Agility Dogs

Yes, if it's out of order it would be DQ but if the dog starts but doesn't complete the obstacle (in the right order) it would be a fault I think. A dog that hesitates at the tunnel (without touching it or going past) can be classed as a refusal - especially a dog that spins - I've seen that quite a bit. That's it, sorry, I assumed that it was out of order - can't imagine why you would call the dog off an obstacle if it wasn't. If they do attempt it and jump off or are called off then it is a refusal. Because Ruby has dogwalk issues She's a "I think I can, I think I can.... nope, I can't" kinda dog so I didn't want her to get frazzled. It was a fun teams event so I wasn't concerned calling her off. Just means we won't be entering agility for a while until I sort it out, and stick with jumping where she has a hoot Good plan - calling her off only tells her that it is OK to jump off or that if she creeps she's going to get out of it. I'd be working on getting the whole thing confident before asking her to do it at full height in with the pressure of a trial.

Ok thanks! This clears up Ruby's dogwalk mishap for my curious mind for future trials Still a bit over Millie's tragic jumping round being DQ'd I think she might have clocked up more than 3 refusals in that one.

Yes, if it's out of order it would be DQ but if the dog starts but doesn't complete the obstacle (in the right order) it would be a fault I think. A dog that hesitates at the tunnel (without touching it or going past) can be classed as a refusal - especially a dog that spins - I've seen that quite a bit. That's it, sorry, I assumed that it was out of order - can't imagine why you would call the dog off an obstacle if it wasn't. If they do attempt it and jump off or are called off then it is a refusal.

I'm not sure about the techincalities with ANKC rules - they seem to be applied quite inconsistently in my limited experience. With ADAA though (and I think ANKC are similar) if a dog touches a piece of equpment or breaks the plane of that piece of equipment (like puts a nose in a tunnel or past the line of a jump) then it is either a wrong course (Elimination) or a fault (refusal) depending on the circumstance. Gamblers is a little different again. I've been Eliminated from a gamblers round for calling my girl out of the weavers after the opening time limit was up. Apparently they must finish the piece of equipment or it is deemed to be unsafe. (ANKC, would not be a penalty in ADAA). HOpe that helps.

Thats true, I guess in more regional areas of Queensland its probably a lot more dog friendly but Logan, Gold Coast and Brisbane are not. Most politicians don't live in Canberra. They have somewhere here to stay when parliament is in session and the rest of the time they spend in their family homes in Sydney, Brisbane, etc. It's still restrictive in terms of dog laws... it's just that there are some people out there who obviously think it's worthwhile having dog off leash areas. One thing I liked about Brisbane when I was up there was that there were heaps of fenced off leash areas. I know some people hate them, but one of my dogs has questionable recall at times so I visited a few in off peak times when we were the only ones there. He had fun rolling in the mud. Yeah and it is good to have fenced dog off leash areas, one of my dogs also has questionable recall and the other one is still too young to rely on it but you get all sorts in those places especially when the only time you can go is peak time due to being at work. But I am also the sort of person who would prefer to be taking a nice nature walk with some good scenery then to be standing in a park. Its more exercise for me and its more adventurous and interesting for the dogs. Brisbane doesn't seem too bad to me. OK, the cafe things is a bit of a pain at times, but there are places where you can sit on the footpath at the tables they provide. There are plenty of state forest areas to go and walk in (Daisy Hill, Seven Hills, Mt Glorious, Mt Mee) as well as some nice parks with long walk ways through them. There aren't any beaches really close to the city, but within an hour each way there is the Spit at the Gold Coast and Bribie Island to the north as well as a couple of other dog parks with water courses running through them. I don't expect EVERY facility to be dog friendly - the vast majority of people aren't dog nuts and I respect that. It is up to us to make the most of what is available and keep trying to chip away at improving things. I have 3 BC's and don't really struggle finding places to exercise and play with them.

Well done - you guys looked like you were going really well! ;)

I've got 3 Border Collies on approx 750m2. Their area would be maybe 400m2 of that. They live most of their lives on a deck that might be 10m2 (by choice.) They are walked EVERY morning for about an hour to an hour and a half - including a training session in a park somewhere. Then at night they either do nothing (rarely), go to training, go on a walk or do some shaping around the house. Neighbours rarely see or hear the dogs from all reports. ('Your dogs never bark, when they do the light comes on and they stop. Those sensor lights are a great thing. hmmmmmm.......The light is not a sensor light. I turn it on - they are barking because I've arrived home! :D When my boy was young he broke his elbow and we had our dogs in small runs (4m x 3m) so they couldn't play and couldn't get at each other. One of them is a VERY high drive dog - the above worked to keep her sane for a 9 month period. (She was betwen 10 months and 19 months at the time.) I think it is less about the size of your yard and more about the interaction you have with them.

Wasn't there the small matter of a multiple title? :D

That is AWESOME. Sometimes the biggest thrills come from conquering things like this. A lot of what we brag about in there is really inconsequential in the scheme of things, this really matters. I don't think it is a small brag at all. It is massive, having a dog that can be fearful of the silliest things - to the point of almost being paralysed - I know how much work you've put in to this! :D

LOL. I think it does become easier because you baby sit less and trust more and you don't get lost as often. It also gets harder as the dogs drive more because it puts more pressure on you to get to the right spot and improve your timing. If ever I come back as an agility novice there is no way I will be trying to learn with a BC. I will pick a dog I can actually keep up with! I'm off to start another thread!

VERY cool. I love the way both of them wrap the close up right on turns. Your handling isn't that bad really - the basics are pretty good, but as your dogs start to understand a bit more and run lines etc it becomes easier. They are awesome though.

It's all about the fun! Looking forward to seeing some video - gets boring watching BC's all the time!

Thanks Cosmolo. Most of it was - just the first front cross should have been done before he launched, not as he was coming down. That's why I love videoing. I can see where I need to improve.

Oh, that sounded a little more negative than it was meant to be. I had a GREAT night and was over the moon with how CK ran. Xena did some really nice stuff too. Plenty to be happy about after no training for 2 months. A great platform to build on. Can't wait for next weekend now. And another bonus - I put CK's card in his 'file' thinking it was the first JDX pass. It was his second.

First trial of the year last night. Both puppies ran really nicely, but only CK had a card and second place in JDX. (Both handler impaired.) Apart from being 3 years late of the first front cross it was a great run. Hopefully a sign of things to come!

Wikki and I went out on our own this morning because th other two are trialling this afternoon. Much to CK's disgust he is currently crated awaiting his 2011 debut. Xena will just be feral after almost 2 months without a trial so she can do what she likes for the time being. (hopefully she wears herself out!) These are some of the video we took. All up we were out for about an hour and had heaps of fun! Frisbee Shaping Figure 8 Playing with 1 jump and her Impromptu balancing act She is a great little girly. Can't wait for her to get a bit older so she can start learning the cool stuff and trialling!

That is soooooooo true. I'm not sure that it has changed the way I am or what i would/do do. BUT I have progressed from a total noob with one pet shop puppy that had just learned her name at 4 months to having 3 well trained competition dogs. (Well, 2.5.) Funny story though. When I first found DOL I read the purpose/rules thingy and when it said pure bred dog community, being new to the world of internet forums I decided I wouldn't be welcome because I didn't have a pedigreed dog. As a result I went away until CK came to live with us and I felt I 'belonged'. (I was looking for a ped BC at the time, but didn't have one.) Maybe there is something in that for those who want to promote pedigreed dogs. (I'm one of them.) Even if we are well meaning it is possible to scare off people who are very interested.

There are many ways to teach weaving that are successful. One that is growing in popularity and being talked about here a lot is Susan Garrett's 2 x 2 method. To do this one, your dog needs plenty of drive (preferably for toys and tug in particular) and a good history of shaping. As a handler you need to be proficient in shaping to get the most out of this method. She has a great DVD out which outlines the steps to train this method, which I suggest you watch if you plan on training this method as it can be a bit confusing otherwise. Some other methods include: Slanted pole/V-weaves - slanting the poles at an angle to make it easier and you slowly straighten them up as the dog gets the idea and learns the weaving motion Channel method - offset the poles so that they create a channel for the dog to run through the middle of, slowly close the channel as the dog gets the idea and learns the weaving motion Use of guides/physical barriers 3 poles to teach entries Thanks Kavik and to Agility Dogs for your help. I must admit I have been trying the 'Barrier' way and she was doing it so quick and easy...but the minute I moved the barrier the slightest bit, it was confussion all round - She seems to notice the slightest changes I will maybe try the V-Weaves :D and see how that goes. Yes Agility Dogs your right about the clicker thing - thats what I was thinking - if one click is one reward how do you use this for weaving??? You can't! How long roughly would you say it takes to learn weavers? (I do understand each dog is deffierent - just after a ball park figure to aim for - mainly to know if I am rushing her or not) Thanks guys. You are right - depends on the dog and the amount of time you have to put into it, their learning experience and how well the method you choose is suited to your dog. My girl picked it up in about 4 months from start to trial (open) standard, my boy is 3 years on and still struggles. (Long story, doesn't bear repeating.) Will be interesting to see how long my pup takes when she starts, but I have a feeling it will be quicker again. The key to teaching it (like anything) is to set small goals and achieve and proof them before you move on. Lumping or asking for big improvements in a hurry is one of the best ways to 'break' a dog's performance. (A small part of my boy's problem.) In terms of what method to use, I like the 2 x 2 method becuase you are not really part of the process so it gives the dogs the ability to weave independently without the confusion of fading things like barriers etc. Again - I can't compare results, but I like the concept of teaching independence from the word go.

I think a lot of methods work well and have seen dogs who weave well and weave poorly from just about all methods. I like both the 3 pole method and the 2 x 2's with a preference for that. (To be fair I haven't used any of the others :D ). I wouldn't be using your clicker for training anything other than VERY precise behaviours like perhaps a nose touch or targetting (amongst other things). It is hard to click at exactly the right moment when teaching weavers/jumping etc so placement of reward is IMO more important than timing of the marker. Also, don't forget - 1 click = 1 reward. Very hard to do on multiple poles and impossible to get a good flow going. Hope that helps.

'We are an English speaking nation'. Hmmmm...........Last time I checked we could speak any language we liked. I think that is a bit narrow minded to say that - MANY people speak a language other than English and use English to get by with their day to day interactions. As long as another language isn't used to pointedly exclude others what is the harm. (Whispering annoys me as well.) If the rules are that you can only use one word/syllable then surely it doesn't matter whether the word is in english, polish, german or swahili, if the dog does the exercise that the judge is asking for at the bidding of the handler what does it matter? I wouldn't have a problem with the rule being changed. FTR - I am 'Australian' (whatever that is) and only speak English.

Uh huh. Would be nice to do nothing but train dogs and teach people to train dogs. Why would you want a Border Collie any way? They are like belly buttons.

Yeah, but you can bet that the dog also has a massive learning history behind it. I was seriously amazed at how quickly CK went from a really bad weaver with VERY little understanding to weaving almost as well as Xena (his entries are still better.). It really only took about a week. Still needing to get him more confident so that he is good in the ring, but I can believe it works as she has shown it. (Yes, I am an SG convert.) I hope I am still like this once I get Miss Wikki on the program. :D

Not really - the initial stage of the process is done with food on a hard surface and then your progress to grass - at that point you want them driving for the toy. By that stage though they have value for the poles (transferred from the food) and you are starting so you do want good toy drive. It's not necessary to have them baying for blood (or the toy), but you do want them to have some level of excitement. My boy for example isn't the most OTT example of a BC, but he still 'gets' the game and will work for his toy. That is probably enough, although you won't get the extreme results that SG seems to with her dogs. (But then again for those of us who have 'real' jobs we aren't ever likely to)

Sorry for the brief answer - what KC said. We should get together with Huski and do a bit of work on it.