huski

If he has a good drive for balls, have you thought about using one as a reward to build his recall? A ball on a rope toy is awesome for recall games.

I think if you took two different dogs and raised them exactly the same you may very well have a different outcome if their temperaments are different. However if you adapted your training methods to suit each individual personality you could end up with two dogs who appear to have similar temperaments. This is where nature comes in. You can build confidence in a nervous dog who has weaker nerves, but it may require more time, effort and a different approach than what you'd do with a dog that is naturally confident.

I think a large percentage is nurture but nature is the foundation you build on. I think of it like this: You can have a top of the line sports car but if you can't drive it, you can crash it easily. You can drive an old bomb well and never have an accident but it won't ever go as fast as a Ferrari.

I'm not sure how you can make sweeping statements like the above and then say you are being taken out of context. There are many things we ask dogs to do that aren't entirely natural or things they are "meant" to do, in order for them to live harmoniously in our society. Crates aren't "bad news" they are a tool that can be used well or incorrectly depending on the person using it. Something that can have so much benefit can't be bad on it's own, people who mistreat their dogs will do so with or without crates.

I'm not sure how I am taking it out of context, if you knew all the above you'd have no reason to say you "hate crates when they are used routinely". There is plenty of benefit to using crates routinely, for both dog and owner, and it doesn't come at expense of the dog. Anything can be misused or used to abuse a dog, the issue isn't with the tool it's with the person using it.

That implies there is no benefit to the dog to being crate trained. Crating benefits dogs, it's not just convenience for people. Dogs that suffer stress and anxiety often love having the option of going to a crate, it makes the dog feel safe and secure and gives them a safe place to escape to if they are feeling stressed or anxious. Our husky seeks out his crate if there is a thunderstorm, he's sensitive to noise and being in his crate helps keep him calm and his anxiety levels lower. Containment (crating, pens etc) allows us to prevent pups from getting into trouble and learning bad behavior when you can't directly supervise them. That isn't convenience, it's responsible management. It also takes time and effort to properly crate train a dog, lazy people just after something for convenience often won't put the effort in to properly crate train the dog. When you meet a dog that has never been taught to relax or self settle this is a problem that crate training could have prevented. Crating can be convenient but there is also a lot of benefit to the dog.

Don't forget RSA that the most important part is having a good training foundation and if he is doing the course just to do the course and is having fun on his own without you it will cause problems in the long run. Even when you use rewards there is a difference between using treats or a toy as a reward at the end of the exercise and a dog that is motivated to do the exercise to partake in the reward experience with us. If his primary motivation is to run the course, not to work with you to earn the rewards you have on offer it can create problems.

I (obviously) don't do agility or intend to so I can only speak from my experience and the way my mind works. Having my dogs lack drive or speed or enthusiasm for an exercise isn't something I've experienced before but I don't do agility so maybe I would find a new challenge to work through if I did!

I think there is a difference between a dog having value for a position because of reward history and a dog that enjoys taking obstacles just because the action itself is rewarding. If the dog has value for it because the exercise itself is fun it will self reward even if you are offering another reward. It doesn't give you a lot of control if the dog has more value for the exercise than what you have to offer. Not sure if that makes sense :)

I guess don't see any purpose to an obstacle or exercise being rewarding on it's own. I ask my dogs to do a lot of inherently boring things (stays, heel work etc) but because I build a lot of value and drive for the rewards I offer they do anything I ask with speed, focus and enthusiasm. IME it gives you ultimate control if your dog sees any exercise as the vehicle to get it to having a reward experience with you rather than a certain exercise holding value on it's own. IME training a dog to have a lot of value for an exercise or obstacle can be a bit of a slippery slope.

Thanks Megan, that's exactly what I mean. I meant if I release my dog to a reward she wouldn't continue taking the obstacle, this to me is desirable. If I want to use a terminal bridge word to say the dog is getting it right and to continue what they are doing I say "good". I fade the good once the behavior is proficient and if I tell my dog to take a tunnel she will do it at full throttle with just the word "tunnel". I have used a clicker for some things, but I don't find it necessary when I have a great verbal communication system already established. I primarily use shaping to train behaviors, Wisdoms heel work for example was 100% trained with shaping (no luring) and 95% of it was with a toy. I didn't use a clicker just verbal markers. ETA: whether you use a clicker or a verbal marker, the marker only has meaning when you assign a meaning to it. I could use the word bananas instead of yes and it would mean the same thing.

Agree although I'd emphasise that they *are* misused and as people become more accepting of them, they're misused more often. I can't say I've met or know of anyone who misuses crates, but as you said you hate crates when they are used routinely my definition of misuse probably differs to yours.

TSD that's an interesting point re choosing the reward you offer. I see a lot of dogs that will self reward on equipment (not just in agility, some dogs will do it with the dumbbell in obed etc). If I send my dog to the tunnel but as she's about to enter it I call out "yes" (her release to reward command) she won't continue taking the tunnel, she will divert to have the reward experience with me. Similarly I can recall her from a decoy if I send her to take a bite on the sleeve. It's important to me that my dogs see equipment/an exercise as the vehicle that gets them a reward with me, not a reward in itself. Nothing is more rewarding that responding to my commands.

There are some dogs that require a higher level of management than other dogs. I think crating can benefit every dog and owner, but for some dogs it is more of a necessity than an option. I love the benefits of having a crate trained dog so would always crate train regardless of the type of dog I had.

Esky I still stick with 2-3% of their body weight unless the dog has a fast metabolism. Wiz has a very fast metabolism as well as being extremely active so will eat more like 5% of her body weight each day. For performance dogs I feed Super Fuel (natural supplement) in meals each day and give them a drink of Go Dog before and after heavy work outs. My dogs eat bones daily regardless of what they are doing the next day.

I love crates and use them every day. I have crates set up my house and we have them set up a t work too. The dogs are trained to sleep in them over night, are taught to switch off as soon as they are put in their crate and would happily go to and stay in their crates for hours if required. I use them in the car, training, when going to trials etc. For me it is critical that my dogs are taught how to relax and switch off. Once they can do this in their crates it is easy to transfer that to mat or place training in the house too. I find crates very practical. I don't want my dogs loose in the house 24/7 or having free access to me all of the time for many reasons. ETA: I know people with high end sport or working dogs that do pen or crate the dogs most of the day and only really interact with them when training them. I understand why they do this but it's not how I enjoy spending time with my dogs, as I like them to be in the house with me, go out on outings with me, chill out with me etc not just train. However there is no question that deprivation like that can be used on many different levels and can have lots of benefit.

Wiz has a higher prey drive than food drive and will always choose tug or ball over food. However she has a high food drive too, so I have the best of both worlds. I do prefer working with prey drive overall but there is also a lot of benefit to using food. I trained Daisy 100% with food and she still works awesomely, I never found it impeded us in any way. Playing tug is only fun if the dog enjoys it :) I know dogs with high prey drive and moderate food drive, high prey drive doesn't always equate to high food driven. when selecting a dog I would choose one with high drive for both.

Will she play with a ball on rope?

Aussielover it's never too late to start really, its more about how much time and effort you want to put into it. Regardless of whether you are using food or toys as a reward, it's really important to build a good work ethic by making the dog try hard and raising the bar at the right time. If you always pay for mediocre work or moderate effort, you won't see any improvement.

I will go against the grain here RA and say if your dog has little to no genetic prey drive I would probably be inclined to focus on working with food. If you can only ever develop your dogs desire to tug for a couple of seconds on a cool day with no distractions around etc etc the reality is that your dog does not have enough prey drive to make that reward useable for agility anyway. If your dog will only tug for food or when a toy is stuffed full of food it is in food drive. Not prey drive. I know some people who have developed tug with food rewards and their dogs ended up valuing tug on it's own but the dog had to have a level of prey drive genetically there to bring it out in the first place. I know many successful competitors who only use food and don't suffer for that decision. It's useful to have a dog that likes both rewards but it's not necessary, I find a lot of the time people who think you need tug to build drive in a dog don't understand how to use food properly. Just my two cents!

I bought my X-Trail specifically as a dog car and I can see why so many dog owners have them. IMO they are the perfect dog car! I HATE the new model but if you like the old one they are running them out and if you buy now you will likely get a great deal.

Don't chance it, don't look for signs the dog might not be friendly, just take whatever steps you need to secure it so the dog can't come into your yard. I would contact the RE as you have and I'd also have a chat to the neighbours next door. If it was me I would be really worried my dog wasn't safely contained in his yard. (well, if it was me I would have noticed the fencing wasn't adequate for my dogs, but anyway...)

Awesome work RS!

Hey Yonjurro! if you post up a vid when the tugs arrive I'm sure we can give you some pointers. :)

If you get it right you will end up with a dog that sees another person and connects that 'trigger' to the awesome game they play with you, which means seeing another person will boost the dogs confidence and drive due to what reward history tells them. For a SFE we really want the dog to completely ignore the person examining them, I know showing isn't as strict as obedience (in that the dog will lose points for moving) but the goal is really the same. Building a dogs confidence in the SFE is a really common problem, we have and do use targets but in a slightly different way, this vid may help give you some ideas; I think I get you, so instead of a food reward, have a fun game to play? Is your target the yellow round thing on the ground in that video? That video shows exactly what I want basically! Plus a mouth exam. Yep The target in the video is the orange frisbee on the ground You could use a toy or food depending on what the dog has most drive for. The dog in the video above is being trained with food :)