SpikesPuppy

Nope, it's different. Though Terrier Racing is similar to what you described... Lure Coursing on the Zig Zag course is done by one dog at a time (or 2-3 but only family dogs or dogs that know each other well) and the dog chases the 'lure' (plastic bag) around a course that zig zags around. the lure alos goes through tunnels and pipes, and the operator can make it change direction (It's rather funny when the bag goes flying right underneath a stunned dog!) and go various speeds. it's not competitive so far here in Vic.

I did agility for about 2 years with my Dobe X and mum did it with her Shih Tzu X. Miss Timothy (Dobe) LOVED it. She was rescue dog and has spent most of her life being timid. But doing agility with her (started her around 5 yrs old) got her confidence up so much. I never thought she would go through an open tunnel, let alone the closed one- but once she worked them out, she would pull to run through. She picked up all the equipment within a few months, and was a total star with the Weaves (both right & left, too). Even loved the see-saw once she worked it out- even now, if we go to a playgroung she will climb on see-saws lol. She would ahve made a fantastic competition dog except for one thing- her recall. It was and still is non-existant. We have tried EVERYTHING but she's just not interested in recall. So we did about 2 yrs of on-lead work (and occasionally had a go off-lead but there was no way I would take her in a ring). Sadly we had to give that up with her as she got attacked by another dog and it tore a muscle in her hind leg. It is ok now but too much strain gives her a limp. She's 9 yrs old now as well and has arthritis, etc so I wont have her jumping and leaping around. She also has dog-agression and I wouldn't put it past her to run out during a run and have a go at another dog :rolleyes: Rascall, mum's Shih, had fun at agility (he has awful dog-agression and we actually muzzeled him at training), but he is the sort of dog who will do soemthing once then say "Nup. Don't wanna do it again". First time on every peice of equipment for the night of training was fine, he would do it no worries. Then no more lol. So we haven't been for about 2 years but shortly will be starting up with the Kelpie and Caber will hopefully be doing it once he's old enough (just turned 7 months). i have a tyre, some bar jumps, a solid jump, an open tunnel, a broad jump and a table set up in the yard and Iko, the Kelpie, is learning it all very well. And thankfully, she has a recall :cool: 'Cos caber is so little, I have been doing tunnel, low jumps (like ones he can walk over), flat table on the ground & the tyre so low he can walk through- so he learns all the peices of equipment by name. Both these kids love it.

Eagle Pack for my Border Terrier & Supercoat for the other 4 doggies. Would love to use EP for them all but financially I don't think it'd be possible lol. The Supercoat Adult seems to do well for them though- for my 5 yr Newfy, 9yr Dobe X, 11yr Shih Tzu & 15 month Kelpie.

No idea why she is peeing but I find white vinegar/water works WONDERS on carpet. I mix it into a spray-bottle and just use it when neccesarry. The vinegar also masks the urine scent so should discourage from using the same spot. Actually found that the vinegar got most of the blood-stains out of the carpet too when Rascall impaled himself. So it's damn good

Caber goes and finds/gets his fave tennis ball whenever I say "where's your ball?". he will do this from the other end of the house and wont stop sniffing around until he finds it! Last night I hid it and it took him almost half an hour to find it. But he didn't give up! Poor little bugger lol. He knows his 'special' tennis ball in amongst his other toys and even other tennis balls! Also does 'Roll Over', learning 'Bang' (my Dobe does this so well- even stays perfectly still), learning beg, learning to walk on his hind legs on command (not really good for puppies but he constantly does this naturally), learning 'crawl', goes to his crate on command, knows 'wait' for his food, learning 'speak', also 'shake hands' and 'high 5'. Leanring 'give ten'. He also has a toy box, which he will go to on command and get certain toys out. He also taught himself to put his toys back when he's finished with them lol (he does this approx. 80% of the time after playing with toys). Have a motorbike tyre which is on thground and he walks through it on command (will raise it higher when he's older), and am buying a tunnel soon. Teaching 'spin' & 'bow' also.

So sorry for your loss Don't know what else to say except he was a gorgeous little fella. RIP sweet boy.

*raises hand* I will be ther on Sunday with a Terrier..... they are known for not recalling at all rofl. Having said that, every time I've had Caber off-leash he's been really good. He's independant but also very responsive. So who knows? lol. Need to bring a video camera

I have a terrible temper. Mum keeps telling me I got mixed up as a baby and I'm actually the child of an Irish family. But I can usually feel when it's coming on and I stop training or turn the training to something really fun like a trick or something. Lately though, I've been getting sooooo frustrated with the new dog. She's around 12 months old and we found her on the road (most ppl know the story) . Anyway, she is completely untrained (though now knows sit and is learning drop). That's fine no probs. I can deal with the pulling on the lead, etc. She's not a big dog (kelpie). The biggest problem is her clingyness to us!!! Sure, it sounds nice to ahve a dog that follows you everywhere, etc but she goes inot a panic when we leave her. I just get so frustrated at her fear and panic if that makes sense? maybe it's Cabin Fever (haven't been out of the house without her much in ages), but I think it's also because I'm not a miracle worker and I don't ahve the power to just make her understand that it's ok. Wea re not going to do what her old owners did and leave her somewhere and never come back! Wea re working on it, and now she can be in another room with the door closed or in thebackyard without barking for up to 45 minutes. But it's hard. Am also glad to know that everyone else is human and also has off days or gets annoyed while training, etc.

Thank you everyone :rolleyes: She's not the first bird I have lost- she has joined my Budgies Ipsy-Wipsy, Spider, Ipsy, Sky & Moonlight. Her cage is now empty but I am being 'occupied' by her 'ex-husband', Jack. It's a bit hard to explain but this bird has always been rather nasty and was very posessive of Jedi, wouldn't let her eat unless he said it was ok, hissed and attacked her if she showed affection to humans, etc. So they ahve been 'seperated' for a little while. We have actually been looking for a new home for Jack (though even 'bird people' we have spoken to about him say he is pretty much just a 'bad seed', which was probably accentuated by living in a crappy pet shop without any human handling until we got him as a young adult. He's never really been nice even after 6 years. Oh well. Lol. But now Jadi has passed, Jack can move back into the big cage where he will live as a bachelor for the rest of his days unless a great home who udnerstands him comes up. Rozzie- in my eyes, she was the most beautiful Cockatiel. I also like the grey ones best. But to alot of other people (and compared to Jack who is quite handsome, if not a pretty boy type rofl) think she was horribly ugly. And her deformed feet and fine feathering didn't make her look any prettier to 'outsiders'. But yes, she was a very special girl who was so so gorgeous. I miss her morning chirps.

A few hours ago, I found my beloved cockatiel girl, Jedi, on the floor of her cage. She was alive, but her head was very limp and she wasn't well at all. Mum &* I then took her to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital where the vet saw to her but there wasn't much he could do. She was an older bird- I have had her for 8 years and she was definately a mature bird when I got her. We could have taken her to a specialist in the morning, but due to her age and how much trouble she was having breathing, etc, I didn't want to put her through unessecary trauma. She's always been a bit of an ugly duckling- just plain ol' grey with the white wings. The back of her head was always bald, her crest sparse, and her feet were deformed. She has also always been a slim girl. But she was the SWEETEST thing! Always chirped a hello when you walked past, would give kisses when you held her (because of her feet, standing on a shoulder was a bit difficult for her but she loved to snuggle). Such a sweet bird. She was sent to Rainbow Bridge at 12:05 am, Saturday January 22nd 2005. Fly free sweet girl (This is the only pic I could find of her on the PC- apologies for the bars)

So sorry to hear about little Bryce :p Though I'm sure he'll be having a ball up at the Bridge with all the other ratties we ahve loved and lost. RIP little man.

He's just multi-talented!!! What a great dog! Dual champion Couch-potatoing AND stuffed-animal killing! What a stunner! My bitches are just beside themselves at the moment! He is just too good! Very stunning Dobe btw.

Oooooh I've always wanted to see Whippet racing! As well as Afghan Racing. Not sure if they do it ehre though? Myszka- rofl@ the 'title'. And those pics! Can I please use him to breed my next CPX pup? :rolleyes:

Is there a title for this? :rolleyes: My 'kids' also excell at this 'sport' :rolleyes:

What else is conformation for? lol. I agree with tollers. I will try Obedience, Agility & Flyball with the 2 young'ns- if they seem to enjoy 1 heaps more than another then that's what we will concentrate on. I'm not gonna make a dog do what it doesn't want to do. But I'm sure many dogs enjoy multiple sports. I mean, Caber is ball-crazy, AND jumps over anything he can find! I'm sure he wont be able to decide wheter agility or flyball is better lol.

Any pictures of this dog?? Sounds lovely Sadly I don't have a digital camera, but when I get the film developed (yes, we are still living in the dark ages ) I will definately post them! She is gorgeous, if not a few kilos overweight hehe. Iko (named after the Aussie racehorse) is a very smart girl, didn't appear to know any commands but will sit & drop 95% of the time I ask her to (without treats!) so she's definately got a brain lol and she's taken to leaping over the back of the couch to sit next to us so she's certainly very agile Should do well with her.

The Dobe & Shih Tzu X are laxy sods who don't doo much these days lol. The Newf is the guardian of the house. The Border Terrier pup will be doing confirmation shows, some obedience and hopefully Flyball &/or agility when he is physically matue enough. The new dog, if she stays (Kelpie X Whippet we think) will do obedience and Flyball/Agility as well.

Listen to your dog. Learn to read your dog's body language. Be prepared to work as a team with your dog.

What a great idea Spike and also sounds like you're getting a terrific response from Caber. Do you think this would work on an 18m.o. or is it a bit too late for this particular excercise? I honestly cannot see any reason why this wouldn't work on an 18 month old. But having met Jessa, I would only start with very very short periods at a time, as I think it would half kill her to stay in one spot for too long hehe. Start with very short periods of relaxation. When you watch Tv, pop her leash on, have her sit by your feet if you can- talk calmly "Goooood girl. Stay by (or whatever command you like)". ZLet her go to the end of a reasonably short leash- but no pulling or fussing. Encourage her to relax! Maybe give her a pigs ear or someother chewy treat. When she looks relaxed and happy with what she is doing- praise her and release her. Gradually extend the time that she is settled down. I have also started doing more 'active' things with Caber now that he knows what it's all about. I do it while eating my dinner, I do it while sewing, and that sort of thing. I certainly don't treat Caber harshly when doing this with him- I also try to keep an eye on him so if he looks like he is going to get frustrated or 'break' I end it- so it ALWAYS ends on a high note. I know it will definately come in handy when I start taking him out more and know that I can have him relax by me/under a table if I stop at a cafe or something. It's something that I see as very practical training. *of course, I am not a Dog Trainer nor do I have any qualifications, etc- but this is something that has worked for me and is what has been suggested by fellow Border Terrier & other breed owners. I NEVER use punishment, if it's not 'going right' I stop, do something that he knows and enjoys (stand up or roll over are his faves) then try again later. And I never do anything which I feel is unrealistic from a very active, jumpy puppy.

I have been teaching my pup to 'stand by' and he is 18.5 weeks old. He has his leash on and is allowed to go anywhere the leash allows. But he must not pull or fuss for the 5-20 minutes I want him by me. He is by nature a confident & potentially dominant puppy and already lives by NILIF and since I've been having him by my side he has improved immensly. He is always given a chew toy during the session as well and it is usually before his dinner time so he gets a big food reward. I ahve found this has calmed him down alot and the way he looks at me and behaves is more and more like the way the other dog's do- quiet loving respect. This is also proving useful in his Show training- where he will have to stand for a little while with some major distractions going on.

The breeder of my pup feeds this to her dogs, and so we continued on with my puppy and we have not had any problems with it so far! poos are small and firm- non stinky, no tummy upsets, Caber eats all of it without issue or fussiness. His coat is of correct texture- skin is good, teeth good etc. I would reccomend it, definately!

So so sorry, Rozzie I must say though, I hope that the same happens with my own dogs- they go to sleep and forget to wake up. When it's their time to go. I am getting ready to go out for tea and am standing here with tears pouring down my face. Thank goodness I don't wear make up! Sending hugs your way Lots of love- Elsa, Spike, Caber, Tim & Rascall.

So sorry to hear about Sasha & Josey Thoughts and prayers are on their way to you & your family. RIP beautiful girls.

You can also get special straps that clip the halti to the 'D' on the collar. Blackdog Halters are made with 'escape artist' dogs in mind and I have used both Blackdog & Halti brands and found Blackdog to be more secure. I don't need to use anything more than a flat buckle collar on my 2 big dogs now (Either the Halti stopped my Dobe from pulling, I got better at training her or she grew out of pulling- she was so bad that even the instrctor was pulled around by her. Very strong girl). And I only used the Halter on my Newf 'cos that's what was the main tool used at the obedience club. I don't know whether or not he needed it. The best thing I found with a Halter on my Dobe was it helped me get her to 'focus' on me, which was important for agility training (she worked on a flat during agility). It just made it that much easier to get her to turn her head towards me (no force, just a gentle 'jiggle' of the leash to gain her attention). As for sizes (although you said you we'rnt getting one anymore) I used a size 2 on my Dobe and a size 3 on my GSD girl.

We just did an overhaul of our dog's diets lol. Currently, my Newfoundland (5 yrs old) is on a Supercoat Adult base and the Dobe (9yrs old) and the Shih Tzu X (almost 11) are on Supercoat Lite 'N Mature. The puppy is on Eagle Pack small-medium breed Puppy (it is what the breeder recomends and although it is expensive, he doesn't eat all that much because of what we add). They all get chicken wings/frames several times a week, raw eggs, fresh cooked veggies, sardines, rice/pasta, suitable table-scraps and the older dogs get Sasha's Blend. They all have shiny, healthy coats, good activity levels, etc.