sheena

I have been a bit reluctant to use a horse product as I am not to sure if it might be toxic to the dog when she licks her coat. Obviously this is not a problem with horses. Has anyone tried any of the Plush Puppy range I have just bought a little bottle of Fuzz Yards Natural to try, but at $17 for 125 ml it will send me broke in no time Mind you, I don't mind being sent broke if it works.

She has a really lovely coat...it's just her tail which gets in a mess. I don't believe in bathing as often as once a week. All she needs to keep clean is the occasional swim. I comb out the dead coat on a regular basis & that's not the problem....it's her tail.

What is the opinion on the best spray in/leave in conditioner that detangles well & leaves coat fresh but not overpowering. I find it most difficult to get the comb through my border collie's tail.Usually I wet it well & smother it with conditioner...comb out the tangles (takes for ages) then wash it all out. Within a few days it is all tangled up again & she hates me playing with her tail for too long.

I give my adult 18 kilo border collie 1/2 cup VAN soaked for 24 hours then mixed with 1 tablespoon livamol, her joint formula & a fish oil capsule, then mix in some chopped or minced beef or can sardines or a whole rawegg crushed, shell & all. She loves it. She was not too sure about it to start, so I put a bit of powdered beef stock in with it.

If it is a REAL problem & nothing else works, you can buy a electronic mat which I think is probably battery operated called ScatMat. Put that on the couch & when he jumps on it he gets a couple of seconds of small unpleasant static. Handy for lots of things especially when your not around 24/7 to keep an eye on him. Good for stopping cats jumping up on kitchen benches etc. I havn't personally used one but I have found the ultrasonic hand held devises very handy. http://www.bullwrinkle.com/scatmat/scatmat.htm

What are all you ADAA Grand Prixers doing for the Sunday night dress up dinner???? I think our group will probably look like a herd of Friesans in cowboy hats...could have been worse....could have been "Cows with Guns" Anyway, its my girl Bindi's 3rd birthday today & in our first year of trialing (hers AND mine) she has achieved her JD & GD Titles & has one last chance at Armidale (week after Grand Prix) to get her AD Title Thought I would share a birthday photo of her having fun :D See you all there...just a few more sleeps

Thanks for that info. I was wondering more about the problems with desexing a performance female dog too early as compared to having her tubes tied. If they remove the uterus & one ovary does this still allow her to grow out properly. I would have thought that having a tubal ligation done would be less invasive but what would the failure rate be? Have you heard of this failing. Obviously it would be an inconvenience to have her coming on heat too. ;)

What are the pros & cons of tubal ligation V desexing in a performance pup

I just received my list of entrys via email...12 events all up including the 24 weave pole challenge. Starting to get excited now..if only I could get Bindi to do a lovely drop on the table in competition like she does at training At last weekends trial, I set a table up on the side & she did perfect drops even with little dogs all round her doing their "yap yap" thing at her. When it was her turn in the ring.....NO WAY MUM Same with the weaves, though she was 80% accurate in the trial. In training I can send her, call her through, put her in at different angles etc & hardly never misses a beat, even with distractions. We had some tricky entrances on the weekend (for novice) & in one run she had three goes at going in Thinking back, I think that during trialing I am trying to be so careful about pulling her around straight for the entry, that I am putting her off her concentration. Maybe I should be just giving her the "Go Weavers" command & let her find her own way...& don't worry about the scolding I will get later from my instructor, if it doesn't work We are in starters & intermediate classes at the Grand Prix.....this is our first year of trialing.

A friend of mine wants a smallish girl dog with a lovely personality that she can also enjoy agility with. I suggested a whippet. Evidently the vet told her that whippets are not suitable for agility because of their bone structure & they have a lot of injuries etc. Is this true???

It's at the indoor equestrian centre & goes from Friday evening till Monday over the October long weekend. Is the Kootingal Chinese a good meal ?

We're going from ADAA in Tamworth to the Armidale trial the following weekend...will be far chillier in Armidale. Might have to fight OH for the dog in my sleeping bag

Simple - timing gates are set up at the start and finish of 24 weave poles. Quickest dog wins. Slow dogs do better - probably not. Expect the quickest midi dogs to do it in about 4.5 seconds. Xena last year did about 5.7 seconds and was 6th or 7th in the prelims. Not sure what the other height classes did. BC 4 Me's girl was just AWESOME. Which one....I am hoping I will finally get to meet Coco

The 24 weave pole challenge...we are in it just for the fun, can anyone explain the rules of the game Maybe the slower dogs will do better in it because the poles are closer together.

I will probably have one of my Border Collie shirts on...either "My border collie is handler impaired, but patiently training" or "My border collie loves agility". We are in the beginners & she will be the only Chocolate border there with a leaf hanging out of her mouth like a cigarette paper, most of the time, :D & she has pricked ears.

I'm one of the two. Will be the one towing a trailer full of agility gear! See you all there. Only a few sleeps to go! Yeah, your'e one of the two ..the other one is BC4Me

Who's going to the ADAA Grand Prix in Tamworth in a couple of weeks. So far from previous postings, I know of two others besides our club.

I just posted this in the Tricks forum:- First you teach the dog to spin To teach dog to spin, first get her to tug, then while tugging gently spin her around. This is the method Greg Derret uses to teach right & left turns. Spin one way a few times then the other. Then as you spin to the left, give a name to it (I use back) as you spin to the right put a name to it (I use close), soon you will be able to just give the command & maybe an arm movement & the dog will spin either to the left or to the right. This comes in handy on the agility course when working at a distance & you want the dog to turn left or right. (I'm still working on that one ) If I had my time over, I would have used the words left & right (not sure why Greg uses back & close)

I tried lots of ways to get Bindi to walk backwards....until I went to a dancing seminar & the way they showed me, well, she picked it up in 60seconds. You stand facing the dog with your legs apart, place a treat between your legs & slightly behind. The dog goes in for the treat & then backs out to look at you. Important to click as soon as she gives backward movement, then treat by throwing the treat between your legs again...she goes in for the treat & you click as she is backing out, & keep repeating. When you are sure that she knows what she is getting clicked for then put a name to it as she backs out. To get distance, place a target like a folded towel on the floor, close at first & slowly move it away. The dog backs up & you click & treat as soon as the backlegs touch the towel. To teach dog to spin first get her to tug, then while tugging gently spin her around. This is the method Greg Derret uses to teach right & left turns. Spin one way a few times then the other. Then as you spin to the left, give a name to it (I use back) as you spin to the right put a name to it (I use close), soon you will be able to just give the command & maybe an arm movement & the dog will spin either to the left or to the right. This comes in handy on the agility course when working at a distance & you want the dog to turn left or right. (I'm still working on that one )

With ADAA the dog has to drop on the table & the weave poles are closer together. We are going out to the ADAA Grand Prix at Tamworth in October. Any other DOLERS going Should be a real good 4 day weekend in a huge new indoor equestrian arena. Because my dog is 510 she wil have to jump higher at 550 & there will be wings on the jumps. So a few challenges to work on beforehand. At present she will drop automatically on the table in practice & at training, but no way will she drop in a trial Yep - we will be there. The Grand Prix is always a great weekend. Nice and relaxed, but heaps on at the same time. Both my guys jump 550 - one is 475mm and the other is 540mm. (Make sure your dog is registered in the Regular Programme if you want them to jump 550 in the intermediate and open events. Otherwise they will be jumping 650mm.) See you there! Yep....we have her down as Regular. This is our first time & have put in for "everything eligble"....how will I recognize you....dogs names maybe I'll be the one with 2.5 BC's - all black and white. CK and Xena are my dogs who will be running. Wikki is the little thing that looks like a bear cub at the moment. I'll be in BAD clothing - bright yellow and blue. AFAIK I will be the only guy from our club so I shouldn't be too hard to spot. If all else fails just ask someone to point out Tony from the BAD club and they are likely to know who you are talking about. Looking forward to catching up with you...my OH will be so glad there is another fella going. My girl is Bojak Bindi...just look for the pretty chocolate & white border with a leaf hanging out of her mouth like a cigarette We're with the Coffs Harbour mob.

Whatever name might be put to it, obviously I need to have her complete & utter focus on me & the obstacles. I do lots of "focus" work with her & she loves to work with me & she is perfect at training with all the other dogs. What I'm wondering, am I expecting too much of her being that she is not quite 3 & this is her first year of trialing. I have been told on numerous occassions that this problem will disappear when she matures (at about the age of 5). So there is no other way of dealing with it except to keep up the "focus & drive" work & it will all fall into place?? This is the first agility dog I have had, all the BC's in the past have been working dogs. So it's important to me that I get as much advice as possible so that I don't ruin a very good dog. ;)

With ADAA the dog has to drop on the table & the weave poles are closer together. We are going out to the ADAA Grand Prix at Tamworth in October. Any other DOLERS going Should be a real good 4 day weekend in a huge new indoor equestrian arena. Because my dog is 510 she wil have to jump higher at 550 & there will be wings on the jumps. So a few challenges to work on beforehand. At present she will drop automatically on the table in practice & at training, but no way will she drop in a trial Yep - we will be there. The Grand Prix is always a great weekend. Nice and relaxed, but heaps on at the same time. Both my guys jump 550 - one is 475mm and the other is 540mm. (Make sure your dog is registered in the Regular Programme if you want them to jump 550 in the intermediate and open events. Otherwise they will be jumping 650mm.) See you there! Yep....we have her down as Regular. This is our first time & have put in for "everything eligble"....how will I recognize you....dogs names maybe ;)

Vickie....why would you not describe this behaviour as "herding". ;) We are on a farm & she "herds" the cattle in the same way by running around them in wide ever decreasing circles until she has gathered them all together & then will put them through a gate. I have been on farms for most of my life, be it sheep or cattle & this is the way our working dogs mostly worked, especially the BC's. It is exactly the same thing she does when around other dogs & when she sees a dog running around in the distance she thinks it should be 'gathered" like a stray sheep. She has a very good recall, so that's not a problem, just that it loses valuable seconds on the agility course (or a missed weave pole). She hardly ever knocks a bar even when her head is turned towards the distraction.

How about gift vouchers from an on-line pet supplier.

My Border Collie seems to have a very strong herding instinct which causes distractions during agility trialing. When other dogs are playing, or chasing a ball, she is more interested in rounding them up than joining in the game. The only time she makes contact with them is when they stop running & she will go in with a left hook to get them to run again. She always has to have something in her mouth, usually a leaf hanging out like a cigarette paper. Problem is when she is on the agility course, if she sees a dog running around in the far distance it distracts her for a moment which is just enough to cause her to miss a weave pole or pause on top of the A-Frame (she gets a better view up there). At training she is fine & almost perfect even with other dogs doing their stuff at the same time, but if she sees another dog running around free in the distance, she has to sticky beak. I have been told she will grow out of this, she is nearly 3YO. I have cured her of smell distractions on course & if I could fix this then seconds would be cut from her times & she would be tops.