RubyStar

I didn't see any bars knocked with Shine! Unless it was the one behind the A-Frame? And yes, totally jealous over the backyard!

This is really good advice! It makes it so hard when you have 2 different dogs who learn & progress at different rates. Lowering expectations about speed of progress while maintaining criteria of exactly what you want will work. ;) It may not happen overnight, but it will happen . While good advice, my expectations of Millie's progress were already lowered because I know she can't shape as well as Ruby. I have been progressing slowly with her and just don't know what to do to get her over this hurdle! Think all I really can do is go away and do even more shaping games, but I don't see it fixing our little problem It's not that she isn't understanding the concept at all, she's understanding what side to enter from and to keep weaving on one side, it's just the other side is a problem area for her I might try to get it on video and demonstrate what I mean.

My aim is to have a backyard similar to yours. I want the room for the dogs to be dogs and where we can train without fear of my dogs doing a faceplant into the fence as they get their toy while we do our weave training! I hardly have the room to set a jump up before or after the weaves, and there is no way I can fit a full sized set in there properly. One day *sigh*

Same with Ruby I have progressed so slowly with Millie that any slower and I will be in my 90's before we get to 6 poles! I fear that going back to 2 poles will just confirm for her that she should be stopping short after the first 2! But the bit that baffles me is she goes through all 4 straight poles fine when entering from the right, but it's just entering even slightly to the left and she suddenly thinks the second set are optional!!

There is the German Shepherd club in Southern River. If you can provide your suburb then people might be able to provide recommendations based on where you live

Thinking I might try this next. My club has these weavomatic thingies where the poles are slanted, so might try that next year when we start training at club again. I will perservere with the 2x2 over the club training break though, I might have a breakthrough! Or a breakdown

Thanks. She's not popping out as such, just stopping short. If I use a marker word as she enters she will look at me and stop what she's doing! Unfortunately, the ball and variations of such toys (ie. ball on a rope, kong wubba) are all I have that will provide her motivation to work (and I make sure I rotate these toys so she doesn't become dependant on one to work). I don't like to use food for teaching this, too much repetition would see me going through truck loads of food and she isn't interested in the slightest in tuggy games.

She's doing fantastic! P.S. I want your backyard!!

Oohh myyy gawwwd. 2x2 weave training with Millie is sending me round the bend. She’s as dopey as they come! I just don’t think this method is cut out for all dogs (especially when you’re nothing like SG!!) It worked for Ruby, not so much for Millie. It’s an agonisingly slow process with Miss Moo. And she can’t help but do a victory lap with her toy once she gets it right, adding to my frustration! We are very slowly progressing, and are up to 4 straight poles. She has her entries from the right, and even entering from the right she did 6 straight poles a couple of times (I was more testing than anything so dropped back to 4). She is now getting better with her entries from the left, however, she thinks it’s a whole ‘nuther set of criteria when she enters from that direction! She will weave into the first and out again, but refuses to re-enter the last one sending from this angle. She stands there before the last weave just staring, waiting for the ball to be thrown. Whenever she sticks her head or body slightly past the poles I throw the ball which makes her go all the way through, but if she hasn’t gone part way through and is just standing there, I ignore her or NRM her, call her back and ask her to try again. I know throwing it when she hasn't gone all the way through is probably adding to her confusion, but I'm not sure how else to entice her to go all the way through. Waiting it out isn't working! I thought it might be the position I’m standing, but nope, sending her from the right and then rear crossing her over to the left, she still goes through them properly. It is really doing my head in why she is failing to continue when entering from this direction! Opening the poles again, she still kinda just stands there before the last one. This only really started once the poles were closed. I know once/if we work through this problem, I am going to struggle to get her to go through 6 poles, and so on. We have been stuck at 4 poles for so long that it is going to be hard to break that habit with her. But I couldn’t progress any sooner because she isn’t being consistent enough to show me she actually understands to up the criteria. Not sure I’m writing this for suggestions (but they are more than welcome), I’m more writing it just to share my frustration! I am thinking I may try another method with her, but as I have only ever taught Ruby to weave and it was using 2x2 (and she’s still not 100% reliable, we’re working on it!), I’m not sure how else to teach it. Clearly my 2x2 teaching skills are no Susan Garrett!! And I don’t have the time to do 3 sessions a day, every day, like SG does in the DVD. I am doing one or two sessions a day, about 4 times a week on a good week (and I did less with Ruby). After watching Millie progress, I honestly don’t think 3 sessions a day, every day, will do much to help her either. I think my weaving goal by mid January is out

Putting poo in a hole I can bet won't deter mine... they like poop!! But ya know, next time, I might just try it! If it really is Millie digging, it MAY deter her, but if it's Ruby digging, she is going to think she's struck treasure when she digs up poo!!! :D And if that doesn't work, maybe I will squat over the hole like mirawee suggested :D Currently I chuck these huge rocks I have sitting in the garden into the hole so for one, it doesn't need as much dirt to fill and two, when they hit the rock it might deter them! It seems to have worked in other areas of the garden where I buried the big rocks.

This is my favourite doggy dancing routine, it brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it! It's beautiful. Dogs are such amazing creatures :D It still baffles me how she cues this dog appropriately for what to do next. I'm sure some element of it for the dog is memory, but there is no way the dog can remember a full dance routine so she has to provide cues somewhere, but gosh she disguises them so well!!

Yes that's a game we play :D It's a game we play at my house, too. Today, they dug a hole deep enough they could almost reach China. I filled it in best I could (half the dirt disappears to nowhere so I don't have enough to fill it back in!) and tomorrow and Thursday they are going to mum and dad's so I don't have to play fill the hole until after Christmas lunch at my place :D Not hard in your hard, all you have is dirt!! ;) Even less of a challenge given the size of Kyzer and Trixie :D I think they could comfortably together in a hole that would only fit one of our dogs RS Whoops, noticed I typed "hard" instead of "yard" earlier, but I'm sure you all know what I meant :D The hole my dogs (Millie) dug today could have buried Trixie and Kyzer alive

Not hard in your hard, all you have is dirt!! ;) And you aren't allowed to change your avatar, it took some effort to read your username to see who was posting! (I have siggies turned off because I browse at work too much )

OMG!!! Look at them INSIDE the holes! Bear looks like a teeny tiny Hippo My girls dig holes (well, Millie does, and lucky for me its the worst they do really) but I don't believe they do it to lay in them They do like laying in the black dirt, though.

I threw a dummy in my backyard right up the tree and it got stuck Lucky it wasn't too high so I got it down Ruby looked a little confused ;)

There are countless threads on this very topic, I am sure you would get plent of recommendations, and ones to avoid, if you do a quick search of the forum

Ponies sound too much like hard work Happy Birthday, Ptolomy!! So what pressies did you get? Another puppy?

I can understand how people would get upset, most of us like to think we are good owners and will make it work and it is easy to take it personally when rejected. But like mentioned, I would rather get a pup from someone who thinks I am worthy of one, it makes for a great relationship down the track. 4 years on, I am still in regular contact with my first Lab's breeder and she is so pleased with all that I achieve with her and is always telling me so. She's such a lovely lady and if I want another Lab in the future I will definitely be going back to her. I like the personal touch with breeders and keeping in contact with them :D She tells me about her show wins and I tell her about the stuff I do with my girls She even lets me go to her place for puppy cuddles when she has a litter :D

Oh dear, then mine must be abnormal...

I noticed the i-squeaks we got in the first bulk order were different to the ones I bought a year or more earlier. Almost softer or something. My original ones are still going, though the squeaker finally popped out and is floating in the middle of the ball in one of them :D Haven't yet broken out any from my bulk order (so I didn't order any recently when everyone else did). Sounds like they're getting thinner as time goes on with production... just hate it when you find something good and then they go and change it! (usually to save them money!)

Great picture, FHRP! What good boys to pose with their new fancy dummies To add to what TSD said for gspmadhouse, I have been working on Ruby's motivation to come back to me after the exciting retrieve. I've been calling her name and running away from her to entice her to come back, and throwing a fun dummy instead of asking her to present, and then working on the holding/presents separately. She would always come back, but just not as fast as her shooting out and her presents were lacking confidence, even though she knows an obedience dumbell present. Haven't been doing this long and her attitude has increased noticeably already. Whenever I get home from work in the afternoon she has to run and find me a "present" to give to me. Her new thing is giving me her Kong. There are 2 in the backyard (other one for Millie) so yesterday when she brought me her Kong, I set her up and sent her for the second one out on the lawn. I was so chuffed she knew exactly what I was asking for and is starting to take direction a bit better She ran straight out to the lawn, picked the Kong up, and returned with a nice present Having quite a bit of fun with this, now

I got a bargain on a brand new chest freezer (quite large, too), $50 from Kmart a year or so ago. Especially for the dogs! It's now just sitting in my parent's shed, need to get it to my house somehow! What size is it Rubystar? Perhaps we could pick it up in my van if it would fit, if you can post the measurments I can check to see and if it would work we can arrange something. Thanks ozjen, I will have a look but I think I should be ok to get it into my car. I can't even remember how we got it home! It wasn't in my car from memory so if mum got it home in her car then I should be right! But if I have any troubles, I will let you know Thanks

If by nature strip we are talking about the land in front of someone's house which forms part of your block (which yes I know is owned by council), then council don't mow ours!! I live on a corner block with a larger than average "nature strip" and all mowing and watering must be done by myself (actually, I get my dad to do it ) but it would be nice if council maintained their own property!! It needs to be done otherwise it drags down the appearance of my own property. Back to the OP, I think it's just bad manners to let your dog pee/poop on other people's nature strips. I feel bad when my girls go on a footpath let alone someone's well maintained patch of grass! As I live on a corner block, I know I have no right to stop people cutting across as it's not my land, but it sure annoys the crap outta me! One guy in particular walks his dog right up and it pees on everything. Grrr!!! I've even seen him let his dog poo on someone's front lawn and didn't even pick it up

Have to agree, here! Well done, FHRP!! I hope I can step things up for my 2011!!

Hope your GSP is alright What does a spider bite look like? I wouldn't know and it would be good to know in case it happens!