Vickie

My girls will happily retrieve an empty crushed smoke packet for hours . Whatever I can find is fair game.

Sentinel has no ivermectin

I put Bud on Petrescue this morning & have someone coming to look at him next week. Please someone tell me I am doing the right thing. I can't believe how much I adore him. I am already crying at the thought of him leaving, he is by far the most outstanding foster I have ever had. I feel so indecisive about letting him go .

How tall is Sasha KL? Those tunnels are usually not very big & quite flimsy, so they may be quite difficult for her. Jumps are pretty easy & cheap to make, as are basic weave poles. A big box can also substitute as a tunnel for beginner stuff. Where in Sydney are you? I am in the Hawkesbury if you are close you are welcome to bring her over here to get her started, I have all the gear except AFrame & Dogwalk (working on those ).

It's the same with weaving. If you teach a dog to weave while you are on the left of them they have absolutely no concept of how to weave if you are on the right.

I couldn't resist snapping a few more of Bud with the sprinker this morning

Agree with what the others have said, yelling at best is ineffective. I will use my knee if a dog is coming to jump at me but if they are just running/walking into me then I make sure I step into them first. So it's kind of like I step into their space before they get into mine. It's seems to work with most dogs. Worth a try anyway.

They are all great with her. Buddy & Trim adore her, Shine has stopped stalking her now & they are great mates, Noah totally ignores her & Zeus is still not sure, but he isn't doing anything stupid. She is already the boss around here, she likes to play with their tails and she attacks Buddy's whiskers while he's asleep. yep...right until the time I took the ball off the kitten & gave it back to them. Trim is the worst, she gives me the filthiest looks! Funny thing is that Inka LOVES to play with the ball as well, I think she thinks she is a dog. His name is Buddy. He is gorgeous!!! They're not really well behaved...it's a combination of the fact that Inka is the boss & the fact that they just want the damned ball so are willing to wait as long as it takes!

Just give the tennis ball to the kitten ;) Trim "I can't look! It's a disgrace!" The others all gave up in the end...Trim & Shine just coudn't let it go & decided the best approach was to give me filthy looks

We have a few things to work on as always ...but we will all have 3 weeks at the beach where the dogs will just run, swim & sleep and we will all forget training exists

that's NO excuse!!! My boys have always been dreadful with cats, but this one seems to have won them over. She is a smart kitten, she knows there is a fence separating front from back & that she can go over, under & through it whenever she wants. Right now she is asleep on the back verandah...surrounded by 5 dogs!

This is the way I look at it. If someone told me that I was playing & having fun with my dog for too long at a time, I would think they were insane. Since our training sessions are really just one big play session, I don't see the difference.

Totally agree, depends on the dog, depends what you are training and of course how the dog is responding to the training. I will often train my girls for up to an hour. If I saw anything that made me think they were not giving 100%, I would stop. Other times it will be 5 mins at a time...

He is fairly large but pretty typical size & shape for a working BC. He is about the same size as my Shine, maybe a touch taller. I would say 540mm at the shoulder.

Buddy gets his morning exercise

Great find & capture Persephone ...belongs in a magazine! This is one of the things I love so much about photography, finding something like this is like hitting a jackpot.

Thank you...he is sheer power when he moves, a joy to watch. well I could...it seems to be the million dollar question, made a lot harder b/c my hb LOVES him & even suggested keeping him . I doubt we will keep him, it would be easy to but it would change some plans I have for the future. I will be taking him to sheep...am very interested in what he will do. I think he will make a nice performance dog, but think he would be equally happy as a family pet. I'm in no hurry...his training went well yesterday & again this morning. It would be tempting to keep him for my daughter to train & run but I think he is a bit too powerful for her. His tug is a little scary, LOL, very full on & you have to have your wits about you. He really has the sweetest face our kitten likes him the best I will have to get a pic of her attacking his whiskers...it is hilarious & he is totally unphased by it

We took Bud, our foster to the farm for the weekend. He had a ball. He is such a good boy, he just fitted in like he had been visiting there all his life. He has such a great recall & no desire to go anywhere but where I am. He is the sweetest boy ever. He loves the ball, loves to tug & is starting to provide Shine with some serious competition for her frisbee. I am going to start some training with him today, will let you know how he goes... Here are some pics, the first of many I am sure.

Ditto . I have been out to Londonderry a couple of times to take pics but am finding it hard to fit it in with HP. There are SO many wonderful dogs there & great photos make such a difference to finding them a home. I know they would welcome you out there, I hope you consider it. I have 4 here that you're welcome to photograph, a cute kitten & a couple of kids too :D come any time!

I am one who will always have my dogs at trialling level before I take train them at a club. Just b/c I like to do things my way and I like to have them totally understanding what I want with a solid reward history before I add distractions. They are well socialised with friends dogs though from the day I get them so I don't need a club for that but will take them periodically to get used to the environment. I also prefer to do lots of very short sessions with a young dog, rather than a full hour ( or even half an hour). I have a few young dogs coming here...we do bits & pieces with the pup, we talk about goals & how to's & the owners work my dogs a bit. We fill in an hour easily but everything the pup does is short & fun...homework is required . If people are unsure of how to go about getting what they want, I always recommend they take some one on one lessons with a good trainer to make sure they are going about things the right way. These lessons don't have to cost the earth and are often with someone who has experience & a high level acheieved with their own dogs, not necessarily a behaviouralist.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I think I selfishly want to see him in an agility home so I still get to see him all the time :D

It's interesting b/c I usually see licking to be an insecure & submissive behaviour...but this was very clearly "Hi mate, happy to see you, c'mon let's go play"... and it worked . He's just a really strong, stable dog. He may have a fantastic home lined up. My fingers are crossed, the longer he stays, the harder it is going to be to part with a dog like this. He tugs like a demon & has fantastic obedience, loves all dogs, is great with the kids & gorgeous with my kitten. He is a dream.

We have Buddy, a foster here at the moment. He is very recently desexed but is still very much a male in his stance/demeanor. He has as nice a temperament as I have ever seen in a dog. I am yet to find a fault in him. Trim loves Buddy, is constantly flirting with him. Buddy loves Shine, she likes him but not as much as Trim does. Noah wants to play with Buddy. Buddy is appropriately polite to Noah & recognises him as the boss around here. Zeus (who doesn't usually go well with entire dogs) has been posturing around Buddy, being a right pain. Buddy thinks Zeus is an idiot, not worthy of his attention & just turns his head to the side & walks away. This morning was hilarious. Zeus on seeing Bud got all postury. Happy Bud ran up in a playful way, did a couple of play bows & some happy kisses. Zeus looked confused for a second & now they are mates . Buddy loves to run laps of the yard with the tennis ball in his mouth, inviting the others to chase him. He is not happy unless everyone is in the game & will go over to whoever is not participating & invite them. What a happy bunch, I could watch them all day....and probably will .

Another trick I have just discovered is that plumbing T pieces fit perfectly onto electrical conduit & no filing needed . Even though they are both for example called 25mm, the plumbing gear is slightly bigger. Only problem then (if you care, which I don't) is that they are different colours.

I recently found something in an electrical shop that seems to be working quite well. I'll take a pic tomorrow to show you, the are kind of like an L shaped corner & seem to fit my PVC quite well & easy to slide up & down. Sure beats cutting those t sections in half .