huski

Here's Cosmolo's website http://www.underdogtraining.com.au/ - not sure what Nekhbet's is but I am sure she will help if you PM her on here!

Personally I wouldn't PTS any one of my dogs for a behavioral issue without getting a professional opinion first, which is not something that can be given over the net.

Bahahaha I do that stuff with my little sisters all the time "YES!" when they do something good or sometimes I've even gone to pat them on the head, I usually realise in time before it looks creepy though

Knew it would had to have been from the same lines TSD!

I thought it was a great segment, a great promo for rescue dogs and for the benefits of training your dogs in general and a good way to show the GP what our dogs are capable of. Loved the ESS at the start!!

Nice list SA! I particularly agree with the bolded points!

I'm certainly not trying to say that because they are pet owners it should be boring (quite the opposite!) but just that you have to work in the constraints of the class. I'd LOVE to teach people to train just how I prefer to but that's not going to happen in a class setting or at least with the size of the classes I usually have, and at the end of the day, most of them aren't interesting in the level of dedication it would take. I have had people in my classes who would prefer to spend the class heeling up and down bashing the paddock (tough though as that's never going to happen in one of my classes), mostly because that's what they know and are comfortable with, I think. That a lot of people find obedience (or training their dog in general) boring is one of the other reasons I am even more passionate about obedience and encouraging clubs to be more progressive in the methods they use and the way they structure their classes.

Completely agree Wuffles - I am very much the same

Many (if not most) obedience clubs are run like that, but times are changing and they will have to change too in order to survive. However it is difficult in a class situation especially in the lower levels when you are working with pet owners who just want basic obedience and aren't interested nor dedicated enough to commit to training their dogs as much as you are - that's not to say that class should be boring, you have to work at the level of effort they are willing to put in and if you start to try getting them to learn or train more complex obedience exercises they will lose interest. You have to make it relevant to what they want to learn and take away from the experience. I don't do much in terms of putting people through heel patterns in my class, though we do some, I tend to focus on training focus work, teaching heel position, stays, basic recalls, how to teach drop and stand, we do a bit of rally-o stuff, I get them to do little things like train hand touches etc. Amongst that I always try to do a bit of one on one time with everyone if it's only for a minute or two. I also talk a fair bit in class (anyone who knows me will not be surprised by this) and the biggest reason I do this is to break up the practical parts of class so people can rest their dogs in between exercises. It can also be challenging because you have to work within the constraints of the class, I could have anywhere from 5 - 20 people in one class. Teaching concepts like training in drive (however basic) is not going to work practically in big classes, so I try to teach people how to motivate their dogs by teaching them how to 'have a party' with their dog and mixing up how and when they reward their dogs. If I have someone who wants more than what I am covering in class or I spot someone who has a lot of potential I always pull them aside and have a chat to them to gauge how interested they are in learning more.

Wuffles

I'm sure lots of other more experienced obedience people will be able to give you some ideas, but I personally keep training heel work to very very short bursts (well I try - I think a lot of us are guilty of pushing too much HW, I know I am). Paddock bashing in a class taught Daisy that heelwork was boring and a time to switch off, so I had to do a lot of different things to fix that and to make it more exciting. A couple of suggestions: - Have you done any pivot/perch work with her? i.e. getting her to balance her front paws on a phone book or similar and teaching her to move her back legs around it. Daisy LOVES this exercise and it also gives you nice left and left about turns. Terranik has a video here: to give you an example. This is a great way to train heel position too - it will definitely be one of the first things I teach with my next puppy! - If she has trouble focusing don't push heelwork too far, if all she can focus for is ten steps, do five and then reward her and build her ability to focus on you in heel work gradually. - The biggest one for me was learning to be more unpredictable with when I reward my dog because as soon as I became too predictable she'd start to get bored because it was more of the 'same old same old'. So I will reward at random times - it could be when we line up at the 'start post' in training, it could be two steps into heel work or ten or twenty, it could be after my first left turn or the stand or the drop etc. - Make sure you finish training when she's still really engaged with you. If you are walking up and down etc in class until she switches off and wants to play with the other dogs, you have gone way too far.

But if she's bored and doesn't like it, why not train it another way? (ETA: not saying that in a critical way, just curious! If my dog was bored with the way we were training something, I'd find another way to do it rather than persevere and risk her disliking it more and more)

Cherry - because when she was a puppy, the colouring on her ears reminded Mum of cherries. Micha - because he's a Siberian Husky and needed a Russian sounding name (it was that, or Zhivago!) Daisy - I had a lot of other names picked out for her but when we first saw her pic at 5 weeks of age she just looked like a Daisy! I have two names shortlisted for my next pup, I love them both already!

Unfortunately that's typical of a lot of obedience classes, I certainly wasn't able to train Daisy that way because she totally shut off. IMO a lot of what makes obedience boring is how people are taught to train it. LOL I definitely don't think Daisy does anything to please me but she knows that doing xyz and will give her access to the super rewards I have ;)

Ons - I think most seven month old pup would hate training if it was really 'formal'!

We've only really just started agility training at the end of last year, we aren't competing yet and although I love it and Daisy loves it, I am still most passionate about obedience and if I could only do one sport it would be obedience, hands down. I don't do obedience classes (although I do instruct them) with my dogs, I love the methods and training 'style' I use to train obedience, I love having that partnership with my dog, I love the challenge of making something that many view people and dogs view as "boring" (i.e. heelwork!) something my dog can't wait to do and finds highly rewarding. I find watching agility fun but I much prefer watching obedience, to me I love watching the partnership between the dog and the handler (not saying that agility isn't a partnership, it's just different). I also love training more complex exercises like scent discrimination, seek back, dumbell retrieve etc. Now I'm an instructor I am also really passionate about introducing more progressive methods to our club - coming into agility from obedience was awesome because IMO overall in terms of training methods, it is a much more progressive sport than obedience. I hate seeing people in my classes who've been told their dog lacks potential because they are a more difficult dog/breed or because they don't do well with the method they've been taught to use - but it's a great feeling when you show them another way to do it and both dog and handler thrive and improve in leaps and bounds. I think part of it also is that I'm quite a naturally competitive person and I started out going to obedience classes four years ago because my dog was such a nightmare - I have lost count of how many people I've encountered over those four years that have told me my dog would never make a good obedience dog etc. I started out using more "traditional" methods and found that didn't work so I went and found something that did work and I enjoyed that challenge, and seeing the positive change in my dog and our relationship. So I think that experience also makes obedience more special to me, because of how hard we've worked at it. I enjoy both sports, but obedience will always be the sport I am most passionate about And yes I do see making it fun and exciting for people who view it as boring, a challenge I am more than willing to take up!

Congrats on the UDX passes!! Fantastic!

Yep, we recommend that you bring a crate, toys, food rewards, water for your dog. And also a notepad and pen if you want to take notes

Yep not a problem! Looking forward to seeing you there GG

GG, I believe there are still some non-member places left. You can shoot me an email at [email protected] if you have any qs

I have no qualms admitting I am cautious around staffies when I have my dogs with me - great with people but I don't trust them with my dogs unless I know them and the owner very well. I dont run my dogs with dogs I don't know as a general rule.

The majority of dog parks in our city are fully fenced and in my experience bigger, more open areas are far more safe than the fully fenced ones that cram a huge number of highly aroused dogs into the one small area.

It's taken me around two years to decide on my next breed, anyone who knows me knows how excruciatingly picky I am - I definitely know what I don't want. I would have another beagle and another Sibe but I wanted something with a lot more drive whilst still having a softer temp. Very happy with my choice now and can't wait to get my new pup

If I couldn't rev her up (highly unusual - even if it comes apart once we're in the ring due to my crappy handling etc I have never had any problem getting her revved up before hand), I'd withdraw. Daisy is a dog that must be 'in drive' or there is no point going in the ring, if she isn't revved up and 100% into it then she will scent. I see some dogs that can still go out and get a pass for flat work, but Daisy is not one of them, she must be in drive and focused otherwise we won't make it through an exercise, her scent drive is too strong.

I'd be looking at working lines if you don't want anything with an excessive slope, I know not all show GSDs have them, but I see some that make me go But I like a dog that looks like it could work, so I'm biased that way. I'm not a fan of those massive flat backed GSDs either, though.