huski

Just to further clarify on what RnL has said, the click should mean 'you've done the right thing and a reward is coming'. So, I use markers when I've given my dogs a command and they've complied or when they exhibit a behaviour I want to see. I don't use the marker as a way to get attention or a way to tell them to do a command. If that makes sense??

No I wish you did - I was meant to go, but had to pull out 'cause it was a friday (work commitments). I will DEFINATELY be at the next one (whenever that is ) Should be this year... we should start nagging Steve about it

Agreed ;) Definitely nothing harsh about Jane's methods.

I feed my two youngest on a raw diet, but if I put dried food in front of them I expect them to eat it. If he doesn't eat his dried food within in ten minutes, pick it up and give him nothing until the next meal.

Thanks for the foot work diagram, Nik! This is what I am most terrible with. Looking back on the videos I uploaded from Wednesday, I think I am getting better at not stepping into Daisy when we stop but I still can't walk well in a straight line much easier when you have someone else calling out a heel pattern though! Our left turns are HORRENDOUS!

I will be over the moon when Daisy gets her CCD title. Hopefully we will do it in as close to three trials as possible of course by that stage we will probably be almost ready for retirement

She sounds like an angel! The thing that I think made it harder to bond with Daisy was that she was a real challenge and sometimes was unpleasant to be around Having a dog who pushes you and pushes you constantly and doesn't want to be cuddly or give you much affection can be a real challenge! She quite a cuddly girl now though and we are over those issues that we had when she was going through that hyper puppy/adolescent period (thank God). Now I know how to manage it better I am more confident I could work better with a dog whose like that.

I agree. I own a spitz and a hound, but I'm not a fan of clingy dogs and I do find it odd when I meet a dog who falls over itself to get a pat or wants cuddles with its owner all the time Daisy was an exceptionally hard dog to bond with as a puppy. She was very independent and never wanted to be picked up and cuddled. I seriously think she was at least 12 months of age before she decided she wanted to have cuddles or I could pick her up without her wriggling and wanting to get away. The right training made a huge difference with her, she is now pretty much always keen to work and play with me. She's still not one of those dogs who is really praise/pat driven and she will have cuddles but on her terms only. Micha is very laid back and calm but he does enjoy being with us and likes to be near us. He LOVES ear rubs but that's the extent of the cuddles he wants to receive I agree. I don't see depriving a dog of all other enjoyment as an acceptable price for more attention to me. It's the Stockholm Syndrome approach and its one I'm no fan of. I agree to a point but if I have my dog out somewhere like that where they are creating their own fun, I like to call them over to me and play a game with them as well as letting them run around. It would be impossible for me to deprive Daisy of all things she finds enjoying, all she has to do is put her nose to the ground and she's found one of the most enjoyable things she can do

Interesting Sas, haven't seen one like that before! Ellie'smum they are a correctional collar.

Here's a video from last night. We bought the cones and jump out to try and make it a bit more fun and unpredictable http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h847ALv8jTA

In QLD the judge will get the steward to write your results up on the board outside the ring once you're finished ;) It can be tricky to get people to help you do a SFE, I grab as many random people as I can when I am at training or when people come over etc.

Some judges are more heavy handed with the SFE than others. I've seen some do a light run down the dog's back, I've seen some a bit more heavy handed. In CCD it shouldn't be too full on but every judge is different. Try getting a heap of different people to run their hand down his back for the SFE, he needs to get used to different kinds of people doing it so he's not put off in the ring. I am working on this with Daisy at the moment, I thought she was pretty solid with her SFE but a stranger leaning over her has put her off a couple of times so I am trying to get her used to lots of different people doing it.

I had a really good training session at dog club tonight with Daisy. I am trying to be more fun/exciting and less predictable, she seemed to enjoy herself tonight. Have two videos and just watched the first one back, and OMG, my fidgeting is SO BAD!! Especially as I wasn't focusing on my handling at all but just trying to get good drive and focus from Daisy who started the night off a bit easily distracted. Before training she found someone else's green bag and it had loads of delicious treats in it, she was obsessed with it for ages and kept looking over to it It made it worse that I had roast chicken tonight and it was really slippery and hard to get out of my treat bag, I need to invest in some daggy tracky pants that have big pockets ;)

Thanks MrsD! I don't need to know or anything, just curious if it's someone I know of or have seen doing DWD before! I get that lightbulb moment when I've taught Daisy to do more complex obedience stuff like the formal retrieve or scent discrim and it's awesome to see! I really want to get better at trick training as all she can do at the moment is give paw and hi-10. Nothing cool like some of the DWD dogs!

Can I just clarify that ‘drive’ is just a descriptive term, some people use it and some don’t like it. It is NOT however, a “politically correct term" for training with food or toys. There is a huge difference between someone who rewards with food or toys and someone who actually works their dog in drive. A dog working in drive is using the lower cortex of their brain (the medulla) and they get a chemical reward (the release of endorphins) as well as a food/prey reward. Some people may prefer different terms, but when I refer to my dog working in drive or being rewarded in drive I am talking about a lot more than simply giving her food. You can visibly see the difference in her when she’s in drive and when she isn’t. If food or prey items can’t be used to build drive I have no idea what I’ve been doing with my dog for the past 12 odd months Building drive (or desire for a reward, if you prefer) in your dog does produce dogs who work better and faster, that’s a fact, not imagination.

Thanks MrsD, I am seriously considering it. I suck at trick training and would really like to improve with it. Will you be instructing???

Totally agree with BC4ME - as horrifyingly embarrassing as it is, videoing yourself is so helpful! And if you are game enough to post your video on DOL some of the more experienced triallers will give you some pointers

I don't think the media is necessarily lying, but I hardly think we will get an accurate idea of what occurred from the media. My biggest concern isn't really the six year old kid who was playing in the gutter on his own but the kid whose parents let him walk a dog who was "fine, usually" on his own. Just the idea that the dog may have displayed problem behaviour in the past is a good indication that this attack did not just come out of no where and that there could have been pre existing problems. I would hardly call an 11 year old a teenage, by the way. Would you let an eleven year old walk a large dog on his own?

Yay, gooooo Abby!

Oh Huski, you were deprived of one of the joys of childhood! The world can be viewed in an entirely new light when you are 6 years old and sitting in a cul-de-sac with your friends - all manner of wonderful subjects can be thrashed out in such a plac-e, right thru to the meaning of life (thru the eyes of a 6 year old of course). You can keep a close eye on the street cricket the bigger kids are playing, or the basketball game being played in the streetside hoop, or wager whether it was Kylie or Brandon who was fastest on their bikes as they whizzed around the safety of the cul-de-sac, or just simply chat to the next door neighbour who is washing their car on the grass, telling them all about the new teacher at school or whatever. Life in a cul-de-sac isnt all bad for a 6 year old, and cul-de-sac gutters did have a reputation for being reasonably safe places for children, in communities where people get along. Souff My grandparents house was in a cul de sac street, and when we were older (10 years +) we were allowed to play with the neighbourhood kids in the front yard but even then we were never allowed near the road. If my parents had caught me out on the street I would have been bought inside and not allowed to play for the rest of the day! Just because it was a cul de sac did not make it safer, we often got cars zooming in and out because it was a 'quiet' street.

That's very true with Sibes, they are also popular with BYBers who breed them with little regard to temperament or health and pet stores who sell them to people who do not have the knowledge or ability to raise and train them in the way that they require. Siberians were bred to live happily in the tents and igloos with the Chukchi and their children, sure they can be stubborn and strong willed and like many Spitz breeds require dog savvy owners but human aggression is not a trait that should ever be seen in the breed. My dog has the sweetest and softest nature, despite the inherent stubborness, he has been around kids and people his entire life and has never displayed any aggression towards people or kids ever. All of the well bred Siberians who have been raised with good owners/families that I have met over the years have been the same.

I don't really care what breed it was, all dogs are capable of aggression. But I don't believe for a second that dogs aggress for absolutely no reason. There is always a reason even if it isn't apparent to the people watching. That does NOT mean I am in anyway condoning aggression, but no dog just goes and bites a kid on the face for absolutely no reason. We will never learn how to prevent or deal with aggression in dogs if we write off attacks as just something that happens for no reason. I groom dogs who will bite other dogs given the chance. Two weeks ago I was chatting to my client with one of my cats lying on the table snoozing. Clients dog jumped up and grabbed my cat by his throat - cat gave that dog no reason to bite him so why isn't the same possible with people? Well, I suppose the only reason is that this dog doesn't like cats - perhaps this Sibe doesn't like kids? Or the dog is very prey drive and was eyeing off the cat from the moment it got in there. ETA: Getting a bit off topic, but there's no way on Earth my parents would have let me sit out the front of our house in the gutter with no parental supervision when I was six years old!

Congrats on owning a beagle! Beagles are definitely suitable for a range of dog sports! I train my beagle in obedience but I know a few who do agility, tracking, I've seen one do flyball, lurecoursing etc. The Beagle Club of QLD hold a few lurecoursing days so it's worthwhile checking out their website. http://www.beagleclubqld.org/ The type of training and club or trainer you choose is largely dependent on what you want to do with her. Do you want a well behaved pet with good basic doggy manners or are you really keen to train her for certain dog sports? I'm in Brisbane myself so I can recommend some trainers here though I'm not sure how convenient they are to Ipswich. I am sure some DOLers from the area will come along and recommend some good trainers/clubs in the area. Most of Daisy's training is done through Steve Courtney from K9Pro who offers a range of distance learning packages you can do which are great http://www.k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=17 ETA: And please don't forget we must have pics! 10 week old beagle puppies are just adorable!!

I am seriously tempted but neither Daisy nor I have any coordination.

I've wanted one of those grippy leashes since I first saw it at a training workshop last year. *stamps foot*