Seita

I've also never seen a trial cancelled due to rain and I've been trialling for like 12 years and much of that was in far north QLD where you can get some pretty incredible thunder storms! You'll have to come and hang out with me! I'll be there! I've even trained Ella this week in preparation for it! My training schedule lately has looked a bit sparse - as in I haven't done any in about 3 weeks! LOL

I can't think of a single judge that I've trialled under who doesn't do all 3 positions in each of the 3 paces... there are a few judges who's patterns are bit different looking but still don't drop off any positiions anywhere. I don't know why they do it... maybe I'll understand when I start going to judges training hopefully later this year. So if the heeling pattern is like that in CCD, are they any harder in Novice and Open, etc..? That CCD routine looked more intense than the 2 Open ones I had on the weekend! Are you going to be an obedience judge Seita? That's awesome! I find that most judges use the same heeling pattern for all levels of competition and are a bit more lenient on the lower levels and get tougher in Open, UD etc. I don't mind having a harder/longer pattern it's just the fast pace that I hate! I love how many interstate judges do a really short section of fast pace and that's all... the qld judges all seem to make you do the same sort of distance in fast pace as all the other paces... and I'm not fit!!! LOL Yep I'm planning on becomming a jugdge, sent my application in a few weeks ago and hope to hear back from dogsQLD in the next month or so after the applications close. The judges I know all think I'll be accepted into the program so it's looking pretty positive! :D

Well done LL!!! That's great news! So when's your next trial cos you know that you can't just stop at 1! LOL I can't think of a single judge that I've trialled under who doesn't do all 3 positions in each of the 3 paces... there are a few judges who's patterns are bit different looking but still don't drop off any positiions anywhere. I don't know why they do it... maybe I'll understand when I start going to judges training hopefully later this year.

Glad I didn't go if it was wet and yukky! We had a beautiful night over my side of town

there really isn't anyone in the whole Brisbane area who's better than Jane. Tabitha Young isn't bad either and if it's not an agression problem she will be fine. Also if it's not agression related you could try someone like Heather Miller from dog listeners

why why why couldn't this have been one week earlier??? Sooo bummed that I can't go!

Hey that's this weekend!!! And bummer that I won't be there, I've decided that I need a weekend off and won't be going to that one but I'm sure I'll see you at another trial soon enough! Oh and as for Nationals to whoever it was that asked, I should be there as long as Ella stays out of season! Looking forward to it!

I'd still do them separate in training but do difficult angles for the present and do the finish separate to the present. Sometimes do a front with an article or dumbell or even a toy in the mouth and also do without holding an object. I'd also do a LOT of the dog finding heel position by sending them around the cone or into a tunnel and increasing the difficulty by changing the angle the dog finds heel position. Sending them away and around something is a good idea, I might start throwing that into my training. I always do them separately in training but it's a problem at trials or when I put multiple things together. I'll keep drilling her separately in training and hope it eventually sinks in.

Alright here's a question for the experts! I've got a small issues with our fronts and finishes and want some opinions on how other people fix this. She does them fine when it's the only thing we're working on (ie just doing finishes or short recalls etc or even little retrieves) but as soon as I string everything together for a trial they get sloppy again. So in training she'll do lovely presents when I'm just tossing an article around but in a trial when I send her for scent discrimination she'll come back and sit crooked or a bit further from me then I'd like. And on finishes after pretty much everything she always comes too far around and sits forward and crooked but in training they are dead straight. I don't really want to be giving her a NRM for a sloppy present after she's done a perfect sendaway and directed jump or a great seekback as I don't want to confuse her. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had this problem so what do other people do to fix this?

Good thing you didnt let the weather send you home early after all.. Those conditions were horrendous werent they? Still happy with my little girl I think I see light at the end of the tunnel I know! I was soo tempted to go home because we weren't getting on OC leg but am glad I stayed! I think there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, Coco definitely knows it all she just needs to put it all together for you at the one trial now!

Ella and I managed to scrape through for our second OC leg tonight! We ended up with 185 and first place (the only dog to qualify). It was wet, boggy and miserable the whole time so I'm really proud of how well she worked! At first I thought we didn't have enough points but it turns out that the stewards couldn't read the judge's sheet and got some scores wrong on the board... I was most surprised when the judge said I'd got 185 at presentations! LOL

sounds very similar P. Did SH just keep following the SC method or did she do something different? I've been doing SC with Mack

Oh I've stopped marking mouth on in the hopes that he would start to close his mouth on it properly but he doesn't and then he loses interest because nothing is happening. He's not mouthing when I'm shaping the hold, he just sort of bites at it briefly and sometimes only just touches his teeth briefly to whatever I'm using but doesn't close his mouth on it. lol I meant to write teething not mouthing I would get super excited about the dumbell. Moving it behind my back and back out really quickly. Get some rapid treating for contact going and get him a bit revved up. If the object is still in your hand he doesn't have to hold on to it, you just want mouth on it reliably. Then put it on the ground and start again. Amber moved straight to mouth on the dumbell at this stage and didn't try and nose it. nope not teething. I have tried what you suggested already and he still only grabs at it and spits it immediately, and if I do what you suggest I will turn the dumbell into a prey item so I get drive for the thing I'm asking him to hold... which is not something I want from him as I want him to view the retrieve or the hold as an opportunity to earn a reward rather than make the retrieve the reward. he will only carry it while he is bringing it back to me and then spits it out immediately. I'm trying to teach him that the game only continues if he delivers the toy to my hand rather than the ground so am hoping that he'll figure out that he needs to hold it until I get my hand on it and then I'll be able to increase how long he holds it for... but it's still taking a while for him to get it.

Yes he has a play retrieve but still won't hold it for any length of time that way either. Plus when I do a play retrieve I get mouthing on the article. Oh I've stopped marking mouth on in the hopes that he would start to close his mouth on it properly but he doesn't and then he loses interest because nothing is happening. He's not mouthing when I'm shaping the hold, he just sort of bites at it briefly and sometimes only just touches his teeth briefly to whatever I'm using but doesn't close his mouth on it.

That what fantastic! I just love how excited the dog got at the end of an exercise! Man I need to do some work on my drops... those were amazing!! Ok I have a problem! I've been trying to train mack to hold something in his mouth by shaping it. So we progressed through sniff it, grab it but he won't hold on to it at all, he'll sort of bite at it but won't hold on at all. I was working with a metal article but decided to go to something a bit easier so switched to a scrap peice of leather but it's made no difference. Has anyone else had this problem before or has anyone got some suggestions on how to get him to hold on to it even for a second??

We have a gentleman up here who competes with a Pomeranian in UD and at our last club trial he ended up leaving the ring owing points!

WOW you guys are organised! My dogs may be lucky to get a brush this afternoon but the chances are slim! So I'll be the person with 3 scruffy dirty looking border collies! I did spend an hour slicing up whole sides of lamb offcuts last night so the dogs actually have food for the weekend and tonight I'll need to do up some veggie mix as there's no food left anywhere at the moment! I think I'll get exciting at 2pm tomorrow when I actually finish work and can get home to pack the car!

Thanks! Also getting up from your sit because a possum ran along the top the fence beside your ring and having to be told to sit again (several times - the possum was just soo damn tempting) doesn't lose points either!! As for entry fees - most clubs charge around $7 here in QLD, some a little more, some a little less. The bigger trials like the Royal and the States are a bit more. I can't answer for agility as I never look at the fees for that!

You're not allowed to talk to your dog, as the exercise starts before you scent the article. But there is nothing in the rules that say the dog can't peek. I don't like that Ella peeks because I'm worried that she'll still be looking over her shoulder when the judge says about turn and she'll miss the command and this is something I'm working on with her

video of Ella's trial last night:

video of Ella's trial last night:

It's currently being rendered and will be loaded onto utube soon! :-)

Did I spy an entry for your little girl in the obedience catalogue last night AD??? Oh and yes I have video it's just not loaded off the camera yet - I'll get to it this week sometime!

Well Ella came out of season earlier than expected so I decided to toddle off to the trial I'd entered last night not expecting much. The weather was foul - hot and something like 97% humidity so it was not pleasant, very few dogs worked well and I wasn't expected much from Ella who's had very little training in the last couple of months. Well she proved me wrong and gave me her best round ever! We got our first OC leg, and to top it off we won the ring with 197 - our best score to date!! ;) Still grinning this morning!

Had my first obedience trial for the year last night, I didn't think I'd even make it as Ella's been in season but she came out early and I decided to go and hope for the best. It was really hot and muggy last night and very few dogs worked well but Ella did a sensational job and ended up winning the UD ring with 197, this was also her first leg towards her OC title. I am sooo stoked with how well she worked!!! ;)