RubyStar

Looking forward to the WA one! :D

TheLBD. We use an upside down cake tin here, indestructable! Well, at least for my dogs :p

Mine would go for the one closest to their mouths, then finish off with the other one. Mine don't discriminate!

sorry but this gave me the giggles Would love to see a video of this decision making process in action!

No worries, and don't feel bad! I'm sure you did better than you thought. Hey, I had 3 goes in the ring that night and came out a loser each time I've forgotten what it feels like to get a pass card in obedience

No flyball clubs in Perth or surrounding areas, as far as I'm aware. Apparently the equipment is floating around somewhere from years ago (though, probably outdated?!), just requires some keen people to maybe start a club up!

Would have liked to go, but money was an issue I too fall asleep in seminars/lectures so I might have wasted my money - though it sounds like he was entertaining enough to keep everyone awake!

That was awesome, Vickie! Looked fun and quite challenging. E+H, can't wait to see you guys in action. Sounds like you're both having a ball! That's how I'm feeling training Pippa lately :) If pie ever comes back to Thurs training, I'll have to ask nicely for her to film Pippa doing a short sequence!

This is one I'd leave out. While always useful for all dog sports, you're going to get people scoffing because they are there for agility, not obedience! And we all know the greater percentage of people find obedience "boring"! (not me )

Yes it would. You can't give a command to turn. Only commands permitted during heelwork are "heel", "stand" and "drop". Also, using the dog's name at any time once you've told the judge you're ready and have given the heel command, will cost you, too. So if you need/want to get the dog's attention back, give another "heel" command. Yes you will lose points, but I believe less so than their using their name, but it also does depend on the judge on the day :) Most importantly remember, you want to make it a positive experience on the day, especially considering it's his first trial, so don't be afraid of losing points or failing, and help your dog when he needs it! :) Without a video it's hard to know, but have you practiced drops next to a wall to condition him to drop straight, and only rewarded for straight drops? Don't reward for sloppy positions. Been there, done that, have the tshirt When you have a retriever and something goes flying in the next ring, watch out!! What's more embarrassing was it happened not too long ago in a UD trial

Hi Kyky, glad you found an answer. I read your initial post but didn't have time to reply at the time, and intended to come back and see if I could provide any tips if nobody else had. Feel free to ask if you need further help, there are lots of knowledgeable trainers in here!

Have you taken sits and drops away from the heel work and just played clicker games with these positions? Make them fun to do and the speed should come! Get a drop, chuck a treat (not too far to start with until the dog learns the game and gets faster with the drops) and ask for another drop as the dog comes back in. Click as soon as they hit the deck, throw treat, rinse repeat. Be as exciting as possible! Also, I'd slow your left about turn down a tad, and give the dog some indication you're about to turn (slight movement of head or shoulders of the direction you're about to turn, but don't make it too obvious or you'll get pinged for double signals). Currently, you're taking off in the opposite direction in such a hurry, leaving the dog wondering where the heck you went?! :)

It was a joke, Megan :p But yep more seriously, for the OP, it is a good idea to use puppy's food rations for training instead of just lumping it down in a bowl. You can get a well mannered dog, it won't get unnecessarily fat by getting meals and extra training treats (gotta be real careful not to let the weight stack on! Too many overweight Labs out there ) and it is also great bonding to hand feed :) And for the original question, as others have said, the best food is what your dog does best on. I fed Advance Large Breed Puppy for the first 6 months, then switched to a normal Advance variety. Mine have also been on Nutro, Black Hawk, Supercoat, Bonnie Working Dog, and Eagle Pack Holistic. They weren't on Supercoat long enough to really notice a difference, but I noticed condition got worse on Bonnie Working Dog. Their condition has been about the same on all those other premium brands, so just go with what you feel like and if one doesn't work, feel free to change. Just do it gradually as some dogs can have a sensitive tummy to switching foods cold turkey. Not that I personally have done the slow change over, mine just go cold turkey and I've never had issues

Are you saying my Labs aren't well trained, Megan? Doesn't solve the problem of not chewing kibble, though, they'd still gulp it as training treats.

Happy Birthday, Fergus!!! What a handsome fella, too :D

I second this. My Labs practically inhale dry food, never chew it, so I'm scared of them choking on it. As much as it may seem wrong to still be soaking kibble for adult dogs, my two get soaked kibble to this day and I'm happy to keep it this way. They get the odd chicken neck (which also get inhaled, lucky if they crunch it once!) but they can chew wings and larger bones.

Showpony, is this what you're alking about with the sleeping area? Wanderer Gazebo Hub Dome Tent - 3 person Looks great! Yep....thats it !!!!! That looks nifty! Where do you enter, from inside the gazebo or from the other side?

He comes pretrained, I will :p

Yep sounds like a plan, but she also needs to do it with me next to her (and I don't mean invading her space, I mean travelling down because I will need to be there to direct to the next obstacle). So much to work on!!

Small update to Pippa's weaving. I did as I think ness said to try, and see if she would drive to the end without me. Yep, I sent her and waited at the beginning and she did all 12 on her own (sending her on her strong side, my left). Didn't send her on like that on my right, but I did go with her on my right. First time she pulled out at 10 again, second time she did all 12 confidently. I wish I knew what I was doing! Because Millie is still doing the same thing on occasion. Sigh!! Next week I will just set up 4 or 6 and work on more difficult entries. However, last night I did set up 3 jumps around the weaves to test left and right and straight on entries and Pippa's entries were pretty good. Better than the Labs Still a lot of work to do on those to make them much better, though. With the help of a buddy, we FINALLY got Pippa over the full sized A-Frame!! Woohooooo!!! Also did some double box work with the girls. Pippa is doing very well for minimal jump work, so I'm happy that she's on track :D What a fun night last night!!

I don't think the noise would phase my dogs and they too would associate it with REWARD TIME! and like you, I would make a big deal of loading it up like I am baiting a target. I don't actually use a target, I shaped my 2o2o contact without one, so what I do is now for driving forward without me in front of them is place a treat at the end of the contact and show them, then take them to the other side and release for the obstacle. So far they're not cheating But I can foresee many cheats if I used that approach for weaves and jumping! I should have got one, but I guess no use crying about it now! Sheena, are you looking to offload yours by any chance?

I don't need lots of things from there, though, and that is just asking for trouble to make me good looking :D On a bit of a stricter budget these days, which is why I didn't buy it even when on free shipping Although, I did buy 2 of the $12.95 DVD's But I got $3 off for buying 2, and free shipping, so it was a bargain! I got the Shaping for Demand one, and the other was called something like Start Lines and Impulse Control Games (it's no longer on their website).

I like having a mix of food and toy reward. I rely heavily on food for obedience training and rewarding outside the ring, but play is always a good thing to have. Problem with Pippa and playing between exercises is she loves hand touches so much that she insists on barking each time she does it, and sometimes gets so excited that the touch becomes a munch I like a mix of both for agility. I use food for teaching contacts, and love having a toy available for weaves and jumping. But if I must continue with food only with Pippa I will, but I won't give up on the tug reward just yet. We have a good tugging session before we commence training and she's into it, then switches into food mode. Sigh!

:D Thanks ness. And no - not tempted :laugh: I was tempted when it was free shipping - now at $38 for postage alone, no thanks!!

If that question was directed to me, I used a tugga wubba to start with in the backyard and she would drive to it (then I'd run to her and tug with her). Took it on the road and she'd only half-heartedly drive to the toy, then just wander off, so it wasn't holding her attention well enough. So I then started throwing bits of food because I already knew food was her #1. The problem with food is so much repetition, that's a lot of food, so I only throw smallish pieces. As she isn't my dog, my parents are of the type that food = love and keep giving her treats, so I have to be careful what I give her in training or she ends up too fat.