sheena

ETA: I think a bit of the confusion is also that Sheena was originally talking about motion reactiveness and Dandybrush was talking about breaking concentration, which are a bit different. My boy has both problems, so I use the more prolonged distraction, initiated by a "whosthat" for his obsessiveness. I use offering an alternative behaviour and the doggy version of cognitive behaviour therapy (via treats) for addressing his desire to run off and bark at fast-moving things. It is also used for breaking concentration & I again quote from Leslie McDevitt " Although many dogs brought to me for motion-reactivity are Border collies & other herding breeds, anydog can be triggered by seeing another dog running, doing obstacles or tugging in class. To teach dogs that they can in fact see this type of movement without reacting to it (whether the reaction is simply staring with a strong eye & getting "stuck"or actually lunging, barking & trying to chase) I use....the Look at That Game. " End of quote.

Oh no he looks at her no problem, I wanted him to look at me. My boy already had a basis in clicker training, so I got my OH to play fetch with my girl at home and I would sit next to Weasel. When he seemed to relax even a bit, I would say very quickly and excitedly "Whosthat!" and he would snap his head around to me for just a second, and I would click and treat that. I just kept doing that to get longer looks to me and when he was even more intense, then moved it out to the park, then to agility where there is a lot of excitement and fun dogs, then finally to herding where there are just the most stimulating things in the world for a kelpie, sheep. Once he started to offer more attention, I also added some other tricks after the first look so he would forget about the other dog for a few seconds, then a few minutes, then he'd offer the attention unsolicited. It might not be the textbook method (I haven't read control unleashed yet), so I'd recommend checking that out, but it's how we muddled through :D What you are describing is Look At me not Look at That...two completely different games. I have just made a cuppa & am typing out the quote from Leslie McDevitt Author of Control Unleashed. It wont allow me to cut & paste Quote...this game is a simple behavior chain of 2 "orienting" behaviors. The dog looks at a certain stimulus in the environment & then turns back to you. Rather than just using a Watch Me cue, the LAT game actively teaches dogs to read stimuli such as running dogs as an environmental cue to automatically reconnect with you. Once you have taught your dog this game, you can relax & let the environment do the work for you. Instead of you having to react once the dog has noticed something & ask your dog to watch you when he's already in the process of reacting, we can flip the tables here & teach your dog to tell you when he sees something. In other words this game changes the "conversation" ...end of quote ETA...more (I now have a 2nd Quote...When a motion-triggered dog sees a trigger, such as a dog running an agility course, the handler typically asks the dog to pay attention to her & the dog typically responds "That would be very hard for me right now since my instincts have taken over & I really can't hear you" LAT changes this conversation so when the dog sees another dog running he immediately turns to his handler & says "There is a dog running over there. Did you know about this" Reframing the trigger into something that your dog can "point out" to you & then collect a "finder's fee" for, keeps him in an operant or thinking state of mind when he sees that trigger, rather than his immediately going into react mode or chase mode. Trying to make a dog only look at you around things that trigger an instinctive response can be difficult & frustrating. I think it is both safer & a lot more pleasant for both members of the team if the dog learns that he can see those things & stay thoughtful & play a game with his handler instead of answering the call of the wild" ...end of Quote Hope this explains the confusion over the 2 completely different games. ;)

sorry to butt in on this thread would this training work on my pup to get her focus off my older dog? when im throwing toys and she is just focused on him? Yes...definately, but you need to start off with just slight distractions & build it up...set your pup up for success not failure . You could possibly just start off with having someone walk your other dog past him, as soon as he turns to look, click & treat. But you need to have your pup tuned into what the clicker is all about before you start....very important that he understands that when you click, he immediately gets a reward. Good Luck

To put it briefly, it involves starting off with small distractions & when the dog looks at, but before it has time to react, you click & dog turns to you for a treat. So basically the clicker is being used as a marker for (a) looking & (b) not reacting & is also being used as an interupter. You gradually increase the distractions & if you click & the dog does not respond, you know you have made it too hard for the dog & must move back. The idea eventually, is when you see eg. a dog running, you can say "look at that silly dog", your dog looks & immediately turns back to you for a treat. You know the light bulb has gone off when your dog offers a look at the distraction & turns of it's own accord back to you ie...the dog is telling YOU to LAT. I probably havn't explained it real well & it is a little more involved, for instance in the article she shows you how to get the dog to take deep breaths & relax. It comes from the "Control Unleashed" book & DVD, but the article is in this months Cleanrun Magazine if you can get hold of it. I wish I could copy & paste without violating copyright laws.

What sort of training do you do with her Do you know how to do clicker training, because this is probably the best way of helping her with her problem. It wont happen overnight, but once she gets the hang of what the clicker/treat is all about you will be surprised with he results.

I have a BC dog who is "motion reactive" meaning that she easily gets distracted in the ring by other dogs running, barking, tugging, & whatever & lunges & spins while waiting her turn to run. One trial back I decided to give the "Look at That" game a go & armed myself with lots of yummy treats & a clicker. I felt she was coming along well, but didn't continue it because a few people including our club trainers & other well meaning people told me I was daft & had never heard of such a game...."It's Look at MEEEEE" they kept telling me. The August edition of Clean Run included an article on the LAT game & I decided to give it another go at this weekends trial. We had 8 runs over the weekend & all but one run she tried her hardest & we walked away with 3 "Q's & 6 clean runs. The only event she got distracted in was when my OH was on the scribing table & she kept looking around for him So maybe I can play the game to overcome this She is still a long way from being motion reactive proofed, but I feel she is definately a "work in progress" & I have printed out the article to hand to those at my club who thought I was daft. :D ETA... I think the "Click to Calm" game would be very similar.

We run an electric fence around the top of the house yard (we are on a farm) & the dogs only try to climb out once If they are diggers then you can run it along the bottom too, as long as it doesn't touch the ground.

With my older girl as a pup, I tried puppy pads & newspaper...she thought they were great fun, ripping them up, then peeing on the floor. My new pup, has been crate trained & I would never do it any other way than this.

I used to feed VAN to my BC girl along with raw meat & suppliments of fish oil, joint formula & Livamol. I fed it for a long time till I discovered Black Hawk Kibble, which I now have her on with RMB's & no suppliments & she is definately doing better on that then she did on the VAN, without all the fiddling around. So, yes, I found it good, but what I have her on now is even better,

I don't normally let Bindi run around with other dogs she doesn't know, but OH pursuaded me to let her go run with about 20 other dogs at the end of a days trialling a few months back. Definately wished I hadn't as the next couple of trials we went to, all she could think about was the dogs running in the next ring...not interested in me at all & so frustrating. She now gets to run with our new pup only & she seems happy with that & has settled again at trials.

Hi Jules, I would be wanting to know where the lump of meat came from If that happened to me with my dogs, I don't think I would ever get over being paranoid.

You really do have to stop him picking up scraps of food when out walking.....he could pick up anything...the first one that comes to my mind is cooked chicken bones. If you can't stop him, then muzzle him while out walking. My first BC when she was a pup had an attraction for cigarette butts, so I had to be watching her like a hawk. If my dogs stop to sniff while out walking, I will pull them away till I check out what they are sniffing. My new pup while off lead around the farm, has decided he likes kangaroo & cow poo, but I guess he is just getting a little more pre-digested protein & hopefully he will get sick of it.

Thanks Sway....I would like to do one with DOL, but having a read, it seems I have to be a registered breeder. I just want one to showcase my lovely dogs,their activities & promote the clubs etc that we belong to. Both my dogs are on limited register so I am not a breeder or exhibitor. I would dearly love to do the DOL one, is there a way around this.

I have been feeding my BC Puppy on Black Hawk Adult since I got him at 11 weeks of age. He also gets a raw meaty bone, like half a turkey neck in the mornings & a bit of mince/sardines or egg on his kibble at night which adds a bit more protein to his diet.

I just have two types of stuffing for kongs. Filled with mince & frozen, or if I'm away from home then its Black Hawk Kibble mixed with enough peanut butter to make it stick. Crunchy peanut butter is fine, there is no way a dog could choke on peanut butter.

We have limited space to bring up pre-ordered Black Hawk next weekend to the agility trial being held at the Alstonville Showground. If anybody wants some please PM me. I will also have some sample packs & will be putting some on the raffle table. ETA.... Mark can deliver to most areas as far down as Sydney for just $10 per bag, as well as out West & North to the border.

They look a bit like something Mandy would make (someone mentioned Mid Nth Coast) http://www.callicoma.com.au/leads1.htm

I got a special type one from Petstock made just for kibble. It is insect proof.

I still use 2o/2o for the A-frame and teach it like others have mentioned - just using a plank angled on the stairs. Ziggy has had trouble sticking his A-frame contacts of late. At training it has been so wet that he's been slipping and struggling to stop his hind legs overtaking him so I've not stressed about it too much - you can't NRM a dog for what it physically is struggling with. What I am working on is some more hind leg strength and awareness - so begging (which is very hard for his longer frame), more perch work and I'll add walking backwards when I have a little time to spare. Can you lower the A-frame to reduce the angle??? That's what I will do if I need to - and have a private lesson if necessary to access the equipment. That's what I have done & she has learnt to run right to the end every time even at proper height in trials. I also taught the 2o2o with the stairs using a clicker & shaping.

BH is about the size of a large pea. You could always put it in one of those bowls which slow the dogs down. It is certainly worth a try & for the price, it is way, way cheaper than what you are feeding now.

If you want to stop a digger, don't use weed mat, put chicken wire under the mulch instead, or, if you want to stop the weeds as well, use weed mat, but put chicken wire over the mat.

Skye...I wonder if I bought the right thing I bought Elastoplast Spray on Plaster. I have sprayed some on a graze on the back of my hand & I can't even notice it's there. It doesn't say in the directions how long to spray, but I tried spraying till it dripped. It just doesn't seem like it would protect her feet

Like lots of herbs...used sensibly & in moderation it has beneficial properties, but overdosed, like the case in that first link of S & F's it may have caused problems. Too much of anything can be detrimental to your dogs health. I think rosemary's benefits in dog food for the majority of dogs far outweigh the yet to be proven, slight risk that it may agrivate an eplileptic dog. My daughter has a little dog which has siezures & since she has had it on a dog food containing rosemary, she has had no further problems & the little dog's health in general; has improved.

My BC girl gets 1/2 a turkey neck in the mornings & at night she gets just 1 cup of Black Hawk. She would eat buckets of it if I let her, as she loves it so much, not because she is still hungry. A bit like me & chocolates...I eat them cause I like them, not because I am hungry So with Bindi, I add some cooked pumpkin or sweet potato which makes her dinner last longer for her. She also gets a bit more BH during the day in the form of treats. If I give her any more BH than this she puts on weight.

I've had my BC puppy on Black Hawk Adult since I got him at 11 weeks old & he is doing very well on it. I give him a bit more protein in the form of a small Turkey neck or fresh meat with his rations. I had no trouble putting him straight onto it...his breeder was happy with that but to be on the safe side it is best to slowly introduce a new food over about a week.