superminty

Actually, minimax answered this on page 1. "Because it helps effectivly control their dog?" Is that the explanation you are referring to? A bit simplistic - that answer can be equally applied to the other collars as well. Why this one is necessary rather than the others available is what I was looking for and obviously the opinion is divided. Why does it need to be more complex than that? If someone chooses a prong collar because it helps their effective control - the word "effective" is important there - then probably other collars were not effective. To answer your question more fully, I would choose to use one where control is paramount to safety - perhaps the dog weighs more than the owner, lunges at other animals/people explosively (not necessarily aggressively), has aggression issues that make effective control a must and so on. I would also choose one over any other corrective collar if it proves a flat collar or front attach harness (another favourite of mine) is not appropriate. So a puller where methods on a flat collar or front attach harness have not been effective (there's that word again). Maybe the owner needs the pulling sorted yesterday? Bad wrists, arthritis etc. Plenty of reasons why other methods/equipment may not work. Sadly in Vic we don't get that choice.

Actually, minimax answered this on page 1.

Pedigree papers yes. Qually cards no. eta - photocopies also not required. As I understand it, Dogs Vic have a record of qualifications gained and would only ask for the cards if what you put on the form didnt match their records.

Hi Finn, I don't know specifics of where to go in QLD, but as for some general info - we put pups on stock (calm, steady stock) at 3, 6 and 9 months, just for a look and a play, and to test their instinct levels and get their confidence up. At 12 months we test to see if they can take some pressure (i.e. be re-directed, accept pressure from a stock stick to turn their eyes away from the stock - called "eyes out") and if so, training can start. Some dogs won't be ready for training til a bit later - in my experience of Aussies, they generally need a bit more time, so you might 18 months to 2 years for serious training to begin. But there's plenty you can do in the meantime - basic obedience, working on confidence around stock, recall etc. And every dog is different.

Thanks piper, it is always nice to finish a title by year end rather than have it drag over til next season. I never expected him to get any of the passes he did, am feeling a bit more confident in my training now :) Shame about Jazz coming into season, gee they can have terrible timing :laugh:

Cash got his Intermediate A Sheep title yesterday at the Rottie Club trial Just scraped through the Y chute thanks to some selective deafness on the dog's part (stop? what is this word, stop?) but he picked up his game and got round the rest of the course in nice fashion. Now on to Advanced! Got the summer to work out how on earth to do the cross drive...

Sorry Dova, I think you will find that the border is closed now... Just kidding! You did so well and scooping the pool was just a bonus :-) Us Victorians were lucky to get a look in! And good on the both of you for getting the one and only cattle pass of the weekend - you had the only dog that told those cows where to go :laugh:

No pressure Dova

Another successful weekend for us - got our second Intermediate A Sheep pass with a 92, and two more Started B Sheep passes (both first places, 94 and 90.5) for his Started B Sheep title. Also managed Reserve High in Trial on sheep and I won a bottle of bubbles in the raffle Bombed out on the cows, think he blew his brain out after a wild second Inter sheep run. But got some great pics of him pulling faces at them!

Great news Dova, hopefully we'll get to see you again soon.

Pretty good weekend at the ASCV trial. I thought it was a bit ordinary actually until presentations as I had pulled him out of a few runs :laugh: Cash got two Started B Sheep passes and one Started A Cattle pass - all first places, and one of his started B runs was a 97 which got him High in Trial sheep. So not bad after all. Pulled out of our second cattle run as he copped a kick in the ribs and looked a bit sore - of course he is ok now, but didn't want to risk making it worse if he had got hurt. Nearly got our ducks through the first drive panel in Intermediate B ducks - they were right on the panel, but he just overflanked a bit, they ran back up the hill and then he was off with the fairies so I didn't bother trying again. Intermediate sheep was interesting - first run with very wild sheep was great fun but with no control, second run with quieter sheep was going well but Cash was being obnoxious and not listening so I called it before attempting the Y.

Congrats piper on your successes and commiserations Dova on Izzi's injury Here's hoping that you get a definite answer sometime soon.

Unfortunately Murphy's Law stepped in & fixed it, guess I'll have to wait till next year , was looking forward to doing the B & Inter A so am dissapointed but I'll get over it :D. What happened? Is everyone ok? eta by everyone, I mean you and your dogs :-)

Dova just go out with the aim to have fun and you'll be fine! My goal in my first intermediate run was to test out one element of my training, which was the turn around C and drive away (only wanted a few steps). It worked so well we got around the whole course :laugh: Good luck

Oh good, be great to meet you and your dog/s. I have secret plans to get a cattle dog at some stage :D At the moment, I am the only one entering ducks at trials, and I probably won't enter ducks at that trial as my dog has lost the plot on those grounds, so hopefully some others will enter.

No cows, they are only run at their home ground, the state trial was at a different venue.

Congratulations!! Didn't he also get runner up or did I remember that wrong? I was amazed when I read the post on Facebook about the number of trialling dogs - I really thought there would be more in Victoria. I think runner up HIT was a Rottie. The entry was disappointing, I think a lot of our usual triallers had other commitments that particular weekend, or decided not to enter for whatever reason. The recent RTB Rottie trial had more entries I believe!

Haha, thanks piper. Just found out that Cash won his Intermediate class at our state trial. The runs were split over two days so the placings couldn't be determined until the rest of the class ran today. Finally he is starting to pay his way :laugh:

These are pics from Cash's first go on ducks a few years back. Don't have any more recent ones as he has decided that ducks are no fun and has switched off working them

Congrats Weasels!

Well done!! And good luck for tomorrow. Jane is lovely and very encouraging:) It is funny how dogs are different - Jazz can manage to hold a line and drive ducks but battles with sheep. LOL When we started trialling ducks (before I had flank commands or a stop :laugh:) , everyone said "oh, you can't fetch ducks". Get a kelpie and you can! I have got this far fetching with the ducks, which unfortunately is not gonna help me in intermediate and beyond :laugh: So I have this dog that Just. Cannot. Take. That. Off balance. Flank (or stop).

Herding is just one of those sports (if you're doing it as a sport, like me) where you have to have access to stock, or not do it I have only had regular access to stock for the last couple of years (my dog is 6), I took more than a year off at one stage due to lack of access, and pursued other interests. Now that I have sheep to train on, things are coming along more quickly. But if I couldn't get that stock time, I'd be doing other things.

We had the first day of our state herding trial today, I mentioned earlier that I had entered intermediate and was only confident of getting the sheep to the C post... Well, we got a pass! Score of 88 under a lovely SA judge (who I am sure is lovely even if she hadn't passed me :laugh: ). Second run not so good on very light sheep, got a bit stuck heading to the Y so I called it, but Cash tried hard (and kept his lovely wide flanks that we have been working so hard on, yay). Ducks - no go, but again he tried. He just cannot do off balance flanks or off balance drive lines with ducks yet. Never mind, we had fun.

That kelpies need LOTS of exercise! No more than your average dog, really. Mental stimulation - well, that's another story.

I figure I have to move on at some stage, can't enter started for ever and at least it will show up what I need to work on most. He has come ahead leaps and bounds since I got my own sheep though, so I actually don't think he is far away from being ready, just lacking a bit of confidence in the drive. Good luck to Izzi and Cash in their maiden intermediate runs