Vickie

It's all about the fun :D Here are a couple of clips of large heavy dogs with good handlers who are obviously loving their agility

I hardly ever put the Aircon on, but if I don't, 40 out = 40 in just checked inside temp...27 with aircon on. Seems comfortable to me & dogs are choosing to lay inside in cool spots like tiles

We are on our 5th day over 40 degrees. Dogs have spent every day all day inside with me in the airconditioning. Every 3-4 hours I let them out for a stretch & toilet break. Each time at least one or 2 of them will go past the shaded deck to lay (and pant) right in the middle of the backyard in the stinking hot sun until I call them back in again. Why on earth would they do this???

Vickie, sorry I just wanted ask you about the bit I bolded above? Because I'm a bit confused about what you mean? Are you just saying that whether I decide to use my method, or theirs, the important thing is to stick with the same method? Sorry, I did not explain that really well. What I mean is this: If I am instructing someone, it makes little difference to me as an instructor, whether they wish to compete or not. I will still try to teach them the same things the same way, because I believe that the method I use a.)works b.)increases enjoyment for the dog and c.)is the safest option for their joints. People succeeding = enjoyment. People enjoyment = dogs enjoyment. Often when people muck around without instruction or a clear plan, they get frustrated because they do not know why things aren't working well. This = not fun for person or dog. To give some specifics...I train my dogs a command to run fast straight ahead over a straight line of jumps, regardless of how far behind I get. I would also train this to someone who didn't wish to compete as it is clear, useful & fun for the dog. Not training this can result in a dog loping along waiting for the handler or spinning & barking in frustration. Doesn't matter whether you are mucking around or running a world cup, the trained confident dog will always be happier. Same with turns, I teach signals for turns so that they know they will be turning before they take the jump they have to turn at. As well as the above enjoyment/confidence reasons applying here, a dog that knows it is turning will not land awkwardly & put unnecesary pressure on it's joints. This is especially importatnt for both large & fast dogs. Make sense now? No need to reinvent the wheel, there are a few methods for teaching weaves that work and lots of information on the web/youtube about each of them: 3 pole method 2x2 method guide/channel method V/offset method I start luring with 3 poles & very quickly switch from lure to reward & ask the dog to offer that behaviour. Once it is proofed from all angles/speeds, I add 2 poles & then straight to 12. I believe that you can only train this at home as it needs to be done 2-3 times a day every day for a week or so. This is just the method I have chosen & it works for me, the other methods are just as good. hope this helps

So glad to hear both are doing well

Where are you training? And how old is digby? If you do not wish to compete, I don't see a problem with you jumping him lower (but I wouldn't jump him too low) as for the weaving, if you really want to do it your way, I would train him to weave at home & skip the weaves at training until he is weaving independently. Once he is weaving, noone will care how he learnt. Not all instructors at a club level are great trainers/handlers but many are. From the perspective of someone who has done a lot of instructing, it is really hard to get people to see the bigger picture sometimes. I always encourage people to train the same way, whether or not they wish to compete. I like to train with a high degree of motivation b/c I believe it is more enjoyable for the dog. IMHO That enjoyment is paramount regardless of whether you ever wish to compete or not.

What a great creative idea! You did a great job, it looks really cool

Thanks crazy cresties lol, Bronson is quite a character & loved playing with the little white munchkins. It was hard with Zeus, I wanted him to have fun, but also had to keep him calm. Just so glad he lasted for the trip

How devastating nicole thinking of you

Miss Shine Miss Pep Westielover's boys Winston & Riley "planning an attack " on Bronson Westielover's Spencer & Trim

Zeus passed away a week after we got home Here are some of the last pics I took of him. I am so glad we drove him down & he got to have one last trip to the beach. Me & my boys, taken by my son Last family portrait

I am determined to get my camera back out this year. Here are some holiday shots from our camping trip Very cliched shot of the girls on the beach Pep loved the water Our girls with Westielover's gorgeous kelpie Flynn

Presenting the butt of Peppi chasing the butt of Westielovers Flynn

Huge congrats Lara ! That is a great effort

What a great surprise reading this brought a big smile to my face, Thank You for sharing

I guess it depends what you are prepared to manage long term. mine are all fed together in the yard, mostly b/c I don't want to have to manage them. As with DBc's, they are not breeds that traditionally fight over food. When I bring a new dog in, I give them their bone a few metres away from the others & stand in between them & my existing dogs. I block any move they make towards the other dogs. Over time the distance is decreased & my proximity is decreased too to the point where I can keep a general eye on them from either outside or inside while they eat in case someone gets something stuck etc. I am very confident in my ability to manage my existing dogs & they all know the rules. This helps as I only have to concentrate on the new dog. I also have zero tolerance for any guarding behaviour. Anyone who decides to guard their food/bone misses out & gets another chance to eat the following day! Sounds tough I know, but am yet to have a problem using this strategy with multiple fosters as well as my own 4/5

Try askng him while you are tugging with another dog while you are feeding another dog while you are holding another dog from the other side of a barrier/door/gate with your eyes closed try getting some friends & strangers to ask him.

Totally agree. I like to get really creative at home, before I take it outside. I also insist on 100% attention when I ask for it. My dogs are the type/breeding that rarely get distracted but I have spent a lot of time training dogs of different breeds/drives/upbringing lately. I do WHATEVER I need to (and insist the same of the owner), to keep a dog's attention while we are training. Sometimes this means acting like a total fool, sometimes it means very short sessions, sometimes it means training in the bathroom & sometimes it means using a whole fried chicken. Whatever it takes. I am not a fan of letting a dog choose to do it's own thing. Too often, I see the owner spectating as the dog totally loses focus. If I cannot control the dog's attention/distraction, it loses the opportunity to earn rewards & is put away & given another chance in a less distracting environment to earn those rewards.

Trim is such a funny girl! I did a really Funny/bad thing on saturday night at our trial. I was busy with committee stuff & by the time I got to walk ADM, it was just about to start. I managed to talk the judge into letting me walk it quickly. It was a very twisty course so hard to get in my head. Anyway I remembered it but trim got further ahead at one point than I had planned for so I wasn't where I needed to be to make a turn. I could have turned her either way over one jump, but since I wasn't there to handle it, I just basically followed her & waited to see which way she went before doing the rest of the course. Lol, should have seen the backward deathstare she gave me while doing that jump! It was like "hellllloooo, some direction would be GREAT! right about now" she is so funny, I always know when I do crap handling, she always gives me "the look"

All sorted

great recovery on the stack really nice run, Zig is such a good boy, he is really responsive to your handling & calls

messy? Wow looked incredibly smooth to me! Fast too. Congrats on a really nice run

:) What a superstar! Congrats to you & Ruby! You guys are off to an awesome start :D

Big brag from us tonight Miss Trim went 4 from 4 & won RQH Agility AND Jumping, Masters Jumping & 2nd in Masters Agility Shine did some awesome runs too, no off courses but took 1 bar in each run. It totally sucks that I felt the best connection I have ever had with both of them & we've done about 10 mins training in the last month I had planned to do heaps of training over the next week...not so sure now

I try to do pretty much nothing in the way of training over the break. I always feel the dogs need a break & so do I. Mine spent a week at the farm & 2 weeks on the beach It always seems like a good idea until I realise I have a trial, like, TOMORROW! I'm sure they'll both be feral, more fun for me