Vickie

Sorry to hear this... I have had a few emails from friends letting me know that a number of dogs have come down with it from KCC park after the Agility Nationals. They have advised that if I see any signs that I get my older 2 on antibiotics as it is a strain that can be bad for older dogs. So far no signs...fingers crossed. I hope yours recover quickly.

An interesting thread. I have never done the "training in drive" seminars or exercises, so have a couple of questions. How much is about the toy & how much is about what you do with it? Can any dog be made to find anything rewarding? When do you give up searching for the perfect toy & focus on technique? How much of it is genetic? I guess I am lucky that my dogs don't really care what we use. They will literally be as switched on whether I use a lead, a toilet roll or an expensive toy. The words "are you ready?" seem to be our on switch. I don't take too much credit for this, I think it's just the way they have been bred, rather than anything I have done with them. Neither will really take food in training & this is something I would like to work towards as I think there are situations where it could be useful.

Huge Congratulations to everyone who went & survived & of course those of you who did well. I hardly got to meet anyone. I met Leopuppy, very briefly, as she was stewarding in one of my rings, had a quick chat with Schatzi's Mum, & a few chats with Tassie, but the rest was just a blur and I didn't get to see any of them run. Way too many courses to walk & run for me. Next time I think I will enter about half of what I did this time. Like everyone else I was totally blown away by the little black poodle, what an amazing dog! We managed to make 2 finals, but were beaten by the course in both of them. I have so many "if only's" still going through my head. I guess lots of people do. I hope I have learnt from them. It was a great experience.

I have a 70-300 & a 50mm 1.8. I find both great for portraits. I think the trick with the 70-300 is to set up the shot correctly to maximise DOF, if that is what you want. The further away the background is from the dogs head, the more blur you will get. or choosing a background that is all the same will help too.

I think the main issue is that it requires someone from another state to take it on & run it. That has happened in NSW but nowhere else. Victoria has NADAC so they probably don't have need for another code & I think most of the other states are probably too small.

Thanks guys . I guess at his age, he's entitled to a few cracks, I was just curious.

What time do you need help? I have a friend who is a groomer part time. I can call & see if she is interested? eta, just called her, she is keen & starts work at 4pm tomorrow, so has all morning free. So if you are still looking, I will give you her phone number.

Sometimes when one of my older dogs get up, I hear a slight click/crack in one of his back legs as he stretches. I have never really worried about it as I am starting to click a bit myself as I get older. It doesn't hurt or bother me so I kind of figure he would be the same and he doesn't seem to be suffering at all. Anyone else have this with their dog? Is it something to worry about? He is 11.

oops

I can only think if 2 trialling in NSW at the moment.

It's hard to say why they will do this on the flat but not on a jump without seeing what you are doing. A few questions/points... How well are your dogs moving ahead of you? If they are moving ahead well you should be able to see them change their leading leg before the jump. Can you see them doing this on the flat? do you throw a reward over the jump? Have you attached a word to the cross on the flat? and are you still supporting the forward motion with your arm while you move behind them? I tend to pull away from my dogs a bit before I cross behind them to draw them a bit across in front of me. I taught mine using a spin on the ground

AML, there is also Get Smart dogs. They train at St Ives showground. http://www.getsmartdogs.com.au/ and seemed to be more geared to well behaved dogs & life manners rather than formal type obedience.

Novice titles are: AD - agility dog JD - jumping dog SD - Snooker dog SPD - Strategic pairs dog GX - Gamblers dog you need 3 passes to get each of these Excellent titles are as above with an X on the end & you need 5 passes to title Masters have an M on the end & you need 7 passes for a title. Then there are ADO & JDO for the open titles, you need 5 of these & they are supposed to be courses set at Excellent level with a distance component. You cannot enter Excellent till you have your Novice, cannot enter Masters till you have your Excellent. Open is open to everyone.

yep, far too many unfortunately. I would add "too old" to that list.

Hey that looks great! and it doesn't look like it would have been that easy either. I love layers, especially for someone like me who changes their mind constantly

I guess it depends on what you define as fun. Dogs out of control are not fun. Dogs who knock all the bars down are not fun. Dogs falling off equipment is not fun. Dogs who take off, interrupt others & won't come when they are called are not fun. Dogs who do not understand the correct job b/c the handler has no idea what that actually is do not have fun. Fun for me, is having a dog who understands what I want & tries to do it. Fun is having a dog go as fast as they can without fear of equipment or punishment. Fun is succeeding in what I am aiming for and building the skills to meet the challenges the courses offer. I don't really get the "just want to have fun argument". There are lots of people around who skipped the foundations & will probably never go back & get them. I don't see them having a lot of fun, I see them frustrated & always making excuses for themselves & their dogs. off my high horse now... rant over.

I think the temp curtain is a great idea. So long as he is quiet you can leave it open. It won't take him long to learn that his bad behaviour earns the curtain being closed.

Great news! It won't be long before you can put some comfy bedding back in. Hope you are catching up on some well earned sleep.

Hi Lelune, there is a wealth of information on the web to help & some good intro books & DVD's as well. There is a good 3 book series by Jane Simmons-Moake. It is a bit old now but the concepts are firm & easy to follow. You can usually get a copy on EBay. How old is Luc? Are planning on agility for fun? or to compete at some point? It is pretty easy to improvise & make some equipment out of bits & pieces. Most people don't realise, but often the hardest part of agility is not teaching the obstacles but how to get the dog from one obstacle to the next. There are heaps of things you can & should teach as part of agility that have nothing to do with obstacles. eg start line stay, Go On (keep moving straight), directional signals/right & left, turning in front of your dog on the ground, turning behind your dog on the ground, an out command. All of this can be taught on the ground & you can use cones or stakes to provide obstacles. As far as heights for jumps, depends on how old Luc is. In competition, he would be jumping 60 cms, but it's probably better to start off smaller & definitely if he is not yet 18 mths. Good Luck. We used to have a couple of afghans at our club & they were awesome to watch doing agility & fast too.

I have no advice but wish you all the best. We had a friend & dog staying here for a few months & made the decision in the beginning to keep them separated. It required some patience & diligence but we got through it & we decided that given the ages & history of a couple of the dogs that was the safest way to go.

I am trying to bump this thread up http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...15&start=15 it is a list of clubs in Australia who do agility classes.

I would take the bedding out altogether. A bit hard in winter I know, but I have always been told this works & did this with my last 2 pups & neither had even one accident in their crate at night from 8 weeks. I put bedding in about 12 weeks I think.

That's funny & very cute. Trim tends to do that as well, everything is a retrieve (except my slippers...as below). My funny story... I taught Shine to bring me my slippers at night. She understands that when I ask, her job is to go into my room & bring one of them to me and then go & get the other one. For some reason she thinks she has to jump on the couch in the family room on the way, then off again before bringing them to me in the loungeroom. So long as they are sitting at or near the door of my bedroom, she can find them. If they are not obvious, she will often come back without them. This is where Trim comes in. She is totally determined that her mouth on my slippers is a complete NO NO, so it's just about the only thing she will not retrieve. She will however go & find them & show them to Shine by pawing at them & then Shine will bring them to me. It has developed into a funny & predictable routine.

I just remembered I had my teleconverter today. I had a play with it ages ago when I got it, but kind of wrote it off as not really worthwhile. I got it out today & popped my 50mm fixed lense on to see if they would work together. They did! I may even start to use it a bit now.

I would teach them separately as well. That way it is easier for them and you. I agree with everyone else, it just takes a bit of time each day & patience. I have an old leather couch that my four go on. If they are inside when we are eating that is where they sit while we eat...and where they tend to spend much of the day. I taught them separately & now one command send them all there. If I send them there, they know they are to stay there until released. Another tip when teaching...keep eye contact to a minimum. I keep an eye on mine peripherally. I correct verbally (just a casual "stop" or "ahh") when they are thinking about getting off, not once they are off.