piper

Come on Dova, where are you?????

Poor little man. I bet he is much more comfortable now.

I agree it is harder for the handler. Piper is titled in obedience, agility, herding on 2 different courses and 2 different stock types. Everything there requires different skills from her but there are also things that cross over. The important thing is a good bond with the dog. My first herding instructor was very much an older farm type bloke and told me obedience and agility would ruin her as a herding dog. And she would never succeed if I let her do things like sleep on my bed. Then after sometime he modified those comments and used to say "most dogs and she is just different". And I always felt a lot of that was the bond we had, the mutual respect between us and the trust and I think that came about through training using positive reinforcement. Piper was encouraged and rewarded for doing new things and doing anything with me so was prepared to give anything a go. She is 11.5 now and I am just about to tackle Rally-O with her.

Well done Superminty!! I wonder when Dova will check in...

Yes was a bit tough - I do wonder if the ring had been reversed what would have happened but really not worried. I enter Royals with the thought that I am there to promote responsible dog ownership and my breed as well as provide some entertainment. A pass is just an added bonus :) That's such a great attitude. :D I was disappointed hearing some people complain that the crowd clapping or oohhing and ahhing was putting dogs off. We know when we enter that there will be public and we knew it would be Saturday night and that means busy. On the up side, 1 of the ladies manning the DogsSA info stand during the evening said they were giving out a lot of club info for clubs offering agility and that is what it is all about. Anyway, that is enough on that as it is a bit offtopic fo the brags thread :)

Yes was a bit tough - I do wonder if the ring had been reversed what would have happened but really not worried. I enter Royals with the thought that I am there to promote responsible dog ownership and my breed as well as provide some entertainment. A pass is just an added bonus :)

Worked well. I asked my husband to film my run with my phone but he couldn't get it to work Mind you only half was worth watching anyway. LOL All you need to enter now is Dancing with Dogs and you would have a full week of competing!! And with Gabby's tricks you should put her in for freestyle :)

Xena98 - Gabby's runs were great to watch. She did very well, as always. I bet you will be glad for next Saturday though and not having to go in every night.

Yep, was only a novice jumping pass. LOL No brag from tonight but happy how she ran. Did her A-Frame beautifully and that has been an issue since she had a fright late last year. Ran up with confidence and down deep into the colour. Lovely dog walk colour as well, really responsive to my cues. The table was right near the fence by the public stands and unfortunately gave her time to be nosey and she got a refusal at the next obstacle and then got distracted watching people instead of weaving as well so 2 faults tonight.

7 with a possible 8th.

Thanks Ptolomy. The new surface is much nicer. Weird for the humans but the dogs all coped really well and it has plenty of traction. The couple of slides I saw would have happened on grass as well IMO. And luckily they put Novice on last so the stands are not as full and also she had been hanging around for a few hours so had got used to the noises. We have done conformation there in the past so it was not totally new to her but having her on lead and the ability to have food in front of her face every second if need be is very different to running off lead and at a distance from me, she is known to get distracted at times.

A small brag from me. Adelaide Royal is on and last night was the jumping classes. Jazz gained a Q and second in novice. She has only ever been to 1 trial before. The royal is indoors on artificial surface so with that and people I wasn't sure what she would do but none of it bothered her. And the new flooring is much better than the old one. Back again tonight for agility but feeling less hopefully as we have been having weaving issues.

I cant remember, sorry. If I recall they sent me an email with tracking number when they sent it and that is when I started checking. All up though I had the items in less than a week.

I watch the judge for a breed or 2 before whatever I want to shoot to see where they are setting them up and how they are running them to try and pick the best spot. Ideally I like it when I can be directly opposite where they stack the dogs, unfortunately it often doesn't work out this way. The way our rings are setup in SA if they setup as soon as they go in I basically dont bother with stacked shots and just go for movement as I will not manage a good angle for stacked shots. Be prepared to sit on the ground so that you are at a good level. I mostly use my all purpose 18 - 200mm zoom and like Reverend Jo the aperture priority setting with around f7 or 8. I will change the ISO as needed to keep the shutter speed over 500, preferably up around 800 to 1000. I like aiming for the perfect movement shot and end up with a lot of throw aways. It is great when you get 1 at just the right moment showing reach and drive and perfect foot placement :)

I find products I like faster than I use the last 1 I bought. I can think of about 5 bottles of shampoo in various states of use at the moment and I am sure there are more. And tonight I ordered yet another 1. I really like the Kelco stuff at the moment and want some Filthy Animal shampoo :) Notice I say want not need.... LOL I do still have and use the Plush Puppy whitening shampoo and also the wonder wash. I havent tried the reviva coat. Royal starts on Friday - might have to check that out at the Plush Puppy stand :)

I like the k9softdogcrates ones as well but when I needed 1 I was a bit short on dollars and got 1 of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XXXL-Large-Portable-Soft-Pet-Dog-Crate-Cage-Tent-Kennel-Travel-Folding-Red-/350593453726?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item51a0ff8e9e#ht_4462wt_1211 2 years on it is still perfectly fine, never had a problem with it. They call it XXXL but it is really only an XL I think. I have my BC girl in it with no problems at all. It is a 42" crate if using standard crate measurements.

Ah well there you go, I honestly did not think that was the case at all as the schedule states may appoint a reserve. I know with performance sports that I am involved with the 2 times in different sports that it has happened it was not offerred. The exception was at an agility trial if people already had passes under that judge and needed to gain a pass under someone else for their title.

Why would there be refunds? Don't we always enter with the knowledge that reserve judges may be appointed when necessary? I am fairly sure that in any other show if the judge didn't turn up for what ever reason and a reserve appointed you would not be given a chance at a refund either. Disappointing I know when Royals are expensive and people plan to travel but not exactly the Show Societies fault either.

The only 1 I know of in WA is Steph Gibson at Mandurrah near Perth who gives lessons so probably no the best option for you. You could try contacting the Western Australian Sheepdog association and see if they have anyone. I know here in SA there are a few members of the SA group that do training clinics. Given the distance it sounds like a clinic type setup where you go for a couple of days at a time would be your best option.

The only 1 I know of in WA is Steph Gibson at Mandurrah near Perth who gives lessons so probably no the best option for you. You could try contacting the Western Australian Sheepdog association and see if they have anyone. I know here in SA there are a few members of the SA group that do training clinics. Given the distance it sounds like a clinic type setup where you go for a couple of days at a time would be your best option.

Western Australia is a very big state. Perhaps if you post what area of WA you are in, people may be able to give a more appropriate suggestion. I know of 1 place for training over there but have no idea if it is near you. My guess is no given you mention moving north.

I just had my first go. Here is the original which was a crap photo in the first place - it was really under exposed and I couldn't recover the dog well without other stuf being over done. The owner liked the expression in this one though so as I had it open and was playing with it trying to improve it I thought what the heck, let me see what all te texture fuss is about :) And here is the edit:

In SA you have Mt Gambier as a country club down your way. Then metro there is Southern Districts, Noarlunga, Agility Dog Club, SA Obedience Dog Club, Munno Para, Para Districts and Gawler. The other country clubs are Whyalla and Riverland (Barmera).

Latent learning was my thought too. We have an afghan in the foundation class I am taking at the moment and he is a great example of it. You can really see him watching and thinking but not doing the first time something is attempted. Come back the next week and he will take a big leap forward from just standing and looking. He seems to treat everything with suspicion the first time it is presented but then goes away and thinks about it. Last night he did a big jump forward with the tunnel - from standing and assessing it the previous week but wanting no part of going in it or touching it, last night he suddenly decided he could bend his body and get his head and shoulders in there and stand there like that. Will be interesting to see how much further he offers next week.

Well done Superminty. Excellent results!! And fantastic news Dova. I bet you gave a HUGE sigh of relief at that.