sheena

This fellow is Greg Derret in his Foundation Training DVD. I have taught my dog to spin "back" (left) & "close" (right) & find it very handy for doing either a tight wrap round or for directing her to a tight turn to another obstacle. I am so bad with my lefts & rights though that it is a stategy I have to work out when walking the course as I can't think that quickly while running. It also may have been Rob Michalski on one of the 'Agility in Motion' videozines. He had a few segments across 3 or 4 DVD's where he taught a similar thing and then used it on tunnel discriminations I think. There is a wheelchair bound competitor in the US (Cheryl Minchinello, Michello? something like that) who has developed her own system of handling she calls 'directional control' and basically parks herself on course and handles most of the course with verbals. Totally amazing ! Oh my! Someone in a wheelchair doing agility, wow good on her!!! I would LOVE to see videos of this, any idea if there are any on youtube? If it helps discriminate between the 2 videos, this guy was working outside in a largish backyard and had a whole set of jumps set up with "wings" hanging off them that he used to demonstrate putting it in practice! :D Just Google "agility wheelchair youtube" & up will come lots

We just used coloured electrical tape.

This fellow is Greg Derret in his Foundation Training DVD. I have taught my dog to spin "back" (left) & "close" (right) & find it very handy for doing either a tight wrap round or for directing her to a tight turn to another obstacle. I am so bad with my lefts & rights though that it is a stategy I have to work out when walking the course as I can't think that quickly while running.

What a lovely sucess storey...It got me thinking about our own club. Out of all the people who have started Agility training at our club & there has been lots & lots, I am the only one in two years that has gone on to trialling. They just all drop out along the way & it must be such a disappointment to the instructors who do a wonderful job in the face of adversity. We live one hour from training, but turn up every week. I just find that it is very disappointing that not more of our members go through with it. Is this the same with most clubs

Normally my girl is very good on a loose lead, but when I know we are going to be in exciting situations I put a front fastening body harness on her. It is called a Gentle Leader, Easy Walker & it is great & cost only about $20 online from the Pet Barn. Being front fastening, when the dog starts to pull on it, the lead turns the dog back into towards you. Simple idea but very effective. Of course it doesn't take the place of training, but you can't be training all the time, otherwise you would never get to go anywhere.

My daughter's maltese cross girl has been on epilepsy tablets for most of her 9 years. We have heard that this medication is not very good for their liver or kidney :D What can we give her to try & counteract this organ damage that the medication might be causing.

OK.....so whats the calendula tea for :D

It's the egg whites that you don't give on their own (uncooked). I give my girl a whole raw egg about twice a week, shell & all, but I crumble the shell up as I have chooks & I don't want her thinking that its OK to steal the eggs.

Clean Run have a new Agility DVD available on their free shipping page. It is "Dial up the Distance" & I have ordered mine

Do you have any wandering jew growing in your lawn or garden as this can be a real bad one for some sensitive dogs. Also I would be interested to hear what your vet has said about it. I took my girl to the vet as she was chewing her legs & feet to bit & he found very tiny grass ticks, which I couldn't see. What has your vet suggested. Also some dogs react very badly to flea saliva.

My girl always wants the bit of the tug that I am holding in my hand even though the toy might be really long. I am sure she means no mallice, but it's annoying. When I give her treats, she is very gentle.

I am talking about the Gentle Leader BODY Harness, not the head halter. You will get it on line for about $20 & it is really good. Head halters are not recommended as they can injure your pup. & I'm not saying it takes the place of good training, just that you can use it if you want to take him for a walk, outside of training. Because it's attached to the front (chest) every time he reaches the end of the lead he is automatically & gently turned back in towards you.

At this age, every time you take him for a walk it has to be training with no letting off. Good idea to get a Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness which attaches at the chest for the times when you have to walk him somewhere. When he pulls on the harness, it gently turns him back in towards you.

I wouldn't have any issues in feeding Human grade horse meat to my dog...but I wouldn't actively go seeking it out to buy. I would be hypocritical if I said other, as I myself enjoy a bit of cabbanosi & pepperoni occasionaly along with all those other deli delights, & we all know what gives them the flavour

When my girl was a pup, I had had her home for less than a week, when she cut her pad badly on some colourbond sheeting. From memory the vet covered it & bandaged it up well, & it healed in no time. He also gave her a shot of penicillian & tetnis (I think). So glad your girl is on the mend. How did she cut it in the first place

If you can get hold of Susan Garret's DVD "Crate Games" it explains it all, especially how to make the crate a very special place for your dog. I got my 48" wire crate from Petstock on a 1/2 price special for $110. You could also pick up one from Ebay. I bought my canvas cover to suit the crate from Ebay.

;) Yahoo!! Go CK. What a lovely controlled run, & he's clearly enjoying every minute of it.

Maybe he got hit by static electricity as he stepped from the car....that would give any dog a fright.

Interesting and it didn't give your dogs the scoots. I am thinking maybe it might have been some other ingredient in the pastels (eg. sweetner) that gave me the runs, & I would be better of with the drops.

I bought a packet of Bach Rescue Pastels as it was suggested these might help to eleviate my "pre trial nerves". I'm not sure if they helped me over the weekend or not, except for maybe giving me the "runs" :D & possibly made me feel like "oh she'll be right mate, no worries" which made me worry more. I only took two pastels. So I googled info & found that there is a Bach R/F out for pets.....has anyone used this to settle their dogs.

He's probably finding all the other things going on around him more attractive than playing tug with you...he is distracted. We didn't do much on tugging in our foundation classes...it was left for us to do as homework. Bindi, up till now, would only tug at home & was more motivated by a ball or food. She got more interested in the tug, when we hid all her other toys, including the balls. Last week, we had a breakthrough & she tugged at a trial for the first time. She has been trialing for 8 months now & I have trained her mainly with food & she is doing well, & has fun, especially now she is getting less distracted. I wouldn't stop going to classes, just because your dog wont tug. You don't need a tug toy to be able to train your dog to enjoy agility.

I would be trying the crate idea, but make sure you do plenty of crate training with him & make the crate a real fun place to be. The crate has to become his place of sanctuary, somewhere where he can feel safe from all those things flying past the window....before you put it in the car. Cover it over (maybe just leave one end out) & just make small trips to start with. Susan Garret puts out a really good dvd called Crate Games. Travelling in a car can be really scary for some animals...imagine all those things outside wizzing past...trees, fences, poles, animals, not to mention cars & trucks.

I have a little brag....two weeks ago I posted in frustration a plea for help after a weekend trial held in the middle of a greyhound track. All weekend I couldn't get Bindi to focus because of all the distracting smells of the dogs & rabbits etc. The whole weekend was a disaster & I was in fear that Bindi might have "turned off". :p For the following 4 days, I did 10 minutes a day with her in a very exciting (smell wise) part of the farm, with a clicker & a big bag of treats. When she would put her nose to the ground, I would call "here" then click & treat as soon as she turned to me. By the 4th day, she was putting her nose to the ground then turning to me, before I had time to call "here". This last weekend was the tester with another trial in a distracting (rabbit) environment. We did 6 runs over the weekend & came away with 3 third places & a "Q". We were under SCT in 4 runs & were only disqualified in one run, when Bindi had a nasty fall on the second last jump (the sun was in her eyes) & I carried her off the field. :D I am so proud of my girl :D

DAY 4...went really well. I took her to a more distracting place, around the dam & only had to give a little tug on the lead once. She gives me her attention straight away & doesn't bother going back to the smell Probably have to start fazing out the treats soon & take her to where there are other dogs around doing their own thing. One side benefit of all this, is that I now have a dog who walks lovely on a loose lead

You can get collars that are remote controlled. You hold the control...he barks..you press the button as you give your "quite" command & the collar vibrates, it is not an electric shock, just an annoying vibration which gets his attention. Also a hand held ultrasonic device is an excellent tool. You use it in the same way, except this time he gets an annoying ringing in his ears. Don't use it though if you are near any other dogs ie within about 20ft as they will not understand, what they have done wrong. Make sure you give you command at the same time you push the button. I used both these tools on my dog when she was young & I can take her anywhere & she is well behaved. When she barks now, I know it is important & I investigate. You can also use one of those hand held squirter bottles the same way, only problem is you have to be close to the dog, but you can always set her up for the situation. It works wonders & is cheap. The other two devises you can buy on Ebay.