t(AD)pole

You need to reward her for staying before she gets up. That might mean starting at a few secs so remember to build it up slowly. Good luck

You could train her to stay on a mat. Make being on the mat the best thing ever. Treat her for being on the mat then say 'OK' but stand still and wait until she goes back on the mat- then treats start again. She has to learn that being on the mat (preferably in a drop) equals treats and fun. Slowly work up from having her lie on the mat for 30 secs to a few minutes to half an hour while you watch telly. You could also try massaging her and calmly patting while she lies on her mat.

Paul Macphail is in Welshpool. Rachelle- I have also done the Four Paws herding Clinic at Diggers Rest and it was a great introduction to herding. ETA: Inspector Rex, have PM'd you.

Even though this isn't exactly the answer you were asking for I will give my view from someone who does enjoy trialling... Trialling, for me, is not about winning or getting the almighty Q but it is about putting all the training to the test and it gives me a level to work towards. I also find that running courses at a trial can be a bit more interesting then the jump, weave, tunnel, jump sequence set up at class. When I trial I always learn something new and find something new that we need to work on. I have only started trialling recently but if I ever feel that trialling is getting too serious or we are not being successful then I will stop, have a break and think about what agility is all about- you and your dog working as a team and creating that team takes more then training the obstacles.

Erny! I would like to reinforce though, that you are better off training your dog to walk on a loose leash then using a halti strait away. A halti (or any form of head collar) should only be used if you are having a lot of trouble training your dog to walk on a loose leash. Also, from my experience the halti does not train a dog to walk on the lead with out pulling, it simply makes it uncomfortable for the dog to do so. If a halti is used on a dog all the time and there is no effort being made to train the dog, as soon as it is removed the dog will pull again. Some dogs will still pull with the halti on.

Maybe you could try private agility classes?

Well done snoopys_jocks!! It feels great when it finally comes together doesn't it? :)

The scorer came up to me after and said that it would have been fine so long as her lead was on before we left the ring- so I guess it depends on the judge?

Well done to Bella, Kira and handlers!! :D

Ness- We probably do need have a routine for the end of our run but I really don't know what to teach. Just a sit in front of me maybe? I don't want to do anything wrong... The open distance test was only three jumps set up like this: ...................I........I ..........I ________________________ <------distance handling line ..........................Seesaw ^here The end of the seesaw touched the ground on the line- thats where the distance challenge started, so it was from a dead stop on the contact. the I's are jumps Sorry I think I've hijacked this thread :D .

Thanks everyone! Don't worry I'm still super proud! Just because we didn't get the ribbon doesn't change the fact that we were the only ones to run it clean. :D I actually thought we had got a refusal because she hesitated before the DW so I didn't realise until the scorer shouted out "Does she know she was DQ'd?" obviously because I was very happy and why not it was a good run regardless of the score. JulesP- It wasn't actually you who I was talking about. There was a man who was also holding a border collie standing in front of you. When I saw him grab her I decided there was no point calling her now and went to get her. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing- she had run to where we were going to walk anyway so why call her back (I was not aware of the lead on before exit rule) and also someone had caught her. If I had decided to stay and call her more she would have come, even if only after saying hello to everyone. As for the setting up in front of the ring, we only arrived in the arvo and that was the only place left with shade. I wouldn't usually but because the main part of the course was at the far end from our crate I thought it would be fine (well it was really). Ness-I think just getting more control and focus from her will help. With most dogs you see them at the end of their run they jump up at their handler as if to say "Did I do good mum?". With Abbie its like " Am I done now? Cool cya." On course I need to be constantly talking to her otherwise she may run off. We really need to strengthen our relationship so she sees me as the one to listen to rather then my dad. Having said all that I was actually more proud of our open run because we were the only ones from novice and I had never tried open before. I felt a bit silly walking the course because no doubt people had seen me in the novice ring and they were all in excellent and masters. :D </brag>

Yesterday at the western port agility trial we were the only team to run the Novice Agility course clean and under time! ;) After completing the last jump Abbie decided she would keep going and jumped over the fence and out of the ring. Someone outside the ring grabbed her (obviously trying to help) so I took the lead and went to get her. We were DQ'd because I did not put her lead on in the ring! I chucked the Q and 1st down the drain without even knowing, but it was still a clean run so I was very pleased with Abbie. We also got 1st in height group in Open Agility. Only two people Q'd and we only didn't because she knocked the bar on the second last jump. (where is the strangle dog emoticon? :D ) We came home Q-less once again but overall it was a great trial and I was very happy with Abbie's performance.

We'll be there too for the PM trial!

The dog just has to touch the colour on the end of a contact obstacle, they do not have to stop. It is for safety so the dog does not jump off the top of and obstacle.

Quote from the website: PM Kelpie-i as she will know more or email them through the four paws website.

I did a Four Paws Herding Clinic last weekend and it was great! Diggers Rest is very close to Sunbury too. After the initial clinic I think you can go back for more training. Be warned you will have fun!!!

I haven't done many trials so I haven't got a routine that is the same every time but there are some of the things I've done. (for agility) When I arrive I crate her then leave her while I go and check in and find the ring I'm in etc. or sometimes I will take her with me while I do those things. Before we go in the ring I will take her so she can toilet then I will do a bit of running ground work (ie. run run run 'switch' and we go the other way...run run run 'here' and do a front cross). I might do a bit of tugging and play. If we are not needed in the ring for a bit longer then I put her back in the crate until we need to go. When we are outside the ring I will have a few treats and get her attention and maybe ask for a few tricks or easy commands that she can do. I will also do I bit of massaging and stretching (but not really that much) while waiting. Once out of the ring I reward with some treats and tugging then back into the crate. If it was a bad run (as in she was distracted) then I will give her some pats a few treats but I won't reward as much. If it is our last run for the day then I usually take her for an off leash run (provided there is an off leash area at the trial grounds) or just a walk. Usually then I'll go and watch the other rings with her. I prefer not to be waiting outside the ring for too long (before a run) but I always find im there too early and we are waiting longer then I would have liked. Yesterday at a trial, for Abbie's first run I didn't take her out until just before our run and it ended up being a pretty good run (would have q'd if she didn't knock a bar!) For our other run we were waiting outside the ring for a while and I did not have her attention. When we went into the ring she had zoomies and wasn't very focused. From my limited experience I have found that she is usually better in the ring when I don't do much of a warm up. eta: so usually all that warm up I explained would be too much. ;)

I've heard of agility/obedience but I can't remember where, although I doubt there is any in Aust at the moment (but feel free to prove me wrong! ). Bridgie cat- Do you mean the agility organisation NADAC? In NADAC one can choose to enter their dog one height category lower then normal.

Maybe try having an experienced dog in with him? Keep sessions short and finish while he's showing interest.

WOW what an achievement!

The closest place I know of is Central City Canine Club in Glen Iris but the train on Sunday mornings. Sorry not much of a help

Can I join in? Abbie is in novice and we are not quite ready for pairs but we should be after a bit more practice(I need to get more confidence in the ring lol). She has a bit of a focus problem but we are working on it and improving (slowly). eta:Just thought I should add, she jumps 500 and we are in vic. Leopuppy- Abbie and I would be happy to run with you and Leo if she is OK at 600. We're not great but we're an option (if you're desperate ). eta:We are not ready just yet so if you find someone else go for it.

Age should never stop a dog from starting agility (or training) but age related injuries may. At 3 1/2 your dog is at a great age to start agility, definitely not too old. Just get her checked out to make sure she has no physical problems then you're free to start this very addicting sport! and its lots of fun!!

YAY!! GO LEO! Well done to everyone else as well!

Good Luck! I'm not coming coz its a bit far and I didn't want to enter two trials in a row.