Jadziah

As well as the Dogs Victoria equipment you could also ask the Westerport Club - David Brearley is the man to contact. And they train on Sunday mornings. Hope you all have fun! Nikki, the Aussies + 1 Sheltie Jadziah Australian Shepherds www.jadziah.com Aussie Agility www.aussieagility.com.au

You could also try one having a look at one of the Mendota long leads. Mendota specialise in Tracking and Retrieving trial equipment so would be used to dogs going through rough terrain etc and of course dogs that are excited to get somewhere. There is a supplier in WA called Pets Providore that stocks them www.petsprovidore.com.au See you Nikki, the Aussies + 1 Sheltie Jadziah Australian Shepherds www.jadziah.com Aussie Agility www.aussieagility.com.au

Hi Nikki here (Aussie Agility), more than happy to help out with any questions on tug toys. We do sell the Bunny Fur Tug - 2 Handled Tug toy mentioned here in Australia. Although like some else said you can get these from Clean Run (USA) - customs should not be a problem (but always good to check). Items likely to be ceased would be anything containing animal food products such as meat or meat fat etc, and of course prohibited animal skins from protected animals. There is a full list on the customs website. Whichever way you get it, the Bunny Fur Tug is a fairly flat tug with fur in the middle and handles on either side, so would be appropriate for a soft mouthed dog. You could also try something like the Long and Lovely toys, these are a flat soft toy with no stuffing, so might also be good for your soft mouthed dog, but still strong in construction. They have squeakers in each of the feet and the lining is Tuffut Technology which makes it tougher for dogs to chew through. Whilst these are listed under Soft Toys I use them as a tug toy with my Aussie's who are good tuggers. But I don't let them tug directly on the head because it probably would come off . The stitching is good but not good enough to withstand rough tugging. If the head does come off though the body of the toy is still good to use as a tug (just headless). Good luck with your hunt! Regards Nikki, the Aussies + 1 Sheltie

The suggestion I make is that, at some point on your walk, you stop and clip the leash to the flat collar and spend some time practising disciplined, consistent loose leash walking. You would begin this with each dog separately at first. I would have to agree - teaching your dogs seperately to walk nicely should continue, however I see no reason why you can't also enjoy a lovely walk to the beach - without having your arms off. So investing in either a harness or gentle leader would be my advice. And like Aidan2 said try periods where one dog is given the opportunity to 'not pull' by putting on a regular lead for a period of time. If they misbehave, then straight back onto the harness/gentle leader. I did this with one of the dogs that I was looking after - he was shocking on the lead. Got soooo excited about going somewhere anywhere ) but HATED the gentle leader with a passion. Didn't take long for him to work it out, by the time he left he was walking beautifully on the lead. Good luck!

Thanks Amanda, now we get to see you fall over for real ....as we missed it the first time And Kinta is definitely saying, "Come on Mum, get off your butt, we are supposed to be going over here!" Nikki