TigerJack

do it with the other dogs there who can catch. Do it with the dog's dinner kibble instead of using a bowl. When the other dog's are catching dinner and this dog is missing out, he'll catch on soon enough. You might need to be strong enough to let them miss most of a meal though, thene they'll be better next time.

I do think some dogs area ble to contextualise and know what the job is. I do both Flyball and herding with my Kelpie and I have found that the herding has been of enormous help to her flyball. Improving at herding has given us a much stronger relationship and better focus and her flyball improved exponentially as the herding improved. She knows they are different tasks and loves them both. She is revved and excited at flyball and barks alot but she is now very focussed on the job and doesn't stuff up much at all anymore. She is calmer at herding but still very excited about it, she only barks when asked to do so. She knows she cannot work the sheep without doing it on my terms so she is calm and references me now. I think both sports would have taken longer if done alone. I do not do agility so cannot comment apart from saying that it appears some agility body language is the opposite of herding signals we give our dogs so that would have to be considered. My dog is far more focussed on me and far more obedient at flyball for havin done all the work at herding. She loves them both. Jo

I'll be there too, my club is taking a few teams. Some of us are doing the singles and pairs as well on the friday. I think I'll just do pairs with one of my dogs. Also camping, should be fun Jo

I've also been ordering nutro from the QLD Doler and have been happy. My problem now is the reverse of everyone elses, the food came but I can't contact her re money. I received two 15kg bags of food and requested the amount I owed so I could transfer the money. I haven't been able to get an answer since. I still owe money and I need to order more food now. I hope nothing is wrong. Will have to find an alternative supplier within the week if I don't hear from her. Jo

I have witnesses a blind poodle participating in flyball so I guess it shows pretty much anyone can have a go Bella, my silky, has quite a good swimmers turn and she can get high onto the box but she is so light that her front feet hitting the box doesn'tt trigger it, it is when she turns and pushes off with her back feet that the ball flys out. She got spooked by the ball hitting her in the bum so she became scared of the box and would only go up to it, stop and tentatively touch it with one paw and then run away from it. I took her back to basics and worked our way up again (no ball) and had her going round properly with a stick in front of the box. Unfortunately our poles are these plastic electric fence posts on a spike and they have a couple of hooks for holding the fencing tape. Bella wears a tiny black dog harness. She went racing down, jumped high on the box, leapt out and the harness handle snagged on the pole hook and there she was swinging in the air unable to touch the ground. Flyball box bad!! Not going near that bad thing again!!! Bella doesn't do flyball anymore! Maybe one day I'll try again. Jo

Any dog breed, as long as they are fit and healthy, can do flyball. Jump heights being set by the hight of the shortest dog on the team. The AFA will also be ballotting members later this year to bring heights down to 7 inches and 14 max. My club has a Dobermann in training and she has one of the nicest swimmer's turns I've seen anywhere. I'm told the Irish wolfhound from Canberra has retired. I think Jamaica may outweigh my boy Jack but I think Jack is a little taller than Jamaica is. Jack is a Ridgback cross shepherd, probably Malinois Shepherd. If you want a big breed, make sure you are taught the correct way to do a swimmer's turn or your dog may get hurt. Most of the fastest teams are using Border Collies and Kelpies. My second flyball dog is a Kelpie. You can also do flyball with the tiny dogs but be aware that the really small ones may not have the body weight to trigger the box. this is my 3.5kg Silky Bella and she can't trigger the box but can manage the jumps. So if you want a small dog, maybe aim for something that will mature at least 5kg in weight.

I have a tennis ball chomper with teeth almost as bad as that. Keep an eye on the teeth and stop them chewing things like tennis balls, which have a surface that works a abit like sandpaper to teeth.

go to http://flyball.org.au/ and then go to 'about flyball' and then 'getting started' this also takes you to the link that RescueDogsRTheBest posted. The biggest thing to get started is getting some equipment and a box is expensive. Perhaps see if you can loan it from the existing clubs until you get some fundraising done. You only need 4 teams to hold a competition. Have to start somewhere! Good Luck Jo

Go to www.flyball.org.au and then go to the clubs section and look for the Central Coast Surfstormers. They are up your direction and do alot of demos (or they used to.) Organiser is called John. There are Flyball Comps on both of the two following weekends so Sydney people might be reluctant to travel three weekends in a row. Good luck Jo

OMG no. I have had only a single dog's teeth done so maybe I'm no price expert but it was an additional $75ish on top of the price I paid for her desexing which was done at the same time. If you're doing the teeth alone then you can expect some anaesthetic costs but $250 is a bit steep in my opinion. (This was only 2 years ago so prices can't have gone up that much.) Jo

Bully Girl the sum total of my GSD experience comes from living with a GSD cross ridgeback. He is now 5 and a half and has really only been what I would call civilised enough for proper company for the last three years. Up until he was about 2 and a half, maybe 3, he was lovably insane. A giant, extremely intelligent, hyperactive nutjob who was alot of work to keep occupied. I gather this is fairly normal. he was just the average, hormone charged teenager who was so excited at everything new he discovered and so large and energetic that he took alot of handling. He was (still is) a total charmer who loves human contact and pines if he's locked outside, that was when he got destructive. He was becoming too much hard work to take anywhere so I bit the bullet and took him to obedience three times a week (two of those classes were with only about 3 other dogs so quite personalised) plus commenced flyball with him. On the other three days of the week, we had major ball chucking games, soccer matches (he's a great goalie) and just spent alot of time hanging around together. He used to bark at night as I had intended him to sleep outside. I had to bring him inside and this stopped the night barking. He just wanted to be closer to me. Leaving him to entertain himself (in the early years) was similar to what you have described. Laundry getting pulled down, holes getting dug and so on. He now gets alot more of my time and is much more civilised for it. I have to emphasise that even though I had not at the time heard of NILIF or TOT, what I did with him was along the lines of these programmes and it was an enormous help. It was really nice when I finally found DOL and saw these programmes written up and could give a name to the stuff I had been doing at home on my own. I'm glad I worked it out and I'm lucky I did it right I guess. It really cemented me as the leader and he is now comfortable with that. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't give up. He might be a nutty teenager for a while yet so evaluate whether you can give him the intensive time and brain exercising attention he is craving. I know youa re too far for a fomal obedience class but there's no reason why you cant do the activities yourself. Oh, and I can't agree more about the crate training. it is a lifesaver. The dog can be inside with you (what he wants) but is safely contained in a crate which, if you train it properly, is a place he will want to be. I would recommend you get him desexed too. Regardless of what the vet said, he should calm down a little and he doesn't need them, now does he? good luck and post some pics of him when you get a spare minute. Jo

I saw the same bargain and came home with my two bags and my free trigger hose dog wash thingy. When I checked the docket later, i found they had only charge me $79, so extra bargain. It is a bit short dated but I've got 10 dogs to feed so we're getting through it quickly. They all actually like it and I've got some fussy ones. Even the tinies who turn up their noses at dry food are coming back for seconds. I usually feed Eukanuba and the proplan is resulting in poos that are pretty similar, maybe a tiny tiny bit softer and a lighter colour. I've fallen for some other 'bargains' in the pst and often regretted it but I think I'd use this food again. Jo

after a flyball comp is over, our whole tam gets soft serve cones for the dogs. jack gets a double scoop because he's huge. They all love it.

Piximatosis what store in Sydney do you work at that stocks Nutro? I've only managed to find one and I'm a bit reluctant to buy from there as they also sell puppies and birds. I don't mind travelling a little bit. So far I like this food and so do the dogs but it is just too much hard work to get hold of. (and the bags are really fragile and rip easily.)

Last two Flyball Comps here in Sydney this last month have been evening comps. Started around 3pm and went through till about 10.30, 11ish. Bit hot to start with but nice and cool by the end. they were a really good idea.

I agree with kavik, give Western Suburbs a go. Friend of mine joined up this year as she trials and wanted training that was dedicated to trialling. She finds it a good club and attends Tuesday evenings

local anaesthetic procedure should be cheaper, not as many drug costs. My vet has had me hold my ridgeback cross boy while he was stitched and that emant we didn't need an anaesthetic. I was only able to do it as they know me, and know I work in a hospital setting and I wasn't about to faint. They wouldn't allow it for owners if they weren't sure how they'd cope seeing the procedure done. I think it depends on the pain level. I had my chihuahua's abscessed anal glands lanced under light sedation as it was way too painful to do otherwise, even if I had held him.

should city-based people, or anyone with no real need for a working dog, be doing sheepdog training at all? After all, we have no reason to do it, other than for enjoyment for ourselves and our dogs. We might take it super-seriously, we might have very well-bred dogs, but we don't NEED those dogs to work sheep.

:p um im sorry but i dont understand why someone would be denied acess to a public forum just because someone disagrees with you? personally im not wading into the prong debate but i thought we lived in a democracy not a fascist dictatorship. why is it a good thing that someone has been denied the right to free speech? who gave the administrators of this forum the right to terminate the membership of people who have done nothing but express an opinion? it doesnt matter what that person said, i cant believe that you think this is a good thing. someone here even has a signature that quotes volatire about the not agreeing with what someone says but respecting their right to say it! what sort of forum is this? you accused that person of being close minded but what does denying them access say about this forum? ETA: this is actually NOT the opinion of tigerjack but user name kylieandpossum, sorry i was logged on via someone else's computer and didnt realise....oops

A rescue Dane! Good for you, you won't regret it. My own rescue Dane, Sam came from Cordy and he's still going strong. He will turn 12 next year. Sam's needs might be a bit different to your girl as Sam is well and truly a geriatric. He gets diarrhoeah at the drop of a hat so I have to watch what he eats. He has lived on Eukanuba for the last few years but every time I give him any meat or a bone or if he gets cheap dry food (pinched from Dad's dog when we visit them) he gets the runs for a few days. If I stick to the good quality dry, he's fine. Be aware though, feeding all dry food, you have to watch out for the bloat. Sam had already had bloat and a stomach tack operation when I took him on. I am now trying him on Nutro Chicken and Rice for sensitive stomachs. We are half way through the first bag and so far no problems. He loves it and I think I'll keep him on it. Sam gets about 6 or 7 cups of dry per day, divided into two meals. Jo

I only wish I could improve tug drive... Food drive is good with my guys. TOT works. I also frequently don't feed with the dinner bowl for my kelpie girl. I put it all in my bait pouch and make her work for it. Only takes a few minutes and she gets the same dinner plus some training. We are mostly doing recalls where she has to target my hand (to improve return to me in flyball) If she hits my hand she gets fed. Sometimes I spin round in a circle with the hand just out of reach until she is really racing for it and then let her have it. Helps if the first time you do this they missed the meal before. Jo

I have an 18 month old Kelpie, Kobe, and I do both herding (for 12 months now) and flyball. I don't find that they conflict at all, in fact I found herding to be a major help in her Flyball! I noticed that I had typical lack of focus problems at Flyball and some difficulty in gaining a reliable recall when she was just starting out at both. I managed to get to herding every second weekend for about 2 and a half months earlier this year (instead of once a month) and I found that at the same time her flyball improved exponentially. Her focus on me was much improved and her recall now is perfect. She certainly knows when we are herding and when we are doing Flyball and behaves accordingly. She is much calmer (but driven) at herding and much more amped up and barking at flyball. The focus is much better at both now, however. All her problems at both herding and flyball are completely due to me. Jo

enjoying this thread! I have lots of pics of Possum and my Kelpie Kobe and her brother Cobber and Perry (and some of a defiant red cattle dog we shan't name) but my computer at home blew a gasket last night and I can't upload from work. Will see if the gremlins are gone tonight. I know with the voice thing, I have heard Kylie and she can't get low enough to sound growly with the word 'Possum' which is a long soft sound anyway (although she can manage a pretty sharp sounding 'Trent' when she needs to.) I find I sometimes have too much growl with my Kelpie. Less of a problem so far with the herding but more so when I'm at Flyball with the same dog. Trent tells me to stop sounding angry at my dog. Jo

hehehe - yep should see the look on his face every time Kylie demands the 'theory.' This description fits my own Kelpie for sure but her brother works quite differently. He likes more distance.

Don't know of any Flyball clubs at all that meet during daytime mid-week but Leaps and Bounds train daytime on a weekend. PM Supermum, she's with them. The ones I know; St George - Thursday evening PICSI - Tuesday evening Norwest - Tuesday evening (I think) Sutherland - monday evening Southern Cross - weeknight, not sure which Psychos - secret Psycho business! You could also try Deerbush dog training or Werriwa, not sure when they train. Go to www.flyball.org.au and look under 'clubs' for the contacts for each club. Jo