Canine Coach

I just had to google Violet - here she is in many lovely photos. http://www.gidaypoodles.com/violet.htm What a beautiful and talented dog she is. I hope it is ok to post the web page. How sweet. Thank you so much for being so kind Big sook that I am even at my mature age, .......... I am getting emotional again. I had to try hard to hold back the tears . How embarrassing! Having Violet acknowleged in the ring, is I guess an affirmation that the way I train (99% reward based with maybe 1% compulsion) It is also an affirmation of a deep bond/connection It is so very difficult to articulate. All of you that have experienced that kind of rapport/understanding being in sync, will understand what I am talking about For me it is so about connecting & motivating & team work It is so NOT about "dominance" or "leadership" TRIVIA In 1936, Mrs Whitehouse Walker, a Standard Poodle breeder/owner, persuaded the American Kennel Club, (A.K.C.),to assume jurisdication & formalize the Obedience Rules & Regs. for Novice, Open, Intermediate, & Utility Classes The lady who was largely responsible for popularizing the sport of Obedience Competition, as we now know it, was Mrs Blanche Saunders. Mrs Saunders had a team of Obedience/"Agility" (not Agility as we now know it which came into popularity much later) Standard Poodles. She travelled around the USA & Canada, with her Standard Poodle team, giving demomstrations in the 1930's & 1940's Mrs Saunders wrote "Dog Obedience the Guide For Trainers", which was published in 1954 She started one of the very 1st Obedience Clubs, called the Poodle Obedience Club of N.Y.C. in the early 1940's (the club still exists today) The subsequent growth of A.K.C. & Canadian/C.K.C.Dog Obedience Clubs & Trials was so phenomenal, that it became the most popular "dog sport" in North America, for many years

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words & for indulging me.... I tend to gush on about VIOLET cause I feel I am so lucky to have her She truly is a best friend

On August 4th, 2012, my much adored Standard Poodle, "Violet", Dual CH. (O.CH.) GiDay Violet Crumble, RA ADX JDX ET won the run offs for the title of 2012 Dogs Victoria, Top Obedience Dog of the Year Judges Pauline Hartwell NSW & Clive Makepeace Victoria There were 6 excellent working dogs in the Top Dog run offs, 1 Border Collie, 1 German Shepherd, 1 Sheltie, 2 Standard Poodles, 1 Mini Poodle VIOLET also won Open Class, on Saturday August 4th 2012, with 197 points Judge Charlie Giles NSW Violet is from (Australian /American Ch. Picardy MyMarechal X my own TRIPLE CH. (O.CH.) (T.CH.) G'Day Tasmanian Devil ADX JDX ET I placed Violet in an excellent pet home at 8 weeks, with good friends At 6 months, she was returned to me to me because she was too energetic & too demanding of attention, for a quiet suburban home Thankfully, I have been blessed, for 10 years, with a delightfully happy, super intellient, best friend, house dog, family member, & partner, who is happy to join me in the fun games of Agility, Obedience, Endurance, & Rally O as well as Conformation As long as I am already gushing..... Violets Previous Obedience achievements include: 2009 Vic. State Obedience CHampion, Winner of Winners 2010 Vic. State Obedience Champion Winner of Winners, AND 2010 Dogs Victoria Top Obedience Dog of the Year 2011 Dogs Victoria Top obedience Dog of the Year 2011 Melbourne Royal Show, Obedience Winner of Winners And 2012 Dogs Victoria Top Obedience Dog of the year Thanks so much for letting me brag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE just returned from an exhausting, challenging but FUN weekend at Geelong Rally O. trials Geelong put on another fabulous 2 day trial kudos to all the very friendly, hard working volunteers EVERYONE at Geelong Club was friendly, helpful, warm & welcoming The Pumpkin Soup (for $1.00), was so delicious it could win an immunity pin on Master Chef! AND SIGH, the homemade Blueberry muffins, (also $1.00 for 4), ...but I digress..... They had to move the trial venue at the last minute, due to threatening flood conditions We had LOTS of wind, particularly on Sunday, which drove many dogs a bit silly due to heavy gusting and smells and objects being blown around everywhere, but NO rain. Someone needs to tell my G.P.S. that there is a NEW BRIDGE built in Breakwater. My G.P.S. took me all over Geelong, including 1/2 down a closed, partially flooded dirt road, before we found the right route. If I heard "recalculating" one time more, I would have trashed that GPS out the window! Luckily, the rain held out most of the weekend and high winds were the only real annoyance, weather wise I am wondering, if the system used in Agility, which is to make Pass cards available at the check in desk after each session, would be the way to go with Rally O. Even with the best combined afforts of the seriously dedicated & hard working Geelong team, we did not finish our afternoon Rally Advanced run till almost 6 Pm Saturday,& did not get our Pass cards till after 7 PM Saturday evening I left Sunday, mid day, after the wind blew down my heavily anchored Oz Trail gazebo & rain looked imminent. I did not stay for the final Rally O Trial Sunday arvo. Thankfully, Pass cards for the 1st Rally O Trial, WERE made available at the desk, for people who wanted to leave early I am delighted with the efforts of my 2 Silver Standard Poodle girls in Rally O. I thought the courses set by the judges I was assigned to, were some of the best I have had so far, They were appropriatly challenging but fun to work with My own results as follows: August 14 JUDGE MARK KLECKA Violet Crumble RALLY ADVANCED CLASS 1st Place 99 Points RALLY ADVANCED TITLE ATTAINED Roxy JUDGE MARK KLECKA RALLY ADVANCED 2nd Place 96 Points August 15th Violet Crumble JUDGE GRAEME EADES RALLY ADVANCED CLASS 1st Place 97 Points Roxy JUDGE GRAEME EADES RALLY ADVANCED 2nd Place 96 Points RALLY ADVANCED TITLE ATTAINED

I have a slightly used Springer for sale I imported it from USA and only used it, for 3 months, to train for Endurance Test last year Has not been used since The postage alone cost $50 from USA at that time I am willing to sell mine for $75.00 If interested, please E mail me privately

P.S. I have just heard through the "grapevine" that there are 400 RALLY O entries at Geelong! WOW; that is great for the club! The same "grapeviner" said that they have cancelled 2 of the Obedience rings.

Please accept my wishes for the very best of luck to you at Geelong!! I so hope the weather over that weekend is dry . I entered the "fun one" Roxy, in Obedience and both Violet & Roxy in Rally O If you have a moment, please come over & say G'day to us.

I may be able to help. Feel free to E mail me privately

Hastings is very exhibitor friendly. I truly apreciate how much hard work is put in to organizing trials by so many volunteers. Obedience training is loads of fun, if the handler sets it up as a series of games and causes the dog and handler, to have fun while training I recognize that precison is also important as traditional Obedience is a precision sport. The real challenge, is to be able to work out how to have dogs work, while being BOTH enthusiastic/animated AND precise Thanks so much everybody, for your kind words I do not currently have a video of ROXY, I would love to get Roxy's work on video (I think,..... LOL) Any volunteers? Anyone going to Geelong, for the 2 days of RALLY O. &/or Obedience trialling?

The Standard Poodles & I had a good day at Hastings Double Obedience Trials yesterday It was sunny but VERY windy in the morning, and bitterly cold, due to the strong wind factor. The hard working volunteers/organizers do a wonderful job of making everyone feel welcomed, They also put on a scrumptious all day BBQ. The grounds were dry HOORAY! Hard to believe it was not muddy with all the flooding and heavy rain we have been having in Victoria. My 3 year old,"ROXY", had 2 Utility Class Passes with 2 X 1st Places and attained her U.D. TITLE Yippee! ROXY LOVES to work but gets so excited that she can hardly contain her sweet self at times....6 points off both Morning and afternoon for silliness..... Points off were for jumping exuberantly very high in the air, to express her delight, after she found the 1st article, in the morning. In the afternoon, being in such a rush to gallop back to me with the metal, she dropped then immediately picked up the article, and flew in to "front" so fast, I held my breath hoping she would put on the brakes. (she did a good front so I could breath again) The judge in the afternoon, said she would "like to bottle her entusiasm" Anyway, I am delighted ROXY titled in UD in just 5 trials, 9 months after getting her Novice title at Melbourne Royal It is her 10th performance title at age 3 I set up my training as a series of games, with only rewards based methods, so perhaps that is why so much excitment . VIOLET was also very "up", till was about 6 years old. Her Mum, TAZ, who was very correct/precise but would rather swim and retrieve ducks, then trial, IN Obedience TAZ regularly used to beat VIOLET, on precision and consistency and then VIOLET calmed down and got more precise. Perhaps there is hope for ROXY? Violet got 2nd in Open, with 196 points in the morning, from on a tie/count back to an aboslutely gorgeous working CDX titled GSD, Violet won Highest Score In Trial in the afternoon, , with 195 from Open in the pouring rain We competitors were outside during the stays and got drenched to the skin VIOLET had a waterproof raincoat on & being a "water dog" actually PREFERS, working in cold wet weather I came home totally & utterly exhausted, wind burnt, drenched to the skin and shivering to the bones with cold but happy

I have people coming from interstate to show their dog at KCC Park in Skye Victoria They are looking for a motel or cabin that will allow their well mannered medium sized non shedding dog inside Any recommendations? THANKS!!

I have people visiting from interstate to attend shows at KCC Park They are bringing 1 medium/large well mannered dog They are looking for a cabin or motel within 15 minutes drive from KCC Park that will allow their dog inside Any reccomendations ? Thanks

G'Day I received an E Mail message early this morning KCC PARK Park is flooded, very badly this time I was told that as of 9 AM this morning, (FRIDAY JUNE 22), the road outside the park were flooded and there is/was water over the road as far north as Thompsons road I was told that the Dogs Vic. office was closed, the staff sent home and the Park completely closed to all visitors till at least Monday, when the situation will be re evaluated Just in case anything should change I suggest that you may wish to confirm this, with your relevant Show Secretaries/Obedience Clubs That is, if you were planning to visit the Park this weekend

I think RALLY O., is the most positively encouraging event, to happen to Obedience in a very long time! By it's very nature, it encourages handlers and dogs to train in small increments, the moves required for every level of Obedience. It is not easier, just more natuaral and less intimidating. The courses change at every trial which is mentally stimulating & fun & may also assist one in getting used to walking & analyzing an Agility course. Handlers can praise & encourage their dogs, and move more naturally,. Handlers can ask for a retry, if needed, which is much more affirming of one's ability to carry out the exercise. The judge is observing, but not giving direct orders and is usually not as close to the dog/handler physically, as they would be in Obedience Therefore, although RALLY O., requires all the training for Obedience, it allows handlers and dogs to begin to show off their dogs, in competition, in a less intimidating, more natural way.

The Standard Poodles & I had a wonderful Queens Birthday weekend My baby girl "ROXY", completed her Rally O Novice title with a sore of 100 & 1st Place on Saturday morning THEN, on Saturday afternoon, she got her 1st Qualifying Pass in UD, with a 1st Place, just 8 months after completing her Novice Obedience title "VIOLET", won 1st Place in Advanced Rally, on Saturday morning, with 99 points & then won 1st Place, in Open Obedience, on Monday with 196 points I LOVE RALLY! It is so much fun!

I usually find that I agree with all or almost all Nekhbet advises Just adding my 2 cents ...... In my own experience, to build confidence while training, set it up and stage manage it at a level (s) so that the dogs WINS. In other words, "CATCH THE DOG DOING SOMETHING RIGHT, consistently. Then act deliriously happy and reward with praise, pats, toys, food, or whatever makes your dog feel appreciated and clever etc This really truly builds confidence The dog feels clever and begins to believe that it can DO things to make you happy enough to reward it and make it feel special. However it must be done at the dog's pace slowly over time One can test periodically, to see when the dog is ready to move on to a bigger challenge and then drop back quickly to a much easier exercise to bring the dog's spirits back up Think of how YOU feel when you are learning something from someone and they praise the heck out of every correct response, and ignore the wrong responses OR only give some correction AFTER marking and telling you all the GOOD things that you did well. Then think about the type of teacher that makes things a bit too difficult and has to criticize you Even the gentlest of criticism, causes confidence to drop, especialy if praise is not given many times prior. My 1st dog was so soft and wanted to be right/clever so badly, that I had to control my slightest facial expressions if she blew an exercise in training. I dared not even look mildly disappointed She would shut down and look miserable However, when she suceeded she was delirious with joy This dog ended up with many titles in 2 countries but I never ever used compulsion of any kind and before I trained I planned how to make her suceed/feel good about what we were going to do

With approximately 70 dogs entered each day in Rally O. over Easter Saturday & Sunday, Dogs Victoria held it's first Rally Obedience Trials Although Rally O. trialling is alot more challenging than it looks I was amazed at how well organized the days were. Everything flowed smoothly and quickly I want to again express appreciation, to all the many organizers who were there from 7AM till 8PM each day to insure all went smoothly, especially, Margaret Widelock, Noline McIlroy, Dawn Ayton, who worked tirelessly and somehow also managed to trial their own dogs too. The Rally O Trials were preceded by an Obedience trial, each day, which makes the smooth flowing organization all the more impressive. On a more personal note; I had my silver Standard Poodle, Dual CH (O) GiDay Violet Crumble ADX JDX ET entered the Rally Obedience trials. She attained the Rally Novice (RN) title, in 3 trials with 1st place 98 Points (judge Heather Miller 1st place 100 Points (judge Kim Houlden) & 1st place 100 Points (judge David Hutson)

Yes it shows all the stations and how to perform them There is only one "official" DVD made in Queensland that I am aware of Supposedly someone was selling it in Bermagui NSW at their Trial weekend but I was not there So far I have not been able to locate a source to purchase one from I thouight it would make a really nice suprise gift and a wonderful training aid for two of the dog/handler who come to me for training in RALLY Anyone who has the info., please E Mail me privately Thanks Again Canine Coach Melbourne

Does anyone know whom to contact in order to purchase the RALLY O. DVD made in Queensland? Thanks Canine Coach Melbourne

Have a handful of treats on the table behind you, or next to you or in the hand you will not be using to shake his paw. Sit on a chair and sit the dog in front of you. , Using the palm of your hand with your palm facing up . Elevate the dogs paw a short distance off the ground with his foot resting on your palm. (Most dogs associate nail clipping with feet being touched so do not grasp the foot at this stage ) Rest the paw on your palm for a couple of seconds Use your cue word, "SHAKE" and immediately treat him Let go of the paw and repeat till he will offer paw to your palm on the cue word SHAKE

Thanks to all who sent private E Mails I currently have only 2 obstacles still available A double bar Wing Jump. It has a royal blue metal frame with white lattice wings and 2 blue and white bars Adjustable to all heights Imported USA $90.00 A white lollypop rubber tire with adjustable metal frame $75 Please send private E mail if interested

EXPERIMENT but progress VERY slowly I hope this helps I am ALOT better at working with dogs and people in person when I can adjust my advice as needed, instantly I find it MUCH more difficult to explain how to do anything in writing Start with the dog standing facing you. Use guides i.e. a wall on one side and a PVC jump pole or a line of bricks on the ground on other side You can even use your arms as guides Try till you find what works best with your dog and what you are most comfortable with yourself Whatever you use, as guides, MUST make the dog comfortable NOT create stress in the dog! Hold both hands with food in each hand, as lures, on BOTH sides of dog's head at eye levels SHUFFLE foward just a teeny bit into the dog, while very carefully and slowly sliding the food back just a bit in both hands, at both his eye level on either side of his face When you feed, feed from BOTH hands, simultaneously, so the dog does not orient to one side or the other Try different positions, till you find one causes the dog to move even one perfect 1 step back INSTANTLY say YES and reward Try progressing VERY slowly and remember to REWARD THE POSITION (1 or more foot moves STRAIGHT back)with "YES" or a clicker INSTANTLY and then food to follow Shape and condition the behavior in very tiny increments/ chunks/steps till each small chunk is perfect 10X in a row THEN move in tiny bits closer and closer to your goal Name the behavior "back back back" AFTER the dog is taking at least 3 steps STRAIGHT back IF your dog seems to progress then he revert back, DROP BACK, temporarily, to the last chunk of behavior, in which the dog was successful 10X in a row Do not push ahead till the dog does the chunk you are working on PERFECTLY at least 6 times in a row The last BIG chunk, is to switch to having the dog at your side. The begin to break the behavior down into very small chunks again

Thanks to all who are expressing interest in the Agility equipment I must thank you for your patience I am on a very very slow computer, on the old dial up system I can not send pictures However, you are most welcome, to come to view the equipment, in my back yard (Cranbourne, very close to KCC park) Please, be so kind as to E Mail me PRIVATELY to arrange a time to view If you are still interested As of today, I still have, a 5 meter yellow tunnel, (used for $80) Weave Poles X 12, PVC capped, (USED), on metal bases which break down into 3 parts, for $80, a ( BRAND NEW), PVC, blue and white spread hurdle, for $50.00 and a wooden see saw, with non slip surface, USED, for $60.00 and a white rubber tire, lollypop style, for $90.

Currently, I have more Agility equipment (some is used but most are used, tire, 5 meter tunnel, weave poles, see saw hurdle, wing jump)etc. than I need. I am wondering where best to advertise. I am in Cranbourne Victoria. I do not have access to E Bay. Any advice would be most welcomed

Can anyone provide me with contact details, for a Dog Friendly MOTEL, or self contained, CABINS (I am not a camper), The closer to ACTA Exhibition Park (EPIC) the better Thanks in advance!