RubyBlue

Hey we passed. Got graded good. handler errors cost us two downgrades....lol We did a 3 sided rectangle so my tracklayer was just to the right of our startpost - I recon Milly knew straight away (though at the time I though she was after sheep or roos or something). First downgrade was in not calling her back to the track quick enough and second was in missing her indication of the second corner. I was trying not to break my neck going down the enbankment - what lame excuse huh. The final verdict from the judge was the dog was good and the handler was a burden, though he didnt say it in so many words and was very kind about it lol - oh well as long as Im better next time then at least Im moving in the right direction. It was good to see you up there Kirsten - though I was looking forward to meeting Oscar too - maybe another time. Is anyone going to the Hastings trial or the GSD one?

Ill be going up to Haddon on Friday - Ive offered to help out too as Im a part of KODC. Ill look out for you. Milly is a lab. I know the test is easy and we should blitz it but as soon the words 'test' 'judge' etc appear I become a nervous wreck. We train with a group of other people from KODC on Saturday morning at Norton Park in Wantirna. Geelongs a bit far for regular visits but Id like the chance to train in different areas and with different people/dogs. When do you usually practice?

Thanks, good advice. I know when she gets to a corner cause she starts running around like crazy....problem is her indication when she makes the turn is subtle and I tend to miss it when im relaxed and enjoying myself....being judged...well..... Im sure Ill get better at it with time. But yes...a nice day out with my dog is a good way to view it.

Whitehorse - up to 4 animals (cats/dogs) however no more than 3 of either. Boroondara - no more than 2 of each We've had more on occasion and never had a problem. Mind you cats are hard to pin down and our dogs dont bark (hence no complaints). In general I got the impression that neither council cared but given the opportunity would try to get fines if the opportunity presented itself.

No ones mentioned a suby yet so I might as well. I have had a liberty wagon and now have an outback wagon. Wonderful cars to drive, the handling is fantastic and they have very good fuel economy. I average around 8-9L/100ks in traffic and around 6-7l/100ks between Melb and Albury. Ive taken mine on some very rough tracks and its coped just fine - not quite up to 4WD standard but a lot better than a 2WD. Theyre smaller than fords and holdens - but fine for a couple of large dogs (Ive had four labs in the boot of mine at one time - its not something Id do on a regular basis but was fine for a short trip.) For two lab sized dogs they are perfect. Ive never towed anything but am told they are great for that too. The thing I really love about them is that they just dont die. My last one made 400 000Ks and still has plenty life in it if I wanted to get it back on the road - mechanic recons the engines in good nick. My ex- really abused his '91 liberty. I can count the number of times he had serviced in 7yrs on one hand. It ended up on a farm somewhere and the last I heard its still running too. Most people I know who had one suby have gone on to replace it with another and I will too. The only flaw is the initial price but then I put that down to you get what you pay for. There will be lots of types that are appropriate its just what suits you best. Best advice I can give is to take your time and shop around. Have you got a budget?

I think greying black dogs look quite distinguished.

Hi, Im so pleased I finally found a tracking thread....was beginning to wonder...for some reason it never crossed my mind to look in the dog sport section. I am about to do test one up at Ballarat this weekend and I was doing fine but am now starting to stress. Has anyone got any last minute advice. I am so worried I am going to miss a corner or a sock.

Ha. This is so true. My friends brother walked in on us sharing a cuppa and noticed my black lab under my chair. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Apparently she had evil eyes....though I dont know how he could see her eyes from the other side of the kitchen. I recon movies have a part to play in this too. Threatening dogs are always dark and the hero dogs are usually paler. Probably a bit like the 'knight in shining armour' and dark clothed villian idea. Personally I like the shine on a black coat.

Excellent idea SM. I got my younger dog as a rescue, she was very reserved in the first few weeks. I taught her to play with the aid of my older dog. I put a jingle bell collar on him as a cue (for her not him) and got stuck in to him with a towel which is his favourite game. After watching on quietly a few times she stuck her nose in....not seriously at first but definatly interested. She started to react when she heard the bells too. So i hid some liver treats in the towel and tried putting the bells on her. It was very positive. She was very gentle at first but didnt take her long to get the idea. Towel was for tugging. Got to the point where I couldnt even bump the bells without her bouncing off the wall. Cant dry either of them without it becoming a full blown game now....I didnt think this through well enough.

Mine go to the off lead park every morning, there are a regular group that are down there at the same time and we're pretty familiar with all of them. They also socialise with my friends dogs and strange dogs at places like the beach and creek. We've had a few incidences with aggressive dogs but theyre definatly a pack and no other dogs been stupid enough to try anything serious. Seeing dogs every morning means that when they are working its not such a big deal if another dog bounds up.

I have a labx which I bikejor with. I started off riding the bike with her running beside on a lead. However in the interest of finding a way to do it a bit safer I came across bikejoring/dog scootering (apparently a big thing in europe and the us). Ive promptly taught her to lead on foot and using rollerblades or a small scooter with much success, I cant wait until the weather cools down to try at some higher speeds on the bike. She absolutely loves it. Each time I put the harness on she becomes more focussed and intent on pulling forward. Which Im guessing is the drive that youre talking about with the sledding dogs. I would have initially hazarded a guess that was due to selective breeding for a fast dog driven to run. However my dog has not been selectively bred to pull in harness. She has always been a driven retriever but the more I do with her the more is seem that she is very keen and quick to learn anything I am willing to teach. This makes me think that it is more a pack drive. Sled dogs run in a team or as they see it a pack. This is what the pack does and the need to fit in tells them that they should do what the pack does. Most social animal are instinctively obsessive about fitting in. How many times have you heard of a good kid that is in a bad crowd??? Out of interest, is there anyone in eastern Melbourne who also bikejors?