sheena

We are not sheep country, only cattle & kangaroos, lots of them. So I will put it past the vet next time we are in.

Simple...teach you pup not to jump on kids ;) & educate the kids as to what to do when they greet the pup...have some training sessions involving the kids. There is more to it than just being a tree.

We live on a farm but our dogs only get freedom when we are with them. We have a house yard fully fenced & divided in two...the dogs have the back part & the front is for my garden & electricity readers etc. There is never any need for anyone to come into their yard. Around the top of the fence is a hot wire connected up to the electric fence, so they only try once to climb or jump over. They could dig their way out if they wanted too, but if they tried that, then we would hot wire around the bottom of the fence as well. We have quite a few stray & wild dog/dingo x's around here so it's for the safety of our dogs as well. Around this way, you don't usually warn your neighbours about their dog, cause if something does happen to it then you are the first they blame & some guys can get really wild. We wont tolerate any chasing of livestock & usually fire a shot over the dogs head & they don't normally come back after that.

OH & I were this morning discussing worms. We are on a farm & the dogs (especially the 5 month old pup) when out walking, consume the odd piece of kangaroo poo, cow poo or chicken poo, or whatever else has pooed in the paddocks during the night The puppy just loves kangaroo poo. Just wondering on opinions as to whether these poos might be harmful to them in regards to giving them worms. I worm them every three months & they certainly don't look wormy...quite the opposite. I suppose to be sure I could have their poos tested at the vets. Does anybody know what this costs per test & what's involved? Thanks in advance

I was reading in another of your threads & your dog sounds like a carbon copy of mine when I first started..at one stage we were almost banned from training....so stick with the LAT & I think you will have fun & see lots of improvment. Another thing I have tried, is not to let her run around with other dogs other than our own puppy, & I think this has helped too. I still have to proof my girl against getting distracted with dogs running in the far distance, but I am working on it. Just a silly, question, but Bindi, when she is carrying on like a Tassie Devil, always has a leaf hanging from her mouth like a cigarette paper....does Quinn do this ?

My BC girl will often sit on my feet or put a paw on my foot & press her body in & upwards as close as she can get to me. I take it as a sign of affection cause she also looks up at me & her eyes say "I love you, Mum"

I shall add it to my list. :D Is it this one? http://www.agilityclick.com/prod51.htm That's the one I've got & it is excellent...that's a good price too if the site is Australian

Hi Sammies, The "other woman" is a friend, but I can tell you the friendship is wearing thin, she is also one of the trainers at our club. IMO even those people who "know everything" should still keep their minds open to something a bit different & learn all about it before they choose to criticise so bluntly. I find dog trials the best place to train as this is where she gets the most excited & distracted. I start off with her away from the action & work our way closer, till we can do it while waiting in line for our turn, tho I am finding it harder now to get her to "look at" something as she now prefers to keep her focus on me...so I guess that must be the end result. She just loves anything to do with the clicker & I think it is probably helping to get her into the "working with me" mode before a run. On Saturday there were kids soccer matches going on as well, so I was able to play LAT with that distraction. The only other place I could train it is at our weekly training school, but this trainer is there & I don't want to upset anybody, but I find that now, since we have been practicing it at trials, Monday night's training is pretty tame. I think the key to it is to click as soon as they turn towards the distraction, but before they have time to react, then treat when they turn to you. If you click & they don't turn to you, then you are too close to the distraction & need to move further away. What this woman doesn't understand (& wont let me explain) is that I am not clicking/marking her for looking away from me, I am clicking/marking her for looking away AND not reacting to the distraction. I am telling my dog, it's OK to look, but then turn & tell me ;)

We've been working our way through it with the new puppy, also trying it out on the older dog too...makes us realise just how much foundation training she missed out on as a pup.

Did some more LAT training at a trial over the weekend, & again copped ridicule from the same person She just goes on & on about it. I even gave her Leslies's information on the technique but she dismissed it as "rubbish". Maybe I am just too sensitive, but for the rest of the weekend, I tried to do my training away from her, but I could "feel" her eyes on me a lot. The proof is in the pudding though, for my dog has gone from being a Tasmanian Devil on & off the course, & so easily distracted by anything moving, to one which did fabulous runs in ALL jumping events over the weekend, coming away with passes in JDX & GDX...lots of other clear runs, but we just have to learn to run just a little bit faster. By the way, this "person" could not bring herself to compliment us on any runs, she just said it was "luck"

We will have free sample packs at the Port Macquarie Trial this weekend... if anybody wants one, just ask any of the officials for Sue & Murray with the chocolate BC's. There will also be some bags on the raffle table. We will have a limited number of 2 kilo packs for sale as well (for those who want a bigger sample). ;)

Hi LL, They look pretty good. What are the bases made out of??? Metal or plastic & how tuff are they.

We started off with just the pvc ones on a pvc pipe base that you buy over the internet & they still come in handy (we have 2 sets) even though they are a different spacing, it doesn't seem to worry her. We then bought a full set of 2 x 2's on metal bases from a guy from up in Queensland that makes them, but they were poorly made & have fallen to bits...OH has had to re-weld them His seesaw was also a good 20cm out at the centre too..I think it was supposed to be offset by 20mm. OH also made up a set of 12 that just stick in the ground & are handy for carting around in the car. Good training, cause they are just stuck in the ground at roughly 2 ft apart & fall at all angles, but she still does them. I am not real sure, but I think Allison from Dunwurkn Border Collies makes agility equipment,for sale & it looks pretty sturdy & of good quality.

Also ( I have never done it), but you could smear a bit of vegemite on your finger, to make her not mind your finger being in her mouth. I just usually put tablets in a bit of mince, but if she's off her food then that wont work.

Not sure why you would buy it overseas when you can get it in Australia Plaque Off, that is.

My pup has ALWAYS got a yummy treat for going into his crate. I keep a jar of them on top. Now when it's bedtime, I just call him for bed...both dogs come running at speed & both pop into their own crates, turn around to face the door & drop, waiting for the treat.

Hmmmmmmmm....maybe a borgi or a bordacorg

So glad that Quinn is coming along so well...doesn't it make you feel good, when such a change comes over them. All I have to do now is to teach her not to get distracted by my OH when he is working at the trials Leslie summed my dog up completely when she said "he could not go to trials because when he saw another dog running, he turned into a Tasmanian Devil...if that sounds familiar, then I wrote this article for you" ...end of quote. That's the exact description we used to give our BC girl...behaving like a Tasmanian Devil.

Important thing is, no matter which way you teach your dog, with a clicker or voice marker, it is a lot of fun for you & your dog I was simply pointing out that she does use the clicker to teach it. My dog is having lots of fun with it & I now find I have to make my voice more exciting to get her to look. I can almost hear her saying..."OK ...Mum... I will look, but just quickly, as I am far more interested in you than that dog running & barking" I can't believe the change in her since I have started playing the game.

okay - I think you're mixing two games up. Typically, for "look at that" you don't use the clicker (if you follow Leslie's stuff to the tee). To keep it really simple, the order is: i) Dog looks at something ii) At that instant, before they get roused, you say "Look at that" (ie it is a marker, not a cue - the difference is important, you aren't actually telling your dog to look at something, just marking that it has). Now if you want, you can use the clicker instead of saying "look at that", but you only use one or the other. I personally don't use the clicker for this because I don't always have it on me and I like to have my other hand free if something goes wrong. I also use the clicker for free shaping so I don't want the clicker to mark calm. iii) Whjen you're starting out, as soon as you've said "look at that", shove a treat in their mouth. You don't have to wait for them to do anything (eg look at you), just give them the treat. Repeat the game again each time they look at something. Don't be stingy - you want to build up a conditioned response, so you need to repeat it many times. iv) After you've played the game a few times, add a micro-second pause between steps ii) and iii). If your dog has the hang of it, he will look at you after you say "look at that". Then treat (ie the dog is being treated for looking at you and remaining calm). If your dog gets very excited, say "look at that" in a low, calm voice. Sorry ...but the article I am reading of Leslies called "the LAT Game"...she DOES use the clicker & I will quote a bit more of the article, though I have run out of (Quote)...she uses an example...I got out a stick...& held it out, clicking when he looked towards it. At the sound of the click, he turned back to me expectantly & got his treat. When I knew he would readily look toward the stick, I started asking him "Where is it?" ..my LAT cue. (end of quote)...she then goes on to extend it to the dog looking at it's mum. etc. etc.& other examples too. She doesn't use the clicker when teaching the dog to "Take a Breath" The cue I use is as if I am talking to a child & that keeps my voice happy. I will say things like...is that Albert barking, or, look at that little white fluffy, or, is that a cow, or, look at that dog being silly....she immediately turns her head in the direction I am looking..I click...she turns back to me & I treat.

With all my wormers & spot-ons etc, I always buy the biggest size available & divide the tablets or the liquid & therefor get more doses for my dollar.

I saw a corgi x border collie on the weekend....it was very overweight so it looked like a very fat border collie with no legs. Sad really to think that someone could have done that to two lovely breeds

Have you enquired with your local vet....mine will do it for just $12 per dog.

We will be at the Port Macquarie Trial next weekend 6th & 7th August, if you want to pick up a sample of Black Hawk. Just ask any of the organisers for Sue or Murray with the Chocolate BC called Bindi. We are taking down some orders & probably have room for just one more 20 kg bag if anybody wants it. They are $85 per 20 kilo bags & we can do smaller amounts POA. Just PM me or email at [email protected].

Sounds like a helpful article, I might have to order the magazine to keep it on hand....then of course I will have to buy some other doggy stuff to justify the shipping charge.... ;) If you buy the digital copy, there is no shipping charge, you download it to your computer for just $5.00. It's the August 2011 which has the article in...here's the link http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2892&ParentCat=357