kallistar

After Many MANY months of limited success with only using one seekback, we found that we weren't getting any consistency with his work. We had tried EVERYTHING - as in shorter searches, food on the seekback... you name it, we tried it (there were about 5 of us trying to put our heads together). Now it wasn't that he *couldnt* do the exercise but that he would 'distrust' his nose and always come back to me for a 2nd cue (which he would always find if offered). If I said 'nup too bad, back in the car' if he came back to me, he fell to pieces. If I stood there and said nothing, he would just sit next to me not sure what to do. A fellow trainer came up with this idea and it seemed to fit exactly what we were trying to achieve with Leo and I have to say the build up in his confidence has been remarkable Because we are ate the 'final' stages of this proofing now so we want him to be completely confident no matter what pattern he is given. So now, for your 'ordinary' track (up the far end of the ring) we now have anywhere from 1- 3 seekbacks in the ring, which he finds with gutso. So now witht he keyhole track, we put out the max number of seekbacks again to build up his confidence, before cutting it back once more. So it certainly wasn't the first one we threw at him :D I know it's not the ideal way to teach it, but guess what it works for him Given that it is highly unlikely we will ever venture into the UDX ring, I can't see how it would ever have any detrimental affects, and even if I did venture into the UDX ring, I don't percieve it having any more difficulty than a normal UD dog learning about the 'decoy' as the 'decoy' will always be unscented Sorry LP but can you clarify something for me? With the extra articles that you are placing on the ground for the seekback are they scented or not? As you know the UDX decoy has the steward's scent on them, I think that Tux didn't like my scent for the last two days he brought back the decoy . Today he was good.. And yes you will get to do UDX, so never say never

Zug, can you explain exactly what happens and in which position Zamba breaking from ( sit or down) ? Have you done the three D'S? What have you have done to build her confidence for out of sight stays? Correcting a dog that is anxious and doesn't understand what is required of them, won't make them do out side of sight stays. Patience will.

Clive also will take misbehavior points off you if your dog barks during excessively during an exercise (which is what my boy does on his Fave exercises) but apart from those things enjoy having Clive as your judge. I also could say that in UD here we don't have all positions, in all the paces ( eg fast pace, foward, down your dog, still in fast pace forward) when we do signal work like you do in S.A. And I did enjoy being under Dave Rumble when he was here at Warrnambool's trial judging UDX.

But then isn't the idea of a seek back for the dog to find the article no matter where it is placed in the ring? I would hate it if we only ever did a reverse seekback (which where you send the dog back down towards the starting post) cause my dog wouldn't even bother to use his nose as he'd know where to look for it Even though we have both the forward and reverse seekback I still did alot of practise in the dark to make him use his nose Also when you send your dog for the seekback, what is the general consensus of how you do it? Do a) point down the ring b) point to the track c) touch the ground to send the dog?

Clive Makepeice is a lovely judge who does both the forward and reverse seek backs and he can use the whole ring for his seek back. I have been Clive's UD ring many times over the years and have found him to be firm but a fair judge.

You will need to pack things as it a small hike to the rings. Last year we had to park on the side of the road as there is no true car park... They are working on this issue though. Also make sure that you rug up as it "windy hill" out there and alot of planes fly over too. What class have you entered Jess? And good luck too. I will be there all going well.

Are you competing at Broadmeadow's trial? If so good luck for the day. Make sure that you have warm clothes as it gets very cold out there.

Yes the speak on command is at 5metres. The dog must not break position when speaking and the dog must start from a sit as there is a small lead out for each position.

I will teach my next dog both, but will do Distance Control when trialling in Open unless the conditions are right. The reason being that I don't want my dog to injury them self on the broad jump on wet slippery grounds. And the constant landing on the right side puts a lot of pressure on that leg all the time.

Are going to be there mercedes? I will be.. who else is going?

Hi, I am not trialing at Peninsula tomorrow as I went to Ballarat's one last Saturday. No pass cards to brag about Luvsablue, but we did have fun competiting in UDX. Good luck trialing tomorrow, will look forward to hearing your results Hi Kallistar, A terrific day, but no pass card. She fell down on one lousy retrieve, then got two 10s for the other two!!!! I was very pleased with all her other work. I suppose we can forgive one lapse of concentration, when they give us such a fun ride. luvsablue HI Luvsablue, Thanks for your results, and glad that you had a terrific day. Are you going ot Mornington's trial? I thought that my boy had the MR down pat but alas no he has decided that he wants to do them his way.. we get the first one, miss the second and what the heck just go as Mum turns to the article.. I also hear that Victoria has a new UDX title holder.. that is great news Congrats to Isobel and her owner Cheers

Hi, I am not trialing at Peninsula tomorrow as I went to Ballarat's one last Saturday. No pass cards to brag about Luvsablue, but we did have fun competiting in UDX. Good luck trialing tomorrow, will look forward to hearing your results

Thank you for posting the link..

Yes Snooza makes wool doona mats for the dogs,. ANd you can buy spare covers for them too..

Hi Xena98 Do you know that when the scented cloth goes down that the person who's scent is scenting the clothes doesn't need tongs to place it? Have you tried place the towels in different patterns and not just in a straight line? I found the letter A was a little bit harder to get my boy not to scatter the clothes as he tends to fly out to do this exercise Also is she still getting all the MR for you?

That is good news Xena98.. Also with the towels, are you handling them or getting someone to help you with the scent?

I too, have three different turns and signals for the MR. Tux (Aussie Shepherd) doesn't like my hand being over on his left side when I gave the signal and would duck under my arm to avoid it. Just want to ask you Xena98 how are you going with the Distance Control? Can she do it all with out moving and any order? And what method did you find the best to do this? I know that if we get a Sit first followed by the down and then the stand, that we have problems. he moves way too forward for my liking. So the two exercises that I work on the most is the MR and DC.. the rest is great..

Hi Xena98, Like Luvsablue suggested, keep the leathers in close and in sight.. until she is getting it 100% and move them out slowly.. Make sure that your direction is correct and you don't accidently twist your hand in the wrong direction when you give the signal.. Is there any other problems that you are having with UDX...

Hi Xena98, What methods have you tried for the M.R in UDX? I know some use food bowls to send their dogs to.

Yeap it was well recieved wasn't it mmoo? I had a blast doing the demo all the days that Iit was on. .

yeap sure does

Ditto from me too Bedazzled I got a gazebo but have ended up having to get a stripey bag for the cover, walls and pegs in it as I cannot for the life of me at the end of a trialing day pack it away into the bag with the frame. Dayze I would love an umbrella bag that would carry my umby in it along with mallet/stake and a couple tent pegs/guy ropes pockets in it.. The plastic bag covers just don't last. also would love a wheeled bag big enough to lug obedience/agility jumps in it any suggestions?

Hi Gambit, It will depend on how many dogs that you have avail and the skill of the dogs.. I have done demos and it was a hoot. The biggest thing that got the crowd in was when we did tunneling ( humans being the tunnel with their dogs in the drop position) and Jumping.. but you must have stable dogs to do this. I will pm you later when I have more time to explain Cheers

Just thought that I'd jump in here and say that it really up to you what word you use. I use the word Dumbell, but others might use fetch or get.. Will be interested in hearing what other words others use too.