piper

Check the customs webpage Lollipop. I think there may be an additional fee as well but not positive on that. Eglobal is expensive for postage but at the time I bought, even with the higher postage it was still cheaper than DWI. No idea if that is still the case, although I am thinking about looking into a new lens with my tax return....

At 10 years of age and arthritic, I highly doubt I will push it more. LOL. I am a slack trainer and tend to do just what I need to - I got her to a level she could enjoy good walks at my favourite off lead places and to a level I could manage her to prevent it being an issue. The closest I can think to a time I would have had an issue (and I also will not bother calling if it is beyond what I consider the level of training is as it only weakens the cue if they dont respond) was when she saw some people the other side of a river we were walking along side. She gave some excited whines at the river bank (and fortunately doesn't swim like a border collie!) and I just kept walking and gave our change of direction cue "this way" and she head checked and continued along the path with us. Would she have come? Maybe, she did head check when I said something and acknowledged it and responded appropriately.... I think the clashing comes from I have grown up with working breeds. My parents bred shelties so as a kid that is what we had and then we got Border Collies. I am used to dogs that just instinctively want to do things with you. Jessi reminds me of a cat and I am not a cat person! The work I did do with her was for her own safety - a dog that sees an open door, gate, car door and basically closes it's eyes and bolts is not at all safe so I changed that. She has lovely doorway manners now - probably better than the borders as if they get out they just stand there looking at me - and has a recall of an acceptable level for me. And given how non existant it was and how much running off had been built up it is probably better than I ever expected to get it. She is a smart little thing but you definitely have to want to work with her for her to want to work with you.

If you can get it locally for not much more, I would probably do that. When I got my camera I happened to be after a model I couldn't buy anywhere in Australia. I dont think you will find grey imports of Nikons that much cheaper than locally. I just tried to find the info but I remember reading that Nikon had lowered the price for Australia so grey imports do not work out significantly cheaper now. ETA: here we go, this was from the jb hifi webpage and I posted it a couple of months ago "Nikon Australia has recently repositioned its local pricing on the full range of Digital SLR Cameras. Due to the dramatic local price reduction and the inclusion of a 2 year fully supported local Nikon manufacturer's warranty JB Hi-Fi has decided to suspend its Direct import service for Nikon Cameras. We congratulate Nikon Australia for working hard to deliver global pricing competitiveness for Australian consumers. "

2nd photo is my favourite too.

It uses SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards I suppose I could always order a second battery later on if I found I needed one. I am just comparing it to the package deal for the D5100 which comes with a second battery, a Loewpro bag, 3 lenses and 3 years aus warranty. I bought my second battery from ebay - after market and much cheaper. It does not have as long a life as the original battery, maybe only 2/3 however it is great to have charged as a back up in my camera bag. I have probably only needed to change batteries while I am out 2 or 3 times and that was because I hadn't bothered to check the battery charge when planning to go out.

My camera and lenses came from eglobal a bit over a year ago and everything was in English and the charger is an Australian 1. Service was excellent and very quick. If I recall it was hear in about 3 days from ordering. My Dad ended up getting his gear from them as well and also had no issues. I would suggest though that if the total is over $1000AUD you are either prepared to pay the duty or else order in 2 lots (I waited with my lens until my camera had shipped just to be sure they wouldnt come through together) and pay that bit extra in postage. Even paying 2 lots of postage it is still a huge saving over buying locally.

No but then I would also say the beagle and I clash so I havent proofed her or tested it anywhere near enough. When hubby and I got together Jessi had learnt to RUN - head down and bolt at every opportunity. They thought having a beagle that she couldn't be trusted off lead or trained so if she ever got off or out they would panic and chase. She was also not very well socialised. When we lived on acreage and I had her out daily (initially on a long line and then later the long line dragging) in a wide open space she quickly got over that and at that point I would say I got her to 100% reliable on the property with the distractions that occurred there. As we dont exactly get along though I have not proofed her to to distractions as much as I should have and as an old arthritic 10 year old now she doesn't go far anyway. Having said that, she has never run away from me but I do scan the environment and as Vickie said there is that moment where they are thinking and if I see something ahead I call her before I see her react and she is fine. More management than good recall in that regards. I havent ever let her get to a point where I couldn't call her. She does scent but not to a point that I cant call her, and that is where the paying checking in I think helped - she starts to scent but will head check with me frequently at which time I can give her a call. She probably also takes cues off of the borders who frequently run back to me and dont tend to go far. The joy of competition - usually if 1 checks all the way in all 3 do :)

Actually, I also have a beagle and she gets the same treatment. The paying her for checking in is what made the biggest diference with her - it made her aware of what we were doing. She was hard work but she was my husbands dog before we were together and had already learnt bad habits that had to be undone. I probably do reward her more frequently than the borders but still not every time.

All that Persephone said. Also, I would not want her to be able to choose access to outside in the beginning as she will likely choose to make a best outside and have her pups there or relocate them from the box once born. My girl didn't like her whelping box initially either. I used to spend time just sitting there with her having quiet time together. Once things started happening though and the door was shut and I was in there with her se was happy to use the box and stay there with her pups. I did find 2 huge very well hidden holes outside that she would have used had it been her choice though.

Dasha, I do similar. Once they ignore at a level of distraction I know they can recall from I will also go over and take them by the collar and remove them for a short period. Almost like a short time out, they are not told. Off but not rewarded in this instance. As for rewarding once they know - it becomes very random, sometimes I reward, most times I don't. Another thing that might help Zug Zug is to pay your pup for checking in - all of mine as youngsters are rewarded anytime they choose to come and check I with me. Nothing huge or over the top but it encourages them to pay attention to me and be aware of where I am and what I am doing. Like the recalls as adults I will still randomly reward it but most times I don't. Ad to be honest they don't usually come right back to me as adults to check in but I will see them frequently check where I am in relation to them.

I just assumed when you said he likes to fetch and recalls well etc that you had probably practiced recalls off of toys etc. Goes to show 1 should never assume :) Yes definitely start with lower level distractions and build up to the higher level distractions. Same as you would with training anything else.

I would continue to use the long line and as soon as you see another dog coming, call him to you and give a huge jackpot reward. Don't allow him to get the lead tangled around him and the other dog - you are calling too late if he is already there. Once you recall him, ask the other owner for permission to approach and allow him to initially interact with you in control and not giving him 10m of lead. Call him away, jackpot and then allow him to approach again. As he will be on a shorter lead at this stage you may find you need to guide with the collar or put a treat right in front of him and lure him away initially when you call. Repeat this quite a few times with each dog that is suitable. ou may need to set this up with friends and dogs from training so that you have some other owners with a clue as to what they are doing and can support you (ideally they should be calling their dog away at the same time as well so it doesn't follow your dog and pester) It is important that he doesn't see you as ending his fun but more that if he comes to you there is a good chance he will get something REALLY good and then get to go back to what he was doing. All too often people call the dog away and then dont let them approach again so coming actually becomes a punishment for the dog as they really would rather be playing. I have found it doesn't usually take long for them to learn that you calling doesn't equal an end to the game once they learn that they will get to go back to what they were doing most times if they come to you. And coming to you under those circumstances should be when the best, highest value rewards come out. Others will probably have other suggestions but that is basically how I used to introduce recalls back in puppy preschool classes when I instructed them. And I don't know if I have explained it overly well. Hopefully you get what I mean :)

What persephone said and when you ring stress to them it is an injured eye - permanent damage can happen to eyes quickly so I don't mess around with them and just as well, last year when I thought Jazz had a bit of an infection she actually had a grass seed and it had already scratched the cornea. Fortunately due to quick attention we managed to avoid it ulcerating. Hopefully it is nothing more than an irritation for your guy but I would definitely be pushing to get it seen. Waiting all weekend is really not ideal.

I know I posted last night but I just can't get poor little Bailey and his family out of my head today. I am so incredibly sad that anyone has had to go through this and the suffering of poor Bailey. No one should ever have to go through this Owey, you did everything you could and gave little Bailey everything you could in his short time with you and when the time was right made the best although most difficult decision for him.

So very very sad Owey, I am s sorry for what you and your family went through and I hope that one day you are ready to again welcome a border collie into your homes and know that the reputable, registered breeders DNA test their breeding stock to minimise the chance of families going through the hell you have had to endure. 1 of my little girls last year went to someone who had been through a similar awful situation, in her case the dog had CL and was a beloved member of the family for 18 months. Once again, from a backyard breeder who thought it was ok to just have a liter. RIP Bailey. May you now be running free of pain at the bridge.

Great prices! Edited to add, been surfing about that site and it got me wondering how they can sell stuff so cheap? It's not just a few bucks cheaper but some stuff 100's of $ cheaper I got my camera and lenses from them as well as the service is great. They are grey imports though so that is a risk you take.

superminty, Sounds like me last trial - I entered knowing darn well we weren't ready but wanted to see where we were at and was going to be happy if I could get her to switch in to drive mode. We were able get around C and to the mouth of the Y, so I did get her driving but then I shut her down. Next time if we can get them IN the Y that will be a bigger bonus :)

She will have no hassle with started B, provided you can get the outrun and it really isn't that long. The rest of the course for started is fairly straight forward. The free standing pen is the bit that gives me grief - I usually stuff it up by stopping the dog in the wrong spot or flanking them the wrong way at the wrong time but other than that the sheep just follow you.

Dova, Izzi is way more ready than Jazz and I am giving her a go at it! You should run her on B course started as well, she should have no hassles with that. Shame she doesn't work on ducks or you could go for the versatility award that I have donated.

Based on this theory, Jazz should never make it over a bar. I have been training her with an injured shoulder - I can not hold my arm up at all or out for any period of time. Poor girl has had to learnt to work from very minimal signals on that side of my body, basically just my forearm and she has coped fine and is not a bar knocker (at this stage - yet to test it in a trial but I can only think of 3 times in training she has dropped a bar in 12 months). I'm looking forward to recovering from the shoulder surgery I had last week and finally getting out there to trial her as she is so training so well at the moment (or was, hopefully still will when we return from my enforced break).

Thermomaster, they are like horse coats and the 2 straps cross over under the belly. They are a great cut and shape and fit really nicely. The picture on this webpage they havent crossed the straps under the dog, but the way the straps are shaped and designed I find they sit better when crossed under the dog. They also make it more difficult for the dog to get out of them. http://www.ozpetshop.com.au/product_info.php/products_id/639

Snook, my understanding is the high pitched squeak is the original isqueak sound and the deeper one is what it has changed to. My first lot that I ordered were all the high pitched squeak and then when everyone was doing their clean run orders at christmas time I noticed a few people complaining the squeak had changed. So my guess is wagsalot had them in stock before they changed the sound of them.

Or you choose to use him as he is fit and healthy and so are his progeny - a testament to the quality of the dog and his ability to pass this on. Or in the case of my girl's sire he had not been used younger as his sire was a confirmed carrier of a fatal condition. At the time the only way to know if a dog carried the condition was when their offspring died at about 2 years of age, as his sire was found to be a carrier the breeder did not use him. Then in his later years a DNA test became available and he was found to be clear so could safely be used.

99!!! I think we wouldn't get much more than that across all of our trials for the year!! It is funny, we have been managing advanced ducks for ages but no way I will try it on sheep. LOL. The ducks are easier as they want to move away from the person and I also find they like the fence line so with A course once you get them around C and point them to the fence the only difficult point is turning them off of it at number 4. Oh and getting them out of the hold exam pen, I kind of suck at that and lost most of my ponts there with both girls. I have tried quite a few different things and just not found a way that works well. A chance to train would be beneficial but we usually only get to work them at trials. And just my luck there is a duck training day next weekend and I will be out of action from surgery so going to miss it When I trained Piper there was no one around that knew how to teach a drive so she has never had a good drive or inside flanks, she almost always flanks wide behind me and progress forwards is more from blocking the sheep rather than pushing them. Controlled release I think it gets called - if they go where I dont want I can flank her and then stop her and when they turn the right way the pressure is taken off by her remaining in a stop until I need to flank her to correct their line. She also became course wise and soon learnt that once we turned C and headed to the Y where she needed to take them next so we would "fight" over the first few metres of the drive and then she would accept it as she knew where to go. I never bothered with advanced A course sheep as we just didn't get the time to train enough and I knew with our paddock that her weak point would be turning them off the fence at 4 and for us that is where there is a big draw straight down the fence to the let out gate. Now she is 11.5 and I have a better understanding of driving so could probably get her to do it but she just doesn't have the speed any more if the sheep get away from here which is sad Jazz is being trained a "proper" drive - to inside flank, walk a line and hold that line rather than the block and escape method that I got away with with Piper. It is taking longer but i know it will be worth it as I expect once we get intermediate she will pretty much go straight through to advanced as the skill will be there and I can already get her to hold a line longer than the longest she will need in A course. The hardest things are getting the drive started and changing direction - I need to work on getting her to turn them without over flanking. Once again, she has been working intermediate on ducks for ages now (her first pass was probably 18 months to 2 years ago but she missed all of last year to maternal duties) but we got through it using her very good stops and allowing the ducks to move of of her more than actual driving. She is also not as intense working the ducks so tends to be more compliant and willing to come off balance than she is with sheep.

Yep, In fact I remember someone saying that at a seminar I went to years ago. Talking about some breeds in the US and popular sire syndrome - everyone using an imported dog young and the dog and his progeny going on to have hassles as they aged and it being near impossible to find lines clear of that dog 5 years down the track. They went on to say that they think it better to only use them a few times while young and then when they reach double figures if they are healthy and able to do the deed. and the progeny from the litters they sired when they were young are healthy then they are a good contributor to the gene pool so let them be used a few more times. Definately agree and something i think about often. It was 1 of those things that really sat with me and I couldn't tell you much else from the weekend but I have always remembered that. Basically it was expanded on saying a dog should have no more contribution then a bitch would during the same time frame (and I think they said 2 to 7 years of age as average breeding ages for most breeds). At the point where you would retire a bitch from breeding, the dog should be left to continue to enjoy his life while you wait and see. By the time he is 10 you should have some 5 or so year old progeny to evaluate, as well as the health of the dog itself and if all of that is fine then use him a few more times. I know I can definitely think of examples where a dog has been used prolifically only for problems to turn up in the progeny at 2 to 3 years of age by which stage there are already another dozen litters on the ground.