The Spotted Devil

Congratulations Sounds like you both had a wonderful time! Nothing wrong with staying in Novice for a bit either - enjoy the ride :D

9 Dalmatians thus far is the tally I've been given. Wow! Congratulations to all!

They can wear a flat collar but I don't think tags are allowed - even if they were I wouldn't leave them on. Do you have a pre-ring routine? If your dog will tug or hand touch or play with you in some way before they go in the ring it's a good indication of their level of focus. Good luck, relax and have fun

What rubbish!! Plenty of dogs have started agility at 3+ years and been very succesful at the sport. In fact at 3 you might find him easier to train as he'll probably be more settled and sensible than an adolescent Vizsla :) Yep! I didn't start doing ANY agility with Ziggy until he was 2. It was really difficult to harness his madness so I worked on lots of fun obedience and focus first. With what I know now I would have taught him a lot more foundation work in those early days but we caught up and he's doing fine. Em has been doing foundation work just about since the day she came home - lots of fun stuff of course - but that's all with the benefit of hindsight plus she's a very different dog to Zig.

Ah yes, like last weekend's retrieving trial. It was -2C when I got out of my sleeping bag Luckily I do have a damn good set up. LP - try the show ring thread too - I got a great suggestion for last minute dog friendly accommodation in Holbrook on my way home from Sydney.

I take it you don't want to borrow my tent :laugh:

Seita - that makes sense if you drop your arm mid jump because you are indicating something different. It's nice to have a sensitive dog, trust me! So, you need to support her over the jump but as long as the height of your arm is consistent it shouldn't matter. You will find young "green" dogs need much more support than experienced dogs - I can send my lower drive Dally out to a jump and run like mad to get in position but I have to support my young higher drive Springer much much more. It comes with confidence - you and the dog :D I have to be careful what I SAY with Em - one word and that's a bar down....this is a dog that clears 600 height lol I even have to be careful of "weave" at the moment - in high distraction she finds that all too much. Run at them, support with my arm and she weaves like a pro. ETA: If you can get someone to video your training sessions it really helps. Often you can see stuff (and cringe lol) that you're doing and understand why the dog is dropping bars or the instructor is yelling at you!

Seita - what handling system are they teaching? Essentially the arm is used to indicate the route the dog is to take not the height they have to jump - if the dog is looking forward leave it up to them to judge take off and jump height. Yes, keep your arm at a consistent height but you will bring your arm closer to your body to bring the dog in and extend your arm to send the dog out. Does that make sense? I'm not very good at explaining these things! My Springer jumps at 400 but clears them sufficiently to jump 600 height - she has a massive take off too so spends a lot of time in the air - not ideal in terms of the height she jumps but that is her style and related to her structure. Sometimes we practice by holding the arms at our sides and just using our shoulders to indicate direction - really fun. Great pics E&H! Serps is a lot to learn by your 3rd lesson so relax and enjoy

Info I have from another list suggests that insurance issues could not be resolved between ANKC and AFA. ETA: I'm not involved in flyball - just picking up info from the interwebz

From the ANKC website: The ANKC/AFA Flyball Agreement including the Rules was terminated from 1 July 2012. Existing titles on the ANKC Ltd database will remain however no further AFA Flyball Titles will be accepted by ANKC Ltd.

There's a thread in OT about the exact same thing - here

I don't have a lot of showing experience but I would tend to agree with Rebanne. I have actually taught Zig not to wag against walls/objects and he rarely does it - problem is I can't really explain how I taught it although rear end awareness exercises such as in the video have probably helped. I guess I just praised him when he moved his rear end away from the wall. It also happens in particular circumstances so I can work it into our training.

Sounds like my well-trained mob. Ginger invites herself on the bed but only when feeling sick or in the aftermath of a dental. She knows the rules. And no-one on the bed before 5.30am. It used to be no-one on the bed but Ginger offered herself as a footwarmer. Who could refuse at 5.30 on a freezing morning? She's shaped me to perfection. I've learnt the value of flexibility, particularly when you're sick! :) Exactly :laugh:

So.....my training with Em is going really well. When she arrived as an 8 week old puppy the rule was "no dogs on the lounge." That lasted all of 3 days. Definitely not allowed on our bed though. Except when we were camping but that's quite different as she has to sleep near my feet. Unless it's really cold. I've just spent the whole weekend in bed with a rotten cold. The cats had a rotating roster to keep me company of course and Mr TSD tried to maintain order. Em has spent most of the time on my bed. But no snuggling on the pillow was allowed. Well at least not when the cats had claimed it. And it's only because I'm sick mind you. As I say, she's got me very well trained :)

Great work! Not the nicest conditions that's for sure. Hastings always put on a nice trial though.

Glad she's home safe and sound. Fingers crossed for a textbook recovery :)

I'm so sorry

Beautiful

It's great to look back on the training goals I set - feels like years ago :laugh: Zig & Me What a whirlwind 6 months. I could not ask for any more from my Spotted Devil in terms of agility - his weaves, contacts and responsiveness have gone through the roof! I think my handling has also improved. Completed his JDO title and stunned me by wining ADO at a recent trial. Topped it all off with consistently fantastic runs at the Agility Nationals including an ADO qually that I'd like to bottle plus JDM and ADM quallies. His attitude throughout our trip was also great, tugged to and from every ring and remained focused, even after flirting with every bitch in sight particularly the Spotted ones All the fitness work we did really paid off, although we didn't get time to start running with the bike. Unfortunately the Dally Club ET clashed with our Nationals road trip. Now that the pressure is off agility, I'm going to put a heavier emphasis on obedience. Em & Me Everything started to click in a hurry with this little dog - from struggling through our first Novice retrieving trials to now having two 1st places, one 2nd and one 4th One win away from being bumped up into Restricted so I need to get my act together. She really loves it and we are both enjoying the journey. I really need to concentrate on walk up retrieves, double rise, two bird, steadiness in the hide and continue to work towards cold blinds. Not too much water work over the next month as it's just freezing - she doesn't seem to care though! Em has started in agility/jumping, had a win in JD at her first trial and picked up her Novice Jumping title at the Agility Nationals with two passes to spare. A 2nd place in Canberra, a 3rd and 4th in the Nationals heats and 2nd in the finals. To see her dragging me into the ring after struggling with the busy environment all week made my heart sing :) I'm still doing bits and pieces of obedience but not working towards any trialling goals as there is only so much you can do at one time. Heading overseas for at least 6 weeks at the end of July so will squish in as much fun with the dogs as possible before I go - I expect to get serious training withdrawal :laugh:

Yep, In fact I remember someone saying that at a seminar I went to years ago. Talking about some breeds in the US and popular sire syndrome - everyone using an imported dog young and the dog and his progeny going on to have hassles as they aged and it being near impossible to find lines clear of that dog 5 years down the track. They went on to say that they think it better to only use them a few times while young and then when they reach double figures if they are healthy and able to do the deed. and the progeny from the litters they sired when they were young are healthy then they are a good contributor to the gene pool so let them be used a few more times. Definately agree and something i think about often. It was 1 of those things that really sat with me and I couldn't tell you much else from the weekend but I have always remembered that. Basically it was expanded on saying a dog should have no more contribution then a bitch would during the same time frame (and I think they said 2 to 7 years of age as average breeding ages for most breeds). At the point where you would retire a bitch from breeding, the dog should be left to continue to enjoy his life while you wait and see. By the time he is 10 you should have some 5 or so year old progeny to evaluate, as well as the health of the dog itself and if all of that is fine then use him a few more times. I know I can definitely think of examples where a dog has been used prolifically only for problems to turn up in the progeny at 2 to 3 years of age by which stage there are already another dozen litters on the ground. Very interesting - thanks for posting. Some really good thoughts. My Springer is not yet 2 and I recently met her 13 year old sire. Deaf as a post but otherwise looks and moves really well. I was very impressed.

Em and I had a great weekend away retrieving.....although camping in -2C after 10 days of camping for the Agility Nationals was a bit hard to get my head around at first! Very glad we went, though, as Em won Novice on Saturday with 171 points and came 2nd on Sunday! She out scored the winning dog on Sunday in her 1st and 3rd runs so kind of glad I stuffed up her 2nd run as that gives us a bit of breathing space going into Restricted. I went on the thrower for the 3rd run of AA on Saturday, laid blinds for the 1st run of Restricted on Sunday and had 2 throwers to work in their 2nd run! It was FREEZING on Saturday, in particular, but I didn't have one "no bird" all weekend :D Em was pick up dog for Restricted on Saturday - she thought that was a real hoot! So....to the runs.... Saturday. 1st run - the dogs were feeling very fresh and a number of them broke, which really put them at a disadvantage. Land mark with lots of trees so the dogs only saw the top of the arc. Em was very bouncy and also broke but she pulled herself up within half a metre of me. I held her nice and steady before releasing her. She misjudged the depth and over ran the mark but didn't veer left like many of the dogs did. Hunted hard and methodically, picked up the game and delivered to hand. 2nd run - over water mark. The water was more of a "splash" - most of the dogs could run through it but Em had to leap through going out and swim coming back with the game in her mouth. Not a bad line - a little arc coming back but delivered nicely to finish it off. Very steady to shot. 3rd run - in water mark. This was very, very cheaty and most dogs took the opportunity to do exactly that. It didn't help that the wind was dragging the game straight towards the bank. Em took a nice line to the water and then you could see her hesitate as she thought about the easiest way to pick it up. Knowing how her mind works I called out "SWIM!" and so she did - lol - straight out and straight back. The judge said she took a straighter line than the dogs she beat. Not bad for a Springer! Sunday. 1st run - over water mark. Body of water that was part running, part swimming and very tempting to cheat. Em didn't take the perfect line going out but it wasn't horrendous - she did cheat coming back though but she was not on her lonesome there! I know what we need to practice anyway. 2nd run - I completely stuffed this up. It was a really simple land mark in my opinion. Just before Em ran she saw someone she knew leave the run to go to another stake. She just could not take her eyes off them. When we got to the firing point she was still looking in that direction. I looked down before I closed the gun and she was looking in the right direction but apparently that was only for a brief second and then her head swung around again. She completely missed the mark. I realised this but did not take enough time to set it up as a blind and had to do some very messy handling to pick up the game. I am very cranky with myself for mucking this up so badly but will put it down to novice handler and novice dog 3rd run - in water mark. This was a pretty tough run for a novice dog. The game hit the water and with the strong wind it immediately floated towards the far bank. Problem was that as soon as the dogs entered the water they had a long swim to get there and couldn't see nor smell it. So a number did the same thing and swam towards the bank. Em was the 2nd dog to run and, whilst I didn't see the first dog run, I knew it hadn't got through and I could see the traps. Em hit the water, swam and then headed for the bank. I decided that I'd stuffed up the 2nd run so this was to be a training exercise. I handled to keep her in the water and she took it BUT hit the other side of the dam and got out. She was down wind of the game so she thought it was further up. It was thick scrub and she loves hunting in that sort of cover, plus beyond the thick scrub it was clear grounds and I realised if she got up there and started hunting we'd be in a pickle. It DID take some convincing to get her back in the water (apparently I could be heard at AA yelling out "SWIM!" :laugh:) but I managed to handle her to the game AND get her to swim all the way back to me instead of running the bank. Bloody brilliant and I was grinning from ear to ear. Judge was very happy too. Only 2 dogs finished and Em was the only one to swim out AND back. So a fine weekend but I am enjoying the luxuries of a hot shower and a flushing toilet like you wouldn't believe

Hi megan - my club asked me to develop a puppy games program for agility mainly but it will be suited to pets or dogs destined for any dog sports. I am rather obsessed with games = training = work = games. I want to teach the basics of shaping, reinforecement schedules and basically make it fun. Special focus on the relationship between puppy and it's owner. If it works out we will also consider a series for older dogs. Also a tugging workshop down the track perhaps!

Great work Puppy games starts this Thursday night - hope to see you and your baby puppy!

I do get quite a few comments, but mostly from dog sports people who appreciate how different it is to train a Dalmatian and a working English Springer Spaniel!

Too funny