BC

I would retire my dogs when I feel they're not getting the enjoyment, or as keen to work as they once were. If I found they were still keen, but there was too much stress on their bodies, I would possibly do something different with them at less impact, but if they're quite content playing in the yard, and lounging around I would retire them.

I dont either. Will take you forever and painful for the dog if it is matted. I would advise the client to either maintain their dog a bit better or it is all coming off. If only knots, just get your comb and scissors to seperate and brush out and then as SD said, do an all over puppy clip so they can manage this better, and also easier for you if they rebook. It sounds as though they're not overly fussed about their dogs appearance so they may just want it all taken off Good luck though

Yep, tell me about it. Took me quite a few months to get the bloody footwork and body language OK for obedience. I'm the dud not Cooper I have heard so much conflicting advise in regards to this issue, and just wanted to know what everyone thinks so thanks for that. I have very high standards so personally, I like to make sure Cooper and I are pretty much as spot on as we can be before we go to the next step in anything. This could be seen as a good or bad thing I have never done herding with Cooper yet, but believe me, when he has "herding brain" it takes about 3-4 commands to get him off the cats, or other dogs, so I dont think the obedience would affect the herding. Personally I think it would be more the other way around, with the herding affecting the obedience as his instinct is sooooo strong, so thats why I am still waiting a little bit longer. I actually think having the obedience and distance control with Cooper will help when I start herding, but I could be wrong. Will just have to see when the time comes. As I said, there is so much conflicting advise and I guess it all stems down to each individual dog and handler.

For example only, what if I wanted my Border Collie to show, trial in obedience, train in herding, and maybe agility throughout his life. Do you concentrate on 1 discipline at a time, as to not confuse the dog and when you have achieved what you wanted, move onto the next ? Or, do you do everything you want/can with your dog at the one time ? If so, do you find this confuses the dog, or your dog will not excel at one thing due to doing so many different disciplines ? Would like to hear any thoughts on this

I'm defiantely no tracking expert, but maybe he is not 100% sure what he is supposed to be doing. He can definately smell, but it is not really clear to him what he is supposed to be doing with it, eg, following that certain smell, and not getting side tracked by other smells etc !!! I'm sure it a similar principal to training for scent discrimination articles, and seek back in obedience. Taking it very slowly and one step at a time so the dog 100% knows, what smells you are wanting them to follow/recognise. Just my inexperienced thoughts, but maybe you need to start again so it is very clear to him. I'm sure others will have more of an idea on how to do this than me, but good luck :rolleyes: I love watching scent discrimination and tracking.

Yep, this ones got me too What a gorgeous angel, still looking down on you to this day

Mine get washed roughly every 4-6 weeks, sometimes longer.

It was only in CCD cos I'd already entered prior to him getting his title. He did a great job being a gawker, and with all the things going on, plus he's never been benched all day so I am very proud. I dont even know if I have to go back for finals with CCD, but I'm going to find out today. Heading off the "spirit of the west" competition today, Werribee against Geelong ODC's so Werribee. We need to keep the wooden spoon at Geelong :wink:

Good advise PW. That is the same comb I use after the brushing has been done to ensure there are no knots. He only looks funny in the pics cos hes not finished. You should see some dogs I do, after their quick clip and shaping prior to bathing them and after the blow dry prior to finishing them off Once he is all done, he will look beautiful, and he only looks very short cos you are not used to that length. Trust me, you will learn to love the length a bit shorter as it is so much easier to manage. In about a week or 2 the hair will look gorgeous and fluffy, with daily brushing of course :wink: But, I think you have done a good job so far. It's not an easy job, and will take you a little while before you get an eye for what you're doing and what you want. Just make sure next time all knots are removed from the tail, and you can leave that nice a fluffy, but good job anf if you want more length on the legs, also make sure there are no knots, and you can scissor them from the shoulder and rump down to blend in with the shaved body. The easiest is to think of them like a cyliner and leave them nice and curved and straight up and down. But, I also like all off the legs too. It is personal preference and the more you do it, you will work out what you do and dont like, and also, what is going to be easier for you to manage. You will be a pro in no time.

Thanks, it was a really good day. Set up was good, benching is pretty squashy, but I think thats pretty normal. The benches are also NOT numbered for obedience so you can pick where you want to bench in the blank section. This year dogs can be out and watching and walking around etc from the side line if their group is in, so they dont have to be continually benched up until it is there turn in the ring. They are actually preferring that this year as they will not be chasing competitors when they're up. The ring is also a bit of an odd shape, still rectangular, but more squarish if that makes sense. As it was the first day today, there was not too much crowd wise, so that was good, but there is still plenty of distractions with the rides and balloons etc. I would say the average entries for each class was around 5. Some more and some less. I think there are a few more bitches entered tomorrow though. Good luck everyone entered in the next few days

Won the ring today

Thats the beauty of the Clever Collar you do not need to put on or take off collars, u say ur dogs do not wear a collar at home what if they sould get out... accidents do happen heaven forbid. I dont like collars, especially on my BC as it splits the hair around his neck, and they're inside when I'm not home so they cant get out, thank heavens Maybe the person demonstrating them to us, was not doing it properly, as it had to be taken off and adjusted every time they wanted to use it as a limited slip, and then taken off and adjusted again when putting back to a standard collar. This was at least a good 12 months ago, so they could've changed since then, or had no idea what they were doing.

Try preparing his meal at different times during the day, with him barking, then put it away for later on when it is actually meal time. That way he is not getting what he wants by barking and it might break the habit of him telling you to hurry up, as he wont get it his meal then and there anyway. Apart from that I'm not sure what other advise to give you. As Dogfish said, I just tell mine to shutup and they do

I hear ya. Sometimes I look at dogs who break, or run away from their owners, and see the response from the owner. No wonder the poor dog is running, I would too if I was spoken to like that. Yes, borders are sensitive, Cooper being extra special ;) A slight change in my tone, or glare and the ears are back and he has the sulks, so I have to speak gently and always have a smile on my face. (even though sometimes I could throttle him ;) ) As you, I just quietly put him back in position and stay a bit closer, or walk back and forth rewarding every 20 seconds or so. No need for yelling and screaming ;) This is where the instructor should step in and have words to that person, and explain that if they continue to react that way, the dog will never be solid in any excersise, and that they are possibly interfering with the other dogs. What level are you in and do you have to go to class ?? Hope your little possum is OK

Vinnie is as kelpie x staffy and used to jump the 5 foot fence over to the neigbours without touching it, jumps into the back of the ute from a sit and does not touch the sides, even flinging himself nearly into the back window , and has jumped the 6.5 foot front fence when there was fireworks so I'm sure he could jump much higher if taugh how to and encouraged to. Cooper is not a big jumper, but he also loves jumping in the back of the ute, but always manages to just touch the sides.

I have seen a sample, and played around with it and chose not to buy one. The reason being, they are a lot of fiddling and adjusting when going from one collar to the other. It is just not suitable for what I do, but others may find them OK if they dont mind, swapping, adjusting etc every time you need to use it for a different purpose. Mine dont have collars on at home so I just find it easier to quickly put on the limited slip over their heards, or martingale on Vinnie "Mr Stubborn"

Easy fixed, when you call him and he decides to just wander over, turn the other way and run, run like the wind. He will think you are running away from him and soon pick up the speed. The next few recalls should be OK after that. I still do this training with Cooper sometimes, just to keep things interesting, or I will get someone to hold him when I call "come", until he is that pumped up, when they let go he runs like the wind towards me.

I would use the same pricipal as teaching the ramp etc in agility. Place it on the ground first and reward when they place the feet on the ramp, and then when they walk along it etc. Lift it higher gradually and they should be fine. You could use a command like "touch" to get them to walk nicely up the ramp from the bottom instead of trying to jump up on it. Should not take very long at all.

Poor Jemma girl Things like that really annoy me. When Cooper is not in the ring he is in his crate, or with me away from everyone working. Even before entering, I take that few minutes while I'm ring side to get him focused on me. To me this is just common sense Would've been nice to get another go but as you said, she probably would have been too nervous and shaken by that stage Borders are sensitive little souls too !! Fortunately nothing like that has happened to Cooper (yet ) Yep, the wonderful world of trialling.

You would've got NQ for the dropping at the start, but the judge has let you still have another go and complete the excersise for training purposes it sounds. In a trial situation, if my dog did not do it correctly from the start, or at worst the second time (after knowing I already NQ'd) I would pull him out completely and not continue at all. Remember, you're judged on the full excersise, including lead out, and correct positioning of the dog throughout the entire excersise. If you were not judged on this you could just take your dog anywhere in the ring, put it in any position and as long as it came to you when you called you would get a pass. This would make for more confusion when judging etc as there would not be really any set rule to base points on ? The main part of the excersise is the actual recall, but also the control you have over your dog and the focus your dog has on you, and its ability to follow all of your commands correctly. It can be very disheartening, when your dog does the actual task at hand perfectly, but has either lost a few points or NQ'd on the lead up, or a silly finish etc. Also, I know what you mean when a dog just wanders on in and yours is running flat out, but loses points for something. I think it is up to the discretion of the judge as to if they think the dog is too slow and they should deduct some points.

Best to leave it open to ooze and dry out. Being on the neck/face he wont be able to lick it. I have had a few abseses here with the cats, and drainage tubes with Vinnie and I know its ferral to look at, but it will dry up and go scabby. Just keep wiping it and keep it clean

The classes normally consist of general socialisation with the other puppies, and basic commands, sit, drop, and learning some sort of recall etc. You should also get little bits of homework to do every week. Puppy class is fun.

Cooper loves shaking hands a waving When he is in a sit however, and I am giving him a command that he does not fully understand, he tries to shake my hand if he is confused. Actually, he does it everytime he is confused regarldess of the position When I was originally teaching him the left finish, I would get ahead of myself sometimes and do it without food when he did not fully understand what I was wanting. My command is "left" and he would sit there and look at me and then lift his paw to shake my hand, but that was my fault. At least I know now when he's not too sure. I think all tricks are fun, but I think some need to be taught at the right time, eg, bow. Go for the tricks though. The dogs enjoy them and it breaks up the formal obedience training

me too !!!!! I have to look away as the urge is so strong

I did a little bit of clicker training but never really continued with it. The main reason was to use something with a different sound to get a bit more excitement happening. When training Cooper, I use "yes" then feed, when he is in the right position etc. When using clicker I clicked when I would usually say "yes" and fed after the click. So I substituted the word "yes" with a click. When first training him with the clicker I would use it all, so he knew what it meant, but it got a bit confusing on my part saying "yes" click and feed but he got it in the end. I never really continued as the clicker was just another thing I had to hold along with the lead and the food but Cooper still responds to it quite well.