ness

Would be interested to see what his response was at home. I have never tried to really train my older one with toys because well its pretty obvious that she would prefer food to toys. She will play with toys but really prefers food. I was trying to get a gauge on whether Toby prefered toys over food. Kenz gets toy rewards and I am working her through the 2 or 3 in 10 times she wouldn't take a toy because she is stressed because I know her perference is clearly a toy in environments where she is comfortable. Although interestingly at her first agility trial I opted to feed her before we went into the ring and we tugged after. But once she was on the startline she didn't get stressy. She was coping prior to going in but not enough to get a tug game out of her. It however didn't impact on her speed around the course so I am not to worried. Guess its about using what will work for a dog in a particular context.

ValleyCBR I know what your saying - Kenz is a bit that way but has always been happy to take a tug reward for agility and certainly doesn't shut down when running. I will say its easier on the dog to take food when they are stressed then it is for them to tug when they are stressed. Kenz is a bit unsure of strangers and spooks easily and when that happens she is much more likely to be able to accept food then she is to reengage with a tug toy. But in environments she is comfortable with (and Kenz's triggers are pretty specific) she will routinely refuse food if there is a game on offer hence I am working with the toy. If Toby had his choice of reward in an environment he is comfortable with would it be food or toy??

Hmmm RubyStar - finding running the course rewarding on its own isn't a good idea - that would be like having your obedience dog find the DB more rewarding then what you might have to offer. Can get you into hot water pretty quickly.

Gotta have more confidence in yourself huski. I am sure I could find plenty of youtube clips of my very average handling which I now cringe at when I watch . ValleyCBR - there are a few methods around for increasing value of a tug toy and getting the dog to play away from home. My first thought would be though if the dog finds something else more rewarding then in the end you use what works with the dog. There are a number of agility dogs who have been trained primarily with food. Tugging isn't the be all and end all. Having some means of rewarding the dog is. You can't always dictate what that means might be. So I would look at is it a big deal that he doesn't tug elsewhere - or is it just something you want rather than need?

Huski gotta have more confidence in Daisy .

Rivsky - I think I remember the "drown" trial . Thats all right one of our judges here gives the command for the exercise as: "Put your dog down" .

Goodonya Riv .

Christmas 2020 for Kenzie RubyStar .

I haven't decided whether I will do COP or DB for Novice yet. Kenz can do both and her DB retrieves are pretty close to perfect anyway. I always thought I'd do the COP but not so sure anymore she just really really loves her DB .

That reminds me of a hard luck story from the weekend - a friend of mine was sitting on a lovely novice pass until the ROF. She threw the DB and the dog shot off after it. Well the handler had forgotton to give a stay command . She was so pleased with the fact the dog had nailed its SFE and in the heat of the moment she just clean forgot.

Yep twoblacklabs - that is what we suspect is her issue. I have googled it and I manage her as best I can to avoid her collapsing and pull her if she looks like she might.

Now I do have another idea Ptolomy - you could just send me Ciderbear for a fortnight and I'll return her home trained :p . Well maybe I might return her :D . Hmmm and I could send Ness over and you could sort out her UD for me :D :p .

kiesha09 - GoldiesRGreat another DOL member who runs a grooming salon (the Spoilt Dog) has started stocking Artemis and she isn't to far away from Hyde Park. She is on Fullarton Road. Either that or I order through Pookinuk but will probably get it from Goldies next time I run out. SchnauzerBoy takes there two mini schnazuers to Dog City and has said they have a good time. Holdfast Bay Dog training at Brighton also run a doggie daycare. I tend to get most of my raw meat from the local supermarkets. The coles at Burnside always seems to have a huge range of quality looking meaty bones.

Sure you wouldn't have to look far for a demo Ptolomy .

goodonya Ptolomy - its fun when they are like that. Try 2x2 weavers with Ciderbear .

its pouring with rain here today so guess what will be going on the training agenda tonight - indoor seekbacks and Ness will only be rewarded for doing nice presents .

Caffy she doesn't at training she sits in front. I have had spitting the article at feet at training but when she is sitting I have ever not got the sit. But then she never has decided to go and check out where I was standing outside the ring at training either. I have had her anticipating the finish recently so I have also been really rewarding presents too so it doesn't make a lot of sense. Although thinking back over things she started doing this with the DB in open at one point. Might try that with the anticipating jackpots bit. Thanks for the thoughts Caffy.

RubyStar - glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know about Ptolomy - she told me she had goss but she wasn't going to tell me yet - now I know what the goss was .

Congrats with your old girl SL81. It just dawned on me tonight Ness will be 10 in 4 months where has time gone .

LOL bedazzledx2 none of the other judges have had an issue with Ness's searching for the seekback and Dave is just a bit of a stir. He just thought she wouldn't come back into the ring. He also said he was wrong to have suggested it after when I had finished as I was going out the ring and then got roped into doing stays :D .

Yep Ptolomy that sounds about what Ness did on Saturday and then Sunday it was worse again. Will go back to flogging fronts and not rewarding heel position quite so heavily and will see if it holds up at the mock trial .

huski all 42 pages of it. No kidding I reread that thread among some others after our workshop and found it all made much more sense . Here is another one that might provide some answers - http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=185863

K9Pro has a comprehensive distance drive building package which a number of members of this forum have worked through/are working through. Lots of people seem to have found it worth while. Might be worth looking into . ETA. I am in a similar situation to you with my second dog who is a BC but who while likes treats didn't really turn herself inside out for treats but who has always been toy mad. In contrast my older 10 year old BC is food mad. I have been going about things my own way with the youngster and having reasonable success however she has a few nerve issues and I thought the training in drive stuff might be worth a go to help overcome some of that. Steve came over recently to give a workshop and Kenz is three weeks into the drive building module and I think its going well. Required a bit of change to the way I would normally do things but I wouldn't stop now.

Nah no heelwork at the grounds except for maybe asking her to line up when we get to the ring . She gets out for a toilet walk when we get there and then thats it until we go in the ring. RubyStar - well she was working and it was Dave Rumble. They are only suppose to have you call the dog off if the dog wasn't working.

TSD I tend to flog and rewarding heel position before I go in so guess what on Sunday I only rewarded her in front and that still didn't work. My pre ring routine which is my pre training routine is just get her out of the car and essentially go straight into the ring. I didn't do anything differently at the trial that I have been doing at training. Sigh. Although I did hand her the seekback article outside the ring on Sunday to hold and did that cause a few issues with her going outside the ring and nearly being called off the seekback. The judge was like I am sorry I am going to have to ask you to call your dog off - he has done this to me before and I said just give her a few more, she wasn't blowing me off and I knew it. He gave me the benefit of the doubt and she then tracked back into the ring and found the article. It was only when I thought about it later that I wondered if me having had her hold it outside the ring might have been part of that issue. She usually tracks her seekback straight back with little to no fuss.