PAX

I have one and love it for my Malinois, but he is very well crate trained. Your dog really needs to be perfect in a crate or they would just rip through.

There is a bit of a knack to folding them but it doesn't take long to become good at it.

This course will be amazing as Kelly has so much success in Obedience competitions and Agility. Puppy owners couldn't go wrong. Online support and feedback makes it so easy:)If you ever have the opportunity to meet Kelly's dogs, the Wonder dogs, you will have no hesitations, just awesome.

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Here is a clip of me shaping my puppy to get in a box, I started with a square laundry basket (youtube didn't want to play itrr

) and gradually reduced the size of the box. I tried to keep the reinforcment high so she would keep trying, I also really focused on the hind legs. Sometimes it helps to have another person clicking the hind legs.

Great work PAX With Bindi I am now getting 3 legs in & with Cricket..well...most of the time he tries everything else including a lovely "bow" in the box :laugh: but we are getting there. I agree it would be a lot easier to have someone watching the back legs & doing the clicking. It is very hard to see what's going on behind

Sheena, if you have a floor length mirror to see the hind legs works well too:)

I have done a lot of shaping with my puppy and she is very operant, if you haven't done much shaping reward often.This is as small as want to go with her, she is trying really hard.

Also I set a timer on my phone and make shaping sessions usually 60 seconds, I know my pup can hang in there so I set the cut off at two minutes, thats a long time for them to be trying hard.

http://youtu.be/vOwQut78fCIallest

Here is a clip of me shaping my puppy to get in a box, I started with a square laundry basket (youtube didn't want to play itrr

) and gradually reduced the size of the box. I tried to keep the reinforcment high so she would keep trying, I also really focused on the hind legs. Sometimes it helps to have another person clicking the hind legs.

Steve White was so awesome and it was fantastic to watch the dogs he trains learn tracking skills, I learnt heaps and feel I left with a great foundation on how to start proper tracking.

Did anyone attend Steve White's two weekend training workshops in Sydney, earlier this month.

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I went to the tracking weekend and loooved it:)]

It doesn't happen to me, I must look cranky, but it was really crap:(

I was at a dog show today, a freind was doing some obedience work, stays I believe. An unwanted helper arrived and started giving unwanted advice to my friend and dog.

He started barking, which only happened when the unwanted helper body blocked the dogs view of his handler during stays.

Funny thing was the unwanted helpers dogs never freaking shut up all day....lol, I had to go home to get some panadol:)

Got to love the help:)

Need a like button RS:)

It was a great seminar, she was so engaging, got something more out of every dog...very impressed:)

If you have a troublesome dog, bring it, she will have it and you worked out in a heartbeat...she is super:)

Sounds like a great puppy, find a good motivational trainer:)

I puppy sat a 5 month old BC puppy, super puppy:) while I would make her dinner she would launch at me, on the benches, whatever, a real chow hound. I quickly and suprisingly easy rewarded her to sit on a chair patiently, she learnt it in about two sessions.

When the owners returned, I proudly showed them her clever new meal time behaviour.....they were so disappointed that I had taught her to sit on a chair:( I wanted to steal the puppy or cry:( I know they are just going to dumb that smart puppy down.

It's super fun, making our puppies and dogs show their potential, so many great trainers to help us, so many videos to learn from:)

A few of my friends have started a facebook group called the Awesome Pup Challenge.

Every Wednesday we set a new trick to train, all reward based, it's so much fun, every week's challenge is set by a different handler so it pushes us out of our comfort zone....I've trained things I have never trained before and it's been suprisingly easy and so much fun.

A new challenge is posted every Wednesday, but you can just join in at any stage. It doesn't matter how new or experienced you are, everyone is very friendly and willing to help so give it a go :)

Awesome Pup Challenge - Link to Facebook page

A few of my friends have started a facebook group called the Awesome Pup Challenge.

Every Wednesday we set a new trick to train, all reward based, it's so much fun, every week's challenge is set by a different handler so it pushes us out of our comfort zone....I've trained things I have never trained before and it's been suprisingly easy and so much fun.

A new challenge is posted every Wednesday, but you can just join in at any stage. It doesn't matter how new or experienced you are, everyone is very friendly and willing to help so give it a go :)

Awesome Pup Challenge - Link to Facebook page

We have a facebook page called Awesome pup challenge, a new training trick challenge is set every Wednesday, lots of fun:)

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/137203313139206/

I was up half the night thinking about a good-natured trick challenge. I'm afraid the idea has filled me with energy. Does anybody else want to play? Just for fun. Because there's so much variation in dogs and so on there would never be a clear winner. I just thought it would be fun to see what we can do if we manage our time very strictly. I'm thinking 5x2-minute training sessions over a week working towards one predetermined trick and we can video it and see how far everybody gets? Clicker, marker, lure, whatever you like. We could probably learn a lot from each other's attempts. I am extremely busy atm, but I can probably spare 2 minutes a day. Any takers?

Glad to hear you have found less chatter more productive, BC Crazy! :)

Wobbly, you're absolutely right. It's not really even an argument IMO. McDevitt and Fenzi are coming at training from different ends, so both approaches have their uses and times when they are most appropriate. I would have been at the Fenzi workshop with a dog except that I'll be in Victoria instead. :p

I had trouble figuring out how to juggle the clicker when I started training doves. I wanted them to interact with one hand, so I had to hold the seed cup and the clicker in the other. To make it more challenging, the doves are very stimulated by shiny yellow buttons. If they get even a peek of it they want to peck it. So I had to hide it. A tongue click works if I left the clicker behind, but I dunno, I just like the clicker better for some reason. Less variable or something. It took about a week to get clicking with the doves nice and smooth.

Her name is Dash, she is owned by Louise from Animal Talent, bred by Hunterslea Koolies I believe.

So jealous, that's what I want:)

I would hope and want my dogs to understand a reward marker and a release marker clearly....no doubt in my mind that they knew it before I would start to ask for stays.

I think you need to rethink your training or get some help from someone more experienced.....no dogs want to stay....your dog must be unclear...but congrats you have if you've got solid stay:)

Had a great night at our club last night, lots of new members wanting to embrace motivational training methods.

Have you tried getting his favourite ball everytime you want to take him out in the backyard to toilet? It sounds like you need to focus on new fun things instead of what you don't like.

Toilet = ball throw, sounds a bit obscure, but from what you're saying could he be training you to only take him out walking?

Would you use the same method for a complex behaviour chain though? Like service dog skills? Sorry about all the questions, just can't picture it :)

If you mean house hold duties, turning lights on, opening doors etc, I think these would need to be calm behaviours so not something you would train in drive. TID is going to make things faster and sharper so probably not the right reward for service dogs.

If you mean scent detection dogs etc, then TID is perfect for the hard effort they have to put into it.

Just been thinking about this as I am thinking about what training adventures I would like to pursue in the future. Chester is my trick dog. I always had that planned for him - tricks and canine freestyle type moves. He loves it!

Lola doesn't specialise in anything in particular but if she did, I would pick scent work as she loves it and is good at it. Chester doesn't seem to use his nose as much but I haven't tried training him in any scent work.

Can you teach one dog multiple disciplines successfully without confusing the dog? Or is it better to have each dog specialise in one area? Is this affected by whether the dog is performing the skill as a career or for competition?

For example, could a dog which is a schutzhund prospect also be trained tricks or service dog skills without becoming confused? Would it make the dog less reliable? Would it matter more for serious competition dogs than for pet dogs who don't compete?

I think so, the visual cues are different and easy for the dog to understand. Its not likely you would be training tricks next to a blind. Same as you wouldn't be training tricks in the middle of an agility field or in a paddock full of sheep.

Or what about a dog who you are just training obedience too but sometimes you wanted to use clicker training and other times you wanted to use training in drive for the same or similar skills?

Still works, the click is just the marker, you can reward with what ever your dog finds rewarding, food, tug, balls. If you have a high drive dog it is often faster to teach new skills with food, where the dog is calmer, then switch to a higher level reward when the behavoiur is learnt. Sometimes if the excitement is too high it makes it harder for them to learn, a bit like getting the kids to do homework at Dreamworld:)

For me the more boring the task (like heeling) the greater the reward.

From what I've heard, it would confuse the dog but I am interested to hear of other people's experiences and opinions :)