JulesP

It was nice work. Have you tried heeling along quite close to a fence and practise the drops/sits there? (Dog between you and the fence obviously!) That sometimes helps with a dog that swings out crooked.

I love how cheerfully you walk dogdude! Nice and bouncy!! Maybe too much arm swing? I think that the going wide may be to do with the forging in front. During the figure 8 turns because doggy is a bit in front you did contact with him a bit and he sort of bounced wide. Especially in the last turn out. He sort of also got squished a bit coming out of the last turn. Why I think this is that on your walk back he has come in closer to you again.

If you want to improve your posture and the way you walk then have a look at the Alexander Technique. It helps with balance, breathing etc. I had a few lessons to help with horse riding. Looking down like that tips your weight forwards so will make it harder to walk in a balanced manner, your head actually weighs heaps! If you want to look at doggy, just drop your eyes down. With walking in a straight line, look up and pick a focus point and walk towards that. Especially watch your first step! You actually made doggy go wide! He was very honest to come back in straight again. P.S. doggy is working very nicely! Just being picky for you!

One thing I noticed was that you don't seem to change your pace just before your turns. I usually do a smaller/slower step just before I turn or stop. This alerts the dog that something is going to happen and also helps with the humans coordination! You can't do this too obviously or you will get pinged for an extra signal but it does make it look neater. Sorry if you are doing this and I can't see it!

My border was being a bit pesky about peeing inside and as he is very soft I was loath to tell him off too strongly. However one day I had only just let him in and he peed. I was rather cross and told him so and tossed him back outside. You do not know how bad I felt when I realised that it wasn't pee!! The fridge was leaking Pup never peed inside again!!! If you can catch him then definately tell him off. Could you also try whipping him straight out of the crate and back outside? It would be better if you can stop him from peeing, so the second he goes to squat - outside. You could also try feeding him in the crate. I have used that method before - feed where they are peeing. Don't be fooled by the soft, sooky border act though. I still tell mine off if he needs it, but in a gently gently manner.

How many dogs do you have? 2 doggies How often do you train etc. Umm should be everyday! If I have something I am working towards then I do everyday, if not I slacken off a bit but do random training all the time i.e a recall whilst going to get the washing in! Do you find it hard to train all of them? Only 'train' one at a time. Usually retire one before I get the next pup. What are their rough ages - ie: are some retired, do you have multiple dogs at trialling level? Fern is 11yo and is retired. I do the odd bit of training with her as she loovesss it! Brock is 11 months. The age difference and fitness levels has caused issues with walkies. Fern just can't manage walkies (has an injury) but hates being left at home. Do you feel that you have enough time for each dog? Yep. But as above it is a bit tricky juggling different exercise needs. I like having 2 though as you can pat both at the same time! Do you have multiple breeds to train or do you only have the one breed? Any preferences in working style? Am border collie obsessed!

This is a problem that I have too - old dog and young dog. Old dog has a damaged back leg and struggles on walkies. If I go to take pup and not her she gives me the saddiest looks. I find that off leash works well as pup can do zoomies, I walk and old dog sits in the middle and watches!

Sorry but I have such a clear picture in my mind of your cheeky, muddy pup! Not sure if anyone else said this but don't call him to you if there is any chance that he isn't going to come. To do this is only teaching the dog that it can ignore you. The first time my old border discovered water I could not get him out. He sat in there for about an hour like a hippo! It was rather funny but frustrating. I think I walked off and left him in the end and he got out once I was out of sight!

Purina One is the supermarket version. Purina One seemed to have more corn type products at a quick glance and a lower protein level. There are websites for both if you want to compare. My fatty girl is on the sensitive one (only because pup needs it). She hasn't porked up on it and her coat is coming back nicely. It had gone really dry from the 'diet' foods.

Sounds a bit dodgy border14! Unless the groomer thought she was supposed to shave the dog. You don't normally end up with bald spots even when you are clipping!!

Yep use it and the dogs do really well on it. :rolleyes: No complaints and you can usually get it on special from somewhere. The dogs did well on Purina One too :rolleyes: - yes a supermarket food!

Border14 I know you said that your dog didn't have mats but really that is the only logical reason for a groomer to put a bare patch on a border. Unless there were mats my clippers didn't even come out for borders. With mats that aren't going to brush out I prefer to use the clippers than scissors.

That's interesting I found that borders (and goldens and GSD) all ended up with horrible coats after being clipped. Sort of coarse and didn't sit nicely.

If he has dry skin then I would suggest getting some oil into his diet. Both bull terriers and boxers do tend to suffer from itches. What shampoo are you using? I found Aloveen one of the best for very sensitive dogs when I was grooming. My pup has contact allergy problems and this has been reduced a bit by feeding Pro Plan Sensitive (no I am not on the pay roll! Just like what it has done for pup). Do you wash his bedding regularly? If you do what washing powder do you use? If he isn't going outside much then it must be something in the house, so look at bedding, floors etc. Good luck!

The pet place at Croydon North doesn't sell Eagle Pack anymore. The only place I could find it in the Outer Eastern Suburbs was Pet Stock Lilydale. There are a couple of home delivery places too but I like to go into a shop (and spend hours looking, lol). Nutrience is another food that people seem to like. You can get that a Mega Pet in Ringwood. If you are looking for holistic type foods then there is also Innova Evo , but some people don't like buying that as it is imported by one of the pet food chains. ummm or you could use the mix that Browns Herbals, Lilydale do. That is like a porridge. If only I spent as much time on my diet

The 'best' one is the one that works best for your dog. I've tried a lot of the premium foods and my borders look best on Pro Plan sensitive. I've been alternating with Eagle Pack if I think they need a change. I get my Eagle Pack from Pet Stock in Lilydale. Would like to try Nutro.

Flaxseed oil also has Omega 9 in it. So it has 3, 6 & 9. I feed sardines once a week on top of some dried food. I also feed the Proplan Sensitive which is salmon based. Certainly gives the dogs a great coat and itchy pup itches less!

It is evil stuff to get rid of. Basically forget getting rid of it in one go! I used a rake on mine, rather than pulling up, that worked really well. I ended up with 15 big bags of the stuff and it is now starting to regrow. Other tips I got were - put fire ash on it, put some dishwashing liquid in the Round-Up to help it to stick to the leaves. The cheap cortisone cream from a chemist works well on the itches!

The food that made a big improvement in my young borders coat was Proplan Sensitive. Everyone comments on his coat. I had been feeding Innova, Cal Natural or Evo. Proplan Puppy didn't change it much either. My older borders coat had got very skanky as I had been feeding her diet dry food and she has always needed lots of oil for her coat. It is coming back nicely now. Have been trying Eagle Pack but both dogs are in great condition so it is a little hard to see any improvement. If Nutro was in a local shop I would try that but I can't be bothered with mail order.

I found a mesh fence works well to stop dogs chasing stock

Herding more than hunting I would say as he was just licking the bunny rather than munching it!! The herding is most obvious in that he collects things! There is currently a pile of about 20 treasures in the middle of my garden :D It looks like a rubbish tip but he enjoys it!

How do you work out your dogs 'drive'? I guess some are very obvious. I can't work out my young border's. He was chasing a bunny in the week and came back to me the instant I called him, and his nose was right on the bunny at the time. Has also come away from running ponies as well. He will start to chase things but if I say not to he stops straight away. So does he have low prey drive, high pack drive or is just obedient?? He works for food but isn't a food maniac.

I've always thought it was weird that you are encouraged to talk to your dog in training but in the ring have to become silent. So to be able to talk more during exercises would be good. For more lifestyle stuff you could have going to your mat, nice eating manners, meet and greet, going through a gate politely, vet examination etc I had a go at Rally-O at my clubs Xmas break-up! It was fun and would be a great training exercise. I got rather dizzy though! My older dog can't jump due to an injury but lovvesss working so it would be nice to have something to do with her.

I gave mine those little fishes, whitebait??, a couple of weeks ago, they went down well!

I work full time and am currently training 1 pup, 1 pony to halter, 1 pony to saddle! And doing an instructors training course at dog club. Oh and have 4 acres that I look after by myself! And try and give the old dog attention and the cats..... ;) But am single and don't have kids so no humans are complaining if they don't get fed! I tend to focus on which ever animal has an event coming up and ease off on the others a bit. Pup hasn't started serious heeling type work yet so I have been doing a lot of his training in the house in the evenings. Having the acres means I don't have to do lots of walking with the dogs (and 1 being a pup and 1 old, they don't need much at the moment). I'm finding working pup in short bursts is working well, so everytime there is a spare 5 mins I can do something with him. I am also a train all the time type person, so I might put the dogs on a sit stay while I go to the letterbox. Also go to dog club and was having a private lesson once a week.