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Dr Zoo have a good pet sunscreen, really happy with it. It doesn't have an SPF though. Often if I'm putting my own moisturiser sunscreen on I'll put a swipe on my BC boys nose too. Filtabac contains an antibacterial in it that burnt the skin on my BC's nose. I presumed his red irritated skin was from sunburn and I put even more on him. They have a straight sunscreen version in the UK I think, but only have the antibacterial combination version here. No idea why they don't bring the other one out too.

Hurrta have some lovely coverall type coats but you'll most likely have to get them from OS.

Seems to be a trend with a few clubs - they might do some basics for fun but trying to juggle the basic training program/public needs vs. the more dedicated performance crew is getting increasingly difficult.

Really looking forward to the full moon on the 31st, unfortunately we tend to cop a bit of cloud cover even in Summer Shame it's a Wed night, but I'm still considering taking a drive an hour or so North to get a better vantage point.

Woohoo congrats TSD At $46 a month its well worth it. I haven't done any SG stuff for a year or so now but I did a lot of her early online stuff - including Recallers, Contacts, Handling 360 etc. SGs work has given me the tools to make me the trainer I am today. While I'm not out there setting the world on fire competition wise I do have three high drive dogs that I can take anywhere, and do just about anything with because I know they will behave themselves and not cause an ounce of trouble. If I had $5 for every compliment I get on my dog's good behaviour from colleagues, friends, vets, accommodation places and general Joe public plus the peace of mind it gives you - I'd have paid my way through Recallers a dozen times over. 4 weeks training at our club is $40 for 3 hours. One of my battles with instructing agility is that so many dogs don't have the basic skills and the handlers don't have the understanding or confidence on how to tackle even basic life skills issues. The difference is understanding the dog training science behind it vs. being handed a "recipe" on how to fix x,y and z. It gives you the skills and the confidence to tackle so many of those life skills issues and get them sorted This is my high prey drive BC x Kelpie Zee chucking a wobbly asking for permission to chase bunnies - fairly sure it was bunnies because roos and wallabies don't create that much excitement. At no point did I tell her no or recall her, this is a genuine "check in or its your choice" moment. She did get a handful of treats as a reward for her awesome choices

Definitely trim hairy feet down to flush against the paw pads if hairy feet are an issue. I second Bunnings mats - I have nearly all my floors covered between the rubber backed carpet squares (1m x 1m for $25) and Kmart gym mats. Protects my dogs and my wooden floors. One vet bill and one floor repolish pays for a lot of rubber matting. Ugly but definitely much more pet friendly, and much nicer to walk on in the cold of winter too which was the other benefit ;)

Equipment Q - what kind of price do you put on second hand contact gear? I'm moving some club stuff on and while I don't want to give it away I also don't want it sitting around the shed for months either. Second hand sand coated full height dogwalk with training legs and a sand coated A-frame both in good condition. We also have some old seesaws in varying heights - all sand coated as well.

My now 11 y.o wore her polar fleece jarmies for night times last winter, and some of the colder days I left them on even though they have full access to the house during the day. This Autumn I had a few more pairs made up for her and she wears them night and day now. Warmer days with some nice sunshine I take them off for an hour or two so she can sun herself (she's black and very good at soaking up the rays!). But I only have to wave them at her and she runs at me and shoves her head in them, so I figure she likes them. Heater is on now and she's less than a foot from the outlet in her pink PJs.

Woohooo!!!! How super exciting!!!

Have you heard yet TSD? Fingers crossed for you

Good on you Tassie! I really enjoy the strength & conditioning work and I did consider doing the CFT part 1 but I need to finish my CMT course first before I sign up for any more I'm also working through whether I stick with training and actually get some "qualifications" in training or whether I head down the CMT/conditioning & strength work road.

Ohhh good luck!! I toyed with the idea of applying for a working spot but decided not to I'm doing all three days as well, Bob was awesome when he was in Sydney last!

Most of our dogs are quite high drive which is great - as we've really focussed on building that into the curriculum. Most would work themselves beyond tired if asked, so it is something I'm very conscious of and everyone has been really good with it without ever having to consider overworking being an issue. It's just not an issue I've ever struck in a club setting.

I think time is the easiest one. Using a stop watch really helps. Pair people up if it's one jump work. Give them one thing to work on. 2 minutes work time each. Dog in crate whilst the other dog works. When you add in instructions then it's very easy to fill an hour and come away with 4-5 pieces of homework. The other thing is partner people up and they have to either write training notes for each other or help throw toys etc. But I'm a hard @r$e lol We do more structured stuff in our Foundation but our Advanced group is everything from Foundation graduates through to JDM level dogs. I tried structured exercises but our turn-up is so hit and miss, so I've learnt to be a lot more relaxed I think you're right though - time is probably the factor. Makes it hard when you have people who are only there to use the equipment, not participate in the class.

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.

Bumping this up. Brief update on my instructing situation. I backed away a lot and sticking with agility instructing only. I do help in the public side if needed but I'm not the first person to put my hand up. Some of my students have been great in stepping up into instructing roles for our foundation class which has really helped. We have some great new members who are also taking some of the workload here and there and are keen to learn. Now we just need to ease off on our trial workload and calm the expectations from the rest of the agility community when it comes to running trials and things would be much easier

I'm halfway through completing my Certificate in Canine Myofunctional Therapy at NCTM, I've done my in class work just need to knock over my assignment work. One of my class mates was also human qualified and switching over. I enjoyed it but treating it as a base to go on with. I've looked at some of the other courses available and I felt the qualification was important as was the hands on work. Right now, I feel my next step is to get my hands on as many dogs as I possibly can before I take the next step, and further my own theory learning as there is plenty that I can add to from the course. I'm very lucky to have someone that I use for my own dogs as a mentor of sorts (distance is the kicker!). She's been super helpful and is incredibly knowledgeable, but she's UK trained.

Nice!! My soon to be 11 y.o hasn't been vaccinated since she was 1, so 2 shots and a booster, and I'm pretty sure my 7 y.o only got her 2 puppy shots. Both showed high titres at last check, and have the entire way through. :D

You hard arse They develop an insane amount of value for them - I have to hide mine, if it's left in view I end up with 3 dogs trying to guard the bloody thing ! They don't even do that over bones.

Pretty much I do it here too - but only for the high value items which coincidentally are mostly safety behaviours as well. I don't bother with the things my dogs have only moderate value for - I only sell them the big ticket items :laugh:

Yes, I always use the tone on the MM. The idea of the MM in a lot of training is to take the focus away from me - so I want my dogs driving forward into 2o2o position, driving through their 2x2s poles, driving through their cavaletti, looking forward at the MM when doing their strength work - if I have the click coming from me, it encourages the dogs to focus on me, including turning their heads while doing such activities which is not good for them physically especially with repetitive behaviours. It will take a dog less than 10 reps to figure out what that noise means. You're also going to have to manage the MM remote and a clicker if you turn the tone off. As a side note - I really wish I'd videoed my dog's first experience with a MM. Within several beeps I had all 3 dogs crowded around it trying to shape their best tricks at the MM, freaking hilarious

You want a challenge? Get a Dalmatian Dog help me but he's my easy dog now - these dogs are our greatest teachers Kavik xxx That they are :D Darcy made me look good, Zee informed me I wasn't that good and Bowie's been the beneficiary

Good on you!!

Our "gap" is a bit the same - a few less social dogs who have a group of people where they feel comfortable. I don't know why instructors get hung up on the competing. I have a few students in agility who will probably never compete, and it doesn't bother me. We've had one or two give it a shot when they were ready and decide it wasn't for them, and that's fine too. Maybe some instructors don't realise that their "encouragement" is construed as pressure by students who are more sensitive to it (and I know I am).

You can only give it a shot. It's probably worth getting in on some of the seminars being run by the hosts in these situations. I've found if you support the host most times when they bring people out, you will normally get a spot that bit easier than you would as a "walk-up" if that makes sense. Even if it's just an audit spot as support, it keeps you in the loop. :D