Thanks for giving me the opportunity for rememering what he was like when he lost interest in doing What I thought he wanted to do.

Hi Helen Congratulations, are you still floating. What a great result. Wendy's photos are truly delightful, who else can take photos like that? I bet there aren't too many out there. (I sent a couple of replies to DOL but I think they are still floating around in siber space)

Hey Noels I knew you would be blown away with the workshop. Isn't it easy when some one is showing you how to do the exercises. I agree whole heartily when you indicated that the tight lead, poor execution of turns, not completing the station correctly etc. was the cause of lost marks. 100/100 who was that.? What sort of dog. has the person been doing obedience for a while, tell me more please, as long as that person doesn't mind. Congratulations to you and your dog. Well Done Sadly, but really happily I'm moving to Mount Clear, Ballarat on 22 June 2009 so I won't be able to continue with Rally-O classes at BDAG. BUT I have two wonderful helpers who are willing to continue with the class. A BIG Thank You to them. They are going to be great assets as far as getting Rally-O up and running. If possible I'd like to talk Ballaarat Dog Obedience Club into introducing Rally-O. But that is a little while away. I'm going to have a rest from instructing for a month or so and just concentrate on training my Miss Annabell and Gambit doing Search & Rescue and Tracking. Who's next on the Workshop Calendar? I shall be off the internet for a while after 19th June and I look forward to catching up on the happenings when I'm reconnected. Hey Heather, How are you feeling, getting a bit tired yet, or are you still on a high with the feed back you are getting about Rally-O Wendy

No eventually about it with the box I was using with Rory last week, Gamby. (Just started some free shaping with him.) I'd left the box in the living room, and during his mad hour yesterday evening, when I was checking my email, I heard ripping souinds - next thing along comes a happy grinning BC pup with the remains of the box hanging out of his mouth (Reminds self to bring another suitable box home.) Hey Tassie, Isn't life wonderful with a dog?

Having fun with a box I call it Free Shaping and it would be my No. 1 trick I do with Gambit. As soon as I put the box on the floor he starts trying all different things. I click and treat when he does something that I liked him doing. It doesn';t take him long to understand what it is I want him to do. I don't talk to him I just watch amazed at what he is trying to do to get the "Click." He does destroy the box eventually, but in the mean time he's had so much fun. Free shaping is so intriging. Seeing the dog trying so hard to get the "Click" is so entertaining. The look on Gambit's face when he's trying is magical. Head down, head up with a look that is just so lovely. Who else has had fun with a "Box"

Why did it take them so long to get this form set up? Thanks to who ever pushed to have it done ;)

Hey Gympians, what did you think of Rally-O???

My Miss Annabell always missed jumps when they were just out of range of the lights on the oval. I had her eyes checked and was told she has trouble seeing if she is going from a lighted area into a darkish area. She did everything else really well. Just something I thought you might be interested in.

Yep, Bernie's for me too Gambit's is made of the softest leather, is light and feels comfortable in my hand

Hey Noels Today was the day we did actual Novice rally courses and a change to an Advanced class by only adding a couple of advanced stations. Very clever as there was no need to change any directions, stations, cones etc. We were very lucky to make use of the cattle shed at the show grounds because there was no way we could have worked out in the wind and rain. The course stations were a chance to get our heads into gear, read the signs and then execute the action. Some of us added sits when there was no sit indicated on the signs, tight leads was another one that we got pinned for (Oh well we'll have to work on that one ), not finishing an exercise. It was so good to receive the judges score sheet to see where we went wrong. The last course of the day I lost it completely. I was so tired and couldn't think. I felt for Heather as she has had less sleep than I have but was still up and bubbly. I loved the following - Well it is really interesting to see the different interpretations of how to do everything & Mind you, they made me think twice about some of it also. We really need Heather to show us the right way. - It's amazing isn't it that people can all have different interpretations of rules? Just wait until you see Heather's way of putting numbers on the signs. BTW it was windy today and some of the signs kept blowing away. Any ideas of how to stop this? I have all the equipment from JJ's, holders, pegs, and normally they seem to stay in place, but too windy today. I can only suggest that you find an indoor place as an alternative. Nothing would have kept the signs in their correct place today. One of the girls wants to start trialing immediately. Boy, how are we going to manage that?????? We have booked Heather for June, July, August or whenever to hold a Rally-O trial (well a claytons trial I think we should call it). We need to get out and push rally by setting it up on the dog club ground so that anyone can try it. All who came along to the workshop were instantly hooked onto rally-o To the next club Heather is going to0, I know that you will be fully informed and have a number or all of your group hooked on Rally-O. Our group were so happy with their success on the day. I'm off to bed now, Yes I know it is only 7.30 but I am so tired from doing a Tracking Workshop last Friday - Sunday and then again on Monday to Wednesday, home late Wednesday. bye for now

Hi Mrsdog It was soooooo good. Angelsun is a great speaker by getting her point across in a most wonderful way. The power point presentation is good as it highlights each step along the way to learning about Rally-O, not just the stations but the score sheets, judges sheet, what you are allowed and not allowed to do in the ring, little tricks to help anyone be able to make the exercise easier to do. Answered all the questions and more and involved interactions with [human] dogs and handlers so we all had a visual understanding of the exercises. The pivot turns, U and about turns were done using the [human] dog and handler, how to bring a dog to Front (how we can use out body movements to manouver the dog into the front position) etc., etc., etc. Heather could have talked and talked all night if we had let her. It was such an interesting fun workshop. Can't wait until tomorrow (well really today) to go out and set up courses then run them with my dog. The figure 8 exercise was very interesting. I can't wait to hear what your group say about Heather's idea of doing it. Stations, Signs, numbers (hey wait until you see how she sets up the signs with numbers, very cool) Enough from me, I'm off to bed. It was suggested that we do a demo of Rally-O at a trial. Either Obedience, Flyball, NADAC agility are good places to let others who have no idea what Rally-O is to see it in motion. The little numbers on the Signs make sense now. This time I'm off too bed Bye

One More (well 2 if I ever get to sleep tonight/day) and my questions will be answered by Anglesun about Rally Obedience. The weather forcast doesn't sound too good but after reading the local newspaper we could be lucky and have plenty of rain falling on Sunday night. If not, it will be a day for wet weather gear I'm so looking forward to actually meeting the DOLers that have been communicating through DOL about Rally-O. If possible I will add some photos of the workshop after the event.

Just a reminder that Registration for the Rally Obedience Workshop closes on the 20th April. Heather need to know the numbers so she can organise copies of the Power Point presentation for those attending on Saturday. I haven't heard from a couple of DOL members. Are you still interested in attending? I won't be able to reply to messages sent to my computer from the 17th - 22nd April as I'll be in Shepparton for the TCV Tracking Workshop. You will be able to contact me on my mobile 0400 682 927 There are some great Rally-O videos on You Tube. they range from individual help on an exercise to watching a dog and handler go through a Rally-O course at a trial.