What Is Your Favourite Thing To Do

[leopuppy04]

Hi All,

Just thought i'd start a new thread to see what everyones favourite 'doggy sport' that they do with their dog and why?

Also, what is the best trick you have taught your dog? How did you teach this??

What is your primary method of training?

Just for some fun!!!

My Answers:

Favourite Sport - Agility - its fast paced, the dogs love it and it is just tonns of fun!! I think I love it more than my dog!!!!!!!!!

Best trick - either getting Leo to 'cover his eyes' or to get a drink from the fridge. If anyone knows how to get Leo to HOLD his paw on his nose while 'covering his eyes' i'd love to hear it!

I mainly use a 'clicker' or 'yes'. I used to do a lot of luring but now am trying a hand at 'shaping' and 'capturing'. I think we may actually be getting somewhere now!

[shoemonster]

I'm starting agility, and I love it - mainly cos the dogs love it

I also love doing freestyle (doggy dance) with Molly, she is so enthusiastic, it's great

I use clicker training, and find it so easy to teach them things

Oh and we did lure coursing for the first time on the weekend which was great fun too!

I just love doing anything with the dogs I think

Edited August 8, 2006 by shoemonster

[wheres my rock]

Prettty much anything my dog enjoys though obedience would be my main thing Love agility too.

Would like to see rallyo and freestyle become recognised sports here as well.

As for tricks cover eyes its easy to get them to hold the paw there if you use a keep going signal in your training .

TRaining methods For dog sport i dont use any aversives lie corrections physical or verbal simply because its not life and death its just for fun and i have just never needed to go down that path we use lots of food and toys these days we use a combination of luring shaping and targetting to get what we want with lots of drive building and focus in the early stages

[Guest Clover]

My favourite sport is Flyball, the BCs is herding (Not that i would call that a sport). Clover is starting to enjoy her one on one Obedience time with me again aswell.

Best trick is Elvis's "Are you a wolf?" aka howl on command.

I use mainly clicker training, and luring.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Clover

[wyvernblade]

EVERYTHING!!! I just love my dogs!!!

[Sayreovi]

It would have to be agility, even though Nova does test me pretty much every week in training but with Darcy its a dream to train in.

Novas best trick would be bow, i just like that one the best. Darcys would be speaking on command because he very rarely barks.

[J...]

Everything - walks around the lake and at the beach, playing, soccer, obedience and agility (will probably drop agility for a bit to work on more basics).

Favourite trick - haven't done much trick work but Darcy does do "give me 10" - was supposed to be high 5 but dogs can't count apparently She sits in front of me, I hold out my left hand in front and she launches up and lands both front paws in my left hand..... she just decided that both paws was much more fun

Main method of training.... ummm still learning myself so I'm using yes as her "clicker" word, mostly positive (toys and food) and working on drive. I'm not really sure what the difference is between luring/shaping/targetting/capturing so I wouldn't know

[leopuppy04]

These are great responses guys !!! I think it is safe to say we all own very spoilt doggies!!!!! Ah the wonderful world of doggy sports..... problem is there is far to much to choose from!

[Craig_Juke]

My favorite thing to do with my dogs is herding, frisbee and agility. It really intrigues me to watch a dog that does something instinctively.

As for tricks, my older dog Juke crawls backwards, and my younger dog Maverick snaps the air, it is really funny. They can both climb up ladders also.

I use whatever works when training, but mostly training in prey drive using toy rewards.

[wyvernblade]

My favourite trick that I've taught my Dobe pup is to 'dig' on command. I say "Get the bunnies!!" and then he starts digging!

[dogdayz]

Mine is tracking....mainly as the dogs love it, probably as it gives them the most freedom from me. But to see my weim who is normally a bit hyper and on edge to sounds and dogs around him, just block everything out and look at his most relaxed when tracking is something else. And the collie, well she probably prefers the sheep but she certainly loves all the sticky beaking tracking allows her to do. Aside from that i find it the freindliest of all the sports probably because you are never competing against each other.

Downside of course are the early cold wet, mornings, but somehow you overlook those.

[leopuppy04]

My favorite thing to do with my dogs is herding, frisbee and agility. It really intrigues me to watch a dog that does something instinctively.

Boy I agree with you there!

As for tricks, my older dog Juke crawls backwards, and my younger dog Maverick snaps the air, it is really funny. They can both climb up ladders also.

How on earth did you teach your dog to CRAWL backwards! I'd love to hear it

[Tassie]

I love doing almost anything with my 2 Border Collies I was lucky enough to have the chance to do some farm sheep work with my 4 year old girl - who thought she'd died and gone to heaven, once she got over learning that it had to be done according to our rules, not hers. She also loves training and competing in agility - although she gets cross with me when I handle badly and don't give her early or clear enough cues. She's done some basic obedience - though she's not a big fan of that, and I haven't fussed with her about it. She also enjoys playing around at flyball - and I've just started her on a little bit of tracking.

My boy doesn't mind obedience - though he loses his brain periodically, and then gets worried 'cos things didn't go quite right. He's completely OTT when he gets the chance to play with agility, so I'm waiting for him to grow up a bit (he's 4.5 years going on about 9 months!) as I don't want to heavy him. He also loves flyball, but is only slowly learning to concentrate in the presence of other dogs - bit of a disadvantage in a team sport. He's competing in tracking - but not with any great success yet, although he's shown he can track quite well when his brain is actually engaged.

Now we're playing round with training with a bike for ET - they both seem to like that.

Oh, and we sometimes get keen about doing some doggy dancing moves.

Pity I'm working 4 days a week - it seriously interferes with doggy pursuits! Do I sound addicted?

[FHRP]

What I love doing the most with my dogs is walking them in the bush. They absolutely love it and I just love seeing them enjoy themselves. As for what doggy sport I enjoy the most I would have until recently said agility. As I've become more involved in gundog work with my younger boy and even though he has some fundamental issues it is by far the most rewarding 'sport' I train in. Currently we do retrieving, but I'm looking forward to doing Field trial work with my pup that is on order and hopefully home next March!!!!

Favourite trick? Probably getting my old boy to count He barks on command and stops when I close my hand, so I can make out he's counting. People love it.

We train primarily with positive motivational methods, have used the clicker and use a marker word. I too used lots of luring but hope to do more shaping with my next pup.

[Tassie]

Oh yes, forgot the bit about training methods. Positive motivational (food/toys/praise/allowing them to do the activity they want - like having sheep, or the next obstacle) - with some negative punishment - e.g. being removed from the scene for a time out. I also use verbal corrections for serious misdemeanours. I love using my clicker but not I'm not a 'pure' clicker trainer.

[Craig_Juke]

Hi leopuppy04,

I taught him to crawl backwards by accident while training him to go into a hoop. Basically i was sending him to a hoop on the ground and making him drop. One day i rushed in to praise him and accidently stood on one of his front paws and he jumped back. (DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME) The next few times i rushed in he just started crawling backwards so i just paid it and then gradually asked him to go back further and further each time. I have been trying for months to teach my other dog to do it but can't get him to do anything like it. (Don't really want to stand on his paws.)

A friend of mine can get there dog to crawl backwards also, so i will ask them and see what they did and let you know.

[rastus_froggy]

Agility is my favourite!! We are far from being great at agility but we love it :rolleyes:

I am kind of saddened by the fact that one of my dogs just doesnt enjoy it :p but he enjoys obedience.

My fave tricks would be the ones they do together (as i know that they were the hardest to achieve) Saxon stands while Froggy jumps over him then Froggy stands while Saxon crawls under her - which is kinda funny coz he barely fits under her, originally the plan was for her to jump over him then for her to crawl under him but she doesnt enjoy crawling as much as he does.

I mainly use clicker, marker word, toys and a bit of luring.

[spoilt lab lives here]

:rolleyes: my fav thing to do is gundog work nothing formal just yet he is only 7 months but he is like a different dog when he is retrieving the dummy it is great to see, he likes obedience too because he knows we throw around a dummy afterwards. We train using motivatoinal training mostly praising him sometimes ill use a treat but often he becomes to focused on food

[Alpha]

I love most things I do with my dogs ( I hate bath times cause they hate it)

I especially like the breed club meetiings as we all bring our dogs and they all run about together and I love obedience as I did'nt realise how much I missed it or how much fun it was with a good dog :rolleyes: (Who said that??)

I love just being out with them playing ball or letting them lay next ot us on the couch...I especially love watching my kids grow with the pup and the joy on their faces when they give a command or signal to the older bitch and she obeys...thats good to see

[MrsD]

My fave tricks would be the ones they do together (as i know that they were the hardest to achieve) Saxon stands while Froggy jumps over him then Froggy stands while Saxon crawls under her - which is kinda funny coz he barely fits under her, originally the plan was for her to jump over him then for her to crawl under him but she doesnt enjoy crawling as much as he does.

Rastus, how funny, my hubby mentioned last night teaching Jonty to jump over Ebony's back & then crawl back under his tummy - I would be suspicious that he had read this thread except that your response was posted after he had said it .

I did'nt realise how much I missed it or how much fun it was with a good dog :rolleyes: (Who said that??)

Alpha - i said exactly the same thing to my hubby last week at training! Watching other people with their dogs, I realised how much I miss having a well trained dog that I could take to training or that could go anywhere with me . Sort of strange, cos even though we have had a dog & now I have Jonty, until now I still thought of myself as "dogless" cos the dogs never went anywhere with me :p .

As for the OP's questions, my favourite sport would have to be obedience, I love the perfect balance & refinement of exercises, the bond & the versatility of a well trained obedience dog. Also loved tracking even though I was only very much a novice at it.

Methods - I use whatever method I think will work with each particular exercise & each dog. I'm like someone else earlier who mentioned they dont know shaping, luring etc, I use lots of positive verbal & physical rewards eg. praise, pats, food, toy etc but will also use negatives if needed. My philosophy is that every dog is different & every exercise you each is different & my main objective is to end up with a happy obedient dog.