wuffles

We also see Allan. You can just turn up on Monday nights and get in the line, he is sometimes very busy. He is very gentle with the dogs.

Ava chews these as well, we fenced it off!

huski, the conversation didn't start off with fearful dogs, on the previous page it sounded like you were inferring that if a dog isn't 100% well behaved all of the time then there was a relationship issue or the dog should be better trained. I know it's probably not how you intended it but that's how it came across.

What a boring world it would be if we all wanted our dogs to behave in the exact same way. If one way of training had been proven to be "the best" then we would all be using it and all our dogs would be obedience champions. That has not happened and never will, because it is different for every dog, and every handler. In my opinion just getting a CCD or RN or JD or TD (etc) pass requires a relationship - whether it is the same relationship that I want to have with my own dogs is none of my business! I have a completely different relationship with my "pet" dog than I do with my "trialling" dog. There is nothing WRONG with either of them, they are just DIFFERENT. I also strive to have a different kind of relationship with my dog, but transferring that to trialling is a different matter. We are being relatively successful so I mustn't be doing too badly. A title on a dog tells me that there is some kind of relationship. (Sorry to go a bit off topic, OP )

Well done TerraNik and clan!

Rusky in the ACT we just used the same qualifier cards as for other sports. The one I got in NSW was big and brown, not sure if that's their usual one or not :laugh:

We all felt your frustration last night :laugh: Mick actually didn't look that bad out there, it probably felt worse than it looked. The SFE was beautiful :laugh:

Willow is so cute! Did you give her a bath? Usually if Ava gets muddy (which she always does in rain) I just dry her off with a towel then wait for the mud to fall off, which is does after an hour or two.

I don't really remember I think it was some cutesy thing hubby and I used to say when we first started going out.

Mmm waffles... No video. Video seems to be bad luck :p

We seem to be!! Unfortunately (well, fortunately, depending on the way you look at it) we are going overseas next week for nearly a month so the dogs will be in kennels. Ava will be unimpressed, and I'm not sure how long it will take when we get back to get her back up to trialling standard. Next trial is end of March if all goes well :)

Well strike me down, we just did our first Open obedience trial and managed a quallie. 190 and 1st place. I'm a bit gobsmacked, I didn't even think she was ready for Open. It's great when they surprise you in a good way :laugh: Love my girl.

Thanks guys! Was not a brilliant performance but a pass is a pass. To be honest I think Ava is a bit confused about the whole thing... at least now the leash is not needed... yeeeehaw! The ACT has been absolutely brilliant in getting their trials up and running, I can't wait to hear about everyone else's results when other states come on board. There should be a few more titles this weekend with the trial in Sydney.

Yep, long line :) Also carry his favourite stuff with you. Raw steak if need be! Or a ball, or toy. I ALWAYS reward a recall even when my dogs are adults. The only time I don't is in the obedience trial ring and I want that to be a blip on the radar... "Oh, mum must have forgotten... next time!" I took my puppy to the local oval (not fenced but quite safe) and would play LOTS of games with her off leash. Chasing her, letting her chase me, tug games, bits of clicker training. I kept the reward rate really, really high when starting off... if she was 2m away and she so much as turned and looked at me, I'd click and treat. Edit: Another thing I taught her that was useful was that being off leash did NOT mean a free for all. Just because her leash has come off doesn't mean she can run off straight away. She needs to get a release word if she's allowed to go sniff/play/pee etc. Because I started with her off leash early, she learnt pretty quickly that it wasn't a novelty.

Mine are in the backyard when we're out, unless I'm just ducking to the shops or something in which case they can stay inside. I can't leave mine inside for 9 hours while I'm at work, they get bored and find things to entertain themselves. They both enjoy being outside and I believe there is more stimulation for them out there (things going on in the neighbourhood, bugs and birds, neighbours coming and going, smells in the air, the ability to run around and play and dig and snorkel in the water bowl). Mine are even out there in inclement weather, they have plenty of shelter. Whether they choose to use it or not is another matter :)

We also got our third pass and Rally Novice title last night :)

I would say just give her some time, keep doing what you are doing, it's hard when they are babies. Edit: Maybe you could even try having her on a dog bed beside your bed instead? If you're a light sleeper this works better as you can still hear if they need to go to the toilet. Some dogs settle better like this...

Not much help but my girl has always been an early riser. She probably didn't stop waking at 5am until she was at least a year old. Even these days she's awake at 5am, but is quiet until we get up (which is 6am most days anyway)! Thankfully she's never screamed or scratched in her crate, she would just whinge a bit. Until she was probably around 18-20 weeks I would just get up. Sometimes I would get up, toilet her, but then go lie on the couch and watch TV - she was expected to entertain herself for a while. Or she'd go outside with our older dog, but no barking allowed. She learnt. It just took a while :)

Neither of my dogs would be happy locked inside all day, especially my young working breed! They love the fresh air, the noises, the smells, the sun and even the rain.

We couldn't get the socks to stay on, and they didn't make my dog any more comfortable on the floors anyway. We have rugs where possible, and carpet squares in doorways etc that he has problems with.

To be honest I shortlisted a bunch of different breeds and in the end it came down to meeting a breeder I really clicked with.

I don't have a set routine but I don't crate Ava that much. Sometimes she gets a quick play before class (not too long as I don't want to wear her out), sometimes just a bit of a wander sniff pee, sometimes she gets tethered while I help set up a course. After class it also varies. Sometimes a play, sometimes straight home, sometimes comes into the clubhouse with me, etc. She's a medium drive dog, as long as I don't completely tire her out she will work with enthusiasm. She's much more focussed on me than other dogs so letting her play has never hindered her performance. Edit: While we're waiting around we play "find heel" type games, do tricks and other basic obedience.

It was just a Novice recall, it was pretty obvious that she was slightly crooked (photo is a bit deceptive but if you look closely you can see she is crooked).

Presumably that would count as guiding the dog/extra signals. The Rally rules state this: "Any faults in traditional Obedience that would be evaluated and scored as a one point deduction or more should be scored the same in Rally, unless otherwise mentioned in the “Rally Rules”." In other news, we gained our second Rally Novice pass on Thursday with 92/100. There is another trial on Tuesday so crossing fingers that we may be able to finish off our title then.

I have tried pretty much everything mentioned :laugh: Might give the platform work a bit of a think...