J...

It does. Which is very sad. In Qld we are lucky to have alot of ADAA clubs which opens up the options. I think part of the issue is that there are a lot of membership double-ups in agility here in Vic i.e. people who are members of two, three and four different clubs but only train at say two of them 98% of the time. It has to have an impact on availability of places for anyone else trying to get in.

https://www.facebook.com/SusanGarrettDogAgility/app_102515556471926 There is an awesome video of Susan teaching the stand if you like the page. Just noticed you are in Western Vic, I'm in Western Vic as well - whereabouts are you? You can PM me that if you like :)

Not sure what area specifically they are looking for people, but I received an email from Dogs Vic looking for Pet Educators in schools in my area. I know a few people who do it and love it, pity I work full time otherwise I'd have a go myself. If anyone wants the details let me know :) Getting desperate for some sunshine again, Wednesday's weather was just sensational. Would dearly love that kind of weather even for just one day of a weekend so I could take advantage of it

I guess when I say take the load off the car I'm talking space wise not kg wise FWIW I've gone from a Ford Falcon wagon to a Nissan Dualis, not by choice My gazebo is a compact deluxe, I already store it in the top of some storage racks at home so no worries lifting it over my head to get it in the luggage pod or roof racks. Length and width wise I'll be able to fit both the gazebo (17 kg I think) and the tent (21 kg) in the luggage pod. Pod weighs 17 kg and max load on the roof racks is 60 kg. So that's very much all I can put in it. Yarracully I am a little concerned over the weight making the vehicle top heavy, it already feels a bit top heavy compared to the Falcon wagon so it's something I will be very conscious of. Obviously I can throw lighter bulky stuff in the pod instead, I'll just have to learn to be better at packing. Or be more flexible with the layout on the inside of the car (seats up vs seats down etc). I think I'll have to look at getting the pod regardless, given I'm looking at a puppy sometime in the next year it's only going to cut inside space down in the car even more. Thanks everyone. :)

Due to downsizing my vehicle I'm looking at roof racks to take the pressure off the load inside the car. The luggage basket I was looking at is too big for my vehicle and I'm conscious of the extra height that a 440 L luggage pod will add to the height of the car. Does anyone attach their gazebo/tent etc just to the roof racks? Has anyone found a good safe and secure way to attach them? Or do I start saving my $$ for the luggage pod? Thanks in advance :D

I use the puppy 4 legs as well - they keep quite well and I use them as part of a mix with some cheap round steak cut into small pieces. Good for some variety, the flavour tends to spill into the steak and the puppy 4 legs is wheat free :D

As long as you stay within the ring it should be ok, but some start line obstacles are set up awfully close to the gate/ring ropes at times. There is a few here in Vic who do variations of a "slingshot" start - some for motivational reasons, others to give themselves a slight advantage speed wise given their dog won't stay on the startline.

Bloody hell - thanks for the info! I prefer Pet Barn's range of toys over Best Friends but can always get what I'm after online for cheaper anyway. I will have to suck it up tomorrow, I need to restock on chuck it balls and I don't think BF stock them. Plus I find PB more user friendly as they don't have the dog beds and crates etc in those big racks where you can't get to them. I hate asking for help when I only want to measure something and not buy I don't feel so bad when doing it with a company that's involved in puppy farming though

Gotta love a bargain - I'm amazed that pig in mud door was still there, Mum told me about it this morning and said it was there yesterday or day before! I had a dog door put in a year or so ago, best thing I did - makes me feel so much better having the girls inside on shitty days and when I'm away overnight for work. Luckily I had the set up to be able to pull a window panel out and replace it with marine ply and the dog door - saves wrecking a door :D So much of what PGD had was crap anyway - fingers crossed we get someone decent in there for dog and cat stuff. PS has a good range but not as good as somewhere like Pet Barn, heading into Geelong tomorrow so will swing by there while I'm down there :)

That sucks about PGD dumping all their cheap shit in W'bool JJ - hope they finish up soon. Ironic that they've never really had great stocks until they went broke I was tempted to have a sticky beak this arvo but buying from a store (broke or not) who sells puppies just grates me and I won't do it, no matter how cheap they are. if that is Pandii's Dusty, I did see she posted something about him never settling in the training forum a while ago. I can't find it because she's no longer a member. Coolie and working dog rescue seems to be pretty active, hopefully they pick him up and find him a more suitable home. Very sad that he wasn't offered to rescue first instead of taking such a risk with surrender

Flying visit as I don't get in here that often these days - congrats to everyone who's done some good work lately Seems it's so much quieter in here that it used to be. My brag - Darcy made it into Top Dog Jumping this year :D She's such a good girl, puts her heart and soul into it 110% everytime She makes the game of agility so much fun

Hi Fuzzy, 5 years ago I was in a very similar situation - not a lot of options on the ground, but picking up as much as I could from the internet/DVDs and reading whatever I could. I chose the find my own way type route and to be honest I haven't looked back. What made my choice easy was seeing the big improvements in my dog for those early changes, and those results sent me in search of even more information. Sadly me choosing my own route pissed a few instructors off at that first club, and several wouldn't allow me to train the way I wanted to train. I ended up changing clubs and learnt quite a lot from that change in the early days. I've pretty much grown out of that one as well, but they do let me do my own thing as long as I keep my mouth shut about stuff I don't agree with Most of my training I do on my own these days. Find out if your club is willing to negotiate - I just work on those things I need to at home, and take it out and about before I even try it at training. Don't ever feel you should do something their way if it feels wrong or you don't understand why. I'm doing the contact course with SG as a result of the shitty "point and pray" training we got in the early days, the one thing I never questioned anyone on. Ask some of your instructors at the club you train with, you might find that one of them is doing the SG stuff at home behind the scenes but follows the club training guidelines at training? These days it is a lot easier go your own route if needed - especially with the number of online courses and DVD resources available.

I did wonder when I seen that on the news article, I vaguely remember PP and PGD being linked. Are they planning on keeping the stores running to find a buyer, or liquidating the lot and closing them down? The only thing of interest in that store would be a puppy crate but even 50% off wouldn't tempt me into buying from a store that keeps puppies in those conditions, receivership or not.

Ok - Do you cheerlead her at home/training in the weaves? Have you tried not cheerleading her at a trial over a few trials - not all dogs like it or appreciate it. Others find it rewarding, thus rewarding the dog for crap behaviour.

What are you doing different in a trial ring to what you do at training at home and your usual club? Remember DASH - desire, accuracy, speed then habitat. By what you've written about her pulling out if you run ahead, sounds like she could benefit with some more proofing to really build her understanding of her job. Take your poles out on the road somewhere and work them in other places. Can you get her to weave when you run totally the other direction, squeak a squeaky ball at her, throw the ball under her feet, can you have her weave while you're sitting, running backwards, falling. How about a meaty bone under her feet? Her favourite toys under her feet? You looking at her at point blank? From 50 metres away? Your imagination is the limit on this one The other thing that can cause speed issues is arousal levels in the ring, I've had issues with this with Zee with weaving. I've tried the above, tried building a heap of value using chicken necks as rewards, had her weaving daily for her brekky - you name it. What's worked for her was me tying the word "bunnies" with the sound "sssssss". I've then spent some time getting her used to thinking at that level of arousal (because initially it sent her right over the top) and now that's her weave cue "go weave sssssssssssss" all the way through the poles. Her weaving has improved 100 fold in the ring as a result.

How sad - good on you for giving them stick on FB JJ. I guess while puppies are legally able to be sold in pet stores then that's just the way it is, but at least keep them in decent conditions I haven't been in there for ages but was in the vicinity and thought I'd have a look at the plastic crate sizes since PS always have theirs on the racks. I had enough of a look at the info sheets to see that they are advertising the kelpie breed as "relatively free from inherited diseases" and absolutely no mention of inherited diseases in the BCs. Minimal mention of training and exercise requirements. No way will I be buying anything from them now. I have seen puppies in Petstock in Warrnambool but it was years ago back in the old store. I suspect it was the previous manager/owner taking matters into their own hands more than anything. But I mentioned it to the girl behind the counter at PS that it was good to see that they hadn't gone done that track.

Congrats Tim & Tanya on your new arrival and Happy balted B'day to tlc :D I went into PGD yesterday and found they are now selling puppies One pen of little white fluffy puppies and two pens of BC, BC x Kelpie and Kelpie puppies. Great breeds for impulse buys in a pet shop. Worst thing is they have them set up on pens on that cold concrete floor, with just enough torn newspaper to hide the floor but certainly not provide any insulation. No bedding and no way of getting off the floor Apparently it's been reported to WCC and while they aren't happy about it, there isn't anything they can do. I'm kind of hoping that the more people who report it, maybe they will have to do something. I wonder what happens to the puppies when the staff go home for the night.

Well said. The other part of this issue is how many potentially really good dogs don't make the grade as a "good farm dog" due to the poor training ability of the owner?

Good thinking, but it's also not a bad idea to proof for it as well. Moving your arms in a given way can be a hard habit to break, especially when running courses. As an example, I had a friend pick me up for dropping my shoulder when committing Darcy to tunnels so I can get to where I need to be, occasionally resulting in her dropping the bar before. I try to remember not to drop it while walking the course, but I'm human and I sometimes forget. So I've also done some deliberate proof work at home by rewarding her for keeping the bar up when I do drop my shoulder. I would prefer to use a handling system where, by purposely keeping my arm (and verbals) directing the dog, over a jump or toward the tunnel, would allow me to break away very early with my movement to my next obstacle. This way, the dog not only knows that he has to do the tunnel, but he already knows which direction he has to turn when he comes out of the tunnel. (See Linda Mecklenberg books and DVD's) I would laso like to think that if I turn away from the tunnel or jump early, my dog would not learn to blow off my body language - he will turn with me. Imagine if I am trying to turn my dog at the last moment (either because of a previous mistake, or because I am tryng to line up the next obstacle in a certain way) and my dog thought - this is one of those time she does not mean it. I do not want my dog to ever ignore any of my communications. I do not want to lost the "power" to communicate with my dog by teaching him there are times he can ignore a shoulder pull, or times they can igmore my hand and arm movements. It is the combination of all those signals that tells the dog exactly where I want them to go. If I do not get the balance of my signals rightwhen I communicate with my dog, then that is my problem. Training and teamwork is devloping those communication skills. Cheers, Just because I'm occasionally dropping my shoulder doesn't mean I'm not continuing to support the obstacle, regardless of where I am headed. Dropping my shoulder is different to a shoulder pull, and I would never teach a dog to ignore my directional arm movements.

Good thinking, but it's also not a bad idea to proof for it as well. Moving your arms in a given way can be a hard habit to break, especially when running courses. As an example, I had a friend pick me up for dropping my shoulder when committing Darcy to tunnels so I can get to where I need to be, occasionally resulting in her dropping the bar before. I try to remember not to drop it while walking the course, but I'm human and I sometimes forget. So I've also done some deliberate proof work at home by rewarding her for keeping the bar up when I do drop my shoulder.

Pets1 - I think they have a discount for DOLrs too.

Now I understand what you're saying. GDs handling system is a set of guidelines, that's it. I have yet to see anyone out there implementing any handling system perfectly yet I see and hear so many commenting on "you can't do that under GD". Both my dogs are quite capable of back jumping a jump as you describe despite my handling being based around GD. Take a look at Darcy's Top Dog Jumping run last year and you'll see the biggest motherflicker of all time to get the tunnel discrimination at speed plus a blind cross in the tunnel. Guidelines, not rules set in concrete to be smited by the agility gods every time you think about "breaking a rule" :laugh:

You're talking taking the back of a jump instead of the front? Then yes he does, it's referred to as driving to the refusal plane of a jump as opposed to the active plane.

In a nutshell a handling system is a method of training and handling which is consistent and makes sense to the dog (and the handler!). Main methods you will mostly hear about is Greg Derrett and Linda Mecklenburg, Silvia Trkman kind of has a method all her own, other big name handlers follow these methods to varying levels (Daisy Peel handles using LM for example, Susan Garrett is based on GD). In the end you pick whichever style makes sense to you - I tend to follow GD guidelines but am a bit of a rule bender when I have to be . I can't comment if any of them are better or worse than the others simply because I don't understand any of the other methods enough to make a judgement call. I do really like some of the stuff I'm seeing in a friend's ST work, and I'll probably add some of that work into what I'm already doing as far as jumping foundation, but it hasn't convinced me to totally change camps just yet :laugh:

I think my metal crate is a Puppy Power one as well, considering it lives in the kitchen and gets used as a spare table as well as crate training work, it's doing very well. :D