The Spotted Devil

M.U.D. coats are definitely the best. They don't smell all that flash at times though... The other thing I love about the Hurtta is that it takes nanoseconds to remove. When it's freezing cold I can keep Zig warm until just before he goes in the agility ring.

Zig's every day coat… Zig in his Hurtta, tag's still attached… Em in her favourite coat, brand name M.U.D.

Gee thanks for your social media blackout support Tassie

I'd highly recommend it Tassie, I've been working through shape up foundation online with my young BC. No way would he have been capable of advanced handling at the Dave Munnings seminar if we hadn't, and i have yet to finish the foundation course yet I'm doing Foundation and Advanced, I'm not addicted at all :laugh: OMG did you do the Munnings seminar this last weekend as well? Addict much!!!!!!* *Disclaimer: I would do them all too but trying to watch the $$$ and focus on writing :D Yes :D It was awesome too. But I don't take holidays and agility is my hobby, so I blow all my annual leave on agility I used to own horses, when I look at the potential for $$$$ there, it makes agility look bloody cheap in comparison. Plus I'm not doing Nationals, which saves $$ too. Oh I always soon over the horse pics in OT and then remind myself how lucky I've got it when I see how much horse stuff costs!!! And the dedication to your sport stands out when you run your dogs Jess :)

I'd much rather a coat slightly too long than too short - a dog can lose a lot of heat if the loins aren't covered. I love the way the Hurtta drops lightly across the croup and the base of the tail. Beautiful coat but not for chewers!!!

I understand the concept of prophylactic ear cleaning but if you haven't had serious or ongoing issues do give the ears a chance to maintain their own "balance". I have found that my youngsters (under 1 year) will get a couple of mild ear infections - I treat with Epiotic and then leave them be. Both my floppy ear dogs swim but I can't recall the last time I had to treat their ears - that said they don't have heavy ear leathers so I suspect their ears dry out a lot more quickly. Your ES might have heavier ear leathers kamuzz and thus need a regular clean out - in that case ignore what I've just posted lol!

I'd highly recommend it Tassie, I've been working through shape up foundation online with my young BC. No way would he have been capable of advanced handling at the Dave Munnings seminar if we hadn't, and i have yet to finish the foundation course yet I'm doing Foundation and Advanced, I'm not addicted at all :laugh: OMG did you do the Munnings seminar this last weekend as well? Addict much!!!!!!* *Disclaimer: I would do them all too but trying to watch the $$$ and focus on writing :D

I'm very sorry to hear this but so good he is getting the care he needs

All good - thanks Kavik - found it on Yahoo Agility website. Literally fell across that just now megan - thanks - would have loved to do it but have already agreed to work that day. Gotta train other folk and their dogs so I can afford to get trained with my dogs lol. Tassie - I've promised myself no FB etc until I hand in my thesis. DOL is distracting enough!!!!

I'm not clever enough for FB :p

Yes, Ziggy has a Hurtta too. Beautiful coat - I only use it for camping or trialling in miserably cold weather. He has a couple of handmade lighter coats that he won which are fine for milder days. I have an old Weatherbeeter that I throw over the top if he has to toilet in the rain. The Springer just bolts up the back, gets soaked to the skin, comes down for a dry off and then goes again lol.

Ah ha! Thanks ness - i rarely check the group as it's mostly irrelevant to Vic. ETA: Aaaaagh - October is so far away - I just can't plan that far ahead at the moment. Sounds like such a great weekend.

Thanks megan - I've googled but there is no reference to the seminar apart from the date on her website.

Great to hear things are going well! Susan Garrett's Crate Games is excellent but perhaps a bit more complex than you're after although even doing just the first few games can make a huge difference. I start my pups off by just feeding them in their crate - make sure they have a good run around first - training and play so they are nice and relaxed. Pop them them in the crate with a stuffed Kong (or simply scatter dry food in there to begin with) and they soon get the idea that it's the best place in the world to eat and sleep. I only let them out when they are quiet and calm - even a few seconds to begin with. I do it when I'm home so I can supervise. During the day I leave the crate open and they will often wander in of their own volition.

I would be going back to the vet - see another one if necessary. I have discovered that you need to be a strong advocate for your pet when they are unwell. I know my dogs and cats best and my vets have learnt to damn well listen. I have picked nausea, pain, constipation and discomfort when my vets haven't. I would not be supplementing without veterinary advice though. Does he wear a coat to keep warm?

It really does depend on the dog - at this time of year my Dally wears a coat 24/7 unless he is being trained or exercised. And he's indoors (standing over a central heating vent with the cats) unless the sun is shining. My Springer runs HOT - only wears a coat after she's been training or competing in freezing water and I just can't get her dry enough and get her out of the wind. A toasty warm kennel sounds just the ticket for your Lab - put your hand inside it on a very cold day and see how it feels. Ensure it faces away from the prevailing wind, line the base with newspaper or straw for insulation and you can cover it with a blanket.

Yes - what Sandra said. Everyone will do something different. I keep it simple because I don't have a lot of freezer space and am a bit time poor. The adult dogs get a really good quality dry food about 4 nights a week and frozen chicken frames or a lamb neck as a meal on the other nights. An occasional raw egg. 4 Legs is one of the better quality packaged foods (no colours, flavours or preservatives) but I only ever use it for training - I also use cheese, tinned salmon, cooked chicken, raw chicken wings, boiled egg etc. I only use raw mince to mix with dry and stuff into Kongs.

I would be doing a lot of training and then setting up a controlled situation with a willing participant who throws around various balls BUT picks them up if your pup decides not to respond to your recall. If he recalls you throw the ball. And have several on you. Progressively make it more difficult until he realises that you are the only source of fun.

Lort Smith Animal Hospital here in Melbourne is doing some great work keeping owners and pets together.

Agree with Simply Grand. You can also use playing with each other as a reward for performing a behaviour - double whammy!

It depends who is training who lol! If you want her to bring it back don't reward by throwing it when she doesn't!

No dumb questions here :) NRM = non-reward marker. It indicates to the dog that the behaviour is not correct and the behaviour will not be rewarded. You can use it to "mark" the incorrect behaviour precisely. However I have found that they can be easily overused and I am careful how and when I use them. For example, if I make a handling error in agility and send my dog off course I tend to get cranky with myself and my shoulders drop. My poor dog has simply done as I asked but then thinks he is wrong and he loses confidence - an inadvertent NRM. So I always stay upbeat when I stuff up. Also, there is little point giving a NRM if the dog is really confused (surprising how often this is the case) - just make it simpler so the dog succeeds. By the way I like a dog to be succeeding 7-8 times out of 10. Otherwise it's too hard or too easy....although sometimes reward structure can be complex, especially in retrieving as the retrieve is inherently rewarding and I also want 100% success rate on the retrieve itself - but I add praise, food and free retrieves to reward a truly great retrieve. Sorry, I digress! When I do use a NRM there has to be a clear choice of correct or incorrect behaviour (both tempting!) and I laugh when I say "Gotcha!" Keeps my dogs SUPER upbeat and just hanging out for another go.

And vary how you deliver the food - get it off your body sometimes. I hide pots of food behind trees or I have someone else throw the food (agility - focus forward) or I use a remote rewarder or I set the food on a bait plate. With the latter, I might also ask the dog to perform a behaviour (be rewarded by me) and thus ignore the bait plate - really tests understanding. The next behaviour he gets rewarded by the bait plate and you continue alternating. Classic extension of IYC. I whoop and get super excited when he performs the correct behaviour so even if he performs the incorrect behaviour and beats me to the bait plate my "so sad" body language is as effective as a NRM.

It depends BC - see, I am constantly raising my criteria so will continue to reward with food etc. Asking for longer, further away, faster, tighter, under more distractions and only reward the best performance. Go back to an easy behaviour - might not reward that but I will link it with a more complex behaviour and reward that. Occasionally you still need to reinforce the behaviour - otherwise it may just fade away. It's Yer Choice is not about focus. It teaches pup impulse control and shaping and teaches them they have 2 options: choose to perform the correct behaviour and be rewarded OR choose to perform the incorrect behaviour and get nothing. It has been designed for agility work (dog is faced with a tempting but incorrect tunnel entry for example) but translates incredibly well to other aspects of training eg steadiness for Gundogs (sit to the shot and don't break and you get your reward).

Lol Diva - you and me both - I reckon I'd end up in the nearest lake. Sounds like great fun though!