EddyAnne

G'day, Eddy here. Does your dog already pick up and hold a tug-o-war toy, a chew toy, or a chew hide, or a piece of lambswool, or a biscuit, or a bone, if so then consider using that item as an earlier stage of training for the dumbbell. To get the dog to give that item to you simply give them something much better, say some freshly cooked roast chicken, liver treats or whatever. Start with the dog grabbing for and holding for a slit second then gradually extend the hold time before you take and treat, and later when the dog knows what you want plus also know that they will be given a reward then you swap to using the dumbbell. I'm sure your training instructor could devise a training program around this method or some other positive method of which could also include using Clicker.

G'day, Eddy here. It's good to get ideas from many places and use them in your training. I like to use directed retrieves when training for the broadjump. Briefly explained, I just position the dog then move to the side of the jump, then throw a food treat or toy and tell the dog to go get it. Later the food treat or toy is not thrown but the arm action signal is still used, and when the dog doesn't find the food treat or toy on the ground they then come to you. By the way, a dog is capable of understanding up to 10 different command words for the one action, say down command for drop action, plus cheese command for drop action, plus noga command for drop action, etc. So you could easily teach your dog to drop and use 2 different command words for this, one word in English and another in Polish. You could even do this with hand signals or combination of hand signals and vocal commands.

G'day, Eddy here. My wife and I have competed at hundreds of trials and we really didn't have any problems with strangers giving commands. Before we trialed we just included some additional training for various distractions which included strangers calling out different commands. We knew that there might be odd occasions where my wife and I might happen to be in rings next to each other at the same time, say my wife in Open and me in UD, and that our doggies just might get confused or distracted, so we also did some additional training to counter these possible situations. By the way, my wife and I use the same commands with our doggies, and at times we may swap doggies in training or may even swap doggies at trials. On some odd occasions a couple of close friends have trialed our doggies and we trialed their doggies, and we even got passes. Personally I wouldn't bother training my dogs to another language, besides I may happen to bump into a Judge who for some reason may not approve the use of another language.

G'day, Eddy here. Most Judges I've bumped into are quite human and understand, but then you might catch an odd one that for some reason may not be so understanding. As I mentioned at the start of this topic, "all verbal commands must be in the English language unless approved otherwise by the Judge", so on approval from the Judge you can use any language including Swahili or even Polish words such as noga, mięsa, pasztet, but only on approval from the Judge. Leaving things to the last minute at the trial increases the probability things mightn't get approved. The normal procedure for requests, say even if you wanted to trial in a wheelchair and there maybe concerns regarding access to hides for out of sight stays etc, is to contact the Trial Secretary at the time you are sending in your entry. The Trial Secretary can contact the Judge and together they can work things out and where the Judge can give approval or may not approve, and this even well before the trial. For a Polish speaking competitor, maybe the Trial Secretary and Judge just might arrange that the Ring Steward speaks Polish fluently and that Steward can assist the Judge, but then who knows maybe the Judge might speak several other languages quite fluently.

G'day, Eddy here. It's been about 5 years since I trialed and this is what applied back then, but check the current rule book in case there has been some changes since then. There are NO specific command words, but "all verbal commands must be in the English language unless approved otherwise by the Judge", so by this you can could use any English word you liked for a command word, BUT note everything that is mentioned into the section "Commands", ALSO in the section called "Reprimands" note the following regarding what words you CANNOT USE:- "Reprimands: Reprimands must not under any circumstances be used in the Ring. A 'reprimand' means either verbal or physical and must incur a penalty or disqualification. Intimidating or abusive commands will be penalised." Also, be careful in the UD Food Refusal exercise as this applies"- "In leaving the dog, the only verbal command permitted by the Handler shall be the word 'Stay'." Also, if you happen to speak any other language you could even use any language command words, but on approval from the judge, so if you choose another language have a chat to the judge maybe preferably before the trial starts to get the judge's approval. Also, if you happen to have a vocal or speech problem, well you can do all the exercises without using any command words and just use hand signals only. As an example, for the specific action of drop or down you could even use the command words, bed, flop, bubbles, treat, help, art, grass, lay, or any other thousands of words available but considering what I mentioned above.

G'day, Eddy here. It was you K9 who mentioned and introduced Innotek and electronic collars into this topic with, "Have you read the case where the RSPCA falsified evidence against electronic collars, were caught & paid $100 000.00 plus to Innotek???". Well I did read the case and I thought I'd respond, and I thought that some others might also be interested in reading all the facts on what happened. As to your comment K9, "By the way Eddy, are you saying that the section of my post that you quoted is not true?" I'm not saying that at all and I'll put it this way, say someone might happen to hear that the Federal Court in July 2002 ordered Mr & Mrs Holliday of ("Orion" & "Innotek") that they had to pay Dr Wirth a total of $30,000. I feel that something like this might only give a small portion of what might have happened from a global perspective, and if people want to read exactly what happened then they can read ALL THE FACTS via the webpage from the Federal Court. And yep it takes a while to carefully read through 323 numbered paragraphs. By the way in August 2002 in the Federal Court there appears to be the releasing of applicants' security for costs and one might see how much the respondents effectively received represented by the Court's judgment, those interested see at this address:- http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/fed...t/2002/967.html

G'day, Eddy here. Yep I've read the transcript from the Federal Court case, Innotek v's RSPCA, quite long but certainly worth it to persist reading through carefully so as to get ALL THE FACTS:- http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/disp.pl/...2dog+collars%22

G'day, Eddy here. Keep in mind that what is available on the internet maybe only be a very small fraction of what is available by other means.

G'day, Eddy here. That's what it seems to suggest to me, but OK to use maybe due to some sort of requirements or conditions, and which just might include being a certain type of pronged collar. But then I feel we are just assuming and where we might not be correct, and gees we don't want people to do in their money plus have Customs and RSPCA on their backs. Maybe K9 can help us out as he seems to have an "Import Permit", but then maybe it's best we email Customs and hear direct from them and gees they might even sent us an application for a Permit.

G'day, Eddy here. I too don't think that K9Force would call them "curtain clips" or some other unusual name. Refer to my post on the previous page, and gees we all might be able to import Prong Collars legally where they won't be seized by Customs. Also as there is an Import Permit requirement where Prong Collars appear to be "restricted goods", this might suggest that some sort of requirements or conditions might have to be met before the application for Permit is approved. As K9 appears to have an "Import Permit" maybe he can let us know what requirements or what conditions there might be, this so that we all might be more informed.

K9: in small print WITHOUT A PERMIT! G'day, Eddy here. Thanks K9 for informing us that a Permit is required, and the Permit appears to be written permission from the Minister for Justice and Customs in order to import the goods, and appears to be an "Import Permit". If we all obtain "Import Permits" then we all could import Prong Collars that won't be seized by Customs. At the beginning of this topic I posted that Customs mentioned on their website, "In the last 12 months across Australia, Customs has seized significant numbers of prohibited dog collars, most of them detected in the international mail." Maybe if these people who imported these were more informed where the knew about the Permit requirement then they could have applied for such a Permit and could have avoided the Customs seized situations. As there is an Import Permit requirement where Prong Collars appear to be "restricted goods", this might suggest that some sort of requirements or conditions might have to be met before the application for Permit is approved. As K9 appears to have an "Import Permit" maybe he can let us know what requirements or what conditions there might be, this so that we all might be more informed. I checked the Customs website and copied and paste the below from this address:- http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4369#e1051 Just in case the address doesn't work see via "Import Export", "Importing Goods", "prohibited and restricted imports" and on this page look for the section "Dog collars - electronic and protrusion". - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - prohibited and restricted imports The Australian Government controls the import of certain goods into Australia. The controls either take the form of: # an absolute prohibition, which means that you are not allowed to import the goods in any circumstances, or # a restriction, where you need to have written permission in order to import the goods. The following information broadly outlines what goods are prohibited or restricted, where you can obtain more information about the control and, in the case of restricted goods, the mailing address or e-mail address to use to apply for permission to import. The Customs Information and Support Centre (CISC) can provide general information about Customs procedures in relation to prohibited and restricted goods. You can contact the CISC by telephone on 1300 363 263 or by e-mail at [email protected]. The information about prohibited and restricted goods provided on this website is a guide only. Customs recommends that you exercise care with its use. Customs further recommends that you seek more detailed information to ensure that you will comply with legislative requirements before attempting to import restricted goods. Dog collars - electronic and protrusion (restricted import) Description: Dog collars designed to cause an electric shock, or dog collars designed to puncture or bruise an animal's skin. Permits issued by: Minister for Justice and Customs More information: Customs Information and Support Centre Telephone: 1300 363 263 E-mail: [email protected] Address: Requests to import these goods should be addressed to: National Manager Cargo Branch Australian Customs Service 5 Constitution Avenue CANBERRA CITY ACT 2600 E-mail: [email protected]

G'day, Eddy here. I'll reply in general to everyone, and yep there is seriousness about it due to laws. I feel it's best for everyone to check for yourself so that you know exactly where you stand in relation to the law, then knowing the consequences that could happen to you, then you can make a more informed decision if to use or not. I'm sure if you ended up in court, magistrates would love to listen to everything you mentioned about Prong Collars, and who knows maybe your case might write some new laws in regards to Prong Collars. In my case, even if I made my own or bought one from interstate, if I used it on any animal I can be charged by the RSPCA or even by the Police as it is against "state law" to use one on any animal. Also if I used one at a dog show or at my local training club, I can additionally face disciplinary action from my dog club and Canine Council for this applies to me in their regulations:- Victorian Canine Association - Regulations 3.5.2 Dog Collars The use of dog collars incorporating protrusions designed to puncture or bruise the dog’s skin is prohibited.

G'day, Eddy here. I'm just a messenger, and I feel the debate will continue for many years yet just as it has for many previous years. It's best to check in touch on what currently applies to your state in relation to Prong Collars, and the below is what applies to my state Victoria on the use of Prong Collars and the below from this address:- http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/con...997469/s7d.html Victorian Consolidated Regulations PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS REGULATIONS 1997 7D. Use of pronged collars prohibited A person must not use a pronged collar on any animal. Penalty: 5 penalty units

G'day, Eddy here. Maybe the media release below occured due to a significant numbers of Prong Collars being seized by Customs in the past year. This media release has appeared in a number of newspapers around Australia, and the below from the Customs website from this address:- http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=5115 customs media release Customs seizes cruel dog collars - Tuesday, 18th January 2005 Customs officers have intercepted in the mail two packages of potentially harmful dog collars destined for addresses in South Australia. In both instances, the dog collars, incorporating protrusions designed to puncture or bruise an animal's skin, had been ordered from the United States. One consignment of six collars was being sent to an address at Golden Grove while the second consignment, containing one collar, was being sent to Burton. In each case, the packages were described as containing metal or steel links. These dog collars are prohibited imports under Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations. They have been seized and will be destroyed. Customs Acting Regional Director SA John Eldridge said this type of importation was prohibited because of the harm that they could cause to dogs and other animals. "Using these dog collars is a cruel and barbaric practice and Customs works to prevent them from coming into Australia," he said. In the last 12 months across Australia, Customs has seized significant numbers of prohibited dog collars, most of them detected in the international mail. Media inquiries: Corporate Communication 02 6275 6793 Images of the dog collars are available from the image gallery http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4556 Here is a photo of one from the Customs website:-