rastus_froggy

Well I have been accepted into the NDTF course and as a bonus they thought I lived in Sydney so they have accidently placed me into the Sydney metropolitan only course (practical) which I had previously been told I was not eligible for as I am not in Sydney, but it's their mistake and it saves me 8 hours in driving time!! I am really excited and cant wait to start!!

I looked at doing a series of TAFE courses that would have worked out much cheaper than NDTF but in the end I decided on NDTF as I thought it was what was going to best suit my needs. Now just waiting to see if I have been accepted.

How much is the Delta course

All of the schools in our area have signs on the fences saying that you will be charged if you enter the school grounds outside of school times. But we are very lucky here as we do have a lot of great parks and leash free areas (including one fully fenced one which has agility equipment in it) where we can train. Also I teach gymnastics and I sometimes take the dogs into the gym to do some training.

I have sent off my application to NDTF now so I will just have to wait and see if I get accepted and go from there!! What is AFAIK?

Dont know anything about dogtech but when Saxon had his problem it cost me $90 for a half hour phone consult with a behaviourist - she was REALLY good - and I can honestly say it was the best money I ever spent, but then his prob was a fairly bloody serious one, so I was glad to improve him. Just give me a yell if you want her name.

Cool, I received an info pack from them yesterday and their course sounds great. Just wasnt sure if there was much else out there. Looks like they may be the way to go.

I would like to know more about training my dogs and possibly in the future train other peoples dogs, what are the best courses out there to undertake? Thanks

I didnt know that one of my dogs was scared of fireworks until one night when I got home after watching some fireworks near my house only to discover muddy paw prints all over the glass in the window where she had tried to jump in. So we have worked on desencatising. With my male dog he LOVES fireworks, I have taken him to a number of displays and he sits there gazing up at the sky! All of my dogs are ok with the noise of storms, Froggy just doesnt like the rain part of it

That is just beautiful!! Treasure these crazy runs, your dog must have had so much fun!!

Probably best to give some of your local clubs a call and have a chat with the person in charge, you can find them listed in the dog sport section

I do both agility and obedience, but only compete in agility. The dog I compete with in agility is a total lunatic and I love working with her and competing with her. I do obedience with my boy who is a fairly serious kinda dog, I will not trial with him in obedience (as much as the instructors try and encourage me to) as I personally do not enjoy the obedience, and I have even been told that I am not enjoying it because Im not doing it right. Maybe that is the case, maybe the way our lessons are being delivered is just not inspiring or maybe I simply just dont find it exciting enough for the type of person I am???? Who knows??? I also kinda feel that I dont need a judge to tell me that "Yes your dog is good and can walk next to you and do things on command" Not sure why it is different with agility though maybe Im just strange. All I know is that I love working with all my dogs.

Orange has obedience at Waratah's Sports Club on Sundays at 9am, sign on day is the first Sunday of the mopnth but if you turn up any week they wont say no especially if you have done training previously. Just take your vaccination certificate, it costs $10 to join and then $3 per lesson. I do agility in Bathurst with PAWS agility who are now working out of the Dennison Dog Club, you should be able to find Dennison in the phone book if not just let me know and I will PM you.

Mine rarely bark and when they do there is always a reason (a good reason) but when I get a foster who whinges or barks at nothing I get saucepan lids and bang together very loudly, it usually just takes a few goes then they get it.

We have one in Orange NSW, I agree that they arent the best, weave poles are metal, bar jumps are metal and not adjustable and the A Frame, dog walk and see-saw are made of slippery wood that you would not even dream of going on in the mornings in winter or if it has rained even a little. Hoop jumps are also metal and if a dog misjumped they could easily hit their head. Everything is miniature to the real equipment. All this said I do use it and do so with great caution. People around here dont use it that much as they are just too lazy I think, I live right near it and VERY rarely ever see people in it. Here are some pics

About 2 months ago I got a new dog - maybe Staffy X Whippet not really sure - it was thought she may have a luxating patella, so she was off the chiro, he said that if it was that problem his work probably would not fix it but he said he would work on her back and hips and see how she went. After the first visit the improvement was great, after the second (5 weeks ago now) it has just just about stopped her hopping altogether. ANYWAY today she had to go to the vets for her vaccinations and the vets say now that there is absolutely no trace of a luxating patella now!! I am so happy!!

I train in doors (at work :D ) if it rains. I teach gymnastics so I have a huge room to work in with them, its also great for when you have rain for days on end, I just take them in and let them go nuts in there. Use up all their excess energy.

Rest easy Dolce

Hopefully you havent paid the money already, I am with everyone else, spend the money on a good trainer where you can be with your dog for the lesson then you can have time at home to practice what you have been taught, then when you go back the trainer can check out how you are working with your dog, then they will give you reminders too if you have forgotten some of what they initially told you. I know that if I teach my dog something I cannot be sure that if someone else asks my dog to do that exact thing that they will do it.

To answer your question: No crate training is not absolutely necessary... But it is absolutely wonderful if you do it!! Have a look through some threads here and you will find a lot of tips on how people do it. It is a truely great piece of equipment to have!

bundle up a heap of tape into a ball then sit that on the bridge of his nose, put a piece of tape over it to hold it on.

I use the touch method with my dog who knows the touch command, with my new dog I am cheating which may end up being bad later on im not sure but I am putting food at the bottom of the obstical we are training so when she goes down I just say touch when she puts her nose to the ground. The food is not always there but she always puts her nose down to look for it and when she does it I give the command.

As the club is not large we all train at the same time, beginners get LOTS of attention and help. The others potter around working on what they know they need to work on then after the beginners leave the others do a few runs through courses with the instructors watching and getting tough (or like last weekend I had a go at running one of the instructors dogs, it was so funny, I have never run anyone elses dog before, very weird) Do give them a call on Monday. Agility is one of the most exhilarating sports ever, the bond that you form with your dog through it is incredible, and you learn so much more about them (and yourself!)

I buy the coconuts at the supermarket so they dont have the outer husk stuff just the brown hairy stuff. If she does manage to break it opne she just eats the coconut, I have never seen it said anywhere that its bad for dogs to eat so I let her go for it!! Probably not good if they eat the shell but she doesnt do that. I throw it around for her like it's a ball. TB uses coconuts for her staffy too.

For his outside bed I would use straw (just watch he doesnt have a reaction to it-tummy rashes etc)my guys love it if I put a few biscuits in whole and they get in and play in it for ages before settling in. As for toys I use coconuts.