The Spotted Devil

Ohhhh isn't she a sweetie! Lucky girl coming to work! This is a pup I looked after for a few months...he had several trips to Uni...no one got much work done but he had an awesome time!

She's still nuts. Having at least twice as much exercise plus training and she's got energy to burn. Shoving food down her throat (much to her delight) to keep the weight on. Lining was much better tonight although she did try to swap Walked out and quietly took the bumper off her and she was horrified - didn't try that one again! Finished off with some selection work on a hand thrown triple down the hill. She just threw herself off the wall with no sense of self preservation but picked them up very nicely. Must do some water work!

There's not much more info on ABC apart from background to the story. I'd say the police are keeping it quiet so as not to jeopardise prosecution.

lol BJ - you clearly haven't been on DOL for long enough.

SG has a LOT of verbals! That might suit? For me, the more I play with this stuff the more I realise what a bloody perfectionist I am and how that slows my dogs down. No handling system is going to fix that! I am also guilty of lumping. Anyway, I'm working on both of those things this Summer.

And tonight average. I blame the hormones. Hers that is.

I find having a system (whatever one) enables me to clearly communicate with the dogs and it enables them to run harder, stop asking questions and builds confidence. It also helps to problem solve ie the dog did X instead of Y, but I inadvertently told the dog to do X OR the dog doesn't really understand Y. Also helps when you are getting instruction from someone who understands your system and doing puppy foundations. Plus, as my main focus at the moment is retrieving I need a system laid out for me - I don't have the time to invent my own!

Do you not like the GD handling system like at Awesome Paws megan? I could never handle like ST due to how much running she does. As it is I need anti-inflams and single malt whiskey to recover! Love, love her focus on speed though - am working on that currently with my 2.

They got the bastard :)

I think that's a good approach.

I think as long as you are super consistent you can do anything you want! If you watch her DVDs she is incredibly consistent and her timing is brilliant - from tricks to handling. I essentially like the GD system as it has clear rules for the handler - and to be honest I need very clear rules lol. I have good rewards timing but always struggled with handling timing at speed. I think that's why I enjoy the thinking time in retrieving.

I'm not 100% sure - she runs so hard WITH her dogs that it wouldn't be easy. She is much less of an independent obstacle handler but that's not for everyone. Us GD devotees had it SO drilled into us about the evils of blind crosses that it's very hard to change!

Some people smoke and drink excessively and live long, healthy lives! There are always exceptions. I feed a decent quality dry and a bit of raw - my Springer has a cast iron stomach and does well on many brands (large variety from prize hauls). A few months back I went to a weekend trial and completely forgot her dry food - bought the best looking bag of dry from the supermarket - every time she had some she itched like crazy for half a day. I had put it in her food bin but didn't mix it properly so tried giving her mostly the cheap food OR mostly her normal food. Itched and stopped itching respectively over the next 12 hours. I was convinced!

Em came in season on Christmas Day (!) so she has gone particularly feral - energy levels and hunt have gone through the roof but fortunately she is super enthusiastic to train so I can manage her and Zig quite well. The last few days I've started concentrating on lining her straight with distracting dummies to push her head off line. Last night she was woeful but this morning it's clicked. I will start making it harder then take it to water to work on angle entries. Did some hand thrown triples down the steep front block to work on selection....and hopefully to tire her out.

I'd be prepared to use blind crosses on tunnels - love watching Silvia T do them on weaves - blew my mind the first time lol. I probably wouldn't on jumps - fronts and rears work fine and I don't need to over complicate it. Speed I'm working on as a completely different exercise.

Beat me to it. Exactly this. Get them on Musashi lysine ASAP. One of mine is on it for life as he was terribly ill as a kitten. As soon as we take him off it he gets congested. All my foster mums get put on it as a matter of course and my own cats get the same dose as Dizzy when they go into boarding.

Do you want to do RATG or retrieving BJ? You will find that a lot of retrieving folk won't have much to do with RATG as it's not challenging enough for them. However some will start their youngsters in RATG especially if they're trying to balance it with another dog sport eg obedience, showing, tracking etc. Retrieving and field work do require a lot of commitment - not only to train but to compete in. Send a PM to DOLer FHRP re field and retrieving and she should be able to put you in touch with someone. Also have a look at AWRC website for who is running training days - I cross posted something about NSW in the last few months in this forum. You will find it easier to find a training partner rather than rely on clubs in general as it's not always the sort of thing you can teach to a large class except at the very basic level. There are a couple of Weis running in Vic - if you have no luck with the NSW club get in touch with Vic as I'm sure they will have contacts. Hope that helps :) ETA: If you're really stuck re the RATG let me know and I'll shoot a message to a LH Wei person who should be able to help. Wait until after the Silly Season though as I will forget!

I have not had Its Yer Choice games fail yet.....countless puppies, adult dogs and adopted dogs. 2 food game is also great for dogs that scavenge - gets them focused on you as the source of food rather than the ground.

The cheaper ones will act as a barrier but are very unsafe in a crash. Your dog will be a projectile causing injury to you and the dog. Have a look at Milford - they do barriers for many models I think that are similar to genuine ones but cheaper.

Agree with above. A verbal marker is fine especially if you find it hard to coordinate everything but the clicker provides incredible clarity. I use both in training.

Will PM you - it's fun!

Kirty I would be working on impulse control games. I had a pug in my tricks class and she was just as you describe :) Funniest and best little dog and the owner said she couldn't do stays etc - 10 min of impulse control games and she really progressed - one of my favourite dogs ever.

Definitely broken! I play the victim of Bitey Face with Em - I just growl fiercely and wrestle her.....she gets really feral but has the most amazing bite inhibition. It's great fun.