Pippi

What are you saying - I don't believe it.

I don't know what I did to get it to work, I just kept trying and eventually it worked about the 4th try. :D I don't question my computer any more, I am just grateful that it works.....

I think this would be a very good idea. First I need to learn how to put up clips - got no idea. But, talking about great contacts - I have been teaching my dog 2o2o contacts except for the seesaw, which I teach 4 on. My reasoning is that she is quite a light dog and I do not want to take any chances with the seesaw kicking back on her. This hasn't happened by the way, I am maybe being a bit over cautious. What do others think about this? Am I just adding a level of confusion? Would be interested in your thoughts.

Got it at last, don't know how....................What a fantastic run - do you happen to know what level this team was running in Vicki. Wow I have a lot of work to do with the weaves, fantastic entry and the first time I have seen anyone actually call their dog through the weaves in competition. We have just started training the Rhonda Carter method of contact proofing, I think it is going quite well..

Yeh bugger, I'm not having any luck either..

What a great job Risy, I loved it. My computer has been down all day, just got it up again and the DOL BC's was the first thing I see. I immediately felt better, made my day. There are some absolutely gorgeous borders out there and some very cute pics. Oh and yes I agree the music was very appropriate, Loreena McKennitt is one of my favourites.

She needs to be commended for her bravery, don't know that I would. Yes it will be interesting to hear her side of the story, that is if she is able to put it forward without being abused and berated. Personally I think this topic has gone way too far for that to happen - its not possible to have a reasonable, intelligent debate via an internet forum. If I was her I would forget it. I don't like blood sports.... :wink: (Sorry , my quotes did not work as expected - so I'll leave them as they are)

Could you tell us why you were surprised LL. It is not ususal to hear a lot of dogs bark their way around an agility course. Personally it does not bother me too much, depends on the reason for the barking. If it is caused from my bad handling and hence I am frustrating my dog, then I work harder to be a better handler and try to make my language clearer to my dog. If the dog is barking from sheer joy and excitement then I think it is a delight. Greg Derrett, a very well known and successful UK agility trainer/competitor has competed with a dog who barked her way around a course, his view on this was that if he took the bark out of the dog, he would also lose some of the speed - therefore he was happy to accept the barking.

Well done in the Games Vicki - The dusk till dawn trial sounds like a lot of fun - but 3am Did anyone fall asleep and miss their run? Haven't thought about any games yet, I'm still to busy concentrating on getting agility right, but when the time is right !!!!!!!!! ;)

Hey guys, sounds good cause I missed the Rhonda Carter seminar. Just wait while I book a flight and I'll be right with you....

For a start I would question whether my dog really does understand what is required. If the answer is no, then I go back to basics and backchain the behaviour, making sure there is a clear release in there and the dog knows what it is. If I decide yes he does, then I would never allow him to get away with missing contacts, we would not continue the course but I would repeat the obstacle making sure he stops with 2o2o and waits for my release. I try to avoid any type of correction in agility, not saying never, but I try to avoid it. I always assume that it is me that is doing something wrong, not the dog. So I spend the most time looking at and evaluating what I am doing as a trainer rather than what the dog is doing.

Hi Cosmolo, maybe I am misreading but the new rules do not state that the dog walk is all one colour....... quote " there will be a contact area of 1100 mm painted a different colour to the remainder of the obstacle"......... Actually, have just had a thought about what you wrote and it occurs to me that maybe you were talking about the walk being 2 colours now instead of 3?

I don't believe there is any one way, you need to choose one though and stick with it - the method you decide on should take into consideration your ability as well as your dogs e.g is your dog a large breed or a small one?, is your dog fast or slow?, can you keep up with your dog? as long as it suits you and your dog. I am using 2o2o for the contacts and then releasing. As the dogs contacts get more reliable and she completely understands what is required, then the release starts to come sooner. Much like what Tassie said. Oh yes, I know how that feels - last comp I managed to get lost on course, so if you find a way to imprint the course in your brain let me know. :rolleyes:

Hey Jess, I hardly ever miss agility training, so look forward to seeing you there..... :rolleyes:

I keep up the agility training - mainly because I just got most of my equipment now and I can . But our training is no hardship I always try to keep it fun, if its hot then we train early in the morning or late in the evening. Pippi is the one who drags me out to the equipment.

......and me, 2tollers, sparty and..... and.... and... I'm sure theres more. Well I'm not really from Ballarat but close enough and spend enough time there to be an honourary resident.

Whats happened to Denis? Are we all still waiting, waiting, waiting..........

Hmmmm, thats a bit like the perennial question of "which comes first-the chicken or the egg?" For me it was definitely the breed, just so happens that BC's usually excel at most athletic dog sports so I had it made. I decided to have a go at agility and luvin' it. In any case I would always have a Border Collie no matter what.

I started agility with Pippi (at 12 mths) this year. I was hoping that both of us would simply learn to have some idea of what we were supposed to do and hopefully be able to negotiate at least a few obstacles in sequence - well to hell with that, I am so proud of my baby girl. Last month she entered her first agility trial, managing a first place and her first leg towards her AD. We achieved more than I had imagined. Next year we will be working towards gaining her AD and trying to become a better team. Even though we have a lot more work to do, it is her focus on me and willingness to work for me that I am proudest of.

Wow, sounds great Sidoney. Seems as though heaps was covered. The 'bending over' solution sounds simple and effective, I should try that one, I'm always told I bend over and mother my dog too much. Sidoney said One thing is that she says problems with dogs not sticking contacts tend to be release problems not contact problems (assuming dog understand performance) so says sit the dog at but not on end of contact, go back to where you were, run past and release dog when you wanted to release it. This saw significant improvements esp. with exercise on day 2. This is an interesting one too, another exercise to try. Unfortunetely I cant attend in Melbourne but a friend of mine is going and I am hoping that she will be able to maybe video at least some of the seminar. Thanks a lot for the feedback Sidoney, I appreciate it.

So generally what was the theme of the seminar, anything in particular or everything in general???

Much the same as Sidoney really. I voted once a day, but that is a minimum. If I am working on something new then it may be short bursts a few times a day until we get it, then it will be once a day, then it will be maintenance only or maybe it is improving some technique. I train mainly for agility so I aim for at least once a day (and loving it) Forgot to add that formal training i.e. attending classes takes place 3 times a week.

Hi CTD Here is a pic of my Pip at 8 wks being introduced to chooks. My view with the chooks when I got Pippi was that I wanted her to be socialised to them. I wanted my chooks to be free range without being worried by a BC trying to herd them constantly. So she needed to learn that chooks were to be left alone and not herded, the same training you would do with small children or cats - no different. She was put in the chook pen with the chooks from day 1, at this stage the chooks were not worried by her at all, she was too small. When she did chase them they usually turned and pecked her. voila! the chooks did most of the training for me. I did this every day for a few minutes until she went into the chook pen, totally ignored the chooks and they her. Now the chooks are out free ranging all day and Pip ignores them totally - they are just part of the scenery.

I would prefer to meet at BDOC and follow, cause I'm hopeless that side of The Rat.....

Hmmmm interesting question. Pippi also gets to tug with me after an agility run whether training or trialling. I see it as her reward and I'm pretty sure thats how she sees it too. It is her reward for a job well done or at least a good try. Playing tug with Pippi always happens when she does what I ask whether its agility or obedience or a trick etc. She knows thats her reward, she get to play with mum for a bit. You say you think her reward is doing the course with you. Her reward then for what? or are you saying that running an agility course for her is self rewarding? Much like herding the sheep is the ultimate reward. I guess it would be interesting to see how she performs after consistently not getting the tug at the end. This is probably something you would rather not test I guess I am lucky that Pippi will work for food or toys, actually I'll rephrase that, its not luck but something I have worked hard at. I think her ultimate reward is playing with me, tug or frisbee. But you have got me thinking Vickie.........