Kavik

Both of my Kelpies are very foody. However I have always been more comfortable using food for some reason so I used food rewards from when they were puppies, not sure how much of a difference it makes. Tug has been my big mission, and while I may never get it to the point where I can use it at competitions, we have come a very long way and it has improved our relationship and engagement a lot. I am so in awe of you TSD for being able to build it up so much in your Dally I am now confident in how I can build it in my next puppy.

You also might want to look at this thread on focus http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/244651-how-do-you-teach-focus/

I agree with superminty that LAT or another automatic attention game would be better than a cued 'watch' command, I have found it to be much more effective for dealing with unwanted behaviours. My 2 love food, but to use any motivator when the dog is highly aroused you have to work with it first so that the dog can think and pay attention when that aroused, you have to start small. I think some work on getting him to focus on working for you/with you would help, using either food or toys. I have found it is more than teaching a 'watch' command :laugh: and it has taken me a while to sort out with my fellow (he had a tendency to run out of the ring in agility, sometimes to visit people)

On a different note to other advice - have you done any work on getting him to focus on you? What training do you do with him?

.... My big *tough* RR boy limps, stops, holds foot up and looks up at me with a "what are you going to do about it? you going to save me?" look on his face. When the bindi is out, he's back off again hunting down lions. My Kelpies are the same :laugh: they are such babies about bindis!

Michael Ellis is awesome! He explains things very well.

I'm so sorry RIP Grumpy

jerry lee You seem to be taking this a bit personally. In suggest breed threads people are looking for the most suitable breed for their situation. This means a lot of breeds are not going to be suitable for some reason. This is not putting down the breeds that aren't suitable.

The point is HW's point is an uninformed point. It's the uninformed point of those who think that SBT's are muscle bound house bricks. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Muscular? definately, but athletic muscular. Have a look at the video & see the ''build'' that is ripping the course up. Not only ideal. Pretty well perfect. Seeing is believing. There are plenty of dogs suited to the activity. The SBT is one. I do agree with you tho. Larger breeds like the GSD aren't suitable. They would struggle in the tunnel for a start. & the sharp turns would test them. It is a time trial after all. It's the smaller more athletic & agile dogs forte. I have a little girl at home, who when she was five months old could jump onto a regulation height table from a standing start. Looked up, jumped up....did it easily..not a problem. I soon put a stop to that. There is a Great Dane doing agility, and is fantastic! But if I was choosing a breed for agility, they would not be the top of my list. Same for SBT,as I said I have friends with SBT crosses which are awesome. If they were 'perfect' and 'ideal' for agility than all the top handlers would have them. What do the top handlers have the world over - Border Collies. There is nothing mean spirited about it, and I don't believe HW meant it that way either.

I understand HW's point. She didn't say they couldn't do agility, just that they aren't the ideal build. I have a GSD and while GSDs can do agility, most of the GSD people I have spoken to (breeders, owners, enthusiasts) agree that they are not an ideal breed to do competitive agility with due to their size and weight.

There are successful GSPs in agility. Personally, I think anything that is going to appreciate the dobe playing style is going to be a handful for a child to train. Maybe a compromise in one or both areas will need to be made. Of the herding breeds, Aussies seem to like a more rough play style than the others from what I have seen.

For a smaller dog, I see some Shelties that are very quick, though I would research breeders and lines if going that route. Probably not going to appreciate Dobe play though. For the bigger dogs, the gundogs would probably cope well with the Dobes - Vizsla or GSP? My experience with Kelpies shows me that they do not appreciate in your face rough style play.

The ones I see doing well (and some are owned by friends) are Stafford crosses, not purebreeds. Some of them are lightning fast and have no self preservation :laugh:

Yes

I just read the guidelines - seems they would ideally like people not to use dogs at all

I do a couple of short structured training sessions with Kaos and Zoe throughout the day and one on their evening walk. Diesel only gets a training session on his walk, he is not very interested in training. Kaos also attends agility classes once a week.

That's a big blow for the industry and for working dogs

Does this mean they will want to ban yard dog trials, where yard work is showcased?

She's looking good Vickie! Can't wait to see her next year :)

No, I am not using Steve's TID package, I am primarily using Susan Garrett's ideas, though I have borrowed a bit from Ellis as well. It sounds like Steve's would suit you though, I have a different dog and different issues. The engagement could be a natural thing - I think part of my problem is that Kaos is a naturally somewhat independent dog and a bit of a tough fellow, not as biddable as some, has proven challenging to work with for sure! Keeping his attention has been my biggest issue, now that I have figured out how to do that better we are having much more success!

Well, I've been working on this for over a year :laugh: it has taken us a while, and at the start it was frustrating. Sounds like Jarrah is much better on the engagement aspect than Kaos naturally - if i let Kaos win the toy he would just stand there not looking at me. Still happens sometimes, and I wait him out, but most of the time he will now bring it back to engage me straight away.

I think points 2 and 3 are related - self satisfying and possession - and this shows itself with my dog in the retrieve. So I reward a good happy fast retrieve with a good tug session, and I use a lot of verbal praise when tugging too. His retrieve has improved a lot, though there are still times when it needs work. I also work on his engaging with me to start the game, so when he looks at me I give a verbal marker and start the game, instead of getting the toy out first.

Don't worry Wobbly - I've made the exact same 3 mistakes! :laugh: as well as having used too many 'misses' in initial training.

I haven't entered snooker yet - the first trial I entered it in was cancelled. I would have no problem with the weaves being in novice. My biggest concern is being able to make some sort of flow in the course for my dog, so the placement of obstacles and the reds are more important to me, I am not out to do maximum score.

I am glad it is going well Wobbly! It sounds like the Michael Ellis stuff will be helpful - I have his tugging DVD and he is explains things well and is easy to understand. It is so awesome that he has so many free videos up as well.