Ptolomy

Hi Cosmo - I am not sure what trialling has to do with it - but my kids always get rewarded they just never know when.

Just out of interest when sending a dog to the box do you give a signal and if so do you use your right or left hand?

Hey TSD - thanks for posting the videos - you now have us all wanting a little Em. Can I have Em's sit stays please - or can I send my kids over for your to replicate - what a little super star. If I was to ask you which of your 2 dogs you enjoy training the most - Can I assume its Em??? Just watching your body language - you and her are having a blast - your more animated and training is great fun. Watching Ziggy - he did a good job, he knows his stuff but it was more a case of going through the motions. Tell me to get back in my box but ..... A couple of things to be mindful of when training Em. Make sure all 4 feet are on the ground when you reward her. Watch the first 2 minutes of your clips again and as you give her the food her front feet always come up off the ground - this will become a problem further down the track. and .........even though she is young when in heel position make sure she is sitting straight and square when you reward her - easiest if you have a mirror or glass door so you can see what is happening. Makes it much easier later on and you don;t have to spend time correcting a very ingrained bad habit. Keep up the great work :D

He was 7 1/2 - 7 3/4 months old when the video was taken - He is now 8 1/2 months old and I would like him to stop growing anytime now please

Stop making excuses Leopuppy I have Scoota's brother living with me now. I got his CD many years ago - when there was two lots of heeling in novice and he was living with my parents. Its amazing he hasn't forgotton anything. He has picked up open COP like he has been doing it all his life. Hmm might just have to bring him out in NFC (not for competition) and see what happens.

Yep with new batteries ready for another year If there are no meetings on K9 will close at 5 - so we might have to ring during the day to check.

Bumping this thread up from page 2 Obviously its the end of the year and nobody is doing any training Cider training in my undercover area just prior to Xmashttp://www.youtube.com/watch\?v=AntLHJEcVnw Strauss - is a work in progress ...... I sent the Strauss clip to his breeder and she came back with......how many pairs of crocs do you have - a different colour for every day of the week!

Cider is my obedience dog. I have being doing little bits of agility along the way, but have started agility more formally in the last few weeks, including 2 x 2's. BUt like bedazzled and all the others have said - get the pup to enjoy learning and teach them as much as you can and then join the dots - so much of the learn is used in both disciplines.

The boss walked past me yesterday day and then did an about turn - looked and said "I didn't recognise you - you are wearing a skirt" God anybody would think I wore tackie dacks to work funny

You can even go back a step from all the suggestions. Ask for a sit or wait for the dog to be sitting, you step into heel position and multiple reward, then step away. It doesn't take the dog long to work out heel position is a great place to be.

Show dog - just out of interest it is common for international judges not to award a challenge for a dog under 12 months?

I had a heart ultrasound done on Cider not long after I got her as it was discovered that her dad had a heart murmur. I had it done at Champion Lakes Vet and from memory it was $300+

Not a great start to the year for you or Trixie Let us know how you get on tomorrow at your usual vet.

Cider was nameless for a week after I got her and in the end I was standing out the back yard with a bottle of Strongbow in my hand when I finally decided Cider it is. Hmm using this method I have a fair idea what his name will be Awww are you getting excited?! When does pup come home and what's his name going to be?

LOL about bringing the tuggy back quickly - um yep I would only get 3 runs in for each training session at that rate! Well done Tassie

Last night I decided to give the collapsible tunnel a go with Cider - so I took mum, Cider and the i-squeak down to the back paddock. Cider automatically jumps on the table and waits for instructions the moment I open the gate - this is something she has trained herself - and at this stage I am happy to let her keep doing it. I left her on the table while I pulled the tunnel out and unravelled the shute and then I explained to mum that she was to throw the isqueak into the tunnel at the same time I would lift up the skirt and call her through. So we had a plan. With all stations manned and us ready I called Cider off the table to the opening of the tunnel and before I had a chance to do or say anything she ran into the tunnel and out the end of the chute Mum was still standing there with the i-squeak in her hand and I was nowhere near the end of the chute to lift it up. So I called her back and this time we got our timing right - mum threw the ball, I lifted up the chute and Cider came running through - like she had been doing it all her life. We had a few more goes, both with and without the ball and then left it at that. Now if only training contacts and weavers was that easy ;)

HUGE congratulations to MIrrawee and Banjo who tonight took out BIG Thanks to Rally Valley for showing my kids and to Rubystar for the company - a nice way to spend NYE

Question about this as I've been teaching foldback drops and kickback stands for change of positions.... when Ruby sits up from a down, she pulls her front feet upwards instead of bringing her bum to her feet (it's what I've been asking her to do), so if she was to do a kickback stand after her sit, she would be moving backwards in her positions - how would this be judged?!?! If she did enough different positions I am sure they would all eventually cancel each other out and I don't think she would have moved forward much, but get the positions called in a certain order and an odd number of them and it could mean she ends up going backwards Speaking of teaching stands - I cannot for the life of me teach Millie a verbal stand!!! She stands no problems with a signal and when in heel position (from a sit or moving) but give her a verbal only and she looks at you like and ask her to stand from in front of her and she also has no idea. Ruby is great with verbals but Millie, nope, just doesn't get the stand one! The only one she is proficient at is the verbal sit. Verbal drop is getting better but nowhere near as good as the sit. Verbal stand is just out of the question :D The order of COP has a real bearing in UDX on how much Scoota moves forward. Every stand he does he steps forward - but put him on the edge of a step seems to have solved this problem. I now seem to get a move sideways in the down....so lets just call it a work in progress! ARGH Rubystar - The only time I think you would need a verbal stand in heel position would be positions in motion. Go back and try what Bedazzled suggested Rally try with Toby in teaching the stand - this is mostly done from in front of the dog and all the time remind yourself - she doesn't know this exercise yet! I taught the older kids to stand while in front on a verbal and a signal together and then it was just a cases of mixing it up and sometimes giving a verbal and other times just the signal once they knew the exercise well (and it was probably 3 years down the track LOL) I have to say Xmas is a really unmotivating time to train. I am doing little bits with Strauss - yep last night he brought me 10 coathangers one by one and he would then rush to the fridge for his reward. I am now asking for a sit before I take the coathanger off him and if he drops it - oh well too bad try again. Hopefully this will flow over to his dumbbell, which we haven't touched for many weeks. I am also doing a little bit with Scoota's brother, Dekka who is now living with me. Dekka is built like a block of flats, or a coffee table on legs - so losing weight is high on the list of priorities. Dekka got his CD title many many years ago - when there were two lots of heeling, but we never went any further as he was my dads dog and really suffered from separation anxiety. I also considered him earth bound and so getting over a jump wasn't going to happen. Its amazing he hasn't forgotten anything and he could be put back in the novice ring tomorrow - apart from the stays! Cider bear is doing some agility - aframe contacts, and we have started 2 x 2 weaving (I use the term very losely). The motivation - she has a partner for strat pairs at the Classic and she knows nothing

OK I need some suggestions on how to train the closed tunnel - the last time i taught a dog this was - hmmm many years ago. I have a drum with a non see through skirt attached, which I guess can be removed?? So please any suggestions appreciated.......

Another gold star for Virgin - when I travelled to the Royal in September this year - we flew over Virgin, but came home Qantas. The Virgin man offered to hang onto our crates for the 4 days we were in Adelaide - an offer to good to refuse - and then we picked it up on the way to Qantas for the return journey

I have flown the kids Virgin to Adelaide and the staff were terrific. I suggest you look at flights not leaving/arriving during the hottest part of the day. Its easy to book it yourself.

Yikes - only 52 in group 3 - I better not be late and home by 9 might be a slight exaggeration - I could be home by 8

From what I can work out Friday night doesn't appear to be a very big show. My kids are in group 3 and there number is 158 - my friend with the flatcoat is number 134 - which means not many labs and goldies and certainly not many in groups 1 and 2 by the looks. I may be very wrong though but we may be home before 9 :D

Lots of fencing down here - have been up since 5 putting in temporary fencing and making the yard safe so we can let the kids out. 40m of fencing down the side, shed is demolished and is sitting in the next door neighbours yard, branches are down, front fencing no longer standing and we now have a problem with the lounge ceiling. Hmm Happy Boxing Day. Oh to top it off daughter had a flat tyre - so that too has been sorted. All the kids are OK - so thats the bestest news. Valley - the photo of Toby is stunning!

I have heard on the grapevine that the quarantine rules are currently under review with the possibility of quarantine for Cat 2 countries being considerably reduced (down to 5 days).