leopuppy04

LOL - it's even better when I'm training my younger dog and I tell her to do something. I look behind me and Leo is doing whatever I just asked the young dog to do

I agree with both WS and Vickie. I'd work on the dog wanting to spend time with you and this way, getting him to watch you work other dogs etc. It always fires them up a little. My younger dog didn't really know how to 'play' with humans when she came to our place (ie: retrieve toys, tug etc). So rather than training the heavy stuff with her i've just been working on getting her to interact with toys etc. It's coming along really well although she's only just starting to get the hang of 'retrieving' so i'll only let her get it once or twice a time - always end with her wanting more etc. Usually i'll also do it after she has been watching my other dog go mad for his toys. For food I had to teach her to lure etc, now am teaching her to catch. Perhaps feed him his dinner by hand? The only other thing I can think of is that if you are using praise, if he does it go nuts, if he doesn't walk away and don't interact again for a few secs. Methinks he is waiting for the growl and then seeing it as a 'NOW I must drop'.... I think you already knew that though

haha - that is so cool - smart kitty

I thought the heeling was pretty good!!!! LOL! Great vids guys. I need some tech help to get mine up - they are on DVD, and I don't know how to get them onto you tube.... anyone???

That's great to hear, I hope everything continues to go well!! What does leo think of it all now that he has had awhile to get used to her being around? Hmm.... lets see, he thinks she is a great chew toy and something to drag around the house by the neck . Honestly, the two of them get along fantastic and are quite happy to share me.... once it was taught that pushing in got them nothing! He doesn't like sharing toys though.... has to catch them first, and if kinta gets it, well then a chasey game starts and doesn't finish till Leo has it

Ohh i love that one!! Love how the first tug didnt open the fridge had too try again, that time he flung it open lol hehe thanx. If at first don't succeed..... Love it how he really gives it a tug the second time... as if to say "i'll show you!" Shoey - he can't get his dinner... I take his tug off the door when we r done and wah --lah! LOL! Otherwise..... *vbg*!

Just wanted to point something out - I'm not trying to tell you not to do it or anything. It DOES sound easy and when you watch the class you think "my dog can do that"! LOL! Just remember it is Bl**y hard once you are in there! YOU will be nervous/stressed which rubs off on your dog. I personally think (and others have told me) that my dog is a good worker... despite the fact that he lacks something between the ears *g*! BUT, we are still in CCD after 4 trials..... I thought we'd fly through... but stress does wonders for your trialling ability *g*! BTW, my dog is definitely ready for CCD/Novice.... its the stress that mucks us up.... see us at our local dog club and we'll be top scorers ;) Just food for thought!

ahhhhh!!!! Thanx Haven!!! BTW - I ended up keeping 'Lacey' (now Kinta).... she is going great and so far all concerns have been pretty much resolved ;) :D - just thought you may be interested. Hope you had a good break!

What is that elective about? I didn't see it when I did the course????? I'm interested as it sounds pretty straightforward... I thought you were joking

What about commands? can you reinforce a command in the basic class? no food/praise is no probs.... You can only tell your dog one command. You cannot tell your dog to 'sit' on the 'halt'. Judge says "forward", you may then say 'heel'... "down" you may say 'drop', "stand" you may say 'stand'.... "halt" you simply stop. You may not repeat any command. When you go into the fig 8 you also can't say anything. In the CCD - Open classes you can use both verbal & visual cues. In UD you may only use one or the other.

Sounds like you have seen the old rules. There is a new class now, and i'd suggest you start with that CCD. Even if you feel you are ready for Novice..... good practice, and if you really are ready for novice, you'll fly through. It goes as following: Heel on lead 30 Stand for Exam 20 Recall 10 1 Min Sit stay 20 2 Min Down stay 20 NB: points for SFE and Recall may be reversed . My recommendation is to get a rule book to see what exactly is required. I'm not sure about the Prong as I live in Vic and it is not allowed. Novice now is all off lead work. All stays are done in a group (min 3 dogs, max 10) with you going to the other end of the ring. CCD is slightly less distance than novice. The judge will tell you when to turn etc. Remember you are not to talk to your dog, feed your dog etc at all throughout exercises. You can only praise your dog (voice and pats only) once the judge has said "exercise finished". No food or toys are allowed in the ring at all. As difficult as it is for you to get to a trial, I really would recommend to go to one, or at least be entered in a club that has mock trial rings set up where you can practice..... it gives you more of an idea of what you are going toward! Good luck with it all! It is a lot of hard work to get our dogs to this level but it is very rewarding!

lol - ah well, now you can have the 'one of a kind'!

LOL at throwing the ball - I can just see myself do that to Kinta while she just sits there and the ball hits her off the head! I will then proceed to get the look "whatcha do that for?!" LOL!

hehe - she is gorgeous!!!!! She is one of the best chocolate borders i've seen - lovely rich colour that doesn't seem to have faded at all!

LOL - I never thought of that!!! Looks like something I have to try... man this is weird... having a 'novice' dog and a 'pre-trained' one!

OK, May sound silly to ask, but I don't know how to teach it! Leo did it automatically and I forget that Kinta can't catch treats so I throw them at her and they just hit her head ! Has anyone actually *taught* their dogs to catch treats? Any pointers?

so pleased to hear that you are doing the course Bloss. Good choices with breeds too! As for helping you look at individual dogs..... here you go - look but don't touch :D

This is of Leo retrieving from the fridge . I've got to do some more vids of his other tricks too :D

Me personally, I have interest in obedience, agility, flyball, herding and showing (as if that wasn't enough!). I do it for the fun and because my dog/s enjoy it. Like Josh was for you CTD, Leo is my first 'training' dog of any kind and he has been a huge learning curve. I'm immensely proud of where he stands now and where I should be able to go with him. If he failed however, I would not have rehomed him. I now have a new dog, Kinta and she is showing a lot of potential. As people have warned me I have & will make mistakes with her too, but I was more aware of what to look for in a dog that I wanted to train up to trialling levels in a whole lot of disciplines. She is also to be my show dog and hopefully foundation. If she fails as a show dog, I won't re-home her, nor will I if she produces a pup that I keep and they don't turn out etc,etc. For my own capacity, I feel that I could only have a max of 4 dogs (with a permit of course!) to train, probably 2 retired and 2 trialling... couldn't handle more than that! But if one doesn't make the grade, i'd still keep it. I'd be more inclined to re-home with something like a temperament that doesn't suit for trialling or a temperament fault, not fitting into family etc, etc. I think those who can re-home their dogs are very strong. I couldn't bring myself to do it, yet I understand why you would do it.... if you bought the dog for a particular purpose and it can't fill that, well then perhaps re-homing is better... I just can't bring myself to do it!

We want the dogs to live!! :D ;) What are you implying Sway???? Are you saying that Shoey has deathly stinky feet :D ;) ;) ;)

Hmm, Eddie, no way!!!! Why does everyone want my baby? I try to give Molly away but no one wants her LOL - coz he is sooo cute and looks like SUCH a character!!!! I love Staffies simply because they seem to love life so much.... just like my Aussies .... oh and the fact that Staffies tails NEVER stop wagging and are practically lethal!

hehe shoey! You need clothes with pockets and so do I! I think they stopped inventing them a while ago . At the moment i'm wondering if I can ever trial in Summer as I have NO shorts that are fit to be seen dead in . With the food throwing - I found it REALLY increased his speed and motivation. You can also play a 'game' of who is going to get around first! That also increases speed! BTW - did I ever mention that I LOVE Eddie?!?!?!!? can I steal him?? I know you live in Vic.... c'mon.... puh-lease?!?!?!? I know - doesn't talking about training make you really motivated! Bloss - Don't worry, I have/ had the same problem. Sometimes I take a step back and look at what i've been doing and realise i'm relying far too much on treats! You get better at fixing/recognising mistakes too! Howz your dog-hunting going? Has your hubby agreed on an Aussie yet?!?!

Hi Shoey! Great vids of Ed heeling - I watched them all! You should be proud of yourself and him... he holds position well and you have his attention !!!!! *pats on the back*! I'd go back to the container idea. Perhaps put Mollie in a crate while training? Here's another tip aswell - when doing 'proper training' scrap the bait bag (I still use mine, just not for 'obedience practice').... simply coz you can't have it in the ring and it is a clear indicator to the dog that you have food . Have a bit of food in your pocket instead. BUT - heel/train or whatever, when you release... don't feed him from your pocket, have a play, get him revved up then say "get your biccies/ball/toy" or whatever and run with him to the container.... reward him there! This is perfect for training 'ring style' as the reward is always going to be out of the ring. when the judge says "release" you go silly, have pats and you can say to eddie "do you want you biccies" which usually causes them to go into a frenzy! But you don't say "get it" until you are out of the ring... then you run over and get the treats together (only, let Eddie eat them... I don't think they taste that good ). Do the same with the ball, rather than holding it etc... you may need to 'build up' to this a little ie: sometimes reward from you, other times reward away from you. Then you'll only have to reward from you for new behaviours.... It seems to work for me! Just a pointer on your heeling (I hope you don't mind!), I don't know how old one of the vids were, so you may have improved since then, but he seems to loose focus on the turns (I have the worst dog for that!). Perhaps try practicing 'static' heeling to keep his attention on you... click as he is coming around you in the correct position, then throw the food. It really helped me with my turns. This is an example of where I would reward with food from me! Good luck! I think you are going great

Hi PF, Yes that is true, and I was aware of that, but I was talking more from a performance home perspective, or even a breeders perspective. I know of some breeders that have de-sexed dogs not suitable for breeding and kept them as performance 'pets', as they had qualities they liked for obed/agility. The same breeder can also re-home dogs that are no longer show quality etc. Although that does play a main part in the breeding side of things, because of limits to numbers etc, I do also think that in some instances they find it easier to re-home due to dog-owner not carrying the same bond.... again JMHO. As others pointed out - they feel their dogs will do better in a one-on-one situation... and lets face it, most obed people have fewer dogs than showies so one 'dud' obed/agility dog still gets enough attention.

Interesting responses. I think my dog likes the break from doing 'obedience' all the time, hence why we do tricks and stuff.... tricks you can also teach inside with the air-con. I find that this way it keeps his mind active, and when we go back to obed in Feb, he is fresh and full of energy. Works well for me. I may love work (which I don't!) but i'm sure i'd like a break every now and again, or at least do something with a different flavour. JME. Mostly over the summer we go for long walks, swimming etc.