Kavik

so he may have megaesophogus? Having to eat in an upright position?

Collar Grab game

Lots of dogs don't like having their collar grabbed, it doesn't necessarily mean they were mistreated - but it is something you can work on :)

I've had 2 dogs who were bad with thunderstorms/fireworks etc and now 3 who are fine with them. I don't think I did anything differently, just some of them were more highly strung/anxious and more likely to develop these fears I think.

That is awful

Apparently things have changed a lot just within the last year, as a friend imported from the same breeder last year and didn't have to do nearly as much or pay nearly as many fees as I do this year.

We are going with an animal transport company, but for some reason need a broker as well?

The tricky thing with us is that we are bringing over a few pups from the same litter. As they are coming together it sounds like we have to combine their price which will then be over $1000 and pay the GST?

We are now super confused :laugh:

Our broker is just confusing all of us!

He can't seem to put it into English and we have no idea what he is going on about

No, I don't intend to breed and value of dog is not over $1000

I was told GST needed to be paid on price of pup and price of transport.

Hmmm we are flying some siblings together and one of the other pups is valued over $1000, maybe that is why we have been told GST needs to be paid

I am also importing a pup from NZ next month (all going well!) and the breeder has recommended a broker for us to use. Yes you will need to pay GST on puppy price and transport costs.

The Vebo fold the same way as any other wire crate I have had. Occasionally I struggle to undo it to fold up because it is a thicker wire and stronger than others I have. They are also fairly heavy (it says the XXL one is 24kg). I have a Large (36inch) for the Kelpies and I certainly couldn't carry anything bigger than that!

That size is 109.99 from Vebo :)

Looking to update how we configure dog beds and crates in the house, has anybody tried the Vebo Trampoline Beds? Are they good quality?

Castle Hill Showground is my homeground training ground for agility :) Not sure which is the Federation Building, think it is a different grounds to where I do agility.

The area where I do agility has an undercover section with currogated iron roof. That is where I sit for our trials, but it can still get quite hot under there. Other people bring gazebos but I don't have one. I'm not sure if there is shelter at the Federation Building section

I do agility and I would not keep my dog in the car with no shade on a hot day, even with all windows open etc. Cooler even under a tree, or the shade that the car creates with its shadow if you have no shelter with you. If you had to keep the dog in the car and the day was scheduled to be hot, I would probably just pass.

Do you have to keep him in the car? Might be cooler outside of the car under a shelter.

Another vote for Vebo here :)

Something really interesting that has popped up in my training...

I love using tug to build arousal in agility in particular. My Spaniels have an awesome tug around food, water and ducks which are HIGH distractions. However if you THROW the tug, ask them to retrieve it and then ask them to play tug they shut down quicker than you can say "working lines". They are hard wired (genetics!) to retrieve and deliver gently to hand. I've discovered that I'm better off rewarding the retrieve with food and using tug as a balance break.

That is very interesting!

Herding dogs are usually more interested in controlling movement than killing things. They can get crazy aroused and reactive about anything that moves, or some things in particular. If they get aroused enough, they are liable to bite. With small animals, they may not be trying to kill it, but you probably don't want to see what will happen if they escalate their controlling behaviour, especially if they have decided it's fun if the animal moves and then they can make it stop again. Likewise, if they are not sure what to do with something, they may try a variety of things and essentially teach themselves to bite it harder and harder. I'm hoping to launch a study next year to look at how different breeds interact with things they have been chasing when they capture it. I'm really looking forward to getting some breed type data to compare. Stay tuned if you are in the Sydney area and would like to participate.

ETA: We're not gonna feed live animals to dogs! Just in case anyone misunderstood that. We can obviously only use inanimate objects.

I would find this interesting! Throw me a line when you need people. Some training may influence this as well (what they do with it when they capture it). I've worked hard to encourage tug with my dogs, but it is not something I think they would do initially in your study, but may do it now since it has been taught.

Interesting question posed to me which I thought I'd ask here.

What would you call excessive training or overworking a dog/s in a club training session? Time? Fitness of the dog? Response of the dog? It also runs into unsafe working i.e. around young dogs and jump heights.

How would you define it in a club setting?

How would you deal with it if it's an ongoing issue? The main concern is for the health and welfare of the dog, but also the implications for fellow students.

I go with dog's response in regards to overworking. This depends on the individual dog, their fitness, level of drive, how easily distracted they are/how easy or hard they are to keep attention and working. I go with a less is more approach with my dog, who is very easily distracted and easily overexcited so keeping him at a good level of arousal and attention for training is difficult, so we keep it short.

If it is an ongoing issue I approach students. Mostly this is seen with dogs who appear quite flat and leave while training.

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough :laugh:

I put the crate on the back seat with the front seat back to wedge it in. Hope that is clearer.

How big is the crate? When I had a sedan, I just put the plastic airline crate sideways (door of crate facing door of car) and this wedged nicely between front seat and back seat, so it didn't move around. I would move the front seat forward to get it in, then back til it would wedge it securely.

very cute!

What about trying an orient back to you game? Absolute Dogs posted a great video, but have taken it down now that the course they were advertising has started.

Start in a low distraction environment (living room works well!) and throw a food reward on the ground away from you, when the dog gets the reward and starts to orient back to you, mark that and reward when the dog comes back to you (you can move away from the dog or run to help). You can then throw another food reward and do it again, also fun if you throw in the other direction. Once they will get the food and run right back to you, you can take it on the road and try in the yard, at the park etc. It is really cool and does work!

Here is another version by Absolute Dogs but I found the other one with some added motion helped my dog better. It is the lower/second video.

https://game.absolute-dogs.com/stop-it5w19jows