kelpiechick

Looks like Class 5 at Northern is the place to be for DOLers ! My older 2 dogs are also in Class 5 at Northern although we kinda quit on obedience class when I became obsessed with agility, so haven't worked either of them in obedience for about 3 years. (Plus have been too busy with the younger two) Maybe I will bring one of them down for a 'comeback' one Wednesday nite and we can have a DOL social event !

I have seen Suzanne Clothier use positive methods with an aggressive (dog aggressive) dog at a seminar a few years back with amazing results. I have also used positive methods with one of my older dogs who has issues with fear aggression, also with good results BUT aggression is such a complex issue (so many types/manifesting itself in so many different ways) that I would never suggest that this is the method that should be used. It just happens to be the method that worked with my dog. (Just as other methods have obviously worked with other dogs) I don't think there is a 'one size fits all' way to train or to address issues. A good trainer will have different approaches for different dogs IMHO. And to get back to the original thread (Think this was the original thread about titles with positive training? ) - current trialling dog / ADX JDX GD HIT (one more for SPD) Clicker trained with no corrections ever, also don't use NRM's.

Hi dogdude, if you go down on the weekend you will probably find that the classes are a bit smaller as there are usually more instructors available than on Wednesday nites so they often split the classes. Glad to hear you had a good experience. I have been a member of Northern for a few years now, can't say all my experiences have been positive, but I would expect nothing different from most clubs staffed by volunteers and I'm sure my training style is not everyone's cup of tea either - having said that, there are some terrific people down there who will really go out of their way to help you and are open to trying different things. Might see you down there sometime.

My kelpies would be salivating if they could read ! Their favourite frozen kong - put a banana in food processor, add a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt, spoon of peanut butter and a teaspoon of oat bran. Sort of looks and smells like banana icecream when it comes out of the freezer. YUM YUM

The breeder of my kelpies says around 6.

Susan Garrett's 'One Jump' DVD has some great video on foundation for teaching front and rear cross. One of the best foundation training books I have read is 'From the Ground Up' (Kim Collins) -highly recommend this one- and I am now part way through the new Angelica Steinker one - all about foundation work using the clicker (can't remember exact title) and there are some good ideas in there too. With my new boy I am finding the clicker great for working rear cross foundation in particular / I guess you could also use it to teach a front cross. Is anyone else using a clicker to teach foundation skills and how valuable have you found it ? This is a great thread - I love foundation training. I believe we are just now beginning to see a small number of dogs progressing in the trial ring that were 'foundation trained' first rather than the old 'run 'em up and over' method of training and the results speak for themselves. I think over the next 2 or 3 years the 'bar will be raised' with the standard of agility in Australia thanks to a greater awareness of foundation training.

It's a Masters run - if you click on the link with the dog's name (think it was Kip) then you get a link to a whole list of runs you can watch from the same dog with the details of what class the run was from. But having said that, I can't download it either at home or at work BOO HOO !

I think it depends on the reason why the dog is barking - don't mind it as long as the dog isn't barking AT me. (Garrett has also stated that she did try to stop Buzz from barking but wasn't successful - I have heard that she always warmed him up with a toy in his mouth to stop distracting others outside the ring) My first agility dog (BC cross) sometimes barked when he ran and those runs were always our best ones. (It was a pain having to stand so far away from the ring when we were warming up tho'- the toy in the mouth would have been a good idea.) My kelpies and ACD don't bark when they work and I kinda miss it in a way. Anyone who has enjoyed 'Shaping Success' might also want to check out 'From the Ground Up' by Kim Collins. Really comprehensive foundation training program, one of the best I have read, written more as a training manual with techniques very similar to Garrett's.

Not necessarily a reflection of you as an Instructor, IMO more of a reflection of the time and effort the 'average agility class attendee' is willing to put into training contacts. Slowing down the dog often gives a very deceptive 'instant success' and it's very easy to believe that the dog understands what to do when in fact this is far from the truth. Also very hard to train 2020/running if students only have access to equipment once a week (Thank goodness Susan Garrett and her stairs have gone some way to helping with this - LOL) Both 2020 and a true running contact take a lot of work and repetition to achieve, when I was training my first dog I know I wouldn't have understood the need for this (we learnt the PNP method - point 'n pray!) and he probably hit his contacts about 70% of the time and I thought that was great and could see no need to change what I was doing in any way. 2 dogs later and it's a whole different ball game !

Totally agree Vickie ! It is very easy for handlers (myself included with first dog) to fall into the trap of using loads of verbals on the contacts (slow, waaaa......it , steady,etc.) the dog slows down because he thinks 'what the hell?' and the handler then thinks that the dog understands its job is to slow down. (anthropomorphism rears its ugly head again, including my 'what the hell' comment, I know!) As Pippi ( I think?) said in an earlier post, the method you choose , whether stopped or running contacts, totally depends on the individual dog, but both methods should be performed at speed (to the capability of that particular dog) not slowing down for any reason. If a dog slows on the contacts then I believe it shows that the dog doesn't really understand its job. Both stopped and running need to be trained with very clear criteria from the beginning - you can also choose a combination of both methods, my kelpie does 2020 on dogwalk and seesaw but I retrained a running contact on the A Frame and he has had no trouble with contact performance. Stopped contact behaviour also needs to be maintained in a trial situation or your dog will most likely come to anticipate early release - mix it up at trials and release early on some and hold for a brief moment on others. t(AD)pole, if you decide to train 2020 don't forget you can backchain the end position using a target, graduating to a set of steps, than an angled plank, so you don't actually need a dogwalk or A Frame for quite a lot of the foundation training. Have a very clear picture in your head of what you want your 'ideal' contact performance to look like (one of the hardest things about agility training I think, especially for 1st dog handlers) and train toward this in very small steps.

My boys are fed BARF and I supplement with Eagle Pack - the power formula for the 2 currently competing in agility - and I have been really happy with the results. (Used Science Diet before and was reasonably happy but EP is way better, for them anyway- guess all dogs respond differently) Haven't tried Nutro tho' so can't compare. Would really prefer not to feed anything other than BARF but it is much easier travelling to 2 day trials if they are used to eating dried food, so feed it once a week. They also go crazy over the Eagle Pack wholistic biscuits as a treat every now and then.

Hi Feralpup, another idea I saw set up at a trial for 'cheap practice jump behind tent' was 2 large witches hats (the kind you see on council roadworks) with holes in the top the same size as PVC piping . The PVC pipe was then inserted through holes as uprights(they stood upright due to witches' hats) and to prop the bars on they had used a couple of large bulldog clips, the bars rested on the piece you squeeze. Very effective ! My OH has made me some jumps with PVC piping and to rest the bars on instead of using connectors and cutting the side out (think that is what t(AD)pole did????) he cut off a small piece of PVC pipe the same size as the upright and slit it up the back so that he could slide it over the upright but it still fit fairly tight. He then glued a small piece of curved wood onto this to prop the bar on, so I can now adjust the height of the jump easily by sliding the cut off piece of PVC up and down the upright. This works well for me as I don't always like to train on full height but still have the option of doing so if I wish - also like to run sequences with varying height jumps as I believe this creates a more 'thinking dog' when jumping. Hope you find everything you want !

If you are in the area of Geelong you could try Australian Dog Sports at Winchelsea. Try www.camnuschgermanshepherds.com then follow the link to Aust. Dog Sports. Terry makes very sturdy equipment at a reasonable price.

I made cushions out of my smaller qualifying ribbons. To display the sashes, I bought some bookshelves from Ikea, removed all but the centre shelf, glued cork tiles onto the back and then pinned them on (horizontally, not hanging down) I added glass doors to the shelf (Ikea's great for add ons!) so they don't get dusty. I use the centre shelf for photos and trophies. I have also seen sashes put under glass on the top of a coffee table - that looked pretty cool!