Vickie

There is one GSD that I know of currently trialling in NSW & another that retired a few years ago. Both are/were nice steady agility dogs. I agree with PF, I would be waiting until at least 2yo before doing anything too serious as far as jumping.

Great news The motion was defeated at the AGM today. It seems our letters & logic did some good.

What are your plans for him? Is he a pet? a showdog? a sports dog? I think this matters, well it does to me anyway. My girls both pull on the lead, not excessively (they are only 15kgs) but they are in a hurry usually. Pretty much the only time I ever have them on lead is at training or a trial. They drag me to the ring, literally. Some may see this as bad behaviour, but it does not bother me one bit. I love that they can't wait to run and it does not impact other areas of our lives. They have a sit/drop stay & they are both solid...but their eyes are wild...waiting, waiting, waiting for the release. I don't really want calm dogs. I like them just the way they are. It is who they are & a big part of what I love about them. Could I train them to be calm when I interact with them? Probably, but honestly I don't think I am a good enough trainer that I would not reduce some of their enthusiasm for training. I think it's worth thinking about. It is often quite easy to take enthusiasm out & a whole lot harder to put it back in.

One other thing...he may still be growing up. Many dogs are not physically or mentally mature at 18 months. He may settle quite a lot over the next 6-12 months.

He sounds like a lovely dog . A couple of thoughts... does any aspect of his behaviour actually bother you? or do you just find it unusual? One of mine sounds very similar, but it's only when I am asking her to do something. She is totally beside herself to do it. Without attention from me, she is totally settled & like your boy, happy to follow me around, curl up on me or lay at my feet. I have never greeted her when I get home, so this is quite a non event for her, but I should imagine she would be the same as your boy if I had made a fuss or asked something of her, even as simple as a sit. Is it possible his diet may be too high in protein? We win food occasionally at trials & I can see it impact my dogs if it has different protein levels to what they are used to. I would say that if his diet is suitable & he is not exhibiting any anxious beahviours, then this may be just who he is. I love this type of dog personally. They are such a joy to train & make you smile each & every minute.

Thank you Wayrod. Yes we do have this opportunity & it will be done at the next AGM. The decision has already been overturned once in 2007. It is just a shame that this motion happened to be passed at the one meeting where the agility rep could not attend. A coincidence, surely.

How much time do you actually spend in the ring for your $8 at a conformation show PPS? I just looked at my qualifying cards from the last couple of weekends. 31 seconds, 31 seconds, 38 seconds, 31 seconds, 23 seconds, 33 seconds, etc. So I paid $48 for 3 minutes & 11 seconds in the ring. Not a whole lot of bang for your buck is it & hardly a free ride . Lucky I love it so much.

The only class that you are able to enter that does not count towards a title is a RQH (regional qualifying heat) round. There are 24 of these throughout the year around NSW. We have an unlimited number of titles, eg once you get your ADM, you can go for ADM2, ADM3 etc.

I don't think Dogs NSW would allow that ML. If it were under one entry, then results would also have to be combined. This would be impossible given that each dog may be at different stages for each game & that some competitors choose to enter some games & not others. If they are willing to grant an exception to conformation by excluding sweepstakes & property, then I think it is only fair that they apply the same logic & put an upper threshold on agility levies.

Erny the grounds (with the exception of Erskine Park, which we pay to hire) & equipment are not owned by Dogs NSW, they are owned by individual clubs. I am also worried that the inevitable decrease in entries for some of the smaller clubs may even make running a trial unviable.

who knows? I certainly don't see what benefit we are getting now & doubt very much that we will see anything from the increase. We also have the added advantage of paying @21.85 per title and an extra $18.20 if you want a sash as well. Trim has 15 titles, we are close to another 2 and have another 3 to go after that. I have spent $320 already just in titles for her (not including my other 3 dogs) & had to stop getting the sashes a while ago as it just got too much when Shine started getting her titles as well. I am not sure how many titles you can earn in other disciplines but have a feeling most are limited to about 4.

This effects every entry for a DogsNSW affiliated show or trial. Conformation, agility, obedience, tracking, herding, endurance, dancing etc. There are 2 exceptions listed: Sweepstakes & Property classes. I have no idea why these are exceptions, I do not even know what they are. The reason it severly impacts agility is that most dogs are eligible to run at least 4 events each day and sometimes as many as 8 (as opposed to other disciplines where a dog is entered in only 1-2 events). Our average time in each event is around 30 seconds! so we have to pay and extra dollar for each 30 seconds.

I am cross posting this. Please support our efforts to have the following proposal changed. Dogs NSW already collects a phenomenal amount of money from agility competitors by way of entries, ground hire, membership fees & the very expensive title applications that we are forced to apply for. $1 per entry!!!??? To use last Saturday as an example, I had 12 runs, this would mean and extra $10 just from me, just for one day. Given there were 823 runs over the day, that is a hell of a lot of extra money they will be collecting...and for what???? Other sports/events will not be impacted to the extent agility is as they typically only have 1-2 entries per dog. We can have up to 8 in a day. To all NSW Agiliteers, Everyone will be aware now of the notice in the June Journal announcing the planned increase in Levy from $1 per dog as it is now to $1 per entry as from January 2010. This greatly impacts on ALL Agility competitors in NSW and also those interstate travellers who trial in this state. This change was brought about at a Board meeting when the Agility Chairperson was absent. A rescission motion is being put by the Agility Chairperson, Lorraine Powell at the Board meeting on Wednesday and the Agility community will need to make MUCH NOISE (yes I am shouting) on this issue if they are serious about wanting it dropped. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE start tapping those keys on your computer keyboard and send an email (ADDRESSED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS) PRONTO!!!!! Communications on this issue will need to reach the office by Wednesday morning (PREFERABLY TUESDAY) if they are to be taken into account. Please endeavour to send your support for Lorraine's motion. This issue was previously defeated but it will not go away again without serious efforts from everybody. If there are any affiliated Club officials out there please could you organise a letter from your Club as well. Clubs, to date, have in most cases, absorbed the current $1 levy cost but this will not be a possibility with the mooted increases for 2010. Please support this motion if you can possibly organise your secretary to send an email at such short notice. INUNDATE the OFFICE with emails. Let people who are not on this list know what we are trying to do so that they too may become involved. Any interstaters who trial in NSW are also encouraged to have their say. Please HELP. It is to your benefit too!!!

We had a trial yesterday. Inspired, I tried to handle with Ronda's power & determination. Nowhere near the finesse that Ronda handles with, but I did manage a couple of the best runs I have ever done. It's amazing what your mind can make your body do . I'm going to watch her runs before every trial from now on, to get my brain in the right place. .

you're welcome

I have added a few extra things to the posts already here Attending your first agility trial

I'm glad you all enjoyed the clip. Yes she is an excellent communicator, both to people and to dogs and you're right Fiona, to someone who doesn't know what it takes to train & handle a dog at that speed, she does make it look very easy. I am not sure Cosmolo, I know she teaches most days and fits training her own dogs into that. I do remember her saying that she trains skills & sequences rather than full courses for the most part. She also takes her dogs hiking every day & feels that is a very important part of their relationship and their fitness.

In April this year we were lucky enough to attend a series of agility seminars run by Ronda Carter from the US. Ronda sent me a link to her trial runs for 2 of her dogs from last weekend and I thought I would share since we have so many agility enthusiasts here on DOL. I often hear people comment that dogs who are 'over the top' in agility tend to be either out of control or running in a dangerous manner. I agree that this can be the case, but as we get access to world class instructors, it is something we see less & less in competition here in Aust. As you will see by the video, Ronda's dogs are lighning fast, very well trained, running safely and totally in control. The teamwork and determination that she runs with is so inspiring. I hope you enjoy watching these as much as I did.

no advice on a muzzle, but will you have permission to be on the properties? Any farmer baiting (or not) would probably also be willing to shoot a dog on sight that was on their property (and they're allowed to as well).

WOW, I have never done anything like this before. I haven't been in the photo forum for ages, but thought I would have a look this afternoon and came across this topic. I think I am going to like this technique, it looks like a heap of fun & can produce some very cool results. I have had one go, I think I need to stand further back with my torch (either that or it is too high powered), but am pretty happy with it for a first go in a totally black room. Well done to everyone, there are some great shots here

Perhaps that's the case in Sydney Vickie but it certainly isn't down here. The first few levels are strongly geared towards the skills that companion dogs need. Walking on a loose lead is one of the first exercises taught. Actually I guess I have no right to even say that. You're right, I'm sure things have changed a lot in Sydney since many years ago when I attended my last obedience class. I hope you find what you're looking for Thunderpants

Local obedience clubs will charge $3 per session + an annual fee, usually around $25. I guess your problem is that there is not one in your suburb. I think Northern Suburbs DTC at St.Ives showground would be the closest on a Saturday afternoon. Is it really too far? I'm at Nth Ryde & it takes me 20 mins to go to agility there on a Saturday. The other thing to think about is that obedience clubs generally have lots of members & their lessons are geared towards competition obedience. There is also Get Smart dogs who run classes at St Ives showground. They would cost a bit more but their classes are much smaller & they are teaching "life skills" rather than competition skills. http://www.getsmartdogs.com.au/

:p you haven't ruined your dog, you just have some work to do. If it were me, I would stop the bird chasing. I have a friend whose dog will take off in the middle of an agility run to chase birds & it is terrifying. She once got distracted in the middle of her run by birds, left the ring, left the grounds alltogether & crossed a 4 lane road. :D . I can think of lots of other times too where we have panicked after she has run out of the ring. Since knowing her, I have never allowed any of my subsequent dogs to value bird chasing. It scares me too much. The chances are that your dog would have become excited by other dogs anyway, it may not even be related to the ducks & even if you do use the ducks as a training tool, it will not necessarily change the way he is reacting to other dogs at agility. How long have you been doing agility? How old is your dog? What do you use to reward him? I think it's a better idea to work through the agility focus which can only help your relationship anyway. Things like rewarding more often, doing smaller sequences for a while etc.

Just out of interest, I started this same topic on DST in relation to agility specifically. http://dogsporttalk.com.au/viewtopic.php?f...9be92144f57d782 It will be interesting to hear people's different views & there are already some good points made.

Wouldn't it simply be better to focus the incorrect obstacles. What do you mean by 'focus the incorrect obstacles' LL? I have no time limit as it is a removal from the ring & the opportunity will not be given to have another go. I am basically saying you do it my way or not at all. We may have another run in 5 minutes or not for hours. If it happens to be our last run at a trial then so be it.