Ptolomy

Rubystar I will be at K9 next Monday so you can come and do a sit stay with my crew :D ****OK CHALLANGE TIME FOR EVERYBODY****** The aim is to sit how good our 1 minute sit stays really are when we change the picture. Leave your dog in a sit stay Walk away 10 steps about turn and sit on the ground. After 50 seconds get up and return to your dog. Let us know how you get on.......

I use the same clicker for 5 dogs - actually I have lots of clickers because mine usually go walkabouts and I can never find them :D Anybody else have this problem? I usually either only have one dog out at a time - or they are all sitting on the mat waiting for their turn and I will just be working with one of them on the mat. They don't have a problem working out who is getting the click and the treat!

I see a vet who does accupuncture and chiropractic work from home and she is in Shelley. She has been the one vet who has managed to keep my dog still competing in obedience and agility. PM me if you would like her details

So many questions......... Has anybody found when proofing for distractions thats dogs are more likely to drop or get up when there is nothing going on rather than when you are running around madly or throwing balls etc. PS - I count while waiting to return to my dog......101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106....... They say small things amuse small minds :rolleyes:

So when training with friends does anybody ever put one dog in a sit and the next one in a down and the next one in a sit etc? Also .....we know Leopuppy sings :rolleyes: and stares what does everybody else do/think of while waiting to return to their dogs?

:rolleyes: I love it!

Well done Kavik - its a great feeling when you get results for all your hard work. Have to ask is this the same dog that doesn't have a lot of get up and go

Woo Hoo Barb - well done and a great way to start the year

Actually it would have been interesting giving you Blaize. She is a lovely dog as long as you don't have 4 legs and it makes you very aware of what is going on around you and how handlers often are very inconsiderate. It is an art getting into the ring with dogs either side of you, removing your lead and keeping her engaged so that she will stay with you and not come running over to me. When you leave her she wont move that I am sure of. When you return to her at the end of the sit stay you then have to free her off, tell her she is brilliant without letting the dogs either side of you come close. The same goes for when you return from the down stay and before you get your lead back from the steward. Di did a great job last night - although Di if you read this I did smile when I wanted to hand you a truck load of food before we went in and you said "what is this for". I said just keep shovelling it in (Blaize loves food and will stay with you forever if she thinks she is on a winner)

Am I the only one who would love to see a photo of toller coloured pants?! LOL - I will let you into a little secret - I actually have 2 pairs

All the dogs who had passed their ring work were in the first group of sit and down stays and then all the dogs who failed their ring work were allowed to do stays in the next group. You can only have 10 dogs in a stay and they needed to have 2 lots anyway - so the judge split them into those who had passed and those who hadn't. It makes it hard when you have more than one dog in the ring as I then had to run around and find somebody to handle one of my kids in the stays. Pity you have gone home Katie - otherwise you might have been it

I have been buying Hi Potency Flaxseed Oil capsules 1200mg 200 capsules from the health food shop - they are on special until the end of February?? usually $49.95 down to $14.95 hence I brought a few tubs

It interesting that some of our judges in WA (including our open judge last night) will do 2 lots of stays - one for those that are passing and one for those that aren't.

Another question - if you fail the ring work would you still do the stays - and whats your reasoning?

Laffi - Scoota has been having accupunture for about 12 months now. He used to stand like a tripod and we would laugh at him, little did I realise that he had to stand like this to keep his balance. Its been like peeling an onion - the accupuncture will cure one problem and another one will be uncovered. The biggest change has been turning his rear passengers side foot from being very turned out to now being almost straight and at the same time there has been a big change in how he stands and its all related to his rear end and hip area. My kids are on tiles all day too and I really think this doesn't help the way they sit.

Scoota drops in the sit stay when he is sore - I usually either get a squiffy sit when trying to line him up, or he will sit straight and will then rock back and roll over onto one of his hips so that he can stick his other leg out. I then know there is no way he will sit for 3 minutes. Rubystar - if you want somebody to check Ruby out, let me know. As you know my kids are having treatment tomorrow night

Any tips for the figure 8 or between exercises?

Actually 2 were CCD dogs the other was an open dog and yes it was red! So do people practice sit stays outside the ring before going in? Do you find out who is next to you in stays and ask to do a practice stay next to that dog? In the ring I will not put my dog into a sit stay until all leads have been collected, the judge has said their bit and checked that their watch is working. I find that otherwise the 3 minute sit stays turns into a 5 minute sit stay. It takes me 2 seconds to ask the dog to line up and to be ready to leave. Also want to say thanks to Di who took Blaize into open stays for me last night

LOL no not really - it happened to 2 dogs I know last night (neither of them were mine but it has been a problem in the past for me too) . Of the two dogs last night - the experience trialler pulled out after she returned to the dog and found her dropped in the sit stay - the novice trialler stayed and did the down stay. Keep the suggestions coming........

Hypothetical Question here........ First trial of the year and your dog drops during the sit stay. In 2 weeks time you are entered in the Western Classic...... 1. Would you stay and do the down stay 2. What would you do to try and prevent dropping in the sit stay from happening again. PS - the dog never drops during the sit stay at training or when we do a stay at home (yep heard that one many times.......)

I was going to bring this up as a tip Squeak. I have seen people front up with flapping skirts, miniskirts, tight pants, thongs and I think nothing would surprise me now. We actually have a judge here who wears either a flapping skirt or a big overcoat, leathers with big boots or if you are really lucky you get the huge hat I usually do some proofing with the kids the week before we go into her ring Generally I wear nice tracksuit pants (Black or dark blue) - and a polo shirt (usually green) - why because I can get food in and out of my pockets really easily and joggers. You can't do this with jeans. I do make an extra effort for the Western Classic, Royal Show or when going interstate where I will coordinate with the dogs coat colour, collar and lead (me being anal again!) and wear nice pants, black shoes and a nice top. I will confess to many years ago having 2 dogs in the Western Classic one black one and one red one and inbetween rings I would dash into the back of the car and change my pants from black to toller colour - I felt like superman . I will also confess to carrying around some tollar hair so that I could exactly match the colour pants I needed. That was before I had 5 dogs

Good question Squeak Things you need to consider when trying to find a suitable lead ...... Can you comfortably hold it - or do you have to scrunch it up (this indicates it is too long) Is there a loop in the lead when heeling - if not then it indicates that it is too short (or the dog is not in heel position) Does it get in the dogs way when you are returning from the SFE - in which case it might be too wide. Will it get blown around in the wind - in which case it might be too light. Is the lead too heavy for the size of the dog - see previous post about horse lead..... :cool: What do I use - given the choice, none - since 99% of training is done off lead but - I match my collar, lead and dog colour ( being anal here - looking good is part of the overall picture) My dogs are labrador size (apart from Lexi) I prefer a shorter lead which I can hold in my left hand only leaving my right hand free to give down signals and my left hand can still give my stand signal because the lead is not scrunched up. I also prefer a shorter lead because when you go to the end of your lead for the SFE you are at an advantage because you are closer to your dog than people with a longer lead. Is this cheating - NOPE its called ringcraft! I also prefer a thinner lead which I find lighter and easier to maneuver over the dogs head when returning to them. Off the top of my head - they would be about 90cm long and about 10mm wide - but I will check them when I get home.

......Use an appropriate lead - I would like a $1 for everybody who walked into the CCD training ring holding a horse sized lead with a jack russell or poodle on the end of it.

This is great....keep them coming.....

Kavik - I would guess some of the judges, certainly in WA, would take a point off in UD and UDX for the turn of the shoulders - as it could be considered a double signal. Will the dog still finish as nicely without you doing it. He probably wouldn't finish as nicely without it - though to be honest it isn't something I've even thought about Considering I can't get him working nicely in busy places to even put him in CCD it is not something I am worried about at the moment - I'm happy if I can get him to do it at all! Fair enough - lets class it as a work in progress then I would be happy if Scoota did it as controlled as your dog did.