JulesP

The usual reason that the about turn doesn't work is because people don't do it quick enough. The puppy should really know that you have done it! You shouldn't be going in a circle, it should be a straight line. If you end up circling then you aren't turning sharp enough. You turn sharply and you GO, turn sharply and GO. I don't agree with tug, tug, tugging either. If you are going to use any sort of correction collar then give a couple of really good corrections rather than nagging.

That is an interesting idea Pax. I might try that with an agility issue I have.

Diva I make sure that the dog does succeed in that sort of situation. The bridging actually helps that. I would consider touch to be a primary reinforcer.

Some people call marking bridging. I view them as 2 different things. Clicking or saying 'yes' I view as marking and they need to be conditioned. Bridging I don't think needs conditioning as the actual way you do it is encouragement enough for the dogs.

Sometimes. I seem to have been taught marking a bit differently from some other people though. I don't always mark and immediately treat. I use marking as 'something good is coming' rather than 'something good is coming right now'. Works for me.

Yes I also use it if the dog is looking confused and needs encouragement. ie running towards the dumbell when first learning. You often use it as a bridge between 2 behaviors which is why it is called bridging. So click for the sit - bridge during the stay - click the end of the stay.

I wrote that a bit confusingly Terranik the first click would be for going into the stay position. Talking baby dogs here. The 'good dog' stuff is the bridge, not the marker. You don't actually condition the dog to it, like you do to the actual marker. If you are heeling and talking to your dog, ie nice heeling, what a clever dog etc, then you are bridging. Going through weavers - 'that is right, keep going, good dog' bridging again. All this is for training btw and gets phased out.

You would use it for something like a stay. ie stay, click, good stay, good dog, good stay, release. It might not be a constant verbal stream either. For a long stay there might be mins in between.

Perhaps it is not so much a lack of understanding but more a not wanting to go so far from you?? Both my borders have a set distance that they are happy to go away from me! Even when doing a cast on sheep, Poppy will only go so far and will then turn back and she lovessss sheep. I had been doing a send around the bin and found the same thing. Poppy will go so far and if I push the distance will turn back. Same with running free with other dogs. They go a certain distance and then stop. Don't have a way to fix it though!

Yes I use them and don't have any issues with them.

Fern got her encouragement at 1yo and her CD before she was 2yo. She passed all her trials and it only took the time it did because I only entered local trials! She is a great dog. Was very steady at that age. Brock is 3yo and still lacks a bit of confidence. Not sure if it will ever arrive. Might do some NADAC agility soon with him. Poppy got her HIC, HT & PT by about 18 months. She could have a good crack at started now but I would like to do it with some style so am waiting a bit. People have been hassling me for ages to do obedience with her but I don't think she is quite ready yet. It would be a bit of a fingers crossed affair. She has a bit of training to do yet with agility, I could probably run her around a course now and she might pass but again I like for the work to be solid.

Congratulations! :D

Wildatheart looks like she used some to make her jumps that she was just selling. Perhaps ask her?

Wooooooooooooooohoooooooooo well done!!! ;)

Funny Poppy has anticipated the change of position but has never gone down in the SFE. I do use stay for the SFE and wait for the change of position though. The person that ran me through the ring on the weekend was saying that the judges had been talking about doing the change of position across the ring because of this problem.

Have a look at the one on Deals Direct.

Looking good Kavik!! Poppy is a crazy thing on the seesaw! It looks like she is trying to make as much noise and bang as possible, lol. She is only a little border and the force that she was banging it was bouncing her off the end. I had to slow her down, which was a novelty for me!

I don't think there is anything wrong with any animal trainer deciding on boundaries What about a body harness Willow?

You sound on a real high Janba.

OMG I think I might as well give up as that would freak my dog out. Months later I still can't go more than a meter from her after an incident in a stay. Congrats on your stay and your title.

My dog has a better idea about it than me full stop! Poppy can't handle the fluffier breeds herding, it totally freaks her out. I am sure she thinks it is just sheep all running around in a paddock!

I have 14 pups at the moment. That is too many. They are around 4-6 months old. Some of them had done no prior training, ie puppy school. At this stage I feel that the people need a fair bit of individual attention to make sure that they have all their marking etc right and I am struggling to get around.

This is a 'discussion' forum. Bit boring if no discussing happens. There are some rather blunt characters here. I get upset sometimes but try not to take it personally. Your posts are a tad long though

Ok I'll tell you my 'nasty' story to make you feel better. This was my first comp. Stays had finished and my dog had completed them. A woman came up and said 'Congrats, I was hoping that your dog would move in the stays'. Charming! I had won the ring, beating her and didn't even know as I hadn't looked at my heel score. If you feel that your dog is 110% ready for the October comp then do it. I have some issues with my girl which is why I am still proofing her. She would have reacted to a golden rolling over next to her though. Which is why I am not trialling her at the moment. It would give me a heart attack if that happened in my first trial!

Corvus I tend to try and act how another dog would act in this sort of situation. If one of my youngsters talked back at Fern she would squash them. It is not nasty or aggressive. So if they did it to me they would get the same response. This is what dogs understand. I would do as much as I had to get the desired body language. Starting softly and escalating. I would never walk away from a situation. Because my dogs are clear on boundaries I can be a positive trainer during our obedience, agility etc. If you think this little pup might be a handful I would be using my NILIF and TOT training now. Assuming you have had the beastie a couple of weeks.