Pretty Miss Emma

Great job superminty!!! There's always something that needs some work isn't there! For my two there is a lot more tha yours - for instance I just need Kenz to realise that it all will be ok and she is allowed to work the sheep! What are they running tomorrow? If I have time I might pop over for a look!

Great job!!! Sounds like you've definitely caught the dancing bug!!!

Lots of passes!! It was great!!! So who is trialling here in Vic on 12 April? Kenzie and I will be giving it another go to see if we can get 2 more passes in freestyle to get her starters title!

I was pretty chuffed!! Just something else to spur on the addiction!

So, I was just a bit excited at the BC Nationals because Hamish got the Merit Award in HT from the judges!!! I wasn't expecting that! There was some absolutely brilliant herding to watch and I became even more inspired to keep up with this sport and get my boy working to the absolute best of his ability/instinct! piper did an absolute dream run and it was beautiful to watch!! well done (and nice to finally meet you!)!!

I don't actually have any of the results as I didn't mark my catalogue, but I know lots of people are interested in the results so if you know any please add them in here!

So, Tassie did a great job today with her kids!! I managed to get a pass with Kenzie, happy with that for now! I'm not sure which other DOL-ers were there, but I have to say there were a lot of good routine and what was also really great was that so many people from conformation came in to have a look and see what it was all about!!

I think it's hard getting a show quality dog when you are new, especially in popular breeds. Hamish is my show dog, the only one I have so the one who gets shown - certainly there are a lot of other people out there who wouldn't put him in the show ring but I don't have a choice and I think he is a good example of the breed (not the best example, but a good one). He is the second dog I got from the same breeder. My girl I got 4.5 years ago, she is on Limit, but I kept in touch with the breeder and let her know what I was doing with Kenz. She heard about every sucess and also some of the failures!! So when the time came that I was looking for a new pup I went back to her (for a few reasons) and discussed whether I could have Hamish on Main so that I could show him. He wasn't pick of the litter, but I got 2nd pick of the boys (I wanted a boy) and chose him under her guidance. I think something else if you are wanting a dog to show is being prepared that there may be some conditions attached to that. For me the conditions are that Hamish's registration is marked as not for export and not for breeding. Agreeing to this meant that I could have him in my name solely and he is totally owned by me. If when he is older and we think he is right for it my breeder can change his registration so that he can be bred from (personally for me it would only be if I was looking for a puppy from him that I would want this done anyway). But to get a dog/bitch on Main register you might need to agree to a co-ownership (and that's another conversation altogether!!). I would say get in touch with the breeder your girl is from. Think about getting a boy to start showing (a lot of breeders tend to be happier to do this). Get along to some shows and make friends with people in the breed, particularly if you interested in their dogs, I now have a few people I would also consider getting a pup from and now that I have a relationship with them would be in a better position to have a conversation about this as they know me and know what I do with my dogs.

My 2 cents worth... How much time have you spent in there with her since she has become resistant? I was thinking along the lines of others make it a great place to be. I prefer it if my dogs make the choice to go happily where I ask them, but using a leash in the mean time will mean you don't have to wait hours for her to choose to go to bed. But maybe spending some time sitting in there with her, putting the yummy things in there, do some basic mat training and little things like sits/downs for great treats so that the room is where she likes being. I think every time you force her in then she is just going to like the room less. Something that you may be able to utilise that I had to use when crate training my BC girl... she didn't like going in her crate so we basically did our own version of crate games. I had to teach Kenz to close the door of the crate herself. She was ok going in, but then would come straight out; if the door was closed, well, the world had to end!!! So I taught her to close the door herself and we played recall games fom the crate! Since we've done that she is much easier to manage in a crate, still doesn't love it, but copes with it a lot better and can be left in a crate. So maybe something like this might help her to like the room again.

Hmm, freaking out a little bit now!! I have a routine, but Kenzie doesn't want to practice and do things!!! I don't have a costume and I don't know if I can sort one out between now and the weekend!! Argh!! I'll work something out I'm sure!

I have a friend who has a litter planned for this year, she has said I can have one of the pups if I'd like. There would be many advantages to getting one of these pups as there would be no restrictions on it and I would watch it grow from day 1. However, like you these pups are not going to be right for me; partly due to "style" partly due to temperament and the rest due to timing! In some ways I'm lucky the timing wouldn't suit as it makes it much easier to have the conversation, but I've also said that the probably aren't going to be quite what I'm looking for especially as my interest in knowing the ins and outs of the breed better has grown over the past 12 months. She hasn't taken offence and has even at times put forward the comment of "one of my dogs wouldn't be right for you" as we discuss the sorts of things I'm looking for in a dog. They shouldn't take offence to it, really it should just be a point of conversations to look at the differences between the two (I know easier said than done sometimes!!).

two weeks away I believe :) And you have some idea of what song you are using, cause you have already entered I hope.. not like me who hasnt got any idea and wants to enter the April DWD comp Song sorted, plus most of the moves we will include. Just need to sort out what order they need to go in and how to use the ring, oh and that whole costume issue!!

Shhhh, don't say they're that close!!! I haven't really sorted out my routine yet, nor a costume!!!

In some ways I was lucky after Emma died as my aunt moved in for a few months with her old golden retriever. Kenz had never ever known life without Emma and I was worried how she would cope. I think having the GR there for a few months helped the transition, but she was fine being a single dog til Hamish came along!!

I had Kenzie with me when emma was put to sleep. It was extremely interesting. Before she was put to sleep they both spent a lot of time lying beside each other and licking each others faces, I think Kenzie knew something wasn't quite right. kenz was also a lot more calm than she usually was. She was very excited to see Emma (she had been at te vet clinic all day), but was so much more gentle with her than she usually was. The vet nurse held Kenz when Emma was given the injection, but she was there in the corner of the room. Once Emma had died Kenzie gave her a sniff and then pretty much acted as if there was nothing there. I definitely think being there helped her to realise that Emma was no longer with us. Following all of this we did have a few issues of Kenz mourning Emma for a little while (she was pretty miserable until another dog moved in with us for a little while) and she did develop some anxiety issues in visiting vet clinics, but we did lots of happy vet visits and all of that was fixed up pretty quickly. Certainly the next time I am in the same situation 9which unfortunately is going to happen eventually) I will do the same thing. Kenz wasn't left wondering where Emma was after she'd disappeared in the car that morning, she knew and even though she was sad I think in the long run it was better for everyone.

I keep having to buy bigger toy buckets for them!!!

My girl who is on limit register also has LR after her reg number. And yes my limit is on orange and main on blue - this is in vic

I taught Kenzie munchkin to put her toys away! It's great in winter when I don't want to go out in mud and play with her! Mind you, now that I have Hamish it is much harder as he want to play with the toys she is putting away!

I saw some people running what I assume was Lure Coursing on Saturday. I was wondering is it a sport where you can earn titles? And if so how is that done? There was the most gorgeous little dog that ran, I'm guessing it was old (maybe), it was only half way down the course when the other dogs had finished, but it was running as hard as it could and obviously having a wonderful time!!! Super cute!!!

I have to say the longer I've been training dogs I've now learnt to train them less!! That is what keeps the excitement up for my dogs! I used to train them heaps and heaps and now I've been a bit slack in training and I've found that when we do train they are so motivated (as am I) and everything they do is so much more accurate and they work to a high standard!! It's the opposite of what I thought would happen! That being said I've also had to look at how each of them work. Kenzie loves this style of training and when we do have a training session is happy to work for almost a solid 45 min that way (she also loves her intermittant 5 minute training blocks that happen most days on something). Hamish however, he prefers to do things no more than 4-6 times, after that he gets bored (unless it is herding, in which case he would like to work for a minimum of an hour!!). So I also factor in my dogs learning and working preferences so that they really enjoy each session. I've figured out the longer I've had dogs the importance of play! Have fun! Then training is fun, because it's playing just a different sort of playing!! And get in to tricks! Everyone loves watching a dog do tricks. Dogs love learning tricks, usually because we have a different frame of mind when we teach tricks! we think tricks are fun so we have fun when we teach them! They then start to learn that training is heaps of fun because it's all about tricks! Oh and vary it up, no one likes to do anything a hundred times, I find doing something a couple of times but finishing on an improvement in the behaviour means that we all have fun and want more!!

Is it worth reporting it to the council. Even thought the dog is on a lead it doesn't sound like the owner has effective control of it and as has been mentioned it's only a matter of time before the flexi lead breaks or somethign along those lines. Even if a dog is on lead if it is behaving in a menacing manner and the owner is not able to do anything about (and people are concerned for their safety) this usually goes against local laws to do with dogs. Even if the council saw him and had a chat about a more appropriate leash, maybe he would listen (who knows?!). Often times a lot of people just don't know what to do and stick with what they know even though it isn't working.

Thanks piper, I am so stoked. Never thought we'd get this far. Still grinning! I bet. First trial of the year for us this year is a BIG 1 - Border Collie nationals. Jazz in entered in Advanced A ducks, Started B ducks and Inter A Sheep. I was going to enter her into B sheep but at the point entries closed I decided it had been way too long between training sessions for me to send her out in the big paddock at an unknown venue and no idea what the stock will be like. Trained her on the weekend on some non dog broke lambs and she did an awesome job and I am now kicking myself for not entering B sheep as well. We need 1 pass for our advanced title on ducks, fingers crosse we will bring it up at the Nationals. I will also have Cinna in PT (maybe - might scratch, see what happens) and handling Jazz's daughter from her first litter in her first trial - Started A sheep only. On top o that, agility is on the same day so if anyone visits KCC park, I will be the crazy 1 running from 1 side of the grounds to the other and trying to make sure i have the right dog in the right place at the right time! LOL Yell out if you need help with dog wrangling as I only have Hamish entered in 2 HT runs, otherwise I'm hoping to help out with stock handling and just watch the goings on. So probably will be able to be of some (minor, and non-experienced) assistance if needed!

My girl is reactive and generally we have on leash issues, but I really don't trust her a great deal off lead in formal environments (at dog parks we are fine and she plays with the dogs, but she can get distracted by moving things and dogs if she is not engaged in fun focussed activities). Anyway, I have done bundles of work with her playing LAT and getting her focussed. We used to do agility training, but it was at a specific agility club. For the first few rounds of lessons I didn't take her off lead unless I absolutely had to, would set up barriers between myself and the other dogs or would move further away from the other dogs so we were at a distance she could focus. As she became more comfortable with the dogs in her classes we were able to do more off lead work. But I also had great people in my class and my instructors were aware of her issues, so other people would give us space, if we knew she couldn't work beside another dog we would make sure they were well away from each other, at times we would do things one dog at a time to minimise distractions for all. When we finished up at the club we were almost at the point of being able to do most things off lead and even while another dog was doing things near us. we had to finish up there because we moved house. I think it's really important to have some great management techniques for your dog, be aware of your environment, be upfront with the instructors and other class members. I would happily go back to training in agility, but I don't think we will ever trial in agility - the environment is just so highly charged and there is so much going on everywhere; reactive dogs nightmare!!!! But we have taken up other sports to get the mental stimulation. I have to say since we've started dog dancing she has become so much more attentive and engaged in training and it has helped me be more comfortable in the training environment (which is obviously good for her!). I now figure I'm just going to work with my dogs strengths and weaknesses, even though when I got her she was going to be my agility dog!!

We've started!!! Kenzie and Hamish both got tehir first pass in HT today! Can't wait to work Hamish in PT and then Started, I think he sort of wondered today why he had to leave the sheep so early! Whereas Kenz seemed to think "great, I did it quickly and now it's done, let's have a treat"!!! Very happy our herding career has begun!!

I was just looking at the schedules that are out for the ET and it says you can use an appropriate harness. What would constitute an appropriate harness? I wouldn't use a car harness on my guys as they don't really like wearing them (ever!), but I have run them before in their easy walk harnesses fitted upside down (so the attachment is on their back). Would that be considered ok? I'm still not sure if we're going to be able to be ready, but it just got me thinking!! And can you use a limited slip/martingale collar or does it need to be a flat collar? Just wondering about technicalities!