piper

Yep I got 1 of them as well. Dont need it at the moment but decided it would be a good thing to have on hand. Piper and Jazz have both worn it for short periods just because and didnt really care.

I am stuck on the line as well Superminty - I can "fix it" by giving her flank commands but I can't get her to hold a line. She has a beautiful walk up however seems to have worked it out relative to my position and once she is in front of me or anywhere "my side" of the circle she just can't do it. Stop her from 9 - 3 and I can walk her in dead straight. I'm just not sure how to go about getting it as I can't generate the movement there from her. I don't want to keep repeating my walk up command and devaluing it but I just can't get her to offer a step or 2, if she does it is with lateral movement to try and creep back to the head. Today I managed to get a few very tentative steps from her a couple of times and it was enough to get the stock moving but it is not reliable or consistent. I am thinking long line and raceway with lots of sheep as she isn't keen on pushing through so that will hopefully (and with use of long line) encourage her to walk in front of me in a straight line. Piper never drove effectively - she blocks escape paths very effectively and holds her stops when asked to allow them to move. Kate gave the method a name and did say "only managed by a border collie and kelpie". Jazz I felt did a bit better than that today but it still resembled that more than a smooth drive, however I was thrilled as for Jazz it fried her brain. I needed her to start moving them somewhere as I have got inside flanks happening and her pushing them off of me but I felt she needed a purpose to moving the stock and once we got near the race she did relax as it was something familiar and she knows sheep go into obstacles. I am hoping that doing that will help consolidate her understanding that it is ok for the sheep to move away from me because until now her inside flanks have been done under duress and with a look of panic as she does not want the stock moving away. I was pleased that she did do a few inside flanks, she did bring herself back around behind me a few times as well but she is a wide worker and I would say it was not any wider than her usual flanking if that makes sense? Man that is a whole lot of rambling that probably makes no sense at all. lol.

I'm jealous. Unfortunately work is too busy mid Jan onwards for me to be able too get time off Small brag - took Jazz out to do some training today (as well as help some friends with their dogs) and we had quite a bit of success. Jazz managed her first decent drive, it was not overly pretty but she managed to get them away from me in a relatively straight line in the open to the fence, turn them and work them along the fence, around the corner and through a chute on the fenceline, turn them around and work them back through again and then I let her bring them back. Unfortunately while helping a friend I tripped in the yards and did a full faceplant in the dirt so am now quite sore

TSD - it is easy to fit but I think I should have got 1 size down from what I did (I got the 6inch but I think if the dogs wanted to they could get out). I haven't been anywhere in the kind of weather I would use it - basically it has been too hot so I haven't wanted to try it and have taken my soft crate with me instead. What I should do is put it in when I am at home and leave it and then see how the car feels.

There is a Toptaurus staffy that comes out to agility training and is a beautiful temperament and a little pocket rocket. I see they have pups available and they do not breed for colour.

Alouk, the only thing I would say is if she is swimming to you for support and rest then it is time to go to shore and give her a break. At 10 months she wont yet have the stamina and endurance that she will later.

F11, for future reference and to avoid arguments with the vet nurse , moat big pet supply stores like Petstock or Petbarn also sell heartwormers. Even BigW has some brands. I have found the prices in pet supply places better than at the vets but not as cheap as online.

I agree - a warning should be included for the noose. Missymoo - on the shop floor they seemed very stable, it is only on uneven ground I would see a possible problem due to the way the legs are.

They collapse down like an ironing board so not sure how stable they would be on uneven ground. If your dogs are pretty good and settled though they might be ok. I thought they were a good price for home use, they come with the grooming arm and basket as pictured too. Had they been big enough for my borders I probably would have got 1 myself.

What about getting some of the Nina Ottosson puzzle toys? http://www.wagsalot.com.au/nina-ottosson.html Otherwise I would go with clicker training some tricks.

Noticed these in our local Cheap as Chips store today and thought that people with smaller breeds might be interested. It seemed quite sturdy. If the table top was bigger I would put my border collies on it but it is really only sized for smaller breeds (our beagle would probably fit though as an idea for size) They are $70. http://www.cheapaschips.com.au/showproduct.asp?sk=BA9632

Wow, parcelpost depots must have been full of Cleanrun orders last night, lol

I have visions of the dogs targetting these boxes of dog toys and the handlers going "not another 1" lol. Poor dogs, so many toys coming through and none for them. Or maybe it is the handlers seeing the cleanrun boxes and going "oh wonder what exciting things are in here?" .

The doggle sounds like it is as popular as the songbird is here. Songbird has become a prized possession (especially since frisbee got lost last night - stupid gusty winds picked it up and took it away and I had only given it a small, low throw) ETA: Interesting Doggles arent on the free shipping page but when I went to toys and found them they do ship free and at 2.95 look like a bargain.

I saw the greyhounds go in for breed and thought they looked lovely. I was watching group 5 though so didn't see too closely and after they finished realised I should have paid more attention as 1 of your guys would have been amongst them. Congratulations - you deserve to be a proud breeder

Or still waiting for them. I am majorly disappointed, the thing I really wanted is not in and has been credited Seems udder tugs were too popular.

My understanding is that Valium works on the brain and state of emotion however acepromazine (ace) is a muscle relaxant and should not be given in cases of anxiety for the reasons you mention. I'm not sure if knowledge of this has improved but I remember being told at a seminar with 2 vet behaviorists. The following week I went to the vet to get something for my boy for thunderstorms and was given ace. I knew the owner of the clinic and asked to see him and explained what we had been told and he said he was aware and was annoyed his vet was using that rather than Valium. But he did admit many vets without an interest in behavior were not aware. That was about 8 years ago so I would hope most do know that now.

Kiesha, Petbarn at Elizabeth have the thundershirts, so I would guess the one at Norwood does too if you can get to one of them. Not sure if it will be enough time though as I think you are meant to do some conditioning with it first.

Angelsun, I'm so sorry I had to read it a couple if times to register you lost Mum as well.

They are gorgeous!! What do the others think of the new additions in the living room or are they still to meet them?

I am far from experience trisven - that is my 1 and only experience, lol. But like you said - I went with intuition. I watched the dogs and did what felt right and if Jazz was not comfortable we backed it off. The first few times I had them out in the loungeroom in the puppy pen she positioned herself between the other dogs and the pups and then gradually relaxed and moved away. Even when they were 8 weeks she would intervene if I was giving them supervised play time with 1 of the bog dogs. I know I was very lucky though that she never let out so much as a growl and just used her body posture and position to control the situation.

I had a baby gate across the door to the whelping room, initially the others just walking past that would see her jumping out of the box and standing across the gate to prevent them even seeing in, after a bit she stopped that and also became more relaxed out of the room. When she was happy to spend time out of the room and did not react to them going near the baby gate I started letting the others in the room. To begin with she would not let them go near the box, they could come and sit on the spare bed with me but Jazz would stand by the box watching. I was lucky though that she was never growly or aggro and just used her body to keep them away. When Jessi, the disobedient beagle, decided to ignore her standing there and try and get closer she literally came away from the box pushed her backwards towards me. over time the distance just reduced but she never relaxed with them around while she was feeding so I would always make sure they were out of the room if Jazz wanted to get in and feed. So I guess I just used common sense and went on her reactions as well as the other dogs. Jazz allowed Piper in closer quicker than Jessi but Piper is far more respectful of body language and space than Jessi is so would not push it if Jazz gave any indicatiion of being uncomfortable with it.

Jazz was never kept away from our other dogs. They were kept out of the whelping room but if she chose to leave it or when going to the toilet she would interact fine with them. I did find at first she would only toilet if everyone was outside and if anyone headed to the door she would bolt past them and straight back to the room. The pups were probably 4 weeks or so before she let them near them, and then to begin with it was with a very cautious eye on them.

I know someone who has said they get the everlasting treat ball treats from cleanrun. So the kong ones might be ok.

I agree with staffyluv - the right 1 will feel right. When I got my first 1, I was intent on Nikon but tried the Canon and Konika Minolta as well and I just like the KM. And now of course it is also that I am used to it. I have at times used Canons and very occasionally Nikons and they just don't feel the same. My SIL went to get a Canon recently and walked out with a Nikon instead for the very same reason - it just felt better to her. Another benefit of Canon and Nikon over Sony or Pentax is that so many people have them so if you have a hassle there is almost always someone around that knows and can help.