huski

Totally agree with Diva and PF. IMO, there is a HUGE difference between training a dog to do things like obedience and working with a dog who has a behaviourial problem. It's easy to make a behaviourial problem worse and whilst club instructors should have some knowledge unless they are qualified behaviourists with many years of experience working with dogs with behaviourial problems they really don't the knowledge nor skills to train dogs with those issues.

Congratulations to all the nominees!!! Thanks so much Julie It was lovely to talk to you, sorry I was such a blubbering mess :D I was so humbled and blown away to be nominated.

And since WHEN were you appointed the DOL Police to monitor and comment on MY posts..? Yes, its a public forum. Glad you see that. Boring. You're doing the same thing.....go off look in the mirror for an hour or so and practice what you preach. Ermm Bull Terrific - labsrule was actually posting in response to koalathebear's posts, not yours. She was actually posting in your favour.

For me it's not about the act of heeling itself, but the dog's motivation and their desire for the reward. I also find my dog loses interest if I become too predictable. What kind of training do you do? Do you train at a club? What do you use to motivate your dog - food/toy/praise etc?

Thanks so much Kath... that pretty much describes me LOL!! I also psyche myself out and stress for no real reason. I meant to come say hello yesterday but I was feeling a bit upset I did see you working in the ring though and you guys looked great

Awww thanks Nik. So sorry you had a crappy time at the trials too. Sometimes I just feel like trialling is pointless as we will never achieve anything I feel like the biggest loser ever. We've done four trials now and don't have a single quallie!

Thanks everyone for listening to me whinge I love working with my dog and training her, we have the best fun and both enjoy it. I love training for a purpose/goal like competition but I just get such a mess even days before a trial that I inevitably stuff it up. I just feel like the biggest failure, my dog is more than capable, hell last night she was working beautifully just outside the ring before we went in. I've never really felt like giving up before because that's so not the kind of person I am but I feel like I am ruining her.

I think this should be changed to say "may end up with an owner who makes obedience boring". I think heel work is the most exciting, high energy training where you can aim for a very high level of drive and precision. Totally agree

I agree. IMO if your dog finds heelwork boring that is a training (motivation) problem not a problem with the breed or dog itself.

Goofy the point is that you are assuming anyone who doesn't agree with you is being illogical. You're doing the very thing you are accusing us of doing. What you consider logical is still your opinion. Nothing you could say would ever change my mind on the subject because I will NEVER agree that breeders who sell puppies to pet stores are ethical. Nothing in your posts has convinced me that is something an ethical breeder would do. That I think selling puppies in pet stores is wrong does not make me illogical. I don't see any logic behind a breeder deciding to palm their puppies off to a pet store. A good breeder wants to know where their puppies are going, they can't do this if they sell them to a pet store, regardless of how well you tell us you vet potential homes. There is a DOL member here who had two large litters of a rare breed (never mind Goldens that are actually in quite a bit of demand) and had similarly large number of pups. Did she have to sell them off to a pet store to ensure they went to good homes? Nope.

Honestly Goofy you have to be pretty daft to think you could log onto a forum like DOL where the posters are vehemently against the sale of animals in pet stores and think yo can change our mind about it I'd have more luck signing up to a hard core PETA forum and asking them all to eat a steak for lunch.

Feeling better this morning and able to see the positives in last night now. The things I put in place for our issues with DJ seems to have worked and it was the first time we have got through the whole body of work with no duck eggs. Thinking back she may have broken because it was cold and wet from heavy dew, or maybe it was that I looked down at her as I went around behind her or maybe I'm just looking for excuses and she was just messing with my head. There is always next week though isnt there.. So sorry about the stay Kath - how frustrating!! She looked brilliant in the ring last night though!

Best not to ask Sometimes I feel like giving up, I am a mess at trials, my nerves are ridiculous and it is effecting Daisy terribly

Thanks Jess. I don't see her as bored myself but found the idea of 'why do we do it' interesting none the less. I agree I see dogs who look bored and disinterested working. Sometimes I wonder why the owner preserves when it's clear the dog is not enjoying it - or at least considers that their methods aren't working. For me part of what I enjoy about obedience is finding ways to make it awesome fun and super motivating for my dog.

No, some breeders care so little about the dogs they produce that they'd palm them off to a pet store without giving a crap where the puppies will end up. Sorry Goofy but there is no doubt in my mind that ANY ethical breeder would EVER sell their precious puppies, that they pour their hearts and souls into breeding, to a pet store so they can be then sold to god knows where. Good breeders want to know exactly where their puppies end up, they want to stay in touch with the puppy buyers, they want to provide a lifetime of support to the people who own the dogs they bred. So Goofy - you only sell puppies that come from ethical registered breeders and some BYBers who all health test their breeding dogs for relevant things i.e. HD, ED, PRA etc?

I wouldn't touch a breeder who sells pups to pet stores with a ten foot pole. What kind of breeder doesn't give a crap about where their puppies go? A good breeder wants to vet homes themselves so they know where their pups are going.

Totally agree. I can't believe people would recommend alpha rolling at all - it is NOT natural dog behaviour (this has been disproven time and time again) and you'd have to be an idiot to think it would solve a digging problem.

Thanks for your awesome post Jess!! That basically describes why I enjoy trialling. I recently had someone tell me that my dog looks bored/unhappy to work, because competition is all about the human component. It just made me think, because I look at my dog who when training will jump into heel position and give me 110%, am I doing it for me or her?? Would she be equally as happy lounging around at home? I can't tell from her body language that she is bored (there is NO WAY I could hold her attention if she was bored, she'd just put her nose to the ground!), but it made me think about what drives us to compete and if it really is purely a selfish thing.

I do agree that I think there is a human component that drive competition, obviously the dogs don't care about high scores or coming first etc! Good luck to you too!!!

I've got a pitch black kelpie cross with huge ears. He's often naughty and barks at other dogs, either for a play or for a "hey what ya looking at?" ; ) I just looked at your profile, and I think I recognise you! Well, I recognise your beagle : ) In fact, Jane might have mentioned you in her email (if your name starts with B), telling me I should ask you if I had any questions during training I should find you : P LOL yes I'm Bec with Daisy if that's who Jane was referring to!! Please come and find me on Monday, I would love to meet you and your doggy I have the tan and white beagle and am usually being a Nigel training on my own or with BC4ME in the middle of the paddock opposite the club house :D

This came up in a conversation today - why do you trial? How do you know your dog truly enjoys doing it and wouldn't rather be sitting around at home with the occasional training session? What drives you to compete - is it the fact your dog enjoys it or do you think its because you enjoy it and your dog would be equally happy doing anything? And those who have had the more challenging dogs - why do you persevere with competition?

we'll see you there. Keeping everything crossed she doesn't find another way th break her DJ YAY - looks like we will all be there tomorrow

Loeka what kind of dog do you have? We are often out at Metro too

Hi Outkast I would run a MILE for Bark Busters. It sounds like you would benefit more from a one on one training session with a behaviourist than obedience club or group training? Price changes from trainer to trainer - I personally recommend Jane Harper from Dogs on Track :D http://www.dogsontrack.com.au/

Good lucky lady!! How many passes does he have to go till his title - one or two?