RubyStar

Nope. I forgot. So I got it on Saturday night instead

Not sure I agree with that!

I saw your dumbell throw land next to the start peg ;) Judge asked me if I wanted to throw into the wind, must have been because you asked, so I threw it same direction as you did. I hope the Classic goes just as well for Millie Though I hope we find her drop on recall before then Don't worry Brookie, mum will make sure her turns are better next time ;)

Yeah it was fairly windy at the K9 last night! By the time I made it into the ring at obedience (just before 10pm), the wind had picked up and I struggled to walk in a straight line (more so than normal :rolleyes:) I was standing around chatting just before going home, around 11pm, and the wind was blowing me all over the place!!

Thanks emery :rolleyes: Ruby could actually stand to lose a kilo, so I have reduced her food again. Both my girls weigh approx 23.5 - 24 kilos each.

I think I would take offence to that more than if you were direct with me :rolleyes: I saw an OBESE (had to capitalise, bold and underline that for effect!) Beagle at a show on Friday night ;) The poor thing

I wish I had the guts to do it. Came across a guy and his approx. 5 month old Lab out walking (I didn't have mine with me so obviously I just had to stop and say hello!) and it was the biggest tub of lard I had ever set eyes on. It was atrocious. I wish I had the guts to tell him, but some people don't take that advice too well He looked a little scary too :rolleyes: ;)

Agreed, and an obvious waist tuck. We did a health check in my TAFE class for a Rottweiler and one of the questions was circle their weight (Underweight / Average / Overweight). Everyone in my group were adamant it was a good weight, so circled average. You could not see the outline of the last rib and there was no waist tuck, and it was just tubby IMO, so I went against the trend and circled overweight :rolleyes: However, if I had taken my Labs in to be assessed, I would put money on that the same group of people would have circled Underweight for mine. Some people just don't have a clue and opinions differ greatly on what is a good weight!

He was definitely a good boy! :p :D Well done!!!

I'm a happy girl tonight. First obedience trial back for the year for me and I put both dogs into Open but in NFC (not for competition). I did this so I could have a bit of a reduced stress trial with Ruby, as we are working at getting her heelwork concentration back (we lost it somewhere along the way, and at the same time I started getting extremely nervous with her which doesn't help). She did good. She struggles coming down the ring back towards the figure 8 posts, just too much excitement with stewards standing there! So I know what to work on. I only did the heelwork with Ruby then exited the ring for her jackpot :p Oh but one thing I gotta say I am very happy with, her fast pace had improved tonight! We've been doing a bit of work on that lately so I hope it's on it's way to being fixed Then I went in with Millie and did a full round with her. She was a good Moo!! The only thing she failed was drop on recall. She can do it, so we'll just work on perfecting it. She came in at full pelt so I think found it a bit hard to collect her body and thoughts on that one I'm so very proud of her round! Her official Open debut is in 2 weeks time at the Western Classic. Here is Millie's video from tonight :D

I missed this earlier, well done!!

I wanted to come down to watch tonight, there is a doberman from our class doing ccd tonight, i feel asleep this arvo and only woke up just b4 6 so i did not go down Good luck those competing You should have been entered My girls did good. I entered them both in Open class, Not For Competition to take a bit of the pressure off. Both did well, but Millie, what a good girl she is :D :D Good girl Zola

Wahoooooooo!! Go Jedi & TN!

Well done Trixie I don't think it matters how long your dog has been weaving for, I still find it pretty special to watch as it certainly isn't a natural behaviour for a dog! I discovered why Ruby lags so much while weaving... me I go slow to run beside her, so she slows down, then I slow down, and the cycle continues. I tried running flat out past them this week and I could see her pick her speed up to catch up with me Sometimes she pulled out a bit early as I got too far ahead but a few reps and she was starting to stay in there while continuing picking up the speed Then there are Millie's weaves (she has been weaving all 12 for a bit now, woohoo!!)... she has a completely different style to Ruby, very interesting to watch the 2 dogs weave differently. Ruby kind of one step/two steps them (I need to work on that part of the 2x2 dvd that encourages one stepping) and Millie kind of hops through them with both feet in a lower crouched position (and with a bit of speed, too... well, for a Lab!)

Yup agreed the dogs know the difference and environment is a big part. I wouldn't hesitate to teach puppy the basics of several disciplines at once if one wanted to, they're smarter than we sometimes give them credit for

Yes, true, but I train retrieving in the same place I train obedience as well, so need other cues for the dog!

No, not spoilt at all You should be pretty proud of Millie for using the phone. Make sure you check your bill though as who knows what 1900 numbers she has been ringing They've probably been ordering pizza all week, too Millie must be using her dew claws as her thumb, and that is why Ruby hasn't mastered the art of using a phone yet (though I'm sure I could shape that )

I'm sure the more experienced will answer, but for me, I give the dogs different cues. Obedience heeling, my left arm rests on my hip, and my posture is different. I also use the command "heel". For retrieving, I don't have the same straight posture and my left arm doesn't take position on my hip, I let it swing freely, and my command is "close". I don't think the word means much, but I don't want to use the word "heel" when heeling in retrieving and possibly confuse her to think that it's ok to look forward when using the same word in obedience.

My dad just phoned. He said he got a phone call about half hour ago, from Millie, asking for Gramps to come and pick them up So my girls are in air conditioned comfort, snoozing the afternoon away Spoilt? Yep, possibly!!

You sound like a lovely owner Rubystar & your dogs breeder is very lucky to have you as one of their puppy people. The 4 owners that keep in contact with me are also alot like you & I'm very lucky to have them, the other 3 people are lovely too & are perfect homes for my pups, but some people just don't see the importance of their pups breeder once theyactually get the puppy home unless there is actually a problem... which is fine with me, some people just don't have the time to sit & do updates all the time. I'm just hoping by acknowledging their pups birthday it will remind them that I still care & that I'm still here for them if they need me. raz there is no way I'm sending birthday presents to drum up business I don't breed enough litters to be looking for sales for starters, & my Dol listing & website is enough to give me enough enquiries every week. There is only about 23 breeders listed on Dol for Aussie terriers & only 2 puppy listings advertised at the moment so I definately do not need to drum up business. I want to send my babies presents simply because I love & care for them, not to get sales or anything else. Awww shucks, fanks And breeders like you give breeders a GOOD name! We had an Aussie Terrier growing up, her name was Mandy She was a bit norty, though :p

I send emails on my pups birthdays; one puppy owner took great offence to this and on the 2nd birthday replied to my email telling me to "stop harassing them" or they'd take out a restraining order and that they "wanted a dog not a new friend". So I try and respect those who don't want contact but since I like contact, I also try and pick buyers who are like that. 1 email a year and it's classed as harrassing? :D Seriously, what is wrong with people? Sure, not everyone likes to stay in contact, but geez, they need to get over themselves. The breeder sends an email a year to wish them a happy birthday, the world is not going to end

You off to England tomorrow?!?! Argh I should go to sleep... I was talking to him YESTERDAY! Hopefully will go early July Cos I was going to say, you kept that one hush!!

I think it's a lovely gesture :D and who knows, it may reopen the communication gate and they may feel like they can contact you again in the future. Perhaps some just don't realise how beneficial a puppy buyer/breeder relationship can be for some. If you don't get a response, never mind, it still shows you're a caring breeder I personally love keeping in contact with my breeder. I see her often and she loves updates on Ruby, and she'll be getting my "repeat business" if I get another Labrador in the future. I kept in contact with Millie's foster mum for a while, but she wasn't as receiving with my Millie boasts as Ruby's breeder is as I received a few non-replies, so I don't update her as often anymore (eta: this has prompted me to sit and write her an email tonight and send some photos, I know she had a special spot for Millie so even if she doesn't have time to reply, I'm sure she still loves the updates). I love nothing more than updating the breeder/foster carer so my next breeder I buy from better watch out, cos they will be bombarded with photos, updates and training brags!

You off to England tomorrow?!?!

Thanks Vickie She is way too clever for her own good sometimes :D I don't think I had Little Em with me when we met last year. As to returning the item to the throwing person - it's not uncommon because that's where all the fun comes from. However, once the dog is reinforced for returning to the handler (food) and then rewarded with another retrieve (and the thrower ignores them), they work it out very quickly. Ruby used to visit the thrower sometimes too (or at obedience, she'd take the dumbell back to the instructor ), but now she comes back to me and what was funny was the other day we were mucking around with something and the other person I was training with threw a dummy for her a short distance, and she returned it to me standing nearby That's fine by me